Speaker 1: Chris Camarani's live in studio. All right, Christopher, I need
Speaker 1: your immediate reaction. RSL has one designated player. His name
Speaker 1: is Diogo. Is my dog about to hump you?
Speaker 2: He's currently chasing his tail, but he's eyeing my right leg.
Speaker 1: Just let him know, Just tell him to sit if
Speaker 1: you want to. If you want to witness c K
Speaker 1: trying to avoid being humped by my dog. It's on YouTube.
Speaker 1: Duke is a little bit of a humper, so we're
Speaker 1: trying to work with him on that. So Diogo Gonsolve
Speaker 1: is the only designated player on RSL's roster. Has been
Speaker 1: left home for this two game road trip due to
Speaker 1: disciplinary reasons. That's all we know. We just found out
Speaker 1: last segment. What are your thoughts?
Speaker 2: It makes me think that And I'm not accusing RSL
Speaker 2: of fabricating any sort of injury report, but the heel
Speaker 2: injury the day before last Saturday? Correct?
Speaker 1: Correct?
Speaker 2: Yeah, the timing is kind of in retrospect, maybe a
Speaker 2: little too striking. Listen, you're not going to get more
Speaker 2: from RSL. Like I'm like, good for Jason for telling you,
Speaker 2: and good that it's out there, because now there's you know,
Speaker 2: it's a club mandated statement from a club mandated employee.
Speaker 2: But this to me is a potential pathway down no
Speaker 2: longer being RSL's number two.
Speaker 1: I would agree with that.
Speaker 2: Sometimes signings don't work out, and sometimes high profile signings
Speaker 2: don't work out, and Diogo isn't exactly the type of
Speaker 2: high profile signing that's worth potential headaches that apparently is
Speaker 2: being given at the moment. I think he has one
Speaker 2: goal this year. I don't remember how many he had
Speaker 2: last year, one or two. So like, sometimes you have
Speaker 2: to call a spade a spade, and with the upcomer
Speaker 2: upcoming sever transfer windows, sometimes you might be better for
Speaker 2: you to shake hands, give bones, dap each other up
Speaker 2: and say good luck. I could be wrong. Maybe this
Speaker 2: is a you know, a step in a direction where
Speaker 2: Diogo and the coaching staff and the front office have
Speaker 2: stuff to settle through. But if you were asking me
Speaker 2: to read the tea leaves out in Sandy across from
Speaker 2: the old Mayan, I would say, it seems like we
Speaker 2: are trending in that potential direction. Did they close the
Speaker 2: miya oh a long time ago? Food was never very good.
Speaker 2: Food was never good, But the guys dove off the
Speaker 2: off the rocks the diver.
Speaker 1: The divers were impressive that burritos just were asked. So
Speaker 1: I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they closed it.
Speaker 1: All right, So Diego Luna is about to leave for
Speaker 1: the US men's national team to play in the Gold Cup.
Speaker 1: He will be playing tonight, He'll be playing on Saturday
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles. Then he's gone. Pablo on the show
Speaker 1: last week, I know you heard it because you listen
Speaker 1: all of it. He dropped a bit of a bomb
Speaker 1: and he said he has been informed by ownership that
Speaker 1: they're no longer interested in the develop young players sell them.
Speaker 1: He's been told that if we develop a young player
Speaker 1: that's good for the group, they want the player to
Speaker 1: stay here. Does that mean RSL will never sell another
Speaker 1: player again, No, it does not. If some team in
Speaker 1: La Liga called Kurt Tomorrow and said forty Milo for
Speaker 1: die you know, like I understand that, it doesn't mean
Speaker 1: they're never going to sell players. But what do you
Speaker 1: make of what Pablo in the front office have expressed
Speaker 1: that maybe this new ownership group is not interested in
Speaker 1: the mindset that previous ownership groups have had.
Speaker 2: Well, I think we need to challenge the ethos that
Speaker 2: this franchise is at the level of some other franchises
Speaker 2: in MLS they or not. They sold Andriscoms last year
Speaker 2: and they sold for Del Barajas. Other than that, there
Speaker 2: haven't been bank breaking sales really ever that our sales
Speaker 2: front off has had a lot to do in the
Speaker 2: last twenty four months, both bringing in players and selling players,
Speaker 2: But before that there wasn't that much going on from
Speaker 2: a you know, development and sell point of view. They've
Speaker 2: developed players that have come to the first team, you know,
Speaker 2: justin Glad Aaron Herrera, Body Hidalgo, mainly defenders, but this
Speaker 2: is not like they are. I mean, there are other
Speaker 2: clubs in this in this league that have signed players
Speaker 2: or developed them from an academy perspective and sold them
Speaker 2: for a lot of money. Columbus Crew, Philadelphia Union, La Galaxy,
Speaker 2: so on and so forth. So I'm not necessarily surprised
Speaker 2: because Diego Luna is a type of player that you
Speaker 2: currently can't afford to lose, because if you lose Diego Luna,
Speaker 2: you lose the fan base. And yes, if there is
Speaker 2: a forty million dollar tag that comes, yes you sell.
Speaker 2: I think fans would understand that but it's not going
Speaker 2: to Diego. Luna isn't going to be sold for more
Speaker 2: than andreskill. Miss. I don't think so interesting. His player
Speaker 2: profile is different. Andris is a true burner, pure winger,
Speaker 2: like one of the fastest dudes in the league. When
Speaker 2: he was here, like was a fringe Colombia national team player.
Speaker 2: Now Diego has a chance to play at the World
Speaker 2: Cup for the US when the US is pretty stacked
Speaker 2: from an attacking point of view. But he plays a
Speaker 2: different position. His style of play is a little more unique,
Speaker 2: body types a little more unique. He's not exactly a
Speaker 2: guy that can now he has foot skills, but he's
Speaker 2: not the type of guy that's going to be able
Speaker 2: to run away from a lot of people. But if
Speaker 2: Diego ends this year with twenty goals, maybe we're having
Speaker 2: a different conversation. I just don't see it, And I
Speaker 2: think it makes sense from the Millers' perspective that if
Speaker 2: Diego continues to play at this level and go like
Speaker 2: on an upward trajectory, you make him a designated player
Speaker 2: because he's proven that he can do it, and you
Speaker 2: need somebody to build around, and they just don't have anybody.
Speaker 1: Else feels like he's already on the level of what
Speaker 1: a deep piece should be, right.
Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, he's at that level. I don't I
Speaker 2: would imagine that from a locker room perspective. He's he's
Speaker 2: not the captain, but he's a you know, a guy
Speaker 2: that people rally around. He's an easy guy to rally around.
Speaker 2: People like playing with him, people like watching him play.
Speaker 2: Mauricio Pochettino's giving him a chance where the previous staff
Speaker 2: did not, and for that is always going to be
Speaker 2: one of the more idiotic type of moves that will
Speaker 2: never understand why he wasn't even in Paris. But yeah,
Speaker 2: he's he's been playing like a designated player and he's
Speaker 2: been the only guy that's been doing that since they
Speaker 2: jettisoned the likes of Chichio and Andres.
Speaker 1: So where do you like if Diego develops fully and
Speaker 1: meets and meets a ceiling?
Speaker 2: Because your point, are we doing comps, doing TJ comps? No?
Speaker 1: I actually want to know what sort of level you
Speaker 1: think he can play at, because he's never going to
Speaker 1: be a burner. He just never never, He's never going
Speaker 1: to be a burner. The jabber comps feel right to
Speaker 1: me because they're really similar, and Javier was a guy
Speaker 1: that was able to make a difference with his skill
Speaker 1: but was never a burner could take a Javier are
Speaker 1: probably better with free kicks than Diego. Favier hit some
Speaker 1: incredible free kicks. So if Diego has the desire, and
Speaker 1: he does, he actually has set it on this show.
Speaker 1: His goal is to be a European player. Where what league?
Speaker 1: If he maximizes who you think he can be, what
Speaker 1: league do you think he could he could play in
Speaker 1: and play well in.
Speaker 2: I think he could easily transition to one of the
Speaker 2: top clubs in Mexico, which is saying a lot, because
Speaker 2: you know, top tier Mexican club teams are very good.
Speaker 2: If you wanted to, I could see him going down
Speaker 2: to Argentina or Brazil. Now, granted those have really good
Speaker 2: club teams, but not at the level of Europe. Europe's
Speaker 2: tough because mainly every single league is like prioritizes the
Speaker 2: NFL bigger, faster, stronger model, Like you want dudes who
Speaker 2: can run really who can jump really high, who can
Speaker 2: run away from you, and have a crazy amount of
Speaker 2: talent on the ball. Diego's a little undersized, and you
Speaker 2: know I know in soccer, we're not talking about guys
Speaker 2: that need to be six two sixty three, especially in
Speaker 2: that position. Like Lionel Messi is the greatest player of
Speaker 2: all time and he's five eight, right, which is I
Speaker 2: think what Diego is. But he'd have to go into
Speaker 2: the right system. Could see him easily starring in a
Speaker 2: league like the Netherlands, I think, going to top flight England, Spain, Italy.
Speaker 2: These are all pretty tough, tough asks. France, I think
Speaker 2: are are all pretty tough asks. But I think for
Speaker 2: Diego it's going to come down to, like does he
Speaker 2: if he wants to go to Europe, does he want
Speaker 2: to be you know, a potential first team player or
Speaker 2: a rotational player on a team like PSV, or you
Speaker 2: know a team that's one of the best teams in
Speaker 2: let's say the Netherlands, or you know more ob secure
Speaker 2: leagues like Belgium where you can get a sniff of
Speaker 2: the Champions League, or does it make sense to make
Speaker 2: a lot more money in MLS play. Often, as Jason
Speaker 2: was saying the previous hit, like a lot of these
Speaker 2: guys get tantalized with the prospect of going to Europe
Speaker 2: for obvious reasons. It's where you want to go if
Speaker 2: you have a chance. But it is so cutthroat and listen,
Speaker 2: I mean like, look at look at the stats around
Speaker 2: andrascoms like he is a eighty to eighty fifth minute
Speaker 2: sub on the middle of the table team in France ye,
Speaker 2: whereas here he was one of the best players in
Speaker 2: the league. So the step up is pretty pretty hefty.
Speaker 2: But Diego could potentially face that, you know, crossroads, but
Speaker 2: I think RSL will make it hard for him to
Speaker 2: want to leave.
Speaker 1: One more thing here. I don't do radio like this,
Speaker 1: and I have an understanding of how organizations work and
Speaker 1: how roster construction works in pro sports, So I feel
Speaker 1: like it's a simp who we blame. In Spence well,
Speaker 1: I feel like it's a simp thing to do to
Speaker 1: talk about someone has to be blamed, because it's more
Speaker 1: complicated than that. This is not a linear finger pointing situation.
Speaker 1: It's more complicated than that. The ownership transition is a
Speaker 1: real thing, and with the way MLS is set up
Speaker 1: with a single entity, it's also misguided to add up
Speaker 1: the dollars that RSL received in exchange for players Dey
Speaker 1: jettison and then draw a straight line to say invest
Speaker 1: that amount into more players. It's also very fair to
Speaker 1: say there has been a failure on some level to
Speaker 1: at least bring in talent and economic investment to continue
Speaker 1: the momentum you build last year for a team that
Speaker 1: scored more goals in any team in RSL history and
Speaker 1: had more points than any team in RSL history. Obviously,
Speaker 1: the playoff failure is what it is. So instead of saying,
Speaker 1: is it Dave Blitzer, is it Kurt.
Speaker 2: Schmidt, it's everyone's fault. What's fair to say if you
Speaker 2: win as a team, you lose as a team. Starting
Speaker 2: from the players, to the staff, to the front office
Speaker 2: to the ownership, everything is tied together. It is a
Speaker 2: organic mass that moves intertwined together. Listen, they simply have
Speaker 2: missed on a lot of players, and they've missed on
Speaker 2: a lot of players while working with a tight budget,
Speaker 2: and that's always going to be hard. You want to
Speaker 2: miss big. RSL hasn't missed big, They've missed small. Miss small.
Speaker 2: With Diogo, miss small, I think you, I mean, I
Speaker 2: don't want to say it's a miss, but a guy
Speaker 2: like Don Mark Zuke is not. Andrascomas like these were
Speaker 2: moves that were broadcast as potential replacements, not band aids,
Speaker 2: which at the time they were and they still are.
Speaker 2: They're still band aids. Eventually you're gonna have to rip
Speaker 2: the band aid off. And I don't know how RSL's
Speaker 2: roster it's going to be constructed going forward, specifically with
Speaker 2: the Millers in charge, but it would behoove them to
Speaker 2: spend money, and it would behoove them to spend more
Speaker 2: than a three million dollar transfer on a number ten,
Speaker 2: because three million dollar number ten's don't really exist anymore.
Speaker 2: Like you spend three million dollars on a guy who
Speaker 2: is a rotational player in the middle of the field
Speaker 2: with like Brian o'haden Amica Anelly. I know that sounds crazy,
Speaker 2: but you can't really ball on a budget anymore that
Speaker 2: you can. You can't. And I know fans will always
Speaker 2: want to support and show out, but sooner or later
Speaker 2: there's going to be a straw that breaks the Camels back.
Speaker 2: And like we've talked about, RSL is foundering. The Royals
Speaker 2: are I think the worst team in NWSL. They have
Speaker 2: some decent players, but just pay for good players, bring
Speaker 2: in good players, and everything else will handle itself. I've
Speaker 2: been saying this, like ninety percent of what fans want
Speaker 2: to see is just good players, either in person or
Speaker 2: on the tube. That's it, one.
Speaker 1: Hundred percent, and it is the only way to do this.
Speaker 1: You have to write checks. There has to be economic
Speaker 1: investment into the talent under roster, which leads us to
Speaker 1: the final thing. Then we'll catch a break and we'll
Speaker 1: do some college football coming up next summer. Transfer window
Speaker 1: will open in July, got it, And there are thirteen
Speaker 1: matches starting with the first week of the window opening.
Speaker 1: If they act that week, that gives them thirteen matches.
Speaker 1: If they wait until the end of the window, I
Speaker 1: think it gives them eight. So look, here's my thing.
Speaker 2: Let's hear it.
Speaker 1: The primary window came and went, and you blew it.
Speaker 1: You just blew it, and you tried to save it
Speaker 1: with a bench player from Sporting Casey and a dude
Speaker 1: that played against like Dunseeth. You know, you tried to
Speaker 1: save it. And our guy, big Willie Goles, my guy
Speaker 1: not looking great. Johnny's played once for fifteen minutes. Jason
Speaker 1: just basically said like he's not close to soccer shape,
Speaker 1: which is understandable. He wasn't with a club for seven months.
Speaker 1: So because you blew it during the primary transfer window,
Speaker 1: you should have targets ready that as soon as you
Speaker 1: can when that window opens, get it done. Don't wait
Speaker 1: for the window to close and do it the day before.
Speaker 1: As of Jason's interview last segment, I now have Pablo,
Speaker 1: Kurt and Jason on the record saying the same thing.
Speaker 1: Their belief is, or what they're saying out loud publicly.
Speaker 1: Is there two dynamic attacking players away from being among
Speaker 1: the best teams in MLS? I have no idea if
Speaker 1: that's the case. In addition to Diego, Yes, okay, correct,
Speaker 1: So if that's the case, two dynamic attacking players, summer
Speaker 1: transfer window, and don't make it two million dollar guys
Speaker 1: like Go, make a splash, get two seven eight million
Speaker 1: dollar attacking players. Is that enough to salvage something this year? No,
Speaker 1: it's not.
Speaker 2: I think the season's lost, especially considering you're losing Diego
Speaker 2: four potentially two months. You know, let's let's hope he
Speaker 2: stays healthy and balls with the national team and continues
Speaker 2: to impress that coaching staff. But I mean, in what
Speaker 2: world has this iteration of RSL convinced, convinced anybody that
Speaker 2: they can, you know, tread water on their own without
Speaker 2: Diego Luna. I mean, it's just there. You watch them
Speaker 2: play and they have like two two basic attacking maneuvers.
Speaker 2: They will overload the right side or they will get it,
Speaker 2: get it, get it to the left foot of Alex Catronis,
Speaker 2: who will send it across to Nobody does. But for
Speaker 2: whatever reason, there is you know, nobody crashing the box,
Speaker 2: no late runners there. They lack for any sort of idea.
Speaker 2: But I think they're just I think they know they're limited.
Speaker 2: I think I think this is a club that understands
Speaker 2: its limitations and they're learning them in real time. But
Speaker 2: I'm with you wholeheartedly. I think if if the Millers
Speaker 2: really want to show the fan base that they mean
Speaker 2: business like, I think, you need to be willing to
Speaker 2: spend not this window, because this window's kind of tough
Speaker 2: because you're not going to potentially get your exact targets,
Speaker 2: but you still can. I think, I think, in my opinion,
Speaker 2: in the next two transfer windows, they need to be
Speaker 2: willing to spend anywhere from twelve to eighteen million dollars
Speaker 2: on players.
Speaker 1: I agree, and just real quick to your point about
Speaker 1: whether or not they can do it this window. I
Speaker 1: don't pretend to know my elbow for my rear end
Speaker 1: about primary transfer summer window, who's available, who's not. But
Speaker 1: if you go off of past, you know, just player signings.
Speaker 1: Last year with a primary transfer window, they didn't do much.
Speaker 1: And it was the summer transfer window where they bring
Speaker 1: in Dom.
Speaker 2: They sold on just to they sold.
Speaker 1: Andre, so they bring in Diego, Dom and Lachlan.
Speaker 2: Your god.
Speaker 1: So look, I'm not saying high five for bringing in
Speaker 1: players that aren't very good, but they did make more
Speaker 1: signings in the summer last year than they did in
Speaker 1: the primary last year.
Speaker 2: Bait correct, they did, And it seems like last year
Speaker 2: they had their ducks in a row in terms of
Speaker 2: understanding that a potentially big offer, one that they couldn't
Speaker 2: turn down was coming for Andres, which it did, and
Speaker 2: then they went out and signed players. But Diogo, Lachlan
Speaker 2: and Dom probably cost a total of like four point
Speaker 2: five million dollars between three players, five million, which is
Speaker 2: not gonna get it done.
Speaker 1: When did they bring in Alex? Was Alex a primary
Speaker 1: transfer window or was he a summer transfer window?
Speaker 2: No? I think he was before the start of last season.
Speaker 1: Before the start of last season, Okay, because I mean
Speaker 1: that was a good sign and I think Alex has
Speaker 1: been Yeah, but you're not wrong. We need to write
Speaker 1: some checks, all right, before we catch a break. You
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Speaker 1: your game all season long. Christopher Camaradi c K. Did
Speaker 1: anyone ever call you Christopher? I mean that's your proper name, correct, Yeah, that's.
Speaker 2: On my birth certificate. I'm sometime parents. No, it's it's
Speaker 2: always been Chris or Ck. It's weird, okay, but weirdly
Speaker 2: I choose to go by Christopher on my byline.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I saw that. Yeah, and I think at one
Speaker 1: point I tried to take credit for Ck. But did
Speaker 1: you say who initially came up with the K?
Speaker 2: That's been going on since I was ten years old
Speaker 2: because I used to think it was cool that Calvin
Speaker 2: Klein had jeans.
Speaker 1: It is kind of cool. It's kind of cool, back
Speaker 1: to the future style. I'm not going to complain Alvin
Speaker 1: kleins right back in the day. Shout out Michael J. Fox.
Speaker 1: All right, Chris, you were in uh midtown Manhattan not
Speaker 1: too long ago for the Athletic College Football Annual Meeting.
Speaker 1: Any grand takeaways you'd like to share with our I mean, look,
Speaker 1: the landscape at college football right now is wild. I mean,
Speaker 1: CBS is reporting that the SEC is leaving the NCAA
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty nine. You can't just do that. So
Speaker 1: there are a lot of things that have to take place,
Speaker 1: conversations about the new CFP format where it's clearly the
Speaker 1: SEC and the Big ten calling all the show, and
Speaker 1: you can complain about it all you want. That's kind
Speaker 1: of the landscape of the thing. So what were some
Speaker 1: of the college football stories topics fantied about by some
Speaker 1: of the heaviest hitters in college football media.
Speaker 2: Exactly that it's beyond guard be prepared for rampant change
Speaker 2: once again, and ironically enough, just within the last six
Speaker 2: days since I've been home, the SEC meetings have taken
Speaker 2: place in Greg Sankie and folks are unhappy with the
Speaker 2: state of college athletics apparently, and they can throw their
Speaker 2: weight around because they want to and because they can.
Speaker 2: Also the seeding is officially changed that I think that
Speaker 2: happened like two days after I got home, which I
Speaker 2: think is ultimately the right decision to do away with
Speaker 2: those you know, bloated higher seeds. But I think what
Speaker 2: I would say would be that you just have to
Speaker 2: be prepared for a tremendous amount of change and be
Speaker 2: prepared to ride the coattails of the powers that be.
Speaker 2: And those powers that be are the two heavy hitters
Speaker 2: that you mentioned, the SEC and the Big Ten. And listen,
Speaker 2: things changed all the time. I mean, once upon a
Speaker 2: time people were mad that the NBA had a best
Speaker 2: of five series in the first round, and I know
Speaker 2: it's hard to compare that to the amount of teams
Speaker 2: in the college football playoff. But things change, man, Like
Speaker 2: we Major League Baseball used to have I think one
Speaker 2: wild card team and that was it. Things changed. Everything
Speaker 2: is not going to be as it always was, and
Speaker 2: I think that's a good thing. I mean, thank god,
Speaker 2: we're no longer dealing with that computer system known as
Speaker 2: the BCS, like, I think a lot of people are
Speaker 2: just operating either publicly or privately, in fear that they're
Speaker 2: going to be left behind when the dust settles. But
Speaker 2: I don't personally, I don't think it's going to get
Speaker 2: to that level now. It can now if CBS's report
Speaker 2: is correct that the SEC is going to go rogue
Speaker 2: and call its own shots in four years, I guess
Speaker 2: we'll have to tackle that beast when they when they
Speaker 2: cross that bridge. But I just think it makes sense
Speaker 2: for everybody to remain in lockstep because that's where all
Speaker 2: the money is.
Speaker 1: So Ross Dellinger, who does a really good job for Yahoo,
Speaker 1: and also Matt Brown front of the show Extra Points,
Speaker 1: I kind of read what those two write and followed
Speaker 1: them as a north star when it comes to some
Speaker 1: of the legislation in place. Tennessee passed a law without
Speaker 1: really telling everybody, like any school in our state does
Speaker 1: not have to adhere to the House v NCAA settlement
Speaker 1: guidelines like you're exempt. And then the p four Conferences
Speaker 1: drafted a contract that said, no, actually you're not allowed
Speaker 1: to follow your state law if you want to be
Speaker 1: part of our lunch table. The Trump White House came
Speaker 1: up with a College Football Commission that they were going
Speaker 1: to solve everything. The White House was like, you're not
Speaker 1: doing that. So now that's on pause, kind of like
Speaker 1: the tariffs, Like here are the tariffs. Wait, no, the
Speaker 1: tariffs are not that. No they are. Now we're going
Speaker 1: to roll this back.
Speaker 2: Nick Saban was supposed to be the face of it,
Speaker 2: and right even he was like, I don't know what you're.
Speaker 1: Talking about, right exactly, So there was a conversation going
Speaker 1: on that the White House was going to get involved.
Speaker 1: Now that's not happening because that's kind of the deal
Speaker 1: walking everything back. But when it comes to the p
Speaker 1: four Conferences and their desire to make sure that all
Speaker 1: of their member institutions do follow whatever the House VNCAA
Speaker 1: settlement says versus the state passing laws saying that you
Speaker 1: do not have to do that, how do we traverse
Speaker 1: out like who's rights? Like, ultimately, if you're Vanderbilt, if
Speaker 1: you're the University of Tennessee and you have legislation in
Speaker 1: place from your state leaders saying you don't have to
Speaker 1: follow any of that. But then there's the Four Conferences
Speaker 1: drafting the contract to say, if you want to be
Speaker 1: part of us. You have to sign this, and you
Speaker 1: do have to follow it. All of this feels like
Speaker 1: we're just in for more legislation and we're in for
Speaker 1: more legal battles, and the lawyers are the ones that
Speaker 1: ultimately are going to be the winners.
Speaker 2: Correct, You're going to be dealing with things that are
Speaker 2: pseudo passed tied up in court, you know, file motions
Speaker 2: and junctions and all of these almost went there, all
Speaker 2: of these court legal mumbo jumbo jargons that everyone has
Speaker 2: had to either relearn or learn for the first time again.
Speaker 2: There will be loopholes, I mean, don't forget that. Like,
Speaker 2: just as recently as March Madness, the state of West
Speaker 2: Virginia was threatening to was threatening to sue the NC
Speaker 2: Double A because West Virginia was left out of the
Speaker 2: ncuble A tournament. Like, I think a lot of it
Speaker 2: is grandstanding. I think a lot of it is is
Speaker 2: going to be filled with ways around these motions and
Speaker 2: these bylaws and these laws. I think ultimately it will
Speaker 2: boil down to games won't be disrupted. I don't roster
Speaker 2: construction will be altered all that significantly until that day comes.
Speaker 2: You know, maybe maybe Tennessee and Vandy do get a
Speaker 2: leg up significantly. I don't necessarily see that being the case,
Speaker 2: because I think it's I think at the end of
Speaker 2: the day, you're likely to be more emboldened to side
Speaker 2: with your governing conference body as opposed to some state
Speaker 2: legislators that you don't really know, but it could be wrong.
Speaker 2: So it is, we've approached it's silly season without a doubt,
Speaker 2: and everybody's in my opinion, is kind of bloviating.
Speaker 1: Well, and also Chris where I've kind of landed, and look,
Speaker 1: I don't know this to be true, and maybe we
Speaker 1: need congressional involvement, Maybe we need the highest office of
Speaker 1: the land to try to get involved here. And I
Speaker 1: guess that was the idea before everybody else. I guess
Speaker 1: Cody Campbell, the Texas Tech booster, was involved in addition
Speaker 1: to sab and as you reference, when Campbell was announced
Speaker 1: as somebody who was going to kind of co chair
Speaker 1: the thing, a lot of people pump the brakes, like, wait,
Speaker 1: we don't know that we want this dude involved because
Speaker 1: conflict of interest with Texas Tech and then the White
Speaker 1: House that surrounds Donald Trump. They basically said, we cannot
Speaker 1: get involved with this, and that's why they paused it.
Speaker 1: So maybe because it is so a convoluted and complex
Speaker 1: we do need the highest office of the land to
Speaker 1: get involved to just have some sort of final solution.
Speaker 1: But where I've kind of landed is that I don't
Speaker 1: see a solution on the horizon. I don't see the
Speaker 1: dust settling anytime soon, like maybe in four or five years.
Speaker 1: But it feels like we have entered and are still
Speaker 1: in and will remain in this space of ambiguity with
Speaker 1: the sport, and you just kind of have to deal
Speaker 1: with it day by day and year by year, and
Speaker 1: the chaos will continue.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you basically took the words out of the mouth man,
Speaker 2: like this is until there is a hard and fast
Speaker 2: rule book, until there is ways, until there are ways
Speaker 2: to punish people or you know, mistakes or missteps or misgivings,
Speaker 2: like people are just going to be able to operate
Speaker 2: the way they want to because there is no governing body.
Speaker 2: I don't know if it's necessarily something that needs to
Speaker 2: be congressional or even you know, involved in involving the
Speaker 2: executive branch of government, Like you just need to get
Speaker 2: people to come together and agree on something, but everybody's
Speaker 2: best interests are going to be served, and those are
Speaker 2: generally involving their own right. And it it sounds really
Speaker 2: like depressing to say, but if you're speaking from like
Speaker 2: a pure business perspective, it doesn't make sense to punt
Speaker 2: on your best interests in it for the sake of
Speaker 2: other people. Well, and and the SEC and the Big
Speaker 2: especially the SEC can just basically flex its chest, right.
Speaker 1: And the other thing that maybe people have either forgotten
Speaker 1: or they never knew, is the ability to enforce rules
Speaker 1: was stripped from the NCAA. They were thrown out of
Speaker 1: court like, hey, you're a serial antitrust violator, and also
Speaker 1: you're no longer able to even enforce the rules that
Speaker 1: you have in place. So when you hear an announcement
Speaker 1: like the SEC leaving the NCAA, and look it's twenty
Speaker 1: twenty five, that's four years down the line, none of
Speaker 1: that is surprising, Like I feel like that's where we've
Speaker 1: been going all along. But as we continue to traverse
Speaker 1: into this new space, the chasm that exists between the
Speaker 1: SEC and the Big ten and even the Big twelve
Speaker 1: and the ACC continues to widen because the SEC and
Speaker 1: the Big Ten. They have the cards, they have the
Speaker 1: ace in the hole, and we can complain about it
Speaker 1: as a Big twelve market about what's fair or what's
Speaker 1: not fair. But this has turned into a game of leverage.
Speaker 1: And I think it's clear that certainly the SEC probably
Speaker 1: first and foremost, but the Big Ten alongside of them,
Speaker 1: they are holding the cards. And Brett Yormar can negotiate
Speaker 1: all he wants, but if you want to be part
Speaker 1: of wherever they're going, you're probably just gonna have to
Speaker 1: follow whatever they say. Is that fair?
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you mentioned Britt you are. It's going to
Speaker 2: be interesting to see what he says during the Big
Speaker 2: twelve meetings this week, because these conferences never lack for
Speaker 2: these official, unofficial meetings. The SEC had theirs, Big Ten
Speaker 2: had theirs. Now it's the Big twelve s turn. He'll
Speaker 2: be I'm sure he'll be asked ad nauseum about all
Speaker 2: of this stuff. But we live in a capitalistic society,
Speaker 2: and whoever gets I mean, you know, the rule man,
Speaker 2: the man with the gold makes the rules number one
Speaker 2: rule of the drive. So the SEC, the Big Ten
Speaker 2: get the biggest amount of dollars because they get the
Speaker 2: most eyeballs and the media contracts are the fattest for
Speaker 2: them because most people watch them. And it is it
Speaker 2: is an interesting kind of dichotomy if you think about
Speaker 2: like professional sports compared to college sports. Professional sports, for
Speaker 2: the most part, are always driven by really high profile
Speaker 2: urban markets. College is like basically the complete opposite. Like
Speaker 2: how is it that a place like as you know,
Speaker 2: remote as Tuscaloosa, you know, or Starkville can play a
Speaker 2: role and you know, these multi billion dollar media rights deals.
Speaker 2: It's because people will watch them, and people will you know,
Speaker 2: at the at the end of the day, pay more
Speaker 2: attention to them because they have more history, more success,
Speaker 2: And that is the reality of the situation. And you
Speaker 2: mentioned the chasm, Like the Big twelve just doesn't have
Speaker 2: any established you know, Goliath. They have a bunch of
Speaker 2: maybe maybe it's a little low hanging fruit to say,
Speaker 2: a bunch of David's, but like they don't have anybody
Speaker 2: that's going to be like they have Deon Sanders. But
Speaker 2: other than that, like is is anybody busting down the
Speaker 2: door to watch Arizona State? And Kenny Dillingham, Is anybody
Speaker 2: busting down the door to watch Kyle Whittingham? And Utah.
Speaker 2: I mean by use a little unique in that, and like,
Speaker 2: you know, they have the historic contract with ESPN and
Speaker 2: you know the very big, you know, Mormon population worldwide,
Speaker 2: but it's it's it's who you're marketing, and these other
Speaker 2: conferences just have such more, They have so much more
Speaker 2: at their disposal compared to anyone else.
Speaker 1: Did the PAC twelve and the ACC once upon a
Speaker 1: time announce like an alliance and I remember.
Speaker 2: That, correct that too?
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it lasted like two weeks, so yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1: And the press release like we are committed moving and no, no.
Speaker 2: You're not.
Speaker 1: Y it's still so wild. I was watching Pacers Nicks
Speaker 1: last night and they reference at Benedict Matheren was the
Speaker 1: PAC twelve Player of the Year, and I just started thinking,
Speaker 1: like when he was at Arizona.
Speaker 2: Okay, I just.
Speaker 1: Started thinking, in ten or fifteen years, when you bring
Speaker 1: up the PAC twelve, the youngs are gonna be like,
Speaker 1: what the hell is the PAC twelve.
Speaker 2: Well, the PAC twelve will be wazoo Oregon State, you know,
Speaker 2: some of these new guys, But like.
Speaker 1: But like what it was the real yeah, like a
Speaker 1: home for West Coast football and it doesn't even exist.
Speaker 1: If your Brett or Mark, are you considering engaging with
Speaker 1: the ACC about potentially trying to put something together there
Speaker 1: to put it in tendency in place in the event
Speaker 1: that the SEC and the Big ten say we are
Speaker 1: taking our ball and we are going home and you're
Speaker 1: not allowed to come with us, because that appears to
Speaker 1: be on the table.
Speaker 2: Chris, I think you would need two member institutions who
Speaker 2: are very prickly at their own conference in the moment,
Speaker 2: and Clemson in Florida State to be willing to be
Speaker 2: front facing and forward and being like, yes, we're all
Speaker 2: for this, because those are two institutions who have recently,
Speaker 2: either publicly or privately threatened that they may want to
Speaker 2: no longer be part of the ACC. So the heaviest
Speaker 2: hitters have the most sway, and I think you can
Speaker 2: make easily make an argument that between the Big twelve
Speaker 2: and the ACC, Clemson in Florida State and even Miami
Speaker 2: would probably be third. And like the Big the Big
Speaker 2: twelve just doesn't really have anybody, So I think it
Speaker 2: would make sense, but it would be it would be
Speaker 2: fascinating to talk to these guys, just like, why don't
Speaker 2: you guys all just like sit down, you know, in
Speaker 2: a room, like just sort it out, come to it,
Speaker 2: come sort of come to some sort of common ground.
Speaker 2: But egos are real, you know. The amount of money
Speaker 2: on the table is very real. It just seems like
Speaker 2: and and maybe I'm a maybe I'm an optimist beneath
Speaker 2: this endless pile.
Speaker 1: Of the news. Christopher camrodnie optimist.
Speaker 2: It seems like it. It seems like it's doable. Am
Speaker 2: I I mean? Am I am I being a little naive?
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, here's where I land on that dynamic.
Speaker 1: Negotiations are about one thing always power, no dang it. Leverage. Okay, okay,
Speaker 1: so write this down, kids, Take out the pen. Okay.
Speaker 1: Negotiations are about one thing. It's leverage.
Speaker 2: You think kids have pens. Take out the iPad.
Speaker 1: Take out the iPad. Type this in snapchat it or
Speaker 1: TikTok it.
Speaker 2: There you go.
Speaker 1: Negotiations are about leverage. They just are. And if it's
Speaker 1: your own life, and if it's your own job, and
Speaker 1: if you want to go to your boss and negotiate
Speaker 1: a new compensation package, you better have tangible data about
Speaker 1: the value you provide your company, or you better have
Speaker 1: a job offer that you can say, Okay, I'm getting
Speaker 1: paid twenty five percent more over here. If you want
Speaker 1: to keep me, you have to match that. So negotiations
Speaker 1: about leverage, and the leverage resides with the SEC and
Speaker 1: the Big Ten. It just does so when it comes
Speaker 1: to their inability to land in a space where an
Speaker 1: agreement could be found, it's the ACC and the Big
Speaker 1: twelve complaining about the concessions they're not getting from the
Speaker 1: SEC and the Big Ten. But it's the SEC and
Speaker 1: the Big Ten saying we don't need to give you
Speaker 1: these concessions because we have the leverage. So where's the
Speaker 1: middle ground? Ultimately, and right now, the one example we
Speaker 1: do have that's tangible is the expanded sixteen T and
Speaker 1: CFP for next year twenty twenty six, the next cycle,
Speaker 1: which as we know right now, the proposal is four
Speaker 1: auto bids for the SEC and the Big Ten, two
Speaker 1: auto bids for the Big twelve in the ACC, one
Speaker 1: auto bid for the Group of six now shout out
Speaker 1: Newpac twelve, and then three at large bids. The reports
Speaker 1: are the Big twelve and the ACC aren't happy with
Speaker 1: that because of the auto bids that the SEC and
Speaker 1: the Big Ten are receiving but if you're the Big
Speaker 1: twelve in the ACC, I think you have to understand
Speaker 1: the leverage lies with them, and you might just have
Speaker 1: to agree to that. Say you get half the auto bids,
Speaker 1: we'll take two. We just want to sit at your
Speaker 1: lunch table.
Speaker 2: I think that's very accurate and I think that's fair.
Speaker 2: I think until the Big twelve finds a way to
Speaker 2: establish itself with the powers that be, they don't have
Speaker 2: any leverage. That's great, it's good learning lesson leverage.
Speaker 1: There we go.
Speaker 2: I have a question how much does the rise of
Speaker 2: SEC basketball add to their already deep war chests? Ye,
Speaker 2: because like it used to be, I mean, it used
Speaker 2: to be the AC, the Big twelve, historically Big East,
Speaker 2: you know, rest in peace. But now it's like I
Speaker 2: think the SEC had the most amount of tournament teams
Speaker 2: and they.
Speaker 1: Have a conference in college basketballs.
Speaker 2: So I wonder, as you know, a big college troops guy, indeed,
Speaker 2: how much does that add to their already strengthened war chest.
Speaker 1: I don't and you know this, I don't think it
Speaker 1: adds much to it, only because even though college basketball
Speaker 1: is viable due to March Madness, it's still a drop
Speaker 1: in the bucket compared to college football. I mean, it
Speaker 1: can't hurt it. But it's the reason why Brett yor
Speaker 1: Mark was interested in adding Yukon to the Big twelve.
Speaker 1: Yukon football is pathetic, but Yukon basketball is one of
Speaker 1: the top two or three blue bloods in the country.
Speaker 1: They are an ad a beneficial, you know, tangible asset
Speaker 1: to your conference because of their basketball team, not their
Speaker 1: football program. But there are I mean, Duke Carolina football
Speaker 1: is better than it used to be, but there are
Speaker 1: only a handful of basketball front facing programs that really
Speaker 1: makes sense that would help your conference. You want it
Speaker 1: to be attached to a excellent football team. It's why
Speaker 1: Brian Santiago, when he was introduced as the BYU athletic director,
Speaker 1: was very front facing that football drives us, even though
Speaker 1: their economic investment is in their basketball program. Right, So, look,
Speaker 1: BYU basketball is going to be a top five team
Speaker 1: this year. AJ Debonca right away probably will be the
Speaker 1: best player that's ever played in our state. Do you
Speaker 1: respect to Van Horne and Andre and everybody else like
Speaker 1: AJ is different. But if they don't invest with Kilani
Speaker 1: and his group the way they've invested with Kevin and
Speaker 1: his group. Yeah, it's awesome that you have a great
Speaker 1: basketball program, But do you want to be Yukon? No,
Speaker 1: you want to be Bama. You want to be Florida.
Speaker 1: You just won the national championship.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's interesting too because you have kind of
Speaker 2: a clean slate. You have an opportunity to take hold
Speaker 2: of this geographical footprint where currently it's kind of Oregon
Speaker 2: and everybody else like SC paying Lincoln Riley King's ransom
Speaker 2: clearly isn't worked out. Washington has to figure out, you know,
Speaker 2: who they are after you know, losing Kalin to Boor.
Speaker 2: But like, the possibilities are out there, you can establish
Speaker 2: yourself as a geographical giant. Now it's difficult because you
Speaker 2: have to be able to win those recruiting battles out west,
Speaker 2: and you have to stave off all of these guys
Speaker 2: in the SEC and Big Ten who are coming for
Speaker 2: the players in your state. But it is a great
Speaker 2: point that like the likes of these programs in the
Speaker 2: Big twelve, have the opportunity to seize the moment. Carpe
Speaker 2: DM Indeed, fortune favors the ball shout out JP does.
Speaker 2: I just don't know if anybody is good enough or
Speaker 2: if the pockets are deep enough to do it.
Speaker 1: Since you brought up best c the reports are sc
Speaker 1: Notre Dame is going away. It's not done very bad.
Speaker 1: So look b yu Utah will be preserved because they're
Speaker 1: conference buds. Otherwise we were already in a space where
Speaker 1: it went away incrementally and could have gone away entirely
Speaker 1: if they didn't land in the same conference. College football,
Speaker 1: to me, one of the things that does separate it
Speaker 1: from the NFL is rivalries. We have some good NFL rivalries,
Speaker 1: but there's something different about college football rivalries. Is it
Speaker 1: time to change that paradigm?
Speaker 2: Though?
Speaker 1: Is it time to get rid of any romantic idea
Speaker 1: of what college football is based off of how rapidly
Speaker 1: it's all changed, Because if you're Lincoln Riley, like, why
Speaker 1: would you schedule that game if it's going to get
Speaker 1: in the way of you winning your conference and maybe
Speaker 1: making the expanded to I get the counterpoint, right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, But this goes back to the moving target of
Speaker 2: change we talked about, like, how I guess the auto
Speaker 2: If this theoretical sixteen team tournament exists, then your autobids
Speaker 2: or your autobids it and maybe your strength of schedule
Speaker 2: isn't getting measured the way it historically has and all
Speaker 2: these things. But I'm I mean, like there's a reason
Speaker 2: why locally that that game is awesome every year, Like
Speaker 2: last year, on paper, that game had no reason being
Speaker 2: as good as it was it was. And we've talked
Speaker 2: about this over and over for the last twenty years.
Speaker 2: The one game that my wife still remembers and still
Speaker 2: talks about is the kick six with Auburn and Alabama.
Speaker 2: Like it's the only time I've seen her like actually
Speaker 2: freak out during a sporting event watching watching that guy
Speaker 2: return that that attempted field goal, Like if that's if
Speaker 2: that's Auburn and Vandy, if it's Auburn and Iowa State,
Speaker 2: does it resonate Now?
Speaker 1: No, it does not.
Speaker 2: I mean there and I think, honestly, the rivalries are
Speaker 2: why will even bring in the casuals. They will bring
Speaker 2: in the likes of you and I We will probably
Speaker 2: if we're free, we'll tune in for the Iron Bowl
Speaker 2: Catch quarter. Sure, I'm not really that intrigued by the
Speaker 2: idea of SC and whoever you know SC in Texas,
Speaker 2: A and M. I mean, that's that's too good of
Speaker 2: an example.
Speaker 1: Now I understand the honest and the point. One more
Speaker 1: thing here, then we'll set you loose. Duke is looking
Speaker 1: at me. I gotta go a bathroom, and I am
Speaker 1: one dog dump in the studio away from never being
Speaker 1: allowed to bring him in again. So we're gonna get
Speaker 1: Duke outside, can go to the bathroom. You always hear this, Moniker,
Speaker 1: and I use it too, but I think it's different
Speaker 1: when you look at what is transpired in college football
Speaker 1: and what could transpire in football, you always hear the
Speaker 1: same thing. Well, regardless of all the chaos, Saturdays in
Speaker 1: the fall still feel like Saturday's in the fall. They
Speaker 1: don't if you're an Oregon State fan, they don't. If
Speaker 1: you're a Washington State fan, they don't. If you're one
Speaker 1: of these teams that have been left behind. And if
Speaker 1: we continue to move into a space where you know,
Speaker 1: it's simply capitalism, economic investment, and anyone who's in that
Speaker 1: group don't, they don't need to make concessions for anybody else.
Speaker 1: And we'll just use the sec in the Big ten.
Speaker 1: And if they decide that they're gonna go do their
Speaker 1: thing and period, end of story, that's it. There will
Speaker 1: be more schools where Saturday's in the fall no longer
Speaker 1: longer feel like Saturdays in the fall. You can make
Speaker 1: an argument that for Utah fans that for a decade
Speaker 1: plus welcomed in Oregon and USC and UCLA and the
Speaker 1: Big Pac twelve brands, and suddenly that's gone, and due respect,
Speaker 1: it's now Iowa State and k State and just and
Speaker 1: Baylor and brand like good solid programs, but not the
Speaker 1: brands that were accustomed. You can make an argument it's
Speaker 1: Saturdays in the fall around here don't feel like Saturdays
Speaker 1: in the fall like they did a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1: And they don't for Washington State, they don't for Oregon State.
Speaker 1: Where I think this sport could find itself in peril
Speaker 1: is if Saturday's in the fall no longer feel like
Speaker 1: Saturdays in the fall for the majority of college football
Speaker 1: fan bases, and they just feel like it for the
Speaker 1: SEC in the Big.
Speaker 2: Ten, Saturdays in the fall need to force parents to
Speaker 2: make their kids miss their soccer games for games, they
Speaker 2: need to make them miss scheduled events because of the
Speaker 2: importance of what it means, either in person at the
Speaker 2: tailgate in the stadium or even on the twa yep.
Speaker 2: After the news broke that the PAC twelve was dissolving,
Speaker 2: I was actually sent if you remember this, I went
Speaker 2: and Thanksgiving weekend, I went to both the Civil War
Speaker 2: and the Apple Cup in twenty four hours and talking
Speaker 2: to those fans that have been left behind. It is
Speaker 2: a stark reminder that people just because they might have,
Speaker 2: you know, gone to a different school, they might have
Speaker 2: different colors, their diploma might might say something different that
Speaker 2: shouldn't negate you know, their ability to you know, have
Speaker 2: the money that they invest in their alma maters or
Speaker 2: the schools that they support, have it potentially payoff. And
Speaker 2: you're right, like we are rapidly trending towards a world
Speaker 2: which we leave people in schools behind, and I don't
Speaker 2: think we can afford to do that.
Speaker 1: Great to see him, my man, get Duke outside.
Speaker 2: I will.
Speaker 1: And then you're in charge of the flyer for Fox's birthday.
Speaker 1: I want that you got twenty four hours.
Speaker 2: I got you