OverDrive - OverDrive - August 5, 2025 - Hour 3

Episode Date: August 5, 2025

Join Aaron Korolnek, Jason Strudwick and Michael DiStefano for Hour 3 on OverDrive! TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips joins to discuss Eric Lauer's position in the Blue Jays' pitching rotation, Bo Bichette's potential contract and the Red Sox jumping up the AL East standings. Former NFLer and SiriusXM NFL Analyst Robert Turbin joins to discuss the futures of Micah Parsons, Terry McLaurin and James Cook, the Bengals' starters playing in the preseason and the NFC East landscape and the FanDuel Best Bets.

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Call 416-457 plan or visit ask kelvin.cai.a. It is our three of Overdrive on this Tuesday afternoon. Karolnik, Strudwick, and DeStefano with you. Our overdrive is brought to you by Fandle, bringing you everything from the opening line of the final score. You may notice I'm now on the headphones as opposed to the IFB I was wearing before. The reason is, I don't know, I think I tore the thing out of the headset here by mistake. And I found a pair of headphones that were sitting adjacent to this desk.

I have no idea who wore them. That's so scary. I did not even clean them because there was no tires about 45 seconds. I'm pretty sure, Struddy, you might have been on the show, actually. Like a couple weeks ago, I believe Hayes had a similar situation or he forgot his headphones and then had to throw those in the ears. And now they're in your ears and there's been a cleanage since. I think another pandemic is on the verge of starting.

And it could because of the headphones I just put in my ear, Struddy. Yeah, you're the kind of guy that shares swimming trunks with another man, right? Absolutely. I've got a pair you can burrow. No, you can't. And I'd rather skinny dip in cold water than where someone else's swim trunks. It's not happening. Yeah.

Well, if I'm not on the show tomorrow, you'll know why. The headphones have caused a major issue with my... You end up with infected ears that'll pop out like a... I hope not. Elephant. I really hope that's not the case. Anyways, we've got a great hour ahead. Steve Phillips going to join us in about three minutes.

The lineup is out for the Toronto Blue Jays as they look to Best of Performance they had last night against the Colorado Rockies, where they won by 14 runs. And the Jays, we discussed this in our two, Al's brother, are not that heavy of favorites against perhaps the worst team in the history of Major League Baseball. And I know you've been going through the lineup,

pouring through the data. Anything surprised you with regards to what the Jays are putting out against the Rockies this evening. Tonight, it's just deep. Like, it's such a deep lineup. You're going down the list. You've got like Varsho and Clement as, like your seventh and eighth hitters.

It's true. Clement, what, five for five last night? You got them in the seven hole. Marshall hit a massive home run last night. Big bomb. You got them in your eight hole. And then Ty France came in, pinch hit, got a hit. Like, it just, it's the depth.

That's what sticks out to me about this Blue Jays lineup. It is so deep. And hopefully they can continue to kind of swing the hot bat like they did last night. Let's hope so. Something to chew on is brought to you by Boston pizzas, Canada's number one favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP, where you. You get an entree, a side, and a drink, and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food.

See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza. The question today is something to chew on. Well, the Blue Jays win the American League East. They're three games up on the Boston Red Sox. They are five and a half games up on the New York Yankees. When it comes to the chewing perspective, Al's brother and Boston Pizza, which side are you on? Do you think the Jays ultimately hold it down and win the division?

for the first time in a decade. The Red Sox are starting to scare me a little. A little bit. A little bit. It's funny for weeks we've been talking about how it's the Blue Jays and the Yankees, the Blue Jays and the Yankees. You wake up this morning, Boston now, just three games back of Toronto. Yankees still five and a half back after being swept by the Marlins.

They lost again last night. But the Boston Red Sox continue to win, continue to pick up victories. So that's the team I'm a little worried about. but I don't know. I think that Toronto, like, I think that this is the year that they can kind of just get ready to go and hunker down and have a big time performance down the stretch. Again, I'm a big fan of what they're doing offensively. It doesn't matter who it is. They seem to continually get on base and get guys over, get guys in.

It's all coming down to the pitching. It's all going to come down to pitching. And down the stretch, you hope that you're going to see a lot in Scherzer. Hopefully you see him round in the form as we approach October. Same thing with Barrios and Gosman. You're going to get a look at Shane Bieber at some point. Is Eric Lauer continue to pitch the way that he has? That ultimately is what you're going to be looking for.

And then the bullpen to fortify itself, right? Let's get Jeff Hoffman back to what he was doing in July, not what he was doing in May. And in that series against Baltimore. So I like their chances of actually holding on to this thing and winning the division. Boston didn't even do anything at the trade deadline. They brought in Dustin May. from the Dodgers who...

I forgot it was even playing anymore. Exactly. He's essentially irrelevant, but as soon as they traded Devers, this team's fortunes have dramatically shifted, and they've won six games in a row. They have all these young studs, too. Kids are calling up like Roman Anthony, who looks poised to become a superstar

in Major League Baseball. But we'll get Steve Phillips' thoughts on this right now. Why delay any longer to welcome in one of our favorite guests? The former GM of the New York Mets, TSN MLB analyst. Steve Phillips with us on this Tuesday, afternoon. Hello, sir.

How are you? Aaron, did you take a wrong turn at 6 a.m. this morning? What's going on? Yeah, you're 12 hours late for your ship. Yeah, we made a little switch in the schedule here on Overdrive. Brian Hayes needed some R&R, and I got called up to the big time, Steve, and I know you're on the morning show today talking about the Toronto Blue Jays as you are every Tuesday morning. And, I mean, you have to be feeling pretty relieved right now if you're a

a Toronto Blue Jays fan, simply because leading into last night, there was some anxiety. It lost six of the last day. The bullpen not looking great. The bats go quiet. And maybe a matchup against the Colorado Rockies is what is the needed remedy for this baseball team. Is that how you see it? Oh, my gosh. Those words are uttered in 29 clubhouses around the game.

We're getting to play of the Rockies. Grab a bat. Let's go. and I think that they have been the remedy for just about everybody this year to start to feel better about themselves. And, you know, for the J's, you know, looking at the box score yesterday, right? You know, Bichette, we know is going to get his hits. He always does.

But for Varsho to get a couple of hits, you know, Nathan Lucas at the leadoff spot is going to base five times in the game. For Barger to keep it going, low perfido to get it going. And, you know, to have those other bats, the left-handed bats keep on rolling, I think is important for this team. Yeah, I think the connection on Steve wasn't good. Let's give him a ring back. You never want to hear the delay.

The delay is always the most foreboding. There was a click. There was a click at the end there, too. He lost us. He was very excited to hear me in the afternoon, as opposed to the morning. He's probably miserable to hear me in the morning as we wake up around the same time. He does morning radio as well, does Steve Phillips. Like the converted starter converted into the closer. Jeff Hoffman at one point when he drafted.

I prefer Mariano Rivera personally. Well, I don't, we're not going to go Rivera quite yet. Hazie B's the Rivera. Oh, no, no, no, he's like the Kurt Schilling, the Randy Johnson. He starts the game and closes the game is what he does. Yeah, sure, Roy Holiday. Roy Holiday would work as well. So while we effort to get Steve back on the show, again,

the Jay is taking on the Colorado Rockies game two tonight. They beat the Rockies 15 to 1 last night, and I think Blue Jays fans are hoping for a very similar result. So, Stephen, now you're back on the line. I am curious to know what you think about this. Eric Lauer's situation that the Jays are facing because this is a good thing. This is a good dilemma. They have five really quality starters, perhaps six as soon as Shane Bieber's ready to return. How do you see this all playing out as the month of August continues?

I go to a six-man rotation. I do. I don't take Lauer out of a rotation at all. I go to a six man. And I think that I think it benefits everybody. I think it benefits sure, sure, to keep him healthy. For Beaver coming back from surgery, it helps him. And I think for, you know, the three, the big three of Bassett and Burroughs and Gosman, I think them getting, you know, an extra bit of time between starts just to have that extra little zip on their pitches, especially in August and September, I think is important. And I think going into the playoffs, I mean, you want to have everybody fresh and everybody strong, and it's not just about getting there, it's about winning once you get there.

And I really do think that a six-man rotation makes sense for the Jays for a lot of reasons to keep everybody healthy and strong and even better for the postseason. So I would go to that and there's no way I'm shutting down Lauer out of the rotation. Now, you don't want to get to the playoffs if you don't need, you know, five starters, obviously and six starters in the postseason, maybe Lauer goes into a bullpen roll and supplements from the left side. But I think for right now, I keep giving him the ball. I'm certainly not going to ease him out.

Plus, I like the idea of the different look from the left side, breaking up the right-handers. and given a bit of a different look with it all. So I think he's earned the right to keep getting the baseball every fifth or six day. Well, you mentioned that, you know, for now you're going to keep giving them the baseball, but unsure what it looks like in the postseason. Like, is there anything he can do between now and October to earn a look as a postseason starter for the Blue Jays? Or is it, you know, just going to really go to the veterans ahead of them who are a little bit more solidified in the rules?

Yeah, I think that, I think, no, I think that I keep it open mind about it because it's not only going to be him pitching well is what are the other guys doing. And, you know, I mean, listen, as a staff, they've got a four, you know, plus ERA. They're ranked like 21st, 22nd in baseball and starting pitching ERA. So it's not like the other guys have been shut down. So I think that, you know, as you get closer, I think you have to keep an open mind about the hot hand. and it's not just about is Lauer continuing to pitch well, what are the other guys doing?

And if the other guys are, you know, sort of middling or middle of the road, then I think you have to, you know, make a hard decision for yourself and do that. And remember, this is about the team, it's not about feelings, and the goal is to win the games and win postseason series,

and sometimes you have to make really hard decisions when you do that. So, you know, as it stands right now, I think that, you know, he's part of the equation, but he's got to keep doing what he's doing, and then I think you evaluate everybody else he's doing as well. Steve, what about as far as

the batting lineup, and, you know, Varshal's back now and trying to find different combinations against different pitchers or different teams, is you going to see a lot of that from Schneider as we head through the stretch here? Let's bring him down here, Dukes. I don't know where he is, but it's not going to

where Steve is. I mean, it's the middle baseball season. It's got to be close to home, although he's known for taking some exotic vacations from time of time. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Good beat. Yeah, it is a tough one for the Blue Jays at the moment.

Again, like you're playing against Colorado, but you desperately needed to shake out of that funk that they were in. And the bats were struggling. Everything was kind of going off the rails. Sometimes a professional team just needs some wins and some very convincing ones to get back going. I want to piggyback, though, on Struddy's question that he was asking. when you look at the lineup here and it's absolutely been shuffled around for the last little bit

as you get it closer to the postseason like is there going to be some importance on trying to settle in on a lineup or you think that it could remain fluid all throughout like does it matter well we're just seeing dalton varsho return to the lineup that's a new thing anthony santander maybe he comes back maybe he doesn't even like at the top of the lineup like you got lucas right he's leading up but we've seen clement lead off we've seen low perfido we've seen davis schneider right like we've seen a lot of guys lead off and right now you got low perfido right sometimes hitting in the one hole the two hole the three hole tonight he's in the seventh hole well i do think that's a testament to the quality work that john schneider has done this season is that he has

been moving things around constantly when it comes to his batting line because guys have been in and out all year think about springer and kirk in the past couple weeks they've been out of course santander has been a complete non-entity andres himenez who was starting second basement. You remember the early parts of the season, the first three, four games, the guy was raking. And I think we might see him back in the lineup soon, too. I think he's a guy who's part of the postseason lineup. Steve, sticking with the Blue Jays batting lineup, Bo Bichette, two homers, six RBIs. What, if anything, can the Blue Jays do to try to retain this guy long term, or is it an inevitability that he goes to market and potentially elsewhere?

Well, it's inevitable. I think he goes to market right now. I mean, if I have his agent, I'm going to wait. I'm going to tell them, look, let's not engage right now. Let's go out there, finish strong. You're tearing it up. Keep doing your thing. And if you want to go back to Toronto, then great. You know, keep playing like you are and we'll make a deal with them.

But we're going to squeeze every last little bit out of it. In the meantime, though, you know, you want other people in. You want to be able to market yourself. So I think that it's likely that he goes out there and he becomes a free agent and teams start to, you know, court him a little bit. And the Jains are going to have to play that game. like, you know, he was somebody else's player that they want to bring to Toronto. And I think he's open to it. I know people kept saying, no, he doesn't want to be there.

I don't see that or buy that at all. He really likes Vladimir Groh Jr. They're friends. I think that he's enjoying this season. And when things are going well, he loves Toronto. Like, I mean, you know, the times that he's been down has been more about his own performance than anything else. So I think it's going to, you know, it's probably going to get to $200 million to get him signed. And if it doesn't go too far beyond that, I think the Js have to be playing in there.

range. Well, Steve, how different are those conversations today than they would have been in the winter coming off that down year? Yeah, I think that it was a non-starter. I think from Bichette's position, you know, he had lost about two years or parts of two years with injuries and underperform it, and it made no sense for him to try to negotiate at that point. He wanted to negotiate like the guy who in the past led the league and hits. And he's like, I want to, I want to be paid like that guy. And they're like, well, we can't. You haven't been that guy for couple years. So there really wasn't a starting point to make an agreement. And so I think it was a wait and see. And for Bichette, he bet on himself, which I would have too. I think that, you know,

I wouldn't have settled for a lesser deal based upon, you know, the down couple years and health. And so, you know, he had to go show he could stay healthy. Then he had to show he could be Bichette again. And then he'd say, okay, now look at me, how you like now. And so I just don't think there was any way they had an opening. There was no, nobody made a mistake. Nobody, you know, wasn't aggressive enough. There wasn't a starting point that made sense for either side to make a deal last fall, last

winter. Steve, there was a recent altercation, our alleged altercation chain, Bryce Harper and Manfred, the leader of the league, about, you know, the salary cap, potential salary cap,

you know, CBA negotiations. Is this the beginning of something? Do you see this as something that the league and the, the players are really going to argue over a different. type of hard salary cap? I do. I think that it's interesting. I mean, Bryce Harper was way out of line,

completely out of line. There was no business to be disrespectful to the commissioner. And, you know, you can't say get out of here if you're going to talk about something when he didn't talk about something and never mentioned salary cap. And even then, it's disrespectful to do it. If the commissioner had

gone to a player enacted that way, it would be all over the commissioner for doing it. And so I think Bryce Harper was out of line and had no business being that aggressive with the commissioner. And I think the players missed an opportunity in those meetings with the commissioner. They should have been asking all of the pointed questions that the union wanted answers to. Are there two sets of books? How do we look at the fact that values for owners of the teams keep going up yet you're saying they're not making money? Explain it to us. What is included in the calculation?

for revenues because teams must be making money elsewhere that's not included in the books and everything. Like, I know there's not two sets of books, but I'd want to, because I was a jam. Like, I would have known if there was the second set. I would have, I would be happy to share it if I knew there was the second set of books. But I'd want answers to those questions, uh, as opposed to being attacking and disregarding the commissioner. And that being said, the owners have to negotiate among themselves to even get to the point of willing to do a full-blown salary cap. If I'm a large market owner, like Steve Cohen who bought the mats and paid $2.6 billion,

I pay $2.6 billion, and if you paid $1.8 billion for your team, why do I now want to share all of the revenues that come with me owning a large market team with you with a smaller middle market team? Like, why do I want to be socialized into a way that I'm balancing and leveling the playing field? I just spent the most money for the biggest team because it had value to me. So the idea that we're going to take from the rich and give to the poor to level the playing field doesn't seem like something large market owners would want to do. And I'm not sure they can agree to do it.

And even if they got to that point, the players are going to say no. They are not going to agree to a salary cap. So if the owners decide that they want to level the playing field, they have to do it by revenue sharing on their own and keep the players out of it. If the owners want to share revenue, go for it. however you want to do it. But from the players' perspective, they want to know that there's an open market and a free market, and they can sign wherever they are for whatever the teams believe

their value is. And I don't blame the players for not wanting a salary cap. I understand why small market owners want one. I understand why large market owners don't want one. But I think in the end, there's a really big piece of pie, and it's a huge pie that there's enough for everybody to make money and be happy. and I don't think that the competitive imbalance issue is worth a work stoppage that could take multiple years to get to giving somebody to blink on a salary cap. TSN MLB analyst, Steve Phillips, our guest here in hour three of overdrive.

So Aaron Judge on the verge of a return, he'll be back tonight for the Yankees. The Red Sox have won six games in a row. Between those two, Steve, who poses a bigger threat to the Jays in the ALE East? Yeah, I think it's the Red Sox right now. I do. I think the Red Sox have something going. And Brian Bale's emergence of the front of that rotation with Garrett Crochet, Crochet on the Mount tonight for the Red Sox. I think that Gialito thrown as well as he has recently,

I think that I do think the Red Sox are a scarier team right now for me than the Yankees. The Yankees have a lot of stuff they're dealing with. In fact, they're tied with the White Sox since July 1st with the same record. and they've won as many games the White Sox have since July 1st. So they've not played very good baseball. They're 5 and 18 on the road since June 13th. They've made 21 errors in that period of time on the road.

And so they're just, they're really crumbling right now. They're a good team, but they're playing like they're a last place team. And New York Yankee fans are acting like, you know, that they're the Colorado Rockies and everybody's got to go. And I mean, it's just, it's crazy.

the panic that is set in in New York right now around the Akees. And I think all that does compound the losing on their part. Steve, I want to go back to Shane Bieber really quickly. Made another rehab start over the weekend in Buffalo and five innings. Give a couple runs, struck out six. But what are you looking for? The stats and the soft numbers, you know, they're nice to look at. But what exactly, like, are the Jays looking for?

And how will you know if Bieber is kind of back to being, his ace self. Yeah, I think right now, I think, you know, you'll only really figure that out at the major league level. But, you know, I think the thing about Shane Bieber is that he throws strikes. He rarely walks people. I mean, he pounds the strike zone with his stuff. And he gets swings and misses.

And he's done that throughout his rehab assignment. So I think it's really just about recovery between starts. How does he feel? And, you know, I think at some point, I mean, you go five innings at the AAA level. For me, you're ready to be a big league pitcher. And so, you know, from my perspective, whether he needs another rehab start or not remains to be seen. But I think he's at the point of being ready enough to bring him in and take your chances with him. And I like, I like him a lot. And I'm hoping that that he pitches well enough, that he, he pitches well for

them, but that he doesn't want to opt out of the deal for next year. And they can get him it next year for $16 million because he's a really good pitcher when he's fully healthy. Steve, thank you for the time. You were just as pleasant to speak to at 6 p.m. as you are at 6 a.m. It's great to have you with us, and we appreciate you doing this. My pleasure, guys. Sorry for the phone, sort of crapping out a couple times, but always happy to be out with you. All right, we love it.

That is Steve Phillips, our MLB analyst. Yeah, the phones, Struddy, you've done countless radio hits throughout the years. it's a very finicky thing. Sometimes you're just in the wrong spot and the cell service is garbage and you can't get anything concrete. That's what happened to our man, Steve Phillips, the shame. Oh, it's so hard.

I used to host a nighttime show. And I was not only dealing with maybe some sketchy lines. Also, some people had had a few drinks, my guess. You know, by 9, 10, 11 o'clock, Empton time, you're getting past midnight out east. And so you'd be like, I could just hear it. Oh, there's whatever. Jason Stark on that line.

Oh, God, this guy's had a couple drinks. Like, please just keep it because I just need 10 minutes out of you. I can't talk about anything after 11. So both are challenges. I think I'd rather deal with the lines because it's more predictable or at least what could happen compared to someone who's had a few drinks. Yeah, there's a famous TSN 1050 store in the early days. I've been working here basically my entire professional career since 2011,

and someone was asked for their Grey Cup prediction, and they predicted the Patriots would win the Grey Cup because they had had a question. a night, the night prior would be my guess. So I don't think the Patriots, maybe the Patriots were in the CFL, they might have a chance to win the Great Cup, but yeah, that could pose a problem for you after a night of intoxication.

Maybe not making the most astute points when it comes to sports radio. So yeah, I can only imagine some of the nighttime stuff that you had to deal with over the years. Robert Turbin's going to call into the show on the other side, former NFL running back, serious XM NFL radio analyst. Got to talk about the Holdens, the

Holdens, Parsons, and McLaurin and Cook, Hendrickson, who am I missing? Not a lot of actual NFL talk, seemingly everybody wants to talk about the guys who aren't in action as opposed to the guys that are. But we will talk about a lot of things, including the Buffalo Bills, who are featured in hard knocks on HBO as well. Robert Turbin on the other side, this is our three of overdrive here on TSN2, TSN1050, and TSN's YouTube channel. Breaking Story from Alpine News Network, Firefighter Finn McHose, that's a nickname, right? needed help contending with a blaze of debt.

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Enjoy $15 lunch at BP, where you get. get an entree, a site, and a drink, and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza. Robert Turbin will call in in a couple of minutes. We continue here in hour three of overdrive, Coral Nick Strudwick and Al's brother. I have an immense amount of love for Doogie, the producer of this fine radio program. However, he decided to purchase Timbitts for the crew, which I love.

Struddy, I'm really sad that you're not here to enjoy them. However, a lot of plain timbits from Doogie, and I have, I love timbits, but plain tibets are by far the worst. Yeah. And basically inedible, like, unedible, inedible, there are just nothing there. There's no, there's no, um, to the timbitt. Those are the best ones, boys. Come on, are you serious?

You think the plain timbits are the best. I'm a plain donut guy with a coffee, plain donut and a coffee, plain timbets. What are you, 88 years old? Plain donuts and plain timbets. Dugie's like 16 years old, and he likes plain timbets. That's outrageous. He probably likes jazz as well. He likes plain cashews, unsalted cashew nuts, vanilla ice cream.

That is a stunning development. Stradi, is there a timid? That's your go-to. Yeah, I'm pretty much anything chocolate. Yeah. Or the glazed ones, but anything chocolate. And I do love a good timet. I mean, I'm into it as much as the next day.

can just hammered. If there's a timbitt of a package of timbits lying somewhere, I could easily eat 20 in 10 seconds. But that's the only one, like if I go and I purchase timbits, like sometimes you come into work, you're like, I'll grab a 20 pack for the boys. I've never done that. You're a terrible human. But you come in and you get a 20 pack.

The first thing it comes out of my mouth, say, what would you like? Anything but plain. It's usually my order. There's four or five plain ones remaining in there for us. You go ahead. Thank you. I'm gladly. Thank you. He says, you're very welcome. You're very welcome. All right. So again, Robert

Turbin's coming up in just a moment. We've got to get into the Micah Parsons stuff because the way I see this playing out, it's just so obvious. He's staying in Dallas. He's playing for the Cowboys because Jerry Jones is in his 80s. He wants to win a Super Bowl. The only chance, the remarkably

slim chance, that he has to win a Super Bowl, is with Micah Parsons being a monster on the defensive line. Otherwise, don't even bother showing up. When has Jerry ever drawn a line in the sand and won a negotiation with a star player. When's the last time that's happened?

It's infrequent. I do have a list of different contracts. Micah Parsons, of course, this year, C.D. Lamb last year. Prescott was also last year. Yeah. Zach Martin, the year before that, Zeke Elliott in 2019. And every single one of those, he said, I'm not paying. They went down to the wire, but ultimately, he bent the knee, and he ended up paying his guy. Watch rinse repeat, same thing's going to happen.

I don't know why he lets it get this far. He could have Michael Parsons last year for probably mid-30s, like A.A.V., 35, 36 million. And then all of a sudden, he waits a year. You get T.J. Watt signs a deal. Miles Garrett signs a deal. And now all of a sudden that AAV is going to be up in the 40s. Now he's going to have to reset the market. And I guarantee you, based on how things have gone over the last week or so,

there's no shot that he's going to take a discount now. He wants top dollar to be the top dollar pass rushing money. And Dallas cannot win without Micah Parsons. I'm not even sure they can win with Micah Parsons. All the leverage is with Micah. I agree. Let's welcome in Robert Turvin, former NFL running back, serious XM NFL analyst. What's up, Robert?

How are we doing? Hey, I'm doing great, fellas. How about yourself? Thanks for having me. We're all right. It's always great to have you on the show. One of the best guests when it comes to talking NFL. And I'm curious to know how you think this Micah Parsons situation will unfold with the Dallas Cowboys.

he'll eventually get a contract you know it'll be some give and take on both sides but you know i think by the time the season starts you know he'll have a contract and he'll be he'll be a dallas cowboy the relationship will be you know probably a little bit rocky but it always ends up being mended it was it was mended with that press god it was mended with cd lamb you can go back to des brine and some other players they always end up working it Yeah, my question, though, like, you think Jerry Jones knows that the contract's coming? It seems like everyone else in the world is well aware that Michael Parsons going to end up getting his deal. You think Jerry knows that?

He's just plying this out for what reason I don't know. Yeah, Jerry, Jerry knows, you know, look, he's sitting in his presser. He's been doing this 30 years or whatever it is. He knows. He knows the contract is coming. He just, you know, he just likes to, it seems like he just, you know, He likes to try to hold the keys. You know, he likes to try to, you know, be in charge in some ways, be in control.

You know, it's probably a better word to use. But at the end of the day, he knows like everybody. The contract is going to get done one way or another. Another kind of contract standoff that we have right now around the NFL, especially of interest here in Toronto right down the road. You got Buffalo, James Cook, a member of your running back community, a little hold-in situation. How do you think that plans out?

Do you think he gets the contract he wants to? No, James Cook will not get the contract. And unfortunately, I don't want to say that he doesn't deserve it. But what I will say is that the bills are going to be good with or without. James Cook, James Cook does not move the needle like that for Buffalo. And if you look at the other running backs that are in that room, Ray Davis and the other guys, even Frank Gorton Jr. for crying out loud, good players. And they showed that they could be impactful in the run game when James Cook was hurt last year.

And the bottom line is James Cook is not the top 10 running back in the league. So the hold-in is, I hate to say it's laughable. But what I'm trying to say is that he just doesn't move the needle for that team. for them to want to give him likely the type of contract that he wants. So I don't think he's going to get paid it. I don't think after this season he'll be a Buffalo bill. When you look at the situation in Washington, McClure, is it closer to what's going to play out in Buffalo, or do you think in Dallas?

No, I think more of Dallas. You want to talk about a guy that moves the needle without Terry McCorn, at least this season. You know, maybe in the future, maybe down the road, the Washington commanders will be okay without McCorn, but you don't want Debo Sandler being your number one rival season right now. And so you talk about a team who's right on the doorstep of being a Super Bowl, you know, going to the Super Bowl, you're talking about a quarterback where everybody is seemingly, you know, discussing him in the MVP conversation this season.

none of that is realistic if if you know Terry McCorn is not in your lineup and so they got to get this done they will get it done I think he'll be a commander this season and beyond

our guest is Robert Turbin former NFL running back now with Sirius XM NFL radio a player that I'm really excited to watch this year is Travis Hunter who won the Heisman trophy last year the number two overall pick and the debt chart came out for the Jaguars

today and he was a start receiver and he was a backup corner. How do you envision this playing out with Travis Hunter? Of course, at Colorado was playing both sides of the ball. Do you think that's something he can replicate in the pros, Robert? Well, I think it just depends on how you monitor

his reps, you know, throughout not only a game, but, you know, throughout practice and the entire season, you know, as long as you've got his legs under and play him. You know, he wants to play both sides. You know, let him play. As long as he's, you know, as long as he's being impactful,

uh in the game as long as he knows what he's doing out there as long as he understands the calls and he knows what the signals are and he knows what the audibles and the adjustments are uh you know while a cater's going on pre-snap player you know that was part of what he wanted uh going through the draft process and i think the jaguars are going to grant him that opportunity uh but you got to monitor at the end of the day he's only human so you got to monitor his minutes you know for lack of a better way to describe Robert. The Bengals head coach, Zach Taylor, came out today and said that his starters, including Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase, and a number of their big boys are actually going to

get some reps, play multiple series in their upcoming week one preseason game. They're one in nine through the first two weeks in the Zach Taylor era. How much do you think that had to do with this decision? I think it had a lot to do with it. You look at a team like the Kansas Chiefs who have been dominating the NFC now for a number of years. Patrick Hulman is always playing a week one of the preseason. So there's something to getting out there, getting lathered up, playing full speed,

getting the competition, and using that momentum or at least gaining that rhythm heading into week one of the regular season. The Bengals cannot continue to have slow starts and then expect to be the Bengals team that beat the Chiefs in the playoffs a few years ago. So they're hoping for a faster start to the year, and I think that's why you see Coach Zach Taylor making this decision to play his starters in week one. It seems like that Cleveland Browns have enough quarterbacks just to play all offensive lines.

So how do you see this pack quarterback room working with Joe Flacco, Schroeder Sanders, and company? Well, I think Joe Flacco is going to end up being the starter. But I think that the Browns are happy that they're in this situation. You know, honestly, since Baker Mayfield, of all people, left the team, they really haven't had any consistent quarterback play other than, you know, the year, a couple years ago when they got Joe Flacco late in the season and they were able to go to the playoffs. So I think it's great what they created.

What they created was competition. There's always competition at every position. on the field during training camp, except 99% of the time at quarterback there's not, okay? Well, they've created some competition there, and it's a good problem to have. It gives Coach Stefanski a real opportunity to really sit back and really dissect the tape

and really evaluate what he's got there and who he wants to be the starter for the entire year this year. Not one of these guys that you're going to, you know, plug in and maybe have to pool four weeks later, Coach the fans, he's looking for the guy who can be the starter for 17 games this season. And so he's letting all four and now five of these guys. He wanted to throw in Snoop Huntley in there, who was recently signed.

You know, let him duke it out and let the best man win. Our guess is Robert Turbin. So let's talk about the AFC East. I think we know the Buffalo Bills, barring some catastrophe will win the division. If you had to pick between the Dolphins, the Patriots, and the Jets to finish. second who is your bet of those three robert well i don't it's not going to be the dolphins i'll tell you that right now uh yeah until until the dolphins can you know i don't know i guess first of all prove that they can win when it's cold outside but secondly you know show that

they have like an actual team you know with culture and leadership and all those kinds of things i'm kind of out on the dolphins um it's a tough one between the jets and and the pay It's because both good teams. I'm going to lean slightly towards the jet. And the only reason why I'm going to lean slightly towards the Jets is because I think they have a slightly better defense. And we're talking about a defense that was once upon a time. They took a step back last season. But in seasons prior to that, those young players, I mean, we're talking about a really, really good defense when Robert

Salah was the head coach, and they got a lot of those same players that are still there. And obviously, there was some disconnect last season, but I think that's more of an anomaly as opposed to that's who they really are. And so because they've always had a strong defense, I think that will show up again this year. And now they've got a guy who can make some players of quarterback. So I'm going to lean slightly towards the Jets coming in second. Robert, my friend Jason Struttwick here is a passionate New York Giants fan. His O.C. Human Euro jersey is not pictured in his background.

I think that's sitting beside there. But you know Russell Wilson well from your time in Seattle? What type of expectations do you have for him in New York? I think my expectations for the Giants, they're the dark horse team of the NFC. Wow. They are. They're a dark course team in the NFC because they've upgraded defensively. they're going to have a strong pass rush

and all the attention is centered around Jackson, Dart, and Russell Wilson, and it should be, but, you know, I wouldn't ignore the surrounding parks, you know, to the quarterback on offense. They've got a strong run game

with Tyrone Tracy Jr. All he needs to do is be more consistent, hold on to the football, but Camp Scadaboo is having a nice training camp. He's going to be an added value to that run game. We already know what Malik neighbors brings to the table. They've got decent wide receivers in the tight end,

send it around these guys. The offensive line has struggled in years past, but they've upgraded there this season. They just got to go out there and prove it and put it on tape. But they're not a team that you can ignore. And if you look at the NFC, you got the Eagles, right? Boom. We already know.

The Eagles going about their business right now. But the Cowboys are dealing with distractions right now and so are the Washington commanders. And the Giants are just quietly going about their business and getting better every day at training camp. Nobody's talking about it. And I think when you have a team like that, when nobody's talking about them,

that's when they become the most dangerous. And that's why I'm saying, be on the lookout for the Giants. I think they're a dark horse team in the NFC. Guests of the day, lock it, give it to them. Give them the award. Guests of the day, thank you for that. I needed to be built up.

For those who are listening, Jason Strubbock has just put on his Amad Bradshaw, Jers, during Robert's answer, Bradshaw. Robert, thanks so much for doing this, man. Yeah, I just had to get to the Giants' callbacks. And I grab my turban colts church. Oh, let's go. We've got to get that signed for you, Al's brother. Robert will set that up for you.

Let's say that up for you. Thanks for doing this, man. We really appreciate it. So good. Anytime, fellas, thank you. All right, that's Robert. I can't believe that. High on the Giants.

I honestly thought he was like, they're going to just be, you know, the worst team, the draft lottery, all that. And he says the dark horse, I almost started crying. I haven't been this happy since I heard the first time

Abba play. Like I'm just, I'm thrilled. I've got to get on my text chains with my buddies. We're back. We're back. The Giants are back. This is the year.

We're going for it, guys. He said I'm loading up. Yeah. The odds to win the NFC. If anyone would like to bet on the the Giants to win the NFC, I will take that bet. I will book that for you.

The NFC. You can reach out to me. I don't know. Dark Horse, in the division, like... I don't even know if they make the... No, they're not making... They're not making the playoffs. I'm sorry, Struddy.

I love Robert Turban. That's what the Dark Course means. That means you are a playoff team. I agree. I agree. Roberto said. That is. I think we got it.

I just totally made my day. I just talked to someone today said, we'll be lucky to get three wins. I'm hearing 500. That's what I'm hearing from Robert. Well, the vibes are a lot higher in New York than they are in Miami. I want to play this clip from Mike McDaniel, the coach of the Miami Dolphins from earlier today. He had some ominous comments earlier this week about Tyree Kill, and here's what he had to say earlier this afternoon.

You should stand corrected. Good morning. False. Great morning. Let's go. Why, right? What makes this one great? Because we're another day closer to death. And he did not smile. He did not even come close to breaking the frown. I don't think the vibes are high in Miami at the moment.

Like, is he looking forward to death that, that's a weird time? I don't think Mike McDaniel was a great NFL coach. I think he's an excellent coordinator, a great play caller, but I think he may be miscast. I know he's made the playoffs a couple times as the coach of the Dolphins. He didn't know once he got there. They made it. Yeah.

It's so interesting, though, Because when he was first, the head coach, and everyone was looking at him and looking at his pressers, it was like, oh, I like this guy's got some personalities, he's got some spunk. When he was with the Niners, you listen to him as a coordinator, it's like, oh, you know, like, I like this cat. Man, has that ever taken a 360 or a 180? One day closer to death. That I don't know where he's going with that at all. Listen, you've got to link the pieces together. Tyreeks Hills, comments at the end of the season.

Didn't hear Tua's comments regarding Tarek into, you know, was it during the OTAs or just just recently, and now this comment. Like I think they're all linked together. It's not working. It feels dysfunctional looking from the outside in. I think that is an indisputable fact. Things don't look good.

Seven and a half win total, taking the under. Yeah, I think they finished last in the AFC East, the dolphins. It's possible. Their defense's not good. I know they have the weapons, obviously, Tua, Waddle, Tyreek, H.N. But it was always one hit a one hit a one. away from being out of there. One day closer to death, we all are.

We all are. Such a morbid fight. Yeah, it is. Meanwhile, Brian Daibel was fired up about the season. He had to be complete opposite. Yes. Presser today. Well, I mean, the Giants, the Dark Horse and the NFC. So, yeah, everything believe it. Vibes are immaculing. Everything is

positive. Yeah, not so much in Miami. No, definitely not. It doesn't matter what the weather is. At least at this time of year, they are miserable seemingly in Miami and delirious in New York. We'll come back on the other side, wrap things up with Doogie's best bets, and he's got some winners to share

ahead of Rockies and Blue Jays game number two. We'll fill you in on those next. Alpine News Network is here live with one of our superheroes. Joe and Lucy needed a new roof and reached out to Alpine credits. I flew over to help them with a home renovation loan. I

suggested they transformed their house into a giant robot head. Femes that shoot from the eyes. Poo! Poo! Instead, they just went to a shingle. but it's pretty glorious. Own your home, need alone. Alpine credits can help. Alpine credits, where homeowners get approved.

Fisrael license 12-6-16-1-6. I am a little disappointed, guys, because we found out earlier in the show that Jason Stradwick is a massive ABBA fan. I don't think we heard ABBA once after that. That's a great point. Would you like to defend yourself, JP? Yeah, you know what?

Fair enough. played oversight of my part. He's taken responsibility. He's been exceptional, aside from the lack of ABBA. Yeah, outside of that. He probably should have played some ABA. Maybe to close the show. You know, you still got a couple of minutes.

Dancing Queen? Dancing Queen? To say goodbye to Strait. Waterloo. Coming up a long weekend, it was a little sloppy today, that's all. Waterloo is such a good song. You might want to go that way. I don't know.

It's up to you. Waterloo in a couple minutes. First, today's best bets are powered by Fandle. Make your picks and assembly. Same game parlay in seconds on the Fandul's sportsbook app. These are part of Dugie's surgical bets. I know you're not privy to the Ontario sports books in Alberta strutty, but Fanduel has Dugie's surgical bets prominently featured along the banner,

and it is must-click for anyone who likes to win wagers. Here's what he's got tonight, plus 429 SGP, over 11 and a half runs. Jose Burrios 5 plus K's, Vlad Jr., 2 plus total bases. I like those. I like those a lot, Dugie. 16 runs last night. I think Boreos gets hit around quite a base. at Coors Field, but the Jays still win.

They'll win like 9-5. I think that's a good bet there. I think the Rockies strike out a ton. The victory over there, I like it. I like that. It's a good value, too, to get over 400 on those three bets. It's pretty good value. Not bad. Today's best bets powered by Fandul. The first inning means as much as the ninth

when you bet baseball on the Fandul's Sportsbook app. Please play responsibly 19 plus and physically located in Ontario. Struddy, you're throwing out the first pitch anywhere tonight, or what's the plan? I'm still tired from last Friday. I got to be careful, right? I'm not a spring chicken anymore, so, you know, maybe once in the summer is all I got. That's probably a good idea.

I went to the driving range for the first time to see. I'm not a big golfer, but I went to the range for the first time to see her last week. I was so sore for three days. Dude. Three days? Yeah. Which part of your body? How many, how many, how many thoughts did you take?

You ever see the scene in the office when Andy Bernard hits like three buckets of balls and his hands were that was you that was you after my glutes it was really the glutes were really I felt it for a couple days yes why the glutes are you tidying up the buns when you hit yeah I don't know good you get a lot of a lot of torque getting a lot of torque I'd watch Happy Gilmore 2

like the night before so I was trying to get fired up trying to really get the torque on the hip there yeah all right JP do you want to play the song for strutty on the way out all right we're not doing it we're not doing it sorry strutty we'll text it to you in the group Chat. Dancing Queen. Al's brother, please do not sing on national TV.

That is very inadvisable. Thanks for being with us for the last three hours. We'll be back tomorrow 4 p.m. A Tate Night to remember. I think you know what this is. Tate Nick Ray hits Scotia Bank Arena, August 19th. And IHart Radio could take you there. With $500 spending cash and more.

Just stream IHard new music for 10 minutes a day on the free IHR radio app. see the prompt tap enter and do it daily for your best chance to see tape mccray live the new album so close to what is available now