Hey folks, it’s time for Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV on PodClips around the world. We’ll discuss anything and everything in the wonderful and wacky world of sports with good friend Laura Snoke, attorney Laura Snoke, and good friend Art Sorce from Galaxy Sports. You can email us at sportsfred@aol.com, sportsfred@aol.com. This is interesting as we head into the Super Bowl. Folks, we’re taping this Friday afternoon, so Sunday, of course, the Super Bowl. But I want to go to baseball for a moment. Umpire named Pat Hoberg – I don’t know if you heard his name, but you will after I tell you what’s going on here. A couple of years ago, they kept track, and they still do, and they kept track of every pitch in the playoffs. And of the called pitches. Of 119, he was correct on 119. You can’t do any better than that, okay? But now he’s basically been fired. He didn’t umpire at all this year, now he can’t come back ’til 2026. Apparently, he’s sharing a credit card with somebody else who gambles heavily on baseball. Similar to the Ohtani story, where the interpreter, I think he’s got four years in jail or five years in jail.

Ippei, Ippei Mizuhara got 57 months plus three years of probation. And they said it was $17 million that he allegedly took out of Shohei Ohtani’s accounts.

Wouldn’t it be nice not to know that you’re missing $17 million?

Now, Fred. Can I ask a question? You guys? That was my question, how can anybody? I don’t care how much money you have, if there’s $17 million missing? I find it a little fishy in Denmark personally, but yeah, okay.

Why would anybody let anybody else other than your wife share your credit card?

I don’t know, I have a credit card from my practice that I still have that I’m the only one who can sign on it, so…

Don’t tell anybody, but I have one like that, too.

I don’t.

That’s why you’ve been married the longest, sir.

Folks, you can email us at sportsfred@aol.com, sportsfred@aol.com. Somebody who was investigating this situation, we’re talking baseball now, said half the players bet. Art, do you think that’s true?

I do. I don’t think they bet on baseball, but I think, remember Tommy Pham hit somebody,

Of course,

Of the Giants because he didn’t pay him his money. Oh, it was Joc Pederson, and I was laughing about that one. Speaking of Tommy Pham, he just signed with the Pirates. The guy plays, I mean, he must have one of those stickers like George Bailey had in It’s a Wonderful Life, one of those bags with all the stickers on it. He played for everybody.

Laura, what do you think? What percentage do you think of athletes wager, and what percentage of athletes wager on their particular sport?

I think that’s pretty low, the ones who wager on their sport, but I think the ones who wager on other sports, it’s probably 80%, maybe.

I was thinking, 75 or 80, yeah.

You know, it’s interesting. Fay Vincent, who took over after Bart Giamatti, had the heart attack over Pete Rose. Fay Vincent passed away a few days ago, a few months after Pete Rose passed away. I mean, again, we talk about this all the time. Too many people are dying, it seems at a ridiculous rate. And I’m saying Faye was over 80 years of age and Pete was 83. But I’m just saying that it’s sort of ironic that Pete Rose passed away, and now Fay Vincent soon afterwards. Folks, you can email us at sportsfred@aol.com, sportsfred@aol.com. Something else I want to talk about, and we’ll talk about Super Bowl in the second segment. But Kelly Stafford, wife of Matt Stafford of the Rams, indicated the Rams should not dare deal away Cooper Kupp. I agree with her 100%. Are the Rams going to listen to Kelly Stafford? Laura, what do you think?

No, I don’t think so. I think they’re going to do what they think they want to do for the team, for their future.

In the Rams’ defense, he has missed 18 games in the last three years. They got a lot out of him. The guy’s a great receiver, there’s no doubt about that. I personally would like to see him either go to the Raiders or the Steelers because I think he’d be a great slot receiver for both of those ball clubs. And they both need receivers, we know that, but yeah, I think that would be a mistake by the Rams. I mean, the Puka Nacua and him with a speed burner they can pick up in the draft. The Rams were this close to beating Philly, and Philly’s in the Super Bowl, and they played great in the snow too. Which, you know, West Coast teams usually don’t do that. So I wonder if he and Sean McVay had a little falling out, Fred.

Well, I hope the Rams don’t trade Cooper Kupp. I agree with Art.

You know, he’s not just a receiver, and again, he didn’t have a great year receiving. It’s a game or two. He didn’t catch a pass one game, he caught one pass, in the Philly game, he caught six. And again, as Art indicated, they were on the 14-yard line with a chance to win it. At the end, they had won, 29-28. So I hope they don’t deal him away and I’m happy Kelly Stafford spoke up now. Of course, if Matt retires, Stafford, then it doesn’t matter, but you know, they want to keep Matt Stafford.

He said he wants to come back for another year, so I wonder if that would change his view on things, though, if they did.

Yeah, that’s the point. We could certainly discuss that. Sportsfred@aol.com. Laura, you’re a Raiders fan. Chip Kelly, the former UCLA coach, who was making $6 million at UCLA, went to Ohio State for $2 million. Now he’s come to Las Vegas for the Raiders at $6 million. Are you happy that Chip Kelly is your offensive coordinator under Pete Carroll with the Las Vegas Raiders, Laura?

I like it, I like it a lot. I really liked some of the things that he said in this press conference. One of the things I really like that he said, is that you have to structure your offense and your team to the strengths of your players. Because so many coaches have their own system and they don’t seem to care if their system meshes with the players that they have. Because we all know that to be successful, in any endeavor, you really have to play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. So yeah, I like it, I think it’s great, I think it’s really professional. I think they’re showing that they’re serious about, you know, putting together ‘just win, baby’ again.

Art, do you agree with Laura, that Chip Kelly is good?

Yeah, I think he’s a great offensive coordinator. I never thought he was a great head football coach because I think he’s so, so much into the offense. But I’m looking around the NFL and you’ve got some quarterbacks out there that have talent. I mean, I don’t know what the Vikings are going to do with Sammy Darnold. I don’t know what J.J. McCarthy’s status is. There’s Jackson Dart in the draft who will be available to the Raiders. You look around, you’ve got another quarterback that Minnesota has, you know, Danny Dimes. He can move, the thing about football right now, Fred. And we’ve talked about this in the past on different shows. You have to have a mobile quarterback. Because, you know, the Raiders really specialize in that ‘look out!’ block, you know, they’re going to need somebody. And I also think that Justin Fields is real close to signing a deal with the Vegas Raiders. And I think he’d be an ideal candidate in a Chip Kelly offense because he does have the wheels. And I think Chip could simplify the offense to the point where I think he’d be effective.

Laura, before we go to the break, something very, very serious. There are 500,000 women playing Division I Sports. And under the new rules of the NCAA and of course from the Administration, there’s only 40 Trans women playing. They will no longer be allowed to play. As I’ve said, that’s the toughest decision anybody could ever make, turning from one sex to the other. Laura, what do you think? 40 out of 500,000, less than 1, less than 10, less than 100, anyway? Laura? What do you think of 40 out of 500,000 no longer being able to play?

I think it’s shameful. I think that, as I said before, even on look at a team like Kansas City, they’re the best team in football, perhaps. There are still players on that team that are the best players on that team. So there are always differences between athletes, even at the most elite level. I think maybe in terms of professional sports, there might be some reason to exclude people. To exclude people in a college situation because they are in the wrong body, I think it’s shameful. I mean, what, how many? 40 out of 500,000 are not going to make a difference, they’re not going to change any scores. I think it’s shameful.

Art, I think you’re going to disagree.

I see both sides of this one. I’m going to do my play it in the middle. I didn’t realize it was only 40 people. But one of my ideas is this, okay? And I think you’re going to see more and more people because it’s been happening now for about two decades. As we go along, I think you’re going to see the numbers increase from 40 to 80 to possibly over 100. I say, why can’t you have them competing against themselves? In other words, make the NCAA. They deserve a chance to play. That’s one of the things I firmly believe in. Now how that gets adjudicated, I don’t know. That’s beyond my pay grade. I see, I see what Laura’s talking about. I mean, these kids deserve a chance and there are some situations where you are. I mean, I’m really close with Bruce Jenner, Caitlyn Jenner, and I mean, we’ve been friends for a long time. And you know, they won’t let him play in the in the women’s championships at Sherwood Country Club. He plays against the men and he kicks their ass, too. So, I mean, I gotta be honest with you, I wonder, you know? And I guess it all came down to the one girl in volleyball, who the one athlete hit her, hit her with the volleyball and then she’s got big problems now. I think that might’ve overdramatized, over-magnified the situation a little, but you know,

San Jose State.

it’s a tough, tough situation. But you know, I, I’ve, I’ve,

Let me interrupt you for a second. I could see in individual sports where you could play one Trans against another, but how do you do that? In basketball, you would need 10, five on each team, you know, and you’re not going to have that.

Doesn’t that sort of smack of the Negro leagues where they can’t play against the regular teams of their own league?

It does, it absolutely does.

You know,

But, you know, I God, it’s. It’s a sign of the times, you guys, I mean, I go back to Renee Richards,

Yeah.

Okay, the tennis player.

I mean the tennis player, and you know, I, I remember the Bobby Riggs and then Billy Jean King. I mean, it was like, you know I, I just don’t know I, I. It’s a tough one, but I’ll tell you one thing. The NCAA kind of, like, dropped the ball on this one because they said, okay, you’re allowed to practice. Well, if you’re allowed to practice with the, with the team, you know, you’re still going to be slamming the ball, you’re still going to be. I mean, if you practice with the team, what locker room do you change it? And that was my question on that one. And I, I, so I, I’m not a big fan of the NCAA, you guys, I think they, the NCAA has out, outlasted their welcome, in my opinion. Because they don’t make decisions, they, they obfuscate a lot of different situations. But yeah, that’s a tough one. You guys, I, I’m, I’m torn. I used to be vehemently against it and now I look at it and I say, what about those 40 people? Don’t they get a deserve a chance to compete somewhere?

All right, we’re going to take a quick break and come back and discuss the Superbowl. Folks, we’re taping Fred and the Fantastics Friday afternoon, back with more right after this.

Hey everybody, back on Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and PodClips. Very quickly, let’s talk about the Super Bowl. I don’t know how you can go against Mahomes. Three out of four Super Bowls, they’ve won what, 17 consecutive close games? And as Art said in our Sports Overnight America Show, it’s the odds of that would be 5,000-1 or something like that. So Laura, one more time, I like Kansas City, Art likes Kansas City. You like the Eagles, make your case for the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

I think that Saquon Barkley is going to have a great game and he’s going to rush for over 200 yards. I don’t know that Kansas City is going to have an answer for him. I also think that they’ve got, they’ve got a great offensive line. They’ve got a great defense. I think Philadelphia is a more complete team than Kansas City. I think Kansas City has pieces that are probably better. I mean, Mahomes is in a class by himself. And then, of course, they have the Taylor Swift effect. So who knows how that’s going to play out? But I think it’s going to be a close game. I think it’s going to be a good game. But I think Philadelphia is, I think they’re sort of a team of destiny this year, I think.

Art, team of destiny, or is it Kansas City?

Well, you know, my wife loves the Eagles, she hates Philadelphia, so I don’t know. I mean, I really like Kansas City to win the game 34-31, 31-27. But I can see if Saquon Barkley and the Eagles can get out to a big enough lead. And this is how it’s going to have to be, because once they go, Helter-Skelter and Mahomes gets back there, maybe trailing by 10, 14, 17 points, it’s going to come down to, you know, can Philadelphia get the pass rush on them? Jalen Carter’s a stud. They got great speed on the outside, on their defense, They proved to me what they did to Jalen Daniels. I just, I’m questioning, there’s going to be 135 million people watching. Kansas City has gotten every call the last three years, let’s be honest. I mean, from what I’ve seen, and I just, I have a funny feeling that Philly might pull the upset, although I’m betting on Kansas City, Fred.

They, Kansas City should have never won that game against Buffalo.

That’s what I’m saying.

Buffalo should have won that game. And I don’t know.

Yeah, yeah, that’s it, which is why they gave him, which is why they gave Josh Allen the MVP at the NFL Honors dinner last night. Because they went back and looked at the video and on that, that tush-push, he was over the line. Even the referees, he said, yeah, everything I’ve seen, it looks like he got the first out.

You know what? You would think that all of this publicity about Kansas City getting all these calls? You would think that maybe it might go the other way, that the reps will be really careful and not give Kansas City the benefit of the doubt. I thought that might’ve happened in the in the in the game against the Bills, but it didn’t. I mean, they still got the benefit of at least two really bad calls.

The head referee in the Super Bowl is going to be Ron Torbert, and it’s an all-star crew. So you’re going to have the best referees, which I don’t really like that much. I think a crew that’s worked together all year has a little better synergy, but that’s the way it’s going to be. I would not be surprised if a couple of big calls went against Kansas City to make this a very close game. And that’s just my personal opinion on it.

All I care about is getting rid of the tush-push.

Thank you,

As you weren’t allowed to do that historically. And I think it’s a ridiculous rule that other people can push you forward. That has to end. All right, Art. Thirty seconds, close Fred and the Fantastics from your end.

Well, I got some interesting news. The LIV, the DP Tour and the PGA Tour are going to come to an agreement to play some events. And they’re going to have peace in the professional golf ranks, let’s see what else is big. One of my all-time heroes, Bruce Gossett, passed away. He was a kicker for the 49ers and the Rams, really instrumental in my career as a field goal kicker, a great guy, awesome artist. If you ever get a chance, folks, go online, check out the artwork that he did. It was a lot to do with cars and things of that nature. But yeah, I’m excited, looking forward to the party I’m going to at my brother-in-law’s house. We have a great time. He’s got a beautiful basement, and I heard you’re having a party too, Laura.

Laura, in 30 seconds, lock things up.

Well, I’m really excited about the Super Bowl. I’m excited about my party. I’m also excited about the move that the Lakers made to see how they play. I think it was a really good trade and I’m anxious to see how… I think a couple of years ago when they keep changing the All-Star format in the NBA. But I think a few years ago, when each player had their own team, I mean, each player on each conference had their own team, and LeBron was picking teams. I think he picked Dončić to be on the first team, the first player he picked on his team.

Yeah.

So I think he’s probably happy with it, although I think he and Davis were pretty good friends. I’ll see how that goes. But good luck to the Eagles.

For Laura, for Art, for Mario. Thank you for listening to Fred and the Fantastics and we’ll definitely see you around the corner. Bye everybody.