PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - The State of The State

Episode Date: March 3, 2022

It's time for the first ever State of the State address! The Arizona Diamondbacks might never play, the Phoenix Suns are missing their backcourt but still lead the league, the Arizona Cardinals extend their GM and head coach and the Arizona Coyotes...? Who knows.Host Makayla Perkins is joined by Lindsey Smith and Chierstin Susel to give the state address for each organization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome in to the Phoenix Sports Podcast presented by Draf King Sportsbook America's top rated sportsbook app. Don't forget to hit that like button, subscribe wherever you get your podcast, and leave us a five-star review. I'm your host, Michaela Perkins, and joining me today is Lindsay Smith and Cherston Sue Sell. I feel like we had to celebrate Women's History Month by having the first Phoenix Sports podcast of the month be an all-girls show. So thanks for joining me, guys. having me. I'm looking at us all here on the screen and Lindsay figured out a way to get taller or instant. I feel like I need to copy. What's that called the Indian style? It's crisscross applesau. You got to sit on your feet. Criscross applesau. That's what you do.

Lindsay, I want to know how you feel about this. Are you good over there? Are you higher now? Also, real quick. You know what they say? If you really want to celebrate women's history month, Venmo or Cash App, your favorite woman, $500. That's true. Oh shit. They say. that right? That is a thing. It's a real thing. Or you could leave us a super chat in the chat. If you're on Twitter, head over to YouTube and join us in the chat. If you're watching this on YouTube and you're in the chat, say hello, say hi, what's up. We love to hear from you. We love to include you guys in this show. So if you're watching this now, say hi, leave us to super chat because it is Women's History Month. And like Lindsay said, you need to send money to your favorite women in your life.

Lindsay, how do you feel about the name Linda? I hate it. I totally understand where it stems from because every time you write lins if you're abbreviating my name or shortening it it auto corrects to linda but i feel like it's a no shade people named linda you guys are wonderful but i feel like it makes me feel old i was i think of linda linda linda listen linda um i was talking to trisson it was so good i was texting last night and i was talking about lins coming on the show and it autocrat did linda and trisn was like who the hell is linda linda linda So from now on, Lindsay will only be referred to as Linda. Hey, Charles.

Hey, Saul's joining us all the way from Indy. He's there in Indianapolis for the NFL confine. So thanks for carving some time on your day. Saw, then know all of us right now. Yeah. Do it. Saul, we need some money. All right.

We have a super exciting show prepared for you guys today. In case you haven't noticed, I'm wearing a blazer. And that's because yesterday was the state of the union address. So I figured in the spirit of the state of the union. We didn't get the memo. It's okay. It's my show. You guys didn't need to dress up.

Just me. In spirit of state of the union, we are doing the state of the state address on the Phoenix Sports podcast. Pause for applause. Yes. Thank you. I'm super excited about this.

Once again, thank you so much to Arnold for making that incredible graphic. We've got a super great show for you guys today. We're going to check in on all the Valley Sports teams. And then at the end, Lindsay, Cherson and I are going to pretend as if we are the commissioners of a league and we are going to present to you our ideas for changes in each league and you can tell us whether or not you would vote for us as a commissioner if you were allowed to vote. So it's going to be a great show, but I think we should get started because there is some big, big news that happened today. Chirsten, the Cardinals have decided to extend both their general manager, Steve Kime,

and their head coach Cliff Kingsbury through 2027. That news came out this morning. Obviously, there's been a lot of talk about extensions regarding the Cardinals lately, but they went this route by extending the GM and the head coach first. What are your initial thoughts on that move? And are you approving of that or no? Well, I just think that it's interesting timing because nobody really expected it. So it was pretty much, I went on to Twitter and I was like, what now?

Because all the talks were surrounding Kyler and, you know, his contract situation. So it's just funny to hear that, you know, Cliff Kyler have the same GM. You know, Eric Burkhardt is putting out a very aggressive statement on Kyler's behalf. Cliff has asked questions as is Steve Kime yesterday, you know, about the way that that's being handled. And, you know, they kind of shake it off. It's business per usual. and the whole time there Eric Burkart the same guy is behind the scenes finalizing a deal for the head coach. So it's just interesting how, you know, everything has kind of unfolded.

In that regard, I will say it's interesting that Cliff Kingsbury would get an extension at this point because, yes, he has improved, you know, over the course of the three seasons. You know, the season that last year's record was second best all time. for the franchise. So there's in those, if you just take a look at wins and losses, the team certainly has improved in certain ways over the course of his tenure. I still feel like he has a lot to prove as an NFL head coach. So, you know, it is an interesting, you know, an interesting move, especially that he got the deal before Kyler did. And when it comes to Steve Kime, you know, I would say that he's not the fan base's best friend at all times. he gets knocked for whether it's things that have happened in his personal life,

whether it's draft picks, you know, whatever the case may be. But at the end of the day, he has also been the general manager under some of the most successful periods of this franchise. He hired Cliff Kingsbury. And he has a very good relationship with Michael Bidwell. And for that reason,

I'm not surprised that Steve Kime got the extension. Okay. Lindsay, if you're Kyler Murray and you're in the situation where you are waiting for an extension, you are feeling some type of way about it, you've taken the social media about it, and you see your head coach and your general manager get an extension before you as a starting quarterback of a franchise. Would you feel slighted about that? I would definitely feel some type away. But at the same time, I don't think they're really connected to each other at all because the money allocated for those two roles, I think, are completely.

different than the money allocated for players. So I'm not overly, I wouldn't be overly worried about that. I would just maybe be like, okay, now that you guys got that out of the way, took a load off your plate, let's focus in a little bit more on getting this side of things done. Yeah. It's such a polarizing situation with the Cardinals. It kind of sucks, to be honest with you, just as like a fan perspective. Because you never want your franchise to be involved in any type of drama, especially when

it's coming, when it has to do with your players, right? because that always is super disappointing for everyone involved. But at the same time, for me personally, I, this might be a controversial statement. I don't know. I always tend to side with players in majority of situations strictly because the players are the product. If you don't have players, you don't have a league. And I think for years, it was traditional to, you know, the organization, the franchises

were the ones who were calling all the shots, make a majority of the money. And I'd like to see that kind of correct itself into at least a 50-50 type of split between players and franchises. I agree. I'm also, I've never been a fan if you've ever heard me on the Cardinals podcast. I don't appreciate divas and I don't appreciate an entitled mentality. And there's a little bit, I feel like there's a tint of that going on when it comes to Kyler Murray. And all those who are saying, I mean, I saw as much as people on Twitter saying, Kyler Murray should request a trade today because Cliff and Kime got contracted

extensions before him. What is wrong? And here's where we get into like the bigger conversation of like, oh, just sign him now because there could be problems moving forward. Just make him happy. What's, if you have any doubts as to whether or not, and I don't think we're doubt, anybody's doubting his skill level and the talent that he could be and the fact that he has improved, right? But in order to sign him to a long term and the money that he's wanting, I'm sure, is, you know, 40 million plus per year is something that you want to make sure that you get that right. And what is wrong with having a situation where you've got to prove it? Right. And what is wrong with having to sit there and say, listen, we like you. We do feel like you're a part of our

long-term plan here in Arizona. But we do have some things that we want to see improve. You play your ass off this year for us, we continue to see that upward trajectory and finish the season where we think that you will finish the season, we'll give you your money. But I think, you know, the difference between Cliff and Kyler could be as simple as they said, hey, we'll give you an extension and Cliff's that, I know I'm lucky to have this job. Here we go. Let's sign on the dotted line. Or say, where they might be saying to Kyler, okay, yeah, we do want you to be a long term. If you want to get a deal done now, here's what we'll give you. And Kyler's saying, screw that. I'm not, I'm not going to do that.

And we saw a little bit of that come out in the statement, right? Like, oh, Paul's in your court. This is what Kyler's done. This is, you know, whatever. And so that, so that could, it could be as simple as Cliff got a deal done earlier because Cliff was easier to work with. So this shouldn't, or willing to accept less. Exactly.

I mean, we talk about it with the sons all the time in the D'Andreight and Landry Shammett situation. Landry Shammett, it was $40 some million. Like DeAndrean wanted a max contract. Right. So it's apples to oranges. It's not the same thing. Right.

And he has handled the, hey, we want you to go out and prove it pretty damn well. Well, and speaking of like, you know, resumes and what went into this, I mean, Cliff is already ninth all time in wins for the franchise. He only has to slightly double his win total to sit at first all time in wins. And then Steve Kheim has overseen the most consistent run of success in the franchise history. He has gone 76 and 67 and 2 since taking over his general manager. So I mean, you guys talked about the reaction on social media and there was a lot of mixed reaction. I mean, there was a tweet from our social account, PHNX underscore sports, just asking fans how they felt and the reaction was so mixed.

Yeah. A lot of people were pro-Kime or sorry, pro-cliff anti-Kime. A lot of people were just mad that they both got it before Kyler did. But I feel like, you know, there is some truth to their resume. Obviously, like they have some success in this in this franchise. So I don't think that the extension is necessarily completely out of the blue and uncalled. for like some fans are saying. I feel like they have done things to deserve an extension. And like Lindsay was saying, they probably, you know, were more easy to work with and willing to take a deal

because like you even said, Cliff was like, I'm lucky to have this job. I'll sign on whatever line you want. He literally does feel that way. And I'm sure he really does want to stay in Arizona and have this opportunity. And so both, I'm sure it was easier for both sides to come to an agreement and say, okay, you know what, that's fair. Yeah. And so I feel like, you know, an extension, was it deserved, I think so yes. Kime, I'm kind of on the fence about. I think some of his like personal life decisions kind of cloud my unbiased judgment when it comes to like football decisions. But I just don't understand like the enragment, I guess, behind the decision from fans just because I think like you have you need a head coach and you need a general manager.

And for the most part, Cliff and Kime have proven to be successful in certain ways. And also, you know, the Cardinals had a quarterback who they drafted and very high. and Josh Rosen and they completely abandoned Josh Rosen, flipped jump ship and drafted Kyler first overall, brought or had Cliff Kingsbury because they wanted Cliff and Kyler to work together. So, I mean, they've made this entire organizational shift. And now I feel like they have to commit to it, right? Like, I feel like to abandon Cliff now would be, I don't, I just, I feel like it'd be abandoning too soon.

Well, if you abandoned Cliff, you got to abandon it time, right? Yeah. So, uh, I don't think Bidwell was, I, I, you know, I, It's also hard to say when your franchise has had the most success it's had. Right. You know, really, this stretch could potentially be the most successful, right? And so Steve Kahn has done a lot of great moves to keep them in a position to win games. And really, the team was in a position to make a deep playoff run this year.

Injury, you know, whatever the case is. I don't want to recap the whole year. But they were in a great position. And he was the one that was able to get deals done to bring guys over. over like, you know, Zach Ertz, for instance, mid-season, and the list goes on and on and, you know, going back to what he was able to do last season and bring guys in. And so, Steve Kime, I feel like has done a pretty dang good job in recent history specifically, right? If you mean, if you take the last, you know, the last, you know, year, you know, he's done his job. He's done a lot of things well for as much as you could sit there and say that he hasn't done well. And I'll be interested to see, you know, you know, how he doesn't. in the draft because that's you know we always that's his biggest knock we always want to see what he's able to do in the draft um but yeah i just i mean even now i'm getting zms that are rolling in uh or comments rolling in um you know one saying this announcement is a middle finger to kiler

murray's camp see if you get a new contract cliff you get one to kiler take a seat your contract's not ready so i'm going to agree with you it's just like why is that such a bad thing yeah i don't get it you mean making him prove it for another year even the fact i mean kyle could get a deal in freaking two weeks from now. Why does it matter that they sign on the dotted line first? I just don't get it. I don't think that matters as much to me, but getting a deal done just from like if we're taking names out of this, right?

We're just like inserting player one, player two here, right? My whole thought process on this, if I were a player wanting to get paid and getting a deal done, at the end of the day, I'm the one taking the risk. NFL contracts are not always guaranteed money-wise. I'm putting my body on the line, my future on the line. Like I could get injured tomorrow. Or if you want me to prove it for another season, what if I have a horrendous injury go down?

And now I'm up a creek without a paddle because I don't have any money to my name. And I got injured working for you, busting my butt for you trying to help you win games as an organization. So for me, from a player perspective, I'm the one who's risking majority of the things when we're talking about my literal body and quality of life, pay me my money.

Yeah, but that's also, that's also that I'm covered in the event that something like that would happen. That's part of it. It doesn't mean that you have to have $45 million. He is still in a situation where he has to prove it. So he is going to get guaranteed money. And I would say if he, even if he got injured next year, if he totally balls out for the first, you know, part of the season and then gets,

gets injured, I wouldn't say that like he's got no future in the NFL. So it's not a situation where it's like if I get injured, I'm not going to be able to feed my family. My biggest issue with this is I get that. And every player should be looking out for themselves. And I totally get that aspect of it. But why if you're, I just feel like at this point, there's probably some sort of question mark surrounding him. Right. And so I don't know. maybe if you hadn't pulled some of the crap that you pulled, maybe we would be having different conversations. But why reward, you know, just this, and some people seem to think that if he doesn't get this deal done, he's not going to be out there on the field at all. But why put this sort of,

you know, sort of like a tantrum style negotiation out in public and say, well, you know, if that's just the case that I'm just not even going to play. When you've only been in the league for three years and you suffered the downward trend that you, and you were the quarterback of the team last year, and then you lost, and the way that you lost and you threw a tantrum on the sidelines, and then you scrub your social media, et cetera, there is something there. Then you've got Larry Fitzgerald's dad coming out and calling you spoiled. I mean, there is something there, okay? So I feel like there's probably conversation. right now as I don't care what they say publicly that yes we appreciate you know we are behind him he's

grown as a leader there's probably still a question mark and if that's still a question mark the conversation needs to be listen Kyler you are part of our long term plan we want to see you grow as a leader in this next year you grow as a leader we think you can prove us prove yourself right right prove yourself right and we got you next year what is wrong with that I'm I mean, I agree with you. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But I can imagine Kyler just, I mean, obviously Kyler's on a completely different page and he doesn't agree with us. He thinks that he's earned that money and he thinks he deserves a contract extension now.

And I'm sure. So we just say, oh, shoot, he's going to throw a tantrum. So we better just make him happy. So let's just give him $45 million a year. Yeah. I mean, that's tough. I mean, not even for like pro football focus had a tweet yesterday that said they estimated a contract for Kyler to be. six years, $275 million.

No. Would you give him that? No. You know what? I would give him next year. If they go in a deep playoff run, he improves. We're not talking about this leadership BS anymore. And he really does, you know, prove himself.

Give it to him next year. Yeah. It's a tough spot to be in. The fact of the matter is if they don't have any question marks, whatever the market value is, he should be right in the mix of that. Do I think he deserves to be at the very top? No, I don't. Do I think he is the guy that's going to reset the market? No, I don't. And that contract is pretty high up there. Yeah. To being like one or two in terms of before the market resets again of highest paid quarterbacks. I don't know that he belongs there. But certainly if they go farther next year and he improves, then he definitely, yeah, you got to pay that. If he's your guy, he's your guy, pay them. But if there's a question mark, let it play out another year.

So now that Cliff and Khymer under contract, do you think this increases the likelihood that Kyler's deal will get done this year? I think they're two completely separate conversations. I don't think that any of them have anything to do with each other, to be honest with you. I think he'll make it be that way. And certainly his agent will probably fight for that, right? Yeah, it's a tactic for sure. Yeah. And so I'm leaning towards he probably will end up getting.

some sort of a deal done unless I don't know what they're trying to negotiate. So I don't know if it's absolutely outrageous or what the case is. If they are not willing to come down off of a number that the Cardinals are saying like, we cannot. Again, I don't know. Yeah. Then maybe they're at a stalemate, but I do think it would get ugly. And that's really unfortunate for a guy who's already carrying around the baggage of, you know, character, potential character flaws, right? So I don't know that anybody really even wins by Kyler holding out because at the end of the day, like at some point you're going to have to shed that.

Yeah. At some point you're going to have to grow up and prove yourself, you know, there's one thing to say, oh, you know, I don't care what people say, okay, well, if it's continuing to follow you around, it's becoming an issue. And I don't know that you want to like be that guy. Right. So it's probably to his overall benefit of his. career that if they can't get a deal done to go out and prove himself, right?

But I wouldn't put it past Kyler to say, listen, I'm not going to go play for five and a half million. I'm worth more than that. I would not put it past him. Yeah. I mean, obviously it's a sticky situation. The Cardinals are pretty much kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place at this point. They can either gamble on Kyler being the franchise quarterback that they need him to be and give him the money now or risk pissing him off and not giving him the money now and then not affecting his performance and things just spiraling from there. So, I mean, it's a double-edged sword and the Cardinals are definitely in a rough spot. I'm leading a little bit more towards just giving him a deal now just because as someone who unfortunately followed another football team for a majority of her life, I've seen what happens to football teams when they don't have that star quarterback and how much of that struggle it is.

And it's not necessarily a quarterback's market right now. The teams that have all-star quarterbacks are obviously not going anywhere. I mean, look at the draft this year. There's the draft for quarterbacks this year is horrible. There's really no all-star quarterbacks in this year's draft. So I just get scared because I think Kyler is better than a lot of the quarterbacks in the league right now. And I would just feel horrible.

Horrible if you left. So I was listening to Doug and Luke on the radio on the way in. And they said something that I just hadn't. It just summarized how I was feeling. I just didn't have the words to like put it into. So Wolf said something along the lines of. name me a player whose character improved because you threw a bunch of money at him. Name me a player whose leadership, whose character improved because you gave him a max deal.

Okay. You could probably say, and I don't know what off the top of my head, name me a player who improved and took a look in the mirror because they had to be in a prove it year before they got that contract. That's a good point. On the flip side, though, do we just think that even if he did get all of this money, I mean, how old is Kyler? Early 20? 24. He's a baby. I'm older than Kyler Murray.

Do we not think that just naturally he's going to grow up a little bit with age? Here's the problem. You would think that when you're a quarterback in the National Football League, You're only given so much leeway, in my opinion. And you can also point to guys who, as rookies, were natural-born leaders and the team followed them, and it didn't matter. What people weren't saying, you know,

hey, we're going to give him some slack because he's, I mean, and you do hear that. And you've heard that about DeAndre Aiton. And I mean, in every sport, you hear that, right? 24 is very young. But when there's consistent conversations, and you're starting to hear stuff from other players around the league. You get stuff like Larry's dad saying that you're spoiled. And there's consistent

conversation about who you are and your kid. That, that, it takes a lot to have those things seep out the way that they have around one player. Yeah. And you can't take a look at the guys, you take a look at the younger guys, like the Joe Burroughs and the Josh Allen's. And unfortunately for Kyler, he's probably always going to be compared to those guys because they're somewhat in the same age range and had some. success right out of the league in terms of leaders that chip in characters and a community following them. But it does exist. And the thing is, is, you know, you don't necessarily have the luxury as a quarterback to be able to say, I'm going to take six years to grow into the,

to the leader that this team needs me to be. Yeah, that's true. Well, before we move on to the Sons, I did want to check on on some other recent news. Andy Isabella was given permission to seek a trade. I know that he wasn't as involved in the Cardinals this year as he was the year prior. How do you feel about that? Are you worried about high turnover? I totally was reading Jacobs. So Josh says this is easily the most lethal room in the building right now. And then Jacob said, Josh, you can't see, but I'm behind the Mac and full body.

It's true. We could kill literally everybody. No, just kidding. Just kidding, not really. All right. Sorry. Say what you were saying again, Mac. Other news came out today, Andy Isabella, has been given permission to seek a trade.

Obviously, he is not a huge piece with the Cardinals offense. But are you worried about this? Are you worried about high turnover with this roster? Is this something that Cardinals fans should be concerned about? So I think the Andy Isabella thing, I think every Cardinal fan should be thrilled. Okay. Because I am probably like the head of the Andy Isabella fan club as a human. I think he deserves to go somewhere where he's going to be.

and gets a chance to develop. Here's why I feel like the Cardinals, you know, gave him permission. A, is they probably didn't see him as being a part of their future, right? And that's when we knew that, right? I mean, he hasn't played. He was a healthy scratch all last year. So, yeah, so Josh says it's a long time coming. Absolutely.

And you will never hear a bad thing said about Andy Isabella. Yeah. Every word that I hear about him outside of that franchise. coming out of that franchise is he's the hardest worker first to first in the building last out he's as studious as they come he wants to learn he wants to get better and he just you know he wasn't he wasn't somebody that the cardinals needed yeah and you know really needed to be on a team where he could go out he can make a few mistakes and he could get better but be in a position where he actually does get out on the field and the cardinals depth that receiver is just you know too far

down the line for him to get really any playing time. And so basically his role all of last year was to help warm Kyler up. Yeah. Free game, right? He had a role and guess what? I bet you his attitude was phenomenal. And he was given the, you know, Tirsten is just so anti-diva. I am so, I am really, really, really. There's a theme going on here. Yes, a thousand, a thousand percent. I just feel like it gets you farther in any aspect of life and at some point stand up for yourself for sure i'm also pro standing up for yourself i really am yeah i just feel like you should you know you should do it in in the right way and uh if you if you do it in an entitled way or whatever the case is um just put your head down and work because you know life is not

i was going to shake out the way that you think it's going to shake out and you know i'm sure in andy's position does he want an opportunity to just go he's probably sitting there like i know if i just got the chance. I know if I could. Just give me the chance. Just give me the chance. And he sat there and he caught passes for Kyler to the best of his day ability, every single pregame. And nobody in that building can say anything bad about him. And here we are. Andy, you have permission to request to trade. I hope you go on and you get your chance and you deserve your chance. And thank you for your service. Chris sharing that sentiment saying she's a huge fan of him. And she hopes that he gets to shine. Yeah. I hope so. Some other Cardinals news before we move on to the suns are going to

Mexico. Lindsay, are you excited for the Cardinals going to Mexico? I mean, this has to be a good thing for the franchise, right? Totally. I love when leagues extend their games into different countries. I got to go to Mexico City twice with the Suns, and it was one of the coolest experiences that I've had working in sports. So big fan of this move. And I think being our proximity so close, like, you want that fan base to be fans of your team. You want that support. Like, I, every, Every time I go to Mexico City, I always see Lakers jerseys and Warriors jerseys as far as basketball goes. And I'm just like, I need to bring some more Sun's jerseys. Unless you go to Rocky Point, like I just did, and literally everybody there's from Arizona. I saw lots of Sun's jerseys. But I love it. Yeah, I think it's a great thing, too.

I'm excited that they got the opportunity to go to Mexico. I feel like they probably... Actually, can I tell you a quick story? I was in the hot tub at Rocky Point. Not this past weekend, the weekend before. Yeah. Just chilling, having a little drink, looking at the ocean. And I hear a little Kyler Murray and the Cardinals banter.

They were talking about Kyler's attitude. And they were like, I don't like him. And so it just, I'm not saying, they're basically just saying, and I just summed it up. So like by the saying, like, I don't like a. They were just saying, like, I don't like the attitude aspect of it. He's a great player, but something needs to change. So I'm in Mexico and a hot tub in Mexico trying to enjoy my arturita. That's the important part here.

It was a hot time. I'm just sitting the scene for you guys. Making us all jealous because we were here in Phoenix. I was just like, you know, I was not even thinking about sports at the moment. I was just checking out and I could not escape the storyline. Yeah. Well, I feel like, I mean, the Cardinals have been making news this entire time. I mean, there's been other things going on and the Cardinals are just like, nope, this is our new cycle.

Thank you very much. We're going to be here all year. It just not to circle back on this, but just a final two thoughts. I just feel. so like I feel like we hold players to higher standards in sports than we do anybody else within the organizations and things of that sort as far as like the way that they carry themselves their attitudes how they decide to go about their business like I think we need to understand too that at the end of the day we're talking about human beings and yes we're also talking about

millions and millions of dollars but if you took that situation and applied it to your own life and how many times have you worked for an organization that told you if you put your head down and you do the work and you show up and you commit and you show me how much you care about this organization you will get it in time and then you get screwed the F over you get passed over for promotions you don't get a pay raise they bring in somebody else to do the job that you were quote unquote proving yourself to do like it happens all the time and when you are at the top of the top in your industry, like every single player who plays sports professionally, like one through whatever on any team, you are still at the top of the top in your industry.

You deserve to get paid. You don't deserve to get told, prove it even more. I'm already in this league. I'm already in the 1% of athletes who are able to play this game. You are a billion dollar organization. You can pay me my money. because I worked already to get here. Yeah. I have done the work to put in. And yes, I can continue to do the work, but at the end of the day, like,

these are human beings who are the only people, the only person they should be looking out for is themselves. I understand it is polarizing because at the end of the day, there are tons of people who work in this organization that do rely on the things that you do and the work that you bring to help make their paychecks cash every week. And there's a whole fan base that's behind it that relies on you for,

escape from day to day life and entertainment and joy and connection and community and all these things. But it's just like if it were if it were one of the three of us and you guys came to me and you're like they, PHNX keeps telling me I'm going to get a raise. They keep telling me I'm going to be made this. You want the raise before you're entitled to it because you're not entitled to it until your contract is up. So you want it early. Remember that. Remember you want early. But you would also want to hold on to that talent if you value them. I know but H&X value me as an employee. A lot of times you You don't even get your extension. Let's just say you want it a year early.

It's not even until the summertime sometimes. Why do you need it right the second? Basically, this is just an argument for us. You have more money. Just kidding. No, I'm just saying like, I just think we hold. I think sometimes there's such a disconnect between the human part of professional sports and like real life human beings.

Yeah, but here's the thing. That if you put yourself into that same situation within the context of your own life, you would probably be just as frustrating. as Kyler is, the difference is is that we all don't have as big of a platform as Kyler has to use as leverage. We don't always bash a player for wanting more. Let's take a look at Chandler Jones, who wanted more than ended up requesting a trade and then ended up obviously playing last year, though. I don't think anybody at any point was like, oh, my God, Chandler, he's just the worst. He's not a team player. He's got an attitude. How dare he be in that position where he wants at that, at, at his age with that production, how dare he ask for a long-term big money deal and then ask for a

trade? Honestly, I think for the most part, we do give a lot of leeway to players as just being understanding. I think every single case is a different situation, but you're not wrong. We do sometimes hold athletes to higher standards without, you know, looking in the mirror. We totally do. For sure. But I would not, I would not give the Kyler situation that sort of pass because the truth of the matter is the whole conversation that we're having now didn't just start now. Yeah. It started a long time ago. All right. Let's get into the suns because we still we still got another. We still have three more teams to check in on in the state of the state address. I do. We just want to have nice things for hours. We just want to have nice things like

Chris said. We are Arizona sports fans. We can't have nice things. It's fine. All right. Well, actually the sons are pretty nice. They've hit a little bit of a bump in the road, So if you haven't checked in on them lately, they're still the best team in the NBA. They're sitting at a 49 and 12 record. There's still six and a half games ahead of the Golden State Warriors who are behind them in the standings. And then the best team in the east right now is the heat at 41 and 21. So the sons still have a pretty healthy lead. However, it was just announced today that Devin Booker is entering health and safety protocols, which for whatever reason, I feel like it's so random.

Like, we haven't done health and safety protocols. what feels like so long. So hopefully he's okay. You already have COVID this season? Hit the very beginning during training camp. So people saying Kendall, Jenner gave him COVID. I can't confirm or deny.

But I was heard Rudy Gobert. Yeah. Well, Rudy Gobert gave everybody COVID. It's obviously a joke. And he'll never live that down. No, we never will. So they're going to have to play their next game. At least he's expected to at least miss tonight's game.

They've already lost their last two games to the Pelicans and the Jazz. They're already missing Chris Paul, who's out six to eight weeks with a hand injury. Lindsay, are you hitting the panic button? No. No panic button? No. Here's the thing. It sucks.

It totally sucks. Hopefully, Cam Payne is coming back tonight. He was upgraded to Probable and Tori Craig kind of maybe let us in on a secret last night after practice that Cam is going to play tonight. Fingers crossed for that. So at least we have somebody. there to kind of fill that point guard role outside of just Aaron Holliday and Alfred Peyton. I guess if you're looking for a silver lining here, depending on maybe how bad of a case

this may be for Devin is that we don't have to worry about him playing 40 minutes for the next 10 days, potentially every single night. There you go. Maybe, just maybe, he could get a little bit of rest. I don't know. Silver lining. Trying to find a silver lining here. I could already envision it.

I could envision, like, halfway through their playoff push, he says, you know what? All of a sudden, he's just, he's playing his best basketball when he returns and, and, and then just playing lights out in the playoffs and says, you know what I feel like really was a difference maker? Is when I had those few extra days off during health and safety protocols. Maybe it's a week. And he was really able to just take a break and refresh. We're trying to keep it positive, you guys. I'm doing the best that I can hear you guys.

I am absolutely... But you're not hitting the panic button. No, I'm not hitting the panic button because they do have a little bit of a cushion, right? I think if it was an injury too, it'd be like, oh, crap. Yeah, but health and safety protocols, he could be out for a few days, he could be out for a week, but it doesn't necessarily mean that, like, okay, this is going to be four to six weeks.

Then when he comes back, he's got to rehab and he's got to adjust, like all those things, like health and safety protocols is wildly different than an injury. Well, and the thing, too, with health and safety protocols, the way the NBA is kind of like going about the process here. It's a certain level of whatever the things are within the test. So he could miss one game. He could miss like three days. He could miss seven days.

He could miss 14 days. It's all so up in the air just based on how his body is able to kind of process this whole thing and get over it. And it just kind of depends on how quickly or slowly that situation kind of unfolds. but it's going to be, it's going to suck. We're probably going to drop a few more games. The Blazers tonight, you know, it's a winnable game. It was absolutely winnable before this Devin Booker news. I still think that this team could find a way to win tonight's game.

I think that having dropped two in a row already has just hopefully sparked something within that group of guys. Like, this is not what we are about. We don't enjoy this. None of us enjoy it. So I'm sure they, it's even. worse for them that they're going to try and find a way to bring this thing together and pick up a few wins here over this stretch of basketball without Chris Paul and Devin Booker. Yeah, Charles Woodall Pike saying, I mean, the Sons will get through this, but to lose both

of your all-stars like this is going to definitely test your depth. I 100% agree. Thank God. The Sons somehow managed to put together an incredible roster, who I honestly have faith in. Obviously, it's going to be a struggle and, you know, not having CP3 was a huge hit, and then now you're missing your best, the best back court in the NBA. but I think, you know, the sons, they'll be able to hopefully hold on and hopefully Devin's not missing a lot of games. Definitely missing tonight, like you said.

And Josh saying it's incredible that the twins met hundreds of people at the lemonade stand and Booker is the one that gets COVID. Yeah, classic. Knock on wood, Josh, because you never know what will come out the next five days from that. You better knock on wood. Do you think that CP3 being injured is going to have serious ramifications on this team? Do you think that they're going to drop in the standings? Do you think it will affect their playoff pickings? sure instead of going from like a one or two seed to like a lower seated team no no I still have faith that

they'll end up with the one seed um so you think they'll end the year we kind of did the math and they had to go 500 over these last final games and then the warriors had to do really well and they haven't been doing really well I was going to ask what the actual math on that I don't have the exact numbers but basically if the sons went 500 over the the remaining games post all-star break and the warriors played pretty well and only lost a handful of games with their remaining, then it would have been close. But I'm not overly concerned about it, to be completely honest with you. I think we'll be fine.

I think they'll end up getting some chemistry and figuring out this situation that they're in and being able to scrape a few wins together. So you think they'll still finish first in the West? I think so. It's a good team. I understand. Obviously, you're missing two All-Stars. Like, that's a big deal.

So hopefully Devin isn't out for too long, but I think they'll be okay. Sometimes facing adversity throughout the season is a positive thing, especially when you get into the, like, especially if you can face it in the regular season and you're backed full strength during the postseason. You can say, like, remember when we did this or we got better because, you know, we had to be better or, you know, whatever the case is. Sometimes it actually can be a good thing. Yeah.

I definitely agree that it could be a good thing. I'm a little worried about it, though. I don't know. I just. Chris in the comments. She says, I honestly think the CP3 injury is allowing growth that wouldn't have happened. Yeah. And that's exactly the case.

Like, you're putting a little extra pressure, a little more responsibility on guys who thus far have not had to feel that as much because they were able to rely on Chris Paul because they're able to rely on Devin Booker for some of these big things. But that's what I'm worried about though is because when Chris Paul went out, like the biggest thing was, okay, this is Devin Booker's time to shine. He's going to make a run for the MVP. He's got to step it up. That was us talking. That was the fan base talking. That's not what Monty and his. coaching staff and Devin are talking about behind the scenes.

They're talking about it's a team effort. How can all of us as a group come together and make this work? They're not being like, oh my God, Devin, take all of it. And I totally know that. I do too. But I mean, you'll hear them this morning after shoot around. Javelle McGee, all the guys were like, it's Landry Shama. It's not about me individually and what I need to do better.

It's about how can we all collectively. support one another and come together as a group to win game. I will say, I think my absolute favorite thing, and there's many things about the Sons team that I love, but I think my favorite thing is the culture of this team, their humbleness and their willingness to admit when they're wrong or when they made a mistake and their willingness to show up for one another.

Like I think the fact that James Jones and Monty Williams have constructed a team that is this selfless. And I just like, I don't even know, even watching the players at the lemonade stand interact with each other. they didn't have to show up there. Like it wasn't, you know, something that the team required them to do. But they did it because they've built this camaraderie that I think is just so amazing to watch and like seep through everything that they do.

And I'm just, I'm obsessed with this team. I love them so much. And I like Chris Paul showing up because two of your younger guys had a little bet going on. And I was doing a lemonade stand. Chris Paul did not have to show up. No. I just, I love this team. I love them more than anything.

I think they have the best chemistry and it's cool to see them play for each other. Each and every person knows their role and they are okay with it. And there's no, I mean, that's why you see a team like, you know, like the Lakers. Yeah. We're probably going to miss out on the playoffs, right? Have, you know, they've got some big names on there. But you know where a lot of that stems from? James Jones and Monty Williams.

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. It also comes from the players, the individuals themselves, for sure. You have to have players who are willing to pie into that. But it starts at the top with Monty. Which is why I'm so glad James Jones. and sign the contract extension this season, right, the 2021-22-2 season. And then Monti Williams is only in year three of his five-year deal, but I don't see it

in any world not extending him or having him stay around to be a coach longer. Because if there's any general manager head coach tandem in the valley that deserves to be here longer, it's those two. Yeah. And plus, there was so much turnover coach-wise for so long with this Bern-Jess. Oh, my gosh. When you find yourself a good coach, which they have clearly, you better lock him in. Yeah.

You better pay that man. Speaking of knowing your role, obviously there's been talks of other extensions with DeAndre Aitin, not getting his rookie Max deal. Do you think he's earned it? Do you think he's done enough? I know he went through some injuries and he wasn't playing for a stretch there. Do you think that he's done enough to earn that extension now or do you need to see him in the playoffs before you're ready to give him that extension? I don't like this question. Yeah, because now you have to back up.

what you preach, right? I just don't like this question because it is so polarizing again. It's frustrating. But I think DeAndre Eaton has what it takes to be a max player. I think that it would be a disservice to this team to lose him. Yeah. And I think you have to spend money to make money. So pay that man his money.

All right. There you have it. Before we check in on our other two teams. Wait, I was just going to say, I was just going to say, But I didn't have a problem like heading into the season without having that deal done. I would say at this point, yeah, he definitely. I mean, he handled things the right way. I think they need him.

I think he should be part of the long term plan here. But I didn't mind going into the season without having that contract done. That's what I'll have to say. Yeah. That's fair. That's fair. All right. Before we check in on the Diamondbacks and the coyotes, I have to tell you guys about the

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I'm so sorry if I butchered. I'm sorry if I butcher that man's name. At least you didn't say that they were like playing on the court and do something before the first period. Like I think you got everything right. Just a little bit of a just maybe a little bit of a name of judgment. I'm definitely exposing myself. Names are hard. I'm supposed to know everything about sports, but I don't know anything about UFC.

I can't stomach it. I don't. I don't enjoy watching people beat each other up. It really hurts my soul. I can't. I can't watch it. Can you? Yeah.

No. Okay, that's official hunger games. I am the champ in this room. Y'all can't stomach it. I'm the champ. I got it. No, fine, absolutely not.

I just do not enjoy that because I also, with every single punch and whatever, I'm like, okay, your body's going to feel that for the rest of your life. And then that too, and then you'll never be the same after that blow to the head. Like, I just can't. It hurts my heart.

I don't like it. Speaking of money, those athletes need to get paid a hell of a lot more. Yeah. Pay them too. Well, speaking of getting paid, baseball players. It's your time to get paid too. We just want everybody to have money. Baseball freaking sucks.

And I know Chris in the comments is about to go off. And I'm so happy that Chris is here for this because good Lord Almighty, I'm sick of this shit. I'm sorry, I don't like to curse, but I'm so mad about this. Baseball is still in a lockout. They thought that they had a deal done at like 3 a.m. yesterday morning and then they went to bed and they woke up and they chose violence. and they don't have a deal. I'm just beyond frustrated at this point.

Manfred spoke in an irritating press conference yesterday with a shit grin on his face, which really makes me mad saying that the first two weeks or the first two series of the regular season are for sure canceled. We haven't had an update on spring training recently, but the last time we heard there would be no games earlier than March 8th. I'm definitely sure that that's going to get pushed back once again because they still don't have a deal. to me it seems like the players are digging their heels in, which I think that they should because the CBA is going to set up not only their contracts, but the contracts for the future generations of players that are going to make their way through Major League Baseball.

And I don't think that they should allow the owners and Manfred to bully them into taking less because they created the situation where they didn't talk for like 40 days in the off season. And now that they're backs up against the wall and games are getting canceled, which players aren't getting paid for, by the way. the players are missing out on all the money from canceled games, they just expected the players to kowtow to whatever they want. And I don't think that's right. I think that the players need to dig their heels in. And if that means no baseball, fine, because I hate Manfred. You want to talk about entitlement.

But no, okay. This is affecting so many people's lives because you're talking about the players. And sure, a good majority of the players probably have enough money to float them during this whole situation. there are players who probably do not have enough money. And now you're talking about how many organizations that have how many people working for them who are now in fear that they're going to lose their jobs, that they're going to end up getting the boot out of an organization because the organization is no longer making money because there's no games to be played

and they got to cut costs, quote on quote. Like you are affecting so many people's lives. Cut it out. Figure it out. and pay people what they deserve. Again, without players, you have no league. So. Yeah.

No, it's literally it's assonite at this point. I think, you know, the owners having to suffer through the COVID season, seeing what happened when there was no baseball for a while, and then still not being willing to meet the players, not even halfway. They have moved inches from their original stance is just crazy to me. Like, they are sacrificing growing the sport, getting a younger audience. They're sacrificing so they're literally wasting Mike Trout's prime.

Well, Mike, the angels are wasting his prime, but whatever. It's so, I just, I don't understand it. I really don't. I mean, the players are fighting for their salaries to be on par with the rest of the sports leagues. And they're trying to make sure that they're growing at the same rate, the rest of the sports leagues are growing. And the fact that the owners are just so unwilling to compromise in any way, shape, or form blows my mind. Owning a baseball team is owning a billion dollar business. And And playing the players what they deserve isn't going to cut into your bottom line enough to make an impact on what's going into your pocketbook. The fact that you don't want to play your players just so that it can keep on pace with how the other sports leagues are growing, I don't get it. I genuinely don't understand.

And I think it's so dumb that they have all of these demands that the players do this and the players do that. And then they're not even willing to pay them for that. I just think it's just beyond. I'm so tired of it. I'm just here to make really, really wealthy people pay other people deserving amounts of money. It's crazy to me. I don't. I wholeheart.

I think the most egregious thing that the league did was hold off on any kind of responding in any way for so long. They did it on purpose, though. Right. That's why I'm saying it's the most egregious thing that they did to the point where it's gotten to this point. And now we're talking about, you know, not playing games and things like that. And I feel like they're intentionally trying to flip the script on like, well, the players could play if they wanted to and they're not. And I think that's the most egregious thing they did. Yeah.

The problem, I for sure am siding with the players. So don't get me wrong. I am. There is a bigger problem, though, because you want to talk about, I'm just going to go off of something that you said of paying players, you know, on part with the rest of the leagues that are growing. Baseball's not growing. Well, then that's on them at the top to adjust the same. sport to allow it to grow. I agree. If your sport is struggling in whatever way, shape, or form, that's literally on you. It's your job. It's not the player's job to make sure that this

organization is structured correctly and run correctly to where it can be more profitable. Yeah. That's your job. Yeah. The league is literally run by the dumbest human being on the face of the planet. And he does nothing to help it grow. He does nothing to help market the star players that they have. I'm pretty sure if Bryce Harper was in a supermarket in Arizona, I don't really think anybody would recognize him. Like, that's how bad MLB markets its players. And of course, that's, I mean, the players, you know, they do if they can. They have player run media sites. They, they make themselves accessible on social media. And it's honestly the league's fault for not growing the sport. And Jason, you're absolutely right. The sport is not growing. You know,

young people aren't watching baseball. Nobody under the age of like 35 wants to sit and watch a six-hour long baseball game. You know, it's just not, it's not realistic and the sport's not growing, but it's on the league to make sure that that sport is growing and all the things that they do between blocking out local games in your market to, you know, whatever else you want to, you want to blame the league for. Like, it's all on them to make this sport more accessible, to make it more exciting, and to help grow it. And they're not doing that. And then they're also locking out their players. They're not paying them enough. And then they expect, you know, the players should just go along with it. And I don't think they should. I think they should dig

their heels in. And if that misses, that means no baseball till July, then fine. Because the CBA is going to affect the sport for 20 plus years. And I just think it's time for them to stand up for themselves. It's worth it. Yeah. So I'm, I mean, I'm bummed. Don't get me wrong. Like the fact that I'm not outside at a baseball stadium right now with a beer in my hand watching a spring training game really makes me upset. I thought you're about to cry. I was like, oh my gosh. Well, I might. Okay. I know. I got choked up for a second there. I just love baseball so much. But no, I mean, like I love spring training. I mean, you got, I know that you're not the biggest baseball person, Lindsay. Oh, I love spring training. It's so fun. Yeah. I mean, go ahead. Sorry. I haven't visited a ton of the ballparks and like,

for sure. One thing that I want to do is get to all of them here and like all the spring training ballparks and see a game in each of each of them. So like I think I've been to three and like definitely was looking forward to trying out a new like ballpark this year. But yeah, I mean, spring training is like, there's nothing just more relaxing because this is also like the perfect time in Arizona. the weather is absolutely perfect. So just sitting outside in the most perfect weather with a beer in your hand and it's just being so relaxing. I almost like it better sometimes than like if I were to go to like a just a general

like middle of the regular season game. Like that of ice game. Yeah. Yeah. Training is fun. Not only that, but bring it all the way back to money again. How much money is being lost by people who work. No, people who work spring training games.

Yeah. Majority of the people who work spring training games are constantly. contracted employees, meaning they don't get paid unless they have a job to show up to. These are people who rely on this stuff for their livelihood. We saw this happen in 2020 when, you know what, hit the fan with the pandemic. There were so many contracted employees who don't have long-term benefits like health care or a steady paycheck or anything of that sort, who are industry workers within sports who lost so much. money again this is just another way that you are screwing over the people who help make your sport go because without all of them again you don't have you don't have games on tv yep period

because they're the ones who put your games on tv and now you are hurting them and their families like just cut it out just cut it out just give them what they want i think i'm going to hold this comment because i know we're going to get into it a little bit with the tv deals it's not just the league it's also the tv it's the oh yeah tv company are just guilty. There's no better. There's blackouts. Yeah.

Like it's because if everybody, the whole country could see it, then they wouldn't get their money, right? It would just air on like one network, right? So that's where you get your regionals and things like that. But anyway.

And I will say to a lot of people ask me on Twitter when I think baseball is going to start up again. And honestly, I don't know. The one thing that I've noticed through this entire thing is that the baseball players are really unified on this. There hasn't been one player to speak out saying,

I just want to start. I just want to, I don't care. Like, let's just start. Like, whatever. All the players are really. really unified on this because they know it not only affects them, but like I said earlier, the future generations of baseball players that are going up through Major League Baseball. So, you know, I don't know. I think the players should dig their heels in for as long as they

can and as long as it takes for them to get what they rightly, I think, have earned. So like I said, if that means we don't get baseball until July, we don't get baseball until July. But I definitely think at this point now that the first two series of the regular season have been canceled, it's just going to be a domino effect and just more series are going to get canceled. So for all my baseball people out there, just prepared to be sad for a little while longer. I'm really sad about that. Okay, just really quickly on the coyotes because there's not a lot to talk about there because they've been bad for so long. In case you haven't checked in a while, they are definitely the worst team in the NHL.

They're sitting with the worst record at 15, 35 and 4. They've won 15 games so far this season. The NHL trade deadline is this month, however. It's coming up. It's March 21st. The coyotes, they've already made some moves. They've traded Ila Lubbushkin, Ryan De Zingle, and Carter Hutton to the Maple Leaves. They got even more draft picks, which is crazy because they already have the most draft

capital out of any team in the league for this coming draft and the one after that. There have been some people that have been brought up in trade talks. I can pretty much guarantee you, don't quote me on this in case I'm wrong, but I can pretty much guarantee you Phil Kessel will not be a member of the coyotes coming up after the trade deadline. He really wants out. And I don't really blame him because he's old and he should go to a team where they can at least contend. So in case his hockey career is coming to an end, he can end it on a high note.

Surprisingly, oh, no, me either. Let that poor man leave and go eat hot dogs with some other team. Good Lord. Lassen Krause and Jacob Chikrin, however, have also been linked to some trade rumors, which is kind of surprising to me, and I wholeheartedly disagree with trading them, because Lawson Kraus and Jacob Chikrin are both under the age of 25. They're really young and they're pretty good players. You have to have some guys that you're building around. You can't literally scratch from like start with zero. Yeah, because you know, how many times have we done this already? Exactly. Hang on to somebody. Yeah. Right. Jacob Chikrin is a great defenseman. Lawson Kraus is a great two way player. And when you're building all of this draft capital and you're picking up all these draft picks,

you have to have somebody on the team who's a veteran player who's been in the organization long enough and who's actually can, you know, hold their own and be decent to guide these young players that you all just It's like you have to have a piece some pieces of your organization still in place so that when all of your draft capital finally makes it and hits there's veteran players in the locker room that are there to guide them and to leave them Clayton Keller in case anybody's wondering he's definitely not going anywhere his well for one his contract is ridiculous and is structured horribly and I don't think anybody would want to take that on and also he's an all-star player and I don't really think the coyotes would ever let him go I think if they are going to pick one player to build around it's definitely going to be Clayton Keller but I think trading Jacob chicken or trading lasting Kraus would be a huge mistake stake because like we mentioned you have to have somebody to hold on to when all that trade when all that draft capital rather hits so fingers crossed those three stay the we'll have all the latest for you on the NHL trade deadline when it is happening but that's the latest on the coyotes I did join I did join both the suns and coyotes shows the other night when the coyotes beat the golden night and the sun's loss and it was just

so weird just like an alternate universe or the coyotes win and the sun's lose Chris and Charles in the chat both gave big kudos to the pH and X hiote show if you guys haven't checked it out definitely do so that's a good solid crew over there yeah are your feet falling asleep in this position sometimes yeah they do you just you just got to do a little wibble you got to get those toes moving in the shoes I have no feeling in my feet right now the good news is we've almost at the end of

our show but before it ends in the theme of presidential power and being in charge of things I decided that we should live in a hypothetical world where each of us are a commissioner of the sport that we represent. So I'm the new commissioner of baseball. Lindsay is the new commissioner of the NBA. Tirsten is the new commissioner of the NFL. And what we would do in a hypothetical situation if we were in charge of these leagues. And I'm really excited about this because we came up with some hilarious, some hilarious propositions for you all. If you're watching, please comment on what you think we came up with. And if you would vote for us,

if you could vote for a commissioner. I think we should start with Lindsay and her as the commissioner of the NBA. Lindsay, give us what you do declare as the commissioner of the NBA. We're going to cap ticket prices for at least a third of all tickets available to fans. And it has to be a 50-50 split between upper level and lower level. Make your product available to the community that you serve. Just because you are winning doesn't mean that you can price out fans that have been there through the times where you are losing.

Here, here. Somebody. Look at you, Sunset. Well said. Well said. As far as the WNBA goes, because I'm just going to make myself commissioner of both of these leagues,

because that's what you do when you're in charge. WMBA teams must use charter planes. Period. Don't at me. It is what it is. Pay the money if you want to own a franchise. And don't come at me with profitability because we have seen time and time.

again that when you have access to that sport, the numbers increase. Give people what they want. Make it easily available. Make the Sons keep the Valley Jersey and the Valley Court for at least a decade. I think this one might be a fan favorite, hopefully, because it's an amazing jersey. It's an amazing court. Let's just keep it around for a little while. Let us enjoy it.

Let it become like the Jersey in court, the anthem, if you will, of like this generation of Suns basketball. No television blackouts. This one's obvious. Let people watch your games. And then this one might be a little controversial, but all teams' social media accounts are allowed to clap back to whomever they want on social media without any repercussion.

Okay, I misunderstood you earlier. For some reason, I thought you said all teams and players. I'm fine with adding players in there too. I don't think the players, I feel like they will get into some tiffs that won't necessarily go well for anybody in the long. run the teams clapping back are some of my favorite like content did you see what the mercury did yesterday no what they do they announced their ticket plans and i think they're playing like the liberty for in the liberty were the people who chartered the plane and they said in their caption um oh it was something about

i'm gonna butcher it was something about a plane it was hilarious was it on twitter yeah it was like it's plain and simple but instead of plain like pl a i p l a i n it was p l a n it was p l a n e and a little little plane emoji. Hullarious. Shout to my girl Robin Brown, by the way, who runs the Mercury social media. Don't overthink it. Just keep it plain and simple

with an airplane emoji. There you go. Hilarious. My girl Robin Brown, who runs the Mercury social media, that was her genius. Do we feel like that was shade at the league or shade at the Liberty?

I think it was shade. I don't know. I mean, if I were the Mercury and I had to, I made it all the way to the finals and I had to fly a commercial, I would be a little, I'd be feeling some type of way

about the Liberty getting charmed planes. I feel like you shouldn't be mad at the liberty whatsoever. No, yeah. You should be mad at the WMBA for making this even a thing in the first place. Keep it plain and simple is a very like agreeable thing to the liberty. I feel like they could have done more of a dig. So I feel like this was a dig at the league. I think so too.

That's what I'm hoping for. Josh said maybe teasing the team, but a job at the league. In that case, I completely support it. Chris saying I love all this, Lindsay, let's go. I agree. But you support it regardless. I do. But I feel like with the W.

you specifically, you can have interleague beef with different teams. But if it's a league thing that you're kind of, you all got to get on the same page. Y'all going to go after the league. You'd be like, give us some chartered planes, bro. All right, Chirsten. What are you going to do? I'm going to change the overtime rule in the NFL so that both teams have a chance to score.

I don't need to explain myself any further because we all saw how that played out in this year's playoffs. I'm going to force the Cardinals to change or update their uniforms rather. It's time for them to get new uniforms. And what better way to force your hand than for the league commissioner to say, hey, you have to have new uniforms this year. So I will take that upon myself to make that happen. Each team must hold a press conference hooked up to a lie detector at least once every season

so that we can get some straightforward answers. This is my favorite one. Like, listen, we just need to have it, right? It would be so fun. We just need to be able to get a little bit of insight into what actually goes on because we all know. Okay, we all know that we ain't getting straightforward answers the majority of the time with what's really happening. It's just straight people. Which is why we're all over here being like, what does this mean?

What does this imply? Yeah, exactly. Like, just tell us. Then I'm going to go with no television blackouts. as Lindsay said. It just, it's so freaking obnoxious that I cannot, you know, half the time watch the games that I actually want to watch. And I've got to unfortunately just take to Twitter to get updates that way. And then no more Thursday night football.

Let's just be done with it. I think everybody will be happy. Yeah, you might lose some revenue in terms of like a TV deal there. Although you've got the NFL network that's on Thursday. So are you losing? How connected are they? Does the league own the NFL network? There's got to be too different.

That's a whole can of worms that is above my pay grade. So I just thought of it. But anyway, I'm just going to say move it to having a double-hutter on Monday if you need to. But just get rid of the Thursday night football games. Nobody likes them. And fans, I mean, obviously the more football that we can get is better. But I would say like the majority of fans would say like if there's one thing that make like to change with the schedule it's just get rid of Thursday night football or double up on Monday night football get rid of Thursday

I just say I have a double head around Monday then yeah exactly I'm so pro that I hate Thursday night football Thursday to me just doesn't feel like a football day like I have too much going on Thursday I got to get my hair done I got to get my nails on I'm not trying to watch a football game on Thursday well they're just never good either yeah the matchups are crap I'm also very pro the Cardinals new uniforms and I'm so pro-changed overtime rules I hate the NFL overtime rules they are atrocious I think like whatever play defense no I want to see both teams score I think college overtime rules is fine like if you have to look to a league to figure it out I think the college overtime rules are good also Josh said that he would also get rid of the pro bowl. I am going, I'm only, I'm only keeping it from, since we're talking about like a revenue standpoint, I'm going to keep it for that purpose and that purpose only because it does

bring in money. I could not care less about the damn pro bowl. The pro bowl is awful. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think players particularly care about it. But if you could, if you want to say like five time pro bowl or oh, our Kyler Murray is going to use that as an excuse to get a bit to bigger. Yeah, it's a resume booster. So like they do and they don't.

They don't really want to play in it because they don't want to get hurt. But they do want to have the honor. Yeah, exactly. It's being named a pro bowler. Yeah. Chris saying I'm totally down with all this also. Hashtaghtaghtag vote in. No one is excited for Titans Jack Thursday night football according to Charles.

I agree not watching on Thursday football. If I had a choice, I would let you be the commissioner of that. Thanks. You were much better than the current Roger Goodell sitting in the office up there. Thank you. All right. I'll round it out with what I would do. do is the commissioner of major league baseball the list is long because baseball sucks. Oh my god you're going to

take a call of them. Baseball is so bad. I have to fix so much if I was commissioners. So that's why my list is so long. Um, first of all, I would put Barry Bonds in the Hall of Fame. No, I will not be taking questions about that. He belongs in the Hall of Fame. Don't at me. I don't care about your opinion. I'm putting, I'm putting Barry Bonds in the freaking Hall of Fame. It's my first thing I'm going to do. No, just kidding. The first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to give the players what they're asking for and end the lockout. My God. They're not. asking for too much. I'm so tired of these greedy-ass owners and the stupid commissioner who's done a horrible job in the sport. Just give the players what they're asking for and a lockout, start baseball,

give us spring training. Let's freaking go. I'm tired of it. The next thing I would do is I'd get rid of the three better minimum rule and I would get rid of the universal DH. These are going to be some hot topic items that may or may not get some support, but look, baseball is an amazing sport. It's an America's pastime for a reason. Stop messing with the rules of the game. And just let it be. Nope. We don't need a three batter minimum.

We don't need a universal DH. One of my favorite things in the freaking world is watching an out of shape pitcher who can absolutely deal on the mound, step in the box and whiff it. It's hilarious. Or you get those instances where you get like a Madison Bumgarner or Zach Grinke that can actually hit. And it's so cool to watch them either hit a home run or to put the ball in place. and to help their team.

I love watching batters hit. I agree with that, but the three batter minimum is just one way that they're trying to speed the game up. The game doesn't need to be sped up. Yes, it does. Listen, listen, the game does not need to be sped up. It's perfect the way it is.

Linda, Linda, Linda, listen. The three batter minimum rule essentially eliminates lefty specialist and takes out a whole piece of strategy that's involved with baseball. And it breaks my heart. I hate it. Stop messing with the rules. just leave baseball how it is.

We don't need to change it at all. The next thing I would do would be create a salary cap and a floor because there are too many non-competitive teams in baseball that can't compete because they can't afford to buy all-star players like the Yankees, like the Dodgers, like big market teams can and it really hurts the sport. We need a salary cap and we need a salary floor. So you also on the other end don't have teams like the Rockies and the Diamondbacks

who are spending a sixth of the salary that the Yankees are spending. Like it has to be more competitive and the best way you can do that. is by installing a salary cap and floor. I feel like this is one of those things where it's like why it seems so like such a no-brainer. Yeah. And I just don't understand why it doesn't exist. I don't, I could not tell you. I have no idea why there's not a salary cap and floor in baseball.

And it's so stupid to me because there are so many teams that can't compete or keep up with the Yankees and the Dodgers of the world because they don't have the money to do it. And it's stupid. Anyways, the next thing I would do is I would let the Yankees players keep their beating. My God, what a dumb rule. Let them have a beard or a mustache for fricks sake. They're grown adults. If they want to have a beard or a mustache.

They're not allowed to have facial hair at all. That is ridiculous. Per what, like general manager? Per the Yankees. Like the Yankees are just enforced having no, they also don't have names on the backs of their jerseys. We are rich white men making rules. Yeah.

The Yankees haven't changed their uniforms in forever. They don't have names on the back. First got into broadcasting, the station that I worked for in Colorado Springs. told me that I had to cut my hair to my shoulders and couldn't wear eyeliner. And I was like, they're like, when you work for ESPN, you can wear whatever you want. But until then, it's purple eye shadow, no eyeliner, and you're going to chop your hair. Otherwise, you're not on air. Yeah, stupid. Bye. Bye. Let the Yankees players keep their facial hair. They're grown men. They're adults.

I think it's so dumb. All right. I have no more TV blackouts. I'm seriously tired of this. Baseball is the most infuriating with their TV blackouts. I, like, you, like, you can't watch time in back games in Arizona. Are you kidding me? That is the dumbest way to not grow the sports. Stop the television blackouts. The other thing is that I, so I grew up, full disclosure, I grew up in Cleveland and I haven't lived in Cleveland since I was 18. I was a long time ago. Yeah. I can't watch Indians game. Yeah. It's stupid. I literally cannot follow the team. And so my fandom has just been like, well, I would love to say that I know I can really follow this team, but the truth of the matter is I can't. And so I just sort of fell out of it. Yeah. It's

ridiculous. Baseball is the worst with their blackouts. The problem of them not being able to grow a sport has a lot to do with their blackout policy. So thanks a lot for that, Manfred. The last two things I would do is I would make the debacks go back to purple and teal. I don't care that the Rockies are also purple. I think you can have two purple teams in a league that's in a division

that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life. And purple and teal is way better than the tan and red and black, whatever disaster combo that they have on right now. And then finally, I would install myself as permanent commissioner and fireman for it. You also have I put Barry Bonds in the Hall of Fame up there.

Yeah, I addressed that at first. Oh, I missed that one. Sorry. Sorry, Manfred. Move the heck over. There's a new woman in town and I'm going to do a way better job than you, buddy. I really like Josh's suggestion to allow steroids. I want to see some 500 foot bombs off 102 mile per hour fastballs.

Honestly, I wouldn't hate that. I don't mind keeping the balls juice either. I don't know why they like got rid of that. I was all for all for that method because, For me, more home runs, the freaking better. I know the pitchers hated and it, you know, do you know why they did it? This is not confirmed, but this is what everybody believes. So the year that there were a bunch of free agent pitchers going to hit the market,

they juice the balls so that their stats would be affected so they wouldn't have to be paid as much. And then the year, the year after that, they deadened the ball so that when there was a huge class of free market hitters, that their stats wouldn't be as, I'm not even kidding. Like this is like a thing. I hadn't actually heard the theory that was tied to like the salary issues of it. I just know I just know that they they for sure like changed the ball but I didn't. They juiced it one year and then the next year they deadened it. So it was harder to hit.

Yeah. Isn't that crazy? If it does. I mean, that is the most screwed up thing I've ever heard of if that actually like is what happened. Either way, I'm all for juicing the ball. I don't know that steroids are good for you. One of my honest takes is that. But he's not.

How do we put steroids into the ball? One of my hottest takes is that steroids save baseball in the 90s after the lockout. And it looks like we might have to do something like that again because God knows how long we're going to have to wait without it. And there's a whole bunch of people who don't care about it. And the only way they get them interested is to hit bombs. So you know what? Moonshots for everybody. Do stano.

I'm just kidding. Do steroids. Don't do steroids. I don't endorse drug use. Do whatever you want. Do whatever you want. I'm not going to drug test you. I fired Manfred and I'm now.

the commissioner, I'm not going to drug test you. I'll just throw that out there. I just don't, my whole thing, okay, I don't want to be Debbie down on just real quick. I know that like, uh, a lot of football players talk about like, you know, having to take X amount of like drugs and things like that to not feel pain and go and then people have gotten, you know, addicted to certain things and like whatever. I would hate for something like, and I know we've already been through an era. I had that hasn't really been out there, but also it wasn't legal. So that's probably a reason why. I would hate to come back after the fact and be like, well, since everyone else was taking them, I was also taking them.

And again, that happened. We just, we just don't really talk about it as much. And because I felt like I had to, you know, keep on par with everybody else, now I have like these repercussions and whatever. I don't know enough about steroids, but I don't think they're good for you. So that's like my only legitimate. Chris asking, what about the sticky stuff? As commissioner, if you want to increase your spin rate by using sticky stuff, I'm not going to stop you. I'm also not going to check you. so let's stop that stupid random sticky stuff check. Anyways, there's a bunch of stuff I would do. I could go on for hours.

If you don't have the sticky stuff and you're being accused of it. Yeah. Oh my God. All right. Well, that was our state of the state address. It sounds like a no fun league to me. I know. It's literally, you guys, I can talk about this for hours.

Baseball, there's so many issues with it. And Manfred is an idiot. I will die on that hill. Thank you so much for joining us for the state of the state address. That is what we would do is commission. Follow us on Twitter. Let us know if you agree with our opinions. Or if you don't, don't tell us because we don't care. Just kidding. Make sure to join the PHNX family at go phtonx.com. Sign up to be a member so you can get access to all of our really cool stuff, including a written content and our members-only Discord. Thank you so much for joining us on the Phoenix Sports podcast. This has been the state of the state address, and we will see you next week.