Hey everybody, it’s that time again, that’s right. Fred and the Fantastics, Laura Snoke, Art Sorce, Mark Mancini, all with us on BLEAV and on PodClips. We’ll talk about this, that and anything in sports. Let’s talk about something that irritates the heck out of me. Martin Jarmond, the athletic director at UCLA, just got a raise. Let’s see. The UCLA basketball team last year went 16-17, didn’t make the tournament. This year’s football team went 5-7. Art, do you think Jarmond deserved a raise?

I don’t know compared to Dan Guerrero, he’s awesome. I don’t know they spend money around in college sports and college athletics. Now, I can’t believe it. I mean, the governor of the State of California, Governor Newsom. I think he made $250,000. But the head football coaches and the athletic directors at all these state-run schools, $4 million, $6 million, $10 million. How do they do it, Fred? Is that that tough of a job?

Mark, Do you think he deserved a raise?

I don’t think he deserved a raise. But if you want to spin this another way, how did Bill Belichick get screwed over? How come he couldn’t get an offer from an NFL thing? He’s won six Super Bowls, he been behind Don Shula.

We’ve been talking about that all afternoon, Mark.

He’s been behind Don Shula, yet the guy goes to UNC, but they’re going to free up some money there. There’s going to be a big portal going into North Carolina, he’s going to build a powerhouse there and then turn it over to his son.

It’s going to be tough for him to live on $10 million a year.

Laura, Do you think you’re a big UCLA fanatic? Do you think Jarmond deserved a raise? I think the water polo team did win the NCAA tournament, so what do you think?

I can’t relate to this kind of money when the adjunct professors don’t even have health insurance. I mean, it’s crazy making, I don’t know.

You’re not going to shoot anybody, are you?

Wow, why did it have to be an Italian guy going after him?

Oh, really, hey, have you ever had a claim, you know, not come through? It gets you pretty upset, especially if it’s something you recounted on.

No. I’ve had many a claim that it didn’t pay or didn’t pay the entire amount that I argued. And most of the time, I’ve been lucky. Most of the time, if you argue, they’ll come through, but sometimes it takes 12 or 13 phone calls, something like that. But a horrendous situation, no question about that.

Hey Fred, I wanted to send out some great wishes to Randy Moss going through some tough times right now with his liver cancer. And that’s amazing. He’s 47 years of age.

47, right?

Yeah.

47. Wow.

But you know, the thing about health insurance is that it’s just such a flawed model. It is because insurance is supposed to be for risks that you hope never happen. Like, for example, we have fire insurance, we hope we never have a fire in our houses, right? But we have insurance to protect against that, or flood insurance. We all know we’re going to need health care. It’s not a risk that we, it’s a risk that we, it’s an actuality. It’s so, it’s just a completely flawed model, and

Well, it’s kind of like Laura, the Social Security model. I mean, they try to dissuade you from grabbing it at 62 because they keep raising it and they’ll tell you they seem to know 3. grab it at 62. But when you spin it on them and say, Well, how many people die before they get it at 70? They can’t give you an answer.

Well, they don’t want to give you an answer.

Let me say something about, you know, health insurance. There was a company just two weeks ago. I think that set a time limit on anesthesia when you were having surgery.

Oh my God.

Well, if the surgery ran late or longer than it’s supposed to, you didn’t get paid. The anesthesia part of it was not paid by this company. They changed their mind because too many people started screaming. But I don’t

If the model, because we’re a capitalist society. So if the company makes money on denying care, then ergo the company will deny care to appease the shareholders. I mean, just as simple as that. That’s why it’s just the wrong model, because it denies healthcare to people who need it.

Yeah, the only way to get around that is, I’m looking for my wife around the corner. I should have married a nurse, the nurse was the first.

There was a great movie in 1997, I think, Rainmaker, John Grisham.

That was a great movie. Grisham,

Yeah, that was a good movie, The Rainmaker.

That was the actual movie that made Damon’s career, not exactly sports, but we talk about everything right here on Fred and the Fantastics.

Hey, Rocky Colavito passed away, you guys. I didn’t even know he was still living. One of my heroes as a young guy. I mean, he had 10 years there, where he averaged 30 home runs, 100 RBIs. Another guy that never got in the Hall of Fame had a great, great career.

Do you know where he ended up, last team?

Angels or Dodgers?

Dodgers.

Yeah, hey, I got to tell you guys something because I watched it last night. It was an hour and a half. The story about Michael Jack Schmidt and the Battle of Philadelphia. And then tonight is the New York Sack Exchange with the Old Jets.

Yeah, Gastineau was upset at Favre because he told him he took a lot of money away from him over the years.

Oh, the fake guy.

The fake sack, yeah.

Like Schmidt, I didn’t, you know, Fred, you guys probably remember. I remember when he came up, but I didn’t know he had a love-hate relationship with the city of Philadelphia. Like that.

170 strikeouts his rookie year.

That’ll, and that’ll do it. Yeah, we’re going to take a quick break right here on Fred and the Fantastics.

Dave Parker got in.

Okay, three.

Oh yeah, he’s already in. And Richie Allen.

Hang on three, two and one, back on Fred and the Fantastics. Laura Snoke, Mark Mancini, Art Sorce. You can email us at sportsfred@aol.com. And we had Dave Parker on this show a couple years ago on his book, and it took a long time. But Mark is a Pirate fan. You got to be thrilled that Dave Parker is in the Hall of Fame.

Yeah, he really deserved it. One of the best arms. The key now will be, what’s he going to go in as? A Pirate, an A’s, a Red? I think it’s going to be the Pirates. I think he’s going to, you know, pass that thing on to Willie Stargell up above, because I think Stargell was instrumental in his full career.

I mean, how’s he doing right now, battling what he’s been battling?

I think he’s still battling that, from what I hear. I mean, yeah, the Pirates bring him back every year to, you know, have them things, but yeah, it’s, you know, it’s dwindling. Now. Phil Garner has something going on, so. Sad when you get older.

Laura, do you think Dave Parker’s a Hall of Famer?

Can I plead ignorance on who Dave Parker is?

Again, we had him on the air a couple of years ago. He wrote a book, a fine book and a fine outfielder for the Pirates and others, not that long ago. But you know, at some point you say, maybe he’ll get in, and maybe he won’t, and fortunately he did.

You know, the bummer? There was our great left-handed pitcher, who I’ve always loved, Tommy John, class act.

Yeah, yeah.

What a bummer.

Yeah, he won 250 games.

So who is Laura’s? I know your favorite Fred and Artie. Who was your favorite Dodger, Laura, that you’d run with?

Sandy Koufax. My second love interest also after Elvis Presley.

Oh, by the way, one of the best looking men of all time,

Oh come on, Mike Piazza was better looking.

I have to say I wrote so many letters to Sandy Koufax when I was a kid and he never answered one of them. So what can I say?

He’s the only Dodger remaining from their first World Series win in 1955. Yeah, time does move forward. He’s my second favorite Dodger. I know that everybody listening to this show knows that Duke Snyder, of course, my number one Dodger of all time. All right, so the Dodgers.

Peewee Reese!

Fernando Valenzuela!

Peewee Reese, yeah.

Yeah, let me throw this question out. Teoscar Hernandez drove in 99 runs, hit close to 300. Better outfielder than people remember, and I think and know, because he is a pretty good outfielder. They haven’t signed him. And I’m telling you, right now, Dodgers, Guggenheims make a lot of money. They can raise the price of hot dogs even more. You give him three years or four years at $125 million. And he’d say yes. I hope he doesn’t go elsewhere. Art, Do you think he’s going elsewhere?

Go to the Padres and replace Profar?

I hope not.

I hope not, too.

Don’t you think he’s worth it?

Heck, yes.

I do.

He has some key hits for the Dodgers, big hits all year this year, you know, people don’t know about him because he played in Toronto for five years, which is akin to playing in Seattle. It’s like, so far, so far gone from the mainstream media.

The thing is, why would you give Blake Snell all that money that won five games? He walks a lot of people. He can’t get past the fifth inning. He’s been on three teams in the last three years pretty much, and he’s not a big presence in the clubhouse like Teoscar Hernandez is. There’s the thing why the Dodgers should go after a guy that reminds me of Kirk Gibson.

I think that the Dodgers think they’re the smartest team around and the smartest guys in the room.

Sorry to interrupt, did you see the Forbes? The Rams are ahead of the Dodgers as far as most richest franchise.

And the Cowboys are worth $2 billion more than any other franchise.

And the Warriors are more than the Lakers.

Yeah, it’s ridiculous.

Who does that? Folks, you can email us at sportsfred@aol.com, sportsfred@aol.com.

Hey, I want to put a shout out, Fred, to Ryne Sandberg and his battle with prostate cancer. Again, it re-emerged its ugly head. What a great guy. I know Ryan very well, I played a lot of golf with him out in the desert. He’s a wonderful man.

Every day you hear something like this and you just want to tear up because they’re all leaving.

And I feel like the last one out gets to turn out the lights.

Yeah, sportsfred@aol.com folks, if you agree with us or disagree with us about health insurance or sports, write here on Fred and the Fantastics. I’m listening to WFAN a lot just to find out what they think. Is it better off for the Jets and the Giants to lose the rest of the way, or to win a game or two? Because obviously, if you lose, you might get a top pick or real close to the top pick. Artie, is it possible that these guys aren’t competitive enough that they may not put 100% in it down the road?

I heard some rumors about the Jets and they were talking about the culture, the locker room and all the problems that are going on in there. And I think it starts at the top of these professional sports organizations. I mean, you look at the Steelers, you look at the Rams, the old Ram teams, they always had great, great people. You look at the 49ers. And I wonder, sometimes, you know, and you have to look at the Cowboys now, based on what we’re seeing out of Dallas. I mean, there’s got to be something wrong there. And it makes me wonder how important winning really is with these franchises. Are they making so much money that it really doesn’t matter anymore?

Mark, Do you think that the Jets, or the Giants, or any other team at this point they’re not going to the playoffs, are better off losing and getting a higher pick or not?

Well, Mad Dog Russo put big money, I think 10 grand, on the Jets to win 10 games. He probably gave that back five weeks ago. But both those teams are diaper fires. And not only that, Aaron Rodgers is a complicated dude. This is a guy that doesn’t know whether he wants to date Danica Patrick one minute or somebody else, but the dude’s very complicated. They’ve done a lot in New York to give him stuff. And now they’ve just got short changed. I think he’s been stealing money in New York, if you ask me.

Laura, you’re a Raider fan who they don’t have to try to lose.

The way they’ve been playing, I think they might be tanking, but I don’t think they are. I don’t know, I think it’s

Would Shedeur Sanders be the guy that they’re thinking about as the number one pick as we are right now? I mean, it looks like Travis Hunter is going to win the Heisman. But everybody’s talking about the number one draft pick being Deion Sanders’ son.

Yeah, but why would you gamble? It would be like Ball and his sons. Why would you gamble where the dad likes to intervene on anything?

Yea, you’re right.

I would stay away from Shedeur Sanders just because his dad is his dad.

I want to say something here, Fred. If they hired Antonio Pierce, I’ll tell you right now, and Deion Sanders for what he does, and I know he brings a lot of baggage with him, in Las Vegas, in the neon city of the desert. I think he would be a great hire if they could get Deion and his son, that might work. I mean, that might be the perfect place,

Dallas could be the place.

Good point there, too.

Laura. You’re a Raider fan. Would you like to see Deion and his son with the Raiders?

I would, I think it’d be great. I think Artie’s right, I think it’s a perfect fit, but what I’m concerned about is whether Mark Davis really cares about winning. Because half of the games, I mean, all of the games I’ve seen, half of the fans are rooting for the opposite team. And you just don’t see that. You never saw that in Oakland. You never, didn’t see that in L.A. And, you know, he’s making

Do you know what the tickets are going for, though, for Raider Games? I mean, it’s ridiculous. And I just saw a list, getting back to the Dodgers for a quick second, what it costs for a hot dog at Dodger Stadium next year.

How much?

$30.

Come on.

No, $30 for a hot dog?

Oh my God.

Yeah.

Laura, we’d stop at AM/PM before we hit the stadium.

Thankfully I’m a vegetarian.

We used to do that, we used to do that.

Remember John, just, you know, he’s very upset,

But you can’t do that anymore, you can’t bring food in anymore.

Oh, you can. At Dodger Stadium, you can, you can, you just don’t, you can’t open the seal. We’ve done that a few times. And you can sit in the $200 seats until somebody comes by and knocks you out of them. So you’ve got to kind of dress pretty appropriately.

Sounds like me as a kid. Let’s go down there in the front row, Bob Uecker.

All right, all right.

Just do not show the people your Ford Pinto key, have a BMW one.

In 15 seconds apiece. Who wins the NCAA Football Tournament, 12-team tournament? Of course, four teams leading

The Pac-12 in Oregon. Let’s go Pac-12!

The Ducks.

I like, you know, I like Armenian food, I like Sarkisian, I like the Texas Longhorns.

I wouldn’t take them against –

How about you, Fred, who do you like?

Okay, bottom line is, who won the first NCAA basketball tournament in 1939?

Louisville?

Called the Tall Firs.

North Carolina?

University of Oregon.

University of Oregon. They’re going to win this one, too.

And Tall Firs. And when I look at that basketball court, I think –

Oh my God.

God, do I hate it!

It’s awful!

But we had Kerry Eggers on. He said They’re going to change it. I hope they change it quickly. All right, Laura, thank you very much, Mario, thank you, Mark, thank you, Artie, thank you.

Back next week.

And stay tuned all the time for more of Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and PodClips. And you can email us at any point, sportsfred@aol.com. Bye everybody.