And we continue on Fred Rogan, Rodney Pete, seventy LA Sports later this
hour Bigleby along with the High Coup. But now let's go out to David
Vassay. The Dodgers won big last night, but also Dave covered the Lakers
for years. He was there in the Shaq Kobe time. He knew of
Jerry West, knew Jerry West, so let's bring him on Dave. Good
afternoon. Hey guys. Yeah, kind of a bittersweet day because Jerry West
had such a great life and he meant so much to so many people,
but obviously still sad to lose him. And you know, I haven't talked
about this a lot if ever on the air, but each of the last
five years, Jerry West and I would have an annual dinner because his mutual
friend Doug Recoran would put it together and we would all go out to dinner
and we would go to Phil Trainey's in Long Beach. We would go to
the Dowray and Pico Rivera and those were some of my fondest memories of spending
time with Jerry West. You know, Dave, since you had that experience
and you shared that you went out on these dinners tell our listeners what that
was like, what he was like in that kind of setting. Well,
Number one, you know, he goes into a restaurant and people instantly recognize
him. And he's not one of these guys that if he's in the middle
of eating dinner, he's gonna brush somebody away. He would gladly take pictures,
sign autographs with anybody that came up to the booth. And he just
loved people. He loved the Laker fans, He loved the fans of Los
Angeles. They meant a lot to him. And I feel like that's why
Jerry West meant a lot to the city of Los Angeles, because when you
would see him among the people, he was one of the people. Even
though he was one of the greatest Lakers, in my opinion, the greatest
Laker considering his playing career, his executive career, and even when he coached,
despite him saying it was the worst experience of his life, he was
pretty good at that as well, which you rarely see from the great players.
So uh, he just he just meant so much to the city,
and he meant so much to the players that played on the Lakers and the
Grizzlies, the Warriors, and even the Clippers. He just left such a
big mark on the league. And you know, at the suggestion of anybody
to ever change the NBA logo, I mean, that's that's ridiculous. Nobody
did more for the game of basketball and certainly for the game of basketball in
Los Angeles than Jerry West. Yeah, no doubt, Dave. They oftentimes
when when you have a superstar like Jerry West or any one of these guys
that go from from being a player to go in to being even going to
be a coach or and then then maybe being an executive, oftentimes it doesn't
work because they those guys often especially at coaching level, because they want the
players to have their same mentality and they can't translate that to to the players,
and it just it oftentimes doesn't work out. And similar with the executive
side that they you know, they want players to believe or act the same
way they did as a player. But he was able to balance all of
that, Dave. And you've been around both you know, many different sports
and you've talked to many different you know, executives and you know baseball,
you know, head of operations or GMS from different teams and in different sports.
What's what separated him from that being so successful as a player then as
an executive, Yeah, well, Number one, Rodney. He was a
great evaluator of talent. When I would spend time with him, I would
ask him about individual players and instantaneously he could tell you what that player's strengths
were, what their weaknesses were, and the player's character. That meant a
lot to him. And one other thing that really stands out about what made
Jerry West successful as an executive was something that he said publicly all the time
is he knew that if he did make a mistake on a trade or a
signing, he would he would admit that mistake and move on from it,
instead of a lot of gms that will be very stubborn and not want to
admit a mistake by keeping that player even though it's doing harm to the team.
And for me, that's what sticks out the most. There's one player
that sticks out the most in that regard, and Jerry West. You know,
the year that it was a shortened season, I believe that the Lakers
traded for a shooter by the name of George McLeod from the Dallas Mavericks and
Jerry West thought he was going to fit in. He did not fit in,
and instead of trying to insist to keep him on the roster, he
found a way to move him off the rosters. So those are the things
that really stick out to me about Jerry West, and you know, going
to those dinners with him. The one thing that would lighten up his eyes
when he would talk about his competitive golf matches against Michael Jordan. And he
loved bragging about beating Michael Jordan and golf and talking trash to Michael Jordan.
And even though Michael never played for any of Jerry's teams, they had a
really strong bond and Jerry West meant a lot to Michael Jordan. And Jerry
West loves spending time with Michael Jordan because of just who he was, what
he stood for, in the competitiveness that Jordan always had, as Jerry did
after he stopped playing, they were They're very alike and similar net ways where
this earlier Jerry was he was an assassin when he was a player, and
he carried that over after he playing days. But people that played against him
or know him from his playing days, they say the same things about him
as people talk about Michael Jordan. So you're you're absolutely right, man.
Hey, Dave, is you understand Kobe too? I'm sorry, David,
you understand it as you followed it. Why do you think the Lakers didn't
bring him back when they had the chance. That's a great question, Fred.
Certainly they would have been better with Jerry West than without him. I'm
not sure where the fracture was or why they did not choose to bring him
back. That's you know, I don't think that's the day for this,
but certainly it's a big question and a question a lot of Laker fans still
have. All Right, let's talk some Dodgers here. That was big last
night, fifteen to two. Do they have a little pep in their step
after what they did in New York? Yeah? I would say they've carried
that momentum and energy into Dodger Stadium, and that day off on Monday certainly
helped as well. Look, the Dodgers have been playing a lot better ever
since they snapped that five game losing streak after they got swept in Cincinnati.
The whole tone of this stretch of season changed. When they swept the Mets,
in that double header and since then they're nine to four ever since snapping
that five game losing streak. And they were a little sloppy in Pittsburgh,
but the offense has started to come alive starting with that second game in Pittsburgh.
And don't look now, Freddie Freeman is starting to get hot. He's
hitting three seventy five in nine June games. So that's big for the Dodgers
and scary for the rest of the league. You ain't lying, Freddy is
getting getting hot. They they acquire Bgo today and send Vargas down, are
we going to continue to possibly send see some there's some changes throughout the summer
leading up to the trade deadline, and even at the trade deadline, do
you foresee the Dodgers making making moves? I know Max Muntzi has had a
little setback, it's not gonna be back for a few weeks. But do
you see you know, major changes or just subtle changes for the Dodgers as
we approach the trade deadline? Now I believe well, number one, there's
going to be a lot more buyers than sellers this trade deadline, and that's
going to make it challenging to pull off significant moves. But there's two players
that can be had that certainly would help the Dodgers up the middle, and
that's Luis Robert of the Chicago White Sox, power hitting center fielder. A
lot of injury history there, but the Dodgers seem to manage players' health better
than most teams. And then Bo Bashett of the Toronto Blue Jays. He
even though their GM has come out publicly and said they don't want to trade
him, from what I understand, they would be open to listening to offers
for him. That doesn't mean a trait's going to happen, but certainly those
are the two names that have been out there and obviously can help. Dave.
You sent out a tweet about Bigio and his offense and the feeling was
the Dodgers can fix him. Do you think the Dodgers can correct the few
things people are seeing in his swing? Yeah? I do for it,
I feel like, you know, we lose them, Yeah, I think
we did. All right, Tom's going to try to get him back,
because to me, that's the biggest question here, given that the big deals,
aside from the signing of Otani trading for Freddy, I mean MOOKI uh
signing Freddie and Tiasca Hernandez. I think this is the most impactful move the
Dodgers years. Calvin Bigio, Okay, go ahead again, say what you
just said, say what you just said? All right, Well you heard
me day. I believe this to be true. I heard it. I
heard it Fred Right now, the Dodgers are trying to uh just figure out
some of their bench pieces and how they fit. And uh, Cavin Vigio,
they took a flyer on him. They didn't give up anything. So
this is another one of those by loos sell High And honestly, you know,
I felt bad for Miguel Vargus. They called him up and barely played
on. I could not and many others could not understand why the Dodgers continued
to give Chris Taylor more at bats than Miguel Vargas. You know, I
love Chris Taylor, but a lot of people that have played this game believe
that if he hasn't figured it out by now and he's still doing the same
thing, it's gonna be hard for him to fix it. So I'm happy
that Miguel Vargus is going to go back down and get regular at bats,
and I hope he gets an opportunity somewhere in major League Baseball because his swing
looked a lot more like the Vargas we heard of than we saw last year.
But you dave you yourself admitted that Chris Taylor makes a lot of money.
They're going to have to give him opportunities. That's what it comes down
to. He's owed twenty two million dollars the remainder of this year and next
year combined, so you know they're going to They're not just going to cut
ties with him. They're going to give him every opportunity. But I feel
like the closer we get to July thirtieth, if he doesn't figure it out,
the Dodgers are going to be at a crossroads with their roster. Yeah,
well what could they do? What are the choices? You're very tough,
Well, there's they can include him in a trade. They could.
You know, Aaron Hicks of the Yankees was owed more than Chris Taylor when
they cut them loose last year, So it's not unheard of. And uh,
let's be honest, Money's not an object for the Dodgers. It's about
trying to win the World Series now, here's the caveat to all that.
Chris Taylor can look abysmal like he has the first three months of this season,
but in the postseason he seems to come up big. And I'm sure
that's in the back of Andrew Friedman's mind. All right, Hey Dave,
Hey, hey Dave, real quick, I know you got a run grumblings
and talk. I'm assuming it's because Corey Seeger is in town and I did.
I appreciated the tribute that they gave to him, and he still got
the love. Here about you know, Mookie sustainability at shortstop and is this
a long term play? What are your thoughts on that? Are they fully
committed to to Mookie being the short stop for not only you know, this
season. I know it's got to play out, but in their minds are
they looking as this being a long term uh situation from Mookie at short Yeah,
that's for this year, Rodney. It's all contingent if they can upgrade,
If they can upgrade at shortstop at the trade deadline, get a real
shortstop like a Bouvashett. If they can't, then Mooki is going to play
shortstop the rest of the year and moving forward, beyond this year. You
know, I don't see that, Rodney. Not a lot of guys play
shortstop beyond age thirty one at a high level position when they hit thirty thirty
one thirty two, So I don't have moving forward. All right, Dave,
appreciate the time. Thanks for coming on. Okay, guys, thanks
all right. Tonight the Dodgers take on the Texas Rangers, first pitch at
seven. Listen to every play of every Dodger game at AM five to seventy
LA Sports Live up in the Gallpin Motors Broadcast Booth and stream all games in
HD and the iHeartRadio app. The keyword is AM five to seventy A sports
all right. Vick will be along, he will weigh in the high coup
and more memories of Jerry West. Come on, let's keep it moving.
On a Wednesday, a hop day, remembering Jerry West. Oh, Freddy,
Everything just keeps popping in my mind every time I've ran into him,
seen him, talk to him. Everything I see now is a picture of
Jerry West. Can't look at your can't look at my phone, can't swip
change the channel without seeing something that Jerry West. He's such an iconic figure
in this town. Man, it really is. Yeah, he was one
of the people that were larger than life. And we said it before.
Look, he's probably the most impactful person in the history of the Lakers.
I'd say, the only other person with a kind of impact. Well,
no, that wouldn't even be fair because he didn't play. I was gonna
say Jerry Buss. But Jerry Buss didn't play. Jerry West played and was
the guy, the mastermind in the front office. And if you look at
it like that, and I suggest this, suggested this earlier, and I
guess you could argue the point Jerry West might be the most impactful individual in
NBA history because not only did he play, he went to nine championships one
to one. I believe it was an All Star every year of his career.
Third guy to twenty five thousand points in league history. So he was
the only one, the only one with the MVP on a team that lost
the finals. Right, think about that that never happened. That would never
happen. It could never happen. The other thing would happen. Then it
certainly would never happen. Now that that that is never going to get me
broken, right, And then he won as an executive. So who had
more impact on the game than Jerry West because he did it on the floor
as a player in the front office as an executive. I don't know of
anyone. I guess you could make the argument that that Magic and Larry Bird
saved the league. I guess you could say that David Stern had the vision
to grow it to where it is. You could say that Michael Jordan obviously
was incredible. Magic incredible, I mean Mack and Mike. You think about
Michael, he took the torchs that Magic and Bird. I'd say Magic and
Bird were more impactful than Magic, I mean than Michael in this in the
sense that the NBA was dying and it all came at the right time with
David Stern coming in and Magic and Bird every all the excitement around them made
people watched the NBA and to turn into something that was huge in the eighties
with Showtime and the and the rivalry with Boston in LA. It was the
perfect storm and it worked. And yes, you know, but Michael took
the torch for those guys who had already set the tone. But but Michael
did get global along with David stern. He took the he took the NBA
global with the with the Olympics and the Dream Team and all that. But
again going back to UH to Jerry West, how how comforting it must have
been for doctor Jerry Bust to know that he had he had Jerry Jerry West
running things for him and that I could sit back and I can relax,
I can enjoy myself, I can enjoy my Lakers. I can enjoy being
the owner because I got the best executive on the planet. I'm sure it
was very comforting. Yes, and you know this, Jerry Buss did let
Jerry West operate operate basketball operations. Yes, it was on Jerry West to
make it go. And Jerry would tell you he had an owner that was
very supportive. So to build that kind of trust. Because if Jerry West
went to Jerry Buss and said something, we need something, we need to
try something, I'm not sure if he ever told him no. Yeah,
I don't think so either, because he knew he had his best interest at
heart and what he had done leading up to that at work, and there
was a tremendous amount of trust and there was a bond with those two like
like no other like you rarely see today and sports with the owner and the
GM and I don't know if we see it again because it's so volatile,
and you know, owners or not out trying to be more in the forefront
and want to want to be seen and you know, want to have their
own shows and radios and podcasts and things like that and want to be front
and center. I don't know if we see that again. But that trust
and bond that they had together was amazing. All right, let's bring on
Vic now and get his h his take on it. The Daily High Coup
It two and we welcome on Vic the brick and Vic, good afternoon to
you. Well, let's face it, everybody, Jerry West. There is
no Laker mystique without the logo. And the whole city I know is so
sad today because we love Jerry. We've loved him for decades upon decades upon
decades as a player, as an executive, the unpowerlel passon, I mean,
fourteen years a Laker and Fred you mentioned it, an All Star every
year, led the Lakers for the one ring in the historic nineteen seventy two
season, A relentless baller, I mean Jerry could score forty any night.
He averaged twenty seven in the regular season, then raised his game in the
playoffs like no other. He still has a record for forty point consecutive games
in a playoff game. I mean everyone talks about raising their game in the
playoffs. Well, Jerry West did that. Vic. Did you have interactions
with him at all? Oh? Absolutely, But first I just wanted to
say what a furious competitor he was, you know, on the court and
of course off the court he epitomized tenacious d On the other end, I
mean, Jerry was in your face defensively, he was so tough. What
was he like when you bick? What was he like like your interactions with
him? I mean, what can you tell us about your encounters with with
with Jerry West? The logo? Well, I remember I had the great
opportunity to hang out with with Jerry for about an hour before a tea time
and an l a PD celebrity golf tournament, maybe ten ten years ago,
and we spoke deeply of life. He was so open and so wonderful.
He was a man. She was a prince. He really was a prince
of a man. But at that time, you know, he was going
through the you know, the turmoil with the Lakers on the back end of
his Laker career, and you know, he just was very very uh sad
and disenchanted with the with the way things were going and we're ending. Yeah,
and that was rough. It was so rough, so rough because he
loved the Lakers so much. He loved the city so much, loved Laker
fans, unparalleled love for Laker fans. And he was he was going through,
you know, changes, but he he had such dignity and respect.
I mean, he would he would he would never you know, taint the
Laker name ever. But you know, he he he really had. It
was very candid with me, you know how how upset he was, you
know, in that moment. And of course Jerry is going on. You
know, he rebuilt the Memphis Grizzlies into a playoff a franchise. Who knew
and some say he orchestrated the Palgasol trade back to the Lakers. We'll never
know if he did. I believe he did. I thought he has his
fingerprints all over the Palagasol trade to the Lakers. Because his love for the
Lakers was so intense and winning championships with Golden State and cultivating the front office
of the Los Angeles Clippers. There's many, many accomplishments, but you know,
on and north of court, no doubt for the most impactful of all
Lakers in what he generated when he produced. What do you think about the
game in general? Well, he's a logo Yeah, basketball genius. I've
called him that, Adam Silver, the NBA commissioners called him at his His
knowledge of the game is incredible. It's so off the hook. And he's
even in that interview with you guys when he was talking about cob and you
asked him, Fred, how did you know that Cobe is going to develop
be you know, developed into one of the greatest players of all time?
He said, I wasn't. I wasn't the only one. There were others
who knew of Kobe's greatness, you know, looming. He was just you
know, so so lack of lack of ego. I think that was his
West Virginia background where to West Virginia University. Yeah, but when he brought
in he said, no ego, humilody that he had for being that's that
type of superstar and his humility almost like he was embarrassed to talk about himself.
His brilliance is you know, can we'll could will resonate forever in terms
of basketball, not just on the court. He was a basketball savant off
the court as well. But if you watch highlights of the great Jerry West
when he was playing for the Lakers, I mean he was, he was
the greatest two way player, you know, on on the court. He
was unbelievable. I mean as a young Brickett growing up in New Yorker,
you know, watching the Knicks, how he would destroy the Knicks. And
of course his hatred of the Celtics was so beautiful. Do he hated the
Celtics. Of course lost to the Celtics. Somebody somebody is you know,
you know, part of the generational beautiful hate of the of the of the
Celtics as part of Jerry West, because Jerry hated them. But Freddy,
yeah, you also touched upon it. He was when he brought Kobe in
shack, he was ex exhausted, Yeah, totally exhaust Because I spoke to
Jerry as well in that time and space. I remember the bell Air Country
Club, you know, when he was golfing and we were talking there.
I said Jerry, how how did you manage this herculean task of bringing in
you know, Shaq and Kobe. He says, Vic, I'm exhausted.
It was it was an insane amount of work and pressure. But he did
it, and he you know, he brought the dynasty. You know,
he was the architect of showtime as well. I mean, these are times
that it's that are so precious, you know, to all sports fans in
Los Angeles. It was you know, Jerry created that. And as he
said during the interview, you know, bringing in Shaq and Kobe is like
having two Christmases. Yeah, I mean he understood the impact that Kobe and
Shaq would make, you know, as no other. And he worked relentlessly
and tirelessly. You have to bring Cob and Shack to Los Angeles and that
that will be you know, the blueprint of the dynasty, and Jerry's you
know, presence in Los Angeles is forever. I mean, we love Jerry
West. It was just such a tremendous, tremendous presence for the Laker organization,
you know, on on talking about representing a franchise. I mean,
Jerry was the epitome of class and dignity, Yeah, he was a mensch.
He was a prince. So you know, it's it's just a very
somber day for the city. But we remember the great Jerry West. Yes,
and he could golf man. He was a great He was an excellent
golfer. Yeah, he wanted to win it everything, Vic, everything,
Well, that was his attitude. I mean, how else do you succeed
in such a you know, volatile world of the uh of the NBA.
And you have to be a top of a game. You have to be
relentless, you have to know the talent and then you you've got to get
the most of the talent, help them thrive, you know. And he
helped Colb, you know, Cob and Shock thrive in a very tough environment.
Vic. Uh, do you have anything on the Dodgers today? What
a night, What a night? Power to the people, five Homers.
Yeah all right, well, uh we'll have the continue continuation of Vic's Dodger
take and the haikup. Come on, let's keep this thing moving. Roddy
p Fred Rogan, Vic the brick Jacobs, Yeah, ya ya. The
Dodgers fifteen runs, y'all. Last night was so beautiful to watch. Five
Homers. Oh, Tawni Freddie went back to back Will Smith, America's catcher,
the three run shot in the first The way of tay tay Oscar Hernandez,
number seventeen, Who tay Oscar Hernandez, The way of Ta, Yes,
the way of Ta. How about Jason Heywood's home run, I mean
he sent it to Howland raised hot Chicken on Broadway. Man, that was
he did. Ended up in Chinatown somewhere. Four home runs in the supercharged
sixth inning, and my beloved Brian Hugo Sakamono were watching the game listening on
A five seven the ELI Sports. So she had one word for that sixth
inning, remarkable, destroyed the words Ampia Texas remarkable. Four home is a
one inning, Yeah, and give it up for the big Maple James Paxton.
Beautiful bounce back start. We've gotta Walker buelah Esther notie. I think
it's a seventh start since coming back from surgery. I mean he missed two
years. You could feel him though. He's getting back into the roof.
He's gonna get it. So Walker Buller tonight Mrango Casino Dodgers on deck at
six with Tim Cats first pitch from Paxton seven ish right here a five seventy
LA Sports and Fellas you saw the update on Joey Chestnut, the beef brew
ha ha is getting ugly from New York, the sixteen time champ of the
National Hot Dog Eating Contest sponsored by Nathan's every July fourth, from Brooklyn.
Yes, Joey was getting a one point two million dollar deal from this Vagan
meat company. And Nathan says, Joey, where's the beef man? As
Joey said, I feel gutted? Well, it's a beef brew ha ha.
Because the promoter says Chestnut was not banned from the event. He receives
hundreds of thousands of dollars in talent fees to compete. But once Chestnut went
to the direct Nathan's competitor, it was audios. But the latest is Chestnuts
and Kolbai Aishi going at it. They're gonna do a one on one Netflix
competition September second, going hot dog for hot dog. Well, uh,
how long is that show? Gonna be? Five minutes live on Netflix Fred
Live? I understand, but I mean, how can you build an hour
around that? Two guys eating? Oh my goodness, how can you build
it. They're not gonna eat consistently for one hour. Fred, It's like
the super Bowl, you build it up or the predet You know, the
race last ninety seconds and there's nine hours of pregame. That's all. That's
how it works. Look at the greatest two minutes in sports at Kentucky Derby.
It's like, you know, hours and hours of build up. Okay,
but then I watched it, like, uh, Pacific time three fifty
six. I don't watch the whole build up and and and but you people
don't often watch the build up to the super Bowl. That's twelve hours he's
wait for the game, but there are people that do. Fred. I
want to know the backstory. How did this vegan, how did this vegan
enter this competition, what made Chestnut decide to go vegan, What was the
story behind that? And who is this company's trying to infiltrate such a great
tradition. All of those things we all we all want to know, Fred.
And of course the rivalry with Kobyashi. Kobyashi is winless. He has
never beaten Joey chestnutt in an eating competition is zero for three. So this
is a day of reckoning for Kobayashi. All right, there's a lot of
storylines Forredd. You can build it up and I'll tell you what Kobyashi needs
from you. Oh well, this high coup. Fred is going to go
out to the Great Jerry West right on this day with the city remembers the
Great West, Wednesday, June the seventeenth. This hikup for you. It's
all about Jerry June to twelve, Jerry West, Basketball, God among men,
enough hoop, deity, the logo, the knowledge, the intensity,
the sacred forty four. We love you, Jerry, I'm feeling you.
They're very solid. Vic. Now work from our friend Jacob. If you
were recently injured in an accident, but I haven't called our friend Jacob yet,
what are you waiting for? Not taking action may cost your money?
What does that mean? Let's say you were injured in a car accident a
few months ago. You thought the pain in your back would go away,
so you never went to see a doctor. But now a few months later,
it's getting worse each week. The problem is, because it has been
a few months since the accident, it is much more difficult to prove your
back pain was caused by that accident. Therefore, do not do not put
yourself in the position to have to pay for this yourself. That's right,
Fred, Do not put yourself in this situation. If you're injured in an
accident, called Jacob immediately. You'll get you to the doctor with no money
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for it yourself. When you call an attorney, you want one who is
respected. Called Jacob. He's the real deal. Eight four four twenty four
Jacob. That's a twenty four Jacob. Or visit called Jacob dot com and
make sure you're following called Jacob on Instagram. Go to that called out Jacob
for great advice, prizes and a lot more. Call Jacob. All right,
Ronnie, thank you, thank you, Kevin, thank you. In
a very difficult day for all of us, and Rodney. We get him
tomorrow, Yes we do.