Hey everybody, it’s that time again. Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips. And along with Laura, and with Art. We will discuss this, that, and anything in the wonderful and wacky world of sports. And let’s start with what happened. And folks, we’re taping this on Friday afternoon, let’s talk about Thursday evening. Now there were three, three schools left as far as the possibility of winning the national title. Mississippi played well, not quite well enough. Miami found a way to win, 31-27. Art. Did you watch the game? What do you think?

Absolutely loved it. I had it called perfect until the three-minute mark when they scored that last touchdown. I lost my parlay, but I will tell you, Trinidad Chambliss is for real. I will tell you this: I have never seen a better pair of defensive ends, edge rushers, than Miami has. These guys are absolute animals coming off the corner. And I will say another thing: the Miami program that Mario Cristobal has put together is really unbelievable. I mean, that’s the old Miami team that I remember in the ’90s with Jimmy Johnson, and they played great football. The running back, Fletcher, I don’t think a lot of people would have had them on their dance card, even as far back as three, four, five weeks ago, getting where they’re getting, and they seem to have really come to the fore. But I also got to give credit for Mississippi. Mississippi played a great football game. They lost four of their assistant coaches on offense because they had to go work the portal for Lane Kiffin at LSU. And what Lane Kiffin did to that program really bothers me, Fred. I think he could have waited. The money’s going to be there. Those kids deserve to have their coach coach them the whole way, and it might have made a big difference in the very end.

Laura, Lane didn’t pick up another half a million going down to Miami. Your comments about the game.

Well, as I said off the air, I watched it in part because I was at an Elvis birthday bash where my brother’s band was playing, which was a lot of fun. Kind of reminded me of my first date with my husband, which was on the first wildcard game, the day of the first wildcard game. And he didn’t know because he wasn’t a football fan, but I knew, but I really wanted to go out with him. So I sort of maneuvered the date where I ended up watching each of the games in certain locations. I kind of manipulated the situation, which we always laugh about, for the last 37 years. But what I saw of the game, it was a great game. And I don’t, yeah, Lane Kiffin, I mean, the guy just doesn’t have any class, as far as I’m concerned, to do that.

And of course, if Indiana loses tonight and Oregon wins, you’re going to have the former Oregon Coach against the now Oregon coach.

Art, Indiana is about, what, a four-point favorite against Oregon? Who do you like?

Yeah, and I mean, Curt Cignetti has done something with the Indiana football program that I think is unbelievably great. But here’s the funny thing: if Oregon does upset Indiana tonight, what’s going to be great about it is, you’re going to have Ibis, who’s the duck for the Miami logo, and then you have the Oregon Ducks. So it’s going to be a ducky National Championship game.

Laura, who wins tonight?

You know, my head says Indiana, but my heart says Oregon, so,

Because we’re all Pac-10 fans, see, Pac-ball fans.

I’ve always loved Oregon football. I mean, I just, I don’t know, I just love it.

They have those uniforms that used to remind me of the Green Bay Packers. I don’t know if you remember.

Yeah, but they’re just great, you know, they’re green.

I hope they come out in their white uniforms with the silver trim.

Yeah, I love those.

And look like, you know, the knights in white satin.

Yeah, and they’re iridescent, sometimes they look green, sometimes they look silver. They’re great.

But don’t you feel that Indiana is sort of inevitable to win the whole thing?

Yeah, I do. They look really good. I mean, I think, like I said, my head says it.

Well, we did think Ohio State, Laura. That was, that was unbelievable. I mean, I didn’t think anybody could dismantle them the way they dismantled them.

And they didn’t mess around.

Then you look at what they did to Alabama. Alabama’s got a talented football team. Those guys are not bums in any way, and they shut them down in the Rose Bowl. Yeah,

I think it’s, I think it’s Indiana’s year, really.

My one question, my one question, is the Oregon Ducks speed on Astroturf is something that you have to behold in person. And that’s the only thing that I think they have going for them in this game, plus you have a great group of athletes. What was our quarterback from Oregon State? Played at three different universities? His younger brother is a defensive end, you, Uigalelei, and he and Tuioti, those are two good defensive ends, too.

Good pronunciation.

Close to 5,000 NCAA football players have now put their name into the transfer portal. Laura. It’s hard to keep up with what’s going on. 5,000 student-athletes, paid student-athletes, in the transfer portal.

You know, it’s going to end up, my prediction is it’s going to end up where the players are going to end up with contracts, just like in professional sports. And they’re not going to, they’re going to end up signing a contract where they agree to play for, you know, two years, three years, whatever, and it’s because it’s just out of control. It’s not fun to be to watch college sports when you don’t even know who the two of the players on the teams are going to be. And I don’t. You know, it’s, I think they’re going to kill their fan base because there’s so many fans that are really fans of the school, of the school teams. And when you have different players every year or even every month, you know, it’s just crazy making, I think.

The other thing, Fred, that’s really bad about the transfer portal is this should all be happening after the final game,

Right.

In other words, after the National Championship game on the 19th, open the portal up. And I also believe that if your coach gets fired or moves on, you should have a chance to go somewhere else and play. But you shouldn’t be able to play for five different teams or schools in five years; it’s just ridiculous at this point in time. And you know, Fred, I’ll tell you, who’s really worried about it are people like Athlon and Lindy’s. And I mean, all these, these magazines, you know, your college football magazines, you know, you, by the time you read them, they’re, they’re already not even up to date.

Yeah. Like, they’ve developed the program, and half the players are gone by the time the program is published.

And I used to love college basketball, but the one-and-done turned me off to college basketball. I mean, I’m looking forward to this weekend. I mean, talk about two great basketball programs. UCLA’s playing Maryland. I mean, if you’d had that game 25 years ago, that would have been number one against number two, three, or four, right? So I mean, it’s just it’s tough, it’s very, and I’m happy for the kids. But you’re going to get a kid that’s going to come along, all right? Pretty soon, and he’s going to sign a huge deal, like, like Bryce Underwood did with Michigan. You know, because of the super Mr. Larry Ellison, Larry Ellison, and, you know, said, go ahead and write whatever you want. Just put the number you want down. And now he’s thinking about getting back in the transfer portal, and I just, at a certain point in time, do you take a pay cut to go to the NFL?

All right, we’re going to take a break and come back and talk about the National Football League, all straight away. Fred and the Fantastics, back after this.

Folks, we’re back on Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and PodClips. Laura, and Art, and yours truly, Fred. You can email us, [email protected], [email protected]. How many coaches were fired this week? Many, many, and many. Harbaugh’s out. WFAN thinks he’s going to be the new coach at the Giants. Art, John Harbaugh. What do you think?

I think he’s going to wind up in Miami. I really do. I think Stephen Ross has liked him for, for 7-10 years now, and he was all good with, with Mike McDaniel. And then, when Harbaugh became available, boom, the next day, he went from helping figure out who the GM is going to be with the Dolphins, to being out on the streets. And he was already set up to go to, you know, to the Detroit Lions as their offensive coordinator. They made a call real quickly because Dan Campbell’s not the offensive brilliant mind that he thought he was. Great coach, but you know, you need to have a great offensive coordinator, but Harbaugh is a great coach. You know, what really bothers me a little bit about this coaching carousel, you guys? It’s, it’s the same guys kind of getting retread,

Right?

Yeah, I want to see some,

It’s like a roulette.

I would like to see Klint Kubiak get a chance. His, his father was the guy that made Elway as great as he was, and also Shanahan, and this kid has done a great job. Sammy Darnold set the record for most, you know, again, it’s a 17-game season, but most victories in a two-year period, 27. That’s unbelievable. I mean,

I mean, the scuttlebutt is Kubiak, is the Raiders are interviewing him. So, who knows?

I think he’s gonna get,

Who do you want?

I think he’s gonna get a job.

Laura, who do you want as the new coach of your favorite team, the Raiders?

The Raiders.

Who do I want? I was really upset by,

Get Vince Lombardi in there.

I mean, Max Crosby is one of the best players in football, and you know, he’s played under six,

He’s going to play all those years. Yeah,

I mean, it’s insane. I mean, what is Mark Davis thinking? He can change the whole coaching team every year and make something different?

He’s thinking about developing that stadium, Allegiant Stadium. I don’t know if you saw the news of what they’re doing. A $1.8 million renovation to put a Raiders hotel together. Office buildings, restaurants, it’s going to be like a theme attraction park.

Well, it is, being in Vegas, but what about football?

Well, that’s what I’m saying. Why don’t they put that money into the football team and develop a winner? But you know, they make so much money. People don’t know this rule, you guys, and this is really, really interesting. If you’re an original owner of a team or an heir to the original owner of a team, you can maintain control of the franchise and only own 1% of the team. That puts these guys in such a lucrative position to sell limited, like Al Davis did in L.A., limited partnerships and make all this money. I mean, the Raiders were a billion-dollar organization a decade ago. Now they’re worth seven. So do you really care about winning anymore?

I still haven’t gotten over the fact that they moved to Vegas in the first place. I mean, they should have come here to L.A. That’s where they have a fan base.

The Chargers should be in San Diego.

And the Chargers, who have no fan base here, should have stayed in San Diego.

They were loved, beloved.

Beloved. You know, I had a case a few years ago, it was kind of one of these cases that never ended, and there were some lawyers that were from San Diego. And I had a really fun time going down to San Diego for a Raider-Charger game and tailgating with them. And they were all Charger fans. And I came down with my whole Raider gear, and it was such a blast. And you know, I go to the Raider-Charger game here, and there are no Charger fans. I mean, literally, it’s five to one. And the cameras have trouble even finding Charger fans, well, there are no Raider fans. And they do, you know, they try to isolate two people, and it’s like, Oh yeah, there’s, you know, the Bolts, you know, were really into it, and there’s like, no Charger fans.

Is there any chance Tom Brady becomes the new coach?

Probably not, because he was a quarterback.

How would you turn off $375 million from the networks? I mean, he’s making $37 million a year, working 20 events. Such a deal.

All right, in our last few minutes, that’s a great comment. We had Monday Night Football, we had Thursday Night Football, and we had Sunday Night Football. Art. Of the three games, Monday, Sunday, Thursday, which combo did you like the best, Art?

I gotta tell you, that’s a tough call. I’m an Al Michaels fan, so I mean, I could listen to him talk about anything. So, I mean, I’m kinda that way; I grew up with him. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, mmm, a little dry for me. I’m gonna have to go with the Thursday night program because it’s leading into the weekend of all the games. That’s why I like Thursday Night Football. Monday night,

Laura, Art likes Thursday Night Football,

Thursday night, though, is so hard on the players, you know, to play on Thursday night. I don’t know,

Especially after a,

But I love Al Michaels.

They should have to come out and play that Thursday game after the bye; that’s what they should do.

Yeah.

I like Monday night because I think Troy Aikman does a heck of a job. I’m not a big Collinsworth fan on Sunday. And as far as Al is concerned, still does a great job, but I lean a little bit toward Monday night, those two, and, you know, just an opinion, opinion, all right. Very quickly. Big game. They’re all big games now, folks, as we head into the playoffs in the National Football League, San Francisco-Philadelphia. They dropped from the fifth to the sixth. The Rams have the fifth choice. I think that Philadelphia will lose to San Francisco, believe it or not. Art, your comments.

Well, you know the way the Eagles are playing, you don’t know which team is going to show up. They’re like the little girl with the curl, you don’t know what’s going on. I personally, I think they’re going to have to give the ball to Saquon Barkley, a nice big dose of him. And they went from the second-best rushing team last year to the 18th. Can Hurts do his thing? The 49ers, also very inconsistent. I mean, I would probably take the ‘Niners and the five points in that game, honestly, just because it’s going to be a nip and tuck game.

Laura, San Francisco against the Philadelphia Eagles. Who do you like?

I like the Eagles. I think the Eagles are going to come through. I think Jalen Hurts is going to come through. I think Saquon’s, I just, I think the Eagles are going to come through. Their defense is the big question mark, you know, so,

The big guys from Georgia up front. Wow,

All right. On Monday night, obviously, the Steelers very fortunate to make it on the missed field goal. They are home, though, against Houston, and it’s giving up three-and-a-half. Tell you what. I think the Steelers have a really good shot of winning here. Art. Can they cover that three-and-a-half point spread?

I got to tell you, it’s going to be a low-scoring game, and that, that Houston defense, they come into this game winners of nine consecutive games. DeMeco Ryans has built a great, great defense. That game comes down to Stroud. If Stroud plays very good football, they’re going to win. Now, Aaron Rogers in the playoffs, first playoff appearance in five years. He’s going to be fired up. They’re kind of playing with house money. I don’t think it was when they were sitting there with a, with a field goal, you know, to put them out of their misery. I don’t think a lot of them thought about it. So that’s another psychological thing. You know, the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game in 10 years, Fred, and this is a tough,

Laura, D.K. is back, he’s got a, he’s got a receiver to throw to. I’m taking the Steelers and the points. Laura, how about you?

Yeah, I think the Steelers are going to pull that one off, but I personally hope that the Texans win, cause I love C.J. Stroud,

You know, Mark Mancini loves the Steelers this weekend, you guys, so,

Oh, there you go. Bet on the Texans.

He’ll be on next week. He’ll be crying on our next show right here. All right. So for Laura, for Art, for Mario, stay tuned for much more on Fred and the Fantastics. Bye, everybody.