Hey everybody, it’s Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips. Laura, and Art, and you. You can email us, [email protected]. We’ll talk about this, that, and anything in sports. And of course, we’re taping this about 1 o’clock on Friday afternoon. Tomorrow night in Oxford, Mississippi, sort of an interesting game, LSU versus Ole Miss. And Art, who’s gonna win? Is Lane gonna come out, okay? And what do you think’s gonna happen?

Well, after, after watching that Buffalo game against Detroit, I was really worried about taking, you know, laying the 54 and a half over. And then I, then I said, you know what? The way, the way Josh Allen looks, hey, I’m gonna tell you something: you got two great quarterbacks tomorrow night. All right, you got Levitt, and you got Trinidad Chambliss. You’ve got, you know, all the things that are, that are melting in, in Oxford. You know, they’re not allowed to have LSU hats in the student body. You know, they’re gonna be escorted from the game. You know, you’ve got, you got Lane Kiffin. I think Lane Kiffin has too many horses, though. Honestly, I think this team was built, even without his two professionals, this team was built to be there at the end. And I mean, it’s gonna be crazy, but I think they’re gonna find a way. I don’t know if they’ll cover the spread, but I think it’s gonna be a dandy game. You don’t wanna miss it.

Laura, you’re always busy on the weekend. Do you think you’ll watch the game?

I’m gonna try to watch the game. Yeah, I think I wanna watch this game. I mean, the whole Jewish holidays this year are interfering with my football schedule. So, but, I think I’m gonna watch that game.

You wanna hear some funny story? At least I read it; it was funny. Lane Kiffin’s daughter is still at Mississippi as a student. She just started a company, I think a design company. She stayed at Mississippi. Art, any comments?

Well, I think her boyfriend is the starting linebacker for LSU, number 44.

Yeah.

So, I mean, I would stay where I was and get my degree. I mean, she’s got a hell of a future. From what I’ve noticed. I mean, yeah, just, that whole situation is bizarre, though, to me.

Who is she gonna be rooting for?

That’s what I was – that was my question. That’s what I mean. I think it’s gonna be her boyfriend, my personal theory.

Boyfriend versus her father. I’d probably pick the boyfriend, too, but.

If you’re, if you’re an institution of higher learning, like LSU,

Really? What are those?

How do you fire? How do you hire Mr. Brian Kelly? And there was a quick lie in between. But that doesn’t count, and then Lane Kiffin? Art, you really have to stretch to take two guys back-to-back, basically, as those two. Any comments?

Well, I think the governor of Louisiana actually runs the program, from what I’m gathering. So, I, I agree with you, Fred. You know, they say that there’s no better place. And then they hire Ed Orgeron, too, Fred.

Yeah.

To come back and be, help their recruiting coordinator. I mean, this place, I don’t know what kind of budget they have. You know, it reminds me of Edward Bennett Williams when he owned the Redskins, and he hired George Allen. He said, I gave him an unlimited budget, and he exceeded it. I mean, that’s basically where you’re at, at LSU.

All right, let’s talk about UCLA versus Purdue on Sunday, Saturday night. The Bruins are 2-0. Laura, can they make it three in a row?

Yeah, I hope so. I think they’re, they look pretty good. You know, I just read that there, there’s a high school recruit, a quarterback, who’s kind of like the UCLA quarterback, that is looking at, he’s like a four-star recruit, looking at three schools: Oregon, UCLA, and Kentucky. Kentucky’s an interesting choice for football, but,

That’s from Will Stein, who got the head coaching job, used to be the offensive coordinator at the University of Oregon. He’s, he’s supposed to be a, you know, quarterback whisperer, kind of a guy.

Yeah, but they got this kid who is 6’2″, 180.

Wow.

So, he’s kind of small. I mean, thin, right?

Yeah.

But, so, you know, hopefully Chesney’s building a new, a new start there for the UCLA football program. And, and, well, let’s see, I, I think they’ve got, you know, they’re, they’re on the way, I hope. Let’s hope.

Art, your Trojans, I think, are three touchdown favorite of Rutgers. I think they’ll win big.

I’m going to the game, Fred.

Are you really?

We got great tickets. yeah. We got, we got four tickets for a total of 320 bucks, which is a good deal. Matter of fact, if I go to the Penn State game, which USC’s gonna play in in about four weeks, they wanted $500 a ticket. So, we decided, okay, since I’m not made of money, I, Piscataway, New Jersey; we stayed there. When I went to the, the last LIV tournament, got the same hotel room; good deal. They have a lot of New York Trojan Clubs. It’s gonna be really fun. I’m looking forward to it. It’s gonna be a great ballgame. I’ve always been a Schiano fan, and I kind of feel bad for Rutgers right now. But USC looks good. But getting back to UCLA, I’m gonna tell you what, don’t sell Purdue short, you guys. And I love Chesney, what they’ve accomplished. But I think this guy’s the right guy at the right time. I think he’s gonna build a program. But that’s gonna be a good game tomorrow morning. Because I’ve played in West Lafayette. And I’ll tell you what, the fans get into the game. And it’s gonna be a tough thing, because, you know, a lot of these, these, these programs, they start the season with, you know, I mean. And you can’t say that with UCLA. They went and played Cal in Strawberry Canyon, and Cal has a good team. So, I, I think it’s gonna be a fun game. I really look forward to all kinds of action this weekend. It’s where you start to see the NFL guys start to step up a little.

Speaking about UCLA, they’ve now decided to allow the students in free. Art, you mentioned this on Sports Over Night America, but in football, it’s fine that they’re free. But don’t you think the students should be paid a, an amount like $500 to sit through Cronin’s basketball? What do you think?

I like that concept. They get a rebate. Well, I gotta tell you, Fred, I’ve always thought that. you know, for, for college students, five bucks, you know, for the, you know, five bucks is five bucks. What’s? You know, I mean, that’s how I look at it. But, you know, I did notice. The UCLA crowd was about 45,000 to 50,000 in their home game last week, which is double what it’s been the last few years. So, maybe, you know, maybe the things are turning around. And I’m a big believer in Bob Chesney. I mean, I, he’s not, and I’m not gonna say he’s gonna be Cignetti quite yet, but I like what he’s done in, in turning the Bruin program around a little bit.

Laura, how much money should the UCLA, school of UCLA, pay the students to sit through Mick Cronin?

I don’t know. But you know, I remember in the 70s, I, I had a boyfriend who was, he actually played on the pro tennis tour.

That’s when you were five or six, right?

Yeah, I was in utero. But he, he, he played for UCLA, and he had season tickets to UCLA basketball and football, of course. But we used to go to the basketball games, and they were packed. I mean, you couldn’t get a ticket to those games. It was, and now it’s like, I don’t. Like, it’s like, half full. And, yeah, it’s just a tragedy that, with this Mick Cronin, I mean, it’s just, I don’t know. I think they should,

Well, you also gotta look at Guerrero and Jarmond, the two athletic directors, Laura.

Yeah.

They did not do a whole lot to build those programs up.

You’re right.

And they’re both down-the-road motors, which I think is right.

51 years since John Wooden retired.

It’s hard to believe.

All right, back with more on Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips, right after this.

Hey, welcome back, everybody. It’s Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips. So much to talk about. Let’s talk about the National Football League this weekend, folks. We’re taping this Friday afternoon. Art, do you think the Jets will ever get an interception? They’ve gone, what? 17 games?

You know what? I’m, I’m thinking about making that one of my prop bets this weekend. They’re so due for an interception. And, you know, I mean, the Jets actually looked really good last week. And they’ve had so many number one draft picks over the last 10 years. Maybe they’re onto something here, Fred.

But, well, I don’t know what the all-time record is, but I know that no team has ever gone 17 games in one season without an interception. But again, they’ve gone, now, at least 18 games without an interception. And it’s hard. You know, I wanna, I wanna bring something up, and maybe you guys agree or disagree. Aaron Glenn was, I thought, a good defensive guy for the Lions. Now, he’s gone to the Jets, and apparently, he’s not a great coach, head coach. But now the Lions can’t stop anybody. So, Art, what do you think? Is Aaron Glenn good, bad, or indifferent? Or what? What’s the point?

You know, Fred, over the years, one thing I’ve noticed in the NFL is there are great offensive coordinators, great defensive coordinators. Dick LeBeau, the great defensive coordinator for the Steelers, as a head coach, not real good. You know, my old coach at USC, Norv Turner, one of the great offensive minds, his record as a head football coach, not so good. Paul Hackett, another one. So, I mean, I kind of understand; there are certain times, and I’ve talked to Ray Malavasi about this many, many, many years ago. He was considered to be a real good defensive mind. He goes, what happens is, you’re either an offensive coach or a defensive coach, unless you’re a special teams coach, which are very few of those. And, you know, you’re forced to kind of, like, do your thing. And the best coaches do a good job of coaching the coaches who coach the players. And I think that’s part of this whole situation. There are guys that are great head football coaches that understand everything, like your Andy Reeds, your John Harbaughs. You know, you go back in history, you go to Bill Walsh. Bill Walsh was unbelievable at what he did. You know, but I think there’s other guys like Aaron Glenn, who’s a good defensive coordinator. And I mean, he proved it with his Detroit defenses. But as a head football coach, it’s a different game.

All right. On Sunday afternoon, 1 o’clock at SoFi, Laura’s 1-0 Raiders against the 0-1 Chargers. Chargers, a 7.5-point favorite. Laura – A, are you guys going to be there? And B, are they going to win?

A, I’m not going to be there. But B, they are going to win. Their home game in LA. It is not a road game for the Raiders. I’ve been to all the Raiders, it’s the first one I’m going to miss since the Chargers moved to,

And I mean, the Chargers didn’t exactly look like a world beater last week, by the way.

They did not. And I can tell you, if there are, if there are a quarter of the fans, Chargers fans, it’s a lot. And tailgating? I mean, there are no Charger tailgaters at SoFi during the Raiders games. I’m telling you, it is all Raiders.

I guarantee you, the Raiders will have probably 50% of the people in that stadium.

More than that, but yeah.

Maybe you might be right. You might be right. And I’m taking, I’m taking the Raiders, and I’m taking the points. And until I see Mike McDaniel turn that offense around, the Chargers, to me, are just like they’ve always been: wannabe champions.

Laura, what’s your alibi for not going to the game?

Rejects from San Diego.

What?

I was saying, the Chargers are just another reject from San Diego. My alibi is Kol Nidre, Yom Kippur. I’m going to Temple that night. It’s just, there’s not enough time. But I’m going to watch it.

You think that’s more important than the NFL?

Well, as a matter, I shouldn’t say that on a sportscast, but yeah, I do.

Okay, Fred, I got a question for you. All right. I love what Caleb Williams did last Sunday.

Yeah.

That performance against Carolina was unbelievable. Now, they’re at home against Minnesota, okay, who’s probably going to start? Carson Wentz is what I’m hearing.

Yeah.

How can they only be a five-point favorite at home over Minnesota? Does that surprise you?

Well, first of all, I read early this morning, folks, we’re taping this Friday afternoon, that Kyler Murray was working out. So it’s a possibility that he plays. So maybe.

Then they should even get more points.

Yeah, good point. But maybe the oddsmaker doesn’t want to really get taken advantage of. So maybe since they’re not sure, they split the difference and make it five. I thought it’d be seven and a half or something like that.

That’s what I thought, seven and a half or eight at home, you know, in Chicago.

Okay, let me ask you. The Steelers actually won a game last week with Aaron at quarterback. What happens this time when they play the Patriots, who didn’t win last Wednesday night?

Boy, you know, the Patriots are a tough, tough team to put a finger on. Last year, they had the easiest schedule in the NFL. This year, they have the toughest schedule in the NFL. Watching Drake May do what he did at the end of the game last, last Wednesday night, or what? 10 days ago. They’ve had 10 days to get their act together. The Steelers are on the road. It’s going to be a tough ballgame. I actually think New England will pound the ball a little bit more. I think if you throw the ball against the Steelers, you’re setting yourself up for trouble. Because they’ve got some really good defensive ends coming off the corners. So if I was going to look at this game, I would say 21, 21-13, New England.

All right, Sunday night, Colts at the Chiefs. Chiefs certainly looked solid on Monday night against Dallas. Laura, who do you like? The Chiefs or the Colts? You got, what, nine and a half, or is it eight and a half? I can’t read it. But Chiefs are a favorite at home versus the Indianapolis Colts. Who do you like, Laura?

Well, I don’t like the Chiefs at all, but I do think they’re going to win.

I’ll tell you, Kenneth Walker showed, showed a whole lot in that game, you know, and you give, you give Andy Reid a running game, coupled with that defense playing way better than I thought they were, in my opinion, I just have a funny feeling they’re going to run the ball, they’re going to keep things very. I mean, I’m, a couple of times when Mahomes got loose and wanted to run around, I was like, I was holding my breath, and I’m sure Andy Reid was holding his breath just like Eric Bieniemy was. Because, I mean, he is, he is still fresh off a double knee problem. And I mean, I know it’s,

He says his knee feels normal. What he said was, I was going to ask you about this, because he had the weirdest comment. He said, My knee feels absolutely normal. I was a little more sore than usual because I haven’t played football very much lately. I thought, Well, don’t you get more sore as the season goes on? Why would you?

If he keeps running the ball, he’s going to be plenty sore.

Why would you be the sorest in the first game? I didn’t understand that comment.

I think he was; he hasn’t been hit since he got hurt back in, I think, week, week 12 of last year. So it’s, it’s been a long time since he actually got popped. Because if you go to an NFL practice, those guys have their gold jerseys on, and you’re not allowed to get anywhere near those quarterbacks, man.

Okay, Art. As solid as Seattle’s defense is, and will be, they saw what Kenneth Walker did for the Chiefs. In their minds, are they saying, gosh, maybe we should have resigned him? Yes or no?

I’m sure they have a couple of thoughts on that. But I like their two, their two young running backs. The kid from Notre Dame, I think, is going to pan out. I’m not a huge Lock fan, but he, he does have a lot of potential as a quarterback. He’s, he’s got the arm. You know, I think he could move pretty well. I think the Sam Darnold high ankle injury is going to be a lot more pervasive and harmful than they think. I, I had a high ankle sprain, Fred, and I was a young man when it happened, and it took almost six, seven weeks for it to heal completely. So we’ll see what happens.

Laura, to wind things up on Fred the Fantastics, talk about your sports weekend.

Well, I’m going to watch the LSU-Ole Miss Game on Saturday, for sure. I’m going to watch football the first couple of games. I’m going to watch the Raiders game. I won’t be watching the, the, the Sunday night game, unfortunately. But, um, yeah, I’m just, I’m rooting for the Raiders, and we’ll see how, how it goes.

All right, for Laura, for Art, for Mario. Thank you, guys and gals, for listening to Fred the Fantastics on BLEAV and PodClips. More later. Bye, everybody.