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Speaker 1: The volume.
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Speaker 2: This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.
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Speaker 1: What is up, Straight Firefam, It's me Jason McIntyre. Straight Fire for Monday, March twenty fifth. Oh my gosh, this was quite possibly your boy's busiest weekend of the year, not just because we just moved, but obviously first round of the NCAA tournament. You know, I love that, deep deep love for the tournament. I was in the Calcutta. The sweats are very frigging real for that bad boy. We'll talk about Houston in a minute, but it was just it was one of those weekends. I'll be brief. I know you guys love the dad life stuff. But my daughter's team went back to back with the basketball title, won an ugly fourteen nine game. Yeah, I know, fourteen nine. When they get upgraded to the big court, they put on like a high school court in their fifth graders, so it's like they're exhausted after like ten trips of and down the court, missing a lot of bunnies. And then my son's team, seventh grade, we were trying to go back to back and we were just up against the juggernaut. Guys. I'll say this like i I've always said, coach your kids. It's like the most fun thing ever. We were heavy underdogs. We have I think the best player in the league, but the other team like was just stacked. I won't get long story short. They had an awesome player who had a broken leg and he was supposed to like not really play at all this season, according to the dad, and then of course he ends up playing like a lot. And now here we go for the for the postseason tournament and he's like healthy and pouring in like twenty points. Oh, you know, a little cheesy, but whatever, who cares. We're not going to back down. They go up ten to start the fourth quarter and I'm like, all right, you know, guys, this is it. We got empty the tank and our guys storm back, and of course my kid, who I think it was like his only shot of the game. He might have taken too, he banks in a three to cut the lead to two with like a minute left, and it was it was just it was incredible, like we were in this game. The other team was like kind of pooping bricks and they it was just awesome, and we end up our star player who was phenomenal. I put some of the highlights on ig he he had like a forty footer for the win, but you know it didn't didn't hit iron and it was over. But it was one of those where you you take you lost, but it felt like a win. Like one of the parents on my team comes up and goes, Jay, if you could keep it within ten, I'll be impressed. I mean, these guys, we've seen this team. They're they're stacked, and I was it was just our Everybody came up afterwards they were like, dude, that was that was so fun and youth sports is fun. But of course the problem is I'm missing the JMU duke game as this is happening. And on Saturday I had to miss or no, Sunday morning, I had to miss the ending of the Marquette whoever the hell they were playing. Marquette was playing Colorado, and you know that's a Calcutta team we have and I keep asking the scorers. But like at the high school, they try to give you not good WiFi, so the kids aren't on Wi Fi all day. So there's like I can't watch the game as I'm coaching. The kids could barely give me updates. Obviously, Marquette came through late. But so the youth basketball season is over. My weekends will get a little looser. We still have soccer and you know, kid do volleyball and stuff. But the tournament is going to be lit. And the reason is because it's basically been chalk madness, not March madness. Chalk madness, folks. Only four times before this year have we seen all the top two seeds advance in every region. I have the dates here for you. It was twenty nineteen, was the last time, with Zion right two thousand and nine, then nineteen ninety five, in nineteen eighty nine, those were the only four teams that the top two seeds advanced. And now we got it again as Houston wins and survives. Last night a crazy game against Texas A and M, and I think that was it gave me an instant headache. I'm not even kidding. It's you know, listen. I don't need to give you guys the dollar figures, but we are heavily invested in Houston. We love their odds, we'd like their chances. We think they're great matchups. I think they match up extremely well with Duke unless they get a poor whistle, you know, and let Duke shoot forty some on free throws like A and M got. But this Houston team is good. And when you're up by thirteen late in the game and you win probabilities ninety nine point nine percent and you end up going overtime, you just and everybody's foul. And I was, it was a sweat. So we're pot committed on Houston, Marquette, and Iowa State. I would love if all three of them win in the sweet sixteen. I'm fairly certain we turn a tiny, tiny, tiny profit. Obviously, we need them.
00:04:39
Speaker 2: To go further.
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Speaker 1: I don't really know where to start other than the chalk factor, because I'll say this, the last time the top two seeds advance was twenty nineteen. That was the Zion Williamson duke team, which everybody loved. Zion was a ratings juggernaut, and I still vividly remember Zion against SPARTI watching it and being just crestfallen. Michigan State pulled it out and Zion lost by one. It was I was like, God, the stinks. Now. The twenty nineteen final four was good. If you remember, that was the year of Virginia beats Auburn in like a controversial. I think there was late free throws by Kyle Guy, and then Virginia beat Texas Tech in an overtime game, and then Natty after Texas Tech beats Party. It was like a good final four, but not a ton of juice. I mean close games, right, But there weren't like major, big time stars in the tournament, and we missed Zion not having that. Now here's the thing I was gonna ask Robl like, Okay, we got a great Sweet sixteen lineup. Looks awesome. I'm fired up, I'm excited. I can't wait for Thursday Friday. But you look around, guys, I'm being this is just real talk. Is there one top ten draft pick left in the tournament? I'm just talking a top ten. I might even say top five, Like, is there one top ten pick left? I'll be honest, I don't know the answer to that, but I would lean probably not. I mean, listen, everybody loves Zachi d the Purdue Monster. At seven to four, I cannot see anyone take it the top ten. I just don't you go down down the list like Yukon's got some dudes. I don't know if they're seven to two guy is gonna be a top ten pick. Here's the thing about Yukon. They're blasting people off the floor in the first like I don't know, five six minutes, so I've barely watched them. Their games are unwatchable because they're murdering people, and so they kind of feel like a total train right now, and they're just gonna maul everyone. San Diego State could slow it down and feasibly hang around. But how we just saw this in the National Championship and it was Yukon all day. And now the Yukon team, you could argue, is like better in the San Diego State team is a little worse. I don't see how that's competitive. I think Houston Duke would be a good game. I don't think Philip Kowski from Duke is a top ten pick. I do like SHD a lot, and boy he had a big, big, big time bucket larn overtime. I like his game. Marquette has Kolic, who you know, I'm a massive fan of I just I don't. I don't know, guys, I don't think Rob, do you do you think there's a top now? I haven't looked at mock drafts, so Rob might hit me with that, Oh, this guy's still hanging around and I missed him. But even if you if you looked at the game Saturday, you know North Carolina's Baycott is like twenty three years old, and you know R. J. Davis is old like Caleb Love. Nobody wants to draft him in Arizona. I don't really see it. I like Dalton Connect, and he's probably the best talent left in the tournament, the kid from Tennessee. But we saw him at time struggle against the Texas defenders. And you know, the SEC has proven to be immense frauds, So I don't think anybody's like fearful of Tennessee, and I don't maybe Connect built up an amazing year in the SEC just clowning folks. I think he's very good, but I don't know if he's top ten rob. It's weird. We get a lot of top seeds. We've got a very very good competitive lineup for Thursday, but we don't have a lot of juicy players left. As a sports fan, I can tell you there's nothing worse than trying to surprise your kids with tickets to Opening Day only to find out that all the best seats have already been taken, and the ones that are available come with the worst view in the house. That's why I use game Time. Game Time is now an authorized ticket marketplace of Major League Baseball, which makes getting tickets even faster and easier. And if you're worried about that rush hour traffic slowing you down, prices on the game Time app actually go down the closer it gets to first pitch. With killer last minute deals, all in prices, views from your seat, and their lowest price guarantee, game Time takes the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets. I know it's not technically Opening Day, but LA's home opener against Saint Louis is coming up and game Time has a flash sale going on right now where they're offering seats along the first baseline that would save my family of four over two hundred dollars. You can't beat that with a baseball bat. With all in prices and the lowest price guarantee that will credit you one hundred and ten percent of the difference if you find something cheaper. Game Time is the real MVP for sports fans like me, take the guesswork out of buying tickets with game Time. Download the game Time app, Create an account and use code Jmack for twenty dollars off your first purchase. Terms apply again. Create an account and redeem code Jmac for twenty dollars off. Download the game Time app today, last minute tickets, lowest price guarantee.
00:09:28
Speaker 3: That's something that's kind of played college basketball for some time. Now. I'm looking at one mock draft. I go to one website. It's kind of like an aggregate of several websites just to give you an idea of who might go where. Connect is the only guy that they have in the top ten right now on this website. And I'm looking here through the mock draft Connect, I didn't. I forgot. He's a senior. He's been around for a hot second.
00:09:50
Speaker 1: Yeah.
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Speaker 3: So if you're looking at the rest of the top ten on this aggregate mock site NBA draft on Net, it's freshman international, freshman, freshman, freshman international, freshman, freshman, one senior. So that therein lies the problem with college basketball for right now, at least, all of the best players, or the guys who are going to pro who are going to profile as the best NBA players are usually eliminated by now in today's college basketball era, like the transfer portal NIL has made it so that the best teams usually are veteran Leyden twenty three, twenty four, hell even twenty five year old players up and down that roster, and that's why there's so money come crunch time in the tournament. I have a soft spot for Zach Edi because of I think he's just a phenomenal college player. I think he's one of the great college players that we've ever seen. And where he have had more tournament success, I think that'd be more widely accepted. You know, back to back unanimous Player of the Year, back to back unanimous All American, Like that doesn't happen in college basketball. Yeah, and so I would like to think that maybe he could sneak into the back half of the top ten because suddenly center and the big man has become in vogue again in the NBA. But to your point, like, it's I don't see the star power no in this top sixteen Sweet sixteen now.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just not there. Yeah. Perdue and Edy are interesting. They destroyed Grambling and then they eviscerated Utah State. Listen, you win your first game by twenty eight, in your second by what thirty nine? You're doing something right. Now, here's the thing. Gonzaga is gonna be tough. Gonzagas look good, but they're not a great team. They already faced off early in the season. I believe it was in the Maui Classic. And you know, of course Perdue wins this at a neutral site. Let's see how Edy did. Oh he had twenty five and nine and three blocks. Gonzaga has yet they don't really have the size to hang, but they're you know, a little better on the wings. I don't really have a play there. Ken Palm has it Perdue by four. You guys, remember last week we had clevta on and he talked a lot about ken Pom and I know a lot of you guys jumped on Ken Palm and looked at him. We're like, oh, this is interesting, blah blah blah. Okay, sixteen teams left, all right, Four of the sixteen thirteen of them are in the top fifteen in kenball. It has been the teams that great out the best, according to the stats, are dominating this tournament and is not even close. The only teams that choked Auburn a ghastly late choke, a game they sorely regret given what happened to Yale against San Diego State. But other than Auburn, like, I don't really think Baylor choked. I had Clempson beating them. And the one number that matters more than anything so far has been defensive efficiency. And the only team yeah, hold let me scool day. Yeah, the only team outside of the top eighty in defense left is Alabama at one hundred and two. And that's after they survived Grand Canyon, who should not have even been there. Oh my gosh, Graham Canyon with a massive, well not a massive upset and upset of Saint Mary's. That one hurt me survivor. It's my first survivor did not go well in March Madness lessons learned. Let's just say that. But basically, yeah, the teams that play good defense, look at that if you and Ken Palm like I'm a subscriber, but if you look at the adjusted defense, I mean, basically, it's here's what happens in March. Every possession matters more right offense. These are teams you don't know, well, you're an unfamiliar arenas, unfamiliar settings, playing a weird times of day, and defense travels offense not so much. And number one in defense is Houston. Number two is Iowa State. Number three is Tennessee. Those teams look really freaking good. We could talk about lines. I don't know, Roblick. The sweet sixteed is good because there's only two games Thursday, two games Friday. But do you have any early leans when you look at the way the bracket shakes out and the lines.
00:14:13
Speaker 3: Well, Quickly, before we get into that, I just want to say that to all of the people on social media who've been tagging me on stuff. I'm sure you've been getting tagged too, but you're too busy to really check your Twitter like that saying, oh, this is such a boring tournament. These are all the favorites I hate when it's this chalk. It's supposed to be March madness for a reason. And let me just say, if you are college basketball, and I might say the NCAA, but CBS and Turner Sports, you have to be loving this result right now because and I hate to harp on this a game, but we talked about it last week last season, the foot opening round was the highest rated opening weekend in NCAA tournament history. But as the Cinderellas kept advancing, the ratings have going down and down and down. The Elite A down fourteen percent, Final Four down seventeen percent, National Title Game downnineteen percent, and it was the least watched title game ever. This year. We still haven't got the numbers fully. But the opening round again, the highest rated opening round again. But this year, to your point, all the big dogs are still left, all the heavy hitters. We're not gonna get an fau versus, you know San die I don't think you know San Diego State in the Final four. That's not gonna happen, right, you know. So we should be hopefully getting the resurgence at least on the viewership mark that college basketball has sorely needed because the way the sport is evolved the fact that all of the best NBA prospects are no longer featured late in the tournament like they may have used to have been as recently as five or six years ago. What you can hope for, then, if you're not gonna get the NBA guys at that level, that at least you get the best teams and right now at least through the sweet sixteen of all the best teams. So this, this is what we should be hoping for is college basketball?
00:16:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, and if you look at the lines, that it speaks to that Iowa State favored by two over Illinois. Illinois has been a truck the first two rounds. Alabama is a four point dog against North Carolina Arizona seven over Clemson. That feels a little rich. I gotta see where these games are because I think Arizona is in Los Angeles, so they'll have a massive home court advantage. Are Gonzaga Purdue produce four and a half? I would look at Gonzaga there just taking the points. I don't I don't know that they'll win. Tennessee two and a half over Creighton. That's going to be a great game. I like this Creighton team. I have futures on a lot of these teams left. I have futures on Creighton. I don't think they could win the title. Marquette six and a half against NC State. Again, we're heavy on Marquette. I like Marquette a lot. Colek is fun, Cam Jones. I like that matchup for them. NC State's got the bigs, but their guards is not great. And then Houston minus four over Duke. That is interesting. The knock on Duke has been that they're soft and if you push them around, they will will Tennessee push them around last year, UNC pushed them around a couple times this year, and Houston is gonna bully. But I'm just telling you, if the refs are gonna call it the way they did Houston, Texas A and M I don't love Houston chances now. I believe that game is in Texas. Duke travels well and has grads everywhere, but I think Houston should have a monster home court edge. Let me just check. I haven't seen where all the games are rob have you seen that yet or no?
00:17:30
Speaker 3: I mean I'm sure if I did enough. Looking like on ESPN, CBS Sports dot Com, you'll you'll see the way that the brackets are set up. But it's like you have to click through twelve different features and there's always a pop up, and it seems like it's it's less user friendly than it used to be. You know, technology used to be our friend. Now is just getting me to buy more stuff, So it's a little bit tricky.
00:17:49
Speaker 2: Bye.
00:17:49
Speaker 1: Bye bye. I did not watch. Oh I did watch a little of the women's tournament, so obviously I didn't get into much. But I did have somebody tweet me and I again, I'm not on Twitter really this weekend that much. But LSU in trouble at halftime, losing to like Middle Tennessee or something. I was like, what so I turn it over and they were down at the half, and I, you know, saw some highlence. I was like, oh, they don't look great. But then you know, I see the final score and they win handily, you know, or setting up the LSU Caitlin Clark thing. But the only thing on the women's side that had some juices weekend was the coach of LSU, Kim Mulki, went on this rant about the Washington Post doing a hit piece against her. Here's the weird thing. The piece isn't even out yet. She's trying to pull like a Donald Trump type deal where you get so much I'm gonna hammer the piece before it even comes out. I'm gonna get people against it. I'm gonna come after it. And I think she's almost put a light on it before the story's even coming out. I don't just could backfire on her. But again, I have no clue what the story is. I don't really care that much. I did find the interesting, Rob. She goes, this reporter has been hounding me for two years to try to get me to sit down and this and that and this. Two years he's been asking me interviews and blah blah blah. And then he gave me forty eight hours to respond and and I was like, well, that that's kind of interesting. He's been asking you for an interview for two years. He's been consistently trying to get you with questions, and then he gives you a deadline. And that's a problem, Like you've had two years to sit down with this guy or not. That's fine. I don't have people beating down my door to interview me, you know, for whatever skeletons or I've got in the closet. But I don't know, Rob, did that come off as you weird to you? He Hey, he's been trying to talk to me for two years and then he gave me a deadline. And I just come on, you're trying to mess with our team now. And I'm like, what do you want him to do? This story July, like you want to maximize how many people are gonna see it, and it's during the women's basketball tournament, probably right in front of the Iowa game, right, So I just thought that was kind of awkward, although I don't maybe I'm being weird.
00:20:02
Speaker 3: No, I agree with you. I didn't understand her tactic, Like to your point, the article is not out yet, so to go on the offensive and threatening to sue the Washington Post and the reporter if this quote false story gets published, it's like, well, we don't even know what's in it yet, so bye by. With her doing that, it's almost like back in the day, remember mixtapes in rap, and I don't know they come out now, but I don't check very much as they used to. But it's like, oh, fifty cent drop a mixtape. You know, he's taking shots of jay Z and things like that, and jay Z talks about it as summer jam, and you're like, well, I haven't heard the fifty cent mixtape yet, but if jay Z's responded to and I really got to hear it. And so for Kim Mokey to go out there on the offensive, which was something that was only bubbling over on Twitter, like I think Pat Forty was the guy who's like, hey, there's some buzz that there's a wappo out article coming out, so keep an eye on that. And all she has to do if she gets asked about it is I have no comment. I'm focused on the tournament. Done deal. Story's dead at least until that article comes out. But because she goes on this prepared rant for three and a half minutes with the binder in front of her, then after they beat Middle Tennessee, she's asked about it again, so again it's a story. So now you're on like day three or day four of this without the article even coming out, that people are already talking about it. So I'm very excited to read it. I honestly get the feeling that, because of the way this is being build up, whatever is in that article will be disappointed because it's like I've been hyping it up, hyping it up, hyping it up, and it's only gonna let you down. But yeah, I don't really understand her tactic on that one.
00:21:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, very awkward. We could wrap up with an NFL story that popped over the weekend. Again, NFL free agency pretty much done, but I did see Lugerius Snead. Remember the Chiefs were going to tag him. Well, they ended up trading him to the Tennessee Titans. Lugarious Sneed, who was just a play making superstar cornerback locked up Tyreek Hill had a great, well pretty great Super Bowl, I think, right. I think he also had a huge playoff game against the Ravens. Forcing it was he the one who forced a fumble or was it McDuffie, No, that was him, That was Sneed. Yeah, so Steed listen, Steve's a very good player. Thing is he wants top dollar and you gotta pay McDuffie soon. You had to pay Chris Jones. They had to make a business decision and they traded Steve. But here's what's the interesting thing. All I kept reading was Sneid could fetch a second round pick in the twenty twenty four draft, and then the Chiefs sets themselves up for three picks in the first two rounds and they'd be able to replenish the offensive line, get themselves a receiver. They would have options. Right. All they could get was a twenty twenty five to third and a twenty twenty four to seventh, So that jumped out to me as Oh, I guess Sneid isn't seen in the market as valuable as what the media and fans perceive him as. And at the same time, how much of Sneed's success is thanks to Spagnolo's great defense, which is so mean. Spagnola is just an awesome defensive coordator. We know this, and I don't know. It'll be interesting to see what happens. But then I decided, oh, let me just see what's going on with the Titans. I haven't paid attention to them at all. They got rid of Raybul, they got a new coach. It's weird. They've spent so much money. It's almost like they're a team that won the lottery.
00:23:28
Speaker 3: You know.
00:23:28
Speaker 1: Let's say you win like fifty million in the lottery. You're just gonna go out buy shit. You're gonna buy a house, you go buy buy a poorische Ferrari, whatever you do. You're gonna buy stuff. You're gonna be flexing expensive suit. You just are. That's what you do if you come into fifty million dollars. This is who the Titans got in the off season. Yeah, you might not be aware of all these guys. They got Tony Pollard the running back to replace Derrick Henry. They got Calvin Ridley. I don't I don't know how I missed that. I guess we might have talked about it. But they got Calvin Ridley. So the receiver room is like really good now, right, Ridley newk Hopkins and Treylon Burks if he can ever stay healthy. So Will Levis all of a sudden, he's got some guys to throw to. Now his running game is They improve the offensive line with the center, they got Cushion Barry, and then on defense they stole Kenneth Murray from the Chargers. I liked him. The pro football focused grades did not, but anytime I watched a Charger game, he was around the football. And now they add Stneat So they've added like five maybe six starters. Okay, it's like, all right, what are they? I don't know what they are. If Will Levis is good, maybe they're a eight nine win team. If the Jaggs regress a little bit or don't improve, and if the the Texans don't improve, maybe the Tights are good. I don't know. I don't know what to make a Will Levis rob What should we make of him.
00:24:46
Speaker 3: I don't know what you can make a Will Levis Like. Will Levis is the guy who looks like he should be the prototypical NFL quarterback and then just hasn't performed like an NFL quarterback. Really, like he broke onto the scene. You remember that game in October against with the Falcons, four touchdowns, no pick. I think it was his first start, and it was like, oh shit, the Titans got themselves a quarterback. Will Levis famously fell in the draft and everyone's gonna regret it, the same way they did with Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady and Will Levis is the guy. And then the next two games zero touchdowns, two picks. Then he pops back up against Jacksonville in a loss. Theyn't score fourteen points, but in that game he was thirteen of seventeen, two touchdowns, no picks, Like, all right, Will Levis is back. And then it's you know, zero touchdowns, yeah, one touchdown, one touchdown, one pick, one pick. Finishes out the season. He gets hurt midway through two for six for sixteen yards against Houston, and so the final numbers don't look bad like eight touchdowns, four picks, fifty eight percent completion percentage until you realize that all of his damage, for the most part, was done in his very first start when no one knew anything about him, and a game against Jacksonville where they got their doors blown off. So I don't know what Will Levis is. I know that he has the tools and he has what is it they called the traits that you look for an NFL quarterback toolsy. But if he is not at least, you know, a middle of the road type quarterback, if he's not at least Derek Carr level, then this was the dumbest offseason the Titans could have had because you're throwing all of this money in the hat under the guys that you have your quarterback locked up on a rookie deal, so you spin all around him. If your quarterback is not good, though, then you're just throwing money away to be mediocre and you're gona have no cap space and you're gonna be stuck in purgatory. Six seven wins for the fortup of future.
00:26:43
Speaker 1: Well, I guess you could look at it this way. If the Tennessee Titans go five and twelve, well, the good news is Will Levis ain't the guy and the good news is you're probably drafting top five right so you get your next quarterback. The thrill and excitement of March Mania is here, and Draftking Sportsbook, one of America's top rated sportsbook apps, is giving new customers a shot to turn five bucks into one hundred and fifty dollars instantly in bonus bets with any college basketball bet. Obviously, I can't give betting advice, but I can sure lean on knowledge my awesome run this season. If you're not paying attention, you're missing out. Download the DraftKings sports Book app and use code straight fire. New customers can bet five bucks to get one hundred and fifty dollars instantly in bonus bets only at Draftking Sportsbook with code straight fire. The Crown is yours.
00:27:40
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00:28:15
Speaker 1: And that next quarterback, whoever he is, whether it's a kid from Georgia Beck, maybe it's Shoulder Sanders. You know, you got some guys to throw to. And since I brought up shaduur Standers, we can wrap up with this. It's weird now that the draft is coming up. All of a sudden, Dion Sanders is popping off about his son, Shaudure, and he's saying some really questionable stuff. And when I say questionable, I'm looking at it from an NFL team vantage point, and it's like, okay, um. All signs are pointing to Dion Sanders pulling an ELI, which he's actually said, and sending his son to a certain school as opposed to wanting to go to wherever he's drafted, which is fine. I'm totally into that, but this is next level and wasn't discussed. Rob what happens. If your team drafts Shadure Sanders and Dion Sanders want decides. Oh, you know I do. I do want to coach in the NFL. Whoever that head coaches might as well start to pack his backs, because as soon as things go awry, you know Dion is gonna be angling to coach his son in the NFL. I don't think that's ever been done. I'd have to double check, but if you're telling me it's never been done. This is kind of like Lebron playing with his son in the NBA. That's so cool. You gotta watch that. Well, yeah, I would watch Dion and his son on an NFL team. I think it would be fascinating. Dion the coach and his son in the quarterback. Don't you think that would be super cool? You're instantly buying a massive TV market, right, everybody's gonna tune in. Your games are gonna be mussy, probably gonna fill up the stadium. Whoever drafts should dour might as well lock in Dion as their next head co And I just wonder, Rob, if you're drafting in the top three and you're the GM and the coach, are you like, hey, guys, we draft Shador, We're probably drafting our replacements too, because ultimately Dion's gonna want to call the shots. He's already on record saying he doesn't as one as kid to go to play in a cold city. Like it's a little crazy the way he's already manipulating this, and Rob it's a year out Schedro could could have a bad year and regress and be like, who, I don't know. This has happened to a lot of quarterbacks where you have a great year and everybody expects you to go at the top and then oh wait a minute, they're regressing a little bit. So I don't know. I just I don't love how Dion's handling this. It seems like he's putting a lot of undue pressure on his son, and it's not totally different from what's happening with Lebron and Bronny with the whole draft stuff. I'm not trying to make it a negative. I just I don't know that I would play it that way. Just think about what you're saying about your son. You're already talking about the draft, You're already talking about hand picking the team. He's still got another year at Colorado. I don't know, Rob, what am I missing here?
00:31:12
Speaker 3: Well, you also forget that he said that between Shador Sanders and Travis Hunter that they will both go in the top four of the upcoming NFL draft. He said one of them will go number one, depending on need, the other one will go into lower than four.
00:31:23
Speaker 1: No, well, it's not Travis Hunter.
00:31:24
Speaker 3: Nobody's taking receiver right exactly. Well, he hasn't shown to be an elite receiver or a corner. You know in college. He's a great collegiate player, but you know, he's not polished as a route runner and defensively, he's got great talent. But I mean, we saw what Stanford did to that kid, like it was, it was terrible. You know, he's just he needs to focus on one side of the ball to really excel the next level. But let's just play this game with Shador Sanders. So it can't be a cold weather team, and it's got to be a team that's gonna be drafting in the top four. So immediately you cross off all of the Eastern Seaboard teams this except for what the Dolphins, and I don't think they'll be drafting in the top four, Rightky, you can't go the NFC Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Commander, I mean the Cowboys. I don't think we're driving top four, So they're out. NFC North, the Lion's playing a dome, but they won't be picking in the top four. Everyone else is cold weather or has a quarterback. The AFC North has their quarterbacks, and it's all very cold weather AFC South. The Texans got a quarterback, the Jacks got their quarterback, the Colts drafted their quarterback. Maybe it's Will Levis's Tennessee Titans. Maybe maybe that's where he's angling to because if you look down the teams that fit this very narrow criteria of terrible but also warm weather, you're you're left with, I mean, just quickly, the Titans, potentially my Raiders, okay what I mean, the Panthers but they already got their quarterback, and I guess the Cardinals, but they have a quarterback. So where exactly is this sweet spot for shador stand where he's gonna avoid cold weather at all costs and also find himself being taken in the top of the draft.
00:33:07
Speaker 1: Well that and that's the problem. Here's the thing. Okay, let's just they're not they're not drafted them. But let's say the Rams get him. Stafford decides, I'm out. Okay, let's say the Rams get him. The Rams in the playoffs could hypothetically have to go to Chicago to Green Bay to Philadelphia. What do you think the weather's like in January're gonna have to win those games anyway, So like, I get it, like I like, you know, I enjoyed my time in Philadelphia or outside Philly. I like living in New York. It was fine. Then I get the job offer from Fox, I move across the country. I've tasted the warm weather. Now I have zero interesting going back. None. Okay, but that's different. I'm not I'm not like a quarterback who has to play playoff games at certain places. Like honestly, my family wants to do a ski trip, pay guys, I'll show for you around or I'm just not going, you know like that, that's my vibe on ski trips. And yeah, I miss out some dad's go on dad's ski trips, and you know they know I'm not gonna go, so I miss out on those. And then the daddy daughter's ski trips, so I miss out on kind of stinks, But like, I just don't want to go skiing. I don't like cold weather. Just may I softy. I don't know. I do want to go to Iceland, but like in the spring, not when it's like icy, you know, like freezing. I don't want to do that. I don't know, Robert, It just it strikes me as odd. Like listen, if you go anywhere in the AFC, your playoff path is definitely going through Kansas City. It probably will go through Buffalo, and it might go through Baltimore, and who knows, maybe there's a Cincinnati Bengals cold Like those are old cold weather. So what are you saying now, Deon? I want my son to go to a warm weather team. And I'm just gonna say automatically, I want him go to Tampa or Carolina. Like do you want him to go to Carolina? Do you really want to go to Carolina?
00:34:49
Speaker 3: Think about that, sir, do you really want to go to Carolina?
00:34:52
Speaker 1: I'm just doing too much, deonn Like, dial it back and I I'll tell you what. There was a video.
00:34:56
Speaker 3: I know that you were busy over the weekend, but there was a video that was trending on Saturday, night. It was peak Colorado Buffalo's football because it was Shador Sanders in their their dome whatever, doing their their practice and he hits this beautiful twenty yard out route and it's like, oh, yeah, you can be seeing a lot more of this this season. Go buffs, And every single comment is like, who's gonna stop this? Every single comment, Oh, it's that defender that came flying from the weak side that would have sacked him before he got the pass off, Like all anyone in Colorado was talking about.
00:35:24
Speaker 1: Look at Shador.
00:35:25
Speaker 3: He's got three thousand yards and forty touchdowns and three picks. He also got sacked fifty two times, and that's.
00:35:30
Speaker 1: Why they like.
00:35:33
Speaker 3: Good luck.
00:35:34
Speaker 1: I like those who's stopping the well, I don't like them. I do think there are some funny people out there who's stopping this and it's like reality or you know whatever. But yeah, that's uh, I don't know. Listen Shador. I mean I don't think. I don't. My gut would tell me that if they open it up, the Georgia quarterback probably goes one. He's looked the part. But I'll never forget that. I lost money on the SEC title game. They barely had him throw in the football. It was a weird ass game plan. They lose, but then again, I did like McCarthy a lot more than everyone else, and now McCarthy's like maybe going sixth overall.
00:36:04
Speaker 2: Who knows.
00:36:05
Speaker 1: Anyways, it's a lengthy Monday pod. We back tomorrow probably have some crystallized picks for the Sweet sixteen. I saw Connecticut open up at nine and a half and I definitely took that instantly. Connecticut at nine and a half against San Diego State. I do like a moneyline parlay of Iowa State and Marquette. I think I like Tennessee, but I'm not certain. I think I want to take in Zacha with the points. I'll all say is this, we saw favorites totally dominated. I think I saw the top two seeds were something like fourteen and two against the spread, ridiculous numbers. We would certainly see some regression as you're going to pay a little price for favorites such as Arizona playing out here in LA. I'm curious if Clemson could give them a game. I do think Clemson has the pieces, and I think Arizona a little over hyped after their wins, so I would take I'll take a slice of Clemson plus seven. I don't know what to do with Alabama Carolina. Like a fool, I thought Michigan State could hang with Carolina. That was way way off. But you know, obviously, I'm pot committed to Houston for the Calcutta and I'm thrilled at Marquett's that big of a line. But I just worry about those beefy boys inside for NC State. Mister Burns, Oh my gosh, he's a dancing teddy bear. As I say. Anyways, that's it for today.
00:37:28
Speaker 2: Back tomorrow.
Speaker 1: The volume.
00:00:09
Speaker 2: This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.
00:00:15
Speaker 1: What is up, Straight Firefam, It's me Jason McIntyre. Straight Fire for Monday, March twenty fifth. Oh my gosh, this was quite possibly your boy's busiest weekend of the year, not just because we just moved, but obviously first round of the NCAA tournament. You know, I love that, deep deep love for the tournament. I was in the Calcutta. The sweats are very frigging real for that bad boy. We'll talk about Houston in a minute, but it was just it was one of those weekends. I'll be brief. I know you guys love the dad life stuff. But my daughter's team went back to back with the basketball title, won an ugly fourteen nine game. Yeah, I know, fourteen nine. When they get upgraded to the big court, they put on like a high school court in their fifth graders, so it's like they're exhausted after like ten trips of and down the court, missing a lot of bunnies. And then my son's team, seventh grade, we were trying to go back to back and we were just up against the juggernaut. Guys. I'll say this like i I've always said, coach your kids. It's like the most fun thing ever. We were heavy underdogs. We have I think the best player in the league, but the other team like was just stacked. I won't get long story short. They had an awesome player who had a broken leg and he was supposed to like not really play at all this season, according to the dad, and then of course he ends up playing like a lot. And now here we go for the for the postseason tournament and he's like healthy and pouring in like twenty points. Oh, you know, a little cheesy, but whatever, who cares. We're not going to back down. They go up ten to start the fourth quarter and I'm like, all right, you know, guys, this is it. We got empty the tank and our guys storm back, and of course my kid, who I think it was like his only shot of the game. He might have taken too, he banks in a three to cut the lead to two with like a minute left, and it was it was just it was incredible, like we were in this game. The other team was like kind of pooping bricks and they it was just awesome, and we end up our star player who was phenomenal. I put some of the highlights on ig he he had like a forty footer for the win, but you know it didn't didn't hit iron and it was over. But it was one of those where you you take you lost, but it felt like a win. Like one of the parents on my team comes up and goes, Jay, if you could keep it within ten, I'll be impressed. I mean, these guys, we've seen this team. They're they're stacked, and I was it was just our Everybody came up afterwards they were like, dude, that was that was so fun and youth sports is fun. But of course the problem is I'm missing the JMU duke game as this is happening. And on Saturday I had to miss or no, Sunday morning, I had to miss the ending of the Marquette whoever the hell they were playing. Marquette was playing Colorado, and you know that's a Calcutta team we have and I keep asking the scorers. But like at the high school, they try to give you not good WiFi, so the kids aren't on Wi Fi all day. So there's like I can't watch the game as I'm coaching. The kids could barely give me updates. Obviously, Marquette came through late. But so the youth basketball season is over. My weekends will get a little looser. We still have soccer and you know, kid do volleyball and stuff. But the tournament is going to be lit. And the reason is because it's basically been chalk madness, not March madness. Chalk madness, folks. Only four times before this year have we seen all the top two seeds advance in every region. I have the dates here for you. It was twenty nineteen, was the last time, with Zion right two thousand and nine, then nineteen ninety five, in nineteen eighty nine, those were the only four teams that the top two seeds advanced. And now we got it again as Houston wins and survives. Last night a crazy game against Texas A and M, and I think that was it gave me an instant headache. I'm not even kidding. It's you know, listen. I don't need to give you guys the dollar figures, but we are heavily invested in Houston. We love their odds, we'd like their chances. We think they're great matchups. I think they match up extremely well with Duke unless they get a poor whistle, you know, and let Duke shoot forty some on free throws like A and M got. But this Houston team is good. And when you're up by thirteen late in the game and you win probabilities ninety nine point nine percent and you end up going overtime, you just and everybody's foul. And I was, it was a sweat. So we're pot committed on Houston, Marquette, and Iowa State. I would love if all three of them win in the sweet sixteen. I'm fairly certain we turn a tiny, tiny, tiny profit. Obviously, we need them.
00:04:39
Speaker 2: To go further.
00:04:40
Speaker 1: I don't really know where to start other than the chalk factor, because I'll say this, the last time the top two seeds advance was twenty nineteen. That was the Zion Williamson duke team, which everybody loved. Zion was a ratings juggernaut, and I still vividly remember Zion against SPARTI watching it and being just crestfallen. Michigan State pulled it out and Zion lost by one. It was I was like, God, the stinks. Now. The twenty nineteen final four was good. If you remember, that was the year of Virginia beats Auburn in like a controversial. I think there was late free throws by Kyle Guy, and then Virginia beat Texas Tech in an overtime game, and then Natty after Texas Tech beats Party. It was like a good final four, but not a ton of juice. I mean close games, right, But there weren't like major, big time stars in the tournament, and we missed Zion not having that. Now here's the thing I was gonna ask Robl like, Okay, we got a great Sweet sixteen lineup. Looks awesome. I'm fired up, I'm excited. I can't wait for Thursday Friday. But you look around, guys, I'm being this is just real talk. Is there one top ten draft pick left in the tournament? I'm just talking a top ten. I might even say top five, Like, is there one top ten pick left? I'll be honest, I don't know the answer to that, but I would lean probably not. I mean, listen, everybody loves Zachi d the Purdue Monster. At seven to four, I cannot see anyone take it the top ten. I just don't you go down down the list like Yukon's got some dudes. I don't know if they're seven to two guy is gonna be a top ten pick. Here's the thing about Yukon. They're blasting people off the floor in the first like I don't know, five six minutes, so I've barely watched them. Their games are unwatchable because they're murdering people, and so they kind of feel like a total train right now, and they're just gonna maul everyone. San Diego State could slow it down and feasibly hang around. But how we just saw this in the National Championship and it was Yukon all day. And now the Yukon team, you could argue, is like better in the San Diego State team is a little worse. I don't see how that's competitive. I think Houston Duke would be a good game. I don't think Philip Kowski from Duke is a top ten pick. I do like SHD a lot, and boy he had a big, big, big time bucket larn overtime. I like his game. Marquette has Kolic, who you know, I'm a massive fan of I just I don't. I don't know, guys, I don't think Rob, do you do you think there's a top now? I haven't looked at mock drafts, so Rob might hit me with that, Oh, this guy's still hanging around and I missed him. But even if you if you looked at the game Saturday, you know North Carolina's Baycott is like twenty three years old, and you know R. J. Davis is old like Caleb Love. Nobody wants to draft him in Arizona. I don't really see it. I like Dalton Connect, and he's probably the best talent left in the tournament, the kid from Tennessee. But we saw him at time struggle against the Texas defenders. And you know, the SEC has proven to be immense frauds, So I don't think anybody's like fearful of Tennessee, and I don't maybe Connect built up an amazing year in the SEC just clowning folks. I think he's very good, but I don't know if he's top ten rob. It's weird. We get a lot of top seeds. We've got a very very good competitive lineup for Thursday, but we don't have a lot of juicy players left. As a sports fan, I can tell you there's nothing worse than trying to surprise your kids with tickets to Opening Day only to find out that all the best seats have already been taken, and the ones that are available come with the worst view in the house. That's why I use game Time. Game Time is now an authorized ticket marketplace of Major League Baseball, which makes getting tickets even faster and easier. And if you're worried about that rush hour traffic slowing you down, prices on the game Time app actually go down the closer it gets to first pitch. With killer last minute deals, all in prices, views from your seat, and their lowest price guarantee, game Time takes the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets. I know it's not technically Opening Day, but LA's home opener against Saint Louis is coming up and game Time has a flash sale going on right now where they're offering seats along the first baseline that would save my family of four over two hundred dollars. You can't beat that with a baseball bat. With all in prices and the lowest price guarantee that will credit you one hundred and ten percent of the difference if you find something cheaper. Game Time is the real MVP for sports fans like me, take the guesswork out of buying tickets with game Time. Download the game Time app, Create an account and use code Jmack for twenty dollars off your first purchase. Terms apply again. Create an account and redeem code Jmac for twenty dollars off. Download the game Time app today, last minute tickets, lowest price guarantee.
00:09:28
Speaker 3: That's something that's kind of played college basketball for some time. Now. I'm looking at one mock draft. I go to one website. It's kind of like an aggregate of several websites just to give you an idea of who might go where. Connect is the only guy that they have in the top ten right now on this website. And I'm looking here through the mock draft Connect, I didn't. I forgot. He's a senior. He's been around for a hot second.
00:09:50
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:09:50
Speaker 3: So if you're looking at the rest of the top ten on this aggregate mock site NBA draft on Net, it's freshman international, freshman, freshman, freshman international, freshman, freshman, one senior. So that therein lies the problem with college basketball for right now, at least, all of the best players, or the guys who are going to pro who are going to profile as the best NBA players are usually eliminated by now in today's college basketball era, like the transfer portal NIL has made it so that the best teams usually are veteran Leyden twenty three, twenty four, hell even twenty five year old players up and down that roster, and that's why there's so money come crunch time in the tournament. I have a soft spot for Zach Edi because of I think he's just a phenomenal college player. I think he's one of the great college players that we've ever seen. And where he have had more tournament success, I think that'd be more widely accepted. You know, back to back unanimous Player of the Year, back to back unanimous All American, Like that doesn't happen in college basketball. Yeah, and so I would like to think that maybe he could sneak into the back half of the top ten because suddenly center and the big man has become in vogue again in the NBA. But to your point, like, it's I don't see the star power no in this top sixteen Sweet sixteen now.
00:11:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just not there. Yeah. Perdue and Edy are interesting. They destroyed Grambling and then they eviscerated Utah State. Listen, you win your first game by twenty eight, in your second by what thirty nine? You're doing something right. Now, here's the thing. Gonzaga is gonna be tough. Gonzagas look good, but they're not a great team. They already faced off early in the season. I believe it was in the Maui Classic. And you know, of course Perdue wins this at a neutral site. Let's see how Edy did. Oh he had twenty five and nine and three blocks. Gonzaga has yet they don't really have the size to hang, but they're you know, a little better on the wings. I don't really have a play there. Ken Palm has it Perdue by four. You guys, remember last week we had clevta on and he talked a lot about ken Pom and I know a lot of you guys jumped on Ken Palm and looked at him. We're like, oh, this is interesting, blah blah blah. Okay, sixteen teams left, all right, Four of the sixteen thirteen of them are in the top fifteen in kenball. It has been the teams that great out the best, according to the stats, are dominating this tournament and is not even close. The only teams that choked Auburn a ghastly late choke, a game they sorely regret given what happened to Yale against San Diego State. But other than Auburn, like, I don't really think Baylor choked. I had Clempson beating them. And the one number that matters more than anything so far has been defensive efficiency. And the only team yeah, hold let me scool day. Yeah, the only team outside of the top eighty in defense left is Alabama at one hundred and two. And that's after they survived Grand Canyon, who should not have even been there. Oh my gosh, Graham Canyon with a massive, well not a massive upset and upset of Saint Mary's. That one hurt me survivor. It's my first survivor did not go well in March Madness lessons learned. Let's just say that. But basically, yeah, the teams that play good defense, look at that if you and Ken Palm like I'm a subscriber, but if you look at the adjusted defense, I mean, basically, it's here's what happens in March. Every possession matters more right offense. These are teams you don't know, well, you're an unfamiliar arenas, unfamiliar settings, playing a weird times of day, and defense travels offense not so much. And number one in defense is Houston. Number two is Iowa State. Number three is Tennessee. Those teams look really freaking good. We could talk about lines. I don't know, Roblick. The sweet sixteed is good because there's only two games Thursday, two games Friday. But do you have any early leans when you look at the way the bracket shakes out and the lines.
00:14:13
Speaker 3: Well, Quickly, before we get into that, I just want to say that to all of the people on social media who've been tagging me on stuff. I'm sure you've been getting tagged too, but you're too busy to really check your Twitter like that saying, oh, this is such a boring tournament. These are all the favorites I hate when it's this chalk. It's supposed to be March madness for a reason. And let me just say, if you are college basketball, and I might say the NCAA, but CBS and Turner Sports, you have to be loving this result right now because and I hate to harp on this a game, but we talked about it last week last season, the foot opening round was the highest rated opening weekend in NCAA tournament history. But as the Cinderellas kept advancing, the ratings have going down and down and down. The Elite A down fourteen percent, Final Four down seventeen percent, National Title Game downnineteen percent, and it was the least watched title game ever. This year. We still haven't got the numbers fully. But the opening round again, the highest rated opening round again. But this year, to your point, all the big dogs are still left, all the heavy hitters. We're not gonna get an fau versus, you know San die I don't think you know San Diego State in the Final four. That's not gonna happen, right, you know. So we should be hopefully getting the resurgence at least on the viewership mark that college basketball has sorely needed because the way the sport is evolved the fact that all of the best NBA prospects are no longer featured late in the tournament like they may have used to have been as recently as five or six years ago. What you can hope for, then, if you're not gonna get the NBA guys at that level, that at least you get the best teams and right now at least through the sweet sixteen of all the best teams. So this, this is what we should be hoping for is college basketball?
00:16:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, and if you look at the lines, that it speaks to that Iowa State favored by two over Illinois. Illinois has been a truck the first two rounds. Alabama is a four point dog against North Carolina Arizona seven over Clemson. That feels a little rich. I gotta see where these games are because I think Arizona is in Los Angeles, so they'll have a massive home court advantage. Are Gonzaga Purdue produce four and a half? I would look at Gonzaga there just taking the points. I don't I don't know that they'll win. Tennessee two and a half over Creighton. That's going to be a great game. I like this Creighton team. I have futures on a lot of these teams left. I have futures on Creighton. I don't think they could win the title. Marquette six and a half against NC State. Again, we're heavy on Marquette. I like Marquette a lot. Colek is fun, Cam Jones. I like that matchup for them. NC State's got the bigs, but their guards is not great. And then Houston minus four over Duke. That is interesting. The knock on Duke has been that they're soft and if you push them around, they will will Tennessee push them around last year, UNC pushed them around a couple times this year, and Houston is gonna bully. But I'm just telling you, if the refs are gonna call it the way they did Houston, Texas A and M I don't love Houston chances now. I believe that game is in Texas. Duke travels well and has grads everywhere, but I think Houston should have a monster home court edge. Let me just check. I haven't seen where all the games are rob have you seen that yet or no?
00:17:30
Speaker 3: I mean I'm sure if I did enough. Looking like on ESPN, CBS Sports dot Com, you'll you'll see the way that the brackets are set up. But it's like you have to click through twelve different features and there's always a pop up, and it seems like it's it's less user friendly than it used to be. You know, technology used to be our friend. Now is just getting me to buy more stuff, So it's a little bit tricky.
00:17:49
Speaker 2: Bye.
00:17:49
Speaker 1: Bye bye. I did not watch. Oh I did watch a little of the women's tournament, so obviously I didn't get into much. But I did have somebody tweet me and I again, I'm not on Twitter really this weekend that much. But LSU in trouble at halftime, losing to like Middle Tennessee or something. I was like, what so I turn it over and they were down at the half, and I, you know, saw some highlence. I was like, oh, they don't look great. But then you know, I see the final score and they win handily, you know, or setting up the LSU Caitlin Clark thing. But the only thing on the women's side that had some juices weekend was the coach of LSU, Kim Mulki, went on this rant about the Washington Post doing a hit piece against her. Here's the weird thing. The piece isn't even out yet. She's trying to pull like a Donald Trump type deal where you get so much I'm gonna hammer the piece before it even comes out. I'm gonna get people against it. I'm gonna come after it. And I think she's almost put a light on it before the story's even coming out. I don't just could backfire on her. But again, I have no clue what the story is. I don't really care that much. I did find the interesting, Rob. She goes, this reporter has been hounding me for two years to try to get me to sit down and this and that and this. Two years he's been asking me interviews and blah blah blah. And then he gave me forty eight hours to respond and and I was like, well, that that's kind of interesting. He's been asking you for an interview for two years. He's been consistently trying to get you with questions, and then he gives you a deadline. And that's a problem, Like you've had two years to sit down with this guy or not. That's fine. I don't have people beating down my door to interview me, you know, for whatever skeletons or I've got in the closet. But I don't know, Rob, did that come off as you weird to you? He Hey, he's been trying to talk to me for two years and then he gave me a deadline. And I just come on, you're trying to mess with our team now. And I'm like, what do you want him to do? This story July, like you want to maximize how many people are gonna see it, and it's during the women's basketball tournament, probably right in front of the Iowa game, right, So I just thought that was kind of awkward, although I don't maybe I'm being weird.
00:20:02
Speaker 3: No, I agree with you. I didn't understand her tactic, Like to your point, the article is not out yet, so to go on the offensive and threatening to sue the Washington Post and the reporter if this quote false story gets published, it's like, well, we don't even know what's in it yet, so bye by. With her doing that, it's almost like back in the day, remember mixtapes in rap, and I don't know they come out now, but I don't check very much as they used to. But it's like, oh, fifty cent drop a mixtape. You know, he's taking shots of jay Z and things like that, and jay Z talks about it as summer jam, and you're like, well, I haven't heard the fifty cent mixtape yet, but if jay Z's responded to and I really got to hear it. And so for Kim Mokey to go out there on the offensive, which was something that was only bubbling over on Twitter, like I think Pat Forty was the guy who's like, hey, there's some buzz that there's a wappo out article coming out, so keep an eye on that. And all she has to do if she gets asked about it is I have no comment. I'm focused on the tournament. Done deal. Story's dead at least until that article comes out. But because she goes on this prepared rant for three and a half minutes with the binder in front of her, then after they beat Middle Tennessee, she's asked about it again, so again it's a story. So now you're on like day three or day four of this without the article even coming out, that people are already talking about it. So I'm very excited to read it. I honestly get the feeling that, because of the way this is being build up, whatever is in that article will be disappointed because it's like I've been hyping it up, hyping it up, hyping it up, and it's only gonna let you down. But yeah, I don't really understand her tactic on that one.
00:21:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, very awkward. We could wrap up with an NFL story that popped over the weekend. Again, NFL free agency pretty much done, but I did see Lugerius Snead. Remember the Chiefs were going to tag him. Well, they ended up trading him to the Tennessee Titans. Lugarious Sneed, who was just a play making superstar cornerback locked up Tyreek Hill had a great, well pretty great Super Bowl, I think, right. I think he also had a huge playoff game against the Ravens. Forcing it was he the one who forced a fumble or was it McDuffie, No, that was him, That was Sneed. Yeah, so Steed listen, Steve's a very good player. Thing is he wants top dollar and you gotta pay McDuffie soon. You had to pay Chris Jones. They had to make a business decision and they traded Steve. But here's what's the interesting thing. All I kept reading was Sneid could fetch a second round pick in the twenty twenty four draft, and then the Chiefs sets themselves up for three picks in the first two rounds and they'd be able to replenish the offensive line, get themselves a receiver. They would have options. Right. All they could get was a twenty twenty five to third and a twenty twenty four to seventh, So that jumped out to me as Oh, I guess Sneid isn't seen in the market as valuable as what the media and fans perceive him as. And at the same time, how much of Sneed's success is thanks to Spagnolo's great defense, which is so mean. Spagnola is just an awesome defensive coordator. We know this, and I don't know. It'll be interesting to see what happens. But then I decided, oh, let me just see what's going on with the Titans. I haven't paid attention to them at all. They got rid of Raybul, they got a new coach. It's weird. They've spent so much money. It's almost like they're a team that won the lottery.
00:23:28
Speaker 3: You know.
00:23:28
Speaker 1: Let's say you win like fifty million in the lottery. You're just gonna go out buy shit. You're gonna buy a house, you go buy buy a poorische Ferrari, whatever you do. You're gonna buy stuff. You're gonna be flexing expensive suit. You just are. That's what you do if you come into fifty million dollars. This is who the Titans got in the off season. Yeah, you might not be aware of all these guys. They got Tony Pollard the running back to replace Derrick Henry. They got Calvin Ridley. I don't I don't know how I missed that. I guess we might have talked about it. But they got Calvin Ridley. So the receiver room is like really good now, right, Ridley newk Hopkins and Treylon Burks if he can ever stay healthy. So Will Levis all of a sudden, he's got some guys to throw to. Now his running game is They improve the offensive line with the center, they got Cushion Barry, and then on defense they stole Kenneth Murray from the Chargers. I liked him. The pro football focused grades did not, but anytime I watched a Charger game, he was around the football. And now they add Stneat So they've added like five maybe six starters. Okay, it's like, all right, what are they? I don't know what they are. If Will Levis is good, maybe they're a eight nine win team. If the Jaggs regress a little bit or don't improve, and if the the Texans don't improve, maybe the Tights are good. I don't know. I don't know what to make a Will Levis rob What should we make of him.
00:24:46
Speaker 3: I don't know what you can make a Will Levis Like. Will Levis is the guy who looks like he should be the prototypical NFL quarterback and then just hasn't performed like an NFL quarterback. Really, like he broke onto the scene. You remember that game in October against with the Falcons, four touchdowns, no pick. I think it was his first start, and it was like, oh shit, the Titans got themselves a quarterback. Will Levis famously fell in the draft and everyone's gonna regret it, the same way they did with Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady and Will Levis is the guy. And then the next two games zero touchdowns, two picks. Then he pops back up against Jacksonville in a loss. Theyn't score fourteen points, but in that game he was thirteen of seventeen, two touchdowns, no picks, Like, all right, Will Levis is back. And then it's you know, zero touchdowns, yeah, one touchdown, one touchdown, one pick, one pick. Finishes out the season. He gets hurt midway through two for six for sixteen yards against Houston, and so the final numbers don't look bad like eight touchdowns, four picks, fifty eight percent completion percentage until you realize that all of his damage, for the most part, was done in his very first start when no one knew anything about him, and a game against Jacksonville where they got their doors blown off. So I don't know what Will Levis is. I know that he has the tools and he has what is it they called the traits that you look for an NFL quarterback toolsy. But if he is not at least, you know, a middle of the road type quarterback, if he's not at least Derek Carr level, then this was the dumbest offseason the Titans could have had because you're throwing all of this money in the hat under the guys that you have your quarterback locked up on a rookie deal, so you spin all around him. If your quarterback is not good, though, then you're just throwing money away to be mediocre and you're gona have no cap space and you're gonna be stuck in purgatory. Six seven wins for the fortup of future.
00:26:43
Speaker 1: Well, I guess you could look at it this way. If the Tennessee Titans go five and twelve, well, the good news is Will Levis ain't the guy and the good news is you're probably drafting top five right so you get your next quarterback. The thrill and excitement of March Mania is here, and Draftking Sportsbook, one of America's top rated sportsbook apps, is giving new customers a shot to turn five bucks into one hundred and fifty dollars instantly in bonus bets with any college basketball bet. Obviously, I can't give betting advice, but I can sure lean on knowledge my awesome run this season. If you're not paying attention, you're missing out. Download the DraftKings sports Book app and use code straight fire. New customers can bet five bucks to get one hundred and fifty dollars instantly in bonus bets only at Draftking Sportsbook with code straight fire. The Crown is yours.
00:27:40
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00:28:15
Speaker 1: And that next quarterback, whoever he is, whether it's a kid from Georgia Beck, maybe it's Shoulder Sanders. You know, you got some guys to throw to. And since I brought up shaduur Standers, we can wrap up with this. It's weird now that the draft is coming up. All of a sudden, Dion Sanders is popping off about his son, Shaudure, and he's saying some really questionable stuff. And when I say questionable, I'm looking at it from an NFL team vantage point, and it's like, okay, um. All signs are pointing to Dion Sanders pulling an ELI, which he's actually said, and sending his son to a certain school as opposed to wanting to go to wherever he's drafted, which is fine. I'm totally into that, but this is next level and wasn't discussed. Rob what happens. If your team drafts Shadure Sanders and Dion Sanders want decides. Oh, you know I do. I do want to coach in the NFL. Whoever that head coaches might as well start to pack his backs, because as soon as things go awry, you know Dion is gonna be angling to coach his son in the NFL. I don't think that's ever been done. I'd have to double check, but if you're telling me it's never been done. This is kind of like Lebron playing with his son in the NBA. That's so cool. You gotta watch that. Well, yeah, I would watch Dion and his son on an NFL team. I think it would be fascinating. Dion the coach and his son in the quarterback. Don't you think that would be super cool? You're instantly buying a massive TV market, right, everybody's gonna tune in. Your games are gonna be mussy, probably gonna fill up the stadium. Whoever drafts should dour might as well lock in Dion as their next head co And I just wonder, Rob, if you're drafting in the top three and you're the GM and the coach, are you like, hey, guys, we draft Shador, We're probably drafting our replacements too, because ultimately Dion's gonna want to call the shots. He's already on record saying he doesn't as one as kid to go to play in a cold city. Like it's a little crazy the way he's already manipulating this, and Rob it's a year out Schedro could could have a bad year and regress and be like, who, I don't know. This has happened to a lot of quarterbacks where you have a great year and everybody expects you to go at the top and then oh wait a minute, they're regressing a little bit. So I don't know. I just I don't love how Dion's handling this. It seems like he's putting a lot of undue pressure on his son, and it's not totally different from what's happening with Lebron and Bronny with the whole draft stuff. I'm not trying to make it a negative. I just I don't know that I would play it that way. Just think about what you're saying about your son. You're already talking about the draft, You're already talking about hand picking the team. He's still got another year at Colorado. I don't know, Rob, what am I missing here?
00:31:12
Speaker 3: Well, you also forget that he said that between Shador Sanders and Travis Hunter that they will both go in the top four of the upcoming NFL draft. He said one of them will go number one, depending on need, the other one will go into lower than four.
00:31:23
Speaker 1: No, well, it's not Travis Hunter.
00:31:24
Speaker 3: Nobody's taking receiver right exactly. Well, he hasn't shown to be an elite receiver or a corner. You know in college. He's a great collegiate player, but you know, he's not polished as a route runner and defensively, he's got great talent. But I mean, we saw what Stanford did to that kid, like it was, it was terrible. You know, he's just he needs to focus on one side of the ball to really excel the next level. But let's just play this game with Shador Sanders. So it can't be a cold weather team, and it's got to be a team that's gonna be drafting in the top four. So immediately you cross off all of the Eastern Seaboard teams this except for what the Dolphins, and I don't think they'll be drafting in the top four, Rightky, you can't go the NFC Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Commander, I mean the Cowboys. I don't think we're driving top four, So they're out. NFC North, the Lion's playing a dome, but they won't be picking in the top four. Everyone else is cold weather or has a quarterback. The AFC North has their quarterbacks, and it's all very cold weather AFC South. The Texans got a quarterback, the Jacks got their quarterback, the Colts drafted their quarterback. Maybe it's Will Levis's Tennessee Titans. Maybe maybe that's where he's angling to because if you look down the teams that fit this very narrow criteria of terrible but also warm weather, you're you're left with, I mean, just quickly, the Titans, potentially my Raiders, okay what I mean, the Panthers but they already got their quarterback, and I guess the Cardinals, but they have a quarterback. So where exactly is this sweet spot for shador stand where he's gonna avoid cold weather at all costs and also find himself being taken in the top of the draft.
00:33:07
Speaker 1: Well that and that's the problem. Here's the thing. Okay, let's just they're not they're not drafted them. But let's say the Rams get him. Stafford decides, I'm out. Okay, let's say the Rams get him. The Rams in the playoffs could hypothetically have to go to Chicago to Green Bay to Philadelphia. What do you think the weather's like in January're gonna have to win those games anyway, So like, I get it, like I like, you know, I enjoyed my time in Philadelphia or outside Philly. I like living in New York. It was fine. Then I get the job offer from Fox, I move across the country. I've tasted the warm weather. Now I have zero interesting going back. None. Okay, but that's different. I'm not I'm not like a quarterback who has to play playoff games at certain places. Like honestly, my family wants to do a ski trip, pay guys, I'll show for you around or I'm just not going, you know like that, that's my vibe on ski trips. And yeah, I miss out some dad's go on dad's ski trips, and you know they know I'm not gonna go, so I miss out on those. And then the daddy daughter's ski trips, so I miss out on kind of stinks, But like, I just don't want to go skiing. I don't like cold weather. Just may I softy. I don't know. I do want to go to Iceland, but like in the spring, not when it's like icy, you know, like freezing. I don't want to do that. I don't know, Robert, It just it strikes me as odd. Like listen, if you go anywhere in the AFC, your playoff path is definitely going through Kansas City. It probably will go through Buffalo, and it might go through Baltimore, and who knows, maybe there's a Cincinnati Bengals cold Like those are old cold weather. So what are you saying now, Deon? I want my son to go to a warm weather team. And I'm just gonna say automatically, I want him go to Tampa or Carolina. Like do you want him to go to Carolina? Do you really want to go to Carolina?
00:34:49
Speaker 3: Think about that, sir, do you really want to go to Carolina?
00:34:52
Speaker 1: I'm just doing too much, deonn Like, dial it back and I I'll tell you what. There was a video.
00:34:56
Speaker 3: I know that you were busy over the weekend, but there was a video that was trending on Saturday, night. It was peak Colorado Buffalo's football because it was Shador Sanders in their their dome whatever, doing their their practice and he hits this beautiful twenty yard out route and it's like, oh, yeah, you can be seeing a lot more of this this season. Go buffs, And every single comment is like, who's gonna stop this? Every single comment, Oh, it's that defender that came flying from the weak side that would have sacked him before he got the pass off, Like all anyone in Colorado was talking about.
00:35:24
Speaker 1: Look at Shador.
00:35:25
Speaker 3: He's got three thousand yards and forty touchdowns and three picks. He also got sacked fifty two times, and that's.
00:35:30
Speaker 1: Why they like.
00:35:33
Speaker 3: Good luck.
00:35:34
Speaker 1: I like those who's stopping the well, I don't like them. I do think there are some funny people out there who's stopping this and it's like reality or you know whatever. But yeah, that's uh, I don't know. Listen Shador. I mean I don't think. I don't. My gut would tell me that if they open it up, the Georgia quarterback probably goes one. He's looked the part. But I'll never forget that. I lost money on the SEC title game. They barely had him throw in the football. It was a weird ass game plan. They lose, but then again, I did like McCarthy a lot more than everyone else, and now McCarthy's like maybe going sixth overall.
00:36:04
Speaker 2: Who knows.
00:36:05
Speaker 1: Anyways, it's a lengthy Monday pod. We back tomorrow probably have some crystallized picks for the Sweet sixteen. I saw Connecticut open up at nine and a half and I definitely took that instantly. Connecticut at nine and a half against San Diego State. I do like a moneyline parlay of Iowa State and Marquette. I think I like Tennessee, but I'm not certain. I think I want to take in Zacha with the points. I'll all say is this, we saw favorites totally dominated. I think I saw the top two seeds were something like fourteen and two against the spread, ridiculous numbers. We would certainly see some regression as you're going to pay a little price for favorites such as Arizona playing out here in LA. I'm curious if Clemson could give them a game. I do think Clemson has the pieces, and I think Arizona a little over hyped after their wins, so I would take I'll take a slice of Clemson plus seven. I don't know what to do with Alabama Carolina. Like a fool, I thought Michigan State could hang with Carolina. That was way way off. But you know, obviously, I'm pot committed to Houston for the Calcutta and I'm thrilled at Marquett's that big of a line. But I just worry about those beefy boys inside for NC State. Mister Burns, Oh my gosh, he's a dancing teddy bear. As I say. Anyways, that's it for today.
00:37:28
Speaker 2: Back tomorrow.
