The Kevin Sheehan Show - Wizards & Caps Staying In DC

Episode Date: March 28, 2024

Kevin opened the show with the breaking news this afternoon that the Wizards and Caps are staying in DC for the next 25 years. He also discussed Jayden Daniels' "Pro Day", more on the kickoff return rule, and the Caps. Then it was Ben Standig/The Athletic talking Commanders and his first "Mock Draft". 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.

Hey guys, I'm really pleased to have a new sponsor to the podcast. Prize picks is the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America. They're the easiest and the most exciting way to play DFS. It's just you against the numbers rather than you battling thousands of other players, including pros and sharks. Football season's over, but Hoops Action is heating up, whether it's tournament season right through the end of this month or the fight for playoff home court advantage heading. into the postseason, there's no shortage of high-stakes basketball moments this time of year. Get in on the excitement with prize picks, America's number one fantasy sports app where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code Sheehan, S-H-E-E-H-A-N for a first deposit match of up to $100. You don't want it. You don't need it, but you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Show. Here's Kevin.

The presenting sponsor of this podcast is Wind Donation. Call them at 86690 Nation or head to Windonation.com. Mention my name for a free, no obligation in home quote. So for the second or third time here recently, it seems like, I'm getting this podcast out late. Apologies and with a totally new opening segment. I've totally redone the opening segment to include. the breaking news of the day, and that is that the wizards and caps are staying in D.C. Now, the next two segments of the show are going to stay exactly as I had recorded them.

Ben Standing is on with me in the next two segments. We talked commanders and Ben's first mock draft in the second segment of the show today. And then you'll hear in the third segment of the show what it sounded like. like when the news on the Wizards in caps broke, we happened to have been in the midst of a conversation about Ted's tweet storm, his X storm this morning, Ted Leonesis, that is, and we were talking about it and the fact that it was a bit of a tell that he knew something about the Virginia deal being dead and then right in the midst of our conversation, the news broke. So you'll hear that as we discussed it in the final segment of the show.

So, look, for most of you, I know that this is not at the top of your sports priority list, and you've made that very clear with me over the last few months. I get it, but bear with me anyway. I will get to Jaden Daniels and his Pro Day and his measurements here in a few minutes, but I am excited about this news. I'm actually thrilled with the result. I think Tommy had it from the jump that Virginia would never get this done for Ted, and he was right. So let me read to you from the Washington Post the full story on this, which, by the way, when Ben and I were recording and the news broke,

we just thought the deal in Virginia was officially dead. We did not know at that point that the city and Ted had reached a new agreement for his teams to stay. So here's the story written by the Washington Post, several writers for the post, just this afternoon early this evening. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Ted Leonsis, owner of the Wizards and Capitals, said Wednesday, that's today, that they were finalizing a deal that if approved by the D.C. would keep the teams in downtown D.C. until 2050 ending the owner's planned move to Virginia. An announcement is planned for late Wednesday afternoon at Capital One Arena downtown. Under the terms of the deal, D.C. would spend $515 million over three years to help Liancis modernize the arena, and the owner would sign a new lease keeping the teams in D.C. for 25 more years.

So the $500 million that was part of their 11th hour offering back in December, it looks like they upped it a little bit. it to $515 million. Or maybe that was the actual number back then. Anyway, the agreement includes other provisions that address some of Leonys' concerns about the state of downtown and allow his company monumental sports and entertainment to additionally expand in the city. Among the provisions to which the two sides have tentatively agreed, D.C. would allow Leonsis to take over management of the Mystic's home facility in Southeast D.C., utilize

parking at some district-owned buildings for monumental employees, keep a minimum number of police officers downtown, and plan for a new future downtown practice facility for the Wizards. Hmm, that's interesting. The agreement marks a sharp change in plans for Leonces, who three months ago joined Virginia Governor Glenn Yonkin to announce a handshake agreement to build a new arena in the Potomac Yard area of Alexandria as part of a $2.2 billion dollar mixed-use development. Although the Virginia House of Delegates gave the idea initial approval, the proposal never passed the Senate

and was left out of the state's budget. It was that Louise Lucas in that Senate that killed it almost single-handedly. In an interview, in a joint interview with the Washington Post on Wednesday, the mayor and owner said they had stayed in regular touch since Leonces's announcement in Virginia.

Leonces said a number of moves made by Bowser and the council, including the formation of a plan to revive downtown and the council's passage of a new crime bill, gave him greater confidence that he would comfortably grow and expand his business in the district. Bowser said, quote, we appreciated our discussions about how we could grow together. She said after Leonis's announcement that he planned to leave, a plan to leave, it became very clear about how our community feels about our. our teams. Leonsis credited the mayor with continuing to make progress on improving the business climate downtown. He said after one of his meetings with her, all of the sudden, I really felt like we were in this together and that D.C. it's where I wanted to be. Anyway, a deal in D.C. will not be complete without the approval of the 13 member D.C. council. But in December, members of the Council unanimously signed on to legislation offering liensis 500 million in upgrades over three years.

So it's, I think, a formality that the D.C. Council will. Youngkin released a written statement shortly after the news came out in Virginia, in which he hailed the lost promise of a one-of-a-kind project that he said would have brought thousands of jobs and billions in revenue to the state. He said, quote, Virginia deserves better. this enormous opportunity just went up in smoke. This should have been our deal and our opportunity. All the General Assembly had to do was say,

thank you, monumental for wanting to come to Virginia and create $12 billion of economic investment. Let's work it out. But no, personal and political agendas drove away the deal, closed quote. Real quickly, I just want to go back. Leons is credited with the mayor. appreciated our, in a joint interview,

Leonza said a number of moves made by Bowser and the council, including the formation of a plan. I mean, I guess it sounds to me a little bit right now that Ted's trying to make this out to be more of a, he chose to come back to the city versus Virginia killed the deal, or this woman, Louise Lucas, killed the deal. A deal that he was rather giddy about when

announced it with Governor Yonkin. That's interesting. I'll have a reaction. It sounds like they're going to have a press conference here. I'll have a reaction to the press conference on tomorrow's show with Tommy. But it would be interesting to see if he tries to spin this into making himself look like some sort of hero when he was clearly ready to roll to Virginia if they would have had him. Remember, his empire of an NBA team, an NHL team, and then a bunch of other things that he thinks are super important, including his network.

And let's not forget, this is a brand. I mean, he has built Gold Star brands that are recognizable and followed from Delaware to the North Carolina, Virginia border. I mean, he's created this championship brand that's created this super DMV that goes north to Dover and south to, you know, whatever the last town in Virginia is before you hit Tobacco Road. Look, I'm not a big fan of the way the city handled things. They weren't anywhere near as responsive as they should have been. But Ted's excitement and lack of compassion towards the city when that deal was announced during that press conference, I said it at the time. It was gross. It was off-putting.

But look, this is a big win for the true DMV. Big win for the true DMV. Not Ted's extended super DMV, but the real DMV, the Washington, D.C. metro area. This city was resuscitated when Abe Poland took his teams from Landover to Chinatown. And if Ted had taken them out, the Chinatown area, the surrounding areas like Penn Quarter and city center, would have been hurt and badly. You know, the mystics all do respect, the go-goes, the e-sports team, they weren't going to be saviors for that area. Everybody understood that except for Ted, I guess. and who knows what would have happened to the areas that were contiguous to those areas.

This is a big deal. It's a big win for the real DMV. I'm glad it turned out this way. Anyway, I wonder what it means, though, for the football team. I don't think it means anything great for Josh Harris and the football team, because that $515 million to TED would have been part of a package for Josh Harris and the commanders or whatever their name will be when a deal gets done. But more on that at a later date.

It's probably not the best news for that, but look, I want four pro sports teams in D.C. You know, this is huge for the city to get these two teams that play. play a lot more in terms of numbers of dates a year than the football team does. But I do want the football team back at RFK clearly. Now, as far as Josh Harris's team goes, today was pro-day down at LSU for Jaden Daniels and several of the big-time LSU receivers. So the first thing that came out were the measurements for Jaden Daniels. He measured in, when I was on radio earlier this morning, it was 6.3. Actually, it was 6.3 and 5.8s, so closer to 6.4. And very importantly, he came in at 210 pounds. The under 205 stat where there have only been a handful of

quarterbacks that have played, you know, a significant number of games, like not even a significant number. It's like they're like three quarterbacks that have started 17 games since 2,000 under 205 pounds. He was 210. That was a big deal for him. He did not run the 40. He didn't choose to do that. I'm sure he would have run no worse than 4-4. Actually, in an interview, because I watched the pro day on the NFL networks on the NFL Network Plus. He looked great to me. It's a Pro day. I don't know what that meant, but you could see Adam Peters and Dan Quinn in the group, the Washington group standing behind watching all of his throws. By all accounts, he had a very good pro day, but perhaps the measurables were the most important, him coming in at 210 pounds. I think that, you know,

there's been some separation. You'll hear Ben and I talk about this. I think there's been some separation in the evaluation of quarterbacks, at least according to many of the pundits. It certainly seems to me like recently there has been separation between Jaden Daniels at two following Caleb Williams and at least Drake May. Maybe not J.J. McCarthy, but with Drake May. Well, Drake May's Pro Day is tomorrow. So we'll have more on that tomorrow. But I doubt in watching Jaden Daniels throw the football today, along with the measurements that anything today happened to make anybody feel any differently about him if they were pro Jaden Daniels going into it. Two more things that I wanted to get to before my conversation with Ben Standing, which we did

earlier. The next segment's all football, all commanders, and then the final segment, which got interrupted by the breaking news. the first thing is this. I had a friend of mine text me early this morning to say that Cordor L Patterson was signed by the Steelers. And he said, don't be surprised if teams treat the new kickoff rule as more of a line of scrimmage play. And he said, like, why wouldn't Miami, now that the danger's been taken out of the play, put Tyree Kill back there to return kickoffs? Why won't teams take receivers and their best playmakers? with the ball in their hands in open space and put them back there on kickoff returns,

now that it's not as dangerous to play. I think that's really, really smart. I bet it's one of the reasons the Steelers signed Cordarelle Patterson. Now, keep in mind, Cordyrell Patterson made his bones as a kickoff returner. I understand that. He's been one of my favorite players for several years. He's got nine career kickoff returns for touchdowns, but he's been a Swiss Army knife as a position player.

Every receiver position, running back position, he's great. But yeah, because teams don't have guys running 60 yards at full speed starting at their own 35-yard line and a runner running full speed and the collision of the play being the danger in the play, we understand that as football fans. And it's more, it's not exactly a line of scrimmage play, but with the kickoff coverage team lined up at the opponent's 40, and they're 7 to 9 players, 10 players in front of them,

and the returner is not 65 yards away or 75 yards away, but much closer, and they can't move until the ball hits the ground and is fielded and or fielded by the returner. Yeah. I mean, could Washington put Jahan Dotson back there, or, you know, Terry McClure. I mean, you know, there are options now for teams other than a designated kickoff returner. In fact, if you use a position player back there and treat it as if it's more of a scrimmage play,

then you don't need a dedicated position for a kickoff returner, which a lot of teams had gone away from anyway in recent years because of the lack of kickoff returns. But I thought that that was a really interesting way. to look at it, and I think it's smart, and I think it's true. The play isn't as dangerous anymore, so every down players may be used on returns. And then the other thing I wanted to get to is what somebody asked me to do more of yesterday, and that is Caps. What a big win for them last night.

Overtime, Dylan Strom, a minute 55 into the extra session, four three final over Detroit. They're two points ahead of the Red Wings now for that final wild card spot. They've got a game in hand on Detroit. They're a point behind, just one point behind, the Flyers for third in their division. And they've got two games in hand on Philadelphia. So they are in very good shape here in terms of their playoff position and possibilities. They do have the 10th toughest schedule, remaining schedule, while Philadelphia, as an example,

has a much easier schedule. They play Detroit one more time. They play Philadelphia in the final game of the year. But, you know, two points up on Detroit with a game in hand. One point behind Philadelphia with two games in hand. They're in good shape. No goals last night for the red hot Alex Ovechkin, but a big night for Charlie Lindgren in net.

30 saves. So kudos to the caps for this turnaround. and their run under Spencer Carberry, their new coach this year. It'd be nice to see him in a Best of Seven with Ovechkin out there in the postseason again. All right, you'll hear Ben Standing and I talk commanders next and then a lot more after that, including where the news broke about the Wizards and the Caps staying put in D.C. We'll get to all of 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 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. proper recovery for top-notch performance. That's why I'm excited that Unified Healing is sponsoring the podcast now. Unified Healing is a new and super innovative global network of wellness centers powered by energy enhancement system or EE system. If you haven't heard of the EE system yet,

listen up. This technology promotes wellness, deep relaxation, purification, and rejuvenation. Whether you're here in the DMV or anywhere else across the globe, access to a center is easy and affordable. Interested in experiencing the EE-System technology for yourself, we'll go to unifiedhealing.com slash Sheehan to learn more and find a center near you. That's Unified, spelled, unifed-y-D-healing.com slash Sheen. No material or testimonies on the Unified Healing website are intended to 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. MyBooky is the sponsor of this upcoming segment. MyBooky.ag is where you go for all of your sports betting needs. use my promo code Kevin DC and you'll get a cash bonus on your initial deposit. That's Kevin DC. If there's something already written in that section when you sign up for promo code, erase it and write Kevin DC. They've got everything you need for Sweet 16 action and Elite 8 action,

every game, every total, every money line, and over 100 prop bets per game. MyBooky.ag for all of your March Madness needs, that would be sports betting needs. Use my promo code, Kevin, D.C. Ben Standing is with us. At Ben Standing on X. Twitter has a podcast, Standing Room Only, that you should listen to, and he writes for the athletic, which you should subscribe to. Ben comes on with me twice a week on radio, but it's actually been a few weeks. I checked since he's been on the podcast, and he's back from Orlando.

and a couple of days of league meetings. And so let's start there. By the way, Ben's mock draft is out. His first mock on the athletic. He'll have his last one right before the draft begins, and I believe that will be the one that you submit to the contests that you've won a few times in recent years for being one of the best mock drafters.

in the country. But let's start with just Orlando. Did you learn anything? Before we get to the Josh Harris and some of the stadium stuff, football-wise, did you learn anything? And if so, what? You know, it was interesting, right? I mean, I think, well, look, the way I'm sort of processing it is, for me, this was the first one of these owners of meetings I've attended that didn't involve chaos and Dan Snyder and all that. And I think, think it was reflected in my mood and how I enjoyed this scene and I don't think I was alone in that. And then, so I think that was interesting just to observe one of these events without that as a backdrop. And then, too, you know, having Peters and Quinn and Josh Harris all talk, you know, this is not a knock on Ron before or Martin May who talked to us as well.

But, like, obviously, half the time we're talking about them. We're asking questions about all this other. stuff. And so, you know, to a certain degree, they can't be as relaxed, perhaps, as they would like to be. So it was to talk to the stewards of this new regime like this, you know, sort of back to back to back over, you know, consecutive days was, you know, it was just another reminder that things are different. We can keep saying it, but it was, you know, another step of reminder for me in that regard. Beyond that, you know, look, I, you know, I've been harping on this now going back to the coaching.

search that these guys are just not really talking much and that they're really not saying it. And by much, I mean, really not at all in terms of for information to get out. And we saw what happened with that, what that meant for the coaching search, that because they weren't filling the void with anything that the rumor mill was desperate in looking for stuff and led to what happened with Ben Johnson and Dan Quinn and what I think, and I think you think as well, sort of the misinterpretation of what was happening. and clearly you can see the same thing is essentially happening now that almost all of the reporting coming out in terms of the quarterback

was complete and utter guessing, right? Nobody had, nobody, I didn't hear anybody remotely credible say, you know what, I'm hearing Washington is going, is looking at this or they like this guy. Everything with some sort of guess, like the Tom Pellasaro thing got a lot of attention because he said, I was talking to some people and who know Adam Peters. And based on that, the name that they kept coming up with the most was J.J. McCarthy.

And that led to a whole thing. But the larger point was he didn't say that they talked to Adam Peters and therefore X. They just said, this is their guess. But in the same segment, I was told Mike Garifalo says, you know, Jaden Daniels. And this is the way that it has continued to go. And, you know, while that's frustrating for someone like me, too, who's trying to get to the bottom of this and you as well. And anybody who wants to know what's happening,

it is this an important reminder that they are not giving up much. And that's how it was with the conversation. You know, they weren't. I don't think they're misleading us. I think that's also important. I don't think they're sending us down one path knowing they're going to do something else, but they're just being cautious and they're doing their work. And, you know, I think you can respect that for sure.

I'm not trying to say too much. And, you know, I think that was to me the biggest takeaway because it reinforced how I'm viewing this, which is I'm going to continue to do my work and talk to people around the league what they think of these players. But anybody even pretending to say they know anything about what they actually are thinking, I think it's just, you know, full of it. So I agree with you on one point, and I've got a slight disagreement with you on another. Number one is, I don't think anybody knows for sure, because I don't think they know. know for sure. I've taken them at their word, and I've taken them at their word in part because it makes sense to me. They, you know, hadn't gone to every pro day yet. They haven't done top 30s yet.

They still have a month left. So anybody that is out there representing that they know for sure which direction Washington's going in, I just don't believe that. With that said, I think the Pellasaro discussion, I think even the Breer from last week, the Ed Holm from last week, although I had him on the radio show today, and he completely switched, which kind of makes your point to a certain degree. But I think the Pellasaro stuff in particular is closer to the report bucket than the speculation bucket, although it's not, you know, a definitive report necessarily. But that aside, I do, I do agree with you that nobody knows anything because they don't know anything. And I think even if they did know something or even if they did have a preference,

it's a much more buttoned up operation than we've ever, ever had here. I mean, you definitely feel that, right? Yeah, for sure. I mean, you know, look, as we know with the, you know, I can only really speak in terms of being a reporter to what happened with Ron. A little bit of Jay at the end, but I wasn't really covering the team full-time previously the way I had been the last few years. And obviously, Ron was, you know, for better or for worse, a guy who wanted to, you know, a bit of a showman, guy wanted to state what was going on. I mean, I realized with the year they went, you know, the year they got Carson went, he'd at the combine, and he just flat out says at his press conference that we're letting me.

people know we're interested in quarterbacks. And sure enough, a few days later, you know, they paid through the nose, Arden Carson Wentz, whereas like these guys, you know, whether it's about Sam Howe or anybody else, hey, they like the guy, we're interested, we'll see. And then, you know, they trade them. You know, like they're doing the standard stuff that you would expect from people in this thing. I guess I would just say on the, on the Pellifera thing, and look, I don't know who he's talking to or any of these guys, right?

That's always a huge, a huge thing as well. But like I said, even in that same segment, his colleague goes down to Caden Daniels route and then talking to people, because obviously this was a big topic while we were there, and, you know, you're roaming the halls with all these different types of people, whether it's media or executives or whatever, and I definitely got some eye rolls about what Pell-L-L-Fara said. But here's the thing, right? If there's only, if we're assuming that they're going quarterback at two, and Caleb Williams is going one, there's only three options.

I'm not putting a Bo Nix or Michael Pennix in the range at two. So everybody's got a one and three guess. So to that extent, somebody will be proven right if they stick with who they are claiming their Washington like, and then they can run around and say, I told you so. I'm just saying from my experience and from what I'm hearing and talking to the people, I mean, we flat out as Dan Quinn on the record. He said he hasn't even gone through the tapes of some of these guys yet. They still have these pro days.

They still have the interviews in Aspirant. I am sure that Adam Peters has watching up tape of these guys, and in his head said, boy, I really like this guy. I'm positive, but that's the case. Not knowing that just because he's done, you know, everybody does this, right? This is how this is how this works. But he was even asked, I think, by John Kime, how do you make sure you don't fall in love with somebody until you do all the homework.

You said, yeah, that can be difficult for sure. So, you know, again, I'm sure they have a lean and a feel. They may even like someone, but to the degree that they're definitely going to do X? No. You remember, like the year that Dwayne came out, where we all were just obviously predicting they're going to take him? Of course. We all knew the score of how these things worked with the organization, that between the

owner and whatever else that's what was going to happen. It was no surprise that they did that. Whereas I'm here, I can lean a certain way. I pick Jayden Daniels in my mock draft. I've been saying here with you and on my own podcast for a month that people like Jay-D McCarthy way more than the public evaluators do. But, and that's obviously now been proven to be accurate. Well, I shouldn't say that because he could flip the second round of the draft.

But it certainly seems that that's where the momentum is. but that's, you'll get very far from saying Adam Peter is going to do X, and I just don't think we're there yet. You mentioned Knicks and Pennix Jr. They've already had both of their pro days, right? And I don't know the answer to this. Was Washington in attendance for either one of their pro days? I feel like nobody.

I think the report was like there was like nobody, not from like almost like any team at Bo and Nix's pro day because it was opposite of something. It was like the same day as something else Okay Happening I'm blanking on what So no I don't think anybody was there I don't know about Pinnock but I certainly don't recall

Seeing anything that said that people were there Now needless to say they obviously have these These teams have more than just a quarterback You know they've got some good players Washington you know could have a guy picked in the top 10 And Roma Dunezay who's not Michael Panics And so on and Oregon has got a lot of good guys as well.

So they may have had somebody there, but I didn't get any sense that there was anybody from, you know, that we're talking about here, the head coach, GMO, C, or anything like that. All right. Let's get to your mock draft that you put out the other day for the athletic.

It's your first full-fledged mock draft for 2024. Washington holding the number two pick. I will just tease everybody. Ben's got a trade late in the first round involving Washington. So stay tuned for that. But let's not bury the lead on your mock draft.

You've already mentioned it, but why did you have Washington selecting Jaden Daniels at number two? Yeah. So, you know, I think in the past, you've tried to, in addition to getting a view of others from around the league about certain prospects, and you're trying to get a feel for what people think Washington is doing, will do, what they've heard, etc. and since in this case, as we're stating, they've been quiet. I was like, all right, well, if I can't get any sense of what they're doing, at least let me get a sense for what the league is doing, or what the league thinks.

Now, as you know, because I told you this before I put out my mock draft, I had a trade involving the second pick in which they would drop down, with a three-team trade, they would drop down to four with Arizona, who kind of feels like the team most likely to trade out, considering they have Kyler-Marie quarterback, and their GMs already come out and said, hey, we're open for business, blah, blah, blah. So it was a deal where Washington would drop down to four,

Arizona would drop down to 11, Minnesota, who's been probably the team most linked with Drake May because their quarterback coach, Josh McCown, was one of Drake May's high school coaches. Maybe that's an overstatement of interest, but, okay, there seems to be something there. And then, so, to me, if Minnesota is going to trade up, they're not just trading up for the same,

of a quarterback. They're trading up because they want somebody, and the only way to secure Drake May would be to go to two. So, anyway, that was a deal in Washington would get some extra picks down the line and so on. But I ultimately decided to not do that because

at the point I was thinking about that three-team trade, it really seemed there was no separation between Daniels, May, and to an extent, McCarthy, you know, everybody was all over the place. But when I talked to, I talked to 10 people, and in that group, you know, while Caleb Williams was the clear one, Daniels separated himself as the clear two.

I'll probably write something about it this week, I'll break it down in more detail. But it definitely seemed like that was a clear hierarchy in some people being, you know, even to the point of saying they might consider taking Daniels over Williams or whatever was in May, you know, maybe it's just everybody's piling on at this point. But it definitely was more criticism. And he and McCarthy, I think we're a lot closer. people put panics over both of those guys as well.

So that to me is why I stayed with Daniels, too, not again because I think that Washington is definitely there, but because for the leagues that sources that I talk to, they had Daniels as the clear, too. So if Washington feels the same, then I don't imagine they would trade down if they like one of these guys that much better than the other one. Yeah, there was, you know, the quote, I read it in the, in the open. segment to the show. It was from Sam Fortier's story from early this morning. Four people with knowledge of the league's interworking said they would be very surprised if Peters traded down, quote, why would you, why would you when you have a chance to draft a franchise quarterback closed quote, one of those people said? And I think, to your point, I think we have, and this is

just in the moment, subject to change, because we've got another, you know, five and a half weeks or whatever, I guess five weeks from tomorrow until the draft. But it does feel like Caleb Williams and Jaden Daniels have separated themselves, or let me be more specific. Jaden Daniels has separated himself from Drake May, that Williams and Daniels have separated themselves in the minds of at least the pundits and maybe evaluators from Drake May. It does seem like J.J. McCarthy has picked up a lot of steam since his pro day last week. week. And if anything, you know, the separation between Daniels and May has tightened, but the gap between he and May has gotten wider. I think that's essentially what you've

sensed here, which is why you put Daniels at two, correct? Yeah, I mean, I guess I would say that I, you know, the idea that why would you trade down to get a chance at a franchise quarterback, I think is the fallacy with this entire process. though. And that is to say, for one, I absolutely loathe the term franchise quarterback. You can't just get one. There's like five of them. There's like five guys. Well, it depends on what your definition of franchise quarterback is. If it's Mahomes-Allen-Burrow, then if it's Mahomes-Alan Burrow, yes.

Yeah, I mean, people have different definitions for franchise quarterback. Nobody's ever actually, you can't actually look up franchise quarterback in the dictionary and have a definition that Merriot, you know, that Webster put together and put out there. But I'm okay with that. I guess my point, you're about, go ahead, finish your point. Well, I'm just saying, like, you know, guys like Dak Prescott and even, you know, your guy Kirk Cousins, look, they are guys that they have enough talent that you can probably think if we have them in a game and we have a really good roster, we have got a chance to

contend at the highest level. And that's fair. but the point is, can these guys be the difference maker? So, like, you know, what Mahomes did this year, like, we're all used to Mahomet at this point. He had nothing at receiver. Although, I mean, Kelsey, their receivers were a direct, for the most part, and they still, you know, his office of the line was okay, but they still won, in part because he lifts people up. Who many, that's to me what the franchise quarterback is.

can you know, when you can you get, can that guy cover up your flaws? Most of these guys, including pro bowlers, cannot. So when we talk about the idea of getting a franchise quarterback, that is such a high bar to be like impossible to get. That's what people think Caleb Williams is and we'll see. But that isn't like, I don't know that anybody else covers to comes to that. Maybe in time we'll find out, but like I, I've talked to enough people who question Jane Daniels for me to think that that's him

either. Again, that doesn't mean it can't be good. It's just to say the bar, the franchise quarterback bar is so high that to say you wouldn't trade it to possibly get one, it's really like putting way too far out there what I think is the reality

of most of these situations. We're talking like five human beings and anyone in time who fit under that. Not just because you draft the guy in the first round means he's that guy. Right. But you have to swing for one if you don't have one. It's the only way to guarantee that you can be a contender to be in the postseason over a long, you know, stretch of years, you know, is if you have one.

There's no other model for being a consistent, sustained, contending team unless you have one of those guys. So you have to keep trying, right? sure but I mean that you know the thing that they have right now they don't have a franchise quarterback what they do have is the number two pick in the draft and the power that comes with that because the desperation for teams to do exactly what you're saying is palpable it is real everybody is like oh my god we have to get one and the thing is for a first year regime right other than just professional pride and you want to do the best you can there is zero pressure with this group, zero. Okay? If you're another team, though, where you've been the head coach or GM for two and three years,

that is different. That was, like, for Ron, like the reason he went and got Carson Went was he was heading into his third year, still had no clue who the quarterback was for the long haul, and you're running out of time. These guys have all the time in the world, and we can all discuss how next year's class doesn't look of good.

Well, Jaden Daniels wasn't even being discussed of the first round pick a year ago, and here he is. Joe Burrow wasn't being discussed with the number one overall pick, and then one year later he was. So I don't buy the idea that, like, next year looks whatever. Yeah, you can't predict what next year is going to be right now. Right, right. So I'm just saying right now what they have is the opportunity to make a major deal

that gets them a bunch of other picks to build up the roster that they need to desperately. I mean, Adam Peters basically said at the league, meetings that they have to sign all these guys just to feel the roster. This wasn't about like, hey, how do we make the playoff next year? If we go play out on Sunday, we don't have anybody playing at the defensive end or tackle. We have to do something. And that's what I'm saying, like, if they love one of these guys, great, do it.

But the idea that just because somebody's going to be picked two means they're a franchise quarterback doesn't. But what is very tangible is you can trade that pick for a bunch of stuff. and I think the trading for a bunch of stuff is absolutely what they should do if they don't love anybody. I wouldn't just force the issue. Of course. Yeah, of course. Now, but you have to, if you love somebody, you can go into that pick thinking and understanding the historical odds of that player actually becoming what you love about him.

But if you love him, you've got to take him because that's the only way in this league that, you are guaranteed to be a sustained five-plus-year contender for anything. Everything else is, you know, based on staying healthy, finding a guy in that range of, you know, 8 to 12 or 6 to 14 and, you know, hoping everything comes together. But of course, if they don't love anybody, if they don't see in their, you know, in the guy they're drafting at number two overall. If they don't see Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, you know, I'll even go to the point of saying somebody like Jordan lover, C.J. Stroud, because who knows? Or Trevor Lawrence, who knows? They have not proven it yet,

but there certainly seems to be some big time upside with those guys. They've got to see that. If they don't see that, 100%. Take advantage of the teams where they are desperate. because they're down to their last shot. And this team isn't. Although I would never approach a draft saying, well, there's no pressure on us right now. We have plenty of time to get this right. And I would never say,

so let's take advantage of this opportunity to take advantage of somebody that's desperate, even if they do love somebody. If they love somebody, they probably won't be back in this position again anytime soon, so you've got to go for it now. So I think we're in agreement on that. The franchise quarterback description, we can debate another time.

Yeah, it's just something that annoys me to know. But here's the other thing, right? I think if we're both realistic, and I think we both are, that most likely Washington will have a top 10 pick again of it though next year, right? They are much more likely for that to happen than they are to be anywhere sniffing the playoff. I'm not saying it's impossible. is they often Echler and Jeremy Chinn, you know, find their previous forms, and his rookie class comes in and just crushes it, and Dan Quinn's presence alone,

it makes a difference. Yeah, sure, anything is possible, but the likelihood is a team that has a bunch of one-year contract guys, and the talent is commiserate to that draft to that situation, plus, you know, coming off the full-win season and all that, they are likely to be in the top 10 pick next year. So my point is just that, like, they'll still be in position next year, to get someone should they want to. And if they trade and get these extra picks, then they'll be in that position.

I think the other thing just to note here, I keep seeing people, including people in the media that I heard say this out loud. The other, this week was, well, you know, what if whoever it is, Jay Daniels or Drake May is C.J. Straub. Yeah, guess what? C.J. Straub by himself didn't turn this thing around. They had been miserable for several years. You know, Jonathan Grinard, who just, what did he sound? Like a four-year. With the Minnesota.

$72 million contract. They drafted him in 2020. In 2022, they had two first-round picks and two second-round picks. Like, they had been building this thing over time, and then the final piece became a guy who was one of the best working quarterback we have seen. Unfortunately, for Peters and Quinn, Washington's last three. draft classes haven't done and much at all. The three first-round picks at best have been interesting at times, right?

I mean, Forbes and Davis, certainly not of underwhelming. Johan Doggson was not super hot last year. The entire 2020 class is gone. So there's no baseline they're really working with. So even if Jane Daniels is CJ Stroud, which would be great, but they're not, I would be stunned for them to go from. 4 and 13 to 9 wins. So I just think they seem so much that, again, I wouldn't.

I would take the quarterback if I like. I just wouldn't. I just, you know, I just don't think people should be like, hey, if they get this guy, they'll make the playoffs. Or that this guy, you know, because he's good, he'll be good no matter what. They need a lot of so much help. You've got to help the kid. And that's all I'm saying about sort of this, how I look at the whole thing.

Let me just say Houston's, the expectation for Houston last year, and it may have been primarily because it was a rookie quarterback, but they had the second lowest over, you know, under win total in the league next to Arizona. But they drafted Will Anderson, too. They drafted Tank Dell. You know, they actually added, they had significant rookie contribution. And they had a major coaching change, you know, and D'Amico Ryan's did a hell of a job with that. defense. And, yeah, but I don't, it wasn't, it wasn't like they had a roster there that was just ready for a quarterback to move in and be a contender. They added a bunch of pieces last year, too. And Washington has that ability potentially with six picks in the top 100. By the way, I just

pulled up a 2024 NFL over under win list, win total list. And I checked my bookie first, and they don't have their win totals up quite yet. But Draft Kings, listen to this. So you pretty much nailed it. Washington has right now, they're over under seven and a half. So it's a full game better than it was a year ago. And there are eight teams with lower over under win totals. So Washington's tied for ninth with New Orleans and Seattle.

So, yeah, if the number is right, and obviously it was much lower than the number last year, as it turned out, they will be picking somewhere near the top 10 again. All right. I want to get back to your mock draft. Your mock draft had Jaden Daniels at 2, but then you made a trade late in the first round, Washington with those five picks after number 2 in the top 100.

It's a lot of ammunition if there's a player that they love to, move up and take a player late in the first round. So tell everybody what you did and how they got to where they got and who they took. Yeah. So just to set this up, you know, you look at the roster right now. And, you know, I think the biggest thing that they need above all is sort of just really good talent. Like they've kind of papered over almost every situation they have. They signed a bunch of defensive ends other than Dorrance Armstrong, you know, probably nobody

is more than just a regular rotation piece like they've had. And, you know, Cornelius Lucas is back at offensive tackle, a guy who's been a really good swing tackle for them, but never projected to be a starter. So they need talent at those particular spots, right? But my assumption all along from looking at the draft was they may be very hard pressed to get a defensive end at 36 or 40, which is why I wasn't surprised that they did what they did

and for agency to sign a bunch of guys. But tackle, okay, it seemed like that they were like reviewing it that like there's going to be some pieces there for them, which is why they didn't, you know, similarly go do anything other than Cornelius Lucas pretty late in for agency. But the more I look at this, I do wonder if there really will be a tackle there for them. Now, obviously you can take a person who plays tackle and say they got a tackle, but I'm talking about players,

you seem to be projected, you know, in that top tier or two. And there are, in the mock, I have their nine offensive linemen, I'm going to say like seven of the number tackles. And once you get past that, it does seem like a drop off. So I made a trade up figuring that at least one or two of the deals tackles will still be there sort of in the later stages of the first round and made a deal moving the pick 40 and their pick 78 and the third. round to Baltimore for number 30 to then take Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton.

I don't know that Tyler Guyton will be there versus Mims, the kids from Alabama, Jordan Morgan from Arizona. I had going at the end of the first round. So, you know, one or two of those guys will be there. We can debate the order. But to me, it just felt like, you know, they're going to draft the quarterback. You have to do everything in your power to help that player. while this rookie tackle, whether they start week one or not, you need that longer-term piece.

Lucas isn't that guy. So that's why I decided, you know what, better safe than sorry, move up, get one of you better tackles, and then start that combination of the quarterback and left tackle on day one. I mean, start meaning I have them together. I don't mean necessarily starting to line up. Yeah, I was reading something last night just on the offensive lineman in this draft. and most people believe this is the best draft for tackle specifically in years. In 2014, I think it was, there were five drafted in the first round,

and there were projected six plus, maybe as many as eight or nine, in the first round this year. So if Washington has first round grades and that position really motors in the first round, and it starts to get dicey that they're going to get one of those guys at 36, they'll have the ability, you know, if there's a willing trade partner to move up and take a tackle. I am with you, though. Like I, if we know they're going to take a quarterback at two.

I mean, I think we know that at this point. I would be shocked if they don't take a quarterback at two. I guess I'd also be shocked if they moved down a spot or two spots and took a quarterback, but that's, you know, a possibility. but they're going to come away with a quarterback here very early in the draft. They've got to do a great job of making sure this player has the ability to succeed, especially if you're going to play them early, and I think they might. They've gotten a veteran center.

They got a backup veteran center. They added a veteran running back. They've got good receivers. I'm sure they're pleased with their receivers, but the tackle position, you know, you're talking. about Cornelius Lucas, who wasn't a full-time starter. Andrew Wiley seems totally solid at this point at right tackle. And the way you help this rookie quarterback based on what you have is you've got to go get a left tackle. That has to be priority number two. They shouldn't draft it by

need. It should be best player available, but based on what's available in this draft, and it's a tackle heavy draft, they should go get the guy they want in this draft after they draft the quarterback. I mean, I read the comments that I guess Adam Peters made about Trent Scott and Cornelius Lucas and if they, you know, he'd feel comfortable with both of them. I thought it was interesting that he mentioned Trent Scott because there were some people there last year that liked him. But I think you nailed it in that left tackle has to be priority number two. Yeah, and like I said, the 20-24 season is, you know, it's going to happen, it's important,

you know, tone setting, if nothing else. But, you know, that's the one position they haven't done a ton. And, you know, Lucas only signed a one-year deal. And, you know, he's been fine, but, you know, the more he's on the field, the more some of the weaknesses get exposed. And, you know, you mentioned Wiley, like, I agree. I mean, people, like, again, nobody's in mind. I mean he's Jacoby or Lechay or whatever, but like people act like he was the worst tackle in the league.

He was, this is not, in my view, and I think the view of some others, this is not Andrew Norwell or maybe more importantly not Trey Turner from the previous year. Could they do better? Sure. Half the teams in the league could do better. That's why these tackles are going to fly off the board, and not only are they good, well, so many teams are desperate at this position. So they have somebody there who's serviceable.

they need more. And yes, for the purposes of this player, this quarterback, if you don't do everything possible to maximize his ability, then you just are wasting the pick possibly. So they got to do that. And again, they have the wear of all. They just had the one second round pick. You know, and they didn't have the six picks in the top 100.

Then maybe you get in this debate, oh, we have a lot of needs, we can't solve everything. But you have this, you have these picks. This is why you have these picks. It isn't just the draft six guys. You can do that. But it's to better your roster, and this is such a great way to do it. And by the way, like, you know, if they look to the safe argument, say, they do this, and they still have pick 36.

You can trade down pick 36 and recoup that third round pick probably, right? I mean, you can easily do it because there'll be somebody there, whether it's a quarterback or another position. So, you know, I think that's something to keep in mind. Yeah, I mean, look, I mean, if they kept all of their picks and drafts, drafted nine players with six in the top 100. I mean, this is back of the envelope math, but they'd almost spend as much on their draft choices with a rookie wage scale as they did on their 20 free agents

on these one-year deals in terms of what the aggregate amount in contract value would be. Tyler Geithen, end of the first round to Washington after they acquire number 30 from Baltimore for their second, round pick and a third round pick. And they take Jaden Daniels at number two. That's Ben's mock draft.

Subscribe to the athletic to read the rest of it. Ben's going to stick around for one more segment. I want to ask him about Josh Harris's comments yesterday about stadium future. We'll do that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Two rounds are in the books, guys. Round of 16 coming up on Thursday, Friday. Then the round of eight. And by the time we get to late Sunday night, we will be down to the last four teams standing in the tournament.

If you're looking to combine daily fantasy sports and the tournament, I've got the app for you. Prize Picks. Download the Prize Picks app like I have. It's an easy and exciting way to play DFS. Prize Picks is the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America. And it's different. It's just you against number. not you battling thousands of other players. You either pick more than or less than on between two players and six players

and their stat projections with odds. Right now you can win up to 100 times your money on prize picks with as little as four correct picks. You can turn $10 into a thousand with NBA, NHL, and yes, college basketball tournament action on prize picks today. It's America's number one fantasy sports app. Prize Picks, by the way, even offers injury insurance so that your entry stay in play, even if one of your players gets injured.

Download the app today and use my code Sheehan for a first deposit match of up to $100. That's the prize picks app, download it today. Use my code Sheean, S-H-E-H-E-H-A-N for a first deposit match of up to $100.00. $100. Prize picks. Pick more. Pick less. It's that easy. March is a transitional month. It's a time of change, a time to embrace the warmth creeping back into our lives. But as the season's shift, is your home ready? Are your windows cracked, leaking, or refusing to let in that fresh spring air? Say goodbye to those frigid drafts and sky-high heating bills with wind donation. For a limited time only, buy to get too free with no money down, no payments, and no interest for two

full years. Their professional installation teams with over 10 years of experience can transform your home in just one day. And with Wind Donation's lifetime warranty, you'll have peace of mind for years to come. Join the thousands of homeowners who trust Wind Donation, including me, with your most precious investment, your home. Mention this ad. Mention my name and get a free no obligation quote now. Call 86690 Nation or visit wind donation.com to schedule. Don't let another season pass you by. Call Wind Donation today and tell them that I sent you.

All right, we continue with Ben Standing from the Athletic. So what did we learn from Josh Harris being at the league owner meetings yesterday about the future of the next stadium? Yeah, you know, I think he gave a pretty realistic update of where things stand, and that is, you know, they're still exploring the various options from the three jurisdictions. But, you know, they've got to wait a bit. The RFK site situation, there's been some progress, of course, up on the hill with, you know, Congress, you know, giving the control of the site to the district. But now it's got to go through the Senate. I don't think that's really a big concern, and then they have to wait for D.C. to kind of figure out what they want to do from there. But the one thing he said I thought was really interesting,

he just kind of said it almost matter-of-factly, was that they're pretty deep in this talks with Maryland. And, again, obviously, well, Maryland is where the current stadium is. Maryland is one of the three. it's the one that's not tied in with some other arena stadium situation, as D.C. and Virginia are to an extent with whatever we think is happening with the monumental sports situation, even though that seems like that's fading, but, you know, until it's over, it's not over.

And I thought that was interesting. I've had Maryland as my frontrunner this entire time, even when Snyder was the lead, because I didn't, I don't know, I just don't buy Virginia with the locations. and with D.C., I don't know, is there an appetite to spend? I've always questioned that, and if they keep the Wizards and caps,

is D.C. really going to have the money to spend? I don't think Josh Harris is looking to fit the bill for all this, right? So how much, you know, how much can they even do? So the fact that he said, hey, we are going to wait. Obviously, RFK is interesting, but

they're in deep with barrel. I thought that was notable that he just said it, like I said, so a matter of Actually, because I think we talk so much about RFK, the people act like Maryland is, you know, way in second place. And I don't think that's the case, just from a practical standpoint. It may be in second place by wishing, by what you want, but not in reality. So I thought that what he said there was interesting. And then he did talk about, you know, paying attention to Monumental and how, obviously, that's going to be an important deal for them. And, you know, he'll have to wait and see what happens there.

Yeah. I think that there was some finality in a lot of people. people's minds a few weeks ago when the House passed that, you know, stadium bill, the RFK site stadium bill. And really all that did was just give the city the ability to begin negotiating something with Josh Harrison company because they didn't have that ability before. Now they do. But they're going to have to have a competitive deal. It may not have to match whatever Maryland offers, but it's going to have to be a competitive deal for a group that just spent $6 billion on a team and needed 20 plus investors to get the deal done.

So, yeah, I agree with you. I want to be clear on this, though. You believe, like Tommy does, that Maryland's the frontrunner for the football team, right? Yeah, I would have flipped if the Leontas moved to Virginia took place because at that point, And now D.C., you know, just freed up a bunch of money off of its budget. And, you know, they're going to, you know, we talked before about desperation. Well, nobody would feel more desperate at that moment than Mayor Bowser and other politicians if they lose, you know, those two teams. So they would be all in.

And clearly, I think Harris, this is more of an assumption, but I assume, you know, from nostalgic reasons and other reasons would want RFK. Roger Goodell was asked about this at the meetings. And he certainly sounded like somebody who would like a stadium in the nation's capital for the league. So I think there would be a borderline no-brainer at that point. But, again, I don't know what D.C.'s budget was exactly to give whatever they were going to offer, Leonos just to spruce up cap one to stay. I would imagine that what's been put out there, like what, like a half a million, $600 million, that I'm going to guess that's higher than what was previously budgeted,

thinking they could get the commanders and then sort of, you know, send something Ted's way. And so Ted pushed it with this move. But, yeah, I mean, how much money is they going to put in? And also, like, you know, there's all obviously the age-old debate, is it worth it for any community to spend on these kinds of stadiums? And I think anybody who's been around D.C. agrees that what they did with CAP-1 and what they did at Nats Park really did revitalize those areas. and I know that Ted's complaining about what's going on to CAF1 now, and, you know, nobody's predicting a pandemic that wiped out so much of these office buildings in terms of, you know, people in them, and, you know, crime's gone up.

All those things are true. But, like, this is a time when, like, you know, it really makes sense for D.C. To spend all this money on this thing at an RFK site that's only going to be used at most, what, 50 times in a year. You can tell me all you want about retail going in. I just don't see it the same way at the RFK site compared to with Nats Park and Cap 1 both were really connected geographically to Capitol Hill and or the downtown area.

I just don't see it. So I just struggle to think that that makes any kind of real sense unless, like I said, the Wizards and Capp leave, and now you have a whole new situation. So, yeah, to me, Maryland, that's why I put Maryland as the favorite in part because I just don't, you know, I don't know. It just doesn't seem like this is the moment for D.C. to spend beyond whatever they made me to keep the Wizards and Cap. Good segue into what I wanted to finish up the show with today, and we will do that with Ben, who's joining us.

Ted Lianzis was busy on X this morning on Twitter. It was one tweet after another, and it reeks a bit of him kind of understanding where all of this is headed, which is not towards Virginia. But let me just read you these tweets. First of all, he tweeted how thrilled he was with the Caps victory last night. Huge two points. Caps fans showed up for the team. The support's been fantastic. And he mentioned that last night was one of the most attended Caps games of the season

and the largest weekday crowd of the year. See what winning will do. Next, he tweeted, incredible info from our at MSC just now, monumental sports entertainment. Just now, on Monday night, the Zach Bryan concert was the highest attended concert

in Capital One Arena history with 20,280 people enjoying the show. It was also the highest single night for merchandise sales in Capital One Arena history. Wow. The Zach Bryan concert,

20,280 people spent more on merchandise than any Taylor Swift concert. that's ever been there. I think they've had Taylor Swift at Capital One. Then he tweeted again shortly after that. I want to thank our incredible team at monumental sports and entertainment, especially our operations group for running a tight ship and being able to produce efficiently and safely so many great and big time events for so many great and big time events for our community and fans. Then he tweeted, each of these events brings the community together,

thousands of jobs and generate significant tax revenue for the city. Oh, yeah, it does. I'm glad you appreciate that now. And then he writes, even more amazing data. In March to date, over 325,000 fans have come through our doors to enjoy Caps and Wizards games concerts. Georgetown basketball, the ACC tournament, and other events. We expect to end the month near 400,000 fans through the turnstiles. So why would you ever want to leave, Ted?

And then he tweets out, we are thrilled with the response from Caps and Wizards fans renewing season tickets for next year. Caps renewals at 90 percent. Wizards renewals just went out and they expect to finish between 85 and 90 percent. That's actually amazing, considering how bad the Wizards are right now. We will never take for granted your loyalty to the teams. your reaction to all of this activity from Ted on Twitter today. Sounds like he has come to grips with Virginia not being a possibility. Sorry, I just sent you a Louise Lucas, the state senator from Virginia.

She just tweeted something out. I just sent it to you if you want to read it. But yes, it certainly sounds like a guy who is trying to reset everything and make everybody, oh, no, no, we love it here, and we're all happy here. what a disaster you know look again he he tries to be a salesman

just way way way too much it's been this way forever you know you can go all the way back to when what was it was it was john wall jordan crawford

and was it gavail mgee a lot i forget which one's calling them like their big three and he you know he can never just let it be and just be

realistic with what is happening and again i was point this out. For Capital fans, they think that he has been great because for, you know, essentially out of Etkins' entire career, they have been a contender minus, you know, the last, you know, handful of years as a team's gotten older and expensive. So he, you know, to them, he has fulfilled their promises. And when he is saying all this stuff, it's not a sale job. To them, it's some level of reality. Wait a minute. Hold on for a second. You sent me Louise Lucas's.

tweet. Do you know why she tweeted it? Because as we've been sitting here having this conversation, news has broken here that the deal is dead. This according to Eric Flack, Channel 9, who's done a good job on reporting on all this recently, the proposed move to Alexandria for the Wizards and Capitals is dead. This is a quote from Mayor Justin Wilson. I assume he's the mayor of Alexandria. quote, Alexandria has ended negotiations related to the Potomac Yard Entertainment District Opportunity and the proposal will not move forward, closed quote. I think we all saw this coming here over the last few weeks, but it is now apparently official, which is why that Louise Lucas tweeted out what she tweeted out.

She certainly wants to grab credit for single-handedly stopping it. But clearly, Ted, as we were discussing all these tweets today, he had a heads-up that this was coming and it was over. So there you go. It's all over. They're staying in D.C. Again, I just hope that Capitol fans and others who see you Ted as some great owner will finally see the nonsense that we've all been talking about on this other side. And it's not because the Wizards have been whatever. It's just because it's just so obvious. Like, I guess I just don't understand, you know, not being an obscenely rich guy who has people falling all over them.

I'm not exactly getting people kissing my butt or whatever. That, like, I don't live in some alternate reality the way a lot of these guys do. He's certainly not the only one. But, like, you know, we just talked about Josh Harris. He hasn't been around long enough for me to form. or like a total opinion, but just based on how we talked to us yesterday about stuff, you know, it was pretty straightforward. I mean, it just, it wasn't a big sales job.

Obviously, he's going to highlight some of the positive things that they're doing, but he's also seen to be realistic about things that have got to improve. And I don't understand why this owner, for however many years he's owned all these teams, just cannot do that. And it just gets him into trouble, especially on the wizard side, and now the biggest, you know, matto ball on his face is this thing where he's just looking like a, I mean, what a big L. This is the biggest L he's ever suffered as the owner of one of these teams. Oh, yeah. This is a huge loss for Ted and the monumental group.

But for Ted personally, no doubt about it. He is begging now for a long caps run in the postseason to make everybody forget the last few months of messiness. But, you know, what's interesting to me is I don't think this had to be the level of loss that it probably feels like today. Because reasonable people, I think, understand why Ted was talking to Virginia. D.C. wasn't responsive. You know, they thought he was bluffing. They weren't very helpful. They weren't very helpful in the wake of a pandemic, in the wake of increased crime in the area.

And I think a lot of people in Ted's position would have looked elsewhere and would have tried to, you know, make the city pay to a certain degree for their ineptitude because a lot of this was on the city for sure. But it was the way he handled it. I said it the day of the press conference when he was there with Governor Yonkin and there were people that were part of that press conference with tears coming down their cheeks. And it's like, whoa, wait a minute here. Do you know what you're doing? You're leaving the city high and dry. That's what you are suggesting here. And there was no recognition of that.

There was no compassion for that. And I said it that day that it was off-putting. And he's been in those moments a bunch. And it's his sort of detachment from the reality of really what his teams mean in the larger scheme of things, what this monumental group, which all do, respect. You know, not many people know much about their e-sports team or their go-go team. I mean, the caps and wizards. Like, if they leave that building, if they had left that building, that area would have deteriorated to nothing. They're the big tenants, not, you know, the mystics or the go-go,

or some e-sports team, or a couple of second-rate concerts. And I don't know, I think he just, he just missed that part of it. And I think sometimes he, he misses that part of it a lot. And I bet there are people that try to advise him on how to handle these situations or, you know, what the, you know, the large majority of people in this town actually really think or really know about his properties and his incredible, you know, edgy prowess in business. But my sense of it is he's got all the answers and he'll handle it his way. But yeah, this didn't have to be the big L for him that it's turned out to be, I don't think.

And I also think, by the way, that D.C. should stick with the offer that it made at the 11th hour back in December, the $500 million to TED to upgrade Capital One. You know, they may have additional leverage here that they did not have in that moment, but they shouldn't use it. I think Phil Mendelsohn actually said that if the deal falls apart in Virginia, their last deal remains on the table for Ted and Ted's group to take. And I think they're getting a second bite at this apple. They should take it because, you know, keeping the Wizards in caps at Capital One Arena in Chinatown is good for the city. Yeah, I mean, once Mayor Bowser put that out there and what felt like was, oh, no, I can't believe this is happening. we had to do something. Hey, you know, that's the bed they have to lie in now.

And, you know, they're certainly, you know, it doesn't seem like D.C. was perfect at all when it came to these negotiations with Ted. And I said a long time ago when the whole committee, you know, back in it with Snyder, that if they're taking their eye off the monumental ball, I think they're making a huge mistake because of that, those two teams, I think are more crucial to the city than a football stadium for a reason we just stayed. They made their own mistakes, but now that it's here, yeah, you can't go, okay, well, now that you're options, Ted, let's go backwards and give you half. I don't think that should be happening either.

Yep, I'm with you on that as well. All right. Breaking news right in the middle of our conversation about Ted. That was perfect timing. All right, appreciate it. Thanks for doing this, as always. Always a pleasure, man. See you. All right. We are done for the day. tomorrow with Tommy.