Hey, it’s time. Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips; anything and everything in sports, and sometimes a whole lot more. With Art Sorce, with Laura Snoke, and with you. You can email us at [email protected], [email protected]. All right. We’ve got many; we’re taping this Friday, 1 o’clock Pacific daylight time. Many games that mean a lot as far as the college football world. And assuredly, with the new system of 24 schools, it means even more. On Saturday night on NBC, the Bruins, without their quarterback, will play Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s lost one time. Bruins are undefeated. And Art? You brought, were brought up as a Bruin fan. Can they beat Wisconsin without their number one quarterback? Laura, intervene. What do you think about the UCLA Bruins at home against Wisconsin as Art is frozen?

Well, I mean, the backup played pretty well last week against Oregon. I mean, you know, that was a tough environment for UCLA to go in, and that was just really, a really exciting game. So, yeah, I think so. I think so. But isn’t Iamaleava, is he going to come back? I mean, I don’t know what the status, his status is.

I think they said a torn meniscus or a torn anterior. Either case, I don’t think he’s coming back this year.

So he’s out for the season.

I think, let’s try Art again. Art, are you frozen, or you’re unfrozen? All right, Art is still frozen. Get your wife, who’s the technical one, Art Source, right here on Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips. All right, you. Art was at the Penn State-USC game. Laura, I don’t know if you were able to watch it last Saturday night. Trojans found a way to win and beat a pretty good team, 115,000 people, all in white, at Penn State. Any comments?

Yeah, Trojans look pretty good. UCLA looks pretty good. I mean, you know, we’ll see how they do come down the stretch. But it’s been, you know, it’s been pretty good for our Southern California college football teams. Our, our pro teams here aren’t doing so well. And of course, we all, we’re all mourning the demise of the Dodgers. So, but yeah, the college game, our college teams look pretty good.

Let’s try Art one more time before we go to a break. Art, can we hear you? Speak up.

Can you hear me now, you guys?

We hear you now.

How do I sound?

Talk about the Bruins.

Oh, I love it. Well, I’ll tell you this: the game I’m looking forward to, well, the game I’m really looking forward to is Ohio State at Indy, Indiana, tomorrow, early, 9:00 a.m. on the West Coast, 12 noon on Fox. I think this Ohio State team is in a position now where they, they’re starting to roll. A lot of good games in the early window. You got Mississippi State taking on LSU, Florida getting, getting after Texas, and University of Virginia and SMU. So, I mean, we’ve got a great slate of college football games. And Fred, this 2014 playoff is just boggling my, my mind.

Yeah.

Are they gonna actually cancel some of the Conference Championship games to make this come to fruition?

I don’t know. I, I think it’s ridiculous, and it’s certainly more ridiculous to do it seven weeks into the college football season. You want to do it next year; maybe you have an argument. I would still would not agree with it. But hey, you mentioned Texas. If Arch Manning was named Arch Smith, would he be rated as highly as he’s been rated since he came out of high school, Art Sorce? Would he be?

Well, according to the, according to the ESPN analysts, they say no. I mean, I still think the kid has great talent. I think he has a repertoire of great quarterbacks to draw from, between his, his father and his uncles, or his grandfather and his uncles. You know, I think they put a lot of pressure on the kid. He played one of the best second halves I’ve ever seen against Ohio State in their victory earlier this year. But to answer your question straight up, probably not. I mean, his last name is Manning, and that means a whole lot. And I hope, I hope, for his sake, that he continues to get better. Because they’re saying he’s the fifth or sixth-rated quarterback coming out of the draft this year. I think he might be a little higher than that in my estimation.

Laura, what do you think? Arch Manning, Arch Smith; that, would the ratings be different if his name was Arch Smith?

Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think there’s a lot of hype. I think that hype goes two ways, like Art said, you know, on the one hand, I think he gets more recognition and maybe a higher evaluation because of his pedigree. But on the other hand, it puts a lot more pressure on him. So, you know, I don’t. Well, I think, you know, there’s so much pressure on these kids. It’s, it’s, we’ll have to see. I mean, there’s a lot of college players that, you know, they, they’re late bloomers, right? They don’t come out until, you know, they don’t start playing well until they get into the pros for a few years. So we’ll see.

Well, I agree with you.

And the one sad thing that bothers me a little, Fred, Fred. One of the things that really bothers me is. I think freshmen or high school seniors becoming freshmen in colleges are really losing because of this NIL deal.

Yeah.

I think, you know, you used to be able to take a kid, he’d have his freshman year; I mean, for years, the NCAA said you really weren’t ready to play at 17 or 18, your freshman season. But then they started playing, and there are some great players. SC’s got a kid at defensive end that looks like TJ Watt, this Luke Wafel. He’s a heck of a player. But there’s very few guys that could come in and do it. And I’m noticing that less and less of these college, these high school superstars are getting immediate opportunities to come and get scholarships because there’s such a swirl of the NIL. What are your thoughts on that, you guys?

I, I agree. And that’s why I think, you know, when I started, and you started following it, Art, freshmen couldn’t play. They had a special freshman club. Then they went to four years. And now with the NIL and the and the transferring, it’s for a freshman, it’s got an impossible situation. I’ve got a friend whose son is a very good baseball player, very talented indeed. He’s going to be a high school senior. He’s a great athlete, but he’s not a junior or a senior. So they’re probably going to give the bucks to the junior.

Or senior and not gamble on the freshmen. So he might have to go to a smaller school. All right, let’s take a break and come back with a whole lot more. I want to talk National Football League stuff, and you can join us, [email protected]. It is Fred and the Fantastics with Art and with Laura on BLEAV and on PodClips, all straight away, right now. Fred and the Fantastics after this.

Hey, we’re back on Fred and the Fantastics with Art and with Laura. Mario’s producing the show, of course. You can email us, [email protected], [email protected]. All right, two weeks ago, Rams playing Philadelphia, and Jalen Hurts gets hurt, and he goes to his staff, and his ankle hurts. No, it’s really nothing. Don’t worry about it. And then he plays last week and they found out he has a blood clot. Art, you and I both remember, and Laura certainly remembers, that the NFL used to totally protect their players, that they’d get the NFL doctor, who’s not a team doctor, to try to balance that out. But in this case, he went to his team trainer, who said it was no big deal. By the next week, he’s got a blood clot. All right. He can die. I mean, a blood clot is not something you play with and joke with. And Eagles aren’t going to have him. But that’s not the story. The story is they didn’t find it till he played another game.

And when is the NFL going to get the message to take care of their players?

Yeah.

I mean, you really, this blue tent cracks me up, you guys. I mean, when? when these guys go in the blue tent, they’re, they’re trying to talk the guy in, you know, the doctor into letting them out of the blue tent, you know? In the old days, if you got dinged up, they just took your helmet away, and you’re running all over the place, you know, saying, ” What inning is it? Where’s my helmet?” I mean, this is, this is ridiculous. You don’t mess with it, with a young man who has a great career like a Jalen Hurts. A blood clot is very, very serious. That goes rolling up into the heart or into your brain; you’re talking heart attack or stroke. No, you have to, you have to, to, you know, quell that whole situation. You need an independent group of two or three guys that are not related to the league in any way, shape, or form to really be part of this medical process for the NFL.

Laura, you agree?

I do, but I thought they changed that. I thought they did require independent doctors now to evaluate, or is that just for concussions?

Well, Jalen Hurts did not go to an independent. He went to his train, trainer.

But I thought that, I thought the players had to, I thought they were taking that away from the players and the teams, so that, that they, because all the players are going to want to play. I mean, without that.

If that had been the case, he wouldn’t have played last week. This, the Ram game was two weeks ago,

Yeah.

When he came out with the calf injury, they said it was nothing serious.

He basically had, he had, he had this blood clot the whole time.

Yeah.

Okay, that’s the part I’m trying to figure out. I mean, you need, you need to really get a little bit deeper into this. And, you know, part of the problem there, and I’ll be straight up with you, is the Eagles don’t really have a very good backup quarterback, you know? And, and that, and I’m seeing that happen a lot more in the NFL, too. Couple, three years ago, the 49ers were thinking about putting McCaffrey in it in the single, putting McCaffrey in it in the single wing. Because they had, they had, you know, nobody behind him. And this is an NFC Championship game with Roger Goodell, the commissioner, in the stands. I mean, it was very embarrassing. So they said, Okay, well, let’s go with three quarterbacks. Well, now you have three quarterbacks. But are you going to bring in a guy that can really be a great backup and have to pay him the money? Or are you going to get a couple of young guys in there who might not really be prepared to play at a high level?

All right, let’s talk about a few of the games on Sunday in the National Football League. Folks, we’re taping this Friday afternoon. Laura, the Cardinals at SoFi against the Rams. Cardinals, one and four; the Rams, two and three. Rams about a 12-point favorite at home off the loss to Buffalo. Laura, I know you’re not a big Ram fan. Your comments?

Yeah, I mean, who cares? I’m gonna be watching.

Take the points, Laura.

No.

In the NFL, if you get 12 and a half or 13 points, you gotta take them.

I mean, the Rams. I think it’s do-or-die for the Rams, right? I mean, they, they do have to win this game, or they really, the way, the way the 49ers are playing? They’re, they don’t have a chance if they don’t start winning games. But, you know, I wanted to go back to something else we were talking about: you know, that apparently the NFL injuries are up 400, there’s over 400 injuries already. And,

Right.

Seventeen touchdowns. Oh, that’s, that’s flagged, sorry. But there’s a lot; there’s a whole bunch of quarterbacks that are injured. And it’s like, they, they said, there’s more injuries this year than in a decade. So something’s going on that needs, I, you know, they keep talking about trying to protect the players. And here we go with more injuries than, than there’ve been in a decade.

Laura, Laura said more injuries, which is 100% accurate. Art, how do you protect the quarterbacks? Already we’re saying there were too many fouls called, too many penalties called. So how, Art, can you protect the quarterbacks?

Run the football. Seriously, you guys, we’re, we’re running around playing shotgun all day long. Quarterbacks are running out to the right; they’re throwing the ball all over the yard. If you can go back to an old Bill Cowher type of an approach, where you have a bellwether cow at a running back and control the ball, you’re going to see a lot less injuries; you’re going to have faster games; the clock’s going to run. This, this sitting in the shotgun or the pistol? To me, what really drives me nuts, Fred, is when they’re at the goal line, at the one-yard line, and the quarterback’s set up at the seven-yard line with the running back next to him. So you gotta get six yards just to get to the line of scrimmage, and you’re trying to get a yard to get in the end zone. Pay dirt. I mean, it makes no sense to me. And, and, and, you know, half of these quarterbacks from college don’t even know what it’s like to get under the center and take a snap. I’ve never seen so many fumbled snaps. I mean, things that you would think are very, very integral, that are easy to do, it’s not there. So I’m wondering if they don’t have enough time to work with the kids. I’m also saying, for the injury situation, you know, you could build muscles all around joints, but the tendons can only handle so much, okay. And, and I’m wondering if they’re not overworking out, they’re getting too big, too strong, and I think things are breaking down. That’s one of my theories on it. I think the elasticity of the athletes might be changing. I think they might be a little bit too muscle-bound. And I think that could be something to look into.

And Jalen Daniels of, Jake Daniels of the Commanders, not exactly a super genius. I like to say that on Fred and the Fanastics.

All right.

All right, Laura, your, your game, Laura.

That was crazy.

Laura, your game, Bills at the Raiders. Bills’ favorite, Raiders, three and two, losing two in a row, giving up 45 points to the Patriots last week. Can your Raiders beat the Bills? Bills, of course, one day short of practice. Your thoughts, Laura?

I think they can. I’m like, divided loyalties here in this game because the Bills are my second favorite team. So I was thinking about going to that game. But the tickets are like, astronomical. I think that to get a good seat was like $5,000 a ticket or something.

Yeah, that’s what I heard: $4,000, $5,000.

A little too rich for me. Yeah, it’s just huge. So I think the Raiders played pretty well against the Patriots. I mean, that game could have really gone either way. And I think the Raiders need to. I, I don’t know. I mean, if I were betting on it, I’d probably bet that the Bills are going to win. But my heart would be with the Raiders.

Art, if they lose three or four in a row, even if the quarterback is playing well, will Mendoza get the shot? Or would he not get the shot? He got a shot in the fourth quarter, of course, in the 45-17 loss.

I thought he, yeah, I thought he looked good last week in the, in the small cameo that he got to do. In that game itself, in Allegiant, I got to tell you, I think the Bills are going to win by 10 points or more. I just think that’s what I saw against the Rams. And the Rams? The Rams are a good football team, aside from the, McVay and all the problems. Their secondary’s a little weak. But what Josh Allen brings to a football team in terms of being able to run and pass? And I mean, they were lucky, the Rams; Shakir was going for a touchdown and that guy made an unbelievable shoestring tackle on him, or that game would have been over. But that particular situation is, I think, you know, Kubiak has made some great inroads with the, with the Raiders. And I, and I think the Raiders are on their way to, to becoming a better team. But I think Buffalo, based on the, the momentum of that victory over the Rams, they stayed out on the West Coast. I think they’re going to go into Allegiant Stadium, and they’re going to win 34 to 21. That’s my call.

Chargers at the Chiefs. Chargers lost another game last week. They could lose nine or 10 in a row if things continue in this pattern of theirs. Harrison traded from Arizona to Texas. Don’t you think that Herbert, Art, could have used a wide receiver like Marvin Harrison Jr.? I don’t know if the Clippers, the Clippers, the Chargers are even in on that. But it seems to me, every time Herbert goes back to pass, nobody’s open.

Yeah, Good Freudian slip, though. They remind me a little bit of the Clippers.

The San Diego Curse.

But yeah, Lad McConkey, you know, he’s, exactly. Lad McConkey is, is a good little receiver. You know, I mean, I just, my question is this, Fred? I look at Jim Harbaugh, who’s a no-nonsense old-school NFL quarterback. Then I look at Mike McDaniel. Is that a marriage made in heaven? I don’t think so. I just don’t understand how they, how they get along. I don’t see the, the concept there. And so far, I’ve been proven right. I didn’t like the move in the very beginning. I don’t know what’s going on with, with Justin Herbert. I still think the kid has incredible talent. But he, he throws into double coverage. He’s not seeing where he’s going. He’s not doing his reads properly. And I understand he’s been in five different offenses in probably six years. So I got to give him a little bit of slack on that. But I just don’t get it. I, I thought this Charger team was primed to be a playoff contender. And they’re 0-5 heading into Arrowhead Sunday. And I, I just don’t see things looking much, much better for them.

I think the Chiefs will score as many as they want. Hey, Laura, before we go, you have a choice. Your quarterback with the Bills or my quarterback, Pat Mahomes. If you had one game to win, who would your quarterback be, Laura Snoke?

Between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes?

Uh huh. Who would your quarterback be?

It would have to be Josh Allen. I couldn’t. I mean, it would just have to be Josh Allen, absolutely.

Why?

No question.

If you put Josh Allen, if you put Josh Allen on the Kansas City Chiefs, he’d already have three world titles.

You think so?

Yeah, I really do.

And how many? How many?

I just think, that’s, that’s,

Well, Mahomes has,

Mahomes has two.

Has two, so. So you, you would take?

I mean, they’re both great.

You would, you both would.

I really would. I mean, and nothing against Patrick, nothing against Patrick. He’s a wonderful, great quarterback. He, and he’s probably going to win a couple more with Andy Reid if Reid stays. But I mean, like I said, there was an old axiom years ago: if you take your team and I take my team, you know, that coach would beat me with your team and my team. I think Josh Allen is that good, if you put him in the right situation. You put him on the Rams, okay, and the Rams would not be 2-3 right now.

Laura, you got 30 seconds. Wind up the week in the world of sports, the positives, the negatives, your Dodgers down the tubes. Take it away, Laura – 15, 30 seconds. Go ahead.

Yeah, well, looking forward to the football games on Sunday. I’m, you know, really disappointed with the Dodgers, of course. And I just thought they could have at least made a better showing. They just seemed like they were, you know, they just weren’t, I don’t know what, they were, they were like in a funk or something. And, but, but yeah, also tomorrow, No Kings demonstrations all over the country, so going to participate in that, and we’ll see everybody next week.

Thank you, Laura. Thank you, Art. Thank you, Mario. Thank you, guys and gals, for listening to Fred the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips. Stay tuned for much more straight ahead. Bye, everybody.