Hey, it’s that time again Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips, with Art, with Laura, with Mark, and with you. You can email us at sportsfred@aolcom. We’ll talk about this, that, and anything in the wonderful and wacky world of sport. Art, last week, I was watching the British Open. It wasn’t close, but I was still watching it, and I was saying to myself, Art played on the professional golfer’s tour, and he also kicked for the L.A. Rams. Is the concentration basically the same if you’re trying to tie it up with a birdie on hole 18 versus a last-second field goal? Are you thinking, what are you thinking when you’re looking down and having to get this one right? What are you thinking?

Well, first of all, your routine is most important as a kicker and as a golfer. If you watch them, Fred, and you’ve watched enough golf over the years, they do the same thing like a great free-throw shooter does in basketball. You know, they might bounce it a couple of times, but they try to get in their rhythm in their routine. And that takes all the periphery and allows them to really hone in and focus. And what I noticed about being a field goal kicker, and it’s the same with quarterbacks as well, you know, they want to go to that, that, that, that play or that, that shot that they could count on. Like, for me, it was a right-to-left shot, you know, and, and I, and I would go to that one in the clutch. And when I was putting, I would always think about hitting it over a spot and getting the ball rolling end-over-end, which is the exact opposite of kicking a field goal, which is more backspin. So, I mean, from that perspective, yes, Fred, and that’s why John McKay allowed me to play on the golf team, because he said that it only enhanced my focus.

All right, that’s Art Sorce, Laura and Mark, and yours truly, Fred, right here on Fred in the Fantastics. You can email us at [email protected]. This is most interesting. I think Thursday in the Los Angeles Times, folks, we’re taping this Friday afternoon. Thursday in the L.A. Times, interesting article in the Sports section by Eric Sondheimer. ICE and local high schools.

Yeah.

I read that.

Three high schools in southern California, the kids are afraid to practice. And now that we’re worried that the parents will not go to any of their games in the upcoming season. Laura, you’re very political. ICE and local high schools, the big, beautiful bully’s doing it again, Laura.

Well, I have a sign on my front lawn that says ICE out of L.A. with the L.A. Dodger logo, so that’ll tell you where I am about this. I’m concerned, I mean, this is a sports show, but I’m concerned about the food supply, because they have the amount of shortage of workers, even workers who are documented, because they’re afraid they’re going to get rounded up, because ICE is rounding up anybody.

I heard that in this whole thing, Laura, one of the cross-country runners from, like, East L.A., one of the high schools there. He and his mom got deported, and they were actually citizens of the United States.

Yeah, there have been a few citizens,

So how can they not have a system set up where you know what someone’s background is? I mean,

Because they don’t care, because they’re arresting 3,000 people a day, and because the people who are criminals, the worst of the worst, are the best at hiding. It’s the regular people, the ones that are selling tamales out of carts, and the ones who are picking our food, and the ones who are cleaning up.

So they’re actually doing a quote-unquote, a certain number of people have to be arrested, that’s wrong, first of all. I say, you focus on the people that are the murderers, that are the people who came into the country illegally, and that are criminals. Let them go, and then let everybody else go through. Let those people go; we don’t need them here. But if you’re a good, hard-working person, and we all came from, what, backgrounds as immigrants, if you’re hard-working and you wanted to live in the United States, let them go through what everybody else went through. Might take two or three years to get your citizenship, but in the meantime, you could be a real good factor in our society.

There was a law that was passed by the Senate that was a bipartisan reform law that did exactly that, but Trump vetoed it because he thought it was wrong.

I disagree with that. That’s terrible.

And the thing the problem is that they just got these prisoners, they did this swap with Venezuela, with the El Salvadoran prisons that they sent to the concentration camp in El Salvador. They swapped them for Americans in Venezuela and brought back a three-time convicted murderer. So he’s actually importing murderers instead of exporting and deporting murderers.

Those magic numbers again 86.7.

What do I really think?

And let me just say this. The big bully’s mom was an immigrant, the big bully’s wife is an immigrant. She got in on a special IQ immigration law, which is most ridiculous beyond belief. Mark, you’re a big Pittsburgh Pirate fan. We’re Friday afternoon trading deadline a week from now, what do you think? Who are they going to trade? Are they going to keep Keller? And I don’t think they’re going to trade Skenes. But what do you think about the Pirates?

Well I, you know, I like to, you know, they’ve got the number one major league prospect from 2024, that’s at the top of the list, Conor Griffin. So yeah, if you check that out.

What about the rumor I heard Cruz might be going to the Yankees? Did you hear about that?

Unless they get an overhaul, I can’t see that. I mean, it’s got to be a Soto magnitude for them to pull a trigger,

On five or six really good players, maybe?

Yeah. There was a rumor back then that somebody was saying the Dodgers were putting together eight, nine guys, and that sounded like a Herschel Walker, you know, Dallas-Minnesota thing. But you’re not going to get rid of Skenes. You know, these guys are saving the city there, why would you get rid of somebody that’s?

Can we get someone to take the owner?

Well, that’s, that’s why I’ve always said, in like, you know, when we allude to these things, as far as you know, big market clubs, you know, and with the interview there, you know, he was talking about the Cubs. The Cubs were never relevant in the ’70s; they were really never relevant in the ’80s, they just started to get relevant.

After a long drought.

Yeah, I mean, they had the long drought. But see, I think, and I know, we beg to differ on this one, but in order to jumpstart baseball, I saw four years ago when they had that, in late August, Miami and Cincinnati drew for a four-game series, like eight thousand people. How do you maintain your concessions and everything with, you know, six, seven thousand people coming to your place? That’s not baseball to me; baseball should be brought in, you know, and bring people in, you know, dollar hot dogs and something to create interest. Fred, in order to save this sport, and I’m willing to bet my last dollar on it, the next three years, you’re going to see more teams added in the postseason, or you’re going to see a first-half, second-half winner because people need to have,

I like adding teams into the postseason, but here’s my problem. I can’t stand one-game series, and I can’t stand three-game series.

No, I can’t either.

So, I mean, you’re going to be playing baseball into November, and you know, that’s when it gets real difficult, because, you know, unless you’re in Los Angeles or San Francisco or somewhere like that,

People don’t have a problem in football, bringing more teams in. They didn’t have a problem with basketball,

Mark, Mark. The difference is you’re playing one hundred and sixty-two games, you play a one- or two-out-of-three series, and go down and you’re the favorite. And you had more wins during the regular season than the regular season means nothing.

Fred, wasn’t there one year where the strike was involved, where the Montreal Expos won the first half?

Ninety-six, I think,

Ninety-four,

And then, and then they didn’t, they didn’t actually qualify for the playoffs?

Yeah, it happened. They had the best all-around record, but they didn’t have the best record in either half. So, yes, it went on without that,

The Reds were another one.

We’ll take a quick break right here on Fred and the Fantastics, on BLEAV, and on PodClips.

Back on BLEAV and PodClips, Fred and the Fantastics with Mark, with Art, with Laura. Laura, I have a question to ask you. You’re a big WNBA fan, and I’m watching it more than I had in the past. But Caitlin Clark did not play last weekend in the All-Star game. She was hurt with a groin injury. OK, however, they wore a shirt, the jersey, that said, “Pay Us What You Owe Us”. And I would agree with that, except that, if you look up the numbers, Laura, the league at, in total lost between $35 and $40 million, which means you divide it by 12, each team lost like $3 million. So pay us what you owe us, explain that, Laura. Because I was a little bit surprised.

I don’t know, I’m not really good on statistics, but I know that, in terms of revenue, the WNBA earns about a third of what the NBA earns, and the players are paid 80 percent less. So, to me, the revenue statistics don’t work. And like we talked about earlier, I think statistics can be manipulated by, I mean, statistics can be manipulated to just sort of be result-oriented. Especially when you’re talking about profits, I mean, because that amount, the figure on profits and revenue, can be totally manipulated.

The owners do a pretty good job of obfuscating that whole situation.

Right. Exactly.

Well, what’s happening here is the WNBA is getting a little bit more popular than the NBA is, and the reason why is, well, but here’s the thing, here’s the thing. I think politics have played a big thing with the NBA. There’s no defense.

Do they have any collusion like the NFL, Mark?

Well, here’s the other thing, I’m going to get to the point on it. The third thing in these things that run in threes is, there’s a lot of talent in the NBA. But where is the character? Where is the character, the player of the NBA? We grew up with the Magics, the Birds, and some of these others. The character’s not there. I think we’ve got to bring back the character.

Can we throw Jerry West in there, and Elgin Baylor, when it comes to character? Magic’s character could be,

I know Laura and Fred, you’re big basketball guys, but this sport, out of the four sports, I think you’ve really got to scratch your head and really look at this is why are people starting to tune it out a little?

Well, I said it from the start, the three-point shot, I think, has ruined the game. I mean, totally. You have to limit the number of three-point shots you can take each quarter or each half, or something to change the game back to where it was. I don’t pay for the NBA year package.

Can I ask you guys a question? Since we’re less than five weeks away from college football and about a week away from the first preseason exhibition game, as they used to call them in my day. In football, it looks like the Eagles are the favorite to win it all this year. Baltimore’s the second choice, Buffalo, Kansas City, Detroit. It’s the same old guys. Is there a team in the NFL or in college football, for that matter, that you think has an outside chance of winning against the big performers like your Ohio States, your Texas, things like that? Both sports or either sport, I don’t care.

Anybody, but UCLA football and basketball. Laura, what do you think?

Well, should I give you my opinion from the heart, or whether I put money on it?

Just throw the Raiders out there, go ahead.

I think the Raiders are going to be a really good team; they’re in a tough division, of course. You know, there’s always surprises in professional sports and in college sports, although I think in college sports there’s less surprises now because of the way the college, yeah, exactly, the college football playoff system is being constructed now. I just read something that the Big Ten and the SEC, and the ACC, I think, are trying to make sure that they all have more spots in the playoffs than any other team. I’m not sure how they’re doing that, but in the pro game, injuries, I think, can cause so much disruption to a team. And there could be some sleepers. I mean, I don’t know. I hope,

I’ll give you six teams, I’ll give you two in college to watch out for, Notre Dame and Alabama.

O.K.

In the pros, and Fred’s writing it down, I like the ‘Skins in the NFC, and I like the Rams.

Who are the ‘Skins?

Who are the ‘Skins? I have no idea who the ‘Skins are. Who are the ‘Skins?

You like the Commanders, I got you, Jim.

In the AFC, I like the Chargers. And believe it or not, I think the Jaguars are going to do something.

What, win three games?

No, I think, I’m a big Trevor Lawrence guy. I love Trevor Lawrence.

Jaguars are listed, just so you know, 150 to 1, baby,

All right. Next week, Hard Knocks, the Buffalo Bills with Josh Allen and his new wife, Hailee Steinfeld. Let me state this. Do you think that Hailee and Josh will become the second coming of Taylor and Kelce, or do you think not, Mark? I mean, Art, what do you think?

It’s hard to say that because, you know, Buffalo’s like Seattle, stuck out there in the middle of nowhere. And you know, they just don’t, they don’t get the publicity that, that’s necessary. And I love, I think that’s a really great situation. I got to watch Josh Allen play a little bit up at the Celebrity Golf Tournament in Tahoe, and he was, he was really, what a nice guy. You know, he just seems like he’s got, I don’t know. It’s just that AFC is so hard, you know? I mean, and Kansas City seems to have his number in big games, but I’ll be real fascinated to see, I’d love to see Buffalo crack the seal and get a chance to at least get in a Super Bowl. Because we know when they get there, they have a tough time closing the deal anyway.

Do they still have the same kicker, Buffalo? Yeah, because their kicker last year was a disaster.

Seabass.

I think the best couple in all the sports, and I’ve said it to the Pirates, is Paul Skenes and Libby Dunn. I’m not a, you know, a Taylor Swift. I never was into women that wear, you know, 80 pounds tripping wet, so I’m not into that. Taylor, too much lipstick, too much, you know, that red lipstick.

I think she’s, I think she’s pretty hot, myself.

Oh, no, no, no.

I’m 127, what do I know?

I guess I’m not going to invite you to my Taylor Swift party.

Oh, the Swifties,

I’ll pay extra for an invitation.

In the last two weeks, I’ve seen the movie on DirecTV, Valentine’s Day, like 20 times now, I swear to God, five to six times. And Taylor Swift, that was one of her first movies, she had, like, three lines. And how things change in 15 years, it’s almost beyond belief. Hey, let’s end,

Hey Fred, I want to know your picks, your picks for the NFL and for the college football.

Yeah,

My picks?

Yeah,

USA Today’s got Penn State winning the whole thing in college football, but I want to talk about something before we go. We already have, when UCLA was winning the Championships, they had to win four or five games. It was 24 and 25 teams, usually 25 because the Western side of it had an extra team, put in most of the years. All right, so then they went to 32 teams, and they went to 40 teams, and they went to 48 teams, and they went to 64 teams. Then they went to 66 teams, now they went to 68. And now the NCAA indicates, yes, they’re going to probably expand in a few years to 72 or 76 clubs. Laura, I know you love college basketball, and I used to love it. Give me a break. 76 schools in the NCAA tournament,

And there’s 12 that can win it all.

Yeah,

Crazy.

Laura, what do you think?

I just don’t think there’s enough fan support for that. I mean, I don’t know. I mean, I think it’s diluting the stars in terms of where the teams are, where the stars are going to play, in terms of the quality of the players, because there are so many teams.

Is there a school in, if they get it up to 76? I got the perfect name for a school at number 76, The Little Train That Could.

Well, that’s not bad, not bad.

All right, 76 schools. What’s that magic word that we talk about all the time on this show?

It’s called g-r-e-e-d, and that’s what it comes down to. How much money can we derive from these regionals, from these, I mean, honest to goodness Fred, if you looked at college basketball and you broke it down, you know, I look at it very simply. Thirty-two teams deserve to go, and then you would have an NIT that would have 20 or so teams that are good teams competing at a high level.

Can I ask you one question? I know we’re up against it, but that NFL Players Association guy, what the heck happened there, Fred?

They’re both gone. They’re both fired.

They’re both gone now, they’re both gone.

Wow.

They hid the facts from the players. Collusion, collusion, collusion. Hey, that’s it. On BLEAV, PodClips, Fred and the Fantastics with Laura, with Mark, and with Art. Mario, thank you very much, and do not miss the next show of Fred and the Fantastics. Bye, everybody.