Folks, it’s that time again. Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips, Anything and everything in Sports and a little bit more. Along with Art Sorce, Laura Snoke, and Mark Mancini, I am Fred. You can email us at [email protected], [email protected]. And folks, we’re taping this at one o’clock on Friday. The Winter Olympics, actually, the opening was a couple hours ago. Art. Are you excited about the Winter Olympics?

I actually am, I do love the downhill skiing. I’m amazed at how tough Lindsey Vonn is. I mean, an ACL injury, she reminds me of Heinz Ward in the old days, without his ACL. She’s going to compete in the downhill. I mean, what a tough, tough young lady she is. She’s not a spring chicken either, at 40 years of age. But Fred, I gotta ask you a question about this Super Bowl. I mean, pretty interesting matchup. They’re excited. What are your thoughts? I mean, great weekend for sports. I mean, are you excited about the Super Bowl?

I like Bad Bunny going away against Kid Rock.

How many kids does Bad Bunny have?

I don’t think there’s any question. Bad Bunny’s much too quick going to the left.

Laura, do you like Bad Bunny or do you like Kid Rock?

I feel like it’s an ice cream or something.

I love Bad Bunny. In fact, our invitation said Good friends, good food, and a bad bunny.

Oh, I love it. I wonder if there are going to be any Playboy bunnies running around.

No, those are good bunnies and the bad bunnies.

It’s interesting. I’m going to say this: Sandy and I have been married 31 years. I obviously watched the entire Super Bowl from three hours before to three hours after, but I have never sat through. Never. I’m going to say this: I’ve never sat through a halftime show, except this Sunday, I will watch this halftime show and see if ICE is out or not.

You know, I host a party, and I have two rooms. In one room is where game watchers sit. In the other room is where the food is, where everybody socializes, and people come, the game’s on, but it’s not necessarily people always watching it. So, at halftime, I use it to say hi to people, so I have never watched a halftime show either. I watch every second of the game, but I have never watched an entire halftime show.

I think I like the room where everybody’s mingling.

So let me ask you guys a question. Harden goes to Cleveland, A.D. goes to the Washington Wizards. In my mind, what are the Wizards thinking about when you go get a guy like Anthony Davis?

I don’t know, they’re paying him $50 million, I think, and he plays about a third of the game or a third of the season.

I mean, wouldn’t he be the kind of guy that maybe a playoff contender would look at as like, you know, maybe we can keep him healthy and then for the playoffs, work him in the last 10 games of the regular season, and then he could be, you know, somebody that can help us get over the hump, maybe? I don’t get it.

I don’t know, but I’ll tell you I’ve been really, and it’s almost like I got myself into soccer years and years ago. I’ve been really loving tennis. And Djokovic, to me, and Nadal are like the GOATs of that whole sport.

Hey, and Alcaraz, Alcaraz, that final.

I don’t particularly like that guy too much.

No, but that final between Djokovic and Alcaraz was pretty special if you watched it.

Yeah, but I don’t think,

How about that semi-final between Djokovic and Sinner?

Oh, that was riveting tennis. Yes, it was.

That was absolutely one of the best matches I’ve ever seen.

And Osaka, I think she’s another McEnroe, or whatever, you know her name was.

So, how about the Tigers getting Framber Valdez? I think that’s a big, big move for them. You know, I look at that AL Central Baseball, we’re only what 10 days away from spring training, pitchers and catchers showing up in the Grapefruit and in the Cactus leagues?

Okay, so let me throw you something. He makes three years, $115 million, so if it was $120 million, it would be $40 million a year.

$38.3.

Fine pitcher. Simultaneously, the best pitcher in baseball, who’s won two consecutive Cy Youngs for the Tigers, won in arbitration. He’s not going to be making $19 million; he’s going to be making $32 million. Okay, so now what do the Tigers do because of this? I don’t know, I’m going to have to ask Laura this. Laura? It’s a very good possibility that the 2027 season, there’s a lockout if they sign Stovall to four years at $60 million. And there’s no season because the owners have locked the players out. Laura, you’re an attorney. I think they still own the money. So the Tigers are in a very tough scenario here, tough situation. What do they do? This is a free agency year, so we’ll find out. But Laura, what do you think, would they have to pay him if there’s a lockout?

I mean, it depends on what the contract says. I mean, I don’t know is it a personal services contract? It depends if the contract has a clause in it that says the money’s guaranteed if there’s a lockout or not.

Fred, is there a precedence from this in the old strike years? I don’t think players got paid, right?

I’m not sure, I am not sure.

Unless there’s some sort of overall agreement between the players and the Major League Baseball that would override a contract, it would depend on what their contract says.

Do you think baseball eventually is going to have a salary cap?

Yes.

No,

Why?

I don’t think so.

Why?

Well, we’ve been talking, Kip Gross and I’ve been talking about this,

You’re a Pirate fan, Mark. You need a salary cap.

Well, no, but you know, Kip Gross and I were talking about that, and I don’t think the players will ever agree. First of all, the average ticket price to go to the Super Bowl is $6,800, first of all.

That’s a complete joke.

Yeah,

That’s the average or the minimum average?

Average. In other words, for seats up at the top of the stadium at Levi’s Stadium, $6,000. Give me a break, right?

Okay? So let’s say, and that’s going to sell out. You got guys like Steve Cohen that are dropping $800 million contracts out, and some of these other guys are dropping off deferred contracts. Why in the heck would a baseball player stand there and agree to a salary cap when there’s a lot of money in this country? They’re not going to agree to it. I’m going to, I’m going to put my hand out there. I don’t think they’re going to agree to it.

Here’s my problem. All right, I’m going to say this, and you know, my conservative leaning. You got too many people out there, 10, 12, 14, 15, 25 million people who are barely getting by. Okay, so I at a certain point in time, if you can’t play baseball for $20 million, I’m a, I just think we’re going up the wrong road. You know, there’s got to be something, because eventually they’re going to price themselves out of existence. You’re going to be able to go to Dodger Stadium with your kids and your wife, and it’s going to cost you two grand to watch a baseball game.

Artie, they’re going to draw 5 million fans. If you’re losing money in the sport, then open up your books so that I can see,

They never lose money, because the price of the, of the franchises continue to rise.

So why, why are we headed for a salary cap? Because the players are asking the owners to show us that you’re actually losing money.

Okay. Why we have to, so, why we have to have a salary cap is the Pittsburgh Pirates. If you’re a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, you’re a player, they’re not going to pay as much as somebody else. We know that, and I know that.

They’re arguing about giving McCutcheon $7 million, they want to give him five. Here’s a guy that’s an MVP, great for the team,

Right, what do they do with the luxury tax, Fred? They should be making them spend it.

What they have to do, what they have to have is a salary cap, what they have to have is a bottom level. But you have to be above. All the players at that point have a chance. Right now, there are teams out there, if you’re playing for Minnesota or the Pirates or clubs, Kansas City. There’s not a lot of money, they’re not spending a lot of money for you, so it’s just not fair. And so eventually, the players will talk to the bosses and whatever, I believe there will be a salary cap at some point. And if you’re another owner, how do you compete with the Dodgers?

The only team that I’ve seen do it recently? You know, honestly, Fred, Milwaukee has done a great job. Tampa Bay, over the last couple of decades, has done a great job.

Well, I think Fred, and Artie, and Laura, what you have to do is if they’re splitting up the luxury tax, you’ve got to force these teams to use the money instead of putting it in their pockets.

That’s a good point.

What’s going on with my boy Crosby, Max Crosby, and the Raiders? Did he get totally dissed at the end of the season? And he’s upset. He doesn’t want to play for him anymore. Have you guys heard anything about this?

He’s going to the WWE.

Hey, let’s take a break and come back. More on Fred and the Fantastics with Laura, with Art, with Mark, and Mario. Come back with more, right after this.

Hey, we’re back on Fred and the Fantastics with art, with Laura, and with Mark. You can email us at [email protected]. Heard on BLEAV and on PodClips, and Art, for you to answer these questions and conversation pieces on Fred and the Fantastics, you take a rare and a very positive legal medicinal product. What do you take?

It’s called Prevagen, and I also take something called Focus Factor, which also has more vitamins in it. This is basically just, I think it’s ground-up jellyfish is what it is, it’s called aquacoron. But this Asian ginseng is also very good for you, gives you a little energy. But Fred, I wanted to ask you a question regarding baseball, if we could. If you look at the season this year, we’ve been talking about baseball and the haves and the have-nots. Do you see more than six teams that really have a legitimate chance to be World Series Champions?

Probably not, barring injuries for the other teams. And again, you know, it’s interesting, again, the Dodgers had more injuries last year, I think, than any team in baseball. They won the World Series. Now, it took a miracle to beat Toronto, but they got that far, even if they lost to Toronto, with more injuries than anybody in baseball. I got to believe things balance out. Maybe they won’t have as many injuries. Dodgers might win 100 games; they won 93 last year.

I’m thinking, 104 to 106,

Yeah, they could do that.

Yeah.

And if I’m another owner, you know, you can talk about this all the time. If I’m even a St. Louis Cardinal owner, or Pittsburgh Pirate owner, or even the Giants owner. I mean, OK, they spent a little bit on Harrison Bader, $20 million over two years, and he’s a fine defensive center fielder. And the Giants definitely need help in the outfield defensively, but they can’t compete with the Dodgers on anybody the Dodgers want.

Fred, Can I give you a statistic that blows people away? You know, Major League Baseball Network has their top players in the league, and they did their top 35 players in baseball. How many Dodgers were in, within the top 35 players?

Current players?

Current players. Right now,

I would say probably three.

Laura. How many do you think?

Four?

I’m going to think?

I got to think,

I’d say more than three, because I can think of three right off the bat.

OK, you got Ohtani,

Number one, you got Freddie Freeman, Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, Will Smith, Mookie. There’s six of them that are on it. Six of them.

Yeah, what about the pitchers?

We’re not even counting the pitchers, that’s what I mean.

Who are they?

Yamamoto. Yeah, I mean, it could be seven or eight.

Who is the sixth, Max Muncy?

No, Kyle Tucker. I’m going to do it one more time for you.

Muncy would clearly not be in the top 35.

Muncy barely made the top 200.

Muncy can’t hit his weight.

Muncy’s biggest handicap is his defense.

Oh yes, in third base.

Oh, he’s a horrendous third baseman, Laura, he’s a horrendous third baseman.

But anyway, the point I’m making is they have seven of the top 35 players in Major League Baseball in their starting lineup. That isn’t even dealing with the pitching staff.

Still, I’ll see you. Right now, I think the Giants have the best infield in the National League.

Adames? Yeah, I like him in shortstop,

You see, the Giants infield is,

I mean,

Laura, let me ask you a question. Luis Arraez, fine hitter, three-time batting champion.

Yeah,

Why did they have him at first base in San Diego?

Because he can’t play second.

Because he can’t play second. So what are you talking about, Mark?

Well, I mean, I’m talking about, I don’t know who’s the second baseman there? But they got Chapman at third, Adames hits short, and who’s the second baseman? I can’t think,

Arraez. They moved him over. That’s the point. He’s a first baseman who can’t play second, or the Padres would have had him at second.

Well, he’s playing first now, but there’s a second baseman over there now, and they got four solid bats.

Get my baseball book out.

And we’re not talking about Harrison Bader yet.

Dodgers are going to three-peat. You heard it from me.

I’m telling you, they probably already sent Pat Riley his money, Laura.

Laura, I’m going to have fun, Laura, I’m going to have fun with TikTok in two weeks when I start going after the Dodgers.

Hey, what do you got behind you there, Mark? Is that the Roberto Clemente Bridge?

That’s, we’re getting ready for the parade,

I love it.

There’s a big parade in October,

Let me say this. Last night, folks, we are taking this Friday afternoon. On Thursday night on NBC, they had the NFL honors. One of the most interesting parts, I thought, was Christian McCaffrey won an award for helping servicemen after their careers are over in the Army or the Navy. And he’s out there to save their lives, because, apparently, 20 ex-service guys kill themselves every day in this country. And so a couple years ago, Christian McCaffrey started this service to help them out, and he spent a lot of his own money. And other people have spent money to help lives. And the person that introduced him to pick up the award was his dad, Ed McCaffrey.

What a guy he is.

That was a very interesting part,

That whole family, I mean, mom was a great track star and volleyball player. The brothers are all quarterbacks, wide receivers. I mean, what a fantastic family right there in beautiful Denver, Colorado. It’s just, you know, they actually helped start a high school right there in Highland Park. And I mean, it’s fantastic and just great people. And I remember Ed when he was a wide receiver for the Broncos.

The Giants?

Yeah.

All right, very quick in the last couple of minutes. Art, who wins the Super Bowl?

I got Seattle, 34-20.

Laura, who wins the Super Bowl? And you’ve been right to this point, so who do you like?

I like Seattle. I don’t think it’s going to be a real high-scoring game. But I think experience is going to win out, and I think Seattle is going to win.

All right, Mark, who’s going to lose now?

Well, the Seahawks will lose, and they’ll lose 37-13. And then the draft will be in Pittsburgh in April. See the bridge?

Mark. You had the Rams over Seattle, right?

Yeah.

McCarthy, McCarthy, McCarthy, he says Will Howard’s the next coming.

Mark had the Rams winning the Super Bowl.

All right, for Mario, for Mark, for Laura, for Art. Thank you guys again for listening to Fred and the Fantastics. You can email us at [email protected]. Back with more all the time on Fred and the Fantastics. Bye, everybody.