The Kevin Sheehan Show - Newest Bidder...Steven A.

Episode Date: March 22, 2023

Kevin started the show with new Commanders' sale news reported earlier today by ESPN. Ben Standig jumped on to talk more "football" than "sale". Tim Murray called in to help handicap the "Sweet 16". And DC Touchdown Club/Military Bowl Chair Steve Beck was a guest to discuss a star-studded event in town on April 13th that will include Steve Spurrier, Dexter Manley, Scott Van Pelt and more.  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.

You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Sheehan Show. Here's Kevin. I'm going to begin the show with a difficult to pronounce last name. A bit of a tongue twister, I guess. Well, not like, you know, the old tongue twisters.

Like she sells seashells by the seashore. I think I just got that one right. Amazing. Or Peter Piper. See, blew it. Peter Piper picked a pick of pickled peppers. A pack of pickled peppers. whatever it is. This is just one name. It's a last name. And I get paid to communicate effectively,

but I don't get paid to communicate perfectly. By the way, notice the adverb following that verb. Not everybody gets that right, including some people that I do this podcast with, but I'm not going to certainly nitpick grammar because mine is far from perfect. However, here is, is the last name that I am going to attempt to pronounce. Apostolopolis. I think I just got it right. Apostolopolis. His first name, by the way, is Steve. Clearly very Greek. Apostalopolis. Why am I mentioning that name? Well, just a little while ago. Adam Schaefter and Brian Windhorst. How did Wendy get in on this story? Wendy's an NBA reporter. Maybe he's got a sources north of the border because Steve Apostolopoulos is a Canadian billionaire and he has,

according to Shefti and Wendy, become the newest potential bidder to tour the Washington commander's stadium and training facility as he seeks to buy the franchise. So here's another new name in here. as I and Tom and many others are telling you, hey, looks like Josh Harris, looks like much sooner rather than later. Here we go. And today we get from Windhorst and Schefter, Steve Apostolopoulos. All right. Who is Steve Apostolopoulos?

He's the managing partner of triple group companies, a Toronto-based commercial real estate firm. He's also the founder of Six Ventures, Inc., a private equity fund. And from what has been written about him here in the minutes and hour after Schephty and Wendy broke this story, it does not appear as if he is a sports team owner. Of course, that may be updated. I did a quick search to find out who this guy is, and that's what I found. commercial real estate, private equity, and roughly worth about $5 billion. So look, I'm going to basically throw up my arms right now and just say, I don't know, let's just wait.

So many people right now have so many motives, many of them are competing motives. you know, the league, the sellers and the Snyders, the bidders, the Harris group, the Tillman-Fertita group, perhaps Steve Apostolopoulos, and maybe even Jeff Bezos. There's just a lot out there. Look, there are media people out there trying to be first and be right. One of the things Tommy and I discussed a while back is you may read something today that may be accurate in the the moment in terms of the information, but may prove to be way wrong down the road. It doesn't mean that, you know, a Josh Cosman, who we've had on the show multiple times from the New York Post, or an AJ Perez at front office sports, or Schaefter, or anybody else, the Washington Post, it doesn't mean that they're not right in the moment when they're

reporting what they're reporting. When I said to you yesterday that, you know, and I want to make something close. clear on this. I did not suggest that Josh Harris would purchase the team this weekend, as if the deal would be done. What I suggested based on what I had learned is that an actual announcement that Josh Harris would be the winning bidder was imminent. And there was still going to be, you know, the attached pending league approval and, you know, whatever else would be penned. between the time that perhaps there's a letter of intent. Maybe I'm describing that wrong in this particular transaction,

but usually if there's a purchase of a company, there's a letter of intent, and then you've got some time between the letter of intent and a closing date. And on that closing date, you don't have to sit down face to face anymore because of things like DocuSign, but you close with final signatures

and the wiring of the money. and so that's, you know, what I meant yesterday. I lost my train of thought there for a moment. That's what I meant yesterday in terms of, you know, learning what others were also, you know, reporting more or less, that this was getting near the end, near the end of something will be announced. And I believed yesterday, and I still believe today, Josh Harris. but there's still going to be time between the announcement and, you know, when the actual thing is finalized.

Just like last year with the Broncos, and we talked about this, two months passed between the time the Walton slash Penner group was announced as the winning bidder of the Broncos and the deal was actually finalized. You know, it was announced in June. It was finalized in August. So if it gets announced soon, you know, put a month, two months onto the process, and it probably gets finalized sometime in May or June. But another name entering the mix here. And then I also wanted to real quickly on the conversation of ownership and sale. I wanted to read this tweet from Charles Gasperino from something he tweeted out yesterday. Gasparino is a Fox Business News reporter. He is friendly with the Snyders, by the way,

and he is somebody who has been reporting on the potential sale of this team for a while now. I think we've probably read a tweet or two from him. I know that he's made a radio appearance on 1067 The Fan, but he tweeted out yesterday, breaking on commander's sale, in all likelihood, there will be no 100% done deal by NFL owners meeting next week, according to NFL sources. Indication potential bidders still scrambling for money. The indication is that potential bidders are still scrambling for the money to meet Dan Snyder's demands.

This is an interesting take on the pre-apostalopolis story. in that everybody thought Harris and it's coming to an end and Gasperino says not 100% done deal this weekend. Now, he could be referring to what I just described, which is maybe there is an announcement, but the deal's not going to be done for a month or two. But I think the more important part to focus on with respect to the tweet that he put out yesterday is that, you know, bidders are still scrambling for the money. And I touched on this a little bit yesterday. day. This is not an easy purchase. This is not an easy purchase because there aren't many people

that can write the check. There aren't many people that are liquid enough to put the down payment of 30% of let's call, you know, the sale price $6 billion or $1.8 billion. This is, you know, a purchase if it's not Jeff Bezos that will be, you know, led by someone like Josh Harris, but it will include, obviously, a Mitchell Rails, and other investors, perhaps many other investors to get to $6 billion. I broke it down yesterday as if the price is $6 billion, Josh Harris puts in $2.5 billion, let's say Rails puts in a million, well, you still have $2.5 billion left to go. You know, if Harris is at two and a half and a half and Rails is at one and a half, well, that's three and a half. that the price is six, you got two and a half million dollars to go. And you've got to raise that through other investors who will be, you know,

minority shareholders without any kind of controlling stake. And what you get for that isn't much. But there's another layer to this that perhaps we didn't discuss enough yesterday. And that is the thing that I had mentioned, I don't know, two months ago, that the price that Snyder's, I remember initially it was like it could go for as much as $7 billion. Well, when the prospectus went out on this deal, the potential bidders shrunk. You know, there were a half dozen at least people who expressed interest and were qualified to a certain degree on that deadline of December 23rd.

And then when they got the prospectus and looked at the financials, they said, this thing's not worth $6 to $7 billion. Not even close. and we've talked about why, you know, there are more billions you have to put in for the new stadium. You've lost two-thirds of the fan base. This is not Denver, which sold for $4.65 billion. They have an existing stadium and an existing fan base that's very passionate about their Broncos. There aren't nearly as many people passionate about their Washington commanders, you know, as there used to be, not just because of the name, but obviously because of, the ownership and the losing and all of the embarrassment associated with the losing.

And so they're looking at this going, it's not worth $6 billion, but then let me add to that. In addition to it's hard to come up with the money, if you're not Jeff Bezos, because you've got to raise the capital. You get a billion dollars in debt ability from the NFL, but the NFL is going to have to, we've talked about this, probably change its rules if the prices on these franchises keep going higher if they want more demand, more qualified demand. But the other part of this is if you are buying this team, do you think that the value of the team is going to go up? Is it as much of a slam dunk as it used to be the value of this franchise is going to go up? You know, I think it'll

continue to go up. Will it go up from where Dan Snyder purchased it at $800 million to now $6 billion, potentially, even if it's only worth five a little bit more than what Denver got. I think, you know, what makes it hard is you have some billionaires that they've got the money and they just want to be a part of a sports franchise, an NFL franchise. It's a vanity purchase. But if they don't have enough money and they've got to raise money from everybody else, everybody else may be looking at this in more investment terms. Like, is there an ROI a return on my investment?

or has this thing capped out at $6 billion? And by the way, even if you think it's going to go up, is it going to go up at a much slower rate than the exponential rate that it went up over even recent years? Tepper paid like $2 billion for the Panthers or a little bit over $2 billion, and then a few years later, it's twice that in Denver. And almost three times that in D.C. potentially.

If you don't think it's going to go up like that anymore, and eventually it's going to start to cap out, look at the Angels, Artie Moreno, Tommy mentioned that yesterday, the Nats. We're seeing commitments to selling a team and then backing off of that. Now, I still think Snyder's going to sell the team. I'm just giving you the reasons why this is a difficult purchase for some. It would not be for Jeff Bezos. But I think it would be, I think it would be a difficult purchase for Steve Apostolopoulos.

if he's trying to purchase it by himself as the lead investor when his net worth at least, according to the internet, is between $5 and $6 billion. It's like not enough if it's not all liquid. Anyway, the caps lost last night 7 to 6 in overtime to the worst team in hockey. Their playoff chances, I think, are pretty much done. A wonderful night in honoring Alex Ovechkin

for becoming number two on the all-time goals. scoring list, passing Gordy Howl. Joe Beninati did a great job last night. I actually watched the end of that game. But the caps are in big trouble now with respect to the postseason. The Wizards lost again. That's good news. And now I'm going to bring on a guest, our good friend, Ben Standing, will be the first of three guests. Tim Murray's going to be on the show. We'll talk some hoops in the next segment. And then Steve Beck, who's the Military Bowl Foundation head and also runs the DC touchdown club is going to join me for just a few minutes to tell us about a star studded event in Bethesda on April 13th that I think you'll be interested

in hearing about. But let's bring on our good friend Ben Standing from the Athletic. And before we get to football talk and commanders talk, did you watch the World Baseball Classic final last night? We had Otani and we had Trout. in the final at bat. Tommy talked me in to watching this thing last night. And I was flipping around. I'm not going to lie to you. I was flipping around between that, the caps, the wizards. And I also had an NIT game. I was on Wisconsin last night against Oregon. But other than that, it was thrilling. I caught the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings primarily. I know that you were tweeting about it, I think, last night. What did you think of it? I watched the last inning, so I saw Otani Trout. Who was it, Aryan Foster that said the NFL has a script?

Did all the games? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was Aryan Foster. Well, I mean, come on. If you want to make the case for a script, this is the ultimate, a one-run game. You get to Trout versus Otani for the final out. Like, you can't do better than that. So that was fun.

I mean, I think we're, like, I'm not as into baseball as I was when I was a kid, not even close. But the Otani thing, it is incredible how much we don't, we're not collectively talking about this. I mean, maybe it's because he's not from here, he's from Japan or whatever. But, like, you know, it's Bo Jackson or whatever times like 50. It's insane what he's doing. And that was just a fun example right there. Yeah, he's just, he's crazy. unique, and it's pretty fun to watch. All right, let's talk some Washington commanders,

and I do want to talk some football stuff with you, including a Lamar Jackson subject. But I talked about at the beginning of the show before bringing you on the latest news related to this Steve Apostolopoulos, the Canadian billionaire who is now apparently in the mix. But I actually want to talk about something that Albert Breer said yesterday on Grant and Danny. He essentially said he was somewhat skeptical that the Mary Joe White report would ever come out. I think this is actually a really fascinating thing. It's 13 months now since the team initially launched the investigation with another investigator, which the league promptly took the investigation away from the team.

But remember, it started with the Tiffany Johnston allegations in that House Oversight and Reform Committee roundtable, where she alleged that Dan Snyder put his hand on her thigh underneath the table at a dinner and then tried to cajole her into his limousine. And the team immediately, immediately said, we'll handle the investigation and we'll make it totally transparent. And the league said, no, you're not going to investigate yourself. And they took it back. and they now are 13 months into paying Mary Joe White to investigate. Initially, the Tiffany Johnston allegations, and then remember the Jason Friedman allegations in front of the House Oversight and Reform Committee

that alleged that the team was keeping these deposits for season ticket holders, which they've now paid back, you know, $250,000 worth in Maryland. And more importantly, they were cooking the books and they were not paying the league. the correct amount on ticket sales that they should be paying the league for. Anyway, she was investigating that and maybe investigating more. The guy from, you know, what's his name, A.J. Perez from front office sports suggested that there may be more. Well, to hear Albert Breer suggest that we may never see the light of day on the Mary

Joe White investigation and the results of that. After, by the way, the league promised that they would be completely transparent in the wake of all of the criticism of the Beth Wilkinson investigation and that they would release the Mary Joe White investigation is really an interesting development. First of all, Breer reported back in October, he said there's fear among some owners that Mary Joe White will have inconclusive findings on Dan Snyder's financial improprieties. And then the NFL won't force a sale on the premise that the workplace issues have been fixed. He tweeted that out in October. And now he told Grant and Danny yesterday, he's skeptical as to whether or not we'll ever see that report. Now, to me, that kind of prompts a couple of thoughts. Number one is, how does the league actually avoid not releasing the results of the Mary Jo White investigation?

Number two is, what's taking so long? Come on, this has to be done. Why are they holding back the results? Why are they continuing to pay this woman for, you know, billable hours for her and her team to continue this investigation? Which Roger Goodell continues to say every time he's asked about it, we are not standing in a way. We are letting Mary Jo White finish and complete her investigation. Thirdly, to me, is the possible outcomes and the reasons why. You know, are we not getting the Mary Joe White findings because they are inconclusive?

he said she said on Tiffany Johnston, something else on the financial allegations that maybe, you know, there's plausible deniability for Snyder or, you know, this is something the league's worried about because a lot of teams have been doing it, et cetera, et cetera. Are we not getting the findings because there's nothing there, really? Or is there something there and they're holding it over the head of Snyder as leverage to say, we're going to release this stuff if you don't sell this team. We'll hold it back until the team is sold, but it better be sold or else. Which of those two scenarios do you think is more likely?

Yeah, I mean, I guess I would say that the longer this thing was going, I heard Roger who don't say they were going to put it out publicly. But once it got to a certain point, particularly once Dan Snyder indicated he was going, who's exploring options to possibly sell, and the report hadn't come out yet. It made no sense to me if you're the NFL. I'm not talking about morally or anything else, but if you're the NFL, it made no sense

to release that report prior to Dan Snyder officially selling a team of somebody. Because you're only going to drive down the price if you're saying now to distress that, that he's got to get out or something, right? So, you know, we can all sit here and say he's got to get out for these reasons, but, you know, until he does, you know, until there's like some real, real, real strong evidence that suggests he has to, then that's not a real assumption, that's just a guess. So, yeah, I mean, to me, if the question is hopefully, are they holding it because

there's so much there, they're still investigating it, or they're holding it over his head, or they're just waiting until he's out, I would think it's just waiting until he's out. And in terms of him, in terms of the league, never putting it out, it's not, it's not, it's not, They're not under legal reason they have to. So, well, you know, I mean, look, we see this all the time in politics. A politics says X, and then when push comes to shove, they say, Y, and people say you went against your war on here. You know, what, I mean, like, what's the worst case for Goodell at that point?

He's gotten rid of Dan Snyder, and now, you know, look, let's be a little sick. I mean, you know, we feel for all these former employees, and we wish, you know, the information got out there. but like if Dan Snyder's out, the party will be going on the streets for weeks and month, and people will move on. So, yeah, I would just think they're holding it until there's a resolution. Yeah, my hunch all along has been that there's just not enough there. It doesn't mean, and Tom has suggested this to me before,

that Mary Joe White can't come out and say that my findings were inconclusive, with respect to proof, but I do believe that Tiffany Johnston was telling the truth. She can say that as part of her conclusion. But without, you know, proof that this actually happened, I think it would be exonerating to Snyder. I would just, again, suggest that if it was found out pretty quickly that Tiffany Johnston was telling the truth and there was a bombshell in there somewhere, I think we would have known by now. I think the concern has been, this is just an opinion, and a gut feel. The concern has been, just like the House Oversight and Reform Committee conclusion, you know, in many ways left Dan feeling like, you know, there wasn't a lot of there there,

that this would once again emboldened him. But I don't think it would matter anymore, to be honest with you. I think he is selling. I think that the, this decision's been made by the financial, you know, pressure of looking at what it would cost to build a stadium and the inability to really pull something like that off financially. The realization that the business is tanking with him there, the family pressure for sure has a lot to do with this. I'm not saying that he won't want to see the findings of that Mary Joe White investigation if it doesn't prove that, you know, that he did anything because I think that there's a chance that perhaps that didn't happen and that it was, you know, it was a he said, she said, and, you know, that's, that's the, the

furthest it will go. But anyway, let's get to football here. Bobby McCain signs with the Giants. Do you have any idea what kind of money Bobby McCain got? I think, I think like the veteran minimum. Veteran minimum. What about this guy, Anthony Walker, the linebacker that has been visiting? Are they going to sign him or not? I haven't heard, and it sounds like, I mean, I didn't check in on this because obviously 100 of the things happening, but I think I thought that Nikki Jabala had that, you know, good meaning, but nothing imminent. Walker was coming off, and he's the ending quad injury last year.

So I'm sure a lot of the question was just, you know, how was he doing physically? And, you know, for a player like that, you know, obviously the Giants just signed McCain for the minimum. And, you know, for the Giants, they shore up, some depth, whatever. But a lot of those kinds of guys are just going to have to be in the holding pattern until either they get much close for the draft or after the drafts. Because teams want to at this point see what kind of bargain deals they can get or wait for the draft to see who they get and what hold they have to fill at that point.

So, yeah, I mean, I understand why Walker would be interesting. He's got three seasons with over 100 tackled. He's 27, so still young. But, you know, it's not a position they, emphasize, is why I kept saying, once Kobe Barton, once he got signed, they weren't going on giving Cole Holcomb the same or more money. They're not going to get somebody else of the same or more money.

That's their investment. Now the rest is who do they add on the cheap, either to potentially contend or compete with him but for the Holcomb spot or just for depth. Cam Sims signs a deal, leaves the team, goes to Vegas. Did that surprise you? didn't you think that they liked him and that they wanted to keep him, or was it a matter of expense?

Or was it a matter of the Kansas City receiver that they signed, Kemp? Yeah, I mean, for me, once camp, I mean, you know, just do the math, right? We know the top four receivers, including De Omby Brown. Once Kemp was signed, you know, I'd be lying. I said I knew too much about him, but he played for Kansas City, and it would make sense for BN and me to have some of his own guys to be here to help the transition. that's five. If we just sort of assume that the six receiver is either Dax Mill or the next returner,

well, then they would have to keep seven for Cam Sims. And as fun as Cam Sims has been, the occasional receiver, the special team guy, you know, it's a relatively easy player to move on from if you're Washington. So, you know, yeah, they threw out an offer. But, I mean, I think for Cam Sims, this is a good chance to go somewhere else. The Raiders have good receivers too, and I don't think the Scott Turner aspect had anything to do with it. But at the same time, I think Camp Sims, if you want to play receiver, I think the right is on the wall. It's almost like the same with Taylor Heineke.

They don't view you as a receiver on this team. You might as well go see what else you can get. So I wasn't surprised that he moved on now. All right. Give me who, I'm not going to ask you to lay out your mock draft 1.0, bet a multi-time mock draft. draft champion. But who does Washington take at 16 with your first mock of the NFL draft this year? Do you want the 30-second answer, or do you want me to give you the detail where my brain

is at with the draft right now? I want you to give what you mocked out with your first version. Well, I traded down. There was a lot going on. My basic thing is, like, there's three offensive tackles that are being protected. is a top 15, so they would be off the board. And after that, there's other tackles, but they go later in mock drafts and things like that. There's three cornerbacks that go in that range.

My only concern is I don't think Joey Porter Jr. fits with what these guys are doing on defense. So I'm kind of ruling him out. And if those other two corners and the three tackles are gone, honestly, I'm kind of stumped as to what they would do at 16. Nothing really works for me because they're saying they don't want to tie- end. It doesn't sound like. We know that receivers and defensive linemen don't make any sense. So, you know, I think like David Witherspoon from Illinois, the cornerback would be a really good option if he's available. But I just keep thinking the trade down makes the most sense. And I know

everybody wants to trade down, but I'm being realistic in terms of the board itself that it worked last year, which leads me to think Rivera would do it again. And just what, you know, there are valuable positions there, like defensive lines, that other teams would want that Washington does not need. By the way, can I just throw out one hypothetical to you? Yeah. It's the best, like, there's like defensive

end, like Lucas Van Nett from Iowa or or no one's from Georgia, you know, pretty interesting past records, and those are pretty good. If they're the best player on Washington's board, you know, we all sit here and say, well, why on earth would they do that? Right? Why would you take a defensive line? And they don't need that.

Except when you realize that, that next year, if they don't pick up Chase Young, your option, like, I don't know who the other starter is pulled also. Their top five defensive ends with all of them. All five would be free agents going into 2024. All five, if they don't pick up Chase Young's option. So it's silly for this year,

and I think this year is what matters. But from a long-term perspective, it's not actually as insane as I thought it was. But anyway, cornerback to me is the one spot. They still, I still remember who the fifth defensive back is. If they play a game tomorrow, that spot is open unlike the offensive line where I think they have at least a lineup. So cornerback to me would be the way to go if one's there.

I love how for two years now you've been all over the fact that they're not going to be able to pay all of these guys. All right, and it's been constantly, literally the one thing that you will get from Ben in almost every single conversation is they can't pay all four of these guys. so there's got to be an answer. Somebody's going to have to go. And now you're actually suggesting they may have to draft one at 16 or later if they trade back. That's pretty funny. There are some good edge pass rushers.

If they're not going to pick up the option and they don't believe in Chey Jung, and they're not going to re-sign sweat and they're going to start it, you know, essentially say, we got our two guys. The two guys that have been the most productive guys are the guys that we believe are going to be productive moving forward. John Allen, Duran Payne. Now we're going to add rookie level deals as our edge rushers. That would be funny. Tyree Wilson, defensive end Texas Tech, 6-6-271, Kuiper loves him.

What was your question? What do you mean? You said I have something to pose to you as if you were going to ask your question, but I guess that's what you posed. It's just the idea. Oh, yeah. Okay, got it. Well, yeah.

I mean, like I said, going forward, What's the better scenario from a roster building perspective? John Allen Payne and a 20-23 first-round pick end or those two guys in either sweat or Chase Young making over $20 million. I don't know, but I mean that that's kind of where they're at. Anyway, yeah, if they say at 16, I just think it's a really weird board the way it's falling based on their needs, what they don't need, and the way they're framing, you know, that they're not looking at tight-end things like that. All right. Last topic with Ben. Follow Ben on Twitter at Ben Standing. Listen to Ben's podcast, Standing Room Only, and subscribe to the athletic, I do. And you can see his entire mock draft, and you can see basically he basically shapes the roster with almost every column,

going position group by position group, and projecting who will be on this team. And you've got it pretty much down. There aren't many additions yet, you know, other than draft picks to make, Unless you take Josina Anderson's advice if your new ownership. Josina Anderson, long-time NFL insider and a reporter, etc. tweeted out, I guess late Monday. New ownership for the commanders shouldn't need a season to determine everything starts with having an elite franchise quarterback and that everything should be done to imminently acquire the most elite option. available. The goal is the Super Bowl every year not to waste time. She's not talking about Aaron

Rogers people. She's talking about Lamar Jackson. So I actually did this on radio this morning. And here's the hypothetical. We get an announcement that, you know, Josh Harris is going to be the new owner. And two months following that, we're into May, okay, when the deal gets finalized. It's early to mid-May. Josh Harris has taken over the Washington Command. Anders, and they got a lot of fish to fry, but they want a quarterback, and they want Lamar Jackson. Should they want Lamar Jackson if Lamar Jackson's still available in that time frame? Keep in mind, if it's May or June, he's still out there, still available for an offer sheet that could be matched, obviously, by Baltimore. You're not giving up a 20-23 first-rounder.

You're giving up your 24 and your 25 first-rounder. So I'll ask you first, would you be interested, or if you were the owner, new ownership group, would you be interested in signing Lamar Jackson? Well, I mean, interested, sure. I mean, interested, sure. You obviously have to, you know, okay, we're taking over. What do we need to do here as a team to get to the next level? You're telling me one of the, you know, in theory, one of the better quarterbacks is available. Sure, what's the deal with the cost, but also what's to deal with this player.

And this is where to me then it becomes a, a, you know, a non-start or where I would decline to get involved. For one, look, the Ravens, for 20 years, while this place has been a dumpster fire, the Ravens have largely been, you know, one of the more model franchises. Every year they're, you know, pretty much a playoff-level team. You know, occasionally they bubble up to actually win the Super Bowl. But, you know, like, they're always pretty good that, you know, they don't have too many issues over there as an organization.

And do they'd be willing to move on from this guy? What does that say? Why would they be willing to move on? They can't just be money. There's got to be more to it if they're willing to do that. And I think that's the part that's not the stuff. Well, they offered him $175 million and guaranteed for injury, you know, earlier, you know, late last year. So it's not like they've been planning to move on from him. They just haven't been able to get it done. They've offered legitimate deals.

Right. But I'm saying, why would they be, what is going on to such? a degree that they can't work this out. I think there's, you know, I think there's, you know, we talk so much here about culture and this, that, the other, and I don't know, I don't know, Lamar Jackson, you know, what do I know? But just in terms of talking to people around the league, I mean, I think some of it is, you know, the money is a lot, and the other part is, you know,

is he the guy you want to invest in the, and the, of saying the Ravens, I don't know, to me it would be somewhat, I would be questionable about that. I think there's more questions there to be asked. But the other part is these new owners often come in and make a big splash move, in part because they have all this energy. They want to, they've got this, you know, they want to show that they will look out for us. Here we go. You know, the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA, where an example this year,

where they traded, you know, 36 first-round picks for Rudy Gobert, 10 minutes after buying the team. The difference, though, here is that the move, those kinds of moves lets people, you know, think of these new owners are the new gods in town. You know what's going to do that for Josh Harris or whoever by the team? Buying the team. The immediacy of getting rid of Dan Snyder is all that person needs. I know. So they don't actually need to do anything.

So I would decline the Lamar Jackson thing, but I would need to do my due diligence, and I think that's what that would be for me what I need the owner to do. If you're interested, it's fine, but you need to, you need the full scope. Tell me everything. What do we know? What is going on here?

Why can't they get a deal done? What are the questions? And then go from there. I don't want to just, he comes in and two weeks later, they made this fantasy football trade because everybody thinks football is really good player. So, look, there are two different conversations. Of course, the biggest win for the new ownership group is being the new owners.

Okay? I mean, it's a massive, I mean, very rarely will a new owner, ever take control of a sports team and essentially have people threatened to celebrate it with a parade in town. Of course, the parade would be for the outgoing owner, but also benefiting would be the new ownership. Now, related to Lamar Jackson, though, and whether or not they should or would, it's a hypothetical, clearly. And by the way, I don't think it would happen. and I do think, by the way, that Baltimore would match a deal if Washington came to the table with a deal. I'm the king of sort of red flags and calling them out, the McNabb deal, the Wentz deal.

All of those had red flags all over it. Lamar Jackson is beloved in Baltimore and very highly respected and wanted back by the Baltimore coaching staff and the Baltimore organization. if you believe everything you read or everybody you talk to. And the reason is that he's not back there is because they don't want to offer him the Deshawn Watson deal. This is it more than anything else. They're not concerned about the injuries. They're not concerned about the player.

They're not concerned about the person. They're concerned that they don't want to give him what they believe and the rest of the league believes to be the worst deal ever handed out in NFL history, which was a fully guaranteed deal, which they don't want to do. But it was a fully guaranteed deal. deal for $235 million for a player who basically was in rehab. You know, we know the kind of rehab that Sean Watson was going through. That's the issue.

They offered him $175 million in guaranteed money for injury. It was a good deal. He turned it down. He doesn't have any representation, et cetera. Let's get to the football part of this. If Lamar Jackson was on this roster next year, Washington would be a legitimate. NFC championship contender. Legitimate.

So I want to start there. Do you agree or disagree with that? So I haven't done the salary cap gymnastics to figure out what that would mean. They would obviously have to... Back in a loan a deal, you're not letting anybody go. You know, they would make his number palatable in the first year so that they wouldn't be having to cut four key players to get the deal done. be a it's going to be a palatable first year cap number. You've got this team with Lamar Jackson

next year if they were to make that deal. Yeah. So, okay, so when it comes to these types of analysis for me, I tend to skip ahead to the playoffs more than the regular season. And I'm sure in the regular season, he'd be very dynamic and do the Lamar Jackson things. Well, you know, look, there's obviously an injury risk based on what's happened for him in the last couple of years. And just, you know, when you're running around like that, you're not the biggest guy. You're exposing yourself from more hits, et cetera. But I skip into the postseason, and look, people improve all the time. I mean, I'd never say, you know, a few years ago, Andy Reid was viewed as a

overwhelming head coach, and now he might be the best coach in the league because he's won two Super Bowl. So Lamarck improved. But his style of play to me is not ideal for the postseason because at some point, and I've talked to people around the league about this because this topic fascinates me, at some point in the fourth quarter, you've got to complete third and eight. And I know that people will say, well, of course he could do that. that. But it's different in the postseason

versus the regular season, because in week six when you're playing Baltimore, you're not completely changing your entire world to deal with Lamar Jackson. You have to keep your defense relatively intact of what you're trying to do because you're still to play a bunch of teams.

And Lamar is one of the more unique quarterbacks. But in the postseason, you're gearing it all up for him. You're putting more people in the box, you're putting spies on him, whatever it is, and it's forcing him to have to throw the ball. Now, like Jayon Hertz did that in the postseason in the Super Bowl, right? He had a very good playoff, showed he could do it.

Lamar hasn't to this point, and so I'm not saying I wouldn't do it solely for that, but like, if you're going to pay $200 million guaranteed, right, I have to think about the Super Bowl. This can't just be, am I going to get to 10 wins the way it might be if you're talking about, you know, Derek Carr or something. They've got to get to the Super Bowl, and that, to me, is where I'd have some more questions, again, on top of some of the other stuff. So I get it, but, and the, and the,

cost. It's not just two first-round picks. The Ravens can, you know, they can negotiate for other stuff. So we'd have to see what that would be. But yeah, that would be my question. Do I actually think he could win me the Super Bowl? Look, the bottom line is he's one and three in the postseason. So you have proof so far in a very young career that he hasn't been able to lead or elevate his team to wins in the postseason. His regular season record is 45 and 16 as a starter. He's won 45 out of the 61 games he started. Like we're not actually talking about 10 wins.

We're talking about the possibility of winning 12 or 13 with him as a regular season starter. We're also talking about an offensive supporting cast that he has not had in Baltimore. I've liked the running backs and I've loved the style of play, but he certainly hasn't had the receivers, the past catchers that he would have. in Washington. And by the way, he'd be in, as we've talked about many times, an NFC that is kind of wide open. Now, winning the Super Bowl, well, you've got to get to it first. And I would say that Washington would be no worse than the third favorite to win the NFC championship behind Philadelphia and San Francisco heading into the season with Lamar Jackson and everything else they have. I'd be concerned about a couple of things. Number one, I'm not paying him.

$200 million in guaranteed money. Because, I mean, there are certain quarterbacks. Like if Patrick Mahomes were available, of course, I would pay him whatever. But Lamar Jackson, the one concern I have is availability. He's missed the final stretches of the last two seasons. His team made the playoffs this year, lost in the first round of Cincinnati with Tyler Huntley, a quarterback. And they didn't make it in 2021 when they lost him. By the way, he was in the midst of a Pro Bowl.

season, but, you know, he was banged up. Now, these injuries weren't super serious, and they actually didn't happen with him as a dual threat runner. They happened with him in the pocket and then as a scrambler. Kind of like the same thing that happened with RG3. Everybody said, well, RG3 running the read option is going to get killed. The read option was actually more protective of him. He got hurt as a scrambler in the Baltimore game and as a dropback guy in the Seattle game. Anyway, I digress. to me, I don't have a quarterback that I know of right now. And I know that a lot of you out there are like, what are you talking about?

Shane, we've got Sam Hal. Most of you aren't, but some of you are. I don't have a quarterback, and I've got a really good defense. I've got a top 10 defense, and I've got some really good skill position players, and I'm not going to waste, you know, another two or three years, and then see all of them go away or see them decline in ability and having not had a quarterback for three years. I would definitely think about doing it.

I had one of my callers saying me this morning. Is this a trick question? You haven't had a quarterback since Joe Thysman in terms of being an elite quarterback, even if you don't want to describe him as elite, and I said he's an elite dual-threat quarterback for sure, maybe the elitist of all dual-threat quarterbacks of all time. But I understand when somebody says he's not an elite traditional quarterback.

I understand that. We don't know what he would be. By the way, he can make every throw. And he hasn't been terrible from the pocket, but he hasn't had a lot of weapons either. And there's no reason to think he couldn't develop. But the trick question, of course, being we haven't had anybody and we'd become an instant contender. I'd take the year or two years before you'd start having to pay big cat numbers for him and destroy the roster and see what I could do over the next two years with Lamar Jackson. But I would be all for that.

I'm not paying him to Sean Watson deal. And I would have to be 100% convinced that the organization is behind playing football the way Baltimore's played with more passing ability, quick game ability, and that BNami would be comfortable with that as well. But yeah, I personally would be very, very much looking into what I had to do to make that happen in the right context. By the way, giving up two first rounders, if that's what it would be. Your first rounders in 24 and 25 with Lamar Jackson as your regular season quarterback are not going to be 16 or higher in the draft. You're going to win more games. That part, what?

Yeah, the draft compensation, that part wouldn't bother me. Wouldn't bother me at all. Yeah, I mean, if you're in, if you really buy that he could do it, then you do what you got to deal on that part. That's not a big deal. I would say, I'll say is just that, look, it's, you know, when you talk about a quarterback like a mars, and other quarterbacks, like, you know, you can get tricky sometimes with the conversations, but, you know, people who I know who are sober, look at these things, you know,

there are people that have questions about, you know, sort of Lamar, I said from like that culture, fit, and does he do with all the right things, you know, to get himself in the team ready for the season? but last thing I would just say is if you're the new owner, whoever it is, people talk about is there collusion going on with nobody wanting to make a deal for Lamar? I don't know about collusion. I mean, only like four or five teams are really even in position to even attempt to do this. But I would imagine that whoever the new owner is meets the other owners and they're going through the process, what we'll be said is we're not really a big fan of paying anybody fully guaranteed contract.

and what are you going to do with your first at come in there and piss them all off by giving him a fully guaranteed contract? I think that's for Steve Bichotti did it maybe do. I don't think it's for the new guy to do. And he may not care whoever it is. I wouldn't want a fully guaranteed contract. I wouldn't want that anyway. But you're right. That's a really good point.

It feels like that for Lamar that, though, because the Ravens are offering him. He's got no offer sheets as of yet. None. Let's see where he is in May and June if there's still no offer sheets. Sure. Thanks for doing this, as always. Of course, thanks, man.

Enjoy the conversation with Ben Standing every time we have one. All right. Up next, Tim Murray will talk some Sweet 16 right after these words from a few of our sponsors. This segment of the show brought you by MyBooky. Go to mybooky.orgie. Go to my promo code, Kevin D.C., that'll allow you to cash in and cash out

quickly. You only have to wager your deposit amount one time and you're eligible to cash out. Certainly if you're up, you've got to be up to be able to cash out. Go to mybooky.orgie.org, use my promo code, Kevin D.C. It's perfect for those of you that just want to bet March Madness. They've got a $50,000 suite 16 bracket contest. And you can be out of this thing by the end of the tournament. And my God, the sweet 16 matchups are really. really, really interesting. MyBooky.ag promo code, Kevin D.C. On with us to talk Sweet 16 before the games begin tomorrow night is our good friend Tim

Murray. Tim is the co-host of Veezen Live, primetime 6 to 9 p.m. Eastern with former quarterback Sean King, former NFL quarterback Sean King, at one Tim Murray on Twitter. By the way, I have not, I've had Sean. King on the show because you and Aaron set it up. And that was before Sam Howell became the

QB one in the off season. People have told me, and maybe it was you, maybe it was Aaron, that Sean is a massive Sam Hal fan. That's true, right? Yeah, when he evaluated the previous year's quarterback class, he

said that Sam Hal was his QB1. So we'll see. He's been in full look at me mode right now, and he would laugh at me saying that, with Sam Hal getting getting a QB1 reps, but no, he was very high on Sam Hal coming out of last year's draft and things of the quarterbacks that were out there, Desmond Ritter, Kenny Pickett, et cetera, Malik Willis, that he evaluated Brock Purdy, or excuse me, Sam Hal won. What he did say the other day, though, Kevin, he goes, I did not evaluate Blancheb,

Brock Purdy. So he did not put a full evaluation on Brock Purdy. So he doesn't know of ultimately he would have graded out Brock Purdy ahead of Sam Howe. But of the quarterbacks that were drafted, you know, in front of Sam Howe, he had him number one. All right. I was just reminded of that. And I think, you know, when I had Sean on, it was probably after the draft last year. And I think he, I remember him saying very nice things about Sam Hal now that I am discussing it with you and you're kind of laying out specifically what he thought. All right, let's talk some hoops. Most impressive team from last weekend was who? Well, I think you can look at it a couple ways. I mean, I think the easy answer would be Princeton, a 15-seat, not even regular season champ in the Ivy League, and here they are in the Sweet 16, and they dominate a Missouri.

And I thought that was a pretty impressive result. But, you know, if you're looking at the big boys and, you know, and who was most impressive to get to this point. I think Alabama is certainly up there. You know, the way that they've just kind of, you know, Brandon Miller doesn't score and they're opening round game against Corpus Christi. I know it's Corpus Christi, but hey, ask Purdue about playing 16 seats for them to be here. Cruise past Maryland, pull away late in that game was pretty darn impressive. And then, you know, I'll give credit to Michigan State here.

Michigan State, you know, Kevin, you're more of the Big Ten Conno store than I am. You watch it more often. But for a conference that ultimately has one team left, they were a seven seed. I was impressed by their performance against USC. And then I think back to the game that they had against Marquette, where they didn't really shoot all that well. I mean, they're a top 10, three-point shooting team. They went two of 16 from three, and yet they were able to pull away from Marquette late in that game. So, you know, for the Spartans to be a seven-seed, and now, by the way, the way that we look at being a favorite, interestingly enough, against the three-seat, Kansas State, I think the Spartans, you've got to give them a bunch of credit.

And then I guess one last one, I thought Miami's performance against Indiana was really, really impressive the way that they kind of controlled that game. And I thought Trace Jackson-David-David-davis would be a problem for them, and he wasn't. Yeah, I agree with you on Michigan State being favored, obviously. and I think the same way. And I, in watching K State beat Kentucky, I actually, as I was watching that game, I said out loud to my son who was watching that game with me, that team can win the national championship.

And I still believe that, but Michigan State's a two-point favorite, and the world is on the three-seed over the seven-seat. I did not think this was a Michigan State team that was worth backing. usually all in on Izzo teams. And I just watched them enough. And I just thought they're too inconsistent offensively.

And there's no way they're going to make a big run. But, you know, they pulled off a win over a team that I actually had getting to the finals in Marquette. All right. So let's look at the games, starting with tomorrow night. And let's look at them the way we look at them, and that is as gamblers. So K-State being a two-point dollar. I'm assuming you like Michigan State laying the number,

and this is going to be among your biggest plays of the eight Sweet 16 games. You know, I haven't gotten to the window yet, but I probably will be on Michigan State the more I think about it, and the more information we get on where the public is, some of those early numbers indicated that the public will be on Kansas State in this spot. The lone worry I have about this game, Kevin, while ultimately I will probably be on Michigan State is Marquise Noel, the guard for Kansas State

that went off in the second half. Doesn't he feel like one of those guards that just takes over the NCAA tournament? I mean, he's got all the narratives, right? He's from the Bronx. He's never played at Madison Square Garden. You know, we've seen guards make these runs and take their team on their back,

whether it be Shabazz Napier or Kemma Walker. that's my worry is because I'm with you. I don't love this Michigan State team, but if you're giving me Tom Izzo in this round as a short favorite, that's your time to prepare. We had Chris Felica the Bear on our show earlier this week, and he told us a ridiculous stat. Tom Izzo, just straight up, not against the spread,

is 18 and 6 in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. That is insane, the winning percentage. for Tom Mizo in this round. He just figures it out every year. And, you know, why I think ultimately I'll land on Michigan State is they're a great three-point shooting team and they didn't shoot great against Marquette and yet they were able still to win that game by nine. Oh, yeah. A 750 winning percentage in this round and the next round's pretty damn good. It always seems like he gets there.

Look, you know, storylines like Marquise Noel and what we saw in Michigan State, it shouldn't even factor in to the way we wager. This is going to be an anti-public play. You're going to be able to play Izzo as an anti-public's short favorite. So I think tomorrow, when I give out the smell test picks for tomorrow night's Sweet 16 games, Michigan State's going to be in there. But you know, you don't always win those. And if we don't win it, it's going to be because it's going to be because we were right that K-State was just the better team. But anyway, I think, you know, looking at the other game in that regional at the Garden. I think Florida Atlantic has a legitimate chance to beat Tennessee.

What do you think? Well, that is a game I have gotten to the window on, and I took Florida Atlantic, and I love the way that this is set up for us, the way that we think, right? On Saturday, well, I was sitting at home on Thursday night, and I texted you and Sands like we are one to do, even though Sands and I are more of the textures. You know, if you just kind of sit back and I maybe read them. Well, it's because there was a few weeks there

where I just kind of took a few weeks off from gambling. But I'm back into it, as you noticed, over the weekend. And by the way, I had Wisconsin last night against Oregon. But continue. So real quickly, just a quick aside, because no one cares about the NIT. I had no interest about the NIC last night. And I'm looking up at the board. And I'm like, that number just keeps coming down.

It went from five to one. I'm like, well, I guess I got a bet Wisconsin. And, of course, they won 61 to 58. It's a good job, Badgers. So I'm sitting here on Thursday night, and Orell Robertson, Duke crushes them. Tennessee holds on for dear life against Louisiana Lafayette. Everyone's coming out with the Rick Barnes, ATS numbers. Duke is, you know, the sheik pick on ESPN to make the final four.

And I'm like, well, I guess we've got to bet Tennessee. And, of course, they win by double digits. and now the roles have kind of come back, right? Florida Atlantic was, you know, the massive favorite against FDU. They pulled that game off. You know, the thing about FAU, and I'm on FAU plus the five and a half year, is their deepest health. They're one of the deepest teams in the country,

and they can shoot really well. And the thing is, Kevin, they have not been shooting well so far in this tournament. They were able to hold on for Deer Life against Memphis. You know, they beat Fairly Dickinson and what is kind of a tricky spot. And I think ultimately, this being the night game, I think whoever's fan base wins, whether be Michigan State or Kansas State, you know they're sticking around to cheer for FAU because they would much rather play FAUs. So I think the buzz will be there. The pressure will sink in on Tennessee.

They just beat Duke in the fashion that they did. They're now the favorite to come out of this region. I think the Alves cover the number. And I agree with you. I think they're alive to potentially win this game on the floor. So yeah, give me FAU plus the five and a half. Yeah, the Tennessee thing from Saturday. So I mean, that was easy for the way we think, obviously.

But I loved, you know, some of the reactions. You just reminded me because there's a reaction that I got from some dude on Twitter who just said, betting against Duke is crazy right now. And I just responded exactly after I had given out Tennessee plus three and a half. You don't get it. But I got a couple responses on Thursday night when I tweeted out, you know, just like simple, like, good luck with that. I'm like, well, you know. Like there's, you know, the way that we, the way that we bet isn't easy.

We'll just believe it. No, it's not. It's not for the faint of heart. But I was, I played golf on Saturday and walked in, um, uh, with a bunch of guys to, to grab a few pops and watch the Tennessee Duke game. And several people shouted out to me. She and who do you like in this game? And I said, Tennessee for the maximum allowed. If you've got time, get it in because it's about to tip.

And they're like, Tennessee, I'm already on Duke. And I just said, well, of course you are. But that was one of those where I was trying not to be a know-it-all because, by the way, I'm not. And many times this doesn't work. And so I thought Duke was playing great too. But when I saw the line, you just knew. All right, I'm with you on Florida Atlantic.

I like Florida Atlantic's chances tomorrow. night. How about the two games out west? Gonzaga, UCLA, Arkansas, Yukon. I said to Stanford Steve the other day and maybe he said it and I just agreed with him. Any one of these four teams can not only advance out of this region

but can win the whole thing. Do you agree with that? I agree, maybe a little lesser with Arkansas, but they got talent. And the interesting aspect about And the interesting aspect about Arkansas is that their best player, or least most talented player, Nick Smith Jr. is not playing well. Right. And he only played 16 minutes against Arkansas, and Seth Davis in his write-up on the athletics,

that he was weeping in the bathroom after they won against Kansas. So I don't know about that, but, I mean, Eric Musselman, he's like the anti-Matt Painter. Apparently he can just win at the NCAA tournament, you know, back-to-back elite eight. but I do think all four have the talent to win it all. Yukon's got a lot of legit talent. The thing about UCLA is, God, if they were just healthy, Kevin, I think they win it all. I really do. Jalen Clark being out, he's an elite defender.

Singleton, their best three-point shooter, rolled his ankle and looked in a lot of pain, but I think he's going to play. Bona, the big guy's dealing with the shoulder injury. So they're just banged up, but that all being said, The way you and I think, why is UCLA a two-point favorite, Kevin, even with all those injuries against Gonzaga? Yeah, I love that team. I love the way they're coached. I think McChronin does a phenomenal job, and they're experienced. You know, Tiger Campbell and Hakez, they've been there. And the kid Bailey is legit. The kid Bailey, the freshman, is really good. I'll say this, Kevin, and this is a thought that one of my colleagues had, and I agree, and I think fits kind of the contrary.

style of play that you and I like. UCLA Gonzaga, Gonzaga, the most prolific offense in the country. I actually like this game under. I think Mick Cronin is going to want to muck it up, is going to want to kind of physical, want to body Gonzaga. You don't want to get into a finesse up and down game with Gonzaga.

That's their game. That's how they excel. If you watch the second half against TCU, when they were down, they were running up and down the floor. They looked phenomenal offensively, but they can't stop anything defensively. They're really bad if you look at some of the metrics. So I think this is going to be kind of a little uglier game.

So I actually like under in Gonzaga, UCLA, and I'm going to be in the building. So there's nothing more exciting in the world than cheering for an under in a game in person. Painful. Plus, let's just add, you know, one of the great tournament games and one of the great final four games of all time. This is a revenge spot for two of the players that were in it in Hockes. Campbell when they lost to Gonzaga 9390. No Johnny Juzang. This came

to help him out, but that was... How about this, Kevin? 17 years to the day from when Gonzaga absolutely fell apart in the Sweet 16 against UCLA in the infamous Adam Morrison crying on the floor

game. Yeah, he did. All right, so UCLA FAU and Michigan State, tomorrow night. Who do you like on Friday night? Well, I'm actually, I told you I liked Alabama on the way they're playing. I took the point to San Diego State.

I really like San Diego State. You know, they're elite defensively, as is Alabama. And I think the under might be the look here too. Might be a bit correlated. But San Diego State, man, they're just, they're just grown men. And I think they can defend. and for me, I look at the bracket, Kevin.

I think this might be the trickiest spot remaining for Alabama before a potential showdown in a national championship against whoever comes out of the right side. So I took eight at seven and a half now. I would still take seven and a half. It's kind of a hold onto your butt special. But I think San Diego State, with their mentality, with their defensive prowess, has the chance to slow this thing down.

I just, you know, I'm curious to get your thoughts. I think they're a better Maryland. you know, Maryland wants to slow it down, but they've been doing it longer. Bradley is, you know, like 23, 24 years old. How about this? The average Division I experience on their roster is three years. I mean, they're one of the most experienced teams in the country. Everyone's a senior, junior, and there's no denying that Alabama is incredibly talented.

But, you know, I just, I keep saying it, and I'm going to continue to say it. At some point, this pressure from everything that has gone on off the court, I feel like has to hit him. You know, Nick Saban taking shots at them this earlier this week with, you know, his comments about his player that he's suspended. So I just think San Diego State is a tough team, and I think they keep it close against Alabama. I don't know if they have the firepower to win the game outright, but I think that this is an ugly game, and I think they've got a chance to make Alabama sweat here. So I'm going to take the points at the aspect. Yeah, they're big, they're long, they're old.

It's just funny that you said they like to slow it down like Maryland does. It's funny because Kevin Willard would prefer up-tempo. They were up-tempo to start the year. The entire fan base thinks we're playing faster. We're pressing Maryland's 338 out of 363 teams in pace of play this year. Again, I've talked about this enough, but it's the league that grinds everybody that wants to run to a complete halt. most of the time. Most of the big 10 teams are in the 200s and 300s in pace of play.

Yeah, I'm interested, and I'm taking a look, a long, hard look at San Diego State, but I actually think Creighton's laying a number at 10 against Princeton that is actually going to have, you know, a lot of the public on a big underdog that's looked so good. And Creighton is so explosive, and they can really shoot the three. I mean, this game, I actually think the total looks low for what the final score could and should be. So I'm actually looking at under there a little bit, but I like Creighton laying the big number. That's the only other game I like. I'm with you on San Diego State.

I'd lean Houston a little bit right now, but I love Creighton laying a big number. Yeah, and you're right. I mean, some of the early numbers that are out there. And look, they're just out there on Twitter. Just look up, betting, splits, whatever, however you want to go about it, if you want to go about the route that Kevin and I do, which is kind of fading the public. But yeah, you're right.

I mean, early numbers say that people want to take Princeton, you know, and people are very reactionary to the NCAA tournament. They were, Princeton was tremendous against Missouri, and then you think back to last year, and a 15-seed won in this round. St. Peters, of course, beat Purdue in this round last year, and you've now got this Creighton team, which I don't think a lot of people know who the hell Creighton is, to be honest.

I mean, they probably know, oh, yeah, didn't Doug McDermott play for them, but they don't know that this team with Ryan Coughbrenner, who's a 7-1 center, who's just a force at the rim. Baylor Shireman is an elite shooter, the transfer from South Dakota State. Nemhart's brother is really talented.

Really talented. They put on a show, man, against Baylor. That was really, really impressive. Look, I've got a future on Creighton. I thought it was dead at three different times this year. I don't know if they have the capabilities to win a title, but I'm not hedging in this spot, that's for sure. So, yeah, I would be with you.

It would either be Creighton or nothing in this spot and quickly, you know, Houston, I think Houston kind of hit, turned it on in that second half against Auburn, you know, in a hostile environment. Love that one. In Birmingham. Impressive. And they played like crap against Northern Kentucky and in the first half against Auburn. And that team said, you know what?

it's game time. And they kicked Auburn's ass in that second half. And look, Miami, Jim Laronega, phenomenal coach. They played their best game. I don't know if it's of the season, but one of their best games against Indiana. And I just feel like Houston's just a better

version of Miami. They've got great guard play. They're tough. They're going to get after the board. So, yeah, I think Houston, I think Miami and Princeton, to be honest, are going to be two of the chic underdog plays that the public will be on

Thursday and Friday. Yeah. Thanks for doing this. Good luck in your wagering weekend. And we will be, as per usual, we will be in contact

via our group text with Steve Sands, who is he working this weekend? I don't even know. I don't know. I don't know if he's going to be working or not. Is that an NBC event? It doesn't matter.

He still responds to it. It's amazing. He's in the middle of an interview with, you know, with John Rom and then he's done and we get an immediate text, you know, with I like such and such tonight laying three. All right. We're done. Thanks.

Follow Tim on Twitter at one Tim Murray. Listen to his show at Vizan Live. It's prime time and available 6 to 9 Eastern with former Bucks quarterback Sean King. I'll talk to you. Thanks. All right, Kevin. See it. A star-studded event coming up on.

April 13th here in town. I will explain with my next guest next right after these words from a few of our sponsors. All right, let's finish up the show today with a friend of mine, Steve Beck. Steve is the Military Bowl president. He's also the president of the DC Touchdown Club. And the DC Touchdown Club is having its awards dinner on Thursday, April 13th. And it is a hell of a lineup featuring, by the way, my very close friend, Scott Van Pelt, who will be receiving the award for career achievement, which at some point, I have to tell you, you know, when he was in his early to mid-20s,

we're not sure what that, none of us were really sure whether he would achieve anything and have a career achievement award until he got into the line of work, which we all suggested he get into, which was broadcasting, sports broadcasting in particular. But Steve is with me. and you can find out, by the way, everything you need to find out about this event at DCTouchdownclub.com.

But Steve's going to tell you about the incredible lineup you have on the 13th. I mean, there are some big names that are going to be there and will be honored. Yep, thanks for having me, Kevin. We do have a great lineup. Maybe our best lineup ever. I mean, we've had Lee Corso, Mike Dick, you know, all sorts of people. But this year we have the old ball coach, Steve Spurrier, coming in. That's awesome.

Which is interesting with him. Back in 1966, he was the college back of the year with the touchdown club. That's what they called it back in the day. Just so people know, the touchdown club started in the 1930s. We brought it back about 12 years ago. So we'll have the old ball coach, and we've got Dexter Manley coming in the house, the Secretary of Defense, and Scott Van Pelt you mentioned. And then Terry McLaurin, the Metro Pro Player of the Year.

with the Washington commanders, of course. So we're looking forward to a great night. That is a phenomenal night, phenomenal lineup. So tell us how the night goes. Like how can people, you know, participate, get a table, end up, you know, getting a chance perhaps to see and maybe even meet Steve Spurrier, Dexter Manley. By the way, I can't wait to hear what the old ball coach has to say being back in town for, you know, I'm sure he's been in town since he got, you know, since he resigned or got

fired back in 2004 or at the end of the 2003 season, but always entertaining a sprier. But tell everybody how they can participate or be there for the event. Yeah, so the best way is to go to our website and register there. We do have a few tables remaining. We will sell out the facility, which is in Bethesda, Maryland. And, you know, we start basically right around 6 o'clock with a happy hour out on the veranda smoking cigars and just seeing people in the football community that get together sometimes just this one time a year.

So we'll be there for a long happy hour, and then we'll go inside for the dinner, and then we hang out afterwards and just have a great night. In addition, also, we do have the Maryland, D.C. and Virginia high school players of the year also. So we're honoring them as well as our circle of legend. Awesome. Really going to be a great night of football. You've got to round all these people up.

I'm just curious. Do you know Spurrier? How did you reach out to Spurrier and get him to come up for this thing? Yeah, well, Brad Edwards is on our board, the Military Bowl Foundation board. And Brad, of course, was South Carolina in Gancok. And he reached out to Coach for us, and he was happy to be involved. It's really interesting, you know, looking up some of his stuff in the past, you know, of course his tenure here as Redskins coach wasn't great.

I loved his quote. Was he, five and eleven, not very good. We've played it many times on this show. Another little trivia thing was there's one of four, he's one of four players to be in the college football Hall of Fame as a player and a coach. He's one of four players to be in the Hall of Fame as a player and a coach. the college football hall of fame.

And the college football hall, yep. Are you asking me to name the other three right now? I'm sure you've got them off the top of your head. I don't. You do this all the time when we're together. You always have like a trivia question, and they're usually stumpers. I've got to think about this.

College Football Hall of Fame and College Coach Hall of Fame. I mean, I'm just going to go back to the beginning. Was Bear Bryant a good player? I don't even know if that answer, if he was. Is he a Hall of Fame player? No. Okay. I don't know.

I'm not thinking about this. You need a couple hints. Give me a couple hints. Yeah. Division three, national championship. You think that's a good hint? Division three? It's a great hint.

College football. Is it the guy? from Mount Union? I mean, haven't they won? Football Championship, college football championship. Division III College Football Championship. Mm-hmm.

You're not helping me. Just tell me who that one is. Amos Alonzo Stagg. Amos-Stagg. I wasn't going to get that. The next one, played at Tennessee and coached Georgia Tech. Oh, that is

yeah, the guy that was the the coach at Georgia Tech in the 70s. The Fields named after him? Yeah, I'm blanking on his name. The stadium is actually. Bobby Dow. Bobby Dowd, thank you. Okay.

And then the last one you'll never get. Well, I wasn't going to. Tennessee and coach, yeah, you didn't give a, come to think that, yeah, you didn't get the first. So just tell everybody the third, let's not play this game anymore. Dowden Wyatt. Yeah, I don't even know who that is. of Wyoming and Arkansas. What years were those? The 20s? The 30s? Oh, who knows. I think it was

he passed, I think, in 1969, so it had to be probably in the 40s. Other than Amos Alonzo Stagg, I think the name that people actually recognize is the first name that you gave out, and that is Steve Spurrier, and the old ball coach will be at this event on April 13th. All right, go to DC Touchdown Club.com. By the way, there's a lot of ways for you to participate as well if you're a business and it'll spell it all out there. Great event every year. Steve literally resuscitated the DC touchdown club,

which was so important for such a long period of time. And he's built quite a bowl game now that's a big part of obviously the area in the military bowl. How many years now for the military bowl? Let me guess on that. I'm going to guess that it's been, are you, it's, It's 15 years, isn't it?

It's 15 years, yeah, two without a game, though. But it's been 15 years. 15 years. I can tell you this. I certainly remember the first four or five of them. I was there for him, and Steve was nice enough to allow me to play-by-play call the games with Doc a couple of years, which was always fun. By the way, Doc will be emceeing this event like he does every year. That's almost worth the price of admission.

But go to DCTouchdownclub.com. It'll be a hell of a night. Best of luck with it, as always, and I'll be talking to you soon. And one last thing, Kevin. I just want to stress again the importance of what we do this dinner for and what we run the military bull for is for Patriot Point, our retreat center for wounded, ill, and injured on Maryland's eastern shore. So thank you again for your time.

Appreciate it. Great cause. D.C. Touchdownclub.com. probably the most star-studded event that they have had and hopefully we'll see you there. All right, buddy. I appreciate it. All right, we are done for the day. Back tomorrow with Tommy.