Speaker 1: Ten o three at inch Town. Good morning, and welcome
to a Wednesday edition of the Mat Thomas Show with
Ross right here on your home with the Astros and
the Rockets and the Texas Longhorns. Sports Talk seven ninety
with Ross, I'm Matt, our producers Jonathan, and we are
with you today until two o'clock. Wait. Today we will
get into a deep dive of the Astros set back
to the Chicago White Sox last night, not one, not two,
but three double plays one for six. I want to
say runners in scoring position nine hits compared to four
for the Chicago White Sox. And unfortunately Lance mccullors did
not get you that third consecutive quality start. Five innings,
four runs, four walks. It was just one off each way,
one more inning, one for your run. We're almost there.
That's like telling a fact. Guy, if you were thinnernet here,
you'd be a better looking guy. Yeah, he would be, probably,
I'm'm talking about him. I mean, I don't. I think
Land's doing okay himself. It's close to quality. It was
a half quality start. I mean, I'll give him credit
for getting to the five innings quality adjacent and well,
basically you're creating a new, a new metric. Yes, I
am all right. That's so basically a ross quality start
is significantly different than the rest of us. Having quality
is normally a notch below everyone else. Well, it's funny because,
and I'll give this as a terrible parallel, when you
see a girl in Houston, Texas, we will grade her
a certain number. Okay, we have that number, and then
we have what we called a road number. Numbers go
up on the road the hot Yeah, you get a
little bit more of a how would you say, a
boost affirst? You would want a buffer, wouldn't you. So
a Houston six might be a road eight. Yeah. I
don't think this works for quality start because he's at home.
But okay, you're trying that out of the gates. I'm
just going right to the analogies right away, all right.
On the radio program today, we will have an update
on what's going on over at Texans Mini Camp. It
is a second final day of that before training camp
starts late next month. We have an update from the
NBA finals. Our friend of Vanessa Richson from Space City
and now working for ESPN this series. She's doing a
I think it's they call it hoops streams. I think
that's what they call it. Okay, it's like that. It's
like a pregame to the pregame show. Okay, And her
and a mon Shepherd are been on doing on an
ESPN plus Rocket's legend legend and mon Shepherd number of wards?
I said to a mon Shepherd as a Houston Rocket, Hello, Hello,
three hellos. I'm gonna put it at the over under
of three. Did I go over that number or under? Okay?
How about number of words that weren't high or hello greetings?
I would go point five and I'll go under. I
would say, if you put the words hello, goodbye, how
are you in there? They would still be zero. Okay.
I don't think I spoke to him. Well, that's rude.
It's a nice guy. I'm sure. I'm sure Vanessa will
braging about him quite a bit when she joins us
later today. Brian bogus EV's gonna join us at about
fifty five minutes from now. He is give us some
little Astros update. He was working the presentation of Astros
Baseball last night with my friend Shelby over there on
Space City, and we have a shut Shobama ass up
and ain't nobody got time for that? I have something
at eleven thirty that is affecting my trip to Las
Vegas tomorrow. That is, ain't nobody got time for that?
You said all this is hair and dust? Uh No,
is that in Vegas too? I don't know if it's
in Vegas or not. It's not even the weather. The
weather is not going to be great today, but I
think they were forecasting dooming gloom all day long. I
think it's going to be cleared by two or three
o'clock this afternoon, so god, yeah, but yeah, something is
going on with my trip to Vegas that I'm not
happy about, and I'm going to have to call out
a particular company. But of course rhyme because I don't
spend money with us, okay, And I think if you're negative,
you you don't have to rhyme. Okay. Then I want
to be negative then unless you want to go to
the all press is good press card. We wonder if
we'll figure it out and we believe it or not?
Today at am I gonna do din or live? I
believe it or not? And you said you were, I mean,
I'll do it today. That's my that's my contribution to
the show. You know what's funny, I've been writing, Uh,
I keep a r a document that I look at
every day for the show. I have been writing down
names that I think would be good for a live
or dead Do you want to get him to you? Please?
That way you can't throw them at me, So no,
I won't throw them to you today. Okay, yeah, but
if they're goo, Yeah, they're goodnames. Let's do that. Seven
one three five seven, aunt, if you'd like to be
a part of the radio program, but like seven one
three two one two five seven on our lines are open.
I also have to attack on hutch up a mess up.
There's like, you know the guy, the guy Christian that
calls the show that calls me a horrible Houston Cougar fan. Yes,
so I blocked him on Facebook. Yes, I've blocked him
on Twitter. He can't call the show anymore here and
now he's he's crushing me on the Kook fan message board.
What I mean, it's like he's got a person. So
you're like me crushing you on what is it? Cougar
is jaf Kook fans or something like that. Den, I'm like,
I didn't even know about it until a friend of
mine said, who is this guy? Why is he attacking him?
Because I said, I think he's probably clinically deranged. Yeah,
I'm gonna keep that an arms link. Matt, Well, I
have done everything I can, but I mean to not
call me a real Cougar. Is because I went to
He went on the post and said, well, Matt went
to North Texas's freshman year. I got news for you.
About eighty percent of people that go to the University
Houston get their degrees started somewhere else. Why does that
disqualify you from being a Cougars fan. That's so stupid.
You went to the school. Your degree says University of Houston.
You you took the classes, you bribed your professors there. Yes,
you've been on campus. You've been calling their games football,
basketball over the years. I went from I took an
red eye on my own dime to fly to San
Antonio signing up for Cooks. Send me the link. I'm
signing up for kugsfans dot net. And if I get attacked,
that's fine. I gotta come after this guy. I'm happy
for you. Thank you for having my defense on that.
All right, that is a Jackass. It's just I mean,
life's too short to be just an ale. Well, some
people disagree, but I agree with you, but a lot
of people disagree. Yeah, I guess life isn't too short
to do that. Astros fall again last night by a
final score of four to two. Lance Pa Colors suffers
the loss. Seas now one and two on the year.
Shane Smith is even with the league now with getting
the victory last night, Shane Smith. That's made up by
the way the freaking White Sox. I mean, come on,
the White Sox have twenty three wins this year. Don't
even say it. Oh, dear, dear, go ahead, three of
them against the Astro. There are three and one against
the Astros, correctly one, that's right. Now. Let me just
put this way. There are some teams that you just
don't compete well against, either because of matchups or it
just happens to be the crazy sport that is baseball.
I can remember a couple of years ago, ROSSI helped
me out with this. There was a home stand where
the Astros had Kansas City and Oakland. It might have
been the year where they were just forty one and
forty one at home or forty and forty twenty three. Yeah,
whatever it was, and it was like they're gonna get
fat and happy, They're gonna get about five hundred. This
whole bit about them not winning at home, and I
believe again I'm just throwing this out there. I think
maybe the Astros went one and six during that stretch
something like that was you remember the gap I about
it was something horrible. So I don't think it's that
the White Sox had the Astros number. I just think
sometimes you just run into series matchups that for some reason,
just because of the fact that somebody's due for a
poor performance or you've traveled and had a lot of games.
There really is no rhyme or reason, because in theory,
you would think if the Astros played the Chicago White
Sox one hundred times, the Astros would win many more
of them, seventy five eighty percent of them. Well, it
just happens to be the first four times they'd played
the White Sox have won three of the four. Yeah,
it doesn't make it hurt any less. And there is
good news because the Diamondbacks destroyed the Mariners last night.
At Astros have a three game lead still into the
American League West. I mean in the eighth, you get
the bases loaded with no out and you get one
run out of it. And Ross three I mean can
of corn double plays. I mean there was no unbelievable
grab or base running gap. It was just a good
old fashioned s Yeah, Taylor Bay double plays one for
six with runners in scoring position, seven left on base,
and you lose by two. Yeah, all right, so we
got to get that. Today, we've got the NBA game
number three of the NBA Finals, are finally playing a game,
and we'll check him with Vanessa in a couple hours.
Speaker 2: On that.
Speaker 1: We have a Texas mini camp. We have a listing
of the worst stadiums in Major League Baseball. Oh, we'll
go through that. And when we return, the New York
Knicks maybe botching they're coaching now, I mean maybe they're
definitely botching their coaching search. We'll discuss that in a moment.
If you'd like me be a part of the radio
program seven one three two one two five seven ninety
seven one three two one two five seven nine zero
with Ross. I'm Matt seven one three two one two
five seven nine zero one ten nineteen. Good morning. It
is the Matt Thomas Show with Ross. We are with
you today until two o'clock seven one three two one
two five seven ninety If you'd like to join the
radio program seven one three two one two five seven
ninety's the Astros drop one for two. Texans are back
on the practice field as we seek. My guess is
there in the bubble because the weather is not spectacular
right now. In fact, yes, I'm watching UH Jonathan Alexander
reporting the Jalen Nowel, one of the early Texans draft picks.
Wide receiver UH is not practicing today. He has been
out since the last day of OTA's last week. Hmm, okay.
Speaker 3: C J.
Speaker 1: Stroud is still throwing. That's good. That's good. That's a
gut filling. I don't think I put on the gut feelings,
but I didn't think he was gonna throw it today.
So that's good that he is throwing. Yeah, he's ready
to roll, Maddie. He's ready for Game one of the
season at the Los Angeles Rams. Yes, huge, I do
want to go to that stadium. Why so fine? Yeah,
that whole that whole area is crazy. Be half empty
and then the half that it's full. As with Texans face.
I was gonna say, if you want to go to
a road game, you got two shots to go to
LA this year, and tickets won't be an issue for
either one. Probably, my guess, will be easy to get
your Charger tickets than the Rams because the Rams have
a pretty good following sell in LA. I just don't
stay in downtown La. Oh my god, what a mess
down there right now. Yeah, it's funny all the years
have been calling rockets. We've never stayed downtown LA. We've
either stayed in Beverly Hills or Marina del Road. Where
is Staples downtown? Okay, I didn't know that, or I'm sorry,
what is it? Whatever it's called now? Yeah, Crypto dot,
ryptot ram, Marina del Ray beautiful. No, it's growing unbelievable,
very nice, very bougie. Well until you stay in Beverly
Hill and then then it trumps that boot. That's the
ultimate bougie. Is that the ultimate boogie in the country?
You think Beverly Hills? Uh for me, Yes, I tell
you about that when I was trying to buy a
Para Sox when I was there and they're forty yeah,
and then I went to go get in with the
at a drug store and they had the Hershey Kisses
logo on them and they were that's thirteen dollars though, Like,
I'll just take those. But yeah, I mean I almost
did a double take. I would. I had to go
to the Rax Myth Revenue and it was like forty
four dollars for a pair of socks. Oh, they might
have been really comfy. I'm sure they were wonderful, but
I had a per diem. Yeah, but I don't want
to spend half my per diem on a pair of socks.
A lot of times you spend stuff on designer stuff
and it lasts longer. I don't doubt that I just
were durable. I just wasn't prepared to do it. It's
not like your mood of the moon socks that fall
apart after sixty years. I do. So I called every
drug store in the air, like, no, we don't care.
You called every drug store. Yeah, I pulled an Indie
Kloe Oh yeah you know. And and here's the thing.
There's no Marshals, there's no uh TJ Max. So yeah,
it is of all the places we go, the most
that you feel like you are not in your real
world would be Beverly Hills for sure. Okay, all right, oh,
let me get till we were talking about the NBA.
So uh. The next the next fired uh Tom Thibodeau
after his team lost in the Eastern Conference Finals in Indiana. Yes,
and said that we're going to find a coach is
going to get us over the hump. Correct. So it's
what they did? Ross is they is they broke up
with their girlfriend. Who's the seven? Okay, stay with me
on this, because they went to go get nines and tens, yes,
who are all had boyfriends? M hm Okay, yeah, they
went to go after people who are already attached. Correct. Minnesota
has Chris Finch. The Knicks asked for permission to that.
Minnesota said, shuts your bomb ass up. They the Knicks
asked for the Rockets to talk to Imadoka. The Rockets said,
shut your bomb ass up. And apparently the Jason kids
stuff is about to come to a head, and pretty
soon Dallas is going to tell them if they haven't already,
to shut their bumb ass up. I don't think you're
the Mavericks you can afford to possibly let Jason kid
go because that would they mean that you just have
completely lost the infrastructure of your franchise. You've already got
a general manager who's on the hot seat. Why would
you get rid of a coach who, first of all,
was beloved as a player there and it's been a
very good coach for the Mavericks. Would it take? It
would be draft compensation? How would this work out? Can
they let him out of the deal. I don't I
have no answer to you. I'm trying to remember. It
was kids still under contract with the Bucks when he
went to the Nets as a coach. I thought it
was another direction or okah, I thought it was a
Nets coach very first. Okay, yeah, yeah, maybe you're right.
I'm trying to I can't remember. But point being is this,
if you're going if you're gonna make that move, I
get it. If there is somebody that's out of work
that you think, like, for instance, if you think Michael Malone,
who is firing in Denver, is the answer, then you
go get Michael Malone. If you think there's some assistant
on your staff that you think is the cats me out,
you go get that guy. But why would you And
this is not just talking about the the the Knicks.
This is any organization. You if your foundation of trying
to replace a coach for any particular team is involving
going to get a successful coaches elsewhere who have shown
no indication they wanted to go there. That's that's the
absolute worst way to go higher replacement. Well, maybe they're
just shooting for the moon. They had the seven they
broke up, so yeah, they're chasing the nines and tens
and they miss. Might end up with another seven. Let
me tear right now. If they they end up with
a seven, that's gonna be a win. My guess is,
whoever the coach is going to be, it's gonna be
something of very underwhelming nature. Now I have to preface
one one of those things. I personally know someone that
is going to be applying for that job. So if
that person gets the job, I will congratulate him, but
I know the national perception of this person in his
job will be not spectacular. Sham says that the MAVs
have rejected the Knicks. Okay, yeah, that's what I'm saying.
It's it's I think it said this morning. They just
came out, So that's why I'm saying, you've Jason Kidtis
they're saying no. Emay Doka. The Rockets have said no,
and Chris fincha Minnesota and said no. It's just I mean,
I guess you gut. The worst it could happen is
they tell you no and then now you move on
to other candidates. But you're replacing Tom Thibodeaux, who got
you the Eastern Finals YEA with probably Somedy, respected multiple
time coach of the Year. I mean, he's grumpy, he
doesn't ever use his bench. But I mean it's it's
not like they were for one and done on the playoffs.
They they got to the final for the NBA again.
Sometimes you have to be really blessed to have great
ownership and then and the Knicks have been chasing the
great ownership for a very long time. You can there's
always this disease of more in sports, and the pursuit
of a championship is important and all this stuff, but
it's crazy this day and age, how nobody trusts the
process for the most part. I mean, I think the
Rockets are going to trust the process. I think they're
an outlier. I mean, we'll see what happens with Kevin
Durant if he ends up in a Houston Rockets uniform,
then they won't be that outlider than I'm talking about.
But it is just always, I mean, one out of
thirty teams we are seeing wins the championship. We are
seeing way too many coaches in sports either a getting
super shortly or unless you win it all, you're done. Yeah,
I mean we went through the list. I think you
might have been out when No, you were here when
the TIBs news came down, but then we went through
like the Coach of the year the recent okay a
daisional are the last two coaches dagnall? Yeah, I always
call it. I always do. The soft sounds really good
division all. Okay, before that, Mike Brown out, Monty Williams out,
Tom Thibodeau out, Nick Nurse out, Mike Budenholtzer out, Dwayne
Casey out, and then Mike d'antoni's back to the rock.
So we're talking about years and years and years of
this most recently stuff. This is crazy. You win Coach
of the Year, you almost don't want to accept the award, right,
I'm good, I don't want to be Coach of the Year,
But I also feel the same way about guys getting
the hooked too quick. Yet college coaches being fired for
two years. I know you have to in college athletics,
in college football, you have to build a program. Programs cannot. Now.
Maybe they're thinking because of nil and the transfer portal,
it should take you a faster quicker, But there's no issues.
Athletic directors and university presidents are saying, you've been given
two things that coaches twenty years ago can't use any
can't have nothing at their disposal. You need to get
it done. Even when the portal went free for all
before that, coaches are getting fired after one or two years.
And I always bring this up. Matt Brown his first
his first in at North Carolina, his first two years,
he went one in ten, both years, one intent and
then one in ten. If that happens now he's fired, yes,
and then he maybe never brings North Carolina up to
their heights and then never ends up with Texas. Yeah.
That's the one thing I'm very happy about is that
I feel like in my school, Willie Fritz is in
a spot where he doesn't. I mean, look, we'd like
to get to five hundred this year. We'd like to
get back to a Bowl Game. But I don't feel
like there's this insane pressure to do that, because when
you when you do when you do that, you put
a lot of pressure on a coach, and more times
than not, it's gonna you're gonna be disappointed by it,
putting these faults in it. Like when when when renew
Kator told the world that we fire coaches for not
winning ten games. I mean, that was the fate of
complete for him. That was like five coaches ago. That
was when they fired Major apple Way. Right, Yeah, did
a long horned legend dirty you of eight. Hey, I'm
team apple White. Me too, So I've been team Appa
White since two thousand and one. I was too. I
thought Chris Simms was kind of a pompous ass of
like I can I can gravitate and relate to Major
Appo wit much more. I ever could go at Chris
Simms for sure. All Right, ten twenty eight, It is
the Matt Thomas Show with Ross. We've got Brian Bogocevic
coming up in one half hour from now seven one
three two one two five seven ninety seven one three
two one two five seven nine zero. What is on
your mind? If you've got a couple of things we'd
like to hear from you. A Astro's performance against the
White Sox last night. B Uh, we've got uh Switzerland
kicking the crap out a team USA and soccer yesterday
not great. See what intrigues you about Texans Mini camp
if anything does at all? D the NBA Finals. And
we have a list of the best and worst ballparks
in Major League Baseball, all between now and two o'clock
here on Sports Talk seven ninety it's seven one three,
two one two five seven ninety. Brian Bogus seven can
twenty five minutes. Lauren she Hoty looks spectacular today, per
usual on the MLB network. I gotta turn this off.
She's keeping you distracted. Yeah, that's that's the gods is true.
I mean I could lie to you, but I'm why
would be the point? There's back a game. Yeah, we
appreciate that. I mean there's nothing of put on on
Sports on ten thirty in the morning, especially US six. Yeah.
Well of course, well, Space City Hill Network won't put
us on, and that's okay. We couldn't do some of
the things we want to do on this show. That's true.
If we were on TV yeah, but a little. My
grandma would be proud of me. So if they loosened
up to the purse strings a little bit and didn't
have some parameters we'd have to meet, it would be
in much better shape. Like like ninety percent of the music
we couldn't play on the show. Probably that's true. So
all right, h plus we I mean, we are handsome
enough as it is. Just come see us some person
we go sabor CAATs replay on So that's fine? Is
it really? That's what it is? Yikes? Seven two one
two five seven ninety seven one three two one two
five seven ninety we go to Is that bowling? Or
is that can't be right? Bowling Green? Robbie, where are
you calling us from?
Speaker 4: I'm calling from Bowling Texas. Actually right down here by Whartons.
Speaker 1: I've never heard. I have never heard of Bowling Texas. Thanks.
That's the population.
Speaker 4: Hey, you know we're a little well based on on
football numbers, we're a three A high school.
Speaker 1: Nice that might help you. Okay, what's the most exciting
thing to do in Bowling Texas?
Speaker 5: Uh?
Speaker 4: Lee, Yes, you know, go to go to a different town.
Speaker 1: All right, that's a that's a very good line, Ronnie,
I I applaud you for that, friend, Thank you.
Speaker 6: Hey, I wanted to.
Speaker 4: Talk about the Texans a little bit, the backfield situation.
Speaker 1: Yea.
Speaker 4: Now this new offense, you know, I don't. I'm not
sure it's more of a power scheme, right, that's my understanding?
Or is it still is still the zone type stuff
the one thing, the one thing that bothers me. If
it is more of a power scheme, that seems of
Pierce's ally right there to me. I know he's not
a good cutback guy. Yeah, I'm still kind of still
a Damian Pierce apologist, even with the room that we have, right, I.
Speaker 1: Understand, I have a terrible news for your Robbie. I
don't think he's gonna be on this football team come fall. Yeah, Nick,
Kaylee is supposed to do both, by the way, I mean,
when he was hired, they talked about zone and power
running and stuff like that. Because obviously with the Shanahan Tree,
with the what was his name, the previous offensive coordinator
we got fired, it was all a lot of zone
stuff and there was kind of a square peg into
a round hole with Damian Pierce. But I mean, Kaylee
says he's gonna do both. Yeah, the reality is you
took a fourth round pick on a guy and what
he marks, so you think he's gonna be able to
contribute right away. You went and got Nick Chubb in
early June, and you got Joe Mixon coming off a
thousand yard season. I think as a numbers game, I don't.
I'm not saying that Damian Pierce's career is over with.
I just think it's a situation where there's probably one
too many guys in the room. Bobby Slowak, I couldn't
come up with the name. Yeah, I got you. And
what's going on with Christian Walker? Is he ever gonna
hit again? That is a christ by way. What a
great segue on your part. That's a million dollar question,
you know. And here's the thing, Robbie, And thank you
for the phone call. We appreciate you listening. I I'm
team Christian Walker because uh and I this is probably
terribly biased, but eloquent guy willing to talk say some
things you value that you value the fact that he
has a track record of hitting twenty plus home runs
each and every year. You have a track He's got
a track record of three consecutive gold gloves at first base.
But man, it's just it's just not driving. It's just
not Yeah. Dana Brown mentioned this when he was on
the Sewan Salisbury Show, which he joins Wednesdays at nine thirty.
A little bit of bad batted ball luck, but that's
it's not a ton. And you tell me if I'm
getting too deep in the numbers weeds Matt. But sure,
batting average balls and play it can be you know,
like for example, Jake Myers, right, he put four balls
in play and got four hits? How many did he
really probably deserve the off that content? They were all
four of them were all soft contact, right, So so
that's very good batted ball luck. Sometimes it can go bad.
So in for his career, he's got two hits two
eighty two on batted balls. Right now, he's hitting two sixty.
That's a little low. But that's not crazy. That's not
like totally out of the realm of possibility. That doesn't
that doesn't shore up for all the batt at bats
that he's been having. Can I give you a dumb
down approach that I used? I mean, you know, you
tell me about how what the percentages off the bat
right yes, but if teams defend and have scouting reports,
which they do, they place their players in positions where
they have Christian Walker's got a history of hitting the baseball.
This could be Fenny player. So that's why to me,
this whole thing about the contact and this what do
they call it that when it's one six point seven? Oh,
the exit velo, exit vilo, to me means nothing because
I'd rather have Jake Myers soft hitting sixty eight point
seven and hitting more than ain't as compared to Well,
I know who Christian Walker is. I know he's a
power hitter. I know he doesn't hit. He hits left
of second base nine nine times out one hundred. I'm
gonna position my players the best way I can, and
if he hits it hard, I don't care it's selling out. Well,
it's like any number. It's about context. You would rather
have Tony Gwinn hitting him where he ate because he
can control the baseball a little bit better. Jake Myers
is going up there. It's not like Jake Myers is
manipulating the baseball and he's like one of the old
time great hit I don't but I don't need Jake
Myers swinging out of his shoes those at that point.
But if I get if you get one hundred guys
with the highest exit vlos and one hundred guys who don't,
I mean, the hundred guys with the highest x vlos
are gonna have the best are gonna be the best hitter.
You making theory they would be the power guys for example,
But that's also just I mean, he just hit line drives,
and keep hitting line drives and keep hit him in
high exit velos. If you look at the leader board
of exit velo every year, it's generally around the best
hitters in baseball, like Aaron Judge up there every year.
I think O'Neil Cruz is leading it this year. It
isn't a lot of that because they're just professional hitters.
I mean, when you are a superstar hitter, you're going
to have high exit villow. Yes, I yeah, there's a
positive correlation. But I'm talking about but we don't. We're
not putting Christian Walker in that particular category. We're putting
him in the mid range. He's a he's a mid
level major league player right now. Yes, that I think
is being defended properly because so for anybody. I'm not
saying you in particular for you to say, well, his
exit villo is amazing right now, it's not. It doesn't
translate where Aaron judges exit vlo to me is going
to mean a lot more because I know he is
a sprayer of the ball. He's got a he right
now as we speak, has a better track record of
getting on base and hitting home runs than Christian Walker does. Well, yeah,
he's a better hitter than Christian Walker. But also, I mean,
it's the years he's relative to the years in the past.
His numbers are down talking about batted luck and they
were defending him the same way in years past. It's
not like all of a sudden people just started defending
in a different way. Batted ball numbers go up when
they got rid of the shift slightly. But it's it
doesn't matter which way you slice it in. What you're
looking at Christian Walker is it is having a bad season.
I mean, and I know that the easy narrative is
he's jose A Brew two point zero. I'm not gonna
put him in that category, but he's closer to jose
A Braw than he is to urly Go Yulei Guriel.
I mean, I mean the samp we're in June now,
I mean the sample size is there. I mean he's,
like I said when he if he got the two
fifteen in his batting average, that would mean he's had
some sort of spark. Because right now, he entered the
game yesterday with a bating average of two oh seven.
He's having some bad luck. I know you don't want
to hear XPA, but he's underperforming his XBA. But also
the other things are bad for him. His strikeoup percentages
are way up, his walk percentages are way down. I
mean strikeout numbers. It's I think it's a little bit
of bad luck, but it's also just bad played appearances
and perhaps pressing still pressing too much. Well, whatever it is,
And here's the general aunime. The audience doesn't want to
get in the weeds of that. It's about performance. Going
to the baseball game, having runners at second and third,
Christian Walker, get a ball in the in the outfield,
bring a runner home, and more times than nine he's
not been able to do that. He's leaving a lot
of men on base. Yeah, well, he's not going to
just start choking up on the bat and start slapping singles.
I mean no, but I mean it sticks out. But
in the in fairness to him, he ain't the only one.
You've got significant amount of players in this baseball team
that are underperforming based on their previous offensive production. Yeah,
I don't think. I think we if Christian Walker weren't
struggling the way that he would, we'd be really locked
in on Janar Diaz. Yeah, and how bad he's been.
But yanted to get a sack fly yesterday, So it is,
you know, thank god people were on base. Yeah, it's
just yeah, it's not would have been nice. It's not
just the bases loaded. Yeah, all right? Seven one three
two one two five seven ninetie seven one three two
one two five SEVENANTI. There is a list of thirty Now.
USA Today does a lot of aggregating and a lot
of crazy ass stories. They have the list of the
thirty best stadiums one to thirty and Major League Baseball
Belt based on Yelp reviews. I'm going to be brutally honest.
I'm not a big fan of yelp, and I'm certainly
not a big fan of yelp that determining was my
favorite baseball stadium. I'll prove my point after I tell
you about the folks at the Shell Federal Credit Union.
All right, really quick, sixty seconds ross. Uh. I was
bumping around on satellite radio last night and the Gold
Cup friendly I guess or qualifier or I don't know
because I don't pay attention to soccer. But it was
something to new with Gold Cup and didn't involve a
strip club, so I really didn't know what it was about. Uh,
Switzerland played US. I thought it was just a friendly.
Maybe it was a friendly. I mean, I hell if
I know, but I don't know either to one in
Switzerland one four to zero, four to nil, I'm sorry,
don't say zero four nil? I thought I saw. I
thought it's the USA got a oh that's right? Four nothing?
Oh there it is? Yikes? Is that bad? Let's go
the Gold Cup warm up as what they're calling it.
It was warm. It was in Nashville, of all places.
How's the crowd. Let me say, if I can find
the summary that where they play in and they played
in the stadium, wore the Titans play I guess so, uh,
that's says Geo dis part No, that would be where
the Nashville team plays some sort of professional soccer. Doesn't
mention the attendance capacity was thirty thousand. I'm gonna imagine
it was close to that. It's so crazy that I
feel as big as there. And they have one referee,
well they have side, they have side, but on the side,
so basically I think there's three. And then I don't know,
if they had a video assistant referee, then you'll have
a guy who is like the video guy. Okay, v
A R as they call it. Not to put you
on the spot here, because we've still got a year
before this happens. Are you a little nervous about how
Team USA is going to do and this NetWorld coming
out being on the home soil. I'm almost gonna be honest,
I do. I watch most of European soccer. I'm not
really locked in on the on the United States team.
Speaker 7: OKAA hasn't caught up to the world of soccer, how
like basketball just not caught up in America.
Speaker 1: It's like that right now, and they still, yeah, they
still haven't done that. And this, I mean, this wasn't
even their a squad, right, You're asking the wrong person.
I don't think it was. I don't think it was
I'm looking at okay, but yeah, they're not very good.
I don't go see where they are world rankings. Do
Should we just give up?
Speaker 5: Why?
Speaker 1: Like Poland's basketball team, it's never gonna be team US. Yeah,
but they still have a team. I imagine it's still
gonna go for it. Yeah, but we but we as
USA is USA sports fans, we just don't go. Yeah,
you know, if we're not the best, why but I
don't all if we If we're not the best, you're
not there. If you're not first, your last. Yeah, that's
how I kind of feel about soccer. Okay, well, I
mean everys they don't finish first and everything, and they
don't just fold up the team and the women beat
up everybody. Yeah, the women are great. Yeah, but we
all but the Olympics usually we're usually top three medals. Yeah.
I think they've finished first the last time, right or close.
Speaker 7: I think we have first in overall medals and we
lost to China and gold medals.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, Okay, I'm just thrown it out there. I mean,
way are there is there? I would say there would be.
As a completely novice fan of this, I think there's
significant pressure for US US. We've been used to team
USA to perform better than we have in previous World Cup.
They are sixteenth in the world according to the FIFA
World Rankings. How many teams are to be ranked? I
mean over one hundred, that's not terrible. Kazakhstan is one
hundred and thirteenth. Case you're wondering, So we're like, we're
like the Fresno State of Soccer. I would say a
little better than that, right, Yeah? How about Miszoo? What
it's the Vanderbilt No, come on, man, it's top sixteen
out of two hundred and never been top sixteen in anything.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but they got bounce in the first round. Bye,
that's true. All right, that was consistently around like sixteen,
but never really threatens. I'm gonna I feel like Texas
techs like Misso how about Iowa State Iowa? That's really
that's a good pull, not bad? Or like Wisconsin. Yeah,
that works too. Two hundred and ten uh countries are ranked.
San Marino is last. No, wait minute, you can't ever
be worse than San Marino, just ahead of Angulia. Then
you're making up Country and US Virgin Islands. You're making
them names Luis and Katie had ten fifty four high. Luise, Hey,
good morning.
Speaker 6: Nucked me over about the soccer about the soccer team.
I'm from Venezuela and we've never been in the World Cup,
so we are like the Texas state of the of.
Speaker 1: The Oh, you're in the Texas State Penminal, Louise. That
was fair tastic pulled by you, my friend outstanding there
forty seven forty seven Minnezuela.
Speaker 6: I guess, guys, this is like a personal theory with Walker.
I think it might be that he's supposedly replacing Bragman. Uh,
he is a little pressure that he has to produce
home runs and and and when he comes to heat
in in the stadium, he's just looking for a home run.
I think that also happened with Ad. I'm all school
where baseball were the first hitter was usually a fat
guy contact heater that could put getting based. And then
the fourth and the third heater was probably the best one.
He could hit doubles at home runs. For the cleanup hitter.
Speaker 2: Was the home run guy.
Speaker 6: But now it seems like he's under pressure that he's
gotta hitt him a humbrun if he goes two for
four with no rubies. It's not a good day for him,
but he's not hitting the ball, so he's trying to
hit the homers. And maybe that when he's trucking out
so much and he's had a lot of pressure, I'm
wanna hang up a Laice a bit. Also, Also, as
it was, he was a very good hitter because he
could hit everything he was hit him homewer because he's
a stunky guy, this shrong guy. But now it seems
like he only wants to hit a home run and
then he's lost maybe a little that contact that he
used to have. Well, guys, I'm want to hang up
aliez In and listen to your great guy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I think Christian Walker's trying to figure
out something just to get on base. I mean, I
know he's heart, middle of the older guy. He wants
to be a guy that wants to provide power. He's
done so for much of his major league career. I
don't know him well enough to know if he's pressing,
but obviously when you are sitting here barely above two
hundred for as long as he has been he's got,
he's obviously feeling it. Frege and contract three year deal.
Good money. Yeah, I mean there's gotta be some he's
I don't think he's just going This has just been
a slow time for me. This is a slow time
that has gone on for two plus months. Well, good
thing is man, we have a trained eye to add
coming up in the next segment, and he will give
us the answer. He being Brian Bogus ten fifty seven
of them Matt Thomas Show with Ross. If you want
to join our conversation, we still ow you the thirty
ballparks according to Yelp by Way, I still got all
of you that. We'll get to that coming up in
just a little bit. Eleven oh one on Sports Talk seven.
How any time for us to spend ten quality minutes
with our friend Brian Bogus sevic He is working Space
City Home Network series against the Chicago White Sox. And
I told Brian yesterday I said, my good friend Shelby
is working with him on the broadcast. I said, you
need to throw her at curveball. So what did you
throw her yesterday? Come on, give me something that threw all?
What did you say you.
Speaker 8: Know I threw at her? Was that our microphones weren't
working on the set, so we had to leave right
before game time and run back to the studio and
haul over there to get ready for the show. That
was That was the big curve ball that was thrown
at everybody here.
Speaker 1: Now, if you were real gentleman, what you should have
done is got one of those guys as a bike,
you know, the right around downtown that gets you from
one spot to the other your parking spotcast, Yeah, rickshaw,
gets you a rickshaw next time. That had been really funny.
That's a good show.
Speaker 8: First first segment of the show from the rickshaw outside
of Dikan that that you'd have gotten some serious TV
writings to get you a little salary bump, just telling you, bogie,
this is how we dis how we do things, so
go a little outside the box.
Speaker 1: Hey. Uh. Had a couple of calls in a first
hour Brian about Christian Walker and it's not a slow start,
it's a prolonged slump for him offensively, and every time
you think he's gonna turn the corner, it just goes
back into a slump. What are you seeing with your
trained eye? What is it pressing? Is it bat speed down?
Combination of both because every time I think he's gonna
turn the corner, he unfortunately doesn't. It's two bad because
I do like him a lot. I do like his
glove at first base. I know he's trying. It's not
a question to want to, but the results just aren't
in right now.
Speaker 8: Yeah, it's it's a lot of things.
Speaker 1: I'll say.
Speaker 8: First of all, I don't see anything physically. I don't
think it's a oh my gosh, this guy got old
over the off seat, or the bat speed's gone, or
there's some big hole in his swing that needs to
be fixed.
Speaker 1: I think it's.
Speaker 8: A combination of a lot of outside factors.
Speaker 5: I know.
Speaker 8: You know y'all mentioned earlier the batting average on balls
in play.
Speaker 1: You know, there's a little bit of.
Speaker 8: Bad luck, you know, some balls not falling, some good
plays being made against them, balls hit right at people.
There's also, you know, he's he's had some pitchers make
some good pitches on him. You know, you know bad
luck that way where a borderline pitch doesn't go your way,
or you know, the first pitch is a perfectly located
pitch that that you're not going to swing at. Now
you're in a hole, and when things aren't going your way,
those things in your mind get magnified. I mean I
remember there being times standing in the batter's box thinking, Okay.
Speaker 1: Here's my time.
Speaker 8: I'm gonna get a good a good first pitch right
down the middle of fat one to hit and get
dotted up in your O one and it's like deflation.
Here we go again. And you can see some at
bats from Christian Walker here there when when something doesn't
go his way, where you can just see him thinking like,
oh man, here we go again. It's happening again. Today's
not going to be the day. I think there is
also something to be said about just the astros middle
of the order in general. I mean, it's been inconsistent
at best in those three, four, five six spots throughout
the course of the year. You know, I think not
having healthy productive Yordon in there, having Yainer being up
and down, Housael Tuve has been up and down all
of a sudden. Christian Walker can be more of a
focus from opposing pitching staff and how they're game planning
for the lineup as a whole. You know, if you've
got Yordon hitting in front of or behind him, maybe
they're saying, hey, Christian Walker is going to be the
guy that we're going to go after, and then all
of a sudden he gets some better pitches to hit. So,
you know, it's usually a combination of a lot of things.
And when you're in the situation that he's in where
you're struggling, you know you're struggling, you're pressing because you
want to get out of it, All of those things
feel even more magnified than necessarily what we're seeing from
the outside side. So yeah, I think it's just a
lot of things going on and swimming all in his
head at once.
Speaker 1: Last question about him, they'll go to some other things.
If we were to find out Brian that his bat
speed was down a tick a significant amount, how do
you fix that? How could you fix that? What adjustments
would you make? If you if you found out yourself,
Bolgie that your bat speed was down from a year ago,
what would you do?
Speaker 8: Yeah, well, the first thing I would do would be
look and see if there are mechanical reasons for it,
not necessarily strengths, age, injury, physical types of things. Is
there extra length in your swing that's slowing it down
or are you trying to do you know, are you
over swinging, therefore not being as quick as you need
to be. I would first look at that kind of stuff,
and then what you do is you look for, you know,
game plan adjustments, approach adjustments. You look at Eastock parades.
He doesn't have elite elite bat speed, but he can
turn on anything that anybody throws at him, and it's
just a matter of what pitches you're looking for, kind
of how you set up in the batter's box, how
you're working in at that So back speed isn't necessarily
the end all be all of being able to hit,
but it is a big part of the calculus in
how you go about approaching an entire at bat and
how you're going to attack certain pictures with different repertoires.
So even if that speed is down a little bit,
that's not really an end all be all of what
you can do at the place.
Speaker 1: Brian bogasvik with us here on Sports Talk seven ninety
and not just Walker, but just Diaz or anybody who's struggling.
Can you just kind of take us through what is
happening behind the scenes right now in your mind, as
far as you mentioned changing game plans and approaches, what
is the kind of mental battle that these guys are
going through where you don't want to reinvent the wheel,
but obviously what's happening right now isn't working.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I think one of the biggest, one of the
biggest battles that you're fighting when you're in a prolonged
slump is not trying to do too much and therefore
dig yourself into a deeper hole. You know, Oftentimes you're
not as far away as you might feel, especially you know,
sometimes you'll feel like, oh my god, my swing is
in a terrible spot, and then you go watch the
video and you're like, man, it doesn't look a whole
lot different from what it normally looks like. So you
don't want to go do major overholes, you know, unless
you absolutely have to. But it's small things. It's maintenance
work in the cage, it's watching video to make sure
you're not, you know, doing something in your setup. There's
kind of low hanging fruit things that you can fix
pretty quickly. You know, oh i'm a little bit more
closed off than I want to be, or a look,
my hands are drifting away from my body a little bit.
Those are kind of quick, easy fixes, So you're always
trying to stay on top of that with video stuff,
and a lot of it has to do with the
game planning. You know, who are we facing today, what
is he like to do? What is he going to
try to do against me? And how can I try
to tip the scales in my favor. You know, if
you're feeling a little bit long in your swing and
you're having trouble well catching up to fastballs at the moment, Well,
what's this guy's best off speed stuff?
Speaker 1: What counts?
Speaker 8: Did he like to throw his off speed stuff? When
can I hunt something soft out over the plate that
I can use the whole field and not necessarily have
to turn on high velocity. So doing things like that
that can maybe get you going a little bit, because
you know what you perceive as happening when you're struggling.
Oh my gosh, this guy made a pitch against me.
I'm screwed in this at that. You brush those things
off very quickly once those balls start dropping in and
all of a sudden and oh, one count is like, Okay,
he made his pitch. I'm going to get him on
the next one. So it's just about trying to play
these little mental games and almost tricking yourself into thinking, okay,
I'm fine now, because once you think that, you usually are.
Speaker 1: Do you think at this point, maybe Walker and some
of these other guys are just like, get me to
the All Star break. I like a mental break, some
days off and some rest and relaxation to kind of
just reset for the second half of the season.
Speaker 8: It could help, you know, a couple of days off,
a couple days away from it to just kind of
be compressed. But also, you know, you can get a
fresh start without necessarily having to have that natural break
in the season. If all of a sudden you have
a good series and you can say, okay, from this
point going forward, what is my season? That's as good
as a restart as you need. If you can look,
you know, once you get to this point two hundred
at bats or so, you know, if you're in a hole,
you're not going to dig your way out. Like Christian
Walker is not going to hit three hundred this year,
but he can look and say, hey, starting on you know,
June fifteenth forward, I hit three hundred with an eight
to fifty ops and just kind of play play those
games in your head. So yes, any kind of a
refresh restart is helpful, but it doesn't have to be
necessarily a break in the schedule.
Speaker 1: Paul get the Astros are in the midst of a
thirteen game stretch of consecutive games without a day off.
Well going back to a six man rotation? Are we
should we be further preparing? Should major League teams further
for for the eventual rotation to go to six more
times than not? And the biggest benefit obviously is keeping
your starters of the extra day arrest. The biggest negative
is you're down an arm in the bullpen.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I think I think teams are coming around to
the fact that if not using it on a very
regular basis, being able to go to that six man
rotation at times. It's just with the amount of injuries
that pile up. First of all, you have to have
the depth in the organization, so you might as well
use it. And also any mileage that you can take
off of your guys is probably worthwhile. There's always the
balancing act of you know, for one short in the
pen and we get a short start, how do we
make up for that? But you know, that's the manager's shop.
The manager can figure that out. The pitching coach can
figure that out and kind of have these swing guys
that can go back and forth. But yeah, it's it's
quite obvious now that at some point during the season
you're gonna have to go to a six man rotation.
At some point during the season, you're probably going to
have to dip into your you know, eighth, ninth tense
guys in the depth chart. So when you I think
we're going to see teams start signing, developing, trading for
just these gluts of starting pitching because you're going to
need them at some point, you know, going into the season.
Oh my gosh, how are they going to find innings
for all these guys? Trust me, you'll find them eventually.
And I think teams are just finding that it's just
going to be worthwhile to start stockpiling innings.
Speaker 1: Come more minutes here with Brian Bogasovic from Space City Network.
Here on The Matt Thomas Show with Ross, I am
frankly surprised how much second base Jose Altuve is playing.
Are we going to see more of that? Because the
spot has not been offensively a good spot and the
fact that Melton's been playing some left field. You'll get
your do on back. Eventually you can throw Duban out there.
What is your take on what you've seen so far
and what if you were to get your crystal ball out?
How much second base will Jose play the rest of
the season.
Speaker 8: Well, yeah, I think there's a lot of things that
play into it. First of all, I think I think
I think the coaches have done a really good job
this year with all of the moving pieces defensively that
they have all the different guys in the outfield, mixed
the rotation at second base. They've done a really good
job maximizing whatever they're doing on that day, that they
have a really good feel for, you know, what the
matchups are with the pitchers and who should be ware.
So yeah, I think we're going to keep seeing guys
moved around. But the biggest question is when Jordan comes back,
what does that do? How much outfield is he going
to play? Is he going to occupy that DH spot
all of the time. I do think it is a
huge weapon, especially on the road, when you can go
Melton Myers and Cam Smith in the outfield. That is
a really good defensive outfield, And if you're playing somewhere
that has a lot of space out there in the outfield,
it's a pretty big advantage. So if that results in
Jose moving to more second base, and look until somebody,
you know, until Mariso Dubon or Brendan Rodgers goes over
there and starts consistently hitting for an extended period of time,
is going to be a rotation. And moving al twove
in and out of the outfield and out of DH
to second base is going to be part of that.
But I can foresee a scenario if it comes to
this where if you're not as occupying a ton of
DH when he comes back and we're trying to get
these three outfielders mixed in or Dezenzo once he comes
back into the mix of Jose playing more second base,
just based on what you're trying to now maximize from
an offensive standpoint.
Speaker 1: And speaking of those guys you mentioned the outfield, another
week of sample size with Jake Melton, what you're seeing
from him at the plate and then camp Smith as well.
And I thought over the weekend that a bet where
he knocked in those two runs was a great at
bat from him seeing the cutter outside and then sending
the other way knocking in two.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I think, you know, from from a mountain standpoint,
the tools have always been there. Everybody's really always raved
about the physical tool, speed, power to defense and everything.
It's always the question has always been how much contact
is there going to be? How well can he handle
the strike zone. He's done a pretty good job. I
know he's struck out some, but it's not like these overmatched,
blow your doors off type of strikeouts. He's battling, he's
seeing pitches, he's laying off of tough pitches, getting pitches
into the zone, and that's that's a very good sign.
I would have to imagine that the ashers are pretty
pleased with how he's handled the strike zone since he's
been there, because that will allow the tools to play,
and you know, what he brings to athletically is pretty impressive.
If there's enough contact there, there's going to be a
lot of tools to play. And you know, from Cam Smith,
he just continues to progress. I mean, they're they're the
adjustments that he's been asked to make on the fly
at the big league level. First time seeing major league pitching,
it's been pretty amazing of what he is now versus
what he was at the beginning. Of the season in
terms of his setup, his rhythm, his ability to get
on fastballs, his ability to turn on pitches you know
where the contact points are. So it's been a lot
of really good developments at the big league level, which
is a really difficult things to do.
Speaker 1: Aggie, great stuff is always look forward to catching you
and Shelby on TV tonight Astros in White Sox game
number two. Thanks to the visit, and we'll talk again
next week. All right, you guys got it. That's Brian
Bogasvik every Wednesday with us at eleven o'clock right here
on Sports Talk seven. We have shut your ball mass
up and ain't nobody got time for that coming up
in fifteen minutes. You got some things you got to
get out your chest. I'm feeling all right right now.
I guess I can come up with something. Yeah, I mean,
your life is full of aggravations and disgust. It's oh,
you know, what what did I do when you pip
something that rosted or something that happened in your life.
I'm gonna let you go first. Then, okay, I gotta
I gotta go after somebody too. Not happy? All right,
as promised? How does Yelp think major League baseball parks. Look,
we'll give you the tails in that in a minute
eleven fifteen on Sports Talk seven Hot you generally speaking
ross about Yelp reviews. Do you believe them? Do you
take them with a grain of salt? Do you are
they treated by you as guy gospel? Uh, definitely not gospel.
It also depends on the place in the restaurant and
the type of restaurant. I always look at it for restaurants,
but sometimes things can be skewed one way or another
depending on a place. We can have great food with
bad service, And generally on Yelp it's going to be
lower than Google because I think people want to go
to Yelp to complain. If you had a great experience
at a restaurant or a normal one that was fine,
you're not going to run to Yelp. If somebody pissed
you off and you got bad service, You're more likely,
just human nature to go online and be spiteful or
look for revenge, or want to get noticed, or maybe
even try to get something free out of the deal
and put something negative out there. All Right, So I
didn't know yelp did ballpark reviews. I didn't know they
did so USA Today Today did a story about Yelp
reviews of ballparks. Okay, I'm going to give you from
we'll do from five down to one. In the will
put in perspective a couple of the ballparks. And I
think this list is frankly ridiculous. Coming at number five.
This is a scale I believe out of one to
five stars. At number five is Wrigley Field in Chicago.
It feels good to me on that one, Yeah, okay,
And I don't want to get into a deep dive
on that on why it is, but let's just we'll
get to the deep dive on a couple of other ones.
At number four is Oriel Park at Camden Yards, the
Orioles play, and I had been to that ballpark and
I would agree that is a top five ballpark for me.
So so far, I'm pretty good about this, okay. At
number three Fenway Park. Fenway Park has got really great food,
but it's a pain of the ass to get around.
The seats are externally narrow. M when people used to
be smaller. Well, yeah, because the food at ball at
Fenway Park is good. At the food one is good.
People would be the school. That's right, squeeze it in there.
Uh So, if you love history and you love nostalgia,
it's your place. But if you love to be able
to figure out where you're going in the concourses and
being able to get restrooms that aren't with troughs for
rest for stalls and whatnot, it's not your place, okay.
Number two Oracle Park in San Francisco. I've been there before,
I've seen two games before. It's a nice stadium. I
wasn't blown away by it. I was blown away more
by the ambiance, you know, with McCovey cob out in
right field. Beautiful. Well, I will never go to a
night game there ever. Again, I can tell you that,
for damn sure, that was Unbelievable's put your long John's
on wind. And the number one ballpark which I have
not been to is PNC Park in Pittsburgh, And I
think part of it is because of the fact that
you've got the bridge and all that right there, the
perfect setting baseball. So uh noticeably, there are some ballparks
that are not on the life in the top five
that I would have put in. Let me tell you
where some other Poule parks that I think a lot
of our audience has been to that you could grate
it on coming in at Let's see here number twelve,
Peco Park. I have been to Peco. It's spectacular. I
love it. I would be my top five. I'd put
it in a top five. I have not been to
T Mobile Park. Have you been to the T Mobile Park again? Seattle? Yeah?
And I thought it was great. Okay, let's see here
a few more that we're getting towards the middle of
the pack. Here Coursefield at seventeen. I loved Corsefield. Is
it part of that is because the fact the team
sucks so bad you just get in there and felt greats.
I got greats. I got like a twenty rows back
behind home plate for like fifty bucks free sweet. I
hate to tell you this. Yankee Stadium, Noos Yankee Stadium
is really very spacious and comfortable and food is good.
It got ranked eighteenth on the list, which one Yankee
Yankee Stadium. Maybe a lot of people hating on the Yeah,
this is just hanging that feels like that's more. It
could be lower good. It's just I think it's I
think it's the Yankee hatred. I think what you could
be going there and getting heckled by Yankee fans and
they're throwing beers at you. I'd give them one stars.
Uh number this is the one that really stuns me. No,
that's not true. Uh oh, here we go at number
twenty one dayik in park. What's the overall rating? Three
point nine out of five. That's pretty good on ouda
yelp twenty one. Jennifer g Rights. Giveaways to the ballpark
this year are not like knowing what the secret code
is for a hideout. You are there more hours for
the game starts and still not receiving the promotion. Even
with boxes of giveaways left, they're either set aside for others,
or if you go on the entrance it doesn't have
the item. You can't get one at another entrance as
re entry is not allowed. Two stars. Levy A rights
great ballpark, but the security has the biggest power trip imaginable. Also,
there is a nasty lady who is one of the
secure guards who cussed me out because I forgot my
jacket and I had to go back down to get it.
Three stars. There's nobody cussing this guy out I'm calling
bsm leve. So this is why, in my mind, YELP sucks.
You got you get two bitties here who are pissed
off for all the wrong reasons. Yeah, twenty one out
of thirty because of the LP reviews. Yeah, but that's
that's another thing too. When you see Sogner Stadium twenty second,
Dodger Stadium for being an old place and for things
in California that don't have nostalgic, is nostalgic and fantastic.
I love Dodger Stadium. That's a twenty two. Uh. And
then you're saying to yourself, what could be the absolute
worst coming in at number thirty? Drum roll, please my mom.
Boom boom, boom boom, look at you. By the way,
it's not Sacramento, it's not it's not Tampa. Oh that
was a good Tampa was gonna be? My guess it
is and I'm this is this is there's somebody themselves
somebody adds on this website. Fine, it's getting more time
to think. Oh, not a bad choice. Global Life Field
in Arlington. They're the worst. Okay, B D B E
E B D. First of all, name somebody named B
that isn't at least seventy five years old, and it's Bebe.
My name is B and I went to help to
say the following.
Speaker 7: This place is abiss undrained staff, zero consistency, absolutely no
regard for.
Speaker 1: A customer experience. Wait, why did you start talking like
a like a Victorian Arab. Whether you're a VIP or
a general admission, expect chaos and confusion. One star. Shut
your bomb ass up. B. Here's Mike B. I don't
know they're related or not. Absolutely, hands down the worst
MLB stadium I've ever been to, and I've been over fifteen.
The food choices are pathetic. Layout to get around the
stadium is pathetic. No one knows how to get from
level to the level, and you have to walk a
country mile or walk up three flights of stairs again anywhere.
I would never give this place a time in my
life again or my money. One star. I will say
the layout did suck and it was kind of confusing. Yeah,
that's when I was there, when we went there for
the twenty twenty three ALCS because they gave us food vouchers,
so we had to go out in the into the
water on the media dining now they didn't have media dining, right,
I hope so we had food vouchers. Would you get
barbecue is a good tato? It was good bed right. Stop,
there's no year old bend. Are you okay? No? I
just was doing I thought it was a pretty decent beat.
I thought it was fantastic. Thank you all right. Time
for some people to shut their bumbmasses up here.
Speaker 9: Let me again, tamp here, Let me get tap here,
Let me get tamped it here, Let me get tampeded. Care,
let me get tamped it Garlet again tamp here, Let
me get tap here, Let me get tamped it.
Speaker 2: All.
Speaker 1: Right, Here we go, big baby you ready seven one
three two one two five seven ninety seven one three
two one two five seven nine zero. Somebody bothering you
this week, Somebody yelling at you for all the wrong reasons,
somebody giving you terrible advice. Tell them to shut their
bomasses up, mate, then you play it. I bet shits
o bum ass up man much better. Or if somebody
at the office is taking their time firing off sound bites,
not playing them in proper speed in context.
Speaker 7: Aintybody got time for that, right, donathanybody there?
Speaker 1: You go let's go seven one three two one two
five seven honey ticket Master, Oo, you put their name
on it. My son and I, my middle son, Peyton,
and I are going to Vegas later on tonight tomorrow.
We're going to see Barry Manilow. Ticket Master's on that.
My wife bought the tickets. Okay, we go to transfer them. Uh? Oh,
the tickets for this concert are non transferable. What so
I get on the chat and I and I chat
with something called a Roger. This is not AI, this
is a real person. I got past the AI real
quick and I said, Hey, Roger, my wife's was I
was pretending I was her. I need to transfer these
tickets to my husband. Oh, I'm sorry, we can't transfer
these tickets. At what point does any concert, under any circumstance,
with any ticket app not allowed transfers. Ain't nobody got
time Ticketmaster for me to have to chase down these
tickets the night before I'm going to see the legendary
berry Man Love. Ain't nobody got time for that.
Speaker 9: Ain't nobody got time for that?
Speaker 1: Wow, I'm surprised. I Mean, I've heard of this, but
usually it's for like very important, big concerts. I understand.
Barry Manilow is a big concert. Clearly, it's very important.
I want to get sued all the time. You take
get mastered. He's always getting sued. I got issued. I
thought that. I thought the Department of Justice was breaking
them up. I think that still. I think it's still
in the postage. Okay, lawyers are getting paid. It exists.
You guys are good ticketers, Ticketmaster, you suck. Ain't nobody
got time for me to have to chase this down.
I'm mad, Sorry, Matt, That's all I got for now. Jonathan,
you said you're gonna let him go first. But I
just know that was a good one. I like that
was a good take a mess with one.
Speaker 8: I like that.
Speaker 1: Thank you.
Speaker 7: It's okay, But I need everybody to understand, especially in
this building. I got a small ton of time to
go use the restauranm I can I go into this
restroom almost every week, I'm gonna stall. I don't care.
I'm the one who gets a little paper and put
it on the seat. You know, you know, do my thing.
Speaker 1: Uhh, I go into the stall. I go in stall one.
Speaker 7: Why does it look like Hiroshima got this the toilet
like someone who dropped in the toilet and leave all
the water on the seat. I'm like, so I slip
a little bit. It's in both of the stalls, but
the bigger one. How do you make a bigger mess?
Speaker 1: Do you know what we call the bathrooms in our office?
Don't you know?
Speaker 7: I thought that it still smelled like the dude was there,
like you had just left.
Speaker 1: Ain't nobody got time for that?
Speaker 7: And I'm so upset that I couldn't get my relieve myself.
Speaker 9: Ain't nobody got time for that?
Speaker 1: Oh? I think bathroom eticquitt is horrendous in office buildings.
That's why the number one rules should be. And we've
told this before, go to a different floor, by the promise.
You don't have time to different floor exactly, certainly not
with these elevators. Jam this, you'll be stuck at for
ten minutes an elevator. Wow, I ain't have anything to say.
That's disgusting. I was so irate. Oh yeah, nothing to say?
No seven one three two one two like a horse
barn in there too often? Yes, I told you I've
been trying to eat better. Yeah, a little bit more, penny,
stay off the whornmill. Chili seven one three two one
two five seven ninety seven one three two, one two
five seven ninety I got another one for you. Okay,
backing into your parking spot? Guy? What what? You'm backing
into the parking what's up? You get one chance and
one chance on that. I'm not gonna sit there and
watch you curve and move your and finagle your way through.
If you can't do it on the first try, ain't
nobody got time for you to try it four and
five attempts when you're backing up traffic. Now, I would
say eighty five percent of the time I get it
right first, but sometimes you got to retrain. But if
you see somebody that needs to go by, you let
them go by. And that's what I would. I have plenty,
plenty of respect for you for saying that there are
too many people that just want to try. These people
aren't paying attention. They live in their own world. Yes,
I'm with you, but I would say, yeah, I im
back into spot most of the time.
Speaker 7: I think Matt pulls in every time. I think I've
seen them every time, pull in, pull in, or pull out. Okay,
we're moving on. I'm trying to be better to you.
Speaker 1: Notice I'm not taken any shots anybody Today's I'm trying
to be a better person. Okay, except Ticketmaster. You guys
absolutely one percent suck. Sorry, Matt. They are the worst.
So here's what we've done. I've figured it out how
to do it. I have now my wife's email account
and her password on my phone, so now I'm entering
as her on my phone. Okay, Now I got the tickets.
That's smart, but it doesn't need to be. Transferring should be,
should be an elementary process. It's not. I don't think
that's Ticketmaster's call. Actually, I think very that's Barry Manilo's
old I'm Barry Manilow. Shut your bow mass up for
doing that. That's when they try to freeze out scalpers.
But it's trying to freeze out scalpers. But who's scalping
a ticket to Barry Manilo? Plenty of people are. He
sells on Las Vegas, constantly sold on Cleveland last week.
The man is an international superstar. Does he come out
in the hospital bed? That's not nice? Seven three two?
By the wait, we uh uh, My son and I
have decide we're gonna go see a concert on Friday
night too, We're gonna go see Carrot Top again, one
of Matt Thomas's five most hilarious comedians of all time.
And that was a win. On the Fantas. You lost,
you lost, you sure lost. Yes, you had Karen Top
and you had Lisa I had like Chris Rock. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah,
you got crushed, Matt, as you should have Maddie on
seven on Maddie wins the matter with you.
Speaker 10: To Rob Manfred in Major League Baseball. John boy has
lied and misled the MLB community for years, and now
you're partnering with him while you send Ceac desist letters
to the Apop Boys for having watched parties, Rob Manfred,
Ain't nobody got time for that?
Speaker 9: Ain't nobody got time for it?
Speaker 1: Well kind of watch parties. Somebody got me really met,
I ain't nobody got time for you eating? Mid segment?
You starting, so he asked the question and then he eats, sorry,
and I should not have done that. I apologize. Really,
Clinton's gonna have to clean some jumbal eye off of
that microphone. I know it's clean now. I disinfected it.
Uh yeah, I think there was. M Malban was disallowing
somebody to have a watch party. I'm not exactly sure
what was going on.
Speaker 7: Okay, they were, Oh, they gave a season assist for
another watch party about their games, I believe, and that's
what he was talking about.
Speaker 1: Okay. Yeah, universally discussed in the ballpark yesterday that it
was that, that it was John Boy Media was. If
they weren't a fan of the Yankees, it wouldn't be
a big deal at all that the Yankees in their
traffic helped them decide we need some more of the
young people in there, Like if they were, yeah, instead
of talking Yanks, they were talking Bruke. If they were,
they're doing deep dive on talking Marlins. What they would
not have signed minority invest probably not. Seven one three
two one two five seven ninety seven one three two
one two five seven nine zero more of shut your
ball mass up. Ain't nobody got time for that? Coming up?
After I tell you about Affordable Tree service seven one
three two one two five seven ninety that's how you
reach us. Ain't nobody got time for you not to
call this show. You got plenty of time to call.
This is your this is the safe space.
Speaker 9: Ain't nobody got ten right?
Speaker 1: Yes? Did you say anything this week? Oh you no,
you skip me in and I said it's my turn,
and then you went to the caller. Oh Ross, what's
the matter with you this week? Let's sign I got on?
Forget it? You do have something? Come on you? You
live your life full of this. Audience wants to hear you, Pross. No, No,
it doesn't matter. Fine, Uh, I'm gonna go with the
NBA in general. Multiple days off in between NBA Finals games,
Horrible presentation by ESPN. Then they put clip art Larry
O'Brien trophies on the court on game number two after
everyone complains about game number one. I mean, could you
have ask it even anymore? It's the NBA Finals, It
should be a big deal and it's not. And the
ratings are bad and clearly people are tuning out, and
ESPN and the NBA are not doing themselves any favors.
Ain't nobody got time for that?
Speaker 9: Ain't nobody got time for dead?
Speaker 1: Bless you? David in Vegas, David, what's going on with you?
Speaker 11: Oh I've got uh, nobody got time for this? That
I know is a New York complaint with YouTube.
Speaker 1: Yes, go for it, Yes, yes.
Speaker 11: Mister claimed to be a sports bar, but bad sports
bar operator. I just came back a week and weekend
family vacation with my whole family in Utah, and two
nights we decided we wanted to go out as a
family and watch the NBA Finals game at a sports
bar at places that advertise as the best sports bars
in the area, with all the yell previews and everything.
First night, for game one, we go walking into a
place thirty TVs right around tip off time, not a
single one. It's turned onto the game, and you know,
we talked to the guy about it, and he says, okay,
we'll find it for you, sure or no problem. Struggles
around with it, can't find a channel. Finally says who's
playing in this game? I you know, I try not
to roll my eyes. I say Oklahoma City and Indiana,
Like that's going to help him find it anyway, you know.
Ten minutes into the game, we finally get it. Of course,
no sound, we got music and everything else like that.
Speaker 1: So on.
Speaker 11: Then for game two we go in and we find
a much better, much higher rated dedicated sports guard calling
a vance everything. Also walked in there. There's thirty screens
on there, about a single one of them, except.
Speaker 1: I'm telling you, David, you got to get that name
of those companies and let me know because my company
Remote for you dot biz will come to your rescue.
It just w yeah, ain't nobody got time for that?
Thank you, David. Hey, David, I feel you're paying my brother.
I do ROSSI promote few dot biz. I'm gonna put
it publicly available for you to invest stock in it,
publicly treat it immediately. I'm ready to go. Who's your
top employee? Me in best stock with what money? Oh?
Who's your money? My sons are involved in it. Who's
your second best employee? Cameron Thomas?
Speaker 8: Oh?
Speaker 1: Where what was he? The last dispatch to?
Speaker 2: Uh?
Speaker 1: Really, you're lying? And then we sent my son Peyton
to Bapplebee's and we sent my daughter Carly to uh
Roda got the yellowstone of remote. Rana. Yeah, they sell sounds. Oh,
who's watching sports? And Rrana salad place Remote for you
dot biz came a Messadian with extra fea and put
on the NBA Finals. That's exactly right. Seven one three,
two one two five seven outie Brian at Love and
fifty two Brian would the matter with you?
Speaker 2: Hey, Matt Hey Ross first long time.
Speaker 1: That's not your first time. It's not your first time.
We have you on that. We have you on the
screen here as a frequent caller. You're a liar.
Speaker 2: First time long time man.
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, do.
Speaker 2: You guys know who what Brian?
Speaker 8: This is?
Speaker 1: Yes?
Speaker 3: I do.
Speaker 1: I don't know if Matt does? You know, Matt? Matt's
a little slow. And then on the uptake, go ahead.
Speaker 2: Who is this Matt? Come on, let's go figure it out.
Speaker 1: Oh, let me guess this is a guy that would hmmm,
that would take a picture of himself and put it
on Instagram in a spaseball uniform.
Speaker 2: Oh here we go. Okay, all right, first of all,
let's get something straight. That was three two four sports.
Check them out on Instagram. They do really good coverage
of youth sports.
Speaker 1: Should be cool?
Speaker 2: Was playing sports?
Speaker 1: She does? She does play youth sports, but shouldn't take
picture of herself and put them on her Instagram.
Speaker 2: I don't either. I don't even have Instagram.
Speaker 1: Okay, I'm sure you do. You got you guys and burners.
I know I know how you roll. I know you
wrep around town. Brian.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Anyways, anyways, Hey, I'm actually out here at Men's t
Clinic Men's Tea Clinic dot com check it out, proud
home of UH Sports Talk seven ninety. So you guys
went to Chili's, Applebee's and Solata Is that right? Is
that where your family went.
Speaker 1: For to watch basketball? No, that's those are new clients
of remote for you dot biz.
Speaker 2: Oh okay, but you guys can't say because that's like
a bit you guys do. I don't know. This is
my first time listening. I'm curious, all right, Seriously, I
just wanted to do this. Saytan, shut your bam mats.
Speaker 1: Up, go for it. The floor is yours.
Speaker 2: So the guy that just called in Maddie like too,
like last segment, it's uh he talked about Apollo, the
group that I'm in, and we did get season desist
from Major League.
Speaker 1: Oh yep, Matt.
Speaker 2: But Matt, you asked the question and then you started
to eat a Glizzie in the middle of the radios,
in the middle of the studio, and no one has
time for that.
Speaker 1: Oh God, I'm being so out of by a former
coworker of mine. Oh this is this is a low
point of my broadcast career.
Speaker 2: I mean, oh, hey, I just want in all seriousness,
I listen to you guys quite often. I miss you guys.
Hope everyone's doing well. You bring laughter to my drive
when I'm cruising around the city because I'm a corporate guy. Now,
Matt Ross, you know it is what it is, and.
Speaker 1: You're making I mean, let's tell people. Let's tell people
you're doing better. You're making double what Ross is making
right now minimum.
Speaker 2: I can't confirm or deny Matt Ross grinds.
Speaker 1: Okay, yes, he's a grinder and not a grind. Hey,
it's good to hear your voice. Do not be a stranger.
You know you're always welcome to call the show.
Speaker 2: I appreciate it. Guys, Thank you all Right's.
Speaker 1: Every body, especially if you're gonn tell Matt to shut
your bum mass up. He didn't say that at all,
Say what's up on? Nothing? All right? But that's because
he's rude that way. I've only had a like two
contacts with him. Oh okay, you guys are like passing
like ships in the night. Yeah, we lose employee, we
fill it right back up like oil. No, like big money, right,
the big machine. And he's one of the best youth
baseball coaches in Houston. Yeah, he and the I don't know,
the bandits or something, the bandidos, And he loves going
out with divorce moms. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.
I don't know if he does. First of all, what's
wrong with that? If that's true or not? I justid
it could be. I mean that would be if you're
a single, good looking guy, wouldn't you let me part
of your racket? Go coach you sports and hang out
with the divorce a moms? Yeah, what do you mean
I can't pay tuition?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 1: I bet you can't pay that tuition. Oh that's that
seems that certainly happened before. And I'm uncomfortable now. You
can't be uncomforable. Thirty seven year old mom says, Hey,
come over and have dinner with us. Give my son
a lesson. I'll give you a lesson. Give a little
Timmy a ben a drill. Little Timmy's fourteen. I don't
think he needs one drills. And you bring the youth
baseball coach over to the house. Half shot a night quill,
put it in a shot glass. What are you putting?
I mean, drugs are you putting in this kid's body?
He's sick. You gonna wake up hungover? Man, Mom, what
is my problem? I had this terrible dream that our
coach was at our house last night until three am
and he wanted to cuddle. All right? That is that
is such a bumbass up that he might get time
for that. Let's get to the news that do. We
have a little bit of NBA breaking news from Sham Sharani.
We'll get to that. It's not breaking, but it's developing news.
We'll put it that way. Seven one three two, one
two five seven ninety seven one three two one two
five seven nine zero. Also coming up in about forty
minutes from now, we're gonna visit with our friend Vanessa Richardson.
She'll be working the sidelines on the ESPN radio broadcast
of game number three in the NBA Finals from Indianapolis.
The Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder are tied at
a game apiece twote two in Houston. What's happening, lunch timers,
Good afternoon to you our number three of them, Matt Thomas,
Showood Ross. By the way, y'all can slim on me
all you want from Menelo and Cara Top I'm gonna
have a great time. Y'all can suck it. Tell him
to shut their bumbasses. Trying to be nice about it.
Y'all be taking unnecessary shots at me one person on Twitter.
I appreciate that, and you agree with it, and you
you and ha ha ha ha ha. I don't know
shot mao ha ha Is that true? I don't think
I did it. It's terrible. Yeah, you put three crapping, crying,
laughing emoji. Try to interact with people who are listening
on Twitter. I appreciate them, you know, man, I just
you know, don't take it personally, which is I do
take it personal. It wasn't about you. It's just, you know,
try to interact with the people at sports r V
cart Tops. The ugly one that's like really old now right,
and well, he's a prop comic and it's a very
vulgar show. He's a prop comic. He's extremely unfunny, and
nobody respects him. And he's had a lot of work done. Yes,
nobody respects him. Look at his face, you know what.
I kind of felt bad for him. It was one
of the roasts that they were doing and he was there,
and everyone who did a roast, like crushed him talking
about his mangled face from his surgeries, and then they
showed him walking out of there like, man, I gotta
go look in the mirror. Is something wrong with my face?
I don't understand because I I've seen him in performance
once before and it was really funny. It was it
was slapstick. It was the lowest. It was the l
c D of comedy, but still funny. It's an LCD screen.
I mean, it was crystal. It was a high brow
Seinfeld comedy. Okay, yeah, that's what you love, man, That's okay. Yeah,
that's what I'm saying. Don't steal my joy. Yeah, we
don't want to be a thief of joy. If you
love Carrot Top. I didn't say anything about it. I
don't love him, but uh, my plans got changed. I
thought you love I thought the Space Cowboys were there,
and they're not. So uh. I just said, let's go
see something because my son does. We're not gonna go
see Kenny Chesney and we're not gonna go burlesque show
or something like that. I mean, is Shin Limb there?
Who Shin Limb? Don't know who that is? It's the uh,
it's the uh the magic guy. I want to see him.
I'm not a magic person. I don't want to go
see Blue Man Group or any of that crap like that.
So I'm gonna go look at uh go listen to
the Carrot Type in life a little bit, and I
present to you at Total four the News at noon.
He's at the Venetian. How much sakets I have to
go see?
Speaker 8: All right?
Speaker 1: When are you guys there? We're leaving tonight. Wea they're permitting.
Oh yeah, he's at the Palazzo Theater, the Banatza. Go
see him at the Balla. I didn't see Ringo Star
at the palazz while I was there last time, really
and the All Stars. I thought Ringo was at the
Orleans Stop. Here's a gift for nails in a Houston
Yay Tomorrow seven thirty at the Palazzo. I'm Friday. We're
going to see Man Little tomorrow and Carrattop on Friday. Okay,
never mind, y'all wanna if y'all gonna be in Vegas,
hook me up David. You know where you listening show.
We'll find you. If y'all want to go a quick
trip to delv we'll go. I promise you you go
with me to Vegas. We have a good time. First
of all, we'll go see some funny stuff. We'll go
hear some great music, we'll go eat some good food.
And I'm gonna help you with your blackjack. Oh v
but good looks like decent seats one hundred twenty bucks.
I'm good news and noon time. Here's Ross, yes man.
A lot of stuff going on in the sports news sphere,
and we're gonna go ahead and start here. Look fear
really good play fear spear to watch the con Fear
stop throwing a ch in there sphere s fear s
fear sphere. Well you might be texting for real mad
spear sphere. Let's go. Let's just play this. Oh my
computers freezing. So one two and that's lifted in the
center field.
Speaker 2: Robert coming in coming in coming.
Speaker 1: In makes the sliding catch, Luis Robert Junior, the bent
like slide on that shallow flyball the center and the
side is retired. That was the Astros that the bases
loaded in the eighth inning with no one out, Yanner
Diaz with a set fly, but they get nothing else.
Lance mccullor's junior not great five innings, four earned runs.
He did get six strikeouts, but he also racked up
four walks in ninety six pitches in those five innings.
Had mentioned, Matt, the bullpen was great. After that, Bennett
SUSA with a good six outs, same thing from Dubin
and Orts so Luis Robert hits at home run right
in the fourth inning. That was the last hit they've
wiite sock Scott in the entire game. Now, they did
draw four walks in the final four innings, but no
base hits at all. Pretty good from the bully. The
bully has been fantastic now, looks I give I give
credit to mccullors to get to five because it was
pitch count was fairly high for most of the most
of the game. Yes, but the Astros not able to
pick up the victory. One for six with runners in
scoring position, three double plays, three double plays. Matt, if
you go to a team ops in baseball, do you
know where the Astros are, I'll give you a hit.
They're not in the top ten. Are they in the
last ten? No, so they're going to be in the
middle ten. Are they in the upper half of the
middle tenn the bottom do you want iteenth, There you go,
I'll go. I'm gonna go with sixteen. Are they the
top three of the middle ten or the bottom three
of the middle ten or are they in the between?
The middle three was kind of sneaky, wasn't it. No,
it wasn't sneaky. I saw you coming a mile away
on that one. Okay, continue ridiculous. Astro's back in action tonight,
Ryan Gusto on the hill facing Sean Burke. Astro's favorites
in this one A minus one seventy five Matt Thomas,
Ryan Gusto over under four and a third innings. I'm
taking the over. By the way, our executive assistant here
at the company is paying wants to buy a drinks.
Did you order right now? Of what kind of drinks?
I don't know what's happening. We're gon we're gonna get
liquored up during the show. Okay, let's go, all right, Ryan.
You hate Ryan Gusto. I appreciate Ryan Gusta. Ry, I
hope you're right. Okay. Oh, she's buying lunch. I just
had lunch. No, this is great, Hold on you, No,
I'm getting lunch.
Speaker 9: Oh you already ate?
Speaker 1: No, Yeah, jump a line. You spit it all over
the microphones. Okay, whatever he's doing here, get it, get it,
get it some for get it. Okay, but this is
your update. The update. Sham Sharania is reporting Sham Sharania
NBA Insider that the negotiations and conversations between the Phoenix
Suns and Kevin Durant's business partner, Rich Kleiman are sorting
through trade options. The team showing the most interest Houston,
San Antonio, Minnesota, Miami, and New York. Your thoughts on
those five I didn't hear you. I was order making
an a lunch order. Hows chicken salad?
Speaker 5: Rap?
Speaker 1: This is what I got, all right? Sons and Kevin
Durant are and his business partner are sorting through trade options. Okay, Minnesota, Miami,
New York, Houston, San Antario. This is the Shams and
you know Shams don't went it wrong normally not. Uh hmm.
I told you yesterday. My gut says he's going to
San Antonio. Antonio feels right. You don't know that Houston
wants to Look what did Houston want Kevin Durant. Yes,
it's just gonna be a question. But at what cost.
I would say exactly. I would say, yes, the Rockets
would be interested, but no, the Rockets wouldn't be interested
in winning a bidding war. No, I don't think that's
in in raphel Stones's DNA right now. I heard the
Knicks were going hard after him too, didn't Mark Stein
or somebody say there was some talk of maybe using
Karl Anthony Towns as a potential trade show. That's fine,
But as Karl Anthony Town's a coach killer, he's gotten
the same coach fired in two different sets. Well, he's
just a horrible defender. Yeah, good score, good person, great
through sure, yeah, great guy, been through a lot in
his life, yep, but just can't defend. Can't defend. Hmmm. Interesting,
I would I'm with you. I think I would put
I would put San Antonio. I'd say San Antonio, New York.
I would put Houston probably fourth or fifth on this list.
I would say San Antonio, then Houston. I guess again,
I'm none was saying Matt, we're interested. I'm just saying
the barometric pressure says there is a little bit of interest.
I think there's interest again, but I just don't think.
I think if if, if whoever the Phoenix gm is
is going back and forth to everyone and saying, hey, hey, guys,
Knicks did made this offer? Rackets? Can you match? Rufhel
sends to be like, no, we're good. He's gonna have
a certain offer that he thinks is reasonable. But he's
not gonna get into anything right. He's not gonna get.
Speaker 8: In a bit.
Speaker 1: There wasn't a starting point. He's gonna raise his paddle
at the beginning, but then when the Knicks and the
and whoever else start driving up the price, and then
he's gonna tap out. That's what I think. How do
you feel about people that do that generally speaking at auctions,
just try to drive the price up. Yeah, people do
that in fantasy football. They start bidding stuff up and
then they end up with the players on accident. That's
always fun. What do you think about all, well, you're
not gonna be in the league. I think, nope, I
out come on, Nope, I'm done fantasy football. Have you
been in done fantasy football auctions? I've been in fancay
football auctions. It's okay. It's it's just a lot longer
to do though. He can be out there quick. You
put a short limit on it. Okay, all right, Texans back,
I'm doing I'm finishing the update. Right, Texans are back
on the practice, second and final day of mini camp.
Appreciate it. Uh. Nick Chubb was out there today. CJ.
Stratt was out there throwing today. Love it and there's
your headlines of that. Because until somebody gets hurt or
somebody does something crazy, I mean, these play I played,
descriptions of these great catches are nice and everything, but
it's it's a glorified flag football practice, don't you think. Yes? Now,
is there some rot running, yes? Is there some instruction? Yes?
Is there stuff that lads to the groundwork down for training camp? Absolutely,
but again we're not talking about a real training camp
for at least another month. That's all right, sounds that
the boys are doing, and that's when you really start
to really do a deep dive in And of course
there's nobody in the marketplace that'll give you a better
deep dive than us here at Sports Talk seven Ietan.
Of course, Adam Wexler, your unofficial home for the Houston text.
We are as unofficialists it gets and that, my friends,
was your news at news. Wow. Thank you, Matt No
you're right, thank me. I did.
Speaker 2: So.
Speaker 1: Are we gonna go to the Rockets, not getting Durant,
not getting Yannis, and just staying away from the heavy
hinting superstars and get a middle level guy? Is that
what you you think? You haven't kind of predicted that
a little bit of back, did you not? I think so?
Speaker 11: Yeah?
Speaker 1: I would. Yeah, that was my gut feeling. I'd be
okay with that rotational piece, not a superstar.
Speaker 8: See.
Speaker 1: I like Jalen Green, I think to me, and we
got to get a break on this one. I think
the shock of the playoffs, I want to I'm very
curious to see how he comes back from this. Does
that make sense to you? A storyline in Redemption arc?
And hopefully he can bounce back. But because here's the thing,
if he does this again and he goes into a shell,
then you know he's not built for a long postseason run.
I'm not ready to say that just yet. Yeah, and
that because I'm just super pro Jalen Green or super anti,
I mean, don't I don't have a favorite, but I'm
not ready to give up on it. Yeah, but I'll
say this the leash to start to change your mind.
I think is very very short. I feel like he's
not going to be a superstar. He's going to be
a guy who can average twenty to twenty four or
five points per game, make an All Star game here
or there, but best player on a championship team, which
is kind of what you were hoping for. I don't
think he's gonna be there, which is okay. He's he
was your leading scorer on a fifty two team, Like
if Alpi takes a little step up, Reid takes a
significant step up, and a man continues to progress like
he did from season one to season two, could you
not get back to fifty two wins next year? Absolutely?
All right? Just thrown out there. I'm just here's what
my gut tells me. Better deals will be for Durant
will be out there, and I think the Bucks, if
indeed Giannis really does want to leave Milwaukee, the asking
price will be too much. Correct. That's just my not
even a gut feeling. It's just just the vibe. I
get the vibes. Good feelings are what could be. I
could be wrong. I'm okay with that, Okay. Twelve fourteen,
on Sports Talk seven nineties, all Right, Ross says is
Breaking News twelve twenty one, Sports Talk seven ninety. You
know what happens, that's one. I think it's two. At
least Wait a minute, now, last time you said at
least two, it was definitely a three. Okay, some people
are gonna say, okay, do three me okay. So the
actual thing that's I'm not the biggest fan of said group,
but Brian Wilson Beach Boys, the Beach Boys, Yeah, has
passed ah oh at the age of eighty two. Good life.
I like the Beach Boys, never loved them. I respect
lot of the Beach Boys. The second most popular group
of the nineteen sixties. I would well Rolling Stones had
a longer career, but I would say in their heyday
in the sixties, it was Beatles one Beach Boys too. Yeah.
The Beach Boys and Beatles were each kind of pushing
each other to changing the dynamics of pop music and
songwriting and lyric writing and all that type of stuff.
Speaker 7: Did you say they had a bigger like brand image
in America than the Beatles.
Speaker 1: No, I wouldn't say that the Beatles were worldwide famous.
Beach Boys obviously, the British invasion made the Beatles here
but I mean no, I would say, no, I don't.
I don't think it's even close. Pet Sounds is one
of the most renowned albums of all time m H
with a lot of their hits on it. Uh. They
were the the The Beach Boys were the Smoking Joe
Frasier to the Beatles. Muhammad Ali Mmm okay. On the
radio show in the Marketplace, I'm gonna give you a
boxing old boxing reference for old bands. I'm here for
you Brian Wilson eighty two. Was that worth three sounders? No,
it was worth two. Well, people love the Beach Boys,
and I don't want to hate because I don't really
care for them that much. I would say if they toured,
I would go see them. My favorite Beach Boys song
would probably have to be all the ones that they
ripped off of a Chuck Marry I'm gonna go with
I'm gonna go with the more of a of a
ballad for them. God only knows, is maybe my favorite song? Yeah,
that's probably I would say their best song. But that
was that all the Pet Sounds, So God only knows.
Is that what it was called? Yeah? It was also
the theme for a TV show on HBO called Big Love.
It was about the man that was married to three
Mormon women. Okay, it's the classic. I just don't like
the droning, whining vocals on a lot of this. This
is a I see that. That California surfing stuff didn't
do anything for me. Yeah, that was the early stuff.
It's kind of like Beatlemania stuff. And then they matured
like the Let's give it a run. Wait, they's not
like the Beatles. They do not sound like the Beatles
you used to out of us.
Speaker 2: This.
Speaker 1: Yeah, this is not a jam, but it's certainly a
melodic theme to it. Yeah. This was used in was
this in uh Oogie Knights? Brian? A little thing that
known about Brian Wilson. Brian Wilson, their father was very
very abusive and caused lots of issues among members of
their family. And then one of the and then one
of the brothers I think did he'd drown or did
he kill himself? I can't remember. Then and then Mike
Love recently passed away. I don't even know how many
members are left Mike Love, al Jardine, Okay, Bruce Johnston.
That's what this Wikipedia says to the current members. Mike
is Mike Club's not alive? Is he? Or is he? Yes?
He is eighty four years old. Are you somebody somebody
would Love died as Kevin Love?
Speaker 2: Well?
Speaker 1: No, Kevin, I think I think Mike is his uncle. Okay, yeah,
Kevin Love's dad died. He recently? Maybe yeah, maybe it's
maybe Kevin's dad died. Okay, I'm gonna get the song
a seven. Yeah. Stan Love died in April. Okay, so
uh yeah, what'd you say about this, Jonathan? Do you
like this song?
Speaker 8: Or no?
Speaker 1: I'm gonna give it a sa What is the most
famous Beach Boys song? Surfing us a cocomong? I get around?
That's them. That's the one I know. Yeah, I get
around surfing calfamous?
Speaker 7: What is it?
Speaker 1: What is it? What wouldn't it be nice?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 1: Wouldn't it be nice? It's a pretty good jam. Good
vibrations good? Oh okay, you know what, there's there's more
hits than I thought. Good vibration is a great song. Oh,
good vibrations plus some good vibrations on hate this song?
Oh no, no, no, go ahead. Now we will play
this version and then we'll come back with the Marky
Mark and the Funky to do that. This is a jam.
Don't sing over the song. You see, when something rosses,
I just don't like it. Sits. I don't know. It's
just grating to me. It's like nails on a chalkboard.
It's like you and Mini Ripperton. I can't explain it.
That's true. This can't explain it comes a good course.
So it turn this up real quick. It's good. It's good.
I'm not understanding them. They're in my mind. They're properly rated.
It's just one of the greatest, the second greatest group
of the nineteen sixties. Overrated. You're gonna lose on that.
That's okay, it's my opinion. That's right. It's just a
bad opinion, all right. Let's get you say. I think
a lot of people agree with me. The Beach Boys
are America. I'm America is going to disagree with you,
and I don't need to argue me. That's with you. Your
tastes are crap, pleat. I want you to go tell
tell everybody how much you think the Beach Boys suck.
They're almost as good as berry Man alone. Oh you
know what, shut your bumb ass up, bag. You're terrible.
I hope you're choking your chicken sandwich.
Speaker 2: Up. Man.
Speaker 1: All these calls coming in for this, all right, we
gotta get Charles real quick since Beach Boy Talk seven
ninety apparently goes Wednesday. Charles, I said I respect them.
They were revolutionary. Don't you just said they were already?
I means you don't respect the I mean I respect
what they did for the game. Okay, Charles, what do
you got today?
Speaker 5: First of all, I'm gonna help you all out. They're
California's VZ.
Speaker 8: Top to just make it simple, hm hm.
Speaker 5: Anyway, Jalen Green, he's gonna be good, never necessarily great.
I see Harden all over again. But why do we
keep chasing all these players? I don't care what sport
it is. Here in Houston Astros do well, but everybody
else we chase these players that have been injured whatever.
Why would we even want Durant? Like wouldn't like Devin Booker.
I don't know if he's up for contract or whatever.
Speaker 1: He's He's about to get a new two year extension
at the end of the contract's going to pay him
seventy five million dollars a year. It's about valued. Kevin
Durant's got a couple of years left in this contract.
A matter of fact, I think he's got one year
left on his contract. He still wakes up scoring twenty
five points a game, and those guys are hard to find.
Speaker 2: He gets hurt all the time.
Speaker 8: He's heard at the Olympics.
Speaker 5: He's hurt everywhere I need him.
Speaker 1: And again, I don't think you I want you to
rephrase it. I want I don't think they're they're chasing
after him. Is there interest? Yes, Chasing after would be
giving would be mortgaging the farm and giving up everything
you had to go get the guy. I don't think
the Rockets want to do.
Speaker 6: That's understandable.
Speaker 2: I love a mid level player.
Speaker 5: I think we have enough pieces. I would be okay
with getting rid of Green to get a player as
good or better than him. With a couple of players,
and I believe we make a deeper run. I mean
that's just my opinion.
Speaker 1: Okay, you know what, I get it. If you want
to stay with the Nucleus, I can I can argue.
I can argue right there for you on it. Oh
you're clenching your teeth. Say what you guys say when
Canna get to Vanessa. I don't see I mean a
Men Thompson TBD. But I don't see best player on
a championship potential remaining in Shingoon or Green. That's my opinion,
and you're not the only one that has that opinion.
I need one more year. They're both young. That's fine,
and maybe that's wrong me to say that, but I
I don't want to bury either one of their professional careers,
especially Jalen's, knowing that that was the first go round
of the lights are bigger and brighter than the playoffs.
And see, I'm not burying them necessarily, but relative to
their peers in their own draft classes, they're lagging behind.
And guys that we've seen by year four light years
ahead of where Jalen Green is right now. The Devin
Booker is Anthony Edwards. You know, even I mean Shake Gildas, Alexander,
Jalen Brunson, whoever. Yeah, I get it. But Jalen Brunson
was never considered this to be what he was going
to do in Dallas. That's why Dallas got rid of them.
He took a step off in New York. But how
many years he did? How many years was the name
of before. I don't know, go look, but take a
quick time out. Pat and Brian want to talk about
the Beach Boys. We are playing Good Vibrations by the
Funky Bunch because if you don't want them, because if
you don't want the market mark in the Funky Bunch,
you want to Brian Wilson's death. Oh so it's not it.
We're gonna believing on. We're gonna be believe on. Brian Wilson.
Well he's dead. Put him in a life for y'all.
Know the song feel Flows by Beach Boys. I had
a color as that. I don't know if it's good flows. No,
I don't know. All right, we're gonna check in Indianapolis
plus some more. Phone call straight ahead every Rockets game
on Sports Talk seven nineties Jamaica. I want to take it.
Come on to bab Was this in cocktail? Is that?
Is this where this song became Pontpier. I don't know.
This is late stage Beach Boys, very late Beach Boys.
If you're not heard. Brian Wilson passing away today at
the age of eighty two, primary songwriter and co founder
of the Beach Boys. I believe one of Vanessa Richardson's
best Friends was in the Kokomo video. If I'm not mistaken,
this was in Cocktail. Matt good job. Uh cocktail, good movie,
great movie? Over what?
Speaker 3: All?
Speaker 1: Right? Back to what I was saying, Vanessa's got close friends.
One I believe the name is Stamos. John Stamos Cocktail
was in the Kokomo video. Bok stop by the way,
you're going to meet him. Let me tell you something.
You got the ESPN tag on your little on your
Instagram and your Twitter. Now you are meeting John Stamos.
It's not a question of if it's going to be win.
Speaker 3: I hope. So I've been waiting.
Speaker 1: All right, you're in Indianapolish The excitement, the thrill of
NBA basketball is at a crescendo. What is going on,
first and foremost between John Cougar mellencamp and Pat McAfee.
Why are they bitching at each other?
Speaker 3: Yeah, there's some beef there and it had something to
do with Pat stood at one of the games for
the Western or Eastern Conference finals and cussed on the
jumbo tron and jokingly told the New York Knicks fans
to go home. That offended John Mellencamp, who is known
to be very gratchy himself, so I'm not sure why
he took the Twitter, but he made very poorly executed
graphic and said that he didn't think that at was
serving up who's your hospitality? Was very strange.
Speaker 1: So what is who's your hospitality? What is who's your hospitality?
Defining your own way?
Speaker 3: According to John Mellencamp, everybody's supposed to be nice, but
I'm I'm not sure. I'm not sure the details on that,
but some major beef there for sure.
Speaker 1: All right. Vanessa, by the way, is a major star.
We know her from Space City, but she's working. Is
it called Hoop, It's not Hoop Dreams. What is your
show called on on ESPN Plus?
Speaker 3: So it is a YouTube, it's a digital show. It's
called Who Streams?
Speaker 1: Whose Streams?
Speaker 3: It is a thirty minute pregame show. It is half
an hour before the game starts, and then it goes
right up to tip off. So we are court side.
You know, we've got great guests coming through. We talk
x's and o's. We have a lot of former players on.
But then we also touch on you know, storylines around
the league and fashion and all of the fun stuff.
So I'm doing that and then tonight I'm on the
actual Game three broadcast again for the sidelines for the radio.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm very happy for you, the congratulations for this opportunity,
and you missed me having its thrill because not only
are you working an NBA national event for ESPN, but
you're in your hometown or your home state. Is Pacermania
running wild? I mean, how much can it will it
cost for an average person to get in the building tonight?
Speaker 3: I have no idea the ticket prices, but I think
it's been twenty yeah, I mean it's been twenty five
years since the Pacers were in the NBA Finals. So
you know, everything that's happened with Katelyn Clark, what she's
done not only for women's basketball, but you know, I
have friends that have restaurants downtown and businesses and everything's
just really exploded for them over the last couple of
years because of Caitlin Clark. And then, yeah, it's good
for the city. Like I always say, in you know, football,
everybody knows Texas for football, right and with Indiana it's
it's basketball and it's not just pro basketball. That's the
thing is that yeah, I mean I grew up liking
the Pacers, right, but like it was more so like
high school basketball. As crazy as that found high school basketball,
college basketball, it's just a big part of the fabric
of the entire state, from you know, Gary, Indiana down
to Evansville. So it's good for the city and it's
cool for sure.
Speaker 1: Now you have covered super Bowls, you have covered World Series.
This is your first NBA Finals. Correct, give me the
vibe differently in this event compared to the other two
events you've been a part of.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it's obviously it's more compact. You know,
basketball is a very into setting. You can if you
sit close enough. This is why I always tell people,
if they can, they should at some point try to
sit courtside at a Rockets game because it's just the
best access you can get at a sporting event. You
can hear what the coaches are saying, and it's it's loud,
so you know. Look, I've been at the Nighty five hundred,
the Kentucky Derby super Bowl, and like you said, every
event is a little bit different. But what is cool
is just the constant, like high pressure situation and everybody
being so excited, and the excitement is definitely palpable at
those events. For sure.
Speaker 1: It's been hard for us. And I'm brenching this on
Twitter myself, and you're covering it, and you've got travels involved,
so this could be a little bit of a time
off is not bad, but I want to get into
every bit of this series. But the two days off
in between the first three games has been kind of unsettling.
Has there been any reaction from I know the players
don't mind it, but what about people that are just
trying to generally drum up conversation about this finals because
they are too smaller market teams, they're not too very
recognized teams. And I would think you, if you've got
a great series going, you're thirsty for the next game,
and with such a long break, it's been hard to
kind of get that right now.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there are pros and cons like I, like you said,
I don't think the players mind it. They're never gonna
mind more rest, but certainly, you know, you hear everybody
on the on the talk shows, not just yourself but
on ESPN talking about, like you know that all the
days off, but then between three and four there's only
one day, so it's definitely an odd schedule.
Speaker 1: Now you are working the sidelines for the radio broadcast tonight.
You've been in Rocket huddles. What's it like being around
Oklahoma City huddle and or Indiana so far?
Speaker 3: Well, and I'm not just saying this because I love
the Rockets so much, but it's incredible to hear e
May and his coaching staff, you know, like he Ben Sullivan,
Royal Ivy, like the Rockets have some of the most cerebral,
smart assistant coaches that are so engaged with the players.
So the first and foremost is that that is so
impressive and it is cool, you know, when you're everybody
says that the finals and playoffs in general are about
adjustments and playing chess, and so to hear you know,
Mark Dagnold and then Rick Carlisle who won a championship
with the Dallas Mavericks, you know, to hear how both
of them do their things is interesting for sure. And
the dynamic of every time out and every possession mattering
has been really cool. So yeah, it's been great.
Speaker 1: I was going to say for you, especially too, because
we you and I know the intimacies of the Rockets
and they're the way they think, the way they talk,
the way they prepare. It's got to be kind of
fun for you to kind of get a different perspective
of how things are addressed if you visit with them
before the game or shoot around to kind of because
we don't get to peek into Indiana's thought process when
the Rockets are playing the Pacers. You get this opportunity
now with the Thunder and the Pacers as working for
a national entity.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we're definitely, but definitely in our own Rockets world.
And I wouldn't, you know, have it any other way
because I think the team is heading in such a
fun direction. But it is interesting to see how different
coaching staffs move and how you know, the different cultures
and and different temperaments, shall we say, of Rick versus Mark.
It's definitely fascinating as well. So yeah, it is definitely,
you know, the biggest stage, and and I look forward
to our, uh, our Rockets being here soon enough.
Speaker 1: All right, So who will the be the celebrities in
the building tonight?
Speaker 3: Ooh, you know, I think we're gonna see Reggie Miller.
I know we are planning on having Lance Stephenson stot
By our show if uh, if Lance would like to,
I know Charles Barkley is here and Shaq was an okay, see,
I don't know if Shack will be here as well.
So as far as Indiana celebrities, you might get Pat McAfee,
you might get John mellencamp, uh at Paris, Uh, Kenneth Babyface.
Edmunds is from Indianapolis. I'm really trying here some former
could players.
Speaker 2: Maybe.
Speaker 3: I don't think there are a ton of celebrities from
Indy vill See David.
Speaker 1: Letterman's from Indy, right, Yeah, why is tonight?
Speaker 3: David Letterman? Definitely, and then you know you'll get the
celebrities that want to come just to because it's an
NBA finals. So we shall see Ron our test is here.
I saw Ron earlier, so he will be in the
house as well. So it should be a lot of
former pacers for sure.
Speaker 1: All right, Follow Vanessa on Twitter Sports Vanessa's our Twitter account.
She'll give you the YouTube connection to watch your show tonight,
which will you'll start at what time? Six thirty or
seven o'clock?
Speaker 3: So we start half hour before the game begins, all right,
So I believe the game isn't Yeah, so Houston Time
is different than Indiana Times.
Speaker 1: Houston Times seven thirty okay so seven five? Yeah, all right.
Speaker 3: Again, go ahead, Matt.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna say you can listen to radio on there
because one of my good friends, Mark Keshischer is the
voice of the NBA and ESPN radio and he and
PJ and Vanessa stepping in to help them out tonight.
So it's a great broadcast. So if you're not the
biggest fan of Richard Jefferson or stephen A. Smith, you
get a radio alternative. There you go. Did I say that?
Probably go? Yeah?
Speaker 5: Yes?
Speaker 7: How nice is to plug it?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Absolutely?
Speaker 1: There you go. Hey, safe travels. How are you getting
back and forth? Are you? Are you on an ABC, ESPN,
Disney jet or how are you having to fly commercial?
What's going on with that?
Speaker 3: I'm slumming it. I'm slumming it commercial. But Matt, I
have to call you out on something. Why haven't you
asked me about my John Stamos tweet?
Speaker 1: And so real fast she came up with a really
funny line about how the Knicks wanted to talk to
to uh Ima Adoka, and she says, I want to
talk to John Stamos. It's not happening, so I thought
it was really funny. I wanted to say I wanted
to talk when I was single and younger. I wanted
to talk to Jenny Garth and Tiffany Ambertheesen. But that
would be a flat out bitsteal. So I asked for
a ruling from her audience, Ross if I could bit
steal Vanessa because people bit steel for me all the time.
And she said, Vanessa on Twitter, you said what you
can't bitsteal this woman? You call me a woman?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I did. I think you need to get your first.
Speaker 1: Of all, you have enough bits.
Speaker 3: To be clear. You have such a bumbs up. Yeah,
I just don't get it.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, yeah Morning Stripper Yeah yah, yeah.
Speaker 3: You're good on bits. You gotta let me have this bit.
Speaker 1: Yeah. That's why I didn't do it. That's why I'm
gonna give up. By the way, tell Ross the buddies
that own the bar in Indianapolis and how they wear
their good Morning Stripper shirts. Really yeah, yeah, they love us,
they do.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they love Matt Thomas. They are actually so they
own bars in Indiana, but they are the Houston Natives.
They actually started in the industry working for Tilman for
Tita on the Chema boardwalk, and so they are massive
Matt Thomas Show fans. And you know when they found
out that I sat next to that on the plane
and all that texted me, good morning, strippers.
Speaker 1: It's the Matt Thomas Show with Ross. Vanessa. Yeah, don't
forget Ross's name. He's he's a sense of hanging it
up on you. Now, no, you're not all right, Vanessa
will be listening tonight. I have a great rest of
your time. And again we're very proud of you for
this opportunity and talk to you soon.
Speaker 5: Thank you. Guys.
Speaker 1: We'll see that is Vanessa Richardson, Major network star Vanessa
Richardson now on ESPN doing that hoopstreams pregame show and
working on the radio broadcast. All right, believe it or not,
we're switching. We're gonna do a Liverdever. We're gonna do
Brian Wilson. Now, right, come on, we gotta what we're doing.
Hell yeah, I'll support you. I can do it, Pat
and Brian will get to you next twelve forty eight,
It is The Matt Thomas Show with Raw seven one three, two,
one two, five seven ninety seven one, three, two, one, two,
five seven ninety again stuff not gonna be in the
Hall the uh Songwriters Hall of Fame. Oh, this one
actually sounds kind of familiar. It does sound like sounds
like this song from Chuck Berry bit stealing. Yo, that's white.
Suppose that's crazy. Yeah, Chuck Berry actually sued them. You win. Yes,
he's got a songwriter credit now on Surfing USA. It's
a straight rip.
Speaker 8: All right.
Speaker 1: Now here's the problem. They're like, no, it's a tribute. No,
it's influence. It's not the same. So we lost Brian
Wilson today from we lost slid Stone yesterday. These deaths
happened in three. Oh no they don't. Yeah they do. Okay,
who's the next great singer we're gonna lose tomorrow? I'll
put some people on the big board. You ready, sure?
Harry Belafonte, I think he died. Linda Ronstadt, you're so weird.
When's when's it gonna happen? When's the moratorium on three? Uh?
It had to be tomorrow? Yeah, tomorrow. Yeah, So you're
saying tomorrow a major singer will die. No, I'm not saying,
but that's if you're gonna if you believe in the
things that happened in three I don't somebody's gonna die tomorrow.
You can always find three things that happened and then
just put them together. But you're putting three really good
singers together. Okay, So I would go with Linda Ronstadt,
Dion Warwick, Dion Warwick, Gladys Knight, Smoky Robinson, Diana Ross
is alive, okay, Smoker Robinson died. I thought, no, he's
a lot. He got sued. Actually he was news for
something like two weeks ago. Yeah, he's very much alive. Well,
unfortunately for those women, I hope it's not right. I
love Smoking Robinson. It's all time great, all time great.
I listened to Smoky Channel on Serious XM occasionally. You've
always talked about how he influenced your personal life. Now
that's not true at all. You're uys be suspended again? Yeah,
Pat In Sureland on Seminati Hillo, Pat, what's going on?
Speaker 5: Guys?
Speaker 1: You tell us the man.
Speaker 12: I just reminded me of the Beach Boys concert I
saw after an Astros game, and evidently I think they
did it in back to back years.
Speaker 1: But uh uh so, man, they got they got Astro ties.
Speaker 12: You can tie that into the sports talk, and yeah,
these guys deserve a a little more respect than o'brost
has given them.
Speaker 1: So uh. Never a huge.
Speaker 12: Fan of myself, I'm a generation behind their their heyday.
But uh, my sister tells the story, she's about ten
years older than me, how they opened for Crosby, Stills
and Nash when they.
Speaker 1: Were at their peak.
Speaker 12: They said, the Beach Boys open for him and stole
the show. Everybody was called nuts at the concert, and uh,
it was at the highlight of the concert.
Speaker 1: But anyway, that's all I add. Thanks to the phone call.
Thank you, Patty. Yeah, I get I have a pull
question up. Love them, like them, just okay? Hate them?
I would be I would put myself in the category
of liking them. I don't love them. I love the Beatles,
I don't love the Beach Boys. I love the Eagles.
I don't love the Beach Boys. I like them and
they're fine. But you put you put yourself in the
just okay category. Like I said, I respect what they did,
I just don't it's not my deal. Well that could
be the same. I can say the same thing about
hip hop. I respect the exactly it's just not your deal.
It's not my deal, That's what I'm saying. But you
openly make fun of it. Who did I make fun of?
You make fun of a lot of the songs. I
didn't steal a song from Chuck Barry. They did, That's true.
That was me. Let's go to uh Brian on seven
ninety before the top of the r Hello, Bryan, what's up, guys?
Speaker 13: I saw the Beach Boys played in sugar Land up
the Ryan.
Speaker 1: Anchel right Anchel? Yeah, yeah, I know where that is
a few.
Speaker 13: Years ago, and my wife and I went at the
time where we brought down the average age by far
by a lot, but the music was still really good.
My club was playing and Bruce Johnson was still there.
So two of the originals or mostly originals, but it
was Dennis who died in a yeah, drowned in the lake,
and then Carl died from lung cancer.
Speaker 1: I think, yeah, like the mid nineties.
Speaker 3: But no, I think there were there.
Speaker 13: They were one of those bands, along with the Beatles
and the Eagles. Who's whose music can just transcend time,
it can cover numerous generations. Yeah, you either most of
the time, you either love them or you're just indifferent
to him. Most people, you know, there's no harm, you know,
no harsh feelings towards him. But I grew up on that.
You know, My parents grew up in the fifties and sixties,
so we always had the oldies on in the house,
whether it was them or Dion and the Belmonts or
the Drifters or whoever. So I grew up with a
lot of that music. So it's still it's still great
to listen to. There's still on my uh my phone,
so when I'm I'm driving across this big state of ours,
I'll put them on and I can listen to a
lot of their songs. But uh, sad day because he
was the he was the brains behind the operation, didn't
tour much.
Speaker 1: And tremendous mental health issues. Thank you, Brian for the
pot to the top of the hour. Yet that's the
thing is that I think there's what I've read properly,
a lot of verbal abuse, a lot of pressure for
the father. Kind of remind me of of the Jackson's dad,
the way he would treat his I mean, Joe, Joe,
I mean, Unfortunately, there's a lot of abuse with families
that have successful groups and the pressure that the moms
and dads put on them. It's a lot of artists
as well. Just in John to watch him a Rocketman.
His dad barely accepted him a movie. It was okay,
that's my girls like top biopick movie. Now. Oh see,
I thought I thought the biopick of Freddie Mercury was better.
But I might be in the minority on that. I
still haven't watched the Elvis one or the Elton one.
Elvis one kind of dragged down because it was a
lot of Colonel Parker pov on that one and a
lot of Tom Hanks was like, he's what. Thanks, by
the way, Trevor did a great job. He says, you
got to make sure Paul McCartney's wrapped up and bubble wrapped.
Paul McCarney ringo star. You're also on that list too.
They could. No, they're not. At some point, Matt, remember
when half the Beatles are gone. You can't when when
Paul leaves, I'm taking a day off. Why to leave
what this or earth of ours? Yes? Okay, well you're
not even gonna go see him anymore? So what's the different? Hey,
wait a minute, you put out this Beach Boys poll
on your Twitter. Yeah I did. Oh man, I just
I'll delete mine. I guess, yeah go, I'll just put
love them, let them don't like them, Yeah, Paul. Question
one hundred and thirty one votes in thirty seven percent
just okay. I'm gonna put just okay, thirty one percent
like them, twenty percent love them, in four percent hate them.
I'll delete mine and retweet yours. Matt, You're the best.
All right, let's get us. Final hour of the show.
Astros White Sox. The rebound game is tonight, Rossie. Is
it a guaranteed one night? You gotta beat the You
gotta beat the pale Hose, don't you? Is it a
must win the game for the Houston Astros. It is not.
It is not. It'll be great pregame coverage coming your
way at six o'clock. Well, who's hosting it?
Speaker 8: Me?
Speaker 1: Well great, it's a relative term. One o'clock on Sports
Talk seven ninety. If you want to jump in on
the conversation, you may do so at seven one three
two one two five seven ninety seven one three two
one two five seven ninety Final hour of The Matt
Thomas Show with Ross We are with you till two o'clock.
We'd love to have you a part of the show.
We've gotten a variety of things going on. We have
a couple of astros calls, a couple of Rockets calls,
a couple of beach boy calls. I kind of like,
I just don't want to just beat a single topic
down your throat for four hours a day. Could you
imagine doing that?
Speaker 5: Ross?
Speaker 1: Yet, I would want to do that under any circumstance.
Coming up next segment, Game by game predictions of Nick
Chubb's rushing output. All right, speaking of the Texans, DJB
enemy covers the Texans for espn Uh huh, biggest I'm
reading verbatim off of him. The sound of bed still,
I'm giving him credit, says biggest takeaway from day two
of the mini camp the offensive line better than day one.
That's good. In the limited reps against starting defensive line.
Stroud's favorite target today was Kirk Christian Kirk both connected
on a few passes, highlighted by a deep slot for
thirty ish yards thirty ish okay? And is this a
dj B enemy gut feeling? Will Anderson and Daniel danil
Hunter should have each have ten sacks again, DJ, I
would hope. So it feels like a little bit of
an early prediction on that based off of too mini
camp days, well, based off the fact they're two of
the best pass rushers in football. This defense canna be good. Maddy, Hey,
are you ready for some sixteen thirteen games? Yes, Demiko
Ryans is MVP Texans MVP. Kimie Fairbairn. All right, So
what wins more in the NFL the last in the
last ten years, offenses or defenses? Offense? How far can
I it's a team having both? Well, of course, let
me tell you. If you think you can just have
one or the other and not like have a wretched
one part and have a superior other, you're not. You're
gonna be the onside looking in. You just are. You
have to have some assemblance of a competitive both sides
of the football. Now you can probably be ranked twentieth
and something and in one particular category and still win. Yeah.
I think it's been holding the defense has been holding
the Bills back. Yeah, Bengals defense has been holding their
offense back. Yes, who's been held back? Baltimore. I think
the Chiefs made it as far as they did on
the backs of their defense, though Pat Mahomes and then
offense were pedestrian. Yeah, what's held Baltimore back? I would
say Lamar inconsistently. I would say inconsistently with Lamar some yeah,
bad luck in football games that just had didn't go
their way. But I think two years ago in the
AFC Championship game, Lamar Jackson was pressing way too much
for sure, and then the game they lost to the Bills.
Didn't they turn lose their tone over about like three
or four zero? Yes, early in the game, Yeah, Mark
Andrews fumbled the ball away and then he dropped the
pass at the very end right a two point conversion
that would have sent it to overtime or something like,
Oh was that for the win? So gimmicky endings, yeah,
they say, I would say a little bit of bad luck,
but also Lamar Jackson inconsistently. As you said, Yeah, two
years ago, he was like trying to toss everything down
the field when they had that close game, what was
it like, seventeen to ten or whatever with the with
the Chiefs, and he was trying to bomb everything and
not taking everything in front of him. So when you
think of the great defenses that win Super Bowls. Two
come to mind, eighty five Bears and the two thousand
Baltimore Ravens. I would put the O two Buccaneers in
that category. To Brad Johnson, you're thinking about go just
go find a game with an average quarterback or below
average quarterback, and you could probably attribute it to it
was a great defense. It got twenty twelve ish. I
think it was twelve Ravens with Joe Flacco. But Flacco
was great and the ploco was like double digit touchdowns
in one interception. He put together an amazing postseason. He did.
But he's just a mid quarterback. I mean, I think
right all agree with right, right, So we'll the Texans
do not have a mid quarterback. Now. He is a
good quarterback. You and I had this playful conversation last
year about elite. Did he take the step to be
elite last year? CD? Shroud? Yeah, you can't say yes
because if everybody has said universally that he had a
down year. So I still put him in the very
good category. I don't necessarily think he's got to be
great if this defense is what you think it's going
to be. And daneil Hunter does get you ten sacks,
and Will Anderson gets you ten sacks, and Derek Singley
plays the way that he did last year, and Jalen
Petrie is healthy and able to contribute more than he
did last year, then you could have a spectacular, elite
top three defense, have a middle of the pack offense,
and that might get you to a place she ever
been before. And that's at least the AFC Championship game.
That's how the positive storylines go on. That super defense
that plays above its head, CJ rebounds and gets just
enough offense, just enough of a running game, just enough
pass protection, A just enough offense with a superior defense
can ROSSI get you to the AFC Championship game. Yeah,
it felt like Bobby Slok was running the just enough offense.
And I'll be interested to see what Nick Kayley does
and how much of that was at the behest of
Demiko Ryans and how much it also could be is
if this offensive line craters again, Yeah, then Bobby Slow,
it's gonna be talking to you about, you know, sending
messages like man bea when me, when me? What my fault? Exactly? Anybody?
I mean you and I can go up draw and play.
If we have a perfect offensive line, who's gonna hold
everybody for five six seconds? You and I could draw
up plays and they'll be successful. Right, But it's about adjusting,
and I think Bobby Slog did a poor job of
doing that. And speaking of where you put uh CJ. Stroud,
a couple of weeks ago, Pro Football Focus ranked all
the quarterbacks. Now, how often did they do this? I
don't know, but this is its off season fodder. Oh yeah,
because I like I say, they're probably doing this to
gain some clicks. And they got one dated Tier one
elite starters. They only put four in there. That would
be the guys you would think of Mahomes, Burrow, Lamar,
Josh Allen. Yep. Tier two high end starters.
Speaker 3: C J.
Speaker 1: Stroud is not in there. Tier three solid starters who
have flashed high end play. They do not have c J.
Stroud there. They have him fourteenth under the category of
solid starters, but need more help, behind Baker Mayfield and
ahead of Kyler Murray and Trevor Lawrence. Say that last
sentence again, behind whom Baker Mayfield Jordan Love twelve, Baker
Mayfield thirteen, c J. Stroud fourteen, who had better seasons
of those three quarterbacks. I would say that Love and
Mayfield had better season. I would agree with that Gino
Smith tenth though, Geno Smith or CJ. J. Know Smith,
that's such a great season. He got traded in the offseason.
So let's let's sold that roll a little bit down.
Jordan Love or c J. Shrub career or last year
for this year. I don't mean to him in hauw.
I don't know. It's not about but it's not about
the arm strength, it's not about the accuracy. It's about
how he's going to live with I think to be
again a very suspect offensive line Baker Mayfield or CJ.
Stroup this upcoming season. Baker Mayfield led the NFL with
sixteen interception but interceptions, but he had forty one touchdowns.
I don't want to talk about any of this. Here's
what you've done. We are attaching on paper. CJ wins
those battles over those two quarterbacks. The upside on CJ
is significantly better than the other two guys. First of all,
he's younger. Second of all, he had an incredible first season.
But what we can't do is we cannot separate the
offensive lines from the quarterbacks because they are they work
as a seven man group. You got your five linemen,
you have your tight end, and you have your quarterback.
It's like ross. And here's a terrible example. It's like
your lead singer's got a terrible band behind you. And
you may think the guy's a great vocalist, but if
he's got a terrible band behind him, it's still gonna
be a bad band. We all think about that one.
It's not the worst thing I've ever heard. If has
an average offensive line and is not thrown around like
a rag doll like it was last year, or running
for his life. Let's say he runs how many how
many pressures did he face last year? Is there you
look at I can probably look that up. But this
is the thing, though, I mean a lot of these
quarterbacks ahead of him have had bad I mean Pat
mahomes offensive line was horrible Parish here, Yes they were.
Joe Burrow's not had a good offensive line in his career.
I don't remember the quality of Jaden Daniel's offensive line.
It wasn't great. I don't think. Let's see, obviously, Jared
Goffin the Lions had great ones good stuff in San Francisco.
So let me let me go Debbie Downer for a second.
I'm fear second. You can't blame it all on the
offensive line. So here's my point. If he doesn't improve
and he's not better than Jordan Love this year, and
he's not better than Baker Mayfield, which I don't believe
to be the case. But if he's not, you can't
put fifty million dollars in his pigy back. Oh they will.
That would not be great money spent, you will be
do you let me ask you this is it the
right football decision? I know football quarterbacks are treated differently
salary wise. Is it the right decision ross to put
sixty million dollars a year into a player who is
considered a mid level when you are a fourteenth in
the NFL by whatever metrics, Pro Football Focus or your
own seeing eyes you know watching it. How do you
win with a football team if you're paying sixty million
dollars to a guy who's the fourteenth best quarterback. I
think that's part of the problem reason why Kirk Cousins
has never been able to win games. You spend all
that money on him and he's just okay. I think
he's better than Jordan Love. Jordan Love got huge money.
The highest AAV quarterback in football is Dak Prescott. And
look than Dak Prescott. Look what the Cowboys are. Yeah
you can't. They can pay that. I mean you you
just have you have to take that leap because what's
your alternative? You don't have one, exactly like you have
to take shot. Can you win a super Bowl with
C J. Stroud? I think the Texans as absolutely sure.
Will he win you that super Bowl? That's up for
debate and remains to be seen. So if you have
one of these golden tickets, which is a franchise quarterback,
unless he demands it and then gets twenty five lawsuits
filed against him, you hold on to that golden ticket.
So he's already got the golden ticket. Two is baking
unless he throws twice as many I iNTS as he
throws touchdowns. I don't think c Just's got that in
his DNA. Two is getting fifty million dollars a year.
Kyler Murray's around fifty million dollars a year. I mean,
it's it's just the going rate. So basically, if you
if you pay money for a mid quarterback. You're screwed. Yeah,
I think c J. Strout's better than mid. Obviously he
took a step back last year. But I think what
I don't want is I don't want you and I
year from now to have the same conversation of him
being the fourteenth best career year coming for CJ. Strout.
What's up? Okay, let's go. That's the better Red Ross
we know in Love one sixteen on Sports Talks Around
And if you missed our conversation with Brian Bogacivic, we'll
have more of that coming for you at one point
thirty Believe it or not Today, All Things Brian Wilson
rip to the former lead singer and a lead writer
of The Beach Boys, one sixteen on Sports Talk seven
hours one twenty three Sports Talk seven ninety It is
a Matt Thomas show with Ross. We are with you
till two o'clock today. Believe it or not, All things
about Brian Wilson, lead singer of the Beach Boys, passing
me at the age of eighty two. I told you
this before. We'll get back to Sports second here, and
it's a byproduct of the fact that I'm just not
much into the current music. But all my favorite people
are getting to the point where they're neither dying or
not able to perform anymore. Well, man, the only thing
sure than life is death. Thank you for that. So
I need to start finding some current music. Okay, we
gotta go for like uh Chapel Roan and Pink Pony Club.
That sounds good, I'll try it. You don't want to
hear that, man, go to go with pop music? What
are you looking for? Anything that I can go see
you at casino in forty years from now. I'm going
to wheel you up at the casino. In forty years.
You don't think I will be wheeled up to a casino? Oh? Man, yeah,
I guess so doing that later this summer. Things don't
work out any better, break your legs or what. I
don't know. You never know. Like who's the hottest male
recording artist right this second? And like what John, That's
a hard question. Okay if I put on well, we
don't have an AC station here. Bruno mar is still
already old now he's still okay, it's not unk music
yet or kind of? Is that? Timberlake still considered a
top five that's like, you know, what I mean. By
the way, my wife is watching this show called The
Better Sister. Jessica Biel is the star of the show.
Jessica Biel, goodness, gracious all time. Good for him. They
make her look older in this show than she is.
Top selling artist of twenty twenty four Morgan, I always
get this wrong, whaling Wall. That was the first person
I said it too. That's my good. That's good, all right,
Tyler the creator, Really Drake gets some Drake. Do you
see me being a Drake guy? I could see it.
See that. That feels like a slight because you're a
Kendrick Lamar guy, so that would make you me. No,
that's fine, you mean a Drake fan. Yeah. Kendrick Lamar
was one of the top artists of last year. Luke
Combs apparently people like it's all right, so based on
its country music based Now what's going on?
Speaker 7: Everybody's buying Combs and Saboozi and jelly Roll.
Speaker 1: People love the jelly can't stand on alright, what do
you got against the role man? I got the I
got He's got like serious tattoos over Eminem, Kendrick Lamar,
Travis Scott, Kanye West, Tyler the creator, Drake. This is
what Google is saying he needs.
Speaker 7: He doesn't need mainstream though. I feel like he's not
gonna like to make Okay, what do you want some jazz?
Speaker 1: Yeah? What you know what? I listened to seventies on
seven in the Bridge. I got issues. I'm fine. What
about the K pop group BTS? You know I'll do.
Give me, give me some Hooty the Blowfish, some of
that Taylor Swift. I don't know what sty boys. I
think this mess. I like Becy Boys, Billy Eilish, people
love the Billie Eilish. All right, let's get back. Let's
get back like some of that pop stuff and it's
all this. Try to find some new stuff on the
plane ride today. Okay. Oh the weekend, Yeah, weekend's got
some jams. Yeah, put the put the weekend on the
late when you're laying your lady now, really so I
could do that like two forty five today. Oh, you're
not getting home till about three h three ten? Yea,
oh of the weather, you're probably right. Sorry, all right
home at two of five. I'm gonna startin texting you
every day when I get home. You know what you
gotta say I'm home. What about what about you? And
then put just you and then you'll respond in your
normal way, which is curse words. Yes, by the way,
g f wymy sirih does a great job. I swear
to her on the ride home all the time, and
she she does a pretty good jo just about eight
and a half out of ten, she says all of
them too. Do you make sure you enunciate it? I
slow it down. Wow, I'm glad you slow it down.
Astros and White Sox Game two of a three game
series tonight you'll love the on deck show. What are
What are your keys of victory tonight? A keys of
victory for the Astros? Ye, Ryan Gusto going more than
four innings, that's key number one. The reality is this
he needs. If you're trying to get link from him,
you gotta get it tonight. Because the bullpen got used
up a little bit yesterday. Yes it did, although I
mean it was what Susa ort and Duban yep, so
no leverage. But Hater did get up in the ninth
and he was throwing a little bit. Ye. So I
don't know how much you want to count that, but
I would yees some some link from Ryan Gusto. I
would also say middle of the lineup, including Jannerdyas and
Christian Walker, let's go a little bit of luck. Christian
Walker's luck is gonna turn. I feel more confident. Actually,
I don't feel like we're protecting Christian Walker. But I
could see how some people might think that if you
want to give up on him, yeah, that's fine. I
just don't. I'm not going to. But also, of course,
as you know, I went down with the Jose Bray
you ship man, I think you did. I want a
great bet on that one. You did. Well, I tell
you what I tell you. By next Tuesday, he's gonna
be at two fifteen. Ord I say two weeks for
the two to fifteen. I want to go back to
the gut feelings. But right now he's at two o eight.
Well you going up a point? You got a yeah?
I mean slow steps. I mean, if you just want
to go one for four every game, shot that wood.
Let's go. Do you have the box germ from the
last night in front of you? Yes, oh for three,
So go give the on one for three. Go look
at four, five six in the Astros line up yesterday.
Let's see four was Jennardy Is oh for three, Walker
one for three, Jake Myers one for four with some
hard hit contact. Matt, you know what I like Jake.
I talked to Jake Yester as matter of fact.
Speaker 3: Good.
Speaker 1: Uh. If Jake is anything short of seven in the lineup,
it's not an indictment against him, it's an indictment against
his teammates. Seven sixty eight ops is good. Results have
been good. Do I expect him to continue? Can I
give you? Can I give you a crazy baseball take? Yes?
Thirty seconds. We'll talk more about this when I get
back next week. Okay, what if I put Jacob Myers
up for trade? What would you get? I could? I
could easily move chas and or Jacob Mountain in the
center field. I guess go give me. I think I'll
give me a hard hitting second. It's been one of
your best hitters. He's been one of your best players. Okay,
I'm not asking you to give me the long excerpt
of this. I'm telling you, if you're going to make
a trade, you have to give something back in return.
What's his? Could you are you? Could you be selling
him in a high water mark right this second that
the stock price for Jake is as high as it's
ever been. That's true. I'm just want you to think
about that for a couple of days and we can
revisit next Well, he's got two more years of team control.
That makes it even better, even better that you keep them. No,
because I don't think you're looking to spend the next
five years investing in Jake Myers. Why not you throw
him out there? He's been one of your best players
center field you can trade. You're gonna trade an everyday
center fielder with good average, not great average, a Gold
Glove finalist, gold Glove finalists, and you're gonna go get
your second base. You're just trying to piss me off.
And it's working week days ten to two. Sports Talk
seven and eight. Brian bogas Evin conversation is next. After
Ross tells you about centergenic was there today. We had
a chance of visiting with Brian bogus Evic. His visits
come to us every Wednesday at eleven o'clock here on
Sports Talk seven eight. We let to play like to play.
Some of the best parts of it in this segment
where we discussed again some of the things we were
talking about just in the last segment of our show,
and that's Christian Walker and his continued struggle to be played.
And we had a chance to ask Bogie a couple
of questions about the astra first basement, what he sees
from him at the plate.
Speaker 8: See anything physically. I don't think it's a oh my gosh,
this guy got old over the offseason, or the bat
speed's gone, or there's some big hole in his swing
that needs to be fixed. I think it's a combination
of a lot of outside factors. I know, you know
y'all mentioned earlier the batting average on balls in play.
Speaker 1: You know, there's a little bit.
Speaker 8: Of bad luck, you know, some balls not falling, some
good plays being made against them, balls hit right at people.
There's also you know, he's had some pitchers make some
good pitches on him. You know, you know, bad luck
that way where a borderline pitch doesn't go your way,
or you know the first pitch is a perfectly located
pitch that that you're not going to swing at. Now
you're in a hole, and when things aren't going your way,
those things in your mind get magnified. I mean, I
remember there being times standing in the batter's box thinking.
Speaker 1: Okay, here's my time.
Speaker 8: I'm gonna get aod a good first pitch right down
the middle of fat when to hit, and you get
dotted up in your O one and it's like deflation.
Speaker 1: Here we go again.
Speaker 8: And you can see some at bats from Christian Walker
here or there when when something doesn't go his way,
where you can just see him thinking like, oh man,
here we go again. It's happening again.
Speaker 1: Today's not going.
Speaker 8: To be the day. I think there is also something
to be said about just the Astros middle of the
order in general. I mean it's been inconsistent at best
in those three, four, five six spots throughout the course
of the year. You know, I think not having healthy
productive Yordon in there, having Yainer being up and down,
how Zael Twove has been up and down all of
a sudden, Christian Walker can be more of a focus
from opposing pitching staffs and how they're game planning for
the lineup as a whole. You know, if you've got
Jordon hitting in front of or behind him, maybe they're saying, hey,
Christian Walker is going to be the guy that we're
going to go after. And then all of a sudden
he gets some better pitches to hit, So you know,
it's usually a combination of a lot of things. And
when you're in the situation that he's in where you're struggling,
you know you're struggling, you're pressing because you want to
get out of it, all of those things feel even
more magnified than necessarily what we're seeing from the outside.
So yeah, I think it's just a lot of things
going on and swimming all in his head at once.
Speaker 1: Last question about him, they'll go to some other things.
If we were to find out Brian that his bat
speed was down a tick a significant amount, how do
you fix that? How could you fix that? What adjustice
would you make if you found if you found out yourself, Bolgie,
that your bat speed was down from a year ago,
what would you do?
Speaker 8: Yeah, well, the first thing I would do would be
look and see if there are mechanical reasons for it,
not necessarily strengths, age, injury, physical types of things. Is
there extra length in your swing that's slowing it down
or are you trying to do you know, are you
over swinging therefore not being as quick as you need
to be. I would first look at that kind of
stuff and then what you do is you look for,
you know, game plan adjustments, approach adjustments. You look at
Estoc paradies. He doesn't have elite elite back speed, but
he can turn on anything that anybody throws at him,
and it's just a matter of what pitches you're looking for,
kind of how you set up in the batter's box,
how you're working.
Speaker 1: In at that.
Speaker 8: So back speed isn't necessarily the end all be all
of being able to hit, but it is a big
part of the calculus in how you go about approaching
an entire at bat and how you're going to attack
certain pictures with different repertoires. So even if that speed
is down a little bit, that's not really an end
all be all of what you can do at the place.
Speaker 1: Brian Bogasivik with us here on Sports Talk seven ninety
and not just Walker, but just Diaz or anybody who's struggling,
Can you just kind of take us through what is
happening behind the scenes right now in your mind, as
far as you mentioned changing game plans and approaches, what
is the kind of mental battle that these guys are
going through where you don't want to reinvent the wheel
but obviously what's happening right now is working.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I think one of the biggest, one of the
biggest battles that you're fighting when you're in a prolonged
slump is not trying to do too much and therefore
digging yourself into a deeper hole. Uh. You know, oftentimes
you're not as far away as you might feel, especially,
you know, sometimes you'll feel like, oh my god, my
swing is in a terrible spot, and then you watch
the video and you're like, man, it doesn't look a
whole lot different from what it normally looks like. So
you don't want to go do major overholes, you know,
unless you absolutely have to. But it's small things. It's
maintenance work in the cage, it's watching video to make
sure you're not, you know, doing something in your setup.
There's kind of low hanging fruit things that you can
fix pretty quickly. You know, oh i'm a little bit
more closed off than I want to be, or a look,
my hands are drifting away from my body a little bit.
Those are kind of quick, easy fixes. So you're always
trying to stay on top of that with video stuff,
and a lot of it has to do with the
game planning. You know, who are we facing today? What
does he like to do? What is he going to
try to do against me? And how can I try
to tip the scales in my favor. You know, if
you're feeling a little bit long in your swing and
you're having trouble catching up to fastballs at the moment, Well,
what's this guy's best off speed stuff? What counts does
he like to throw his off speed stuff? When can
I hunt something soft out over the plate that I
can use the whole field and not necessarily have to
turn on high velossities. So doing things like that that
can maybe get you going a little bit, because you
know what you perceive as happening when you're struggling, Oh
my gosh, this guy made a pitch against me. I'm
screwed in this at that you brush those things off
very quickly once those balls start dropping in and all
of a sudden and oh, one count is like, Okay,
he made his pitch. I'm going to get him on
the next one.
Speaker 1: So it's just.
Speaker 8: About trying to play these little mental games and almost
tricking yourself into thinking, okay, I'm fine now, because once
you think that, you usually are.
Speaker 1: Do you think at this point, maybe Walker and some
of these other guys are just like, get me to
the All Star break. I like a mental break, some
days off and some rest and relaxation to kind of
just reset for the second half of the season.
Speaker 8: It could help, you know, a couple of days off,
a couple of days away from it to just kind
of be compressed. But also, you know, you can get
a fresh start without necessarily having to have that natural
break in the season. If all of a sudden you
have a good series and you can say, okay, from
this point going forward, what is my season. That's as
good as a restart as you need.
Speaker 1: If you can look.
Speaker 8: You know, once you get to this point two hundred
at bats or so, you know, if you're in a hole,
you're not going to dig your way out, Like Christian
Walker is not going to hit three hundred this year,
but he can look and say, hey, starting on you know,
June fifteenth forward, I hit three hundred with an eight
to fifty ops and just kind of play play those
games in your head. So yes, any kind of a
refresh restart is helpful, but it doesn't have to be
necessarily a break in the schedule.
Speaker 1: That again was Brian Bogus with us every Wednesday and
his entirety at eleven o'clock right here on Sports Talk
seven ninety Believe it or not, All things about Brian
Wilson me he r I P one fifty on Sports
Talk seven ninety Matt Ross with you for a final
segment today, back for a four hour, four hour get together.
Tomorrow Brian McTaggart will be on the show. You know,
Brian's taking his wife to Paris next week. He will
not be with us. I mean, the man's gonna tak
It's great. A week vacation in the middle of the
baseball season. That's his beat. Good for him. Yeah, Paris
on your list. Yeah, I want to go to Paris,
absolutely good to go to the Louver though, what hold on?
I heard it's dirty. Yeah, there's dirty.
Speaker 7: And I had a lot of French teammates that were
from Paris up this one.
Speaker 1: Most disgusting cities you can go too. Yeah, but I
figure if you're going to all the tourist trap spots,
it should be taken care of, I hope.
Speaker 2: So.
Speaker 1: Yeah, if I never lived a country that Chris Cordy,
you didn't go to Paris last year? He has big,
big traveler.
Speaker 7: It just came back from bed bugs too, right, Paris
and the city there bedbugs Paris, that's what it's called. No,
but like the you know, the Olympics that had all
those bed bugs problems, all the hotels and stuff like that,
rating the whole entire city.
Speaker 1: We can't have that. I don't want any part of that.
Should be fine. What you're winding, there's no bed bugs
that love. Okay. I just go on a cruise or
something like that and it goes the Eiffel Tower. Be
very romantic spot. Absolutely, That's what they had last year.
They had the beach, volleyball, cross songs, some bags and
music in the background the whole tel. Yeah, see posters
of Victor Obama and the Tony Paca. Yes, below Koliboi
whatever it is Washington Wizard, Sure, why not? That's one
of his French brethren. All right, five minutes left to
go in the show. What should we do? We should
play Uhmerica's fastest growing sports radio game. Should we simply
called it be believe it or not in here so
it works? Should call seven one three two one two
five seven Natti seven one three two two five seven
ninety Today's edition. I Believe it or not is all
things about Brian Wilson. He rests in peace. Things do
come in threes. Uh, I'll bring you. I'll read your
statement about Brian Wilson. Statements completely an utterly accurate. You'll
say this, believe it, sam as Hroni is full of
bunk commet up. You'll say this not to believe it
or not in a row when you're prize. What are
you playing for today, Jonathan Appear?
Speaker 7: Tickets to see Heart on June seventeenth a Smart Financial
Center in Sugarland. Tickets are all seale now at Smart
financial Center dot net.
Speaker 1: Bill, what's your favorite Beach Boys song? Good vib Braider? No,
it's good vibrations. I know, I know. Good luck to you, Bill.
That's actually not a bad line there from you. Brian
Wilson started in music with piano lessons from his mother
at a young age, and his first musical aspiration was
to be a concert pianist. Believe it or not? So
unbelievable but.
Speaker 8: Not.
Speaker 1: You don't even like Heart? Why are you even playing
this game? Brian Wilson's first Brian, you don't like by Heart?
Brian Wilson's first band was the Wilson Brothers, but it
was changed to the Beach Boys when Mike Love was added.
Believe it or not? That so little believable, but believe it? No,
I get out about it. Poor guy. So happy for you. No,
he almost had me or I almost had him? Or
I did? Joe on seven on He Joe, what was
your favorite part of today's ten to two radio show?
Everything between you and Ross and going back and forth
with the baseball and Oh my God. Brian Wilson's father
said he was a musical prodigy and as a baby
he hummed melodies in his crib before he could talk.
Believe it or not?
Speaker 2: Oh God, man, believe it?
Speaker 1: Yes, come on, there we go, Joe. We're rooting for you.
Ye name number two, statement number two for the win.
In nineteen seventy one, Brian Wilson had an LSD trip
that led to a religious experience. He was baptized in
the Church which of Christ, but left the church within
a year. Believe it, We're not believe it? No, I'm sorry, God,
it hurts me. I chose it all time. Plays Joe,
but he never wins. Chris on seven ninety Chris, you
were ready to play? Believe it or not?
Speaker 4: I'm ready.
Speaker 1: Due to a nerve issue since childhood, Brian Wilson did
not have hearing in his right ear. Believe it or not?
Believe it, Believe it is right, believe it, bo way,
let's get let's let's go out with a good vibrations
Jonathan to close up the show today again, that's a
good song statement number two for the wind. Brian Wilson
believed dogs could sense good and bad music and use
them to guide his songwriting. Believe it or not, believe it?
There you go. Congratulations, theres a win for our man.
Nicely done. Cody on seven ninety Cody, No, No, we're not.
The show's on over with. We're still finishing the game.
I just thought I was just trying to tell you
something ahead of time. All right, uh, Cody on seven
are you ready to play? Believe it or not? Believe it?
In nineteen seventy two, Brian Wilson's band members stage an
intervention on his drug use, and he escaped the meeting
by exiting a bathroom window. Believe it or not? Believe it? No,
that sounds believable, though, Ross you es good day for it?
Isn't it a good day for him? Jonathan was actually
really got suspriss Dave on seven at you ready to
play Believe It or Not? In nineteen ninety Brian Wilson
wrote a rap song. It was called smart Girls Believe
It or Not?
Speaker 2: Sounds crazy enough to believe it?
Speaker 1: You should? Congratulations, you're a winner. Nicely done. Now let's
hear some good vibrations. This is probably their ross. This
has got to be their best jam. I think got
a little harmony in it. Go with cocobo. Oh stop,
you're terrible. Y'all have a great day Aruba, Jamaica. So dismissive.
Up next, our beach boys, Clinton and Wexler. Actually I
don't think wex has ever been to a beach under
any circumstance, right, what I mean Clinton's gone because Clinton's
been enough to go to a beach. Have you been
at Galvezon, Great Graywater and seaweed? That's not nice? Up
next the aity about sports talk