Hey, folks, at that time, Fred and the Fantastics with Art Sorce at 128 years of age, Attorney Laura Snoke, and I am Fred. You can email us at [email protected]. This, that, anything in the wonderful and wacky world of sports. All right, so LeBron signs with Philadelphia, and guess what? The Knicks at home against Philadelphia, the first game of the NBA season. Art, any shock in that?

Netflix? No. It shows you just how much money that the NBA really wants to make. Not a shock at all. I mean, I’m surprised they haven’t raised my Netflix subscription already.

Wait. Wait.

This whole sports. Go ahead. Okay, you just give me a minute? Yeah, you’re right. I don’t have to wait too long; it’ll go up. That’s unbelievable. But yeah, pretty soon we’ll, you know, we won’t know where to find the games, and when we find them, we’ll be like, going, Oh my God, they’re so expensive, maybe I should just buy a $200 ticket. No, it’s crazy times, but that was really, that was exploited very quickly. I mean, someone really had their game face on. They said, oh yeah, LeBron comes to L.A. Christmas Day. Oh, right up against the NFL, we’ll have, well, we’re not gonna win, but we’ll have good ratings.

Laura, which team in the NBA has the most national games? What do you think?

I think it’s the Lakers. Did I just read that wrong, or is it Philadelphia?

It’s the Lakers.

One of three.

The Lakers. Yeah, that’s what I thought.

So, Art, do they still think that he’s on the Lakers, or what’s going on? Why would the Lakers? I know L.A.’s a big market, but who’s gonna watch the Lakers?

Can I tell you something? Here’s the deal. Well, we know there’s 12 billion reasons why he might be, why they might be on national TV. I mean, with the ownership, the new ownership, Mark Walter sells the ballclub for $12.5 billion, as Laura said earlier on Sports Overnight America, a $2.5 billion profit in 10 months. I want one of those, put us on the line, we’re ready, we’ll whack it up, Joe Pesci style. But yeah, Fred, just follow the money, follow the money. I mean, that’s all you really have to do. I did not know being the CEO of Disney would be worth billions, you know. I do know the Kushner family has billions. But Bob Iger, that was amazing that he could come up with the- I imagine he might’ve gotten help from the Saudis, or the Emirates, or the sultans on the front row of the old L.A., what is it called now? Is it the- it used to be the- the Fabulous Forum, and then it became the beautiful Downtown edifice.

Crypto something.

Crypto.com.

What is it now? Crypto? Crypto Arena? Yeah, Crypto. It’s hard for me to say Crypto, you guys; I don’t know why, it just, it rubs me the wrong way. But yeah, we’ll see what’s going on with all the money being thrown around in sports.

Now, this is just a rumor that the court is going to be called Pedoland. What do you think? Could it just be a rumor or true?

No comment.

It’s really sad, you know? I mean, it just shows you; and there is Abu Dhabi money involved. And who knows what kind of deal was made when Walter went to visit Trump? Because, you know, there’s no way, as Art said, there’s no way the Lakers’ value increased by $2.5 billion in 10 months. I mean, they’ve got a new team, and they lost LeBron James. I mean, this is a $2.5 billion,

Is that what they were talking about? Is that why the L.A. Times, the two writers for the LA Times, Shaikin and Plaschke, I believe it is, were talking about red flags, more red flags than the May Day celebration in Moscow?

You’re right.

No, it’s an unbelievable situation, what’s happening. We talked about this before, but greed, greed, and more greed. And the Lakers, the NBA proved that, and I’m not sure about Adam Silver, I’m not sure about,

Does the trickle-down theory work for us announcers?

Hardly.

Does the trickle-down theory work for us announcers?

Well, it might.

Unless the NBA has to approve it. So, do you know what the criteria are that the NBA looks at in approving a sale?

What does David Falk think? I think it’s David Falk’s decision. Honestly.

On a serious note, do you think Adam Silver is going to turn this down?

I think I would spend about three seconds saying no. I don’t think he’s going to turn it down. But I’m just wondering what the ostensible criteria are for approving a sale like that. I mean, to just,

There is the NBA Board of Governors, right, Fred?

Yeah. And also, they’re going to try to put a team in Las Vegas. The value of that team just jumped up. If the Lakers are worth $12.5 million.

Exponentially.

So that’s why Adam Silver,

It went from that $7 billion they were throwing around to that $10 billion they were throwing around. Just like that. Woo hoo!

And that’s even if Adam Silver thought it was above board to move to the Lakers, even if he thought that,

And I believe Iger and Kushner were involved in one of those bids for the,

Yes, they tried to get it.

Yeah. Why not go for the best team?

Let’s not forget that Charles Kushner, his dad, of course, in jail for five years for fraud. And nowadays, it’s pretty tough to go to jail for fraud.

How did he get out? How did he get out, Fred?

Oh, I don’t know.

He got out before he got pardoned. But he’s now the ambassador to France and Monaco. Tough job.

Next year, Greenland, right?

You know, he’ll be the president of Greenland.

All right, we’re going to take a break and a whole lot more on Fred and the Fantastics, with Art and Laura and you, all straight away on Fred and the Fantastics.

Did you guys get a chance to catch any football last night? Sorry.

Folks, we’re back on Fred and the Fantastics with Art and Laura. And I’m Fred. And you can email us, [email protected], [email protected]. All right, Thursday. We’re taping this Friday afternoon. Thursday at 4:30, the baseball game in Iowa, the Field of Dreams game. You’ve got Philadelphia; Schwarber hitting a couple home runs. That’s fantastic, except that how many people actually watched on Netflix because, simultaneously, you had the Raiders playing. You had the Chargers playing. You had everybody playing. Laura, I’ve got to ask you first. Mr. Fernando Mendoza came in very early. Played okay. Played actually well. Six for 11, 91 yards. Kirk Cousins started, threw a touchdown pass. So did Mendoza. Raiders lose, but who cares? What did you think of Mendoza’s performance, Laura Snoke? You’re a big Raider fan.

Yeah, I thought he played pretty well. I mean, it was exciting, you know, to see him play. And, you know, I don’t really typically think much of the preseason. I mean, it just seems like it’s just a testing ground. It’s a glorified practice, in a way. But, yeah, I thought he played really well. I was encouraged by that.

Laura, Art, when I started following it, I think when you started following it, Art. There were six preseason games; now just three. Obviously, the preseason doesn’t mean a whole lot. But of what you saw on Thursday night, what did you think of the NFL? And quarterback, quarterback, quarterback? Your comments?

Well, I’ll tell you one thing, Fred. I watched a little bit of the Pittsburgh victory over Green Bay, 28-9. And I thought the young quarterbacks for the Steelers, although Mason Rudolph really isn’t that young, but all three of the quarterbacks for the Steelers looked tremendous. I also thought in the Raider game that both Cousins and Mendoza looked excellent. I think I’d put a checkmark next to them. I’d put a checkmark next to Pittsburgh. And I think the Chargers came out and played very, very well as well. I caught a little bit of that game on tape. But I was excited. I was excited to see football. And I will tell you this, Fred. You know, they talk about golfers hitting the golf ball too far. These kickers, like the rookie, I guess, sixth-round draft pick for Green Bay, 58-yard field goal twice. And these balls hit the middle of the net. I mean, these kickers are just crushing the ball. Now, I realize it’s the middle of August. Temperatures are nice. That’s why home runs fly out of ballparks. It’s a good time to do it. But even Evan McPherson, the kicker for Cincinnati, had a 56-yard field goal. Either narrow the goalpost, or maybe I’m trying to figure out how they can mitigate it. Because I’ll tell you, once you cross midfield now, you’re in field goal range.

But they’re talking about going the other way. They’re talking about going the other way, giving you four points if it’s over 50 yards.

Making it four points?

They’re talking about that.

How about 60? We’ll give it. How about 60? I don’t get it. I think, I know the name of the game is called football, but I’d much rather see a one-on-one 50-50 ball down the sidelines with the receiver in the corner going at it, up in the air, for me. But I’m going to say this. A lot of people didn’t think Drew Aller was a very good third-round pick. Mike McCarthy, the coach of the Steelers, who used to coach at Dallas and Green Bay; think about that. Three pretty credible teams he’s been coached with. He really could develop quarterbacks. And I think what he’s going to do with Drew Allar, and I even noticed it a little bit with the other two quarterbacks. I mean, yeah, they were both very, very good. Howard looked good. The big kid from Oklahoma State that’s been around eight years, I mean, he was like 10 for 11. So, I mean, there’s a lot of good things I’m seeing. It looks to me like the NFL is going to be wide open. I think the Rams are favored if you look at Vegas and what they say. But, you know, I think it’s going to be a very good league. I think there’s going to be a good season that’s going to be competitive.

Laura, Last week, at the induction ceremony on tape, Roger Craig of the 49ers put in the Hall of Fame, but talked about the fact that he’s got dementia. Your thoughts, Laura, about the NFL, dementia, ALS, and the CTE, and the whole thing?

Yeah, you know, I read an article last year, I think it was in the New Yorker, about can we ethically support football anymore. And it’s tough, but I love football. I think it speaks to our primal nature, you know, that we have in all of us. And I don’t think it’ll ever- I don’t think it’s going to be supplanted by flag football. I think they’ve gotten a lot better about safety. You know, they have this concussion protocol. In the old days, you know, players would play after they saw stars. They’d just go out back on the field and play. So I think they have improved the safety issues. And, you know, it’s, yeah, I mean, it’s an issue, but I think there’s no, I don’t think there’s any way you can trace dementia to football injuries.

Art, the one thing I dislike the most right now about the NFL is that kicking idea that they came up with two years ago. Now I realize when they came into that, they didn’t want concussions on an opening kickoff.

You’re talking about the kickoffs.

The kickoffs. But they got to come up with something else. I don’t care if you don’t kick at all. I don’t care if you put it on the 35-yard line and take over from there without a kick. But they can’t keep going with this. It’s ridiculous.

I say that you put a big, like, you know, wheel of fortune down there and you spin it.

Yeah.

You get it at the 25, the 30, the 35. I mean, if we’re that concerned about concussions, the guy’s getting hit because this guy’s, these guys lined up together in a dance parade, like, they’re going to do the, the old Texas Shuffle, or whatever it is. I mean, that, that’s not a kickoff in any way, shape, or form, Fred.

Laura,

But I do say this: it created a lot of wildly crazy returns.

That’s true. Laura, before we go, who ends up the starting quarterback game number one for your Las Vegas Raiders, Mendoza or Kirk Cousins?

I think it’s still going to be Kirk Cousins. And I hope it is. I mean, I don’t think it’s fair to throw Mendoza into that, you know, maelstrom. He needs to develop, but I think it’ll depend on how the season goes. You know, he may start games later on in the season, for sure. If, you know, if the, if the games are, if that’s the right situation for him. But I don’t think he’s going to start.

By the middle of November, by the middle of November, he’ll get a couple of starts just to see where he’s at. And it’ll probably be more Kirk Cousins being beat up because it’s a 17-game season, and Kirk Cousins is not exactly a, a young man. I think he’s 38 years old.

He’s incredibly brilliant, though.

I love Kirk Cousins. I hope he starts for the Raiders.

Kirk Cousins,

Yeah. They say he’s done really wonders, along with Tom Brady. Yeah, I know he is, but he’s had Achilles problems in the past. But I think between Cousins and Brady, I think Mendoza is in great hands. And I think Kubiak is not exactly, not a great quarterback coach, too. So I like, I like the chances for Fernando Mendoza. I think the Raiders are going to be a surprise team, but my pick in the NFL, Fred,

Is…

Mark it down. They haven’t won a world title since Sid Gilman, the Los Angeles Chargers. I got a funny feeling. They’re going to be really good.

Okay.

All-L.A. Super Bowl – Chargers and Rams in SoFi.
I have to throw this out. Nakua, Rams, bit a woman.

What’s up with that?

Made anti-Semitic comments. Did a lot of nonsensical things. Has to be suspended. How many games, Art, do they suspend them? Remember now, you know, you got guys suspended for 10 games, 12 games, whole seasons. What about the Ram wide receiver?

They like Mr. Kroenke. I’m going to say they go four games.

Four games?

What is that all about, Fred? Fred, does he have mental problems?

Yes.

I mean, we talked a little bit about it last year.

He went to BYU.

They ought to get him some help, don’t you think?

No, I think he went to BYU.

Yeah, didn’t he already go through this once where he had some controversial comments, and he was disciplined already?

No, he hasn’t been disciplined.

But he did have controversial comments.

Did he not have some? I believe, I remember, I recall him getting in trouble with some sort,

Something.

Of altercation.

Yeah.

No, no, but he played all the last year. He played against Seattle in their final game. So, I mean, he wasn’t suspended.

They weren’t going to do anything to him? No, no, no. The NFL, that’s a fine, that’s a- what do they call that? A slippery slope, that whole situation. Him saying one thing, her saying another. Those are tough situations for the NFL to adjudicate it. And being an attorney, you know that, Laura.

Is that your old Trojan helmet in the background, Art?

Yeah, it is my old Trojan helmet.

I love that.

Number 13.

I’m glad you noticed that.

Oh, yeah, I love it.

All right, for Laura, for Art, for Mario.

It’s only 50 years ago now.

Stay tuned all week long for many more episodes of Fred and the Fantastics. Bye, everybody.