The Kevin Sheehan Show - Will The 49ers Actually Trade Aiyuk?

Episode Date: June 18, 2024

Kevin and Thom today opened with the Celtics winning the NBA Championship. The boys talked much more about Brandon Aiyuk's conversation with Jayden Daniels yesterday and considered the legitimate chances of a receiver like Aiyuk being traded by the 49ers. Some Nats discussion and Ted Leonsis' response to a Thom's beach tweet.  Download the PrizePicks app today and use code Sheehan for a first deposit match up to $100! 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 Cheon Show. Here's Kevin. It's over. Time to say it again, Boston. Anything's possible.

Spanner number 18 has been secured. The Celtics are NBA champions. The Celtics are NBA champions for the 18th time moving one ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers. They throttled the Mavericks last. night in game five in Boston. The show's presenting sponsor, as always, is Windonation. Call them at 86690 Nation or head to Windonation.com. Mention my name for a free in-home estimate. Tommy's here with me on this Tuesday, June 18th. We will talk about the Brandon Iuke and Jaden Daniels' brief conversation that went viral, even more than that, became a trending NFL

story yesterday. I touched on it on the podcast yesterday. We'll get Tommy's thoughts on that. Tress Way said something last week that we will get to. Tommy's got some news. I can't wait to hear it, but I think we should start with the Boston Celtics, Tommy. And this is probably going to be a conversation that rubs you the wrong way, maybe, and actually me to a certain degree. But this 2020, 20204 Boston Celtics team is being lauded

this morning is one of the great NBA championship teams of all time. There are some numbers to back it up.

There's 792 win percentage for the regular season and the postseason combined is the second best in franchise history, but only two

games worse than the team that many think is the greatest team of all time, the 85-8-8-8-8-8-1. 86 Celtics. This team won 17 games in the regular season by 25 or more points. No teams ever done that. Their average margin of victory in the regular season was 11.3 points per game.

Their average margin of victory during a 16 to 3 playoff run was 8 points. The 86 Celtics margin of victory was 10.3 points in the postseason. But a lot of people are saying this team is up there among the greatest teams ever. Do you have a response to that or anything relating to the series that just ended last night? Well, I'll grant you that the numbers do tend to back them up. And they went 16 and 3 in the postseason. You know, that's pretty impressive. but, you know, the level of competition they're facing.

There's so many other components that go into it, not the least of which is the NBA sucks now, as opposed to when those 85-86 Celtics played. But look, if they want to make that argument, I'm not going to stand on a hill and scream because they've got the numbers to back them up. They weren't really tested. I mean, this Mavericks team is not a particularly great team.

They've got a couple of great players, neither of which really came through for them last night. But I'm not going to scream about this one. You know, I don't think it's true. I can name a lot of teams that I would consider greater teams because of, you know, the era of when they accomplished it and the competition that they had to face. But they've got the numbers to back them up. And it was a dominant performance. Putting aside the conversation of, you know, would a team today beat a team from the 80s

because I think they would. And that's never the conversation. And I'm not going to have that conversation. I just don't consider this team to be anywhere near the greatest team, you know, the greatest teams that I've ever watched. I mean, you hit on the big thing, which was they really were not tested. I mean, there have been much more dominant postseason runs. I mean, the Warriors in 2017 went 16 at 1.

The Lakers of Shaq and Kobe in 2001 ripped through the postseason going 15 in one. We remember the Moses Malone foe, foe, foe, team in 1983 that lost one game. They went foe, five, foe. but they were dominant. You know, the 87 Lakers, look, the 86 Celtics, I think, is the greatest team that in one NBA season and postseason that I've ever seen. And this team isn't even close to that team. This team isn't close to the 96 Bulls or the 83-6ers or the 87 Lakers. you probably got some teams from the 60s and 70s.

But it was a dominant season. I'm not going to take away the fact that they had a dominant season. And it was a pleasure to watch them actually during this postseason and in these finals in particular because they really were an exceptional defensive team for starters. Yes, they were. I mean, you know what? I didn't enjoy watching them in a couple of times. I watched them during the season, even though they were good.

I just didn't really enjoy watching. I thought they were kind of an undisciplined team, and they proved me wrong in the postseason on that. Yeah, they were well put together by Brad Stevens. They were well coached by Joe Missoula, but they just put players, almost every player they put on the floor, could guard. And if they weren't a great defender, it seemed like their effort was elevated to a level that got them results.

They were just suffocating last night on Kyrie and Luca in particular when the game was still a game. And it really wasn't a game after that end of first quarter run. But they were a pleasure to watch defensively, especially in this series, after what we watched Dallas do out west. And they were a much more appealing team. watch offensively for people like me who can't stand watching the stagnant ISO, every position, every possession, excuse me, the ball, you know, getting dribbled to the point of exhaustion.

I just, I don't think a team like Dallas, the way they play, you know, which is primarily ISO and searching out matchups for their star playmakers, I don't see a team ever winning a title. playing that way if they've got a good defensive team in their way like Boston. It's just not sustainable to play that way against a team like Boston if you have to win four out of seven. You know, they can play make and they can shot make their way to a win or two, but not four out of seven. But I thought Boston was a pleasure to watch, you know,

but they're just not for me. I mean, sorry. there's just so many great NBA teams that I can think of that I do not I did not consider this team as I was watching them to be in that conversation. The biggest issue, again, is they just weren't tested. They went through an Eastern conference that was so soft. And then it came up lame with three key injuries in the three series that they had. And then they got a five seed. Let's face it.

They got a five seed that plays ISO basketball, which was perfectly suited for them in terms of a matchup. And they were just the much better team. But overall, their regular season and their postseason numbers-wise and margin of victory and just to how good they were in the postseason, especially in the finals on defense, they certainly were a hell of a champion. Just not in, that 85, 86 Celtics team was amazing. And then the 87 Lakers, Showtime Lakers, that ended up beating that Celtics team, which was, you know, the third time they had faced each other, the Lakers and the Celtics in the 80s finals. I mean, I just, you know, that team.

Yeah, I would put the 70 Knicks in with those who beat West Unselt's boards. More nothing. Wilk Chamberlain and Jerry West Lakers. I mean, that's tested. Yeah. You know? Yeah. And last night, it wasn't a particular test, but you got it.

You can only play who's in front of you. Yep. You know, and Celtics did that. I think, you know, you could argue that they won this NBA title right before the season started when Drew Holiday became available. available? Yeah. He was Brad Stevens. I mean, moved on from Marcus Smart,

added Drew Holiday, added Porzingis. Look, they did this without Porzingis playing a lot of the postseason too. So they may have been even more dominant had he been healthy, but, you know, the expectation of him being healthy is unrealistic to begin with.

But he also started, he also got them off on the right foot to start this year. In game one, yes. He did. Yeah, he did. Yeah, he did. It's just like the holiday set the tone last night at the beginning of the game. Yeah. You know, the other thing about this Boston team, it is nice to see teams that essentially are grown and they grow up together. They're drafted together.

They grow up together. It's really what the NBA has been about in my lifetime, which is, you know, you don't, it's an old. person's league. It's an experienced team league. You don't win it with Anthony Edwards in his first postseason. It just doesn't happen in the NBA. It takes time. This team lost to Golden State in the finals two years ago. It got eliminated in a seventh game in the Eastern Conference Finals at home last year to Miami when Tatum rolled his ankle early in that game. But the two of Brown and Tatum are two excellent players. They have, you know, they've faced the adversity and the calls for, you know,

win it or you really can't be judged as great until you win a title. Jalen Brown, to me, deserve the MVP. I thought he was the best player in the series over the five games. I thought Jason Tatum was the best player last night. God, he was a phenomenal facilitator. as he was many times during this series. But Brown's defense was amazing all series long. You know, here's something that I thought about,

because I said this, I think, before the finals started, that if Dallas wins, it'll continue the run of clearly a top five player needing to be on your team to win a title going back to 2003, the 2004, excuse me, Pistons did not have an obvious top five or a debatable top five player. And I said, if Boston wins the title, I know that Jason Tatum's a three-time first team all-NBA player. So you can argue, you can, that he's a top five player.

He's not a top five player in the league for me. The two of them are top 10 to top 12 players, top 10 to top 15 players. You know what? I'll mend that. Top seven to top 15. players somewhere in that range. But I don't think either one of them is debatably a top five player in the NBA. The two of them together, though, are damn good.

And to have two players right around the top 10 is pretty damn good, especially when they're experienced like those two are. Yeah. And, you know, just as a reminder for Wizards fans, Al Horford proved that he made the right choice when he was a free agent, what, about seven or eight years ago? Yeah, 2016, 2018, 2017, 2017, yeah. Yeah, and the Wizards wooed him big time, and it came down to the Wizards and the Celtics, and he picked the Celtics, and that arguably was a game changer for the Wizard's franchise.

you know, because you have Al Horford on your team. He's not playing for your rival Boston Celtics team when they played in those early postseason with John Wall. Yeah, 2017. They played in the conference semifinals to a seventh game, yes. Yeah. So the Wizards had that connection with the foundation of this team, and then one of the last pieces with Porzengis. it's hard to believe poor thing

is playing for the Wizards I know it kind of is yeah it really is and it was a blip it was like like it didn't exist you know

yeah and the funny thing is I just remember saying God I mean they actually have a player on their team that has the potential to be an elite

superstar but everybody's thought that about him and he just can't stay healthy and then he actually stayed relatively healthy for the year that he was here and he played great. But look, this is a franchise here that is probably looking at like a Boston and saying they drafted Tatum, they drafted Brown, they tried it a couple of ways, they kept at it and it takes time. I mean, this is Tatum's seventh or eighth year, Brown's seventh or eighth year, something like that.

You know, they're probably only in their late 20s. Let me look that up, actually. But, you know, they've been in the league forever now, and you have to be patient on these things. Tatum's 26 in his seventh year, and Brown is 27 in his eighth year. I'm sorry, go ahead. But it's so insulting.

It's so insulting to ask Wizards fans to be patient. It makes sense. They don't have. any choice, but it's still such an insult. I mean, Boston fans at 17 other world championships to keep them warm while they waited for the 18th. Yeah, I know, I know. But, you know, you look at, we have not had a repeat champion since 2018, right, since 2018 now in the NBA, which is pretty wild. The last couple have been teams that have done it through the draft, you know, Denver last year with Yokic and Murray and Porter Jr., etc.

The Celtics with Tatum and Brown. This is the way to do this, but it takes time. And then there is some good fortune involved in landing. I mean, Yokic was a second round pick. So, yeah, I mean, you have to be patient. Now, the other story out of this is Dallas and Luca and Kyrie Irving in particular. You know, Kyrie last night going through the Celtics bench when he checked out of the game.

Classy, and clearly this guy, you know, at least from the outside looking in, has gotten it together. Good for him. You know, he's grown up. He's a different guy. But I think Dallas could have used the crazy Kyrie less. Yeah, maybe. Maybe they could have used the crazy Kyrie.

in the three games in Boston because he was terrible in the three games in Boston. And really what was, you know, the most recent impressions tend to be lasting ones. I mean, the lasting impression for me of Kyrie Irving is, you know, he's 32 years old. His best days are behind him. And now that he's become a better person and a better person. better teammate and a better employee, the whole thing. He's actually now approaching that time when he looked like he lost confidence. He didn't play like Kyrie Irving plays. And then, you know, the takeaway for Luca is this. I think game three, when he fouled out and the criticism reached

a crescendo, not so much about his, a lot of, a lot of it was about his defense, but a lot of it was about his complaining and whining. I mean, you saw, after that game, you just saw so many people jump on the, this guy's insane. He's got to stop. He's hurting himself. He's hurting his team. And Tommy, game four Friday night, look, there's not a lot to complain about. They were up at one point by nearly 50 points, won the game by 38. And last night, what much to complain about because he was getting his ass kick from the beginning. But Luca Donchich, the last two games, barely complained at all. Like somebody, and this, it's important for him, I think, moving forward to shed that label.

It's a deserved label as one of the all-time whiners in the history of the game. And I just think it hurts his game. He's a brilliant offensive player. He's nowhere near the worst defensive player I've ever seen. But he was, not healthy defensively. But those that wanted to crown him as like the best player in the game or a top two or three player in the game after the Minnesota series, I'm not ready to do that. He is certainly top two or three as an offensive scoring playmaker, but as an all-around player, no, not yet. And you got to win. You got to win the big one. You got to win a ring to be considered that. And I'm telling you, the way Dallas plays, I don't see them winning a title.

unless they don't face good defensive teams all the way through, which is possible in today's NBA. Let's remember about Luca. He's just about to enter his prime year. Yes, he's 25. 25. Yeah. So maybe that maturity will come. Yes.

Look, the guy is a freaking playmaking scoring machine. And even last night, a lot of his points, I think, came late. but yeah they were they were not ready for a smothering everybody can guard team like Boston Boston was so impressive defensively and they finally you know knocked down some threes which they they were that during the regular season and they shot it well in the first half and how about Peyton Pritchard the second half court shot of the playoffs for him you know one quick minute the perfect guy for that show Perfect guy for that shot. One nitpick. Dallas at the end of the first quarter or first half, no, first quarter.

Like, I just can't stand the guys that get the ball in the back court with two seconds or a second and a half. And they just dribble out the clock because they don't want it to hurt their field goal percentage by throwing the ball three quarters scored or dribbling in a heaving one. It's just so stupid. It's so selfish. Like, you see this in the NBA all the time. Like, these guys can make shots, Tommy, from, I mean, guys shoot jump shots from half court. Now, you know, Peyton Pritchard, you know, had to lean into it and chuck it. But if I'm a Dallas fan and you're getting your ass kicked at the end of the first quarter and somebody dribbles the final two seconds out and doesn't shoot one from 60 feet, it just makes no sense to me at all.

I mean, somehow the NBA should not count any shot beyond half court unless it goes in as part of your field goal percentage. And that way, everybody will shoot it. Anyway, all right, anything else on Boston, Dallas, the NBA finals, these Boston Celtics. Here's a trivia question for you. You ready? I bet you weren't ready for the trivia this morning. The Celtics have 18 titles now. The Lakers have 17.

They got their 17th in the bubble, you know, a few years ago. Who's the team with the third most championships in NBA history? I'm going to say the Warriors. You got it. Very excellent, but not all in Golden State. No. They won one in Philadelphia. Yeah, they won one in Philadelphia.

Wow. I would have definitely guessed when I saw this posed as a trivia question on a show this morning. And before they put up the answer, I just said San Antonio or Chicago. That would have been my guess. Chicago's got six, obviously, with Michael. And the Spurs have five total. But Golden State has seven, which includes, by the way, 1947. and 1956 in San Francisco slash Philadelphia.

And then they've got 75 over the bullets, and then the four with Curry, Clay, and Dremont, you know, that stretch. Yeah, here's a little item courtesy of our friend Joe Yashirov on Twitter. He posted this today. Boston teams have won 13 championships in the last 20 years. Wow. The Patriots have won six, the Red Sox four, the Celtics two, and the Bruins one. That's too much fun for one sports city to have.

I mean, it's a great sports city, so bless them and their good fortune. But you know what I think of when I think of that? I think of I've been in this business now basically 20 years, and if the local teams had won 13 championships during those 20 years, it would have been a hell of a lot more lucrative for all of us. Yes. So much more. The guys in Boston kill it.

I mean, the guys in New York have always killed it, but the guys in Boston that do sports talk radio and have done it for a long time and have lived through the Patriots and the Red Sox and the Celtics and the Bruins. And it's just because you end up with a much larger interested audience. And that equates to things like ratings and ratings bonuses and all the things that we tell you when we say, no, trust us. We'd much rather the football team be great than not be great. All right. We got other things to get to and we will do that right after these words.

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They're efficient. You'll save big money. Your home will look better. Call them now at 866.90 Nation or head to windownation. So I talked about this on the podcast yesterday because the news was breaking as I was recording the podcast yesterday. But this is still pretty much the number one NFL story out there since yesterday afternoon. And that is Brandon Ayuk, the 49ers wide receiver, posting a video of a conversation he had with Jaden Daniels, his good friend from Arizona State on TikTok, where Iyuk. tells Jaden Daniels, quote, they said they don't want me back, closed quote.

You know, Daniels says, that's it. And he said, I swear. And Daniels screams out, my boy, as if to say, maybe we can get this done. Maybe you can get traded to Washington. So lots of conversation about Brandon Ayuk. This is not the first time we've talked about Brandon Ayyuk. And the possibility that the 49ers may decide to trade. them. Now let me just say this real quickly, because I think I said this yesterday, but I want to

emphasize it. If I'm the 49ers, there is no way I am trading Brandon Ayuk. I'm not taking a second, you know, round pick for 2025 for Brandon Ayuk. I am going to try to win the Super Bowl this year. I have a team that can win the Super Bowl. And Ayuk and Kittle and Iyuk and Kittle and and Debo and McCaffrey, all of those guys together, they all end up benefiting from each other's presence. That team with Kyle Shanahan scheming up the offense and calling the plays will have a chance to make another run to the Super Bowl. I would not give a shit if I were the San Francisco 49ers about a second round pick or a second and a fourth round pick. I would say you're playing on your rookie deal. And then, oh, by the way, we might franchise.

you next year. Now, if he's unhappy and he really, you know, and he holds out, it's only going to cost him. There's pain now in holding out, guys, just so you know. You don't see many people hold out anymore because these fines are

not waivable anymore. You know, for missing mandatory minicamp or missing training camp or holding out. And the teams, you know, and the players agreed on that in the last CBA. I'm, if I'm the 40, Niners, there's no way I'm trading Brandon Ayuk. To me, he's right there in the conversation of the top 10 receivers in the game.

But if he is available, I'd be all for Washington making a move for him. What do you say? You would. You would want to make a deal for him. I love the player. I've loved the player for a while. I do have those questions that I'm sure a lot of football fans have, which is a guy like Brandon Ayuk who gets incredible separation, has much better hands than he did when he was young is a real game-breaking. He averaged nearly 18 yards per reception last year. But how much does he benefit from Kyle's scheme, George Kittle, Debo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey? I mean, they are loaded with offensive weapons. And, you know, a guy like Terry McClureen hasn't had a quarterback, hasn't had anything really around him.

But to me, Ayuk is actually better than Terry McCorn. I believe that. I don't think by a wide margin, but I think by enough of a margin, we're having the two of them with John Dotson, Jaden Daniels, Cliff Kingsbury, I want to give Jaden as much of a chance. I want to give him as many weapons. I would give up a second rounder and I would pay the guy. But you're going to have to pay him.

I mean, it's going to be $30 million a year. He's going to be a top five, top three wide receiver contract when the team that trades for them, if the 49ers do deal them when that deal's complete. Well, I agree with you. I don't think the 49ers are going to trade them. But so you're not willing to just see how Jehan Dodson does. Not one all three of them. I think Dodson's going to be really good. I think Dodson's going to be excellent. You can make the case that why pay Brandon Ayyuk top three?

three top five wide receiver money when you've got Terry McClain and you believe in Jahan Dotson and you got a quarterback now that, you know, is a dual threat guy, which that's not the way I view Jaden Daniels. And you're not going to win this year anyway. Well, I mean, Brandon Iyuk would be a part of the run to contention, you know, two years, three years down the road. And, you know, he's got great chemistry, perhaps. with the quarterback already. Look, I just love the player. I've loved the player before the player became like a household name. I thought this guy's going to be one of the best, you know, two and a half, three years ago. And I think he's become that. So yeah, and look, Terry McLaren's

contract, you know, is going to have to get redone here, right? His deal was done. He signed a three-year deal. What year did he sign that? Was it last year or two years ago now? Yeah, so the last year of his deal is next year. 2025 is the last year of Terry's deal. So, yeah, I would be very interested. Yes. I know on paper the team has the flexibility and the money to make this deal. Yeah.

Do they have the money to make this deal? I would hope so, Tommy. I mean, Tommy. Tommy's question is not do they have the salary cap space. It's whether or not they would have the ability to write the guy to check on what you'd have to pay them due upon signing. Yeah, yeah, of course they do. Come on.

What are we talking about? Okay. I mean, after paying $6 billion, are they going to become the cheapest team in the league? I don't see it that way. Look, you could make the case. The offseason was not a big spend. A lot of players, but not a lot, lot of spend. I think Washington still, the last time I checked,

has like the third most cap space in the league. Yeah. That's why they have the flexibility to make a deal like this, but was the decision to build your roster financial or capital like they did this year? I think it was flexibility. I think what Adam Peters did was just giving. himself the flexibility to really, you know, see what he has in 2024 in a developmental year

for a rookie quarterback. All those one-year deals, like 85% of the deals they did were one-year deals. So it just gives him great flexibility in 2025, even in 26. I think I looked at this before, but let me just see something here. So right now, so right now according to over the cap, Washington's got the third most cap space now. Next year, they've already got the fourth most projected cap space. And in 2026 right now, projected they've got the seventh most cap space. So he's given himself great flexibility. Remember, somewhere down the road, if the quarterback turns out to be the quarterback,

you're going to have to pay the quarterback. But right now, you have the luxury of the next couple of years, if he turns out to be the right guy of having a quarterback on his rookie contract, which, you know, is the inside straight of salary cap, you know, luxury. I just love the player. And what I don't know is I don't know anything about Brandon Ayuk personally. I think he's a great teammate and a great guy. I've never heard anything to the contrary.

certainly Adam Peters knows what the answer is on IUC So yeah There are other teams though If Adam Peters wants them They should go get him Yeah There are other teams

Like Pittsburgh would be an obvious team But he's probably not Not going to be traded I wouldn't trade him If I were a 49ers fan I'd say to hell with whatever We're getting back for him We got a chance

we're the second or third favorite to win the Super Bowl in 2024. Let's go win a Super Bowl. Then we can worry about contracts and next deals. The real issue is the 49ers are and have been trying to get a deal done with IUC. But Jeremy Fowler reported over the weekend that talks had stalled. And I think that's the message that he was giving Jaden Daniels. You know, they don't want me back. I think is just his way of saying they're not.

offering me what I want because I would imagine the 49ers would want to have Brandon Ayuk back but man I would think so the receiver salaries are steep that's for sure what's your news you said you had some news no I don't have any news no no you miss you miss took what I said when you said I've got some news for you yeah I didn't say that I don't think I said that okay I don't think I did. Well, we were recording before the show started, so I'll check it out. Well, it wasn't recording.

It was. It was recording when you said. Okay. Well, anyway, I don't think I said news because some information about my friends from personal stuff. But it's not necessarily news, so why don't we save it for the end of the podcast? Okay, we can do that. Do you want to tell everybody about your little tweet from the beach over the weekend and who liked, who responded to that tweet?

Well, first of all, I spent the weekend at Bethany Beach. It was a glorious weekend. Oh, lovely weekend. To be at the beach. I mean, 75 degrees and sunny. And I lived the, I got to live the sea colony life, and the sea colony life is a good life, you know? You know, that's where I spent every summer as a kid at sea colony.

Yeah, I remember you saying that. and you took your family there too. Yeah, when the kids were young, we went down there for probably six, seven straight summers when the kids were young because it's so easy. Now, your son has a place on the west side, the tennis side, right? Yes. Yeah. But still, it's easy. You walk 20 feet out of your house and there's a bus and it gets to the beach.

Yeah, the shuttle picks up. Yeah. Yeah. And you get to the beach, and my son pays for this service for the whole year, where they set you up with chairs and umbrella on the spot on the beach. You know, so it's a sea colony life is a pretty good life. Yeah. And we had a great weekend.

I had a great, let me just say, my favorite restaurant, the Phoebo's, and the Bethany one, had a great meal there. I want to shout out to Jordan for setting us. up there. He's one of the Fibos clan and they took good care of us there. And it's a great meal there. At the Bethany one, I've eaten at the

Rehobos one too as as well. That's Biden's favorite restaurant. In Rehobos? Okay. Yeah. And also something was interesting. I went to Ocean Downs for the first I'm just looking through your Twitter because you haven't gotten to the story that I want you to tell. You went to Ocean Downs. Wow.

Yes, and I was very impressed with the casino there. I'd never been there before for a small, rural casino. Yeah. Very nice. With three restaurants, we ate dinner there, had a great meal, and it was a Sunday night, Father's Day, live racing show. So the place was crowded. and I'm not a big harness racing fan, but racing's racing, you know? Yeah.

And we had a good time. At a great time at Ocean Downs. And like if you're at the shore and you've got a bad weather day, I'd recommend a trip to ocean. Well, I mean, that wasn't an option years ago because there was no casino there, but a rainy day at the shore, as you referred to it, was always a movie day when you had kids. I was always, we're going to the movies down at Midway in Robbeth.

As long as we're giving shoutouts, may I give a quick shout out? Do you mind? It's your podcast. I want to give a shout out to the guys at Atomic Music out in Beltzville, one of the great music stores anywhere. My son, who was a musician, was out. there yesterday and I don't know if he was selling equipment or buying equipment or looking for equipment but he said the guys out there are big fans of the show and my son said this is

one of the best music shops anywhere on the east coast and he's been to a lot of them in Philly and New York in different places he loves the store atomic music Baltimore Avenue out in Belsville, Belsville College Park area So to the guys out there that listen, thank you for listening. And my son was raving about your store. He's raved about your store previously. So I've heard about your store previous to last night. But anyway, continue.

Can we get to, do you have any more beach stories? You were at Ocean Downs. Right. Well, let's get to what you want to talk about. I posted a picture of me on the beach. You know, like I did many years ago when I was at the beach in Fiesta Key, Florida. And that one got a lot of reaction. And so I figured I'd post another one, you know, on the beach, leave me alone, you know.

I love that. Tommy's got a picture of himself in a chair. He's sitting there. He's got his hat, sunglasses on, the umbrella, keeping the sun away from him. although he does have sunscreen parked in the sand right in front of him. I'm looking for the cooler. I don't see the cooler anywhere nearby, but his post is,

on the beach, period, leave me alone. It's great, because it's exactly the way I feel when I am on the beach and relaxing. But tell everybody who responded to this. Well, I posted it on social media, including Facebook,

and who responds with Ted Lee and, Elton's. Ted Leones' comments on my Facebook page, and it's pretty good. He says, Transparent Tom. Great job, Ted. Great job. I have to admit.

I mean, you know, if you haven't read my columns, my nickname for Ted is transparent Ted because he's been anything but transparent as much as he claims that he loves to be. but I liked his comment and I said well played. It was pretty good. You have roasted Ted. We've both roasted Ted, but you've been roasting Ted in multiple ways. Podcasts, radio show, in print in your column. And you've, you know, Tommy's thing is to have nicknames for everybody.

His essential idea with the nicknames is it reduces them. it almost emasculates them in some ways sometimes. But you've referred to Ted as transparent Ted for years, and Ted had a sense of humor about it. Love that. Good for him. He did. Shout out to Ted for that.

Yeah. Absolutely. Now let's start winning some goddamn basketball games. I hate watching the playoffs without my team in it. All right. What else? Want to get to the Nats? Yeah.

Okay, we can do that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey, guys, most of us are interested in our mental and physical well-being to a certain degree. And with that in mind, I'd like to welcome and introduce a new sponsor to the podcast. The new sponsor is Unified Healing, Unified spelled, U-N-I-F-Y-D-D healing. It doesn't matter if you're a big-time world-class athlete or just a somewhat athletic podcaster. Like me, we all understand the importance of mental and physical well-being and proper recovery for top-notch performance. That's why I'm excited that Unified Healing is sponsoring the podcast now.

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we'll go to unifiedhealing.com slash sheen to learn more and find a center near you. That's unified spelled, unified, healing.com Schian. No material or testimonies on the Unified Healing website are intended to be viewed as medical advice or a substitute for professional medical advice diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, including EE system. All right, Tommy, tell us about Shelley's. Shelley's backroom at 1331 F Street Northwest.

You already know from my descriptions of how special this place is. And this special place offers specials every day on their menu of excellence. They've got a great food menu. And actually this week, they've posted the specials for the week, which I've never seen them do before. But these are the weekly specials. And the best one, of course, is a Philly Cheeseburger. Angus Groundchuk. They have a special blend of beef that they use for their hamburgers and cheeseburgers.

Top with provolone, caramelized onions, peppers, butter, toasted brooch roll with a Philly sauce dressing. Okay. I mean, if that doesn't float your boat, there's the blue cheese chicken sandwich. and not my necessarily choice, the Greek salad with chicken. Are you a Greek salad guy? Love Greek salad. Really? Yeah.

Anything with feta cheese. Yeah. Give me any salad as long as it doesn't have nuts in it. Okay. Well, then I'm thinking the whole menu of excellence would be fine for you. I love their menu, and the food actually is legit good at Shelley's. Yes, it is. Really legit good.

not a place that just serves food on the tie. They take their food very seriously, okay, and they care about their menu. They care about their cigar menu, their drink menu, and their food menu. You can find all three if you go online at shelley's backroom.com. Rate us and review us if you get a chance. We've gotten a lot of ratings and reviews recently. This one from J.H.V.Z.23 found this podcast. a few months back. I love listening to Kevin and Tom give their perspectives on the latest news

around the NFL, NBA, NHL, and WNBA. Yes, we've done a lot of talking about Caitlin Clark in recent weeks. But thank you, GHV Z2, 3, for giving us five stars. Just a quick five stars, if you think we deserve it, along with a quick one to two sentence review on Apple and Spotify is a massive help for us, especially over the summer heading into football season. Also, subscribe to the podcast where you can and follow us on Apple and Spotify as well. All right, before we get to the Nats run that they are on, they play at Arizona, they play home against Arizona tonight. You did want to share some news or information or some musings.

of friend conversations. So go ahead. Yeah. This was kind of a wake-up call because I'm older than you. Yeah. Okay. Over the weekend, I found out a friend of mine who I went to high school with, a good friend of mine.

It's in a memory care home now, up in the Poconos for Alzheimer's. He played football in high school and college, and he played rugby after that. So I don't know if that contributed to or not, but this is my second friend recently that I've learned that is in a memory care facility for Alzheimer's. I'm sorry about that. That was a little bit jarring for me. I'm sure. You know, my age. So that just, that just, I know.

That just convinced me to make sure that I keep working as long as much as I can because, who knows, you know, what the future will bring, but I didn't know they had actually memory care facilities that specialize in this kind of thing. My one friend who was in there, he's still a physical specimen. I mean, he's in tremendous condition, but, you know, his mind is going, and he needs to be cared for. So, you know, I hope they can figure out. There's new drugs on the way for Alzheimer's. I hope they can figure this out, you know, before it shows up at my door, at least. Yeah, I mean, it's sad when you hear those things.

And it just, you know, I immediately had a flash to you sitting on the beach saying, leave me alone. Maybe you should invite more people to be a part of your life now while you can still remember them and share some stories. Stop being such a loner. No, I'm sorry about your friend. That's sad. Love this picture, though, Tommy on the beach.

Follow Tommy on Twitter at Tom Levero. All right, let's finish up with the Nats, who have won eight of their last nine games. If the season ended today, which it doesn't, of course, they would be in the postseasoner. They would be tied for the third wild card spot with the Giants. they're starting pitching Tommy. I mean, this is the shocker of the year, clearly. But to have the performances, I understand it's the Marlins. But Gore and Parker and then Hers, hers had 13 strikeouts on Saturday.

And this is a team that's just playing way above what anybody thought. And I'm going to be very interested a month from now. if they're still hanging around 500 and hanging around the wild card race, what they decide to do? Absolutely. You know what they may decide to do, and I could see them doing this, and maybe I can't argue with it, is right around the trade deadline, maybe the time they call up a guy like James Wood, their outstanding, you know, prospect at AAA.

He's been injured, but he's back, I think. He's back playing, and he's playing at AAA Rochester, and he's about to be joined by their number one draft pick, Dylan Cruz, who just got promoted from AA Harrisburg to AAA Rochester. So it's conceivable that, you know, right around, you know, in the middle of July, you could see an infusion of talent from their minor league system. I'm not saying they shouldn't pursue talent at the trading deadline, but I'd be surprised if James Wood is not up by the middle of July at some point.

And then maybe Dylan Cruz to follow him right after that. What about Cavali? may be. Well, Cavali still, well, pitching's not their problem. I know. Well, Corbyn's a problem. Yeah, but remember, Josiah Gray is on the top of the injured list. That's right.

I mean, they're going to have to find a place for him when he comes back. So between him and DJ Hertz, the kid who struck out 13 at his last start, I don't see Corbyn on this in this rotation much longer. you know, I think once Gray gets healthy, I think Corbyn's the odd man out one way or the other. But Cavali's been rehabbing and reports are that he's been doing well. They're taking him very slowly and very carefully because he supposedly is better than, I mean, he was projected higher than all these other guys who are doing well right now. So, yeah, whatever they're doing in their minor league system to develop pitchers right now,

they've got the right message going out to these players because, you know, you don't see a lot of control problems, walks. It's funny because Mitchell Parker, when he first came to them, his big problem was walks, and they worked that out of him, where his control is very good now. I mean, he seems to be the real deal. He's been consistent for a couple months now. So, yeah, I mean, it'll be interesting to see the middle of July.

You hope they're aggressive in a trade day line, but there's also the idea of calling up one or two of very young, talented players as a talented fusion as well. Yeah, it would be exciting. It gives us, you know, for me, now that basketball season is truly over. You know, the last couple of years, it's just been a countdown to football season. Whereas for many years there, you know, five or six out of eight years, we had a pennant contending team over the summer to follow. And it just would be nice.

2012, 2019. Yeah. Absolutely. It would be nice to have this team playing some big games and, you know, an opportunity to, you know, hit on one of these wild card spots. Last thing. Let me tell you, yeah. Let me tell you real quick about the Nats is that for people who say they should still be dollars at the deadline to try to get more young talent. Look, the young talent that they have, part of player development is having them playing competitive games in September. games that means something in September.

That's part of developing a team and developing young players. No, no, no. If they are competitive at the trade deadline, they shouldn't be sellers. They need to have these young players thrown into a pennant race and see how they perform. Yeah, I agree with you. I want to see the, you know, it's like, I mean, it's comparable to the conversation in 2020. I remember a lot of people are like, I don't want to make the playoffs as a 7 and 9 division winner.

And I'm like, no, no, no. You got young players on this team like John Allen and Duran Payne. You want them to have the experience of playing in the game that they played against Philadelphia at the end of that year to clinch the division. And then playing in a playoff game, it didn't ultimately pay off. But I still think it's the right way to go.

I mean, these chances are, well, in the NFL in particular, are fleeting. I wanted to finish with this. Rory McElroy, and I'm pretty sure you didn't watch the golf, but Tommy, Rory McElroy's two short missed putts on 16 and 18, which cost him a U.S. Open. He hasn't won a major in 10 years, but he's been pretty much the best player in the world for the last 10 years. It was a devastating, devastating loss. And he didn't do an interview. He didn't stick around. He took off. Several of you disagreed with my take. My take was essentially, I gave him a pass on this one. I think the guy was in shock. I think there was a little bit of embarrassment too. And you know, you said, well, you got a man up in that spot. It doesn't matter. You got to do the

gracious thing. And some of you also made a really good point, which is, I mean, was Patrick Cantley hanging around? Because he was in it. He had a chance to get to five under. Is it just the job of the runner-up? to be there for the winner? Yeah, it's all good points, but, you know, we knew this was a two-horse race for the most part, for the final hour of that tournament. But Rory did make a statement yesterday on X, on Twitter. First of all, he did congratulate Bryson. He said, quote, firstly, I'd like to congratulate Bryson. He is a worthy champion and exactly what professional golf needs right now. I think we can all agree on that, closed quote. then he said, you know, this week is a big spot at the travelers up in Connecticut. He is opting out, which by the way, I think Sands predicted on the radio show yesterday. And he said he's going to take a few weeks off to, quote, process everything and build myself back up, close quote.

Tommy, I know you hate golf. You couldn't care less. But this was one of those moments in sports where it was a major gag choke. There's just no other way to describe it. And it was painful. I can sympathize with it. Yeah. I can sympathize with them because I had the same thing happen to me Friday night

on the miniature golf course at Bethany. There's two close putts that would have given me to win. So my heart goes out to Rory. Yeah. Yeah. Did finishing second give you a paycheck of $2.4 million? because that would make the process of building myself back up much easier. No, I mean, this guy, I was rooting for him.

I want him to win another major. It's been painful at times to watch his short putting collapse. But that's, you know, Tommy, missing a two and a half foot putt is like the yips. You know, that's the golf yips. For you, the equivalent would be, who was the pitcher that couldn't throw the ball after a while? the St. Louis Cardinals pitcher. Rick Ankeel. Rick Ankeel.

It's not the exact same thing because that's debilitating. Rory's still playing the game at a super high level. But my God, I mean, it was painful to watch him miss those puts. All right. Anything else? Nothing else for you, boss. I think this was an excellent show today. I think you did a great job.

I'll talk to you on Thursday.