Hey, it’s Fred in the Fantastics on BLEAV and PodClips with Mark, with Art, with Laura. And we’ll discuss this, that, and anything in sports. And we’ll start going back to last Saturday. Folks, we’re taping this Friday afternoon, let’s go back to last Saturday night, as Artie, you kicked for USC, and his Trojans battling Michigan State. Start time 8 p.m. Pacific Time, end at 11:50 Pacific Time, which makes it 2:50 in the East.

Wow.

Art, do you have any comments about how much of the game you were able to watch?

I watched the kickoff, and then I floated off into never, never land. And I woke up the next morning. And luckily, you know, I got right on the internet and I saw that the Trojans had battled back and won 45 to 31. Now, tomorrow, they’re going to, you guys on the West Coast, you better get up early if you’re Trojan fans, because the Fighting Illini are waiting in the weeds after getting whacked by Curt Cignetti in Indiana. That’s going to be a good game. You got, you know, the Trojans and the fighting Illini. It’s going to be a fine game, a lot of good games tomorrow early. I mean, you got that one, you know? I’m looking down my schedule here, I see, whoa, look at that one. Notre Dame at Arkansas. There’s going to be some points scored in that game. Big day in College Football, Alabama at Georgia. There’s a lot of fun tomorrow, it’s going to be great. Got the Ryder Cup. It’s an exciting sports weekend as we roll into Fall.

Laura, were you able to watch the Trojan game against Michigan State?

Well, I don’t, I don’t think I watched it, but I don’t think it was because of the time issue, because we’re on the Pacific Coast. I’m not yet doddering enough to go to bed at 8 o’clock. But it is pretty outrageous, especially since they’re in the Big Ten. So most of the fans are going to be on the East Coast or in the Midwest. And that’s pretty late to start a game, even on a Saturday.

It’s 11 hours of Big Ten football, because the first game was Nebraska and Michigan, right, and the last game was Michigan State and USC. And I mean, they might as well go play in Hawaii.

It’s interesting, too. UCLA on Saturday battles Northwestern, 12:30 on the Big Ten Network. Now, you know, you can be on ESPN or you can be on Fox, but the lowest of the low is the Big Ten Network Plus. And if UCLA continues to lose, they’re, I think, 0-3. They’re going to be on, next game or the game after that, they’re going to be on Big Ten Network Plus, which nobody has.

So Fred,

What?

You know, I heard a new, a new candidate to be the new coach at UCLA. Seriously.

Who?

You remember Tommy Rees, who’s the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns?

Sure, he was at UCLA.

I guess, I guess. His dad was an assistant at UCLA for many, many years, late 70s to the early 90s. His dad’s name was Bill. Coached with Vermeil and Donahue, and they’re saying that Tommy Rees is really interested and Tommy Rees can recruit. And you know, he’s coached at Notre Dame, now he’s with the Cleveland Browns. I think that would be a great move because I think you need it. Well, the best move would be to get rid of Martin Jarmond, but that’s between me and you.

But you see, it’s different now; you don’t have to recruit once.

You have to recruit every single recruit, every kid you have on your current roster, every day.

You have to recruit every day.

Laura, I mean, I can’t keep track. I mentioned this before, NIL and the transfer portal, although they have cut back the transfer portal to right after December for only 10 days. It’s not reopening in March, so at least that’s going to be shortened, so it’s going to be more difficult to move. But the bottom line, it’s so hard to keep track. All I can tell you right now is that UCLA’s quarterback, where they traded with Tennessee, I’m going with Joey at Tennessee versus the Bruins’ quarterback.

Aguilar, Aguilar looked really, really good against Georgia last week. I mean, he made a couple of poor passes, but, you know, overall, the kid looked fantastic. And, you know, I don’t know what Iamaleava is waiting for, but he needs to step up because, I also read in the Times, and maybe I’m wrong, but because of the fact they fired DeShaun Foster, they’re going to give these kids a 30-day window, the kids that came in,

Yeah, instead of the 10-day,

Right.

For when a coach is fired, who leaves, and that’s okay. The whole problem,

Yeah, I like that.

The whole problem is you can just pick up and leave without sitting out the season, as it used to be. Mark, I know you’re not the world’s biggest college football fan,

Oh, I like, well, I like the Panthers, and I like my Pitt Panthers, but I’m looking in my hourglass, and USC and Miami could be a good final here.

Yeah, I mean,

Go ahead, Fred.

No question, Miami’s certainly playing very, very well, and USC can score on anybody, I guess.

But I will tell you, you know, I’m excited because, you know, I’ve been saying this for a while. On the AFC side of it, Harbaugh’s got these Chargers going. And the best game of the year was Monday night when Campbell went in there and punched the Ravens in their mouth.

Oh boy, I mean, is that guy a football coach right out of casting, Hollywood casting?

Nobody in 30 years has done that to the Ravens, four offensive touchdowns in the same game.

Oh my. I was just, like,

Are the Ravens like one and two now, or two and one?

Yeah.

One and two? I mean, that’s outrageous. I mean, they’re so talented, that’s,

Well, somebody’s gonna be one and three between the Chiefs and the Ravens Sunday.

Well, how about the Jets, Jets, and the Dolphins? Somebody gets to win finally.

Why did they put that game on Monday night? They should just start flexing.

Speaking of Monday night, we’re gonna do four more Monday night doubleheaders. Okay,

I hate that.

Yeah, think about this: week four, week six, and week seven, so this year we’ll have four Monday night football doubleheaders. Seriously?

But aren’t they staggered? They’re not that you can’t even watch both games? Aren’t they staggered?

Kind of.

Well, you know what, Laura’s not gonna like this because, but she might pull for this because Caleb Williams is coming into Vegas Sunday with the Bears.

I was, I was in Vegas last time the Bears came to town. There were more Bears fans at the game. At the airport, literally, I saw more 50, 51 jerseys and Mike Singletary’s jerseys and Ditka jerseys, and I mean, it was, it was unbelievable. This is what Vegas is, it’s a destination resort. Which is why, every four years, a team gets to come there and play, and people who have never been there get to have a great week in Vegas. Now, the Raiders have to turn that around somehow to get back to where they were. That’s the one bad thing that I see about that whole program.

$800 for a ticket, November 17th against the Cowboys and Raiders. $800 a ticket, somebody bought.

Hey, we’re gonna take a break and come back and discuss some of these games with the numbers right here on Fred and the Fantastics.

Hey, welcome back, everybody, Fred and the Fantastics, Laura, Mark, and Art. And we’ll discuss this, that, and anything in the wonderful and wacky world of sports on BLEAV and on PodClips. Let’s talk some NFL action. On Sunday night, you’ve got the Packers, two and one, the Cowboys, an
unfortunate one and two. They faced the Giants last week. Obviously, the Packers are going to be a slight favorite in this one. Art, what’s the exact number? I see it’s, what, three-and-a-half?

Six, six-and-a-half it’s up to.

Oh, it’s up to six-and-a-half.

The Packers are favored by six-and-a-half.

Who do you like?

Everybody that I’ve talked to in the, in the gambling industry thinks that the Packers are going to blow them out. I just don’t know about that game. As soon as everybody decides that we’re going one way, funny things happen in the NFL, Fred. So I mean, I, I just, I don’t know. If I had to bet the game, I’d probably take Green Bay, because I mean, I know, I know Micah Parsons is going to be pretty pumped up. But after watching the way they played at Cleveland the week before, and I mean, they looked really good beating Detroit and coming out of the chute, I thought the Pack was the team to beat. And then again, much like the athletes in this generation, you never know who’s going to show up on Saturday or Sunday.

The question, again, folks, we’re taping this Friday afternoon. The bottom line is, the Packers could be without Jacobs,

That’s right.

And if that’s the case, that’s it. That’s a whole different circumstance.

And no CeeDee Lamb, and no,

It’s going to be, it’s going to be. Pickens better step right up if the Cowboys,

Is the game in Dallas?

Yeah,

Yes, yes.

Who do you like, Laura? Six points. The Packers are fair six-and-a-half now.

Yeah.

You know, it’s a. It’s going to be a tough game, I think, but I think the Packers are going to pull it out. Because I think they, I just think they have a better team. But, I mean, I think Micah Parsons is going to have a hell of a game because he’s 30, really motivated.

Yeah, 31-21 Green Bay is my call if anybody cares.

All right, now we’re going to find out, now, we’re going to find out the winner. Mark, who do you like? Well, after the six-and-a-half point favorite versus the Cowboys, who do you like?

I’m not a riverboat gambler, but I’m going to push all my cards to the center of the table and maybe throw in a little more schnickels.

Cowboys, Cowboys,

On who?

And I’m taking the Cowboys.

Yeah!

All right, folks, here’s the deal,

Straight out, they’re going to beat the Packers.

All right.

Load up, baby!

Mark is the world’s worst sports handicapper, and he only gets one out of three, and this is not going to be the one. You call your bookie right now, let me dial. Jump, jump on the Packers. Even at ten-and-a-half. No, I’m kidding,

Ten dimes.

All right. So Mark likes the Cowboys. Laura and,

Oh yeah,

Art likes the Packers. I like the Packers, I think. All right. Jets and Dolphins. Somebody has to win unless they tie. Laura, who do you like? Two fantastic football teams? The Jets, 0 and 3, the Dolphins, 0 and 3, Monday night on ESPN. Laura, who do you like?

I think the Dolphins are going to win this game. The Jets just seem so hapless. I don’t know, but,

Well, the good news for the Jets is they’re getting their quarterback, Justin Fields, back. He’s out of concussion protocol, so that might help him. But right now, if those guys like this Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins, they better step up and play a game for him. Because if they lose, if they lose this game, I think it’s going to be adios to Mr. McDaniel.

All right, Mark, who do you like? Dolphins, 0 and 3, Jets, 0 and 3.

As we get older in life, we have these afternoon walks, and these afternoon walks, this one will be for about three hours until this game’s over.

It’s going to be a snooze fest.

But if you’re putting, you know, something on my head here and tell me who I’m choosing, then I’m going to have to go with the Dolphins, squish the Fish, I’m thinking.

I believe they’ve beaten them ten straight times.

Yeah

Let’s move on to the other game on Monday night. ESPN, the Bengals at the Broncos. The Broncos, unfortunately, are 1 and 2 because they’re better than that, I think, and they’re major favorites on the road against the Bengals. And the Bengals going with Browning, and he just showed me absolutely nothing last week. Laura, who do you like? The Broncos 1 and 2, the Bengals 2 and 1? I don’t know how they can be 2 and 1, but take it away.

Yeah, I unfortunately like the Broncos. I mean, the Bengals without Joe Burrow, it’s going to be too hard for them. The Broncos actually are playing pretty good football, even though their record doesn’t necessarily show it, so I think the Broncos are going to win.

Yeah, I think Peyton, Sean Peyton will get a win here. But Mark, who do you like?

Well, I’ve always said Paul Skenes reminds me of a little bit of Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens. Bo Nix is a good quarterback. I like Bo Nix, a little bit of Fran Tarkenton in him. I like the Broncos, and this Bronco team is going to be here all year, I think.

Well, Broncos are a big nine-and-a-half or 10-point favorite, Art, I think. Who do you like, Art?

I actually, I got to tell you, Browning either comes out looking fantastic or terrible. If it’s nine-and-a-half or 10 points, I’m going to, Fred, I’m with you. You get an NFL team that has that kind of offensive firepower, they still have Higgins, they still got Chase, they got Chase Brown, you know, in the backfield. He did look like, you know, terrible in Minnesota last week. But I’m going to say Jake Browning’s going to step up and make it a game. I’m going to say Broncos win, but they’re not going to cover the nine-and-a-half.

If it’s a 10-point spread, folks, in the NFL, last time I checked, you’re going to lose two out of three times, so,

That’s exactly right.

Hey Fred, if the Reds with a $10 payroll take out,

All right. The Giants of New York, the Big Blue, changed quarterbacks. Jaxson Dart of USC and Mississippi will be starting against the Chargers. Chargers 3-0, The Giants 0-3. I don’t know who made the decision to make the switch, but I think Dart’s in trouble against a very good defensive team in the Chargers. Art, we’ll start with you. Who made the change? Who do you think really caused the change to be made from Wilson to Dart?

The Maras and the Tisches. That’s who made that choice,

And the fans.

And the ticket, and the fact they won a full stadium. And I mean, you know, Jaxson Dart, he’s not. I mean, every girl in New York City probably already has a poster of him up in her bedroom. I mean, the kid’s a good-looking kid, he’s got a lot of talent. But you know, I actually think they’re throwing him to the wolves because the Chargers play some great defense. I feel bad, but you know what? I think the Chargers are a team that, they got to fly clear across the country, play early. I mean, their body clock is nine o’clock, much like USC has to do tomorrow against Illinois. It’s going to be very, very difficult, you know? And again, you know, if that spread gets above seven-and-a-half, it’s at six, six-and-a-half. But it seems like there’s a lot of action going on with the Chargers. I would have to take, I would have to take the Giants in the points because this kid looked good in preseason, I must say.

Laura, are you going to watch the game, and who do you like?

You know, I think the Chargers are still going to still have that San Diego curse on them. And despite the fact that they look really good so far, I don’t have a lot of faith that they’re going to be around at the end of the year or the beginning of next year. So this game, though, I agree with Art, I think it’s just if they want it, they should have started Jaxson Dart from the beginning of the season rather than throw him into this really tough game when they’re already, what are they,

0-3, right?

0-3. Yeah.

I mean, it’s just. But he might, you know, he might just look at it as a real challenge. And I hope the Giants win, that’s my hope. Would I put money on it? Probably not.

Mark, do you have an opinion?

Well, I’m a big Harbaugh guy. I like the style he plays,

Which one, which one?

I like, both Harbaughs are good, but I like the style he plays. He plays that smash mouth, run off the clock type of football. Najee Harris ain’t there.

No Najee. He’s got the Achilles,

He’s not here, I understand that, but they’ll fill that thing, that gap.

Omari Hampton’s going to get a lot of carries, you’re saying?

Let me tell you something, people leave this kid out of the equation a lot. I keep, you know, he’s right there with Mahomes. He might not have the titles, but Herbert’s a darn good quarterback, and he’s fastest, second fastest, to Mahomes. I think touchdown passes, I think he had 80. So keep your eye on the Chargers, the Chargers built something, they built it from the lines out, so.

Hey, before we go, I have to bring this up. I saw Washington versus Washington State last Saturday night. Art, did you have a shot to watch that?

I didn’t get a chance to watch it, but I heard. Washington has got a good football team. Ohio State’s coming to town.

They don’t have a good football team; they have a quarterback. I can’t believe how good he is. Williams, he transferred with Jed Fisch from Arizona with the coach to Washington. I’d only seen him play once or twice last year; I’ve not seen him this year until the Washington State game. This kid Williams, he’s 5’11”, he’s as quick as anybody, and he’s hitting 70-something percent of his passes. I don’t know if he’s going to win the Heisman because it’s Washington, because nobody’s heard of him, but he’s off. I mean, he’s so talented it’s hard to believe.

Fred, the eyeballs are going to be on him tomorrow because Ohio State is playing at Washington, and Ohio State is one of the top three teams in the country. And, you know, maybe this will be his coming-out party. They’re getting almost nine points on the road, I mean, at home, at Husky Stadium.

That’s far too many. I think Washington might beat him straight up.

Hey Fred, I saw that thing, switching gears here, I guess they re-upped Reddick there, but they’re mum on the whole LeBron James. So they kind of left it up to LeBron to find out what he wants to do.

One year, $52 million, though.

I want him to retire. And finally, Mark, and Laura, and Art, you wanted to talk about this? I want to talk about this. The American League most valuable player: Aaron Judge, or the Big Dumper?

Cal Raleigh.

Is it Dumpster or Dumper?

Dumper.

Dumper.

Cal Raleigh.

So, Art, who gets it?

I think the catcher should get it. Any catcher that hits 60 home runs, takes the Mariners to their first playoff berth since 2001. I mean, you know, Aaron Judge is phenomenal every year. Ohtani, phenomenal every year. But this is the year that I think Cal Raleigh, or Schwarberg, sneaks in there and gets their award.

All right, Laura, who do you think, the catcher or the outfielder?

I agree with Art. I think it’s going to be Cal Raleigh. I think Cal Raleigh should get it. Because I think he’s more, if you could say, who’s more valuable to the team. Aaron Judge is great, but their whole team is pretty good, you know, and I think Raleigh, it’s just phenomenal what he’s done, really. I can’t even believe anybody can get up and hit after catching a game.

Can you imagine catching 150 games and hitting 60 home runs?

No, I can’t imagine catching one game or one inning, even. I mean, it’s so. So, yeah, I think he’s phenomenal.

The only switch-hitting catcher, I think in the Hall of Fame, Ted Simmons, by way of St. Louis and Milwaukee. Mark, do you have an opinion?

Well, first of all, I don’t even know where New York is, being from Pittsburgh. I thought the East Coast stopped after that.

You sell us every good ball player we’ve ever had.

Second of all, I’d probably have to give it to Cal Raleigh, but he is no Mike Piazza or Johnny Bench.

Oh boy.

Wait a minute.

Wait a minute.

Are we talking catching ability?

Catching ability,

Because Mike Piazza was like one of the worst defensive catchers ever.

You can ask,

Come on,

You guys can ask a hundred people this,

A 60th round draft choice. He wouldn’t even have been drafted if his buddy wasn’t a pasta,

You’re telling me he’s better than Johnny Bench or Mike Piazza offensively?

No, we’ve seen this one or two years, no.

No, offensively, no, no, Johnny Bench did it for 15 years, Piazza did it for many, many years. But this year, right now, no catcher,

Well, everybody has a,

No catcher in the history of baseball is putting together a year like this young man’s put together.

Yeah, that’s right, and there’s some car chases I haven’t seen. This is probably one of them.

Was it the dog chasing a parked car?

Hey, Stormer’s going to win the National League.

That’s right,

And then the Dodgers are going to Philly and the House of Horrors. Wait a minute. You think Schwarber will beat Ohtani?

Oh yeah. You’ve got to give it to Schwarber, you see what he’s, I mean, I know his average is like .245, but come on, man, 140 RBIS?

I’m not saying he’s a better ball player, but what he has done this year and what he did at the All-Star game, I think that commanded a lot of attention. Now the MVP is done, basically, by writers. It’s not players, right, Fred?

Right, right, right.

Well, then that tells me Ohtani’s going to get the award.

Hey Fred, I’m hanging on to the Phillies and Jays from the start of the year, so,

I think Otani’s going to win the MVP.

Before we go,

And I actually think Ohtani is an incredible, he is the most valuable player on the Dodgers, without a doubt.

Yeah,

And the Dodgers,

Is he going to drive, is he going to pilot the plane, too? They’ve got him doing everything,

He’s doing the Japanese broadcast.

Before we go, in 15 seconds, Laura, how many total victories for your Las Vegas Raiders?

How many total victories this season? I’ll be happy if they win five. I mean, they looked so awful last weekend that I, like I said off the air, I don’t usually leave games till the end, but I left that game. I couldn’t even watch it. It was pathetic. So, I don’t know what’s going on.

I’m going to say they’re 6-11. I was hoping it’d be a little better than that, but I don’t see it.

All right, for Art, for Laura, for Mark, for Mario, thank you for putting the show together, thank you guys and gals listening to BLEAV, PodClips, and Fred and the Fantastics.

Yeah.

Stay tuned for much more straight ahead. Bye, everybody.