Folks at that time again, Fred and the Fantastics with Art, with Laura, with Mark. And we’ll discuss this, that and anything in sports and a whole lot more. And you can email us at [email protected], [email protected]. I wanna talk about Stephen Curry, and I wanna talk about the L.A. Clippers. All I can say is this. In 1918, the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to New York. Yankees took 86 years for them to win a World Series, called the Red Sox Jinx, of course, Mr. Frazee’s Jinx. And now we look back, and Donald Sterling, for 35 years, was the owner of the L.A. Clippers. Art. Are they totally jinxed? Will they ever win anything in the NBA?

I think they’ve got a long line of bad decisions over a lot of years. I feel bad they got all the money in the world. Stephen Ballmer, I mean, he’s worth billions and probably the richest owner in the NBA. Kawhi Leonard, you know, I just I don’t get it. I think Lou’s a good coach. They just are missing something. But I will tell you one thing, it’s gonna be one hell of a game tonight when you got Curry going against the Phoenix Suns, winners move on, losers go home. That is basketball with the way it used to be played. I like that.

I think I saw Phoenix a three 3 1⁄2 point favorite. Is that right?

Oh, take the 3 1⁄2.

I think you got to take the points with Curry.

Laura. Will the Clippers ever win an NBA championship?

I don’t, I just don’t. I have a really good friend who’s a Clipper fan, and I just don’t get it. I mean, I say, why would you be a fan of an inferior team in your city? I mean, sorry, you know, I mean the Clippers, just, I mean, you can’t compare the Clippers to the Lakers in terms of the franchise, what they’ve done over the years, and how many championships they’ve won. And it’s, yeah, it just seems like they have the, it’s like the curse of the Clippers. That’s what I say to my friends.

Like, you know, it just can’t seem to get out of your head.

Maybe it is the karma of Donald Sterling.

I mean, I don’t know, you know, personally, I think, 45 years ago, an owner stepped out of his three-piece suit and put on a manager outfit in Pittsburgh, Ted Turner. I think if Steve Ballmer did that, he’d make a better coach than Tyronn Lue.

Whoo, that’s a big statement.

I think what ends up happening after a while, they just tune you out, and I think the voice needs to be changed. And let me tell you, I think if Steve Ballmer did that, they probably wouldn’t let him do it, but he’d get these guys playing some basketball.

Okay, let me ask you guys a question. They made this rule in the NBA, where you couldn’t be eligible for postseason awards if you didn’t play 65 games.

Right.

And then they go ahead and rescind the rule, now the two of the key players, Cunningham and somebody else, are in the,

Dončić.

Dončić.

Dončić. Yeah, so I mean, why do you make a rule and then the NBA commissioner comes in and takes it down?

I don’t understand that. No, it’s even worse with Dončić because it wasn’t basically injuries; 16 technical fouls. He lost a game. If he doesn’t miss that game, he makes the 65. So it’s like it’s his own fault for, he just can’t shut up on the court. He cannot shut up, so he thinks he’s, I don’t know, above the game. And so I totally agree with you. I don’t think they should have ever waived that. I think the rule should stay in place.

Do the Lakers have any chance at all in this playoff series against Houston?

No.

Yeah.

Last time, I think they played Houston, and I’d have to go back years ago in the first round, Fred. You probably remember this; it was the old Forum. Dale Harris was the coach of the Rockets,

Oh, I love Dale Harris.

Stunned the Lakers and Magic Johnson in the first round. And they went on to play the Celtics and got beat by the Celtics,

In the finals, yeah. So is Reaves gonna be available? And they say in this series, if it goes like six or seven games, either Dončić or Reaves could come back.

Hey, Matt. They say that they don’t expect either of them to be available for the first round,

Let me throw this question out.

But I think they could come out of the first round. I mean, I don’t know after that how they’re gonna be.

Let me throw the question out. Other than the Lakers series, is there another matchup that intrigues any of you? Because I can’t wait for the Philly-Boston; that’s bringing back memories.

If Imbibe was there, it would be unbelievable.

Fred, Laura, anything, any other series?

Who’s the next guy?

The Hawks, and I think Atlanta will win that one.

That could be a very big upset.

Why do you say that? Why do you think the Hawks will win that one?

I think the Hawks just can play good basketball.

And it’s just,

It’s better to load up on the Knicks there.

Oh, yeah.

Thinking about that, for, at 128 years of age, Art, you have to take some legal medicinal products and answer these questions, comment, in the world of sports, what are you taking this afternoon?

Extra-strength Prevagen, and these are the chewables. I’m kind of into gummies lately, I don’t know why, but I kind of like the way these hit me. You know, instead of taking a pill, these are like chewable. They taste fairly decently. But I will tell you, they’ve made a huge impact on my life, also my wife’s life. I mean, it’s just been fantastic. So I gotta say, you know, whatever gets you through the dance.

Let me tell you this. I like chewies more than the big pills because I can’t swallow a big pill, I simply cannot swallow. I gotta look for chewables.

Yeah, yeah, I agree.

I gotta look for chewables.

Yeah, I agree. It’s unbelievable, by the way, you’re wearing glasses. What’s going on?

Me and Mr. Peebles. I went in to see the doctor the other day because I was having trouble following some of my golf shots. And we found out that my left eye is not so bueno, and my right eye, I’m kind of blind in that eye. So, pretty soon I’m gonna be feeling my way around.

The Arizona Cardinals are gonna come calling for you to kick.

But I heard that my wife ordered a bunch of new carrots, so we’re gonna get some carrots going. I’m going on the Bugs Bunny diet here pretty quick. So if my ears start getting fluffy, let me know.

Let’s take a break and come back with more on Fred and the Fantastics.

Hey, we’re back on Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips, anything and everything, in sports, with Laura, with Mark, and with Art, and with you. You can email us [email protected] [email protected]. All right, let’s talk about Mr. Vrabel and Mrs. Russini. Mark, you have any comments about that?

Well, I think the emphasis, and I don’t condone it by any means, but I think the emphasis, where it just becomes a story after a story. And there’s bad in the world. But this thing seems to take center stage, front and back, over guys that have drug problems, drinking problems, gambling problems, the infidelity problem. It’s two people doing whatever they wanna do, and it just seems like people lose jobs over this. I just don’t understand it. Maybe you guys can help me.

Laura, what do you think?

Well, I agree with Mark in the sense that it’s a private issue. But when you’re talking about a reporter reporting on the NFL, having an affair with an NFL coach, there is, like, a little inkling of bias, potentially there. Or insider information.

Insider information between the covers.

Insider information, you know, pillow talk, a.k.a. insider information. So I mean, I think I feel bad for her, I mean, she lost her job. He’s gonna keep his job, which is sort of the way it works in our society, oftentimes.

There’s an old article that said, Men will be men, sometimes,

Yeah.

And, you know, this goes back to the dawn of history.

Well, I mean, the presidents and everything.

My point is, you know, integrity is something that’s missing in all aspects of the American society. That, and a little bit of class as well. And I would like to see people do what they, how do I put this without getting really bad? Just live up to the 10 Commandments; we’ll make it real simple. You know, you don’t have to be perfect. Nobody here is perfect, but I would like to see people in responsible positions show some integrity, be above, you know, the reproach of a lot of things.

Like the Poe? Like the Pope?

Well, that is a problem, because you know the values that we grew up with: honesty, integrity, respect your word as your bond. I had an experience with a young lawyer when I was before I retired, where I was, I came in the era where, you know, you made a deal with a handshake, and you told people something, and they believed you. You didn’t have to confirm everything in writing, and we had an agreement with, about something, it doesn’t matter. And he said, Well, you don’t expect me to take your word for it, do you? And I said, Yeah, actually, I do expect you to take my word for it.

Yeah, because I am an attorney, you don’t have anybody else with you.

I mean, doesn’t that just tell you everything about our current society where people aren’t expected to take your word for it?

I can remember being in the hotel business, and we’d have a meeting one day. And the meeting wasn’t referred to about 10 people that were in, it was just referring to about two people that were constantly late or calling in sick all the time. And they said, when they raised, you know, passed it around. I said, Well, this doesn’t pertain to me, and the guy goes, Well, it pertains to everybody. And I go, Well, it really doesn’t pertain to me because I’m never late, so why would it have to pertain to me?

And yet they let me ask you guys a question: you think Vrabel will pay Rossini under the table, a quarter of a million or half a million a year, because she’s lost her job? Laura. What do you think?

I have no idea, but I don’t see how he could get away with doing that. I mean, I don’t see how he could get away with doing that. He might divorce his wife and marry her, who knows?

She’ll probably get another great job. Because you know what the American media does, Fred? This, I’ve watched it a million times. They tear somebody down, and then they make them wait a little while. Then they build them back up and say, Well, you know, she went and got rehabbed. What about the other guy? There’s two people in this tango, right?

Well, Wade Boggs has not been the same since. Wade Boggs.

You know, it seems like the women always bear the brunt of it.

I hate to say I think you’re right.

When I used to, I volunteered for 30 years in a domestic violence legal clinic. And some of the, you know, I always wondered, why does the woman have to go to a shelter? Why don’t the men go to a shelter? They’re the perpetrators, you know, there should be some sort of halfway house for them. But you know, the women are forced to leave their homes, leave their families, and go stay in some shelter because they’re being abused. So anyway, that’s just kind of the way of the world.

Let me say this, everybody says she’ll get rehired, I don’t know if that’s the case because of her job. I mean, people are gonna be very wary. It’d be like Julio Urias, a former Dodger pitcher. He beat up his wife and girlfriend a couple of times. Nobody’s hiring him; he’s only what, 30 years old or something like that. There are certain things you can’t do. And in her field, you certainly can’t have a relationship with one of the coaches when you’re writing about the coaches. And Laura mentioned this, Art mentioned this, Mark mentioned this, and I really think that she’s gonna have a tough time getting a job in her field. She may get another job doing something else, but why would you hire her if she did this? I mean, it’s like, you can’t do it. As far as Vrabel is concerned, it’s not quite the same,

And there’s not as many jobs out there either, Fred. I mean, you’ve got ESPN, again, cutting the cord. 30 more layoffs in executives and on-camera workers. I mean, at a certain point in time, you know, these companies are. And now we have AI, we can watch Diana Russini on AI. Pretty soon, they’ll be able to do all four of us. And we’re gonna be like, wait a minute, that wasn’t me. I never said that. Oh yeah, there you are.

Well, here’s where the problem becomes the problem. Because you’ve got a guy like Bauer, who wasn’t accused of anything, but the outside noise,

He wasn’t accused of anything?

Well, he beat that accuser.

Okay, all right, that’s different.

Well, and the outside noise infiltrated the Dodgers to make a decision to get rid of him. But how come Deshaun Watson didn’t have a problem going to Cleveland? The Browns welcomed him with open arms. And you know, maybe the Patriots are sticking by Vrabel because they say, Hey, you know what? That’s because,

That’s because he’s a good football coach.

You know, I mean,

That has nothing to do with him being a coach.

No, but in the NFL, what’s it about? Winning and losing.

Winning.

No, but here you had, you tell me the difference between Bauer and the Dodgers, and Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns.

$326 million.

Yeah, all right.

And by the way, Deshaun Watson’s going to be the quarterback in Cleveland next year. Mark that one down.

For Art, for Laura, for Mark, and for Mario. Thank you guys and gals for listening to sports with Fred and the Fantastics right here across America and around the world on BLEAV and on PodClips. Bye, everybody.