Hey everybody, welcome to Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips across America and around the world. With Art, 128 years of age, and with attorney Laura. We’ll talk about this, that, and anything in sports. You can email us at [email protected], [email protected], and Art, you were a Bruin fan growing up, you played for USC, but I got to ask you. Last week, Northwestern, Friday night. Number 80 was put in by Riley to do his thing, but it wasn’t to kick. It was a different number,

Backup quarterback wore the punter’s jersey, right?

It was a different number 80, a young Mr. Huard,

That’s cheating, Fred.

A 10-yard pass. And, of course, Riley doesn’t think that it was unethical or illegal. Big 10 disagrees. Art, what do you think?

I think it’s completely wrong. I mean, you’re, you’re, you’re trying to fool somebody. It’s like the old days when you know you’d play pick-up football, and, or, you know, like, a freshman game, and you’d come out of the game, but you really wouldn’t go out, you’d stand over on the sidelines, and then, you know, nobody’d say nothing. They snap the ball, they throw it to you real fast, and you’d run down the field. I mean, come on, guys, that’s just it. It bothers me. I mean, the one thing I’ve always loved about athletics is, you know, the, the part where people get along and you know, they’re, they have rules to live by. It’s like coaches that win games 73 to 6, you know, really? You needed to put 73 points up, 65 wasn’t enough, or 55 wasn’t enough? I mean, do you really want to rub their noses in it? I don’t know, it’s just it just came across the wrong way to me.

Art. And Laura, let me tell you a quick story. Just a few years ago playing, just a few years ago playing for Blanco Park in Culver City, California, I caught a long touchdown pass. How did I catch it? What Art just indicated – I stood next to the sideline with the players who weren’t playing, and I caught a long pass. And a few years ago, by the next year, that was ruled illegal in Culver City Park.

It’s the Fred Wallin Rule.

No, I, honestly, I, my wife didn’t think I was a pretty good athlete growing up. Well, I actually have the article from the local newspaper here.

I love it!

It says, it said the following: Fred Wallin swivel-hipped through the, I forgot the park,

Swivel Hips!

And Blanco Park beat… But again, we call it the Sleeper, like you, see, you had your own, we called it the Sleeper Play.

I love the Sleeper Play.

We were doing it for a couple years at Blanco Park in Culver City, and now Lincoln Riley is doing the, basically the same thing with the Trojans of USC. I don’t know, it’s crazy.

Hey, let me ask you a question, Fred. In your wildest imagination, this summer, when we were looking at all the NFL teams, would you think that the New England Patriots would have the best record in the NFL after 11 weeks? Nine and two under Mike Vrabel. Is that just not an incredible job he’s doing?

And the worst new uniforms.

Oh wow, those were wild. What were they? Were they Pewter Gray? Were they blue?

Storm, Storm Blue. You know? We were watching the game, and I said,

Storm Blue,

We were watching the game and I said, Yeah, you know, it looks like a stormy color of a stormy sea, and that’s exactly what they named it after – Storm Blue.

Obviously, you’ve been to Boston.

It’s cool that they had all six,

But, the most important issue in that game on Thursday night was it ended 27 to 14, 13 points.

Right on the money,

And the total was right on the number. I think it opened to 12 and a half. So a lot of people were happy, a lot of people were sad. And I mean, let me tell you something, I, and Laura, you watched the game, so I’d love your thoughts about this. I don’t think Justin Fields played badly. He scored a touchdown on a run, he threw a touchdown pass, hit 15 out of 26, and about three or four were dropped. I don’t think he played badly at all.

I will tell you this: I agree with you on Justin Fields.

There were a couple of passes that were absolutely dropped.

Yes, there were.

Really good passes that were dropped.

But you know the two receivers he was throwing to have only been there with him for 10 days.

Yeah,

So that was a tough situation. But I’ll tell you what impressed me more than anything, you guys. And I’ve always been kind of a Drake Maye fan, but I didn’t think he’d come along this quickly. His accuracy, his ability to buy a little time in the pocket, all the things that, that I love in a quarterback, you know, that escapability just to keep the play going for a half a beat longer. He did such a marvelous job running that offense in Diggs. He and Diggs are in sympatico. I mean, they’re right on the same level together. And I’ll tell you what, this TreVeyon Henderson, who I liked at Ohio State, this kid’s for real.

He’s fast.

You know, they made it, they made an interesting call, though, they said. You know, he’ll like, have five or six runs where he gets no, you know, maybe two, three yards, and then all of a sudden boom, he’ll go for 80. There’s nothing wrong with that. That reminds me of Gail Sayers, but he was in his prime. I mean, I want that, I want that explosiveness, that guy that could just take the top off the defense. I gotta say, you know, I look at, I look at the NFL right now, and I mean, I see Seattle and the Rams playing great in the NFC. You got Philly, Chicago, Detroit. I mean, did you ever think that the head coach, Dan Campbell, would be calling plays on the offense for the Lions?

All right. I’ve got USA Today in front of me. Are you ready?

Yeah.

Mm hmm.

They rate all 32 teams. Laura, you’re not at the bottom. You’re at the second to the bottom with that, with the Raiders.

I’m done with the Raiders. My two other favorite teams are the Bills and the Eagles. So, I stuck with the Bills last week. But the big game coming up between the Eagles and the Lions, I mean,

That’s gonna be a dandy.

Great.

Let me, let me read you the top of their list. You ready for this? Rams, number one, Seattle, number two, and they meet Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles. New England is three, and this was before the win on Thursday night. Denver is four, and they are comeback kings, and they’ve sacked,

They’ve got Kansas City going to Denver this, this Sunday. That’s gonna be a dandy, yeah.

Denver leads the league in the sacks, 46 through 10 games.

Bonitto, I believe his name is, defensive end.

He’s pretty good.

Wow.

Philadelphia is five, Green Bay is six, Buffalo is seven, Kansas City is eight, and I think that’s low, and Detroit is nine, I think that’s definitely low. Laura, what do you think about Jared Goff from Cal and the Detroit Lions being rated number nine by USA Today?

I think, yeah, I think they’re better than number nine. I think it’s gonna be a great game between them. And,

You know, I read today. What I read today in the Las Vegas Review-Journal is that if the playoffs were held today in the AFC, Patrick Mahomes would be on the sidelines. They’d be the eighth team out. I mean,

But you know, in the end, they’ll be it.

I’m not shedding any tears.

Let’s talk about those two key games, Fred. You got Seattle at Los Angeles at SoFi, minus three and forty-eight and a half. Sam Darnold, I think, between he and Stafford, those were your two MVPs right now. I mean, I’d throw Goff in there as well. But I mean, those would be the favorites. What are you guys thoughts on who’s gonna pull that one out?

Laura, what do you think?

Between Seattle and the Rams?

Yeah. Rams, the three-point favorites.

It’s hard to beat the Rams, I don’t know. I think it’s gonna be really close. I think Seattle just might pull it off.

I agree.

Great defense.

Let me just say this: 48 for these two teams seems low, which means it probably will be low, so,

Exactly.

So I’m afraid to wager.

Well, you’ve got two good defenses. I mean, that Ram defense is stepping up. And then McDonald’s done a great job there, and then you got Kansas City at Denver. Denver might be the most overrated eight-and-two and two team I’ve ever seen. They’re doing it with great comebacks, great second halves. But, you know, is Bo Nix, does he have the consistency to continue this march?

We’ll see.

Yeah, hey, by the way, where’s that game being played in Denver?

In Denver. KC’s a four-point favorite on the road with a five and four record. Forty-four and a half is the is the over-under.

It’s, it’s. It’s tough to figure, but over the last six games,

It could be snowing too.

Okay, over the last six games, and you mentioned Matt Stafford, over the last six games, I believe 20 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Now I’ve never heard of that. Have you, Art?

No, he’s, and you know, he came this close to saying, I’m done, and if he’s done, that proves to me that this guy is for real. I mean, I gotta tell you something. Sean McVay is, is a brilliant football coach. He has done, in my opinion, with the Rams, to resurrect this team again. Hey, you know, hey, you might see a repeat of the Super Bowl five years ago, New England and the Rams in the Super Bowl. I mean, who would have thought that at the beginning of the season?

Laura. If you were a betting person, as we do this, we tape this Friday afternoon, folks, you’re a betting person. Who wins the Super Bowl in 2026?

As of right today?

Yeah, what, you can’t, not yesterday. Let’s go today,

Gosh, you know, New England looks really good.

You think the Raiders are out of it?

The Eagles, I’m not counting out the Eagles.

I still say you got to beat the Eagles in Philadelphia before it’s over.

Yeah,

The Eagles,

They played some defense, the trade they made with Miami to pick up this Phillips kid, that really worked out Monday Night Football,

And Saquon looked great.

Oh, he finally, you can see,

He looked great,

The groin’s starting to heal up a little bit.

Yeah, he did that twist-spin move.

Ah, that was unbelievable.

Yeah, so great.

All right, let’s take a break and come back with a little bit more on Fred and the Fantastics across America and around the world. Back after this.

Hey, welcome back, everybody, Fred and the Fantastics across America and around the world. With 128-year-old Art Sorce, with attorney Laura Snoke, and yours truly,

Less than 128 years old.

Yeah, I’m only 127. Don’t be rushing me down the road here.

No, I thought September 11th you were 128. Okay.

I lost a year somewhere. It’s these pills, Fred.

You can, even you can email us at [email protected], [email protected]. We’re taping this Friday afternoon. Tonight at, here in Southern California, it’s Arizona versus UCLA.

Where is the Intuit Center?

Near Inglewood, I guess. Okay.

Yeah, it’s in Inglewood where the Clippers play.

Laura, who do you like, Moot Cronin and his Bruins, or Arizona?

Well, I mean, I always have such a soft spot in my heart for UCLA, so I’m gonna, of course, root for UCLA. But it’s gonna be a tough game. This is gonna be their first test.

Arizona’s favored by, by a bucket and a half, two-and-a-half points. They’re number five in the country. Both teams are undefeated. Yeah, this should be a dandy, but I probably have to take Arizona, even though I’d like to see UCLA win.

UCLA’s got five,

I don’t want UCLA to win, I want them to lose, and I’ll tell you why, and I’m the biggest Bruin fan here.

Because you love Cronin.

Because you hate Mick Cronin.

I want them to lose. Because I want to hear who Mick Cronin blames, which player,

Not him. It’s never him. He never made a bad move in his life.

He’s never made a bad move in his life. So I’m just waiting to see which of the players that play caused the loss. And that’s why it’s so fun to follow Mick Cronin. And I gotta tell you something else. You know, quietly, John Wooden would scream at his players, you know, he’d yell, and he would say things,

When he had the rolled-up program?

When he had the rolled-up program. You didn’t know he was screaming unless you were right on the sidelines or something like that. The whole world hears Mick Cronin screaming, hollering, like, I don’t know what. Laura, you’re the fan, you know, among fans, you like him, hollering. You want that as your UCLA coach?

I don’t, I don’t like Mick Cronin. I don’t know why players, and with all the, with all the freedom that the players have now in terms of where they can play and how much money they can garner, I don’t know why they’re even wanting to come to UCLA.

Are there, are any good prop bets on that anyway?

No, and Laura just said it, though. How many kids play one or two years at UCLA and run away? They maybe give him a second-year chance. Well, maybe he’ll calm down, maybe he’ll be quiet, but when he doesn’t, they leave.

That Bobby Knight style.

Yeah,

Went out about 15 or 20 years ago. I think positive reinforcement now is what the kids really focus on. And I mean, it’s one thing one-on-one with somebody. But when you, when you take somebody down in front of their teammates, that never does anybody, especially young kids. These kids are 18, 19, 20 years old now, Fred. I mean, they’re not, they’re not grown men yet. And, and you know, you start, you start infringing on their, their territory and, and calling them names and things. I’ve never understood that. That’s another thing that I think is a coaching technique from the past, but I agree with you guys on Cronin, his, his style of coaching. And it’s probably going to be the thing that keeps him from eventually having the great success that he thinks he should have.

Let me say this. Was it four years or five years ago? They’re playing North Carolina in the Elite Eight and he never played his best defensive player as, as North Carolina found a way to beat UCLA, and UCLA had a three- or four-point lead with two minutes to go, and the Tar Heels win. But he never put, not even for one minute,

His best defensive player,

Amari Bailey.

In that game. And I’m saying to myself at that point, What the hell is he thinking? You mentioned Bobby Knight. If Cronin was more than five-foot-nine, he’d be choking somebody, you know, but he knows he’s five-foot-nine, so he better not do that. But other than that,

Hey, I gotta tell you the funniest thing I read all, all week, you guys. This was in MSN Sports, right, on the internet, it said, Libby Dunn’s boyfriend wins the Cy Young Award. I mean, wait a minute, you’re the best pitcher in the National League, Paul Skenes, and you’re known as Libby Dunn’s boyfriend? Is that not the funniest thing? I’m saying to myself, Wow, the world has definitely spun off its axis.

Were they trying to be funny?

It was pretty funny, but I mean, please, you know, you might mention that, you know, she’s a great athlete in her own, and how proud she was of her boyfriend, the winner, the you know, National League Cy Young with a 10 and 10 record. Unbelievable there.

All right, since we’re talking UCLA on Saturday, UCLA’s a mere 33-point underdog against Ohio State. Laura. Do they stay within 33?

Yeah, I think they’ll do better than 33. I mean, that seems, that just seems a little bit optimistic on,

Have you watched Ohio State this year?

I don’t think they have a chance to beat Ohio State. But I think, though, I think, though I don’t think they’ll lose by that much.

They seem to play better in those hostile surroundings.

Yeah.

Although at Indiana, they didn’t look so good there. If I was gonna bet that game. I mean, I look at the numbers here right in front of me. I would have to take, take Ohio State. But I find, you know, I find really bizarre they are 33-point favorites, but the over and under is only 41 and a half.

I take over.

That’s what I’m thinking,

UCLA might score a couple of touchdowns.

I think if they get 14, then I say, you know, 42-14, something of that nature. Yeah.

No, I think that’s a very sharp, wise, wise play. Hey, what do you take to respond so quickly right here on Fred and the Fantastics? I know you take some legal medicinal products. What do you take?

Legally?

Yes, illegally, we don’t allow.

Well, this is the good stuff here. And it might even work on my inflammation in my brain, I’m not sure, but I take that, and I take Prevagen. I also take Focus Factor. I’ve got another one, don’t have it on the desk right now, but it’s, it’s called Forebrain. So, I mean, it sounds like a golf thing, but it actually helps, helps it. But they’re all nootropics and, and they get the blood flowing through the brain, and, and that’s important, I think, as we get a little older.

Laura. What do you take?

I take matcha.

All right, Saturday, Coliseum.

Matcha and a good social life.

Saturday, Coliseum, it might be raining, USC-Iowa. Art, you kicked for the Trojans a long, long, long time ago. Who do you like?

Well, I gotta tell you, I think they’re gonna play against the most physical team that they’re gonna go up against all week, I mean, all year. I watched Oregon scrape by against Iowa last week. Iowa comes at you; they play great defense. You know, does SC have the ability to pound the ball like they did against Michigan? Now you throw in another factor, you talked about the inclement weather, the rain. You know, West Coast teams, predominantly, they’re not known for being able to practice a lot in, in wet conditions. Now, I know Iowa played last week in a driving rain, and they played pretty well. I would have to take the seven points in that game, but I also think that, you know, if I, if I looked at it, I would say 24-19 USC, possibly, or the other way around, it’s kind of a tough one. I’d take the points. I’d take the seven,

I like their quarterback, I like Maiava,

I do too.

I think he’s awfully good. I think he’s talented. He threw an interception last week, and he tackled the guy before he scored. Most quarterbacks,

That’s the most impressive thing I’ve seen from a quarterback in college in a lot of years.

Love that.

So, Laura, what are you doing this weekend?

What am I doing this weekend?

What sports,

I’m going to hear my brother’s band tomorrow night at the Smokehouse in Burbank.

Very cool!

What’s the name of the band?

What type of music?

Ten-Seven. I’m not even sure what the name of the band is. My brother is an excellent guitarist, and the band he’s playing with is kind of like, I think it’s Ten-Seven Splits.

Very cool. So they’re bowlers?

So you’re gonna drive all the way from where you live to Burbank. Congratulations.

I’m not gonna drive, I’m not sure if we’re going to drive or we’re Uber it. Yeah,

So you can have a libation, or what?

Hey, you know, I’m looking at a local throwaway newspaper here called The Acorn. I really like it. You know what it cost to take a Uber from where I live, which is the Conejo Valley, to the airport? Have any idea what it costs?

Hundred bucks.

One hundred and fifty.

Laura. What do you say? How much?

One hundred and fifty.

Honest to God, it said, a hundred in the thing, a hundred forty-nine dollars. You don’t have to tip. Congratulations.

I would hope so.

Well, because I know Uber, I kind of know what the prices are because I had, I had some car trouble and I had to take an Uber from Mar Vista to my house, which is roughly about five miles, if that, and it costs like 25. So I was kind of extrapolating from that. But yeah, I mean, you’re pretty far from the airport, but Uber’s not, it’s not cheap, that’s for sure.

One hundred and forty-nine dollars. Folks, if you have 149 bucks, you can live in the Conejo Valley like a fool that I am. All right for Laura, for Art, for Mario. Thank you for listening to Fred in The Fantastics. More around the corner. Bye everybody.