The Kevin Sheehan Show - Portis Says 11-6

Episode Date: July 26, 2021

Clinton Portis joined Kevin on the eve of training camp to talk all things Washington Football. CP is excited about Ryan Fitzpatrick and thinks the team is good enough to go 11-6. He also said that he...'d trade anything for Aaron Rodgers. He weighed in on the reports that Houston was ready to trade DeShaun Watson too. The guys talked NFC East, vaccines, WFT's name, and more. Kevin finished up with the latest on Bradley Beal, the Nats, and a few thoughts on the Olympics so far.  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.

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:02 You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Cheehan Show. Here's Kevin. All right, the podcast today is brought you by MyBooky. Go to MyBooky.orgie. And you can bet on anything you want to bet on.
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Starting point is 00:00:57 so they'll have lots of action on all of that. Joining me to start the show today, one day before the Washington football team goes to training camp, is Clinton Portis. And I came up with a list of questions to just ask you here, which some of them will turn into conversations, and maybe some of them won't. First of all, how are you doing? I haven't talked to you in a while. I'm good, man, slow motion. Looking forward to football season, like always. Second question. What's Washington's record going to be? this upcoming season. Keep in mind, it's a 17-game season. That's tough. I get them, I honestly give them 11 and 6.
Starting point is 00:01:42 11 and 6. You do realize they haven't won 11 games since 1991. 30 years. I know they haven't played 17 games before. That's true. I understand that. You really have them 11 and 6. why? I really do. First off, I love their defense. But for years, you know, I've been a fan of Fitzpatrick getting an opportunity and saying, I think he would be the guy for the football team.
Starting point is 00:02:14 And if you really look at Fitzpatrick, he's been in those unfortunate situations. Every year the team that he's on end up with the first pick. So you would assume they're taking. They take a quarterback. You go from Houston where they took the show. Watson to New York where they took the quarterback to Tampa Bay, where they took Winston to Miami, where they took tours. So he's been an unfortunate situation with teams that were really tanking and just weren't trying to win.
Starting point is 00:02:48 You know, if you look at Fitzpatrick before they missed him their by week, he had the Dolphins in contention for a playoff spot. and all of a sudden they decide to go in a different direction with tools. So I think you need a quarterback that's going to be tough skin, there's going to be a go-getter, a guy who doesn't care about turning the ball over or who's worried about his stat or anything else. So with that being said, I think Fitzpatrick has tough skin to where he can handle the media. He's not one of those quarterbacks that the media is going to affect him or getting his head. because of all the situations he's already played through.
Starting point is 00:03:31 And you look at other quarterbacks that were in this system or that were with this team. And the media, you know, from RG3 and Kurt Cousin to Haskin, it was always a media blitz around it. Now with Fitzpatrick, I think he just has an opportunity to go out and play football and he's loaded with weapons around him, which we haven't seen weapons at the wire-sleeval position in quite some time. You know, you could always go back to Pierre and D.J. But I think this wire receiver crew with the weapons that they possess could be really dangerous. You're not trying to say that the media impacted these quarterbacks here that were here previously in a negative way, are you?
Starting point is 00:04:19 You're not blaming the media for that, are you? No, no, no, no. I'm not blaming the media for anything. I'm just saying it was always a media blitz. around whatever these quarterbacks did that were here. I'm not blaming the media for their play. I'm saying the media got into their head. It was always a pick.
Starting point is 00:04:39 You know, again, if you look at RG3 and Kurt Cousouss situation, the media. You know, you look at Kurt Cousers and the franchise tag, the media, you know. It was always a media blitz around it or surrounding it that played a part. So I'm not saying for their performance on the field. I'm just saying getting in their head. You need a guy that's going to be tough skin who doesn't care about what the headlines say, who doesn't care about glitz and glory and fame who's just going out to play football. Because if you look at Fitzpatrick, he don't care about making a mistake,
Starting point is 00:05:16 and that's what you need. You need a guy who's going to go out and say, if I can throw four touchdowns and I end up throwing two interceptions, we win the game. We're up 14. So that's the type of quarterback you're losing this. I mean, in the DMV. Yeah, I mean, I definitely think that Ryan Fitzpatrick would appear to be one of those guys who isn't going to let the pressure of the position in any market bother him.
Starting point is 00:05:48 And yes, the pressure on the quarterback of the football team in this town has always been there, no matter who it's been over the years. It's always been, look, I don't know if it is anymore, but for many years, many people said the quarterback of the Washington Redskins is the second most important person in town, and it's debatable with the president of the United States. So there's always been, you know, that kind of spotlight put on the quarterback, and some handle it well, and some don't.
Starting point is 00:06:17 And I would agree with you, Fitzpatrick seems to be the kind of guy that isn't going to give a shit one way or the other about what anybody says. fans, media, or anybody else. So that would be a good thing. You really are, and you have been, a big Ryan Fitzpatrick fan. Before he got here, why? I just, again, as I told you, you look at the situation he's been in throughout. You look at Houston.
Starting point is 00:06:43 You look at the Jets. You look at the Dolphins. You look at the Bucks. And he gave them opportunities every season before they drafted a quarterback. It was just already within the organization, hey, we're taking, we're going to get this guy. Deshaun Watson come available, the Texas takings, you know, Darnal come available for the jets, James come available for the books, and then tour is sent here for the Dolphins. So you can't blame Fitzpatrick for those situations because the team decided to go in another direction.
Starting point is 00:07:20 He was just a gap filler again, where it seems like he's a gap filler here, but I think he actually has a legit chance to be the man here. So why, though? You know, why haven't teams over 17 years of his career committed to him and committed to building around him rather than looking at the first opportunity to replace him? Well, I mean, it's the same all the time. You're always looking for a quarterback. The quarterback is so important.
Starting point is 00:07:49 and no one realizes the weapons around the quarterback. In all of those situations, look at the weapons around those people at the time. You know, he never really had weapons. And I think he's going into a system where he has an opportunity to have weapons, a team that's put together defensively. I think it could be one of the top three defenses in the NFL. So you're not sitting here worried saying all this pressure is on me, offensively, and I don't have any help.
Starting point is 00:08:19 He actually has helped on the office side of the ball. You got it in Sonny O'Gyston. You got a wire receiver corps with Terry at the lead, with Samuel, these young guys. I actually think Gandy Golden should pop into the scene. So you have guys who's going to become playmakers. I love Brown. You know, so you got five, six receivers all of a sudden where you didn't have, you didn't have two previously. And for him, he'd never had a core receiver.
Starting point is 00:08:52 I know, but you're not answering the question. I asked you, why didn't teams believe in him and then commit to building around him and giving him the weapons? They always bailed on him. Teams always like the Shiner new guy. All of those guys, rightfully so, should have been replaced. I mean, all of those guys should have been picked over Fitzpatrick. You know, Descendant Washington, look what he turned out to be.
Starting point is 00:09:18 Sam Dornham, look who he's turning out to be. James Winston is still up for grabs, but coming off the season that he came off of at FSU, why wouldn't you take it? So I think Sam Dorn... I mean, I think Fitzpatrick has just been an organization that were going in a different direction. They all had new coaching,
Starting point is 00:09:36 and a new coach always on a new quarterback and something to play with. So therefore, he's been an unfortunate situation, whereas here, his intangibles, being able to get the ball out of his hand, having a rocket on, taking chances, the smarts is that I see him pick the red skins apart. You know, years ago, he picked, they should have won the game and didn't, but just the play that he had, the playmaker's ability that he gave the Dolphins in that game,
Starting point is 00:10:05 you know, I think he's smart enough to make the throws, he know where the ball should go, and now he actually has weapons to give him to him. I mean, I'm playing devil's advocate, but the truth is I sort of agree with you. I'm excited about him. I think it's a major upgrade. I've always kind of liked him. I thought Miami had they not decided organizationally to commit to Tua after the sixth game, that they would have been a playoff team last year.
Starting point is 00:10:30 I think he's playing the best football of his life. He said last week, this is the best situation he's been in in terms of a surrounding team that he's been sort of given the starting job to. He sort of admitted that, you know, I mean, there's been this discussion about a competition. There's no competition. Fitzpatrick's going to be the starting quarterback. But part of that supporting cast is what you've already referred to once, and I want to get into that.
Starting point is 00:10:55 And that is actually one more question about Fitzpatrick. They took a big swing that we know of, and maybe a couple of others, but they did make a big effort to try to trade for Matt Stafford. Would you prefer to have Matt Stafford or Ryan Fitzpatrick? Of course. You would say Matt Stafford. Okay. When that didn't work, I wasn't disappointed with Fitzpatrick.
Starting point is 00:11:22 Of course, you're going to take a chance to shoot for Stafford. You know Stafford was going to come out year-in, year out, give you four or five thousand yards, whatever. He throws for on a yearly. I think Stafford is a quarterback. He's been in a system, again, on a team that just didn't have a total team. He's always had, you know, you go back to Calvin Johnson and you look at the receivers that he's had,
Starting point is 00:11:48 but they didn't have a running game. They didn't have a defense. It wasn't a team around him. Everything was placed on Stafford. Now that Stafford is with the Rams, I think you're going to see a guy who could possibly be in the conversation for MVP because they have weapons. You know, I don't think they're receiving court is as strong,
Starting point is 00:12:06 but they have playmakers. You just lost your thought running back to ACL. So I think the Rams, especially with, with their head coach with Sean McVeigh, teaming up with Stafford, they're in a great position. But you look at Fitzpatrick. I don't see why teams or organizations keep looking at him, like, this is a gap filler,
Starting point is 00:12:32 when this guy's actually playing at a high level, and you can go back to Tampa and really see the rise. Since Tampa, the confidence that he's been on with the opportunity that he's gotten, you could see where it's, You know, you look at his fashion sense. You look at his statement, his style. He doesn't care.
Starting point is 00:12:52 He's going out to play football and he's having fun at this point. So that's what I look at. All right. I want to talk to you about the defense. I think that the two big storylines going into training camp, first of all, let me just mention, this is going to be a training camp and a season, as for now, for right now, that is going to be more about football than it has been. and a lot of recent years.
Starting point is 00:13:16 A summer ago, let's not forget, it was the name that had just been lost. They were all of the stories of sexual harassment. You had a coach that was on the verge of getting cancer. You had Alex Smith and his whole situation. This is, I think, for the first time, a lot of people are focusing in on the football, which is a good thing. And I think the two big storylines are Ryan Fitzpatrick. Is he the right guy? And I think it'd be hard to say that he's not going to be an upgrade because the quarterbacking situation last year wasn't very good.
Starting point is 00:13:45 And then the defense. How good is it going to be really? And this is where Clinton, I would say to you, and I want you to respond to this, it's got a lot of young talent. It's well-coached, much better coached than defensively. Our defenses have been in recent years. However, with that said, it was also a defense last year that while statistically it finished very high, it played a lot of backup quarterbacks, a lot of terrible offensive teams last year. And the good teams the defense faced last year, they didn't have great games.
Starting point is 00:14:22 They gave up 500 plus yards to Tampa Bay. They got run over by the Buccaneers in the playoff game. Carolina ran the ball on them. I mean, Seattle ran the ball on them. The Giants beat him twice last year. Detroit beat him with Stafford having a massive day. I know they've added William Jackson III. I'm excited about that.
Starting point is 00:14:41 They drafted Jamon Davis. It's year two in the system. But how do we know for sure that this is going to be an elite defense? It was not elite last year. It was improved and it was good. It was not elite. Well, I think Chayshon was a rookie last year. All right?
Starting point is 00:15:00 He's coming up to his second year. We know what he's capable of. He's a proven commodity. You look at Davis, you know, going out and getting David, the guy who's sideline the side line. line and can make plays. I remember watching him at Kentucky come down hill, and I'm thinking, like, when did Kentucky get a defense?
Starting point is 00:15:21 And it was really just him on defense head, hunts. And then you lost Landon Collins last year. So when you look at the secondary, you're getting Landon College and Worning Jackson back. The lineback of course, you got faster with your linebackers, and your D-line, which was the face of the team last year comes back and feel like they're much improved. So with that being said, I just feel as if this defense in year two, knowing where they're supposed to be, knowing what's asked for them will be much better. And I think Davis brings that much to the table that for one stopping, being able to have
Starting point is 00:16:06 a linebacker that can cover a tight-in or having a linebacker that can cover a running backer. out of the back field where you're not constantly shuffling guys on and off the field, trying to find something and cover someone else up. I think even Montaid Sweat had a breakout season last year, which is going to be even more. Now you're game planning for Sweat and Chase Young. And we almost kind of forget about those guys in the middle with Alan Payne and ionitis. So you have a lot of potential. It's really just getting it together.
Starting point is 00:16:39 And then another thing that people don't realize, offense was atrocious in some of those games and had to get off the field. They were three and out often last year. This year, I don't see a lot of three and out with Fitzpatrick. And I don't see a lot of three and out or I don't see the defense having to be on the field as much as they were last season. Now I think you have a balanced offense that could run the ball. I think you improve offensive line-wise. I think your receivers are, the receiver position totally upgraded this off season. So I feel like the team gives you an opportunity to offense and gives the defensive
Starting point is 00:17:22 opportunity to rest. And that hasn't happened. And I don't know how long, you know, normally is the defense trying to spark and get the offense to doing something. This year, I actually still exist. This offense has a potential to put points up and sustain drives. Fitzpatrick can pick you apart going down the field, taking the little small dumps underneath,
Starting point is 00:17:46 and we saw him do this in Miami a lot. So taking what's there, this is not the guy that you could say, oh, you know what, he can't throw the intermediate pass, or he's not throwing deep balls, you know. He's accurate. He can make any throw. So I expect for the team to be able to get out
Starting point is 00:18:07 in sustain, drive, get a defense, opportunity to rest, and that's going to make the defense much better. All right. Clinton Portis is joining us. 15 years ago, we'll get back to the team here in a moment in the league and the division. 15 years ago, you were with this football team that you were coming off the 2005 season. Remember the playoff win at Tampa, the near playoff win at Seattle. I still believe that if Carlos Rogers hangs on to that pick six early in the game and you guys build a 10-0.
Starting point is 00:18:39 lead, that that is basically the closest we have been to an NFC championship game in 30 years, basically. But the offseason was an offseason where Dan and Vinny went out and started spending a shitload of money on Antoine Randallel, on Adam Archelette, they traded for Brandon Lloyd, they traded for T.J. Duckett before the season went on and on. I'm curious if, you know, that team 15 years ago, because that, you know, I've said that I think most fans are as optimistic about the team going into this upcoming season as they've been maybe since 2013, you know, after RG3's year. And if not, you'd have to go back 15 years after that 2005 season.
Starting point is 00:19:27 And by the way, the last time this franchise won a playoff game was 15 seasons ago against the Buccaneers and then nearly beating Seattle. you were a big part of that team, you were on that team. Did you think that they were going a little bit too crazy in free agency? And, you know, what do you remember about, you know, the end of the season in Seattle and then the off season that was super active but turned out to be a bad off season? Well, I think as you said, you go back in if Carlos gets that pick up in Seattle, I think it kind of changed its trajectory.
Starting point is 00:20:05 and all of the change that we had after that season, we didn't leave. You know, I think at that time, Coach Rennie might have been the one calling play. And I think after that season, the team had come together and really brought into Coach Gibbs' hard-nosed, downhill, tough style of play. Then all of a sudden, we changed. You know, we rather than a new offensive coordinator. Al Saunders. That went side to side with Al Sanders. And the identity of the team went from, like, that hard nose.
Starting point is 00:20:42 We're tougher than anyone. We're going to compete. We're going to make sure we put lumps on guys to. Now everyone's trying to figure out where they're shifting to it. You know, that Al Thunders offense. You know, then I ended up getting hurt around the Lale. You know, those guys, we made big splashes that we did. didn't need to make because you lose
Starting point is 00:21:05 Ryan Clark, you know, you lose Antonio Pierce and those two alone losing those guys. I think we lost Robert Royal. Smote was already gone. Was smooth still here? Smooth was still there. So you lost
Starting point is 00:21:21 so many guys that brought value to that locker room. You know, I think we lost Dockery as well. So you lose these guys and you replace them with guys who just
Starting point is 00:21:37 really didn't fit the mode of what we already had. When you lose a Ryan Clark or Antonio Pierce, a doctory, a young Derek Dockery, you know, you lose Robert Raw, and all of a sudden you got a new
Starting point is 00:21:53 offense. You know, the culture just began to change. You know, you go from looking at these guys and says, boy, these dudes are going to be something special to, we got, you know, we got this guy and Sean T. And Ryan Clark, you know,
Starting point is 00:22:08 hard-hidden, ferocious safety, and all of a sudden, we shift. You know, we shifted the page, and you go to Adam Archelette, who didn't pay him out.
Starting point is 00:22:18 You know, everybody talked about, um, the detackle. What was that? De-Tackleckleck. Haynes work. Everybody criticized Haynes work.
Starting point is 00:22:28 But Archeletta, you know, Archiletta got paid and didn't do nothing. He, He ran down on special teams, you know. So you look at a lot of those situations, and you're just like, man, we had something special in 2005. If we just would have gotten another opportunity in 06 to run it back,
Starting point is 00:22:50 then I think I get hurt in the preseason. Yeah, when you chase down the interception against Cincinnati, right? Exactly. But I shouldn't have been in the game in the first place. You know, you look at that in that season, kind of totally went away from us. You know, Liddell was the one who had a great year in 06. But other than that, we had so much ducking him paying out.
Starting point is 00:23:14 Archelaide didn't pan out. B. Lloyd, who I thought was the best free agent acquisition at that time, the coaches didn't understand. You know, B. Lord was such a different cat that our coaches didn't understand how to communicate with him or how to use him. And because he wasn't a practice player, because he wasn't the guy who, you know, like he was a different kind of dude.
Starting point is 00:23:42 And our coach's staff couldn't relate to him. You know, I don't even think Stan really understood him. And that was our wild receipts coach. But on the field, B. Lord had been making plays out of his friend at the time that were, you know, top highlights every week. and all of a sudden we get him and we can't even get him the ball, you know, and I think it was, they didn't like how B. Lloyd kind of, you know, made it obvious that the quarterback made a bad throw instead of him trying to run the route out.
Starting point is 00:24:18 Like he's looking at the ball, like, who you throw in the two, you know, or he would stop on his route. It was just one of those situations. They didn't understand him. I actually think B. Lloyd was a hell of a teammate. in a playmaker, and we could have used him, and we didn't use him correctly. We were trying to get Randallel to be an egg factor in the offense, and that wasn't even going.
Starting point is 00:24:42 You know, we went from tough nose to we're quirky. Like, we're trying to, I don't know what we were trying to do, but it wasn't working. Yeah, I mean, that year was one of the more frustrating years because I just remember thinking after 2005, for someone like me who had lived through, you know, the Gibbs era of winning Super Bowls and being a contender every year. It was the second year. We had won a playoff game, and it was like, wow, here we go. Joe's about to really get it going again.
Starting point is 00:25:17 And 2006 was a disaster. And I agree with you, too. I think Joe, for whatever reason, I think he lost confidence offensively. that the years that he had been out of football, the 11, 12 years he had been out of football, that it had passed him by a little bit. And yet in 2005, you were back to the way that he was playing. And it was a tough physical brand of football. And, you know, it wasn't the way you were running in Denver,
Starting point is 00:25:49 but you were still incredibly effective. And, you know, we had tough, hard-nosed guys. And I think he lost confidence, which is why he brought Al Saunders in. and it was a big mistake. Yeah, that was definitely a mistake. That was a move that we didn't need to make. You know, we didn't need to make that move which totally changed the offense
Starting point is 00:26:14 and changed a lot of roles within the offense. So I think when Al came in, he came in like, this is my offense. Like, we got this outstanding, we're going to shift and we're going to do this. And guys like, man, we line up and get down hill. Like, we're smash-mouthed, you know. And by the time you shift from the right side line to the left side line to come back in motion and run a sweep,
Starting point is 00:26:45 shit, I couldn't even breathe, you know. So it was just one of those situations that that wasn't the move at that time. How many pages was the playbook? Remember there was like this rumor that it was, I forget how many, it was a huge playbook, right? It was a huge playbook and it was like all shifts and this guy goes to here and this guy come in motion and then we run to play back to the other side. Like it was so, it was just one of those situations that you didn't buy into. And, you know, unfortunately I got hurt. And again, LaDelle had an outstanding year.
Starting point is 00:27:29 with that. You know, Liddell has an outstanding in 06 with that. And then we lost Liddell. You know, he goes to the same. Rock was in a situation that, unfortunately,
Starting point is 00:27:45 they brought in T.J. Duckett. So Rock, like, man, they brought this dude in over me, you know, and Rock was one of those backbones to the team that did everything, any and everything that he could possibly do. and was searching for an opportunity,
Starting point is 00:28:01 and then you go out and you pay T.J. Duckett, who gave us nothing, you know. And it was just one of those. It changed the culture in the locker room for the wrong reasons. I think we lost LaVarra after that as well. So it was so much going on within the locker room and within the team because guys were just, like, just jealous. You know, you go from that 04 season to the same. saying we were on the cusp
Starting point is 00:28:31 weekend, week out. You go back to that Green Bay game at 04 that we had the game winning touchdown and they called James Washington. I mean James thrashed for legal motion. Yeah, so you go back to that change
Starting point is 00:28:47 and then every game after that it was kind of a last possession game. Although our record didn't show it, we fought and then that 05 season where everyone counted us out and all of a sudden we go on the run and we did we went on the run as a team and we began to enjoy each other as a team and then we had that much change in our locker room to keep
Starting point is 00:29:14 people you know losing again Ryan Clark losing Antonio Pierce those guys went on to become captains of a championship team you know yeah and we had that in our locker room right you lose Revard, you lose, you lose Robert Royal, you lose dockeries. Like, bro, you come in the locker room, like, who is this dude? Like, who is he when you're used to being a guy that you know you can count on, depend on, and that was going to go out and leave it on the field? You know, by the way, just the end of that 2004 season, Gibbs' first back, you know, the year that started with your touchdown run against Tampa on the first play from scrimmage,
Starting point is 00:29:56 you're right that team and I remember thinking at the end of the year this is typical of Gibbs's teams they've got you know they're playing their best football at the end of the year they're still fighting you know for a playoff berth even though you guys were eliminated but it was a good carryover the game that year was the final game when minnesota came to fedex had to win to make the playoffs and you guys beat them and randy moss walked off the field before the end of the game you remember that Yeah, I do. You know, and that game, coming to the stadium, I remember Coach Gibbs was saying, no, you're not playing this game.
Starting point is 00:30:36 I'm like, what? You know, like, we got to win this game. This is one of those situations. And I didn't even play in that final game, you know. And like you said, you look at that team, and that team had bought into it, and it showed the following season where guys came together. and then you're going to have these big glass and change everything, which, yeah, big mistake.
Starting point is 00:31:00 Totally changed the locker room. Yeah. I mean, I think that 2006 off season really was a game changer when things, when the arrow was pointed up. And, I mean, we can point to several examples of that over the years. All right, I've got a few more questions for you. I want to ask you about the rest of the division, and I want to ask you about vaccines,
Starting point is 00:31:23 and we'll do that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Clinton Portis is with us on the podcast today. Maybe we'll talk about some other sports because Clinton's always into other sports as well. But I'm going to ask you a personal question. If you don't want to answer it, that's fine. I'm just curious. Have you gotten vaccinated? No.
Starting point is 00:31:50 Are you going to? Probably not. Why? I don't see that, for one, I've had COVID. I had COVID last year, I had COVID. And after experiencing COVID, to just the trial error of this vaccination was not something I wanted to jump on. Like, you don't have enough research to give. You don't have an answer to give.
Starting point is 00:32:22 And then once I begin to think about taking a vaccine, all of a sudden you come up with all. of these incentives would scare me off. Like, when did they start giving an incentive for you to do something? You know what I mean? Like, all of these incentives actually scared me. When they start, oh, here, trying to get you in and doing XYZ, that scared me. So, and then you start seeing supposedly all of the side effects, you know, the issues that people were having, the deaths,
Starting point is 00:32:58 you know, surrounding the vaccine. And as much as people say, oh, man, you got to take this vaccine, everybody body responds. I've never been one of those guys that get sick and stay sick. You know, I don't have a lot of colds or, you know what I mean? Like, I don't take medicine and all of that. So it's just one of those. Let me see the effect. So I know people that's taking it that, you know, felt fine.
Starting point is 00:33:26 I know people that's taking it. that had side effects that lasted, you know. So for me, it was just one of those. I think it was happening too fast. It was too much going on. I've already had it. So, you know, I'm willing to take my chances. Right.
Starting point is 00:33:43 So I'm saying that I haven't been in the position to be around a lot of people. I haven't been out and about or going through stations or in a locker room either. All right. I'm not going to sit here and try to suggest and talk you in. getting the vaccine. That's not why I asked you that. I asked you that and I didn't know the answer because I'm wondering now that you have told me that you're not vaccinated and that you're hesitant to get the vaccine, if you are an NFL player right now and the NFL put out that memo last week talking about, you know, significant punishment slash consequences to teams who, you know,
Starting point is 00:34:20 end up having games postponed or canceled or forfeited due to unvaccinated players, where players, whether they're vaccinated or not, won't get paid if a game forfeits. Teams will get fined significantly for games that are lost due to having high unvaccination rates. If you were on a football team right now and, you know, the league was pressuring you and there was, you know, economic consequence, financial consequence, potentially, if your team lost a game, would you get vaccinated for your in that situation? I think I think the mishandling of it was you should require that from the beginning. You know, don't give guys a choice and then force it on them.
Starting point is 00:35:08 If that was your requirement, then say, hey, it's mandatory to take this shot instead of saying, well, you know, if you want to take the shot you can, if you don't have to. And then you come back like, no, you're going to take the shot. Why ever give them the option to take the shot? You know, it shouldn't just have been mandatory from the beginning, and then you wouldn't be coming into the season in this opportunity or having this mess of a situation where guys are saying, hey, you know what, I don't want to take the shot for whatever reason,
Starting point is 00:35:37 or coaches walking out and coaches losing their jobs, or coaches moving on because they don't want to. You could have required this shot when the shot first became available. Well, if they mandated it, if they mandated it, would you have taken it? it if they had said you have to take it because they have not mandated it yet. They've just pressured teams to pressure their players to understand that there could be a significant consequence for teams that aren't vaccinated at a high enough percentage that lose games. If it were mandated, if they said you have to take it or you can't play, would you have taken it? If they were
Starting point is 00:36:13 mandated in the beginning, then maybe I would have. But when they didn't mandate in the beginning, You gave guys an opportunity to make a decision, and now you're coming back saying, well, I changed my mind. You have to take it. Like, you can't. That's like you're trying to punish your kids. You tell them it's okay to do something, and then you're going to change it up. They're like, Dad, like, what are you doing? You know, so it was just one of those situations.
Starting point is 00:36:39 I think they should have mandated it in the beginning, and then you wouldn't have this mess that you're about to have at this point. But would you have taken it had they mandated it if you were a player and they mandated it, they required it at the beginning, would you have taken it? Probably, because I knew, I would have known at that point, like, they're doing this for us to get back on the field. They're doing this for us as a team. Like, everyone is going to be in this position. This is how we're going to get back on the field. Now, you know, guys took the safety precautions and took every measure.
Starting point is 00:37:15 And then you still have people that's getting sick that's taking a shot. You know, you have a lot of the NBA guys that took the shot that had Chris Paul, you know, during the finals or during the playoffs came down with COVID, and he had the shot. So what's to say that the shot is safety before any of the research came out on the shot in the shot and the negative, you know, the negative content that came out from behind the shot. you should have had guys take it being. Yeah, I mean, you do know, right, that there are different efficacy rates for the different vaccines. The one-shot Johnson and Johnson only has a 75% efficacy rate, whereas the Moderna and the Pfizer have 95% rates. A lot of the recent outbreaks, like the one with the Yankees, apparently a lot of the players had the one-shot J&J. There's also Clinton, again, I don't want to get into this conversation, but if you're vaccinated, the U.S.
Starting point is 00:38:18 the chances of getting sick are much reduced, seriously sick. But to be fair also, for a young person that's a fit athlete, the chances that they'd get seriously ill from COVID are pretty remote anyway. It just lowers it even further. So let's get back to football here for a moment. Do you think the 11 and 6 that you predicted Washington would finish wins the division over the Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles? Um, I think, hold on, repeat that question.
Starting point is 00:38:56 Do you think you've already said Washington's going to go 11 and 6 this year? Do you think that that is a division-winning 11-6? Or is it just a wild card 11-6? Are they better than the Cowboys or not? Yeah, I think they are. Again, Cowboys get back. Offense is really strong, but defense took some blows, you know. They lost in corners.
Starting point is 00:39:23 What was that last year? So their defense has taken a step back. You know, if you look at the Eagles with their quarterback's position, it's up with grabs. You know, you don't know how. Are you yawning? Were you just yawning? I did yon.
Starting point is 00:39:41 But you don't know how Jalen hurt is going to turn out. And I don't know how late you were up last night either. I wasn't up late. It was just one of those yons from Taco Fass. But you look at Jayla Hurton that offense, the running back position, you know, the tight end won't leave. Their offensive line is way older.
Starting point is 00:40:06 You know, their defense isn't the same defense, you know, from a couple years ago. So I think the Giants would be the team to push, but that would be contentious upon, Sequan and his help. So Dana Jones and you got some receivers up in New York and you got
Starting point is 00:40:26 their defense is kind of young which makes them dangerous. You know, they have teams to be right. You know, if they click on defense, then they could possess or become a problem. So I think I think we win the division.
Starting point is 00:40:43 I'm with you on the Giants being maybe a little bit underrated, undervalued. I think the key to them is Barclay being healthy, and apparently he's going to start this training camp in the preseason on the Pupp list. That's sort of a shame for them because they missed them last year. I mean, last year the division, right, if the Giants had Barclay or the Cowboys had Prescott,
Starting point is 00:41:07 one of those two teams probably win the division. You know, certainly if the Cowboys have Prescott, they win the division. You know, they finished a game behind Washington. won more than six games with Prescott, even with that defense. And I think if the Giants had had Barkley, they would have won one more. And they swept Washington last year. I think the Giants are one of those teams that could be sneaky if Daniel Jones is the right guy. I haven't given up on him. Have you? Yeah, I haven't given up on him. I just don't think he had the weapons. You know, I think you put him in a situation. And then you took the weapons or the weapons got
Starting point is 00:41:48 injured. So, you know, going out and getting Galdade and the receiving court that they have now, I think gives him some weapons on the outside. Your tight-in and ingram could possibly be one of the better tight-in in the NFL. And if you get, again, say,
Starting point is 00:42:04 Kwanback, who was second-picking the draft, that changes the weapons around Daniel Jones. Now, a matter of staying healthy and having an offensive line is the next question. So it's a lot of questions up in New York, but they have the potential of everything fall in line.
Starting point is 00:42:27 This morning, there was a report that the Texans are now willing to trade Deshawn Watson. Teams have started to do their research on what kind of situation he's going to be in, whether or not the league is going to put him on the exempt list, whether or not they're going to suspend him, what sort of implications there are to future civil trials, which are not criminal trials, but they're civil trials, that he will still have to deal with potentially starting early next year. If you're Washington, let's specifically talk about Washington because they have to have a long-term answer, a quarterback, even though you and I both like Ryan Fitzpatrick in the short term, would you be in the market for Deshawn
Starting point is 00:43:12 Watson? Yes, I would be because you have a guy in Fitzpatrick. If something happens to Watson over the next year or two, you already have a guy in Fitzpatrick who can hold it down. And now you're saying, okay, maybe he's suspended for a year or whatever happened. You know, you go ahead and let Fitzpatrick hold it down. And now you have Deshaun Watson coming available after he serves his suspension. You know, I just don't understand why the Texan didn't trade this, you know, didn't make this. trade when his value was high. Like, why let all of this happen, decrease the value?
Starting point is 00:43:55 Well, they didn't know this was going to happen. Do you think they knew this was going to happen? Yeah, I think they knew. I don't think a story of this magnitude come about, and they had no clue. You know, early on, you were supporting him. Early on, you were all for not training. You're not interested in training. And then all of a sudden the story comes about out of nowhere.
Starting point is 00:44:18 But you have all of these accusations that weren't charging. You know, like, it was about money from the start. So if it was about money from the start, someone knew this. Like, it had been offers made to keep quiet to pay me before it ever came about. You know, so I just feel like there was a lot that we don't know a fishy situation. and I hope that is not true. I hope for Deshaun, and I understand if it is true for the victims, you know, if it's true and the victims had something go on, then why not, you know,
Starting point is 00:44:59 like why not go for the criminal side of things, you know? So that's what makes the whole entire situation. You don't have not one criminal charge pressed against you. This is all about civil, you know, this is all about, getting money. So I just don't understand how many, like, how many masseuses can you have, you know? So, well, he's, he's clearly, he clearly at the very least, even if there, you know, wasn't anything criminal. He's got a serial, you know, massage, happy ending, you know, situation going on. Nobody has that many places that they go to unless they got a real issue.
Starting point is 00:45:42 God. What? That's a commitment, man, like, I don't, that's just tough. The number of lawsuits got up to, like, 24 women that claim that they were his massage therapists. That's a lot of massage therapists, even for a professional athlete, isn't it? Exactly. Yeah. And you're talking to someone who get a massage every week or every two weeks.
Starting point is 00:46:14 and I've been getting massage every week or every two weeks from my playing career. So, and I still haven't come across that many masseuse. And even when you begin to use the app, then people, you know, like, why aren't you getting bad ratings? Why aren't they coming back? Why is nothing being said? You know, I just find, I just find that strange. You know, I wasn't there.
Starting point is 00:46:39 I don't know what happened. I'm saying this is a situation, a tough situation. give up three ones and Montez sweat for him right now? I think it'll be tough for anyone to give up three ones right now because you don't know what the company is. Okay, let's say you do, yes, I agree with you on that. Let's say you do your due diligence, you do your research, you find out that, you know, he's been really working on this, he's got a therapist, not a massage therapist, but a
Starting point is 00:47:13 psychotherapist that's helping him get through this, that these civil trials may end up in him paying out some money, but other than that, you know, he's going to be the player that he's been, and he's going to be, maybe he gets suspended four games this year, but that's it. Are you giving up three firsts in Montez-Swed if you're comfortable that this can be something in the past with him? No, I'm not. Oh, come on. If this would have happened before any of this, before any accusation came out.
Starting point is 00:47:50 Okay. If I would have had to make this trade when it first came available, yes, it would have been a no-brainer. I'd have gave up three first rounders in Montaad's sweat. No problem. Here you go. Like how quick can we get this done? I won't even let the ink drop and we're announced, you know. But now in this situation, I think,
Starting point is 00:48:13 it's hard to give that up. Okay. But you'd still be interested in trading for him, but now you'd give up less because you think that his value's been lessened, even if you felt comfortable about him. I would probably give up two first round peaks for him right now. Like, I would give up two first round peaks. I wouldn't give up sweat. You know, I wouldn't give up sweat and I wouldn't give up three, but I would give up two first round pick.
Starting point is 00:48:42 I'm with you. I said at the time I would give up three firsts and I would even give up Chase Young. I think you and I had this conversation and you disagreed with me on that. But if they had Deshawn Watson, before all of this happened, if Deshawn Watson was their starting quarterback right now, they'd be the number two pick in the NFC to go to the Super Bowl behind Tampa Bay. If they had Aaron Rogers, it would be the same exact thing, if not almost the favorite to go to the Super Bowl. What do you think happens with Aaron Rogers? Do you think he plays this year or not?
Starting point is 00:49:12 I think he plays this year. I just don't know if it's in Green Bay. Again, another situation that I think you let get out of hand, and now you have Aaron Rogers and Devonce Adams that are unhappy with the organization in the front office. All of a sudden, this organization goes from one of the better organizations in sports where people love to go to Green Bay. People love the experience of the town.
Starting point is 00:49:40 the fans are probably some of the nicest fans in the NFL, so all of a sudden, no one wants to be there. You're losing Aaron Rogers. You're losing Devonte Adams. Like, that's a tough situation, you know, for those people that are like gods in Wisconsin. You know, another situation, I think, was mishandled and should have been taken care of earlier.
Starting point is 00:50:06 You know, but I think Aaron Rogers played, I just don't, a guy coming off a season like that, after you know you totally blew it and drafted a quarterback that hasn't either sniffed the field. And you're talking about they're still looking for quarterback. So obviously, this kid wasn't the answer. You know, they're still searching around trying to find another quarterback just in case Rogers don't show up. So this kid wasn't the answer in the first place. You have him there, and you're not ready to turn over the reins to him after you drafted him in the first. Aaron Rogers is saying, listen to me, bro, like, take a receiver, give me some offensive help.
Starting point is 00:50:51 Like, let's address this and you ignored it. You know, and now that he's unhappy and now that he's trying to force his way out, now you have Juan de Atoms who want to leave. You know, you're losing two of the, you know, best players in the NFL. you're two are the best players in the NFL. Like, that's a tough situation. Would you give up three first some Monta's sweat for Aaron Rogers right now if Rogers committed to a contract extension of another three years,
Starting point is 00:51:19 so you had him for five years? He on the plane. The deal already done. Matter of fact, I give up five because I'm trying to get Devonte Adams, too. I give up five first. And whoever else they want. Okay. All right, but would you give up three firsts in Chase Young for Aaron Rogers right now?
Starting point is 00:51:44 I would have to. Yeah, of course. Okay, well, forget on. I don't want people to get confused. Would you give up three first rounders in Chase Young today for Aaron Rogers? He shipped out. He's gone. Yeah, exactly.
Starting point is 00:52:00 He's gone. I love you. I'm giving them more hug. I love you. But it's so funny because I've done this segment on radio with calls. I can't believe how many people wouldn't do it. I'm like, are you insane? We would be for the next three, four years, Super Bowl contenders.
Starting point is 00:52:23 There's no guarantee that they're going to be that, even if 99's the best defensive football player in the league. Look at Von Miller and Bradley Chubb on the same team. They haven't gone to the playoffs since 2015. So, no, that is, Chase, God, I love you, and I hate doing this, but 12's coming to my team and is going to be my quarterback. It's easy. Yeah, I'm telling you, I'm looking them in the eyes and tears and joy and tears and sad. It's like, man, it's such a good dude, but I have to do this.
Starting point is 00:52:58 You know, this is one of these situations, once in a lifetime, and I got to move on. You know, that's just one of those you for him type situations, and I got to make that move. What do you want the team's new name to be? I hate that it's not going to be the Washington football team. I just think, you know, once you come up with a new name, it kind of, again, it kind of removes the Redskine history. You know, those guys Doug Williams, Joe Dizel and Darryne who spent
Starting point is 00:53:39 his entire career, you know, those guys when you look all of a sudden, like, what do they relate to? What do they tie into? You know, it's going to be hard to have rich in somewhere else.
Starting point is 00:53:58 You know, when you have a big, whatever you have, and we're talking about former players or having players around the organization. I just think it changed. You know, that's another one of those tough situations that you're like, oh man, we got, we got Daryl Green and Doug Williams and Joe Tyson
Starting point is 00:54:19 and, you know, Dexter Manley are all these guys that meant so much to the city. And, you know, that name changed that just don't seem right when you're looking at those guys are standing on the field or standing on the sideline. Yeah, calling them the Red Wolves, where the monuments.
Starting point is 00:54:41 Yeah, I'm with you on that. Clinton is always so generous with its time, and I appreciate it so much. You're always easy, and it's always fun having a lengthy conversation with you about a lot of different things. We were going to get into some NBA. I'll just tell you,
Starting point is 00:55:00 I loved the NBA. playoff, so I'll ask you, did you feel the same way? Did you like them or not? Yeah, man, I did. You know, it was, it was great because all the guys had an opportunity. You look at at Tray Young, I think he became a household name. You know, you look at Janis and how spectacular he was, you know, PJ Tucker getting an opportunity to get out of Houston and go and become so important. You know, that. Evan Booker is now household name as well. Chris Paul getting the opportunity to play in the finals.
Starting point is 00:55:38 You know, he didn't win it, but having an opportunity to play in the finals, PG actually showing what he's capable of without having another guy. You know, I think a lot came out of those finals. A lot of people earned themselves the right to say, I'm the man. You know, PG hadn't been the same PG since Indiana, and he got an opportunity to showcase his real talent. I think they would have, if Kauai didn't get hurt, I think they would have won it. If PG played the way that he played without Kauai, I would say that. But I don't see him playing that way if Kauai was there.
Starting point is 00:56:24 You know, I think he would have had to defer to Kauai. but being that he didn't have Kauai, I just think that team or Paul George actually raised his level of play again. Yeah, he had to. He didn't shock himself to the realization, like, I'm still, like, I'm still that guy, you know. So I think a lot of storylines came out of these playoffs. You know, you look at so many guys and opportunities,
Starting point is 00:56:54 it become obvious that why Dane is, is first straight. You know, you got to get Dane some help. I think, you know, him going to Dallas with Luca would be probably... How about here with Bill? No, I think Bill's going to be gone. I do, too. I think Bill is going to be gone.
Starting point is 00:57:15 So you look at those teams and you figure out who could go where, who could do, who could help out. I think Bill going to Utah would be, oh, man. and Bill in Utah. Mitchell and Beal. And yes. I think that would be special. Or even going to Denver. I don't really care about it.
Starting point is 00:57:39 What I would like to see is I would love to see, you know, for once somebody come here. Like the trade, I was going to talk about this in the last segment, but I'll do it with you instead. Beale, apparently the reporting is very, there's a lot of different reporting. Some people saying that Beal is not going to ask for a trade. But in the meantime, a lot of people, you know, the Warriors, the Raptors, the Lakers, there are a lot of teams that are very interested in trading for Beal. And if he's not going to play here beyond next year, then the team should trade him because they can get so much back for him right now.
Starting point is 00:58:16 But if I were Washington, I would love to figure out a way to get like Dane Lillard here for Westbrook. because I think Lillard and Beal and if Hachamura continues to get better, I think that's a team now that can win a series or two in the East. It may not be able to win a championship, and that's the ultimate goal. But the team is currently constructed, it might not even be able to win a series. They might get to the playoffs as a six-seed or a seven-seed, but they're not going to win a series with Westbrook and Beale. A Lillard-Beill combination, I would love that.
Starting point is 00:58:51 but Liller doesn't want to come here. For some reason, nobody wants to come here. I don't understand why that is, because I think you know it's a great place to live. But, yeah, if Beal wants to go, they've got to trade them right now, right before this draft on Thursday. They've got to trade them. Man, I just feel like Bill has went through so many coaches there that if you're going to bring a coach in, Bill is such a huge. guy, you know, within that organization that if you're bringing in a new coach and you're starting over, like get this coach an opportunity to say, hey, let me start with this young kid
Starting point is 00:59:34 and let me start some draft kids and guys that I can develop and let's move Bill, not because he's not a great talent, but just to give, you know, just a fair opportunity because the bill is going to always loom larger than that coach, that coach's word and what. what he's trying to do. Bill can always overshadow that. So, therefore, I just feel as if Bill needs his opportunity to move on,
Starting point is 00:59:59 to go somewhere else. And Westbrook, this, come on, man, you're talking about Westbrook, you can't win with Westbrook. Westbrook did the city of favor by coming in. You know,
Starting point is 01:00:10 the organization, the way he played, the heart that they show, because they put some lineups due to injury or whatever. They put some lineups out that didn't, that didn't stand a chance, but they went out and competed. You know, they had some dog in them. They played hard, and I think that's what you can see.
Starting point is 01:00:30 So I honestly want to see Westbrook go somewhere where he gets a fair shape, you know, where he gets an opportunity in a Miami or somewhere where he can go and he's appreciated because at the end, like he's getting to maybe four or five years up in the NBA, and I won't do these four or five years to be. be rock star years for him. So the same way Chris Paul found the home in Phoenix, you know, I want Westbrook be going to get that kind of opportunity. Well, don't get me wrong.
Starting point is 01:01:01 He's been one of my favorite players for a long period of time. But I just think that the last couple of years, what I've come to realize about Russ is that, you know, he is phenomenal and he is, you know, a stat sheet stuffer, but I'm not saying that in a critical way. he does everything and he can lead you and can be the best player on a team that wins 48, 49, 50 games. But when you get to the postseason and that season slows down and postseason games slow down a little bit, I think it gets much harder to win with Westbrook.
Starting point is 01:01:41 Look, they had a chance against Philadelphia in the opening series, Clinton. You know, M. B'd was out for that game. They could have made it a 3-2 series and they got the shit kicked out of. of them. And it was just, you know, I love him. Like, nobody tries harder than any professional athlete in the last 10 to 12 years than Russell Westbrook. I love everything about him, but I don't think you can win a title if he's one of your two best players. I don't. Well, I think he's always going to be one of your two best players because he's your best player. So everybody isn't making titles. Chris Paul has it one-on-one. James Hardin has it one-one.
Starting point is 01:02:20 So there's a lot of guys with no titles, but Westbrook, he's also, he busts his ass, he give all that he got, those kind of players I'm looking for. So just finding him home, you know, I think it's fair for him. I think it's fair for the coach, the organization, just to find him home that, you know, put him with the grizzlies and somebody, you know, somewhere where he can excel with some young guys that are on the cusp of taking off. even I think he could be in doubt this way. All right.
Starting point is 01:02:53 Go. Thank you for spending this much time with me. I'll talk to you soon. All right. Peace up. Clinton Portis. I always enjoy my conversations with Clinton. I've mentioned this before over the years.
Starting point is 01:03:05 He's really a pleasant person to have these conversations with and always, always available and generous with his time. So I appreciate that. 11 and 6. He's got him at 11 and 6. There's another report about. Bradley Beal that just came out. I'll also talk some Nats in our final segment right after these words from a few of our sponsors. A final segment to finish up, three quick topics. One, Fred Katz from the Athletic, is the latest to report that Bradley Beale is not asking for a
Starting point is 01:03:44 trade and is not mulling the possibility of asking the Wizards for a trade. That is an opposite of much of the reporting all weekend long that said Beale was considering going to the team and asking for a trade. If they do trade them, there is a huge market for him. There will be a bidding war for Bradley Beale. There isn't a player in Wizards history that could bring back as much as Bradley Beale could bring back in a trade. Why do you trade him? Well, because he has one full year left on his contract, and then the year after this upcoming season, he's got a player option. So he can opt out after the upcoming season, become a free agent, and you get nothing for him. This is a big time draft, according to most, loaded in the lottery, and you could get a ton of picks, including
Starting point is 01:04:33 multiple lottery picks by dealing him before Thursday night. I think you have to go to him as somebody you know very well. You drafted, you've got a close relationship with him, and you've got to be up front with him. And you have to say, we need to know what you're going to do after this upcoming season. If you're going to leave, please give us an indication of that now. If you are, we need to trade you now because we need to get a lot back for you so that we can start over without you, rather than being in this situation a year from now where we get nothing back. Hopefully, the relationship is close enough where Beale would say, you know, at the very least, I can't tell you that right now, but the possibility exists that I will opt out of that player option.
Starting point is 01:05:20 bottom line is if there's a possibility of it, you've got to move on from them right now, and you've got to get as many picks as you can. This is not a team where if Bradley Beal is your best player, you're ever going to contend for an NBA title. If Bradley Beal is your second best player and you've got a different number one, not named Westbrook, because Beal is the better of the two players, there's a chance that you can go deep into the postseason. You know, as we were discussing last segment with Clinton,
Starting point is 01:05:49 I think if Lillard were teamed up with Beal and Hachamur developed and Denny Abdi, it was good, and Gafford turned out to be a big rock star as a defensive center. You know, you can win 50-something games and you can win two series and you can be on the brink of a team that, you know, could get to an NBA finals, but not as currently constructed. You've got to trade them if there's any chance you're going to lose them after next year. Second topic, the Nats. They got swept in Baltimore. over the weekend. I was at the game Saturday night. God, Camden Yards is such a great ballpark.
Starting point is 01:06:24 As it always is, it was a beautiful night. Max Scherzer was supposed to pitch. He got scratched with a triceps injury. Jesse Doherty was on the radio show earlier today. You can hear that interview at the Team 980.com or downloading the Odyssey app. But the gist of it was his story wasn't a game story this morning. It was very interesting. They lost in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the ninth inning. Brad Hand gave up two runs. There was a close call at the plate for the walk-off at the end of the game. Orioles win the game five-four. That wasn't his story. The story was when you lose to the Orioles three in a row, you get swept in Baltimore by the worst team in the American League and you're five days away from the trade deadline. The discussion is, who are you going to sell,
Starting point is 01:07:12 and to whom and what are you going to get back? That's the conversation now about the Nationals. They had that very difficult portion of the schedule, which included, you know, the Dodgers and the Giants and the Padres in two different series. And they knew that was going to be problematic. But they really thought that coming out of the other side of the All-Star break, with games against the Marlins and the Orioles, they could write the ship. And in six games against the Marlins and the Orioles, you go five and one, you know, worst case, four and two, maybe you're thinking differently. but when you go two and four as they did, and you lose four in a row, the last one of the Marlins in D.C., and then three to the worst team in the American League, even though they are starting, actually, to get a little bit healthier with Joe Ross coming back, with Goams perhaps back soon, with maybe Schwerber back in a week or so.
Starting point is 01:08:06 And Scherzer not having a serious injury. There was a setback for Strasbourg. But even with that, 45 and 53, eight games below 500, eight games back of the Mets, you are what your record says you are. You're not very good. And even when healthy, they were much better offensively and they put together that one stretch of really good baseball. There are three teams in front of you, even though none of those three teams are dominant and you have so many matchups with all of those teams. the Mets, the Braves and the Phillies the rest of the way. I do see the Nats punting on the season here and making trades.
Starting point is 01:08:48 And the three names that will be mentioned the most over the next several days, if not ours, are Max Scherzer, Daniel Hudson, two key players, obviously, off of the World Series team, and maybe even Brad Hand and Josh Harrison. They'll get a bunch of prospects back, back for those players, names that most of you, including me, won't be familiar with. I do trust Mike Rizzo in a lot of these situations. It's just a shame that a team has had this many injuries. The injuries have really hurt. Without the injuries, maybe they're four back, and you're not really talking this way. If they took two of three from the Orioles over the weekend, it might feel differently.
Starting point is 01:09:34 If you're playing contrarian, there's still a lot of games left, obviously, 64 of them for the Nats. And they're in a division that has the worst record leading any division in the Biggs, with the Mets just eight games over 500. So, you know, theoretically, if you got healthy, you could get back into this thing, but they just haven't been healthy. And the truth is they haven't been very good. So I would expect them to be sellers. Last topic, the Olympics.
Starting point is 01:10:06 I went to watch France and USA play men's basketball yesterday morning at 8 a.m. And it wasn't on NBC. And then I looked forward on CNBC. I looked forward on MSNBC. I looked forward on all of these channels. And then I went to Peacock. And it was available, but it was only available if you paid $4.99 for Peacock's monthly premium subscription service, which I have regular peacock.
Starting point is 01:10:35 I don't have premium peacock. As an Xfinity customer, which I am, you get peacock, but you don't get the premium. That was frustrating. I'm not going to pay anything. $4.99 is a nominal monthly fee. I certainly understand that. It's not the dollar amount. It's almost the principle.
Starting point is 01:10:55 I'm interested. I want to watch men's basketball in the Olympics. It's one of the things that I enjoy about. the Summer Olympics. But I'm not going to pay for it. They lost to France. The game was on tape delay later on in the afternoon. I actually watched the last five minutes of it.
Starting point is 01:11:12 It was sort of flukeish in some ways how France won. There was a missed layup by Gobert where he threw it over his head backwards. And then there was a loose ball that ended up in Evan Fornier's hands and he knocked down a three. You know, there are some issues. You can see it offensively in particular. Lots of threes. They made threes.
Starting point is 01:11:32 the U.S. team did not. But the overall Olympic television experience right now is painful, man. I didn't know anything about three-on-three basketball. I guess it's been a sport in the Olympics for a while. I didn't remember it from the last one, which is now five years ago. The way that you consume this thing is made very difficult, or the challenge in consuming it is made very difficult by NBC. I'm sure it's not an easy solution.
Starting point is 01:12:04 It's a logistical nightmare with all of the sports and all of the different channels. If it were me, I would just stick to NBC for the things that matter. And that is gymnastics, women's gymnastics, track and field and basketball. Just leave that on NBC. Let everybody know it's there on NBC
Starting point is 01:12:23 rather than having to get onto some schedule thing and figure it out. I may sound like an old guy, get off my law on OK Boomer, but I'm telling you, I think it's very, and I'm not technologically idiotic by any stretch of the imagination, especially when it comes to, you know, consumer electronics and television and consuming sports in any way that you can consume it. And you could download the NBC sports app and watch the basketball live that way, which I ended up doing for a brief period of time.
Starting point is 01:12:59 But, you know, all of these different sports, all of the different basketballs, you know, the three-on-three and the men's and the women's and whatever. I mean, I don't know. Maybe they've got free-throw shooting as an Olympic sport now. It's really hard to follow where these things are and when they're on. I just, God, I'd love to know how NBC does with this thing. We already know from Tommy the nightmare that is hosting the Olympics. He's written about that con game for years.
Starting point is 01:13:29 Hard to consume right now. And if the men's basketball isn't going to be on regular TV live, I think it's going to be an opt-out situation for me on most of this. I want to watch Katie Ledecki. I missed her loss last night. And I love track and field. So hopefully we don't have to pay for that, or hopefully we don't have to search for that on some channel that we've never heard of.
Starting point is 01:13:56 other than that, that's it for the day back tomorrow with Tommy.

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