The Jason Smith Show with Mike HarmonJason and Mike have all the latest on Russell Wilson joining the NY Giants. Jason gives you two "maths" he doesn’t believe. And Andrew Luck should name himself Stanford Head Coach. Plus, a visit from MLB Insider Jon Paul Morosi!
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Hello, Welcome inside, Happy Tuesday, The Jason Smith Show with my bes friend Mike Harmon, Hippy Kaye live from the ti rack dot Com studios tirect dot com help you get there an unmatched selection, fast, free shipping, free road hazard protection, and over ten thousand recommended installed as tirack dot com. He is the way tire binding should be. If only the Knicks could play the Mavericks every night, we got guys with triple doubles setting records. What an unbelievable night.
Oh no, it's I mean Elvis saying why can't every day be like Christmas?
So here's Christmas Day, March twenty fifth.
And I'll tell you, Ah, I wish I wish every day could be the Mavericks, and then in the background to the singer saying without a D, without a D, I wish every day could be.
No defense in that game whatsoever, No, not at all, no defense. The Knicks shoot nearly sixty percent from the field, no holding the Mavericks to fifty three point eight percent shoot.
You know, you know what the Knicks are like. You know, the Knicks are like honestly, the Knicks are like no, no, no, the Knicks are like when you see in the you know, in the in the in the how do I say, what? What's a movie? I can illustrate this with where when they show the passage of time and and like, you know, the main characters are dressed in in seventies garb and it's you know, bell bottom jeans and plaid shirts, butterfly collars, you know, all the all the big you know, the big stylings the seventies, right, polyester suits and dance shoes and everything. And then there's a time lapse and in the eighties and they're wearing you know, neon sweatsuits as they go jogging and they have the the you know, power ties is their way, like it's like you you were just this person in the seventies and now look who you are and that you completely changed who you are. Like, that's the Knicks. Hey, we have guys that make big clutch baskets and we play great defensively and this is our identity. And now you hit fast forward on the button. From like a year and a half ago, now it's oh, we just put up. We just put five guys out there, and our guys go on and score as many points as weekend. We didn't play defense anymore. Yeah, that was the whole mark of our head coach. But yeah, we're changing with the times now, man, from the seventies to the eighties.
That's what we do.
I have a two word way to get us into that transition of adopting and adapting to styles.
Hey, Barbie, oh your Knicks defense, Barbie. Okay, who are you? Oh your Knicks offense, Barbie. Look this is Barbie. Is is much taller and can put the ball in the hoop. Look at that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a it's a two man game with Barbie and Ken. Right here. One is dressed like Karl Anthony Towns. One dressed like Brunson. Oh, you know that's how it goes.
Sure, and then you say, beach Off, Oh wait, what do you do beach No, what do you do?
Beach It's my Joe. Now, we have a lot of NBA to get to, we get to Jimmy Butler's return to Miami. But hey, all right, I want to say this first of all. I want to say this first of all. I feel like the parent who needs to start a conversation by saying, this is the last time this is gonna happen. Okay, this last time this is gonna happen. This is the last year that we're gonna talk about Russell Wilson. This is it. This is it, And after this year, that's it. I get it. And one more year. I understand now that he signed with the Giants and is likely going to be there started, but after this year, that's it. I got no more Russell Wilson in me. I'll suck it up for the rest of this year, off season into next year, but then at this time that's done. Done with. I'm done with the Russell Wilson. I'm done. I'd rather talk Aaron Rodgers one that I'd rather talk Russell Wilson. I'm not crazy about talking to Aaron Rodgers either, but this is it. Like again, I understand, and I'm gonna give you a great effort this year and Russell Wilson, big big storylines with the Giants. Oh yeah, sure, yeah, but this is it because I'm done with Russell Wilson after this. I've done. I've had it. I've had it with my I've had it with my fill to the brim of Russell Wilson. I'm done. I'm done after this year. I thought he was done. I thought there's no way anybody's gonna sign him. Who's gonna sign him? Why would the Giants sign him? They picked third, they drafted Jamis Winston. They're probably gonna tank, or they're gonna take a quarterback in the second round. Nope, we're gonna take Russell Wilson because the Giants really, I forgot about their propensity the last couple of years to not really knowing what the hell they're doing. That's my fault. That's my fault that I forgot. Oh, this isn't my older brother's Giant. I don't have an older brother. This isn't my uncle's Giants. Where the giants always do the right thing family or no, no, no, they're run like an absolute bunch of lunatics is running around making decisions and rubber stamping stuff. So I forgot. So that's on me. I thought Russell Wilson was done, he was never gonna get anywhere ever again, why would anybody sign up? Why are you doing it? Look, at the end of the year he came off of all the giants went out and got Jameis Winston. That's the no, no, no, We're gonna go get Jameis Winston and we're gonna still go get Russell Wilson, which is like getting the same guy twice, except with the one guy you get more touchdowns and more interceptions, and the other guy you get less touchdowns and less interceptions. Like what like, I forgot the giants Really they just don't know what they're doing right now. And I you know what, I completely forgot. I forgot about that. Why are they tanking? Are they trying to win? Are they trying to save jobs? Is Joe Shane trying to save his job? Is Brian Dable trying to save his job? Yes they are, Well, we're going to go, but this doesn't go with what we're the vision of the organization is, doesn't matter. This is the vision now like that, Juck. Clearly they have no they are absolutely rudderless. But that's on me. But again, this is the last year. It's a last year. I want to talk. I want to be done with Russell Wilson after this year.
Are they secretly filming another offseason Hard Knocks? Because you brought back Tommy Cutlets, right, guy number one, you bring in Jameis Winston, and now you add Russell Wilson. I think the best thing I seen on it thus far, Jason is Frostburg sent it to me and I saw it pop up in my timeline a couple times. Here's the picture of Danny McBride and Adam Devine from The Righteous Gemstones. That's what the locker room's gonna sound like. When Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston get to talking. We're gonna have ourselves some crazy ass speeches trying to encourage us to go out there and do great things. But the Dabels Shane thing, we talked about it a while ago when it was the Wilson v. Rogers side of things of all, right, are they desperate just to put something reasonable on the field, to get another chance, a stay of execution, to keep their jobs while developing a new quarterback. This again goes to the well, why the hell's Jameis Winston there? I mean, he's a good copy at this point. He used to not be, but now he's fun. He's fun Jamis Winston that we can get behind and do some vignettes, as evidenced by his work with the larger Fox company comes super Bowl time. But why is he there if three days later you come back and go over the top with Russell?
That's the quarterback competition you want?
Seem like, I just watch Russell Wilson get after it with Justin Field.
My statement of two and a half minutes ago with the Giants, what are they doing? What are they do? Why would you go? I get if you passed on on Jameis Winston and went and got Russell wilsoners he thought, Okay, he's the guy for this year. We're gonna draft a guy in the second round because we're not gonna get a quarterback like That's That's what the Giants realize now, is that they're not getting a quarterback at three and that's that's a big thing to come off of today that not many people are talking about. They would not be doing this if they thought they would get either Shador Sanders or cam Ward at three. Obviously that's not happening. You're not gonna take Jackson Dart at three because other teams can jump up and take Jackson Dart. The Giants can't do it three years after taking doing it with Daniel Jones and seeing how that went, so they know they're not getting a quarterback, so they know their next guy is a more developmental guy a second round, and I'm sure they'll come back early in the second round with any one of those guys out there, right McCord, and we keep saying the same things, but that's who's gonna be there. You know, Jackson Dart will probably get up into the first round at some point, but guys like Kyle McCord will be there very maybe in the second round. Quinn viewers will be there, Jalen Milroe probably will be there. So I'm sure they're going to do that. Or you can even trade back into the back end of the first round from early in the second if you want to get your quarterback. So I'm sure that's going to happen, but they're not gonna go get Russell Wilson unless they know, Okay, we're gonna be left out of that mix at three. So now our quarterback room is gonna be Wilson and Winston and whoever we take in the second round. So that's a big window to tell you about what the Giants think and what's going on up ahead of them with Tennessee and Cleveland. But it still comes back to what are you doing? Jay? Jameis wins has got to be saying, hey, hey, wait, what are you talking about? I thought I was coming into start. Hey, I'm okay with being replaced by some dude that's coming into the league. That's just you know, he's a rookie and he's not getting paid. You gotta see him. I'm okay with that. I've been around the block, but you signed it and now you're gonna go Russell Wilson. Wait, what the hell? What the hell is going on here? Like you got with Wilson and Tommy DeVito. I really the Giants, It's just they've gone from a team where you look up and say, wow, I really respect the way they do business. And how they do it. And then you get older and you realize, oh, they're just as screwed up as anybody else. Like what you know, it's getting older and you think, like you're your older uncle that you idolize. Boy, he's really smart and he really knows what he's talking about. Boy, everything he says is the smartest thing in the world. And then you get older you go, oh, he was just full of crap. I just I just didn't realize it. But now I realize it, Like that's what I realized about the Giants all this. Well, you know what the Giants had going for them for a long time. They had a quarterback. They had Eli forever and that's and that's what it covered it. Look, quarterback covers up all your ills and sit. When did the Giants? When did their backsliding start? When did they get that exposes this franchise? When they let Eli Manning with they decided Eli Manning was done and it look Eli was getting near the end and they've not been able to replace him, and look at the mess they are in.
Well, but it's the same thing we talk about with the Steelers. It's the same thing. Right, you have many years where it covers up the ill. Hell, we'll take the swing at Belichick while we're here. Let's hit him with an or that we're rowing down that rowing down this river. Because once Tom Brady was gone, things looked a little odd and out of sort's there now he's doing exercises on the beach.
Good on them.
But all of those franchises, which are stal warts old old style of running things, stability at quarterback allowed you to take chances elsewhere and you could miss. So long as that guy was stable, you were still going to be a playoff team because you had so many other organizations that couldn't get out of their own way for years. Now, what is interesting is this does set up the Jamis versus Russell Wilson.
Now we're a small team.
We're a small team, but there's potential for aggressive expansion. And then they fight to the death of one of them gets cut because they're not on the hook for a lot of guaranteed money. How about that?
And then you pair them up.
Now, for the longest time, the Giants were co favorites to have the number one pick. Right now they are the favorites to draft Travis Hunter.
Well, that's the thing that's gonna be there. See, this is why the Giants sometimes just fall into it, right, Because the Giants do that, their consolation prize out of this will be Travis Hunter at three, and he'll be the big star that New York football need. He'll jump in as the biggest star in New York obviously coming.
Off the high four guy.
No, it's gonna be but he'll come in and now the Giants, Okay, the Giants will be set up for whoever comes in next year as GM head coach quarterback. I think the Giants they'll be well set up for twenty twenty seven. Man, I'm telling you. I mean, you come out twenty twenty six and say, boy, I hadn't come in here and throw them Elak neighbors and Travis Hunter. Wo Okay. Then Tyrone Tracy is a pretty good running back and I'm feeling pretty good. He had a pretty good defensive line. All right, I'm feeling Giants set up for next year.
Dude, Dable and Shane.
Are they able to convince Marats like, look, we'll go aroun with your kakamamie plan and bringing in Russell Wilson and Jamis Winston Because I can't believe this is coming from Shane.
I want to give him the.
Benefit of the doubt that this is not coming from Shane, and table that this is coming from the old man on top. Here's a familiar face. We need some stability. You got two teams who are chasing the division. Happily, the Dallas Cowboys can't get out of their own damn way. So let's go get a guy we know who's stable, who shined a little bit. Forget about those final five games, forget about the fact that Pittsburgh clearly didn't want Russell Wilson back because Arthur Smith wins a power struggle and Dan remember they paid eighty five million dollars to get his ass out of the building. That's the guy you want.
The Giants Country, let's cry you just got.
You just had the Jets with Baron Rodgers as the laughing stock, and no matter how bad you were, Yeah, you got mocked a little for sa Quon Barkley, but you still had the Aaron Rodgers thing, which at least kept you off the back page of the fish Rap some of the time.
Not anymore, I mean anymore.
I mean, I don't know, I don't know. I mean, hey, I'm glad because I'm glad because you know, look, my team is a dumpster fire and they've been a dumpster fire. Now it's nice to see that, Hey, the Giants are coming back to the pack a little bit here.
Right.
It's not like we're elevating. It's like, hey, okay, giants coming back to the pack here a little bit. Hey. They can screw things up just as much as anybody else can. All Right. I like that. I like that if I feel confident in that. I really, again, I don't get the Giants. I really I don't get this is this is one of those quintessential teams that doesn't know what they want to do. Do they want to contend? Do they want to punt on next season? And you have an owner with one strategy and you have a GM and head coach with another strategy, and it just doesn't make sense. It's a this is like the Giants are being knit together, like it's some like the some some big Frankenstein so together from parts of other teams, Like we're gonna put in Russell Wilson here, but we're gonna go draft Travis Hunter. We're gonna, like I don't know what they're I don't know what their aim is. I don't know what they're trying to do. I know what the message they're trying to send us. It's yeah, we're gonna try to win, but you didn't really get great quarterbacks. Yeah, but we got okay ones. Okay, but you're gonna get a young one.
Yeah. I don't know.
Okay, great, good talk, great, I feel great. Yeah, giants, awesome giants my favorite.
In the last two minutes, as you stumbled into a great greeting card for the holidays, you're as screwed up as ions. Merry Christmas, Love Jason.
I remember those days, and I used to idolize the giants. I was young and stupid.
Uh.
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Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten ti pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Fox Sports Radio. The Jason Smith Show with My best friend Mike Harmon. If you're ready to lose weight, get the expert help a PhD weight loss, No injections or prescriptions, fast weight loss results. They work for me, they'll work for you. Call and schedule a console today. Visit my phdweightloss dot com. That's m y PhD weightloss dot com. So we got into the Russell Wilson signing by the Giants a few minutes ago. Why it doesn't make any sense. Yeah, we'll get to the other big one from today coming up in a second. But this is you know, once in a while there's a story that comes out that I say, then there's no way the math works right. There's no way that math works right. There's just no way. You know what one has been lately, and it's been a big one in my house because my wife just saw this thing on Facebook where you know, the reels and different things that come in and she goes, is this right? And I said what and She said, you know the number of people that have played major League baseball since it started in the eighteen hundred. She goes, it's like over, it's like twenty two twenty three. I said, I said, yeah, I go, but I don't believe that. She goes, what do you mean. I go, there's no way. That's right. There's there's no way. There's no way. Only twenty early twenty some odd thousand people have played major League baseball. She goes, why, I go, I think about it like this, and I said, how many people do you think make their major league debut every year? Thirty teams in Major League Baseball. She goes, I don't know. I said, Okay, I said, I've looked it up. I've looked it up. About two hundred and fifty people make their major league debut every year. Okay, so it's two hundred and fifty people plus everybody else has played in the game already. If you just take two hundred and fifty people a year, right and go back. Let's say, okay, let's say two hundred and fifty. Just go back to two thousand, with two hundred and fifty people making their MLB debut this year. Because that's not many, right, that's you know, thirty teams, two hundred and fifty people. It's not that many. You're talking about a little less than ten people a year, right, which happens you have injuries and people come up and rosters expanded to all this stuff. And I said, you go back to two thousand, right, So you're talking about every four years, that's a thousand people. So now you want to go back to two thousand. You're and so just in the last twenty five years you're talking about that's five thousand people that has made their debut. So one quarter of the people who have ever played in Major League Baseball made their debut in the last twenty five years. There's no way. The math doesn't work. Math, the math doesn't work. And we argued about this. He goes, yeah, but how many? I go, No, I get it, but you're going back to the eighteen hundreds. I mean, how long to get to one thousand and then two thousand and thrill. I understand, but there's no there's no way the math work. There's no way. It's only there have to be like like like just reams and of papers of people that they're missing over the course, like, there's no way. Just you know, less than twenty five thousand people have played Major League Baseball in history, and.
I think there's there's fewer than twenty one thousand.
Yeah, there's no way. There's there's no way.
Twenty thousand, seven ninety one, including two hundred and fifty five debuts lash.
Yeah, yeah, And you go back and it's about two hundred and fifty couldn't.
At one point one dollar trading card made off of that?
Yeah, well you got Paul Skins. Paul Skins counts for everybody. But you go back and you go back to even twenty twenty, when there was no minor league season, rogerd there were still two hundred some odd players made their MLB debut there, Like, there's no way that math works. There's just no way that math works. I'm I'm telling you we're missing a lot. Like in Mister three thousand, when all of a sudden, you know, Bernie Mack had the three thousand hits, and the guy goes back, goes, oh, I found that you got credit for three hits twice in a double header, and you know, so you need those three hits. Like that's what I feel like I could go back and find go there's no way only twenty one twenty two thousand people have played Major League Baseball. There's no way and really no way.
Two things. One, I don't buy that number either.
I don't exactly intend to spend a lot of my time pouring through records to figure that out.
No.
I think twenty thousand guys was a strikeouts the Mets had last time. That's how many games Jacob ram has missed the last four years. That's what that show?
Uh so that? Yeah?
The other is Bernie mac show is the next time my binging once I'm done with my sip of wits rewatching.
Ah, very all, you're going back and watching NYPD Blue now nice? Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're watching the first season with that back when uh, David Caruso was going to be a big star. I'm only gonna do one season n YPD Blue.
Everybody, he kiss It Death was a great movie.
He did so many hit he did so many awful he did Kissing Death, he did Jade Right, He did so many bad movies. He was marked for. Death was better. Mike. You know what, here's the thing. You could give me the plots of all the different steven Sagall movies, and unless it was under siege, I couldn't. I couldn't get to crack your arm into one thousand pieces right now. I couldn't anybody see Richie under siege. I get because it was it was on a ship, he was a nave, he was a cook. I'm just a lowly cook, right, and Tommy Lee Jones is the bad guy. Welcome to the revolution. Sorry spoiler alert.
Jones took the paycheck.
Yeah, so there's no way I believe I remember the quest now. The thing was Pam Red on Facebook that the smallest and she's what's the smallest stadium in Major League Baseball? I go, well, it's the trop but not this year. They're not playing there. No, no, just what's the small I said, the troup. She goes, how many people as it hold? And I said, like between thirty five and forty thousand, not a lot. She goes, because I just saw this thing here that says if you took every single person it's ever played Major League Baseball in the entire time it's been going on since the eighteen hundreds, it wouldn't fill up the smallest stadium in the majors. And I was like, okay, yeah, and that's we had the whole conversation. I don't believe the math. I don't believe the math.
Well, now you go to Steinbrenner Field where a young plucky Mike armand once get a bunch of television remotes in front of.
The twenty one thousand might be the overall attendance for the Rays this year. That's Steinbrenner Field.
Is it that big? That's a park with spring training.
Who draws more fans the A's or the Rays this year? Who doesn't? Who doesn't?
Who is more giveaways? So right, so that's the.
First that's the first bit of math that I'm sorry, I just I won't Well, that was ours of two thousand and twenty one. They were closing in on twenty thousand MLB plighter and they had the big they they supposedly had the twenty They supposedly look at me, they had the twenty thousand, and now they're up around twenty one thousand. It make doesn't make sense you've had five thousand. What doesn't make sense? Players play for like a decade. No, but you have five You have five thousand people around at least making their debut in the last twenty five years. That the math doesn't math. The math does not math. If that's the that doesn't math, I'm sorry. I just haven't you have a quarter on the Sorry, Mets players don't last more than a season, no, are you, kid? We bring up, we're holding our up end of the bar. Are into the bargain up. We bring up all kinds of guys. Every year we find out so many guys at stink and we would just cycle right. I mean, now we're good, but for years, Hey we stink. Let's just keep cycling through.
Now you have the greatest quadruple A player in baseball. Y, Yeah, Brett Bady is your great Fruit League mv hec haus An ops like one and a half.
But the other bit that I don't believe. The other math I don't believe. And I know this has come out the last couple of days. I understand it. I understand, I don't believe it. The highest NCAA tournament ratings since nineteen ninety three, And I'm sorry the math that there's no way, there's no way. This is the first round, the highest rated of the NCAA tournament since nineteen ninety three, especially in an era when there's so many different ways to measure how you watch games. And I'm sorry, I'm not gonna believe that that all of a sudden last year when nobody watched and all that, when when we saw the boy the women's tournament is outshining the men's and all, I mean, all of a sudden this year, with the only star being Cooper Flag, everybody is flocking back to the TV sets for the first time since North Carolina beat Michigan because because Chris Weber called time out. I mean, really, that's that's really what we're saying. It's the highest rated first round since nineteen nine three. I get it. I understand the stuff that's reported. I don't believe the math.
I believe I think the math has changed because I think they they're now counting the bars, restaurants, multi person viewing experiences, the sellouts at COSM, and all of those things that are included in the ratings. Were once upon a time we knew they were existed, but they they were just pushed off to the side, right that it was just the people that had the little meter readers at their houses. So I think that's where the fuzzy math comes.
In, how you know?
And gas meter? Okay, yeah, I'm also going to read the metrics of what you've been watching on the tournament. Yeah, go ahead, round the.
Back is around the back. Give us your journal, Give us your journal. What did you watch? What does this say scrambled channel? What were you trying to watch here? Sir?
We appreciate your honesty, but what the hell was scrambled that you were trying to watch?
I don't I don't buy this. The NCAA Tournament has become and really, n say basketball has become a one month sport, right, It's become a one month sport. Now I understand that, And then you know they they still do a great job of owning the month. And really the month begins with the conference tournament weeks and bubble teams trying to get in selection Sunday, and then hey, no, it's a one month sport. College basketball used to be a lot bigger. It used to be a sport you paid more attention to in November and December and January. There were big, big showdowns. In January you watch number one versus number two. That stuff is gone, and I find it hard to believe that suddenly, hey, everybody is watching now because there's less mid majors in and because you know you have teams getting in that that are just more traditional power five teams. No, I don't think everybody because the SEC put fourteen teams and something every television are all watchings. No, I don't buy it. I don't buy I mean, I don't doubt that ratings are up because you do have you do get more people are interested when the bigger teams are playing. And I get that. But all of a sudden, you're the highest rated since Night ninety three, Marial. You're going back thirty three years to find that now, I'm just not gonna believe. That's two things. I won't believe the maths on twenty one thousand people in Major League Baseball, highest ratings in so far. In the endstrum not gonna believe it now.
Also, to bring in our friends over at the lot with the Simpsons. Remember you know Homer, with all his faults, always had one thing he can come back to.
March on. You have a gambling problem.
According to the American Gaming Association, Americans, we're going to legally wager an estimated three point one billion dollars on March madness. See the professionals that make their bet after reading you know, all the metrics, going through all the analytics, and then they may or may not sit down to watch a minute or two of the game. Otherwise they're looking for what the next angle is, or they're eating a nice juicy steak. For everybody else that has five to ten dollars on a game, guess what. They sit there and they live and die for those two hours and television ratings, damn it, you killed by parlay. That's how you get them back to the conclude to the screen smith, and how you get those ads sales rising?
Now lambling.
Look if you don't vice, if you want to tell you about how many people who gamble are actually watching the games, I don't watch the games, Billy, I'll save you a seat now. I don't watch the game.
No, no, no, but that's what I mean, Like professionals don't. But the other folks that are betting five ten to the you know masses to get to that three point one billion. Yeah, but damn right there.
Going people have been doing it. People people do. There's no way the NCATE Tournament hasn't been the biggest event of the month in the last forty years. I mean, yeah, it's a big ebou what you're telling me, But this year it's the highest. This year with no star power outside of Cooper flag and Rick Patino's white suit, that's all you had coming home, is no star power. This year is the highest again since ninety If you told me, hey, the highest in the last ten years. Okay, but you're going back to the salad days of the NACA term where buzzer beaters and everybody was calling in sick to try to find a way to watch teams of what. Yeah, I mean, really, doctors, I feel bad for the doctors have to perform via sectomies on the first two days of the tournament. I really I find it hardly the highest since nineteen ninety three.
I really do.
If you wanted to say totality that, you know, then I would kind of get it, because you're you've added two nights of games, right, You've added two nights of games. You spread things out more. I mean, look the two the second two days of the tournament. Now they've spread out so you can watch more basketball over the course of Saturday and Sunday, games don't overlap nearly as much as they used to. They start them later, they end them later. So yeah, in totality, because there's more minutes, because there's more games, there's more games you're able to watch. But the highest rated crut No, I'm not gonna buy. I'm not gonna buy that. This suddenly captures everybody's attention unlike anything else. Start to tie again, maths don't math I'm never gonna believe it.
Yeah, I still think it comes down to the measurement tools.
And you know what, it's it's very fortunate thing for us that tonight we have in the at the news desk a man who has been called no he knows and he follows television.
Ratings for big sporting events.
Our guy Steve being here is probably the best because not only is he a bulldog when it comes to his research numbers and stats for days, this is right in his wheelhouse.
No, I really, I don't. I don't get it. I don't. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna believe it. No, I'm not. I'm not. It's fuzzy math X exit out about a Fresca exit swollen dome. The Jason Smiths or with the Mike Cartman live from the tirec dot Com studios. He is chomping at the bit to get in on this because I think he has numbers that he wants to throw by us. Now again, if the numbers support my argument, listen to Steve. He's really smart. If they don't, they can just be maths. You don't believe he's got that, and he's got what's trending right now in the wide world of sports. With the TV ratings.
Even the claim is just since the current TV format was established in twenty eleven for March Madness, you can't go back to forty years now.
They're going back to I'm looking at all the articles since nineteen ninety think about all the people we brought in because of making them truly aware of true TV.
And you're also correct on the whole out of fume, out of home viewing thing is they started to account for that, but not in all the major markets in twenty twenty, and it wasn't until this past year that all the major markets were accounted for in the Nielsen estimates. So, for example, when Zion and Duke were getting huge ratings and I had a six million audience for their first round game. Theoretically, that's a smaller audience than Arkansas's upset last week. We know that's not the case because they didn't account for out of home viewing when Zion was playing for Duke.
That's the answer, Steve Desager told you an answer. I knew he would. I knew he'd have it. I knew. That's why I said I knew he'd have it.
By the way, CBS is reporting that Xavier's athletic director.
GBS the reporting they'd been sold an unrelated story. After having the highest ratings in thirty three years, CBS has been sold to Amazon, acquiring all the shows on True TV.
Xavier's ad flew to New Mexico today to offer a job to Lobo's head coach, Richard Patino, and tonight they're saying Patino has accepted. As for the NBA news, well, the Grizzlies are winning without John Moran, missing a fifth straight game with a sore hamstring. Under five minutes to go, Grizzlies lead at Utah ninety to seventy six. Looks like the Jazz record will fall to sixteen and fifty seven. Miami held Jimmy Butler to eleven points. Is that he beat the Warriors one twelve eighty six. Steph Curry with the pelvic contusion was still out. Houston was up twenty to start the fourth quarter and held on to beat Atlanta one twenty one, one fourteen, Detroit and Orlando with victories. And then there's the New York Knicks, who let's just say, had a little bit of offense in this game tonight.
All we do is get triple double Steve. That's all we do.
Josh Hart.
It was his thirty ninth triple double of the year.
In fact, this was the first time in NBA history that all in the same game, same team in regulation had two players with a triple double and another score at least thirty five points. Thirty five for o Gananobi triple double for Josh Hart. Hang the Banner Steve triple double for Karl Anthony Towns. Yeah, it's kind of like that Taylor Swift sellout thing. Any think Banner, Jason Tatum and the Celtics doubtful for Wednesday after last night's sprained ankle. Nikola Jokich of Denver with a bad ankle, doubtful for Wednesday, could miss a sixth straight game. Damian Lillard of Milwaukee out in definitely with a blood clot in his calf. Jannis Antennacumbo questionable against Denver with a sprain foot. The New York Giants are giving quarterback Russell Wilson a one year deal. The Patriots are signing wide receiver Stefan Diggs. Stanford fired football coach Troy Taylor after constant behavior problems toward coworkers. Multiple employees had filed complaints. Change was made by Stanford's new general manager, Andrew Luck.
Back to you, Captain Andrew Luck. Dear mother, I need to make a big change. We have not been attacking the front the way we should have in the last couple of fortnights.
After that pregnant pause, I thought the big change was I'm shaving.
Thank you, Steve. If you're ready to lose weight, get the expert help a PhD weight loss No injections or prescriptions, fast weight loss results. They work for me and Mike, they'll work for you. Call and schedule a consul today. Visit myphdweight looss dot com. That's my phdweightloss dot com. Well coming up next, a football story. We can all get behind one hundred percent. What is it that's next Jason and Mike Fox? Is it the Jets sucking? Well, that's common knowledge. This is something different.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific.
Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with My best friend Mike Harmon. Be sure to check out the Fox Sports Radio YouTube channel. Just search Fox Sports Radio on YouTube. You'll see a whole bunch of video highlights, smart shows. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss our very best Fox Sports Radio videos on YouTube. So maybe you saw this story today and this is one I think we can again. We can all get behind, right, we can all get behind this. Andrew Luck newly minted general manager CEO of Stanford Football, where he was a star before going to the NFL and starring before retiring early fired head coach Troy Taylor earlier today. Now, Taylor had some difficulty behavioral difficulties, also didn't win a lot of games the last two years. So Andrew Luck fires Troy Taylor and and and in my best captain Andrew Luck.
Oh before.
In the background because look here, here's the thing is that I feel like, you know, hey, here's here's captain Luck mother. Things are not going well from the front. I do not know how much more stamina and togetherness we have here before people fall apart. We've lost a lot in the last two years. Continue to lose Andrew Luck name yourself. Stanford head coach who says no, oh, let's go, says.
Right now, right, it's great to have him back in as a GM right, getting back and being part of his alma mater. I don't see how anybody could have foreseen today. Hey, it's transfer portal. Let's complain about all of that on the basketball side. Oh, by the way, Milhouse, you're out.
Name it, you stay. But the rest of you, I mean, really, I mean I get that. Look, does he have experience?
No? Is he?
Was he a great college quarterback?
Yeah?
Was he a great NFL quarterback?
Yeah?
Do you need to have experience to be the head coach of a team?
Uh?
Not really. I think we've seen that, We've seen you.
Especially if the type of head coach that he needs to be, he would be a jolt of energy to the program. They would approve him right away. Look, the prodigal son comes back, not to you, and he could be the GM and head coach. Right, do both jobs, right, GM ed coach? What I do the Bill Belichick of of Stanford football, because you don't need to come in and say, Okay, I've made my bones doing X, Y and Z. First, I was a defensive back coach here for a couple of years, and then it was a defensive line coach, and it was a defensive coordinator, and then it was defensive line slash assistant head coach. And now I get a big You don't need to do that.
Now.
This is an era of college football where it's about mastering the nil, mastering the portal, and getting talent. You hire the guys, hire the guys with great offensive and defensive acumen. Suddenly Stanford be a sought after position. You people would want to go there to be Andrew lux OC and DC because hey, I go there and do well, guess what, Hey, I'll get a gig someplace. I'll get a gig someplace and be a head coach. It would be a destination. And Andrew Luck, who is a smart guy, would just have to be able to know this is the kind of head coach, I need to be right. You look at and I keep going back to it because it was a different thing. Is look at Fran Brown at Syracuse Goys, a defensive backs coach. He was a number one recruiter in the country the last two to two years. So what did Syracuse say, Hey, this is the nil era transfer portalle era, come here and coach. What did he do? He flipped people from Alabama and Georgia and Texas A and M and Kyle mccoran from Ohio State and Syracuse goes ten and three with a bowl game. We're in the top twenty for the first time in like twenty years. All of a sudden, Framera, get me the next Fran Brown. That's who everybody is looking for.
Now.
Did Fran Brown come in with some kind of crazy offensive system, No, some kind of great defensive system. Is he a great game day head coach?
Yeah?
I know there's some things he could have done better, but it doesn't matter because he came in and he loaded up the team, and the coaches coach and the players play. And that's a new era. Head coach. Now for the nil and transfer portal era, it's about getting the talent in here and trusting your coaches to do well. And Andrew Luck would be that guy come in. Yes, I'm not gonna step on your toes, your system. I'm a big picture guy. I'm gonna get the players in. I'm gonna tell you what I see because clearly I have a football acumen that might be just as good, if not a little bit greater than yours. But still, this is my job as a head coach, and you know where I'm coming in. He's gonna have that cache. I really I'll be the I'll name myself at No, it's not an Andrew Luck move to name himself. He's got to get somebody to nominate him. But I would call somebod who says, hey, dude, leak it that I should be the next head coach at Stanford. Andrew Luck being the next head coach at Stanford shard absolutely happy it should happen tomorrow.
Well, you're trying to inject life into a program of twenty eighteen. Ain't rolling through that door again. Before things went south on David Shaw his final couple of years, you have the COVID period and now you have a three to nine introduction to the ACC. You're looking to create a spark, create a new identity. So take Andrew Luck. I like him as GM if nothing else. You got a young guy with a He's got some ideas right, knows how to play this game and has been around it recently enough. I know it's been a couple of years now since that surprise retirement in the middle of that preseason game, but still around and young enough to where he's got a lot of contacts that are either still in the league or just getting out. So building a staff that can relate to current players is going to be as easy for him as it can be for anybody else. And I think you're kind of going from a carte blanche proch You know, you and I have talked about it a lot. You know, as this era developed, how it made no sense that Syracuse and Stanford and Northwestern and some of these schools didn't activate their immensely robust and successful alumni basis to start creating a first mover advantage in the NIL world. Well, guess what, as you noted there with fran Brown, who, by the way, the thing he wants to do with Dion Sanders is just absolutely brilliant in terms of the spring game thing that they can get it approved, but all it.
Has and what did I tell you last week? This is going to be a topic that takes off. And what's the story today? Oklahoma Oklahoma State, Hey, let's play. Let's play a spring game against each other?
Right?
This is this story.
This is just going to take off if you're able to get the pull this off and get the NCAA on board. Now we're talking about maybe narrowing the gap even further on some of these first mover advantage you didn't have from the nil and create some buzz around your your programs and rise back up because Stanford, once upon a time was a powerhouse for Shaw and Harball before.
Him exit out about a Fresca exit swollen Dome. The Jason Smith Show with my best friend Mike Carbon. At the very least we'd get the return of Captain Andrew Luck damn right, I mean we get that which everybody wins. Hey, speaking of everybody winning, how about some huge bull predictions for the baseball season. That's next right here, Jason and Mike Fox and I mean Bold.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio.
App Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with my best friend Mike harmon Gideo. Tractor Supply knows the winning season takes practice, teamwork, and it can do attitude. Thankfully, when you have a neighbor like Tractor Supply, teamwork comes easy. Whether you're caring for pets, chickens or a few acres. Our team members will help you succeed season after season. Tractor Supply for Life out here, and be sure to check out the Tractor Supply Fox Sports Radio Bracket Challenge at Fox Sports Radio dot com. See how all our hosts are doing with their picks and who the top ranked listeners are. I'm at the bottom because I'm stupid and I took Saint John's the listener with the best bracket at Fox Sports Radio dot com. I'm gonna win a twenty five hundred dollars gift card to Tractor Supply.
Well, he's me quad workout you've ever had Smith holding up the rest of the field.
Yes, I'm like Atlas. I'm just holding up there right. Well, we are a little less than thirty six hours away from the MLB season beginning Part two, the real one where everybody plays, joining us now on the hotline for all the big storylines MLB Network Insider Extraordinary or Fox Sports Radio Insider. He's on Twitter at John Morosi. It is the Pope, John PALMERROSI, what's happening, man? How are you?
I am outstanding? And while I appreciate my traditional walk up music here on this opening week, I did smile that we had some Jimmy Hendrix coming back from break because my father, who saw a great many amazing rock and roll shows in Detroit back in the nineteen sixties. While I have covered the World Series many times, the one thing that I have not seen that he saw, and that I am very jealous of him, is that he saw Jimmy Hendrix play in person and lights his guitar on fire at the Masonic Theater in Detroit. Kids do not try that at home, but that is something my father saw with his own two eyes, Jimmy Hendrix performing on a flaming guitar in Detroit.
That happened.
Well you wait until Jan Soto does that his first at bat for the Mets. Wait, do you see John Paul.
Walks out to the plate with a flaming bat. Then you call me immediately. Remember you call my dad, because my dad is probably the one person that we could get on the air that could actually be able to accurately compare. So, mister Maroussy, what was more impressive? Was it Jimmy Hendrix with the flaming guitar or Wan Soda with the flaming bat? Again called GINO. Will give you a good recommendation on that one.
All right, we'll give us your recommendation on this. We talked about this top of the hour, and this is the first time I can remember ever thinking about taking the team. If you ever said to me, hey, who would you take to win the World Series? Team A or the field, I'll always take the field because so many things have to happen. But this is the first because of the dog. This is the best lineup I've seen in baseball in over thirty years on paper, John Paul top to bottom lineup, starting pitching, relief pitching. If I said to you the Dodgers to win the World Series or the field, and you had to bet on one of.
Those, what do you think the field?
The field? Because the odds I agree with everything you've said about the quality of the Dodgers, but we have to remember they were one game away from being knocked out in four games in the Division Series last year. So we have to remember that winning the World Series is very difficult and can be undermined by any number of pitching situations. And yes, they appear to be the most prohibitive favorite that we have seen. But I look at a number of teams in the National League right now as being legitimate threats. I think there are a few of them in the National League. East Matt's, Philly's Braves all I believe are legitimate World Series teams. The Braves in particular. I know, Jason, I'm sorry that I'm not saying your Mets right now, but the Braves are a team that they had so many injuries and adversity last year and they still made the playoffs. If they just have a normal amount of adversity, there's still a really good team with a Kunya, with a healthy Strider. So I've got the Braves being probably the biggest threat to the to the Dodgers, But I also look at teams in the Central I love the way that the Brewers are built. I think the Cubs have a legitimate chance. Again, the Dodgers still have the best individual chance of anybody in the National League. I will grant you that, but what I'm saying is that number is under fifty percent, and I will take the field.
Yeah, And look, you don't need to be beholden to me. It's when your former college roommate David Stearns called. You got to say, Hey, just want to let you know why I didn't pick the Mets. Dave, Hey, lit'ten. Just want to let you know to understandings, there's a whole reason behind why. Now you gotta answer to him.
That's okay, I do, And that.
May be the end of the Sternsy and the Pope show. He hold of the audio of me saying that his team doesn't have the best chance of winning of even his own division. But they are. And in fairness, the Mets have had some pitching injury issues that they've had to deal with here this spring, so's that's all very real, and even McNeil too. So I think injuries in a lot of ways have been the story of spring. And look for the teams that are relatively healthy to be those that get off the best start.
Well, as we look at that JP, you know, we talked about the Mets and injuries, and I'm trying to calm my friend down since they're on the cover of all sorts of magazines as the team to be the upstart upset squad here.
You know, it's all want so to all the time.
When we look at the Central it's rare that we see the Cardinals being predicted to be a back end, bottom feeding tittas squad when we're talking about Pittsburgh and Milwaukee rising past them.
Well, it is interesting, and the Cardinals are a team. Yes, I believe that Arnato will have a better season this year, but they are a team that I have not heard really anybody predicting to be a division winner, and I think that's honestly appropriate based on where they're pitching. Is the continued search for what their everyday outfield ought to be. I am a big fan of Mason Wynn. I think that they have some younger bats like Alec Burlison, who I think have a chance to make an impact on the lineup with more consistent work. Nolan Gorman as well. But part of the reason that they were looking to trade Arenato this winter is they wanted to have greater clarity about who they were going to be as an everyday club, and I don't think they've gotten there yet. They may not be quite as bad as some of the dire projections have them being, but they're not, in my estimation, a playoff contender candidate in really any any scope, and they've effectively acknowledged as much with some of the moves that they have made. Very much future focused. So I think this will be either the Cubs or the Brewers at the top of the division. I like both teams. The Pirates, of course, they've got schemes, but some tough news there on Jones here where he's going to begin the year on the il. The Reds I like. I just don't quite think they have as much as the Brewers of the Cubs do. And the Cubs, you know, a tough start, obviously facing the Dodgers back to back losses in Tokyo, but I think once they get settled in Tucker as a really unique free agent to be I look for the Cubs to have a very solid year, and from their perspective, I think they they're probably the greatest beneficiaries right now of the Cardinals down cycle, John Palmerrose.
The MLB Network Insider, where it's Jason Smith, Mike Harmon lot from the tirerach dot Com studios. All right, so we go to the American League, John Paul, the team that you think will be facing the Dodgers Slash Brave slash Mats in the World Series will be who Boston.
I've got the Red Sox winning the league.
Well, that lineup.
I have a really good lineup and a lot of youth, and and for me, when I make my predictions, not that they tend to be right all the time, but but I do my best this time here, I am most comfortable attaching my my mind to those teams that have really deep farm systems and that I believe can add to their group as the season goes along. The Red Sox have that the Yankees don't, from what I can tell, at least not on the same level of the Red Sox. So the Yankees' depth has already been tested. Of course, Stanton is on the il Cole has gone for the year. The Mets. I think that there's just not enough of a reliable group for me in terms of what could impact that club coming up from Triple A to feel confident in the Yankees relative to what Boston has. I actually think Toronto's had a pretty solid spring and that they are close enough to being a playoff team. I think Baltimore's had some injuries. The Yankees, as we mentioned, have had some injuries. The Rays now with McClanahan being out for a while, that's a big concern for them. So I think that Boston, with the minor asterisk of the issue about what exactly Devers's role is going to be, that has to be a little bit concerned. But in general, I do like the way the Red Sox are built, and with Meyer and with Anthony and some others there in the minor leagues that they have the ability to I think if they're in a tight race, that the deadline really puts some open water between themselves and everybody else.
Now, I'm not going to waste a lot of bread on the White Sox plus two fifty to win the AL Central.
What would probably say they're underdogs is what I would say, five hundred to one to win it all.
Let's go to the AL West.
Where are you for the ninth straight year, looking at the favorite team? O boy, to rise up and play some postseason baseball? Is it all predicated on Julio Rodriguez once again donning that trident at the end.
Of every game we have We have some some loyal listeners of the show who tonight have have tuned in strictly to hear this portion of our conversation, which is, Will Morose picked the Mariners again, and and much to the dismay of my brother in law and Seattle and all my friends out there, the answer is yes, I'm picking up.
Let's go, especially.
Especially my goodness, now that the Astros have lost some of their veterans and talent, and the Rangers have had some injuries before their rotation. If you thought I was going to abandon the Mariners now now that that actually seems logical to predict the division.
They could win the division.
This is a layoff right now in terms of how I'm viewing this division. So I think if Julio has a normal type year for him, which is which would be an approven over last year. Still love their pitching with Kirby on the IL, and they just signed cal Rally to that extension today or they're they're finalizing it. I think He's a really important player for them over the long term. So for a lot of reasons, I'm very confident in my pick, more than ever before, which again is right now sending the wire services completely just they're scrambling to put this news out on the wires there in Seattle. The Morosi has picked the Maritors again, which have bad news for the local nine.
All right, so last pick here, John paul I said this earlier this hour. Agree or disagree if I have to give you a non Otani pick for NL MVP. Someone who can combat the Hey, who's better From a completely different aspect, Paul Skeins can dominate the headlines, can dominate the storylines. We pay attention to him every fifth day like we watch Otani. It can be doesn't need to be well won Sodos having a great year, But is he as great as Otani From a completely different perspective schemes versus Otani, He's the guy I can see winning MVP if he has one of those de Grom like years, which clearly he can because he's just that good.
Interesting, I think that they would have the Pirates would have to be in the in the hunt for a playoff, Berth for that to become a realistic possibility. I think the other, the other interesting one would be if if Tucker in his contract year, vaults the Cubs into a into a playoff, Berth see him being a legitimate threat. I could see also a Kunya. That's that's the one thing we had. You know, Akunya is is an all around talent in a different way than Otani is. Of course, he's a two way threat. He can steal bases. We have not yet seen Otani and Akunya at full strength in the same league, competing for the same award, and that, to me is the one variable here. So I there are players capable of taking Otani's thunder away, and I would actually put I would I would put Akunya and Soto and Tucker all ahead of schemes in terms of the likelihood of someone who's not Otani winning that award.
All right, now, I forgot one more prediction, because you've been red hot with this over the first weekend. Michigan wins both games Michigan Auburn John Paul in the Sweet sixteen.
Your final score is so Donaldson finds a way to beat his former team, Michigan wins, but then falls to the spark in the elite age and tom Izzo, who was on fire today at his media availability for everything I've seen. So tom Izzo, my fellow Italian uper from the Upper Peninsula, Michigan. I'm gonna say the nod goes to tom Izzo and he gets the Spartans back to the final four.
John Paul Morosi must have a dinner in East Lansing. He wants to attend. He's on Twitter at John Morosi, that is, at John Morosi MLB Network. John Paul is always appreciated. Next time we talked to you, we'll have real live games to break down.
Have fun, real live games Thursday, Open to day and also the first day at the NCAA Hockey Tournament. I've got Michigan State beating Cornell three to one in the opener.
There ooh Andy Bernard not happy to see Cornell'll go down there, all right. Take it easy, buddy, we'll talk.
To PAMA guys.
Really appreciate buddy.
Be sure to check out the Fox Sports Radio YouTube channel. Just search Fox Sports Radio on YouTube and you'll see a whole bunch of video highlights tom our shows. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss our very best Fox Sports Radio videos on YouTube.
