The following takes place between six pm and seven pm.

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At six h nine, seven hundred WLW Welcome in Rnel Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevrolet.

I am Alliance Bacalist.

Hope you had a fantastic weekend.

I hope you've had a manageable Monday.

Hope you are ready for three full hours just like we like it.

Let's do the headlines so we can get going.

We start with the Reds.

Yesterday they reportedly reach agreement on a deal with right handed reliever Pierce Johnson.

He'll be thirty five in May.

Hosted a three zero five ERA and sixty five appearances last season for the Braves.

No official announcement from the team.

Mark Finesand of MLB dot Com reports the dealers one year at six and a half million dollars.

Join us Friday night at Reds Fast.

I've got sports talk from six to nine with guests throughout the show.

We've got a stage, there's gallery seeding.

Stop by and hang out with us NFL Wildcard weekend raps.

Tonight, it's the Steelers hosting the Texans seven point thirty kick on Fox Sports thirteen sixty.

The Steelers have won twenty three straight Monday night football games at home.

How annoying is that they have not won, however, a playoff game since twenty seventeen, dropping six consecutive.

The Browns interviewed former Dolphins head coach Mike Daniels today for the head coaching opening.

He was the Brown's wide receivers coach in twenty fourteen.

College football, Chad Brendel of Bearcat Journal reports UC is expected to hire Nate Woody as its defensive coordinator.

What He held the same role at Army and has led three top fifteen defensive units in his tenure at West Point.

He runs a pressure heavy three to four scheme.

He was the defensive coordinator under Scott Centerfield at Appalachian State eight from twenty thirteen through twenty seventeen.

College basketball, Despite being seventeen and O, the Miami RedHawks remain outside the top twenty five today, landing at number twenty nine.

Travis Steele joins me in nine minutes from Mark Arizona's number one perdue is five, Louisville is twenty.

It's a Coaches Show Monday, The Mark Pope Show underway, talking Kentucky Hoops on ESPN fifteen thirty, Talk NKU Norris Men's and Women's hoops at seven on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Recap the Xavier win over the weekend with The Richard Patino Show at seven o'clock on fifty five.

Care Cee FC Cincinnati have signed for with Tom Barlow.

Thirty year old spent the past two seasons with Chicago Fire FC, appearing in fifty MLS regular season game, scoring five goals.

Prior to that, Barlow spent six seasons with the New York Red Bulls.

If you missed it off the Top with Matt the last place, Columbus Blue Jackets have fired coach Dean Evson.

They have hired veteran NHL coach Rick Bonus.

He led the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup Final in twenty twenty.

NASCAR The Chase is back, ten races, sixteen drivers, most points wins, no more win and in top sixteen in points, make it and a big shake up today and Thomas Moore announcing they will discontinue men's volleyball at the conclusion of this season.

The program was relaunched in twenty nineteen, returning from a hiatus from the mid nineties.

For everything else you've missed, you could always catch up in podcast form at seven hundred WLW dot com and through the iHeartRadio app.

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Modern Office Methods win Every minute counts.

You can count on Mom, all right on the dock at tonight over three hours.

Travis Steele minutes away six point thirty five, the newest member of FC Cincinnati, a local product, a full circle story, cool story.

Can't wait to talk with Kyle Smith, the pride of LaSalle High School.

Coming up at six thirty five.

Rich new from the Chema Credit Union MLK Classic, the high school tournament coming up one week from today.

I've got Bengals to get to Brandon Phillips in the eight o'clock hour, A little bit of this and a little bit of that along the way.

I'm glad you were here.

Settle in, relax, I got you.

Let's have some fun with this and get it going.

Next with Arnel Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevallet.

Seven hundred WLW remaining unbeaten college basketball teams in the country.

They are seventeen and oh after Friday night's win at Toledo.

Next up Central Michigan tomorrow night at home, and Malett should be rocking for more on that.

Let's go straight to the source and welcome in head coach Travis Steele.

How are you.

I'm doing great, Lance, Thanks for having me on great.

Catching up with you, Travis.

I think more and more people around the country are like, going, holy crap, Miami seventeen and oh are you?

I guess to what extent are Are you surprised you're seventeen?

And oh not really?

You know, I knew when we put this team together we had a chance to be special, and I think what makes us really good.

We got great We got really talented basketball players, but we have winners.

We have guys that are very, very process oriented.

They take advantage of every day man, So I'm not surprised with the results that we've gotten.

Friday night, you shot better than fifty percent from the field for the thirteenth time this season.

Travis, I got to tell you in watching you guys, you're like an instructional video of passing to get to the good shot time and time again.

It's uncanny to watch.

Yeah, it's a it's a fun way to play right now.

Our guys pass up good shots to get great shots, and we have very very high ques out there.

We have great spacing and cutting and movement.

We play fast, so we're hard to prepare for.

You know, we've got seven guys score over twenty points in the game this year, and just the balance itself makes us, I think, very difficult to defend.

A couple of games ago you shoot thirty you're the number one shooting team in the country, fifty three percent from the field.

Couple of games ago you shoot thirty eight percent.

But win at Akron.

Did that show you something about your team?

It did?

You know, we didn't have our a great night offensively, and give Acron credit, you know, like they defended us well, but we also missed a lot of open looks.

And you know, for us to be able to win our conference tournament in Cleveland in March, odds are one of the three games we're not going to shoot well and can you win that game.

I thought the grit to fight, the toughness that our guys showed against Akron to beat them a week and a half ago.

Man, it's going to really serve us well moving forward.

Travis, with all the public attention that continues to grow and head the way of your guys to talk to me about how big it is from their their maturity and their focus standpoint as a group.

Well, I think you know player I said this before to you, Lance, but I think player led teams are way way better than coach led teams.

And you know, Suitor at Sorrow and Ian Elmer are three captains voted by their teammates, do a great job of helping us lead this team.

And we're really focused.

It's like we use the we have a picture that kind of stays around our program of a guy driving a car and looking out the front windshield.

There's a reason why the rearview mirror is so small because everything that's already happened or seventeen, you know, that's in the past.

We're going to look forward for the obstacles that are in front of us, because there's several of them.

And starting with Central Michigan, obviously tomorrow night.

You mentioned Evan ipsorrow you lost him, your point guard, your guy five games ago.

Explain to listeners what he meant to this team and how you've gone about replacing all that he offered your team.

Yeah, Evan is I love him, you know.

Number one, I just hurt from him as a human being.

You know, anytime a guy goes down with an injury, it stinks.

And he's having a breakout year.

I thought he was one of the best mid major point guards in the entire country.

He's our heart and soul in a lot of ways.

So when we lost them, we knew it was going to be a big adjustment, you know.

And we still have a lot of really, really good players on our team, so we knew again it wasn't no no one player was going to replace Evan.

But we just work a little different.

You know.

We rebound the ball a little bit better, We're turning it over a little bit more.

That's offset, and the rebounds is offset and that, and we're figuring it out.

It's kind of by committee the point guard position.

And Luke Skaaljack's really done a nice job as a sophomore, you know, kind of leading our play making duties.

I follow Pete Suitter closely.

He's a Carmel High school guy like me, so I got to follow him.

And last year he led you guys in scoring.

He had a forty two point game.

Now he's I think third on the team in scoring, maybe not shooting quite as much.

But here's what jumps out to me, Travis.

His field goal percentage, he's up eight percent from last year.

His three point is up twelve percent last year.

And his a sister up tell me about his change or continued development from last year to this year.

Ultimate winner.

It's Pete, you know, coming from a Carmel program.

I know, lady, you said you just went there many Carmel wins.

It everything.

I feel like, you know, Pete's one and the whole life.

And he understands sacrifice and he's at the very top of the scouting report for every game you know so, and he just does what the game tells him to do, as simple as that.

He doesn't care about scoring, he doesn't care about shots.

He is playing to win.

And when your best player does that, it permeates throughout the rest of the team.

You mentioned the scouting report, and earlier you mentioned, and this is where, going back to seven different guys have scored at least twenty points in a game this year.

I wouldn't want to prepare a scouting report for against you guys because I wouldn't know where to begin.

Yeah, it makes this hard reguard, you know, just our space, our pace that we play with.

We don't run a lot of set plays like at Toledo, Lancia laughed.

I only called set plays on baseline out of bounds, sideline out of bounds plays, you know, because our group knows how to play playoff of one another.

The red react.

It makes it super, super difficult to scout because again we have to play teams three times sometimes in a year in order to win our league in the conference tournament, and we've got to be hard to play in that third game.

Travis, from that standpoint of play calling and backing off that have you Have you always been that way or have you evolved into that?

I've evolved into it.

You know.

I used to want to control a lot and again every team's different, you know.

But again we've recruited very, very high to skilled guys that I really trust, you know.

I use practice as a way like, listen, I teach them how to play, and then during the game, I trust them, I let them do you know.

I want them to play with a free mind, ton of confidence and just do what the game tells them to do.

You know.

I'm I'm so glad you've said that, because there and I'm not mentioning specifics here, but there are times I watch coaches who will stand and bark almost one pass to the next passegear pass it there, or do this, do that, And I can't imagine playing listening to all that.

Your guys must love the freedom that you give them.

Yeah, and that freedom's earned right every single day with just their process and practice and their work habits.

But it's a fun way to play.

Man.

What happens is, in my opinion, because defensive offense are super connected, so different than football, is that if you're connected on the offensive end, and you're moving and you're cutting and you're touching the ball, you'll give even a better effort on defense.

In my opinion, because of your offensive end, you feel like you're a part of it all right.

When you've won seventeen in a row, are you?

Are you by nature superstitious in any way?

You do you wear the same socks?

Is there anything going on that you'd like to publicly admit to from a superstition standpoint?

You know?

So I do.

I have this blue shirt that I've been wearing underneath my quarter zip, and my wife last year's like, why are you wearing this?

Not our color?

I said, listen, it's been working.

We can't change it up now, you got to keep it going.

I love it.

I love that last thought.

And you're not in the top twenty five today, you're close twenty nine.

I don't know why you're not.

But does that bug you?

Is that a talking point?

Is it motivation?

Or is it just the rankings?

And they'll work themselves out?

You know, I think we use it as motivation.

Our guys have a chip on their shoulder.

There's no doubt in their mind that started from last year.

How the last year ended in the Mac Tournament championship game.

We've used the hashtag unfinished business a lot, and we got a lot to proof.

We got a lot to proof.

We want the whole world to see it.

Tomorrow night, Central Michigan at Mallett Place should be jumping.

Hey.

I know you're busy and man we're twenty four hours from game time.

I really appreciate you making time and always enjoy our conversations.

Hope we can do it again soon.

Absolutely, thanks for having me on.

Thanks Travis.

There you go.

Travis steel Head, coach seventeen to o Miami RedHawks, one of five remaining unbeatens in the country.

You know it's not just a throw white line.

They're a good shooting team.

They're the best shooting team in the country.

Let me give you some numbers.

I like numbers.

They're shooting fifty three percent.

I think there's only I looked it up this morning.

I think there's only twenty five teams out of three hundred and fifty Division one that are at the fifty percent mark shooting from the field.

Miami is at fifty three percent on two point shots.

That means their percentage of shots taken inside of the three point line, they are number two in the country.

On three point shots, they are number one in the country, and when standing at the free throw line, they are number eight in the country.

So recapping the best shooting team in the country second best from two, first best from three, best from three and eight at the free throw line and watching them is I said, it is uncanny watching them pass to a from a good shot to a better shot seemingly every single possession.

I know it's not everyone that way, And as he said, it showed a lot when they weren't shooting their their their night.

They were off from shooting at thirty eight percent against Akron and yet found a way to win the game Central Michigan Tomorrow night, twenty ninth Today.

As mentioned in the AP Top twenty five poll, all right around the corner, local product, he's coming home.

Newest member of FC Cincinnati.

He played at LaSalle High School GCL South Star Player of the Year in two thousand and nine.

He's representing the Orange and Blue.

Now we'll talk about it with Kyle Smith.

As we continue, Let's get a check on news.

RNL Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevrolet seven hundred WLW six thirty seven seven hundred WLW RNL Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevallet.

I'm Lance McAllester.

Thanks for hanging out.

Let's talk some soccer.

FC Cincinnati players report the camp this week.

On hand will be in a new edition with local ties.

A cool story Full circle story thirty three year old defender Kyle Smith was the two thousand and nine gc EL South Player of the Year at LaSalle High School.

His journey includes three seasons with Louisville City FC and the USL, the past seven seasons in MLS with Orlando City SC, and now with the Orange and Blue.

What a treat pleasure to welcome in, Kyle Smith.

Kyle Lance McAllister, how are you?

I'm doing well?

How are you doing?

I'm fantastic.

Welcome home.

I mean, how exciting it must be to now be looking forward to playing in front of family and friends.

Yeah, it's very exciting.

Honestly, I can't wait to get in TQL Stadium and start playing.

Kyle, Do I understand this correctly?

Your parents have to be excited.

They've been season ticket holders of FC Cincinnati.

Is that right?

Yes, they have.

They've been seasoned ticket holders.

I think since the MLS, since FC Cincinnai started in the MLS, so quite a while.

Man, oh man, So let's backtrack a little bit and let listeners know about some of this background.

After you graduated from trans University, and I understand you were working in accounting and you were playing amateur soccer with the Cincinnati Dutch Lions.

Tell me about that time in your life.

Yeah, So when I graduated, I moved back home and then I got a job with the University of Cincinnati at the College of Medicine, working in accounting.

So, you know, I did that for about two years while I was trying to break it in, break into professional soccer.

And like you said, I played for the Cincinna Dutch Lions, and then I started doing like open tryouts and I thankfully made Louisville City, So I got an opportunity and got my foot in the door with that.

Cal Just so fans understand when when you're going to these tryouts, you're paying at these tryouts and you're you're one of a gazillion trying to stand out.

That explain that situation.

Yeah, Honestly, it's kind of like American Idol, Like anybody can show up.

So you got some people that are good and some people that are not so good, but it's it's difficult to you know, stand out because there's so many people.

So I went in with you know, a particular strategy of just you know, trying to score as many goals as possible and you know, it helped me stand out, so I think that's why I got the opportunity.

I was reading an excellent story that Carter Chapley wrote about you for Fccincinnati Dot Comedy and he mentioned you back in the inaugural season of FC Cincinnati in twenty sixteen, you had tried out for the Orange and Blue.

Is that right?

Yeah?

I was an open try out again, so you know, like anybody can come and there were hundreds of people there, so, uh, you know, I didn't make it, and I didn't get the opportunity with FC Cincinnati, but I went to Louisville City as well and did the same thing, and they gave me, you know, an invite te tryout where there was about only twenty kids there, and then I got invited.

I was one of like three guys to get invited to pre season with them, and then we went to IMG Academy in Florida and then I got two weeks to try out and then they offered me a contract after those two week unbelievable.

What a cool story, Kyle Smith check it in tonight and new is remember the Orange and Blue FC Cincinnati camp opening this week, So you've been aware obviously and following long since the first season of the Orange and Blue.

Just give us your impressions of FC Cincinnati, what they've built and what they've become.

Yeah, I feel like they've the past few years here, they've definitely, you know, raised the standards in the MLS.

They've been consistently at the top of the table, and that was a big reason why I wanted to come play here, because of the winning culture that they've created.

So, you know, I'm super excited for this season and I really can't wait to get started with them.

So how take me through this offseason?

How did how did the whole FC Cincinnati opportunity turn out to be a thing, And now you've put pen to paper, How did it come about?

Yeah, so they contacted my agent, and at the time, I was in negotiations with Orlando, my old team.

Uh, and you know, once I heard that Cincinnati was interested, I you know kind of shifted gears and definitely wanted to pursue that opportunity to come home and you know, play for such a great club and in a great city where I'm from.

So I, you know, jumped on that opportunity.

Kyle Tel FC Cincinnati fans who are listening right now, what the type of player you are, what you think you do well, and how you envision your role here.

Yeah.

So with my old team, I was kind of like a Swiss army knife.

I play multiple positions, and I think that's kind of you know, my role that I'll have here as well, and you know, just kind of step up whenever I'll need it, when my when my numbers called, and uh, I you know, work hard on the field.

I'm a defender and but I can also play in the midfield, so I I try to keep it simple and then you know, just I uh, I think I'm a player that has good spatial awareness on the field.

Yeah.

Do you do you know any of your new teammates from from previous playing days.

Yeah, so Nick Haglin and I played against him for you know, since we were like eleven years old.

Yeah, and then he guests played for my team one year and he was actually showing me some pictures today of him, Yeah, guests playing when we were probably like twelve thirteen years old.

I I always say I I enjoyed talking with Pat Noonan when he's on the show with me, And I've always said I thought if I were a player, I'd love to play for Pat Noonan.

Give me your early impressions of him and what you've heard about Pat Noonan.

Yeah, I would say he has very high standards and he's a coach that wants us to you know, work hard and come in every day and you know, keep raising the standard and building the winning culture that they've already you know, kind of established.

So my first impressions are, you know, he's seems like a great guy and a great coach, and I'm very excited to get to play for him.

Take me back to two thousand and nine, a while ago.

You're the GCL South player of the AAR at Lasal High School.

What are your memories of your playing days at Lasal High School.

Yeah, I had a great time at LaSalle High School.

It was a great school.

I think they you know, helped me improve as a as a person and as a player a lot.

So I'm very thankful and grateful that I chose to go there for my high school.

So yeah, I think it's a great school for anyone to go.

To, you know, as the hometown kid and coming back, you know, everybody's gonna come out of the woodwork.

They're going to have ticket request.

Are you ready for this?

Yeah?

I think so, but I have you know, I have a lot of family here, so you know, they get first DIBs on the tickets.

But I think I'm ready.

Good.

Hey, I know it's been a whirlwind and I know you've got a busy week ahead.

Thank you for making time tonight.

Congratulations.

I'm really happy for you, and I hope we can talk again during the season.

All right, thank you?

All right?

Take care, Kyle, all right, take care.

There you go.

Kyle Smith, thirty three years old defender FC Cincinnati from LaSalle to an open tryout, to getting an opportunity with Louisville City FC in the USL and try I mean, think of it.

You're trying out for FC Cincinnati back in the inaugural season as well, and then seven seasons in MLS, and now the next chapter becomes a chance to come home.

That is really cool.

Let's take a time out come back.

There is a big time high school hoops one week from tonight.

Details on that and so much more as we continue.

You are hanging out on a Monday night with me.

I'm alliance Bacallister, your host, Russ Jackson, your producer, and we were all till nine tonight with RNL Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevallet seven hundred WLW Big Time Hoops Circle Your calendar prepare one week from tonight the Kemba Credit Union m L Classic.

It's at Zaber University's Centai Center.

The event features eight boys varsity teams from Greater Cincinnati northern Kentucky, some of the region's best high school talent, four exciting matchups and from more on that.

Let's go back to our guy, that would be Rich Newman.

Rich, how are you.

Doing great?

Lance?

Thanks for having me on again and Happy New Year.

Happy New Year to you, and Man, what a field you have put together.

Give us the lowdown and the setup on these four matchups.

Well, you hit the nail on the head.

We're thrilled with this matchup.

It's heavy heavy GNC with a little GCL sprinkled in.

We start with Lakota West versus the Big Blue of Hamilton at twelve noon and Lakota West, for those who don't follow high school of basketball closely, is the undefeated number one ranked team in the state of Ohio.

So that's a big time matchup.

We come in next with Ryle versus Oldham County, good basketball program from outside of Louisville.

Then Lakota East versus Middletown, and the nightcap is the Saint Xavier Bombers versus from also across the river, the Colonels from the high school in Park Hills.

Love it.

Four fantastic matchups.

And you know, I notice you're doing what you did during the Holiday Classic as well, and I love this.

Explain the ticket and set up for the schools that you're including in this.

Yeah, we decided that we'd like to give back in another way to the community besides giving these schools the opportunity to play at the Centas Center, but the school that sells the most tickets online in advance prior to the day of the event will get a five hundred dollars donation to their booster club or the charity of their choice.

And we're also doing a promotion with Xavier Sonny Xavier season ticket holder who buys a ticket to the Kemba MLK Classic will donate fifty percent of those ticket sales to the All for One Fund.

Rich I always like to mention this because I hope fans understand how cool it must be for these high school players to come running out of the tunnel and onto the floor of a big East home arena.

And some of these kids are probably going to be playing their last year of organized basketball, and what a moment, what a memory in a tournament like this.

We've gotten so many positive comments and feedback and thanks from all the different teams that are participating participated about the Holiday Harble Classic as well as now we hope the MLK Classic.

Lance, You're right, it's a unique experience.

It's a once in a lifetime experience for most of these most of these players for sure.

And it goes beyond that.

It's not just for the teams and the coaches, but the fans, the parents, the grandparents, the the cheerleading squad, the dance teams, the pep bands.

Everybody gets to experience what we know is one of the top do you want arenas in the country.

It's one week from tonight the Kemba Credit Union MLK Classic at Centas Center.

Rich tell everybody about how they get their hands on tickets, well.

Please go to our website Mlkdashclassic dot com.

Daily passes are thirteen dollars in advance, sixteen dollars at the box office the day of the event, and all fees and parking are included.

Atlanta.

I've got to mention, of course, these things don't happen just because Cintas Center and Xavier University and New Associates wants to promote them.

We need the sponsors and we need the media partners.

And Dan Sutton a shout out to the president and CEO of KEMBA all in on community events like this, And of course our relationship is iHeart and specifically ESPN fifteen thirty is as our media partner with Fox nineteen.

But I can't tell you how much we appreciate everything that you do.

And I'll be on with MO and I'll be on with Tony this week and that means an awful lot to us, it really does.

You all deserve a lot of credit for giving us the microphone so to speak to promoted great event like this.

Well, we are honored and we are proud to be involved with it.

And you know you're always welcome on the show, and best of luck with the event and always good catching up.

Thank you, Thank you Lance.

All right, take care there you go.

Rich Newman Chemba Credit Union, MLK Classic Exavier Cinta Center one week from tonight.

Starts at nude high noon Lakota West at Hamilton, followed by Ryle and Oldham County at one forty five, Lakota East and Middletown at three thirty stex and Cubcath at five fifteen.

Information mlkdash Classic dot com for their website and on all social media platforms as well.

There is a developing situation out of Lexington tonight.

This is not good news for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Jalen Lowe is having surgery on his shoulder, the point guard, and his season is over surgery on the shoulder.

The junior averaging eight points, two rebounds and about two and a half assist per game, will miss the remainder of the season.

But by the way, and I want to mention this a little bit later in the show, we're on the subject of high school basketball, and I so appreciate Andrew Lovin's who passed this along an email last week, and I spent time talking with Skinny and Tom Gamble Chief about this over the weekend.

I want to get into maybe around eight thirty or tonight final segment of the show.

It was forty about forty three years ago around this time that the Famous Recipe Classic started in Northern Kentucky.

And I knew nothing about this until Andrew passed on the information because I had left and I was at the time this started in eighty three.

I was in a junior at Carbal High School, and I didn't come back till about the time it finally ended its run in ninety seven.

But I am fascinated by all the stories I heard surrounding the Famous Recipe Classic, which was a sixteen team tournament in Northern Kentucky involving the top eight Northern Kentucky high school teams and the best eight teams available around the state for the tournament.

I love some of the background on this.

I want to spend some time on it coming up in the eight o'clock around eight thirty or so tonight, by the way, before new shout out, and I sent him a text for a personal shout out, but I want to give him a public shout out because I forgot last week to the Cowboy.

Jeff Brantley named last week the Ohio Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.

Really cool, really happy for the Cowboy and happy for my guy.

Christen Airy named the Indiana Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.

Chris who's been on Talking Pacers longtime voice of the Pacers twentieth season this year, I believe his Voice of the Pacers.

Second time he's received the award.

He for I think it was eighteen seasons.

Was the play by play voice of the Indiana Fever, their WNBA team.

He's been the play by play voice of My Butler Bulldogs.

He's a member of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network.

Graduated from Westfield High School in Westfield, Indiana, played for his dad Bob, and then went on to Wabash and was a member of the nineteen eighty two Division III National Championship basketball team, the Little Giants and the Topper.

He lives in Carmel, so he is Goodbye me, shout out to Christen Ai and to the Cowboy.

Jeff Brantley.

All right, let's turn into the eight o'clock hour.

You've had some time to digest the week that was last week as a Bengals fan, you heard you read a statement from Mike Brown.

You heard the season ending wrap up news conference with Zach Taylor.

You heard Friday's Q and A with Duke Tobin.

I want to circle back and get into how that was received by you, and I have a question coming out of last week that I will present to you.

In the seven o'clock hour, Brandon Phillips around the corner.

In the eight o'clock hour, It's RNL Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevallet seven hundred WLW.

The following takes place between seven pm and eight pm.

All right, let's keep rolling.

Seven oh six, seven hundred WLW.

You the second of three big hours Barnel Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevrolet.

Love my guys at Kelsey Chevrolet.

From our family to yours, then, now and always, kelseyshev dot com.

Kelly will be there tomorrow an oo change.

We are a Kelsey Chevrolet family.

Everybody in the family drives a Kelsey Chevrolet.

Thanks guys for being a part of the show.

Looking forward to extra innings this season as well.

Hope you had a great weekend.

I watched We watched every NFL playoff game.

I checked out at halftime just after halftime of last night's game.

But the other one's holy cow.

We'll get into some NFL playoffs in a bit.

If you missed the first hour, man that way, if I could say so much Solf, that was an action packed hour.

Travis Steele the Miami RedHawks.

I love seventeen to no cool story already, but I just love the I don't want to.

I don't know if I go so far as say the reinvention of Travis Steele, but I love him talking about his evolution as a coach and the freedom he's willing to give his players, and how he's not managing every possession and not calling very few plays, trusting his guys they have a system, understand the system, He trusts them to do what they do, and just the way they shoot the ball.

It is truly something to behold.

I mean, who who in this day and age hits fifty three percent from the field the Miami RedHawks do.

If you missed it, podcast has that Kyle Smith cool story, Pride LaSalle High School back home playing for the Orange and Blue now of FC Cincinnati, and Rich Numan on the Fantastic high School Hoops taking place one Week from Tonight podcast two spots seven hundred, WLW dot com and through the iHeartRadio app.

The podcast always presented by my friends at Modern Office Methods.

All right, coming up one hour from now, seg caught up with Brandon Phillips.

You're gonna hear from BP one of the newest members of the Reds Hall of Fame.

Coming up in less than an hour.

Now, We've got plenty of football to get to in this hour, So what do you say we go?

I thought about this a lot since since Friday and the week that was.

If you were a Bengal, you got a statement released from team president Mike Brown on Monday following the end of the season, you had Zach on Wednesday with his season wrap up press conference with the media, and then Duke Tobin broke from the norm and met with the media for sixty four minutes of Q and A on Friday.

So you heard from the president, you heard from the head coach, and you heard from the de facto general manager.

And I'm curious of how that messaging was received because I've been thinking about it from this standpoint.

If you go back to February fifth of twenty nineteen, we're coming up on the anniversary here in a couple of weeks.

But on February fifth, twenty nineteen, the Bengals introduced Zach Taylor as their new head coach, placing Marvin Lewis after sixteen seasons.

And I want you to take a listen to what Mike said that day about the decision having moved on from Marvin to hire Zach and the fan angle in this answer.

Take a listen to Mike Brown February fifth, twenty nineteen.

We had lost some of the faith in our fan base.

That was clear.

That's an allowed message.

I think we've done it at the appropriate time.

We tried to give every opportunity for it to grab hold otherwise, but that's behind us.

I want to look to the future and I think we're starting that now and our fan base.

One seven Mike Brown February fifth, twenty nineteen, on change and why change was made.

Quote, we had lost some of the faith from the fan base, that was clear, he said.

That sent a loud message.

Well, the offer of newfound faith was a new head coach this time around.

After a losing season and three consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs, the Bengals are answering their fans with the status quo, running it back with the de facto general manager, the head coach, his assistance, and the same scouting department.

So my question, and I've thought about this a lot.

I thought about it a lot over the weekend.

If status quo is the offer this time?

Where are you finding your faith?

Because I think this feels similar to when you needed change back in twenty nineteen.

Now, Zach hasn't been there as long as Marvin, certainly, but there was a need, a request, a demand for change, so much so it was recognized by the owner who indicated you had lost faith in the Bengals, and that was clear, and that sent a loud message.

So the response was we got to give him a new coach.

Well, this time around, I feel faith wavering, fading, frustration growing, three straight years, no playoffs, losing season this season, and what they are offering is to run it back with the same group that was here this past season.

So in twenty nineteen, the offer was a new coach.

In twenty twenty six, the offer is the status quo.

So where are you finding your faith?

Is my question?

And I asked because I don't know.

I'm curious, and I'll open up the lines at five point three seven four nine, seven thousand, one eight hundred, the big one to get into this because I don't know that.

I don't know that it has really been viewed from this lens, but I think it should be.

It was.

It was one thing when the fans had lost the faith, to give them the new coach and say here is your newfound faith is offering the status quo to you.

It is that?

Is that enough?

Is that?

Where where will the faith be found?

And maybe that's simply Will Lance, it's Joe Burrow because we've got one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

I think that's something that has to be considered in this scenario.

Because the give and take then been a coach.

The give and take now has simply been Duke's coming back, Zach's coming back, the assistants are coming back, the scouting departments coming back, and we believe we can fix it because we've done it before.

My sense is that is going to be received in a much different way than it was seven years ago.

Am I right?

Or am I wrong?

And I was struck by this question, this kind of line of thinking being offered up in question for him to Zach on Wednesday.

I think it was Baby of the ESPN.

Don't quote me.

I think it was Ben Baby.

I haven't listened to this since last week, but I want you to take a listen to this question posed to Zach about winning back the fans.

Take a listen.

Do you feel like you got to win folks back?

I don't worry about that.

I know.

Winning makes believers of us.

All that makes sense.

I can understand how that quote came to be because that's a true statement.

It's written in our building with set every day.

But that's the truth.

You know, you go through hard times and there's disappointment, and then all of a sudden, you win some games.

You're right back and thick and people can't wait to jump on board.

So I love the past.

It's it is great being here and having passionate fans.

It is, and I don't take that for granted.

There's other places you go where it doesn't see it seems like they're indifferent, maybe as they're sitting in the stadium and the game's going on, and here, you know they're not indifferent.

Here, they're passionate and they have high expectations and they want us to win, and they're going to support us, and they really want to support a winner, and so we got to give them that, and we're gonna work our tails off to do that for him.

Zach Taylor.

Last week, I'll go back to this quote again, we had lost some of the faith from our fan base.

That was clear.

That sent a loud message.

I was under the impression that volume level of a message was being sent by the fan base.

Again this time, let's take your calls when we continue.

Five one, three, seven, four, nine, seven thousand, what eight hundred the Big One.

It's RNL Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevrolet seven hundred WLW seven seven hundred WLW RNL Carrier Sports Talk is the show.

It is presented by Kelsey Chevrolet.

We thank you for listening.

You're listening on the iHeart Radio app outside the greater Cincinnati area, thank well.

If you're listening anywhere with the iHeart Radio app, thank you.

But shout out to Tallahassee, Florida tonight and Santa Fe and spoke can all checking in tonight the iHeart Radio app.

Listening to sports Talk put it on your phone, your tablet, your kindle, your home computer, and listen from anywhere with the iHeart Radio app.

Al right, if you give me ninety seconds, I need to brag about my exploits over the weekend because I'm not very good with things around the house.

Kelly would vouch for that.

She'd be nodding her head right now.

But I have cracked the code when it comes to Christmas trees and decorations.

I decided last year that we could pull off decorating the Christmas tree, and then instead of undecorating the Christmas tree, taking all the ornaments off, putting them all in boxes, taking them back down into the basement, Christmas tree back down to the base.

I said, why don't we just take the Christmas tree at the end of Christmas each year and I will carry it upstairs intact to the spare bedroom where it will stay for the year, and the following year I will bring it downstairs into the living room already made.

And Kelly said that will never work.

I said, you want to bet, I will have you know that.

Saturday night, approximately seven fifteen, I successfully executed the second year of the transformation of the Christmas tree from the family room, up the steps to the spare bedroom, where it we'll sit for the next year.

If you don't believe me, there's video evidence, and I did not drop.

There was not a single ornament harmed or that dropped off the tree in the moving of that tree from the family room, through the kitchen, through the living room, up the stairs.

There's a lot of steps to the spare bedroom.

Not a single ornament dropped.

Now, if you watch the video on all social media platforms, you will see a long cord still on the tree that was hanging off of the tree, which I very well could have stepped on going up the steps.

I can only assume Kelly was preoccupied with the shooting of the video of it to not warn me that there was a long cord from the lights that that was dangling down right by where I was stepping each step up.

But I showed precision, agility, and great execution.

And that tree will rest peacefully intact for one year, and I'll see it next Thanksgiving.

Right, let's go out.

Oh before we go back to the votes.

If you heard from Mike and you heard from Zach, let me complete the trio.

This is something Duke said about you the Bengals Fan on Friday.

Take a listen.

It goes without saying, this season is not what we expect, certainly not what we will accept.

And everybody here knows that it was frustrating, It was challenging, It was disappointing for all of us, but more importantly, it was all those things for our fans.

We feel that that weighs on us.

It hurts us because we know that they have high expectations for us.

We embrace those high expectations.

Believe me, we have high expectations for this football team as well.

We didn't meet those expectations.

The group we put out there did not fulfill those expectations.

So it motivates us.

It really motivates us to be better to put a group out there that will make the city proud.

Duke Tobin on Friday.

By the way, my dad checking in.

Listen here shout out Saint James Plantation, North Carolina.

Saint James.

Hello, listening on the iHeart Radio app Tonight, Love the iHeart Radio app.

Love the ribs that Kelly and I had made yesterday.

My dad sent for a Christmas present from New Brussels.

The New Brussels.

It's like ribs and brisket and cheeses and o oh man, going home and finish off the rest of them tonight, Let's go to the phones five one, three, seven four, nine, seven thousand, one, eight hundred, the big one, John, you were on seven hundred.

L W welcome.

Hey, Lance, Hey, how are you great?

First off, Happy New Year to you and Kelsey and the family.

I think what weighs on mister Tobyn and mister Brown is the extra money in their wallet from where they raised the ticket prices for US season ticket holders.

Yeah.

I told my son, I've been a sick season ticket holder now for years.

I told my son, we have four tickets in section two thirty.

And I told him Lance, I mean, I've been born and raised a Bengal fan.

I remember the Freezer Bowl.

I remember all them days and whatnot, and I remember the dark days of David Shula and those years.

You know, maybe maybe we got spoiled out the Super Bowl a couple of years ago, and then the AFC Championship game that kind of got taken away from us there in Kansas City.

But you know, I I want to know.

I'm like you who you have one of the greatest jobs in the world, Lance, talking in your hometown against for both of your both of your all of your teams around here.

You know, phenomenal, kudos to you because that's phenomenal.

Uh.

But you know, status quo.

I mean, when when do we get to a point where we say, you know, you know you need to fix the problem.

You know, and because that's all we've heard is well, we're not changing anything, not change anything, not changing.

Well, I guarantee you there's a lot of fans out there that that will be changing things.

Uh, and that we if you don't fix this this year, you think you you've lost fans.

Now go go another year of six and eleven and and come back next year and say, hey, status quo, we're going to run run it back again.

I just I don't know that I'm at Lance.

You know this organization of both of them, let's just say both fan bases and both organizations.

Yeah, uh you know, uh it just it.

I and I love going to the games, Lance, I love going to the games with my son.

There's nothing better than time.

You can't get I tell people all the time, you can't get back time.

Yep, you know, you just can't and uh, I wish you know they would have come out and said, well, you know, we're going to change this, this and this, But they didn't.

You know, they didn't.

Dude didn't say that.

Mike didn't say that.

Uh, Zach Schurzell didn't say that.

I just you know, I'm like you Lance, you know, when when when do the do we accept mediocrity around here?

I know, let me say this five thousand dollars later for my tickets in section two thirty that I don't want mediocrity.

John.

I appreciate the kind word.

And I'm sure glad you called tonight.

Do it again?

All right, appreciated, l thank you, all right, thank you.

You know, I think the bottom line here is if the organization is not going to change, then they force the fans to consider whether they have to change.

That's the most un enviable position for an organization where you're forcing your fans to say, all right, if they're not going to change, then maybe I have to change.

I am a big track record guy.

I'm a big back of the baseball card guy.

I'm a big When someone shows you who and what they are, believe them.

I just know this.

Duke Tobin stood up there last week and said, believe him.

He believes they can get this fixed because they've done it before.

And yet he has built twenty four teams over twenty four years.

Only eleven of those teams produced winning seasons.

That's a record of one to eighty five, one, nine and four.

That is asking for a humongous leap of fai from a fan base who says, wait a minute, You've done twenty four editions of a Bengals team and only eleven of them had a winning season, and you want me to believe you'll fix it again because you've fixed it before.

Well, if you didn't fix it last year or the year before the year before that, when do you plan to fix it the next time?

That's the question being asked.

I think of every Bengals fan right now.

Seven thirty news time RNL Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevrolet seven hundred WLW newly named Red's Hall of Famer.

His thoughts on that and more coming up just after the eight o'clock news.

Bengals fans remember the name Jordan Shipley, wide receiver.

He's forty years old now.

He was a third round pick of the Bengals out of Texas in twenty ten, his rookie season.

I've forgotten he was this good in his rookie season, fifty two catches for six hundred yards and three touchdowns.

Well, sadly, and this story now happened.

I think it was last weekend.

I think we're a week into this.

He is now listed in critical but stable condition after an accident while operating a machine on his ranch near his home in Burnett, Texas.

He suffered severe burns on his body.

He was driven to a local hospital by one of the workers at the ranch, and then he was care flighted to Austin.

I have been following this on Facebook, the updates being offered by his wife and his sister on occasion.

I can give you a few of the points they've made public over the last few days.

His sister, over towards the end of last week, had asked for continued prayers, prayers that the cells work overtime in healing under the surface of his skin and the nerves.

She said, please pray for full mobility in his arms and legs, in both hands, and this got me, she wrote, Please pray against guilt and shame.

He keeps telling his wife Sonny that he is so sorry thinking that you know he caused this on the farm.

Please pray for optimal kidney function.

And there was a note in one of the updates that Jordan whispered to his siblings in the room at one point, quote God's not done with me yet.

And they released a photo of Jordan Shipley's arm, left arm raised, bandaged, bloodied, and he was giving the hookham horn sign as a Texas longhorn.

An update from his sister or wife on Friday was the surgeon came in and they were taking him into surgery, and it was expected it was going to be a good ninety minutes, and it was going to be a difficult surgery because they were going to have to determine, you know, what skin to I don't want to get too deep or technical or gross yet, but if they could savage a lot of the skin.

And Jordan's wife said in the post that twenty minutes later, the doctor came back into the room and said to her quote, I don't know what kind of prayers you all have been praying, but I'm done already.

He said.

I put away all my sharp tools, and he explained that the burns once the bandages came off, looked better than anything he had expected to find after the initial assessment the day before.

Now, according to the updates, there is a long recovery, there will be scarring, there will be long term changes.

But as his wife said, we got good news that was better than the best case scenario, a miracle.

I just wanted you all to hear it and rejoice with us.

He is worthy of all your praise.

The update today the latest was he had a rough few days over the weekend.

Today was better than the last few days.

Nothing new to report, and that Thursday this week is expected to be another big news day of what they learn in terms of progress in what is next for him.

But just just must have been a horrific scene at the ranch and severe burns on his body and driven by a ranch worker to the hospital and then care flight to Austin.

But trending in a certainly a more positive direction.

That is the latest on Jordan Shipley and his icy updates posted by the family.

I will be sure to pass those along as well.

Back out to the phones.

How about let's go Western Hills.

Hey, Bob, Welcome to seven hundred WLW.

Hey, Lance, first longtime listener, first on caller, Yeah, thank you.

I saw the you do a great job, by the way, and I and I saw the Dicktobin press conference, Duke Togum.

I'm sorry.

And anyway, it just it starts at the top, Lance, I think with Mike Brown, and I don't think things are going to change.

You know, nothing against Duke or or Zach Taylor, but it's just like Mike Brown is just not committed to bring it in a real head coach, you know, like we could have hit maybe Sean Payton come in and and then double or triple our scouting, uh, you know, compliment and just put things in motion.

But I just don't think it's going to happen.

And as far as you know, like their draft choices, Lance, I mean there's been so many busts, you know, a Blahee Fisher, that center, what was it, Pright guy Jackson, Burton Burton and Ross the guy that you know, and it's just on and on and on in Lance, maybe for a hang up here.

I don't want to keep you guys from the rest of the callers, but is it true the Bengals use some kind of scouting report from a company or whatever that gives them a lot of scouting information, and so they having boots on the ground.

Well, I think it's in addition to what they do.

There's a what's called a blessed Tho scouting service, and I think most teams are privy to this information.

But to your point of boots on the ground, I'll never understand or I'll never accept the idea that they've got enough information about all the players.

I've never understood what the downside would be to having more boots on the ground, because it's more players to look at and more players to cross check and have more people look at because if you have a scouting department of a six, maybe you see a guy in a great day and you fall in love with him.

Maybe you see him on a bad day and you fall out of love with him, but maybe that was just one day.

And if you crosscheck and have guys see a player more than once, it adds the perspective on a player.

It does Lanson, We've got so much talent here.

I know Mike Brown doesn't probably want to do it, but you've got Dave Lapham, you got Munoz, You've got you know, some of the other offensive players that still were in town, if he would pay them and let them go in like, you know, as a final check or something.

And then when we get a good guy like Amy Whitworth, how he let Whitworth leave.

Is beyond me.

I think we hit him.

We would have won that Super Bowl.

I truely believe that.

But anyway, I don't.

Want to keep you.

But it's a shame we're stuck with Mike Brown.

And I guess the only thing like that previous callers say you just don't renew your season tickets.

I guess I don't don't know what options.

Yeah, Bob, I'm honored you call for the first time.

Please don't make it your last.

Let's do it again sometime.

All right, Okay, thank you, sir, Thanks, thank you.

My frustration with the scouting and there their response is they have all the information.

They don't lack for information, and it's not the volume of information.

And I'm paraphrasing here, but Zach said on Friday, when mistakes have been made, they've been made at the decision point.

And I heard that, am I wait a minute, The mistakes aren't made by lack of volume of information, meaning we've got all the information we need on a player, that it's at the decision point.

Well, how do you think you arrived at the decision point with the information?

I mean, here's what it just it really galls me, from the simplest of terms.

Imagine believing the smallest scouting department in the NFL by far has all the information it needs.

Just say that out loud.

And when Duke says it's not about the volume of the information, that they'd never lacked info on a player.

And again when they when they've made a mistake it was at the decision point, I don't know how that is expected to be accepted as a logical answer.

Riddle me this, batman.

Why does every other organization have more scouts than the Bengals.

Why would that be?

More scouts is more eyeballs on more players and more cross checking opportunities.

My daughter could have drafted Peyton's twenty three.

She could have drafted Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase in the last they get six drafts.

The Bengals have used twelve picks on defensive linemen.

Do you know what the Bengals' biggest need is this offseason?

As admitted to by Duke Tobin.

What they'll be looking for defensive line help may Waite in the last six drafts, the team with all the information they need, not lacking him from on any player.

They've drafted twelve defensive linemen, and yet they still need defensive lineman.

I mean, I'm left to believe that they had all the information and they needed on Jermaine Burton and that the decision point was where the mistake was made.

What I don't even know what I mean saying that out loud It drives me crazy.

But imagine thinking you are so smart that you can scout and evaluate players with less than half the people the average NFL scouting department has.

Say that out loud, No, we're good, We're good.

Average number of scouts a personnel in a scouting department is somewhere around twenty two to twenty four.

Bengals is closer to ten depending on how you go buy a job description eight nine, ten.

So imagine thinking you are so smart and have all your bases covered to say, we can do this as well as anybody else with half the people.

Why would you believe that What would be the down side to having more people?

Not even more?

What would be the downside to having as many people as the average NFL team.

Their response is the old too many cooks in the kitchen.

Come on, come on, I mean, we're we're all adults here.

You know.

This isn't cooks in the kitchen.

This is scouting the lifeblood of this organization and it's being executed with the smallest department in the NFL.

How is that supposed to be taken?

Seriously?

Lexington, we go, Joe, what do you know?

Hey?

Lance?

How you doing?

And prayers go out to mister Shipley.

That's for sure, absolutely well said.

But yeah, I just want to touch on toe and me the biggest syndicator that he's not for the job, Like you said, one hundred percent scouting.

I've been saying that for ten years.

But us how the Trey Henderson episode went down, and and how they addressed it.

Him sitting out in all mini camps and the preseason and not training and getting hurt second game in the Jets game.

That's why he got hurt.

It's because he didn't train.

And you know, when when I was in the military, eighty second hunter and first stairborn.

If we missed a briefing, look we're done.

We're done.

You're under contract.

The public, the fans, the NFL world never should have known the situation with with the Trey and it bled down to the wording in the contract with Shamar Stewart that should have and that's all on Tobin and that created such a such a cancer.

And because he's the face of our defense and and to me, tobn not handling that correctly and getting him in to the mini camps, to the summer camps in the preseason, that right there is you know, I'm going a loss, but I think we need to boycott the games myself.

What do you think?

Well, I think that's up to every individual person.

And there is a right.

There is a love for the NFL that runs deep.

There is a camaraderie of family members and the experience of tailgating.

And I'll go back to what I said in the last hour.

If the organization is not going to change, then you put your fans in a position where they have to consider if they're going to change.

And that's a very dangerous spot to put your fan base in, right, right, But.

I just think collectively the fans have we're the ones that really right the checks.

I mean, if it wasn't for the fans paying two hundred dollars for a seat, four hundred dollars, one hundred dollars jersey of fifteen dollars beer, where do they get their money to pay the players?

Is my you know, so one fan and I get it, but all fans together, I think we kind of need to have our own collective fan base and come together and make some decisions.

I don't know.

Joey and enjoyed.

Just call again sometime.

Thank you, thank you.

We're heading down the stretch.

In our second hour, third hour, headlined and highlighted by Brandon Phillips, who's the leadoff hitter of the hour.

All ahead RNL Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Valet seven hunter WLW for a minute's final word in this hour, delivered from Montgomery, Mark, you were on seven hundred WLW.

Hello, Mark, Hey, how are you?

Lance?

I'm sorry?

Good good, good welcome.

What's on your mind?

Hey?

A couple of things.

You know, I wasn't expecting the Bengals to do anything with Zach Tailor.

I mean, that's just not how they operate.

Uh, but you know, at least I would have liked to have heard that they were going to make some changes on how they scout and develop, because you know, we all know the biggest issue with this team has been Lineman and how many misses they've had in the last twenty five or thirty years.

You could fund a new hotel in downtown Cincinnati with the money they've wasted on Wineman.

So I mean, to add it up, you could actually build a high rise hotel in downtown Cincinnati for what they've wasted.

So frustrating, you know, that's that was I.

Mean, if I would have heard that, I would have said, Okay, well maybe we're on the right track.

You know.

The other thing is, like, I just want to make a quick comment on this Trey Hendrickson thing.

Trey Hendrickson had a contract and he decided that he didn't want to play and make a big stink about it.

And I'm sorry, these guys sign a contract and if you want to take advantage of where the market is, then sign a one year deal and renegotiate it every year to what the current market is.

You can have it both ways.

So I don't have any sympathy at all for that.

You know.

On the Bengals are not wrong with that.

You know, you sign a contract, you honor it if you if you get a quote from your HVAC guy.

And he was back halfway through and says, hey, I need another two thousand dollars for your furnace.

What are you going to tell him?

Yep, well said very well, said thank you.

That's it for me.

That's all I need.

Thank you, thank you.

And let's end the hour with some college basketball.

NK.

You lost yesterday by two to Green Bay.

You see, lost to UCF by one.

Here's Wes Miller after the game, a tough one.

The Knights went ahead with eleven seconds left.

Jalen Selenstein missed a game winning three point attempt at the buzzer.

Bearcats fall seventy three, seventy two.

Wes with Dan and Terry after the game, and you're just.

So hurt for our players.

That's just.

I mean, you know the truth is is that proud of them.

You can see other than the result, which is extremely frustrating.

You can see the improvement, right, you can like, you can see consistent improvement.

You want so bad.

I think people have children out there understand this.

When they do what you ask and they do it right.

You want them to get the reward, and I heard so bad that they didn't get the reward the last couple of games, especially tonight.

The truth is, we just got to stay together and keep going.

Man.

That's it.

Like it sounds cliche, but it's the only We're on the right track.

We have a good basketball club.

I hate that we haven't got the results because you just feel like we're I feel like we're one of the better teams in college basketball.

I think we can play with anybody and beat anybuddy, and we haven't gotten results.

So I hate that.

Hmm.

Okay.

The net rankings came out today.

Perdue is five.

These are the rankings used by the Committee to some extent in determining the NCAA Tournament field.

Perdue is number five in the net rankings.

Louisville is eighteen, Indiana thirty four.

At thirty five is Kentucky thirty nine Ohio State.

The Miami RedHawks are at fifty three, Dayton Drew Aster Highty's Flyers are at eighty two.

The Bearcats are at ninety five in the net rankings.

Xavier is at one to nine, Wright State one twenty one.

NKU won seventy one in the Ohio Bobcats at one eighty seven, the newest edition of the net Rankings from the NCAA.

All right to a done.

Second hour, Let's get into some reds.

Brandon Phillips to lead things off.

Bullpen conversation long about eight twenty and then anyone remember the famous recipe Chicken High School basketball tournament.

A thought on that round eight thirty five or so, and on this date, of course.

To wrap it all up at eight fifty, let's go RNL Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevrolet and heard right here on seven hundred WLW.

The following takes place between eight pm and nine pm.

All right, let's keep moving, no reason to slow down now.

Third hour unfolding eight oh seven on seven hundred WLWRNL Carrier Sports Talk presented by kill Ce Chevrolet.

I'm Lance kamlos Year and your host Russ Jackson, your producer.

We thank you for being our listeners tonight hang out for this hour.

Linta handing things off to Gary.

Jeff Walker serves up the nightcap tonight at nine o'clock.

They're listening in Lombard, Illinois.

I lived in Lombard, Illinois for a while when I worked at CLTV, Hello Lombard, and they're listening in San Antonio, Texaskell and I went to San Antonio about a year during the Bengals bye last year, first time and love San Antonio, one of the most walkable cities in America.

The weather was fantastic at that point.

We will be going back to San Antonio.

So thank you for listening on the iHeartRadio app in Lombard, Illinois, in San Antonio, Texas.

All right.

A couple of weeks ago, the Bengals announced Bengals Red's announced their Hall of Fame class at twenty twenty six Aaron Harang, Reggie Sanders, Lou Panela, and Brandon Phillips and Seg had a chance to catch up with Brandon and because we've had, you know, Monday, this is the first Monday I've had that hasn't been Bengals line since August.

So I've got Mondays open now, I've got Thursdays open now, which used to be the roundtable showing.

As much as I wish the Bengals season was was still going on, it does free up a more regular night to night of sports talk so on a night like tonight, I said, Man, this is the night Seg got a chance to catch up with him.

Let's play it tonight.

Here is Seg after the announcement, catching up with the man they call BP, Brandon Phillips.

Congratulations, man, you're a Red's Hall of favor A.

What's having man?

How you doing?

Thanks for having me?

I appreciate you, man, no problem.

What's this?

What's this honor mean to you?

Oh?

Man?

It can mean so many things.

I can say one thing, though, I love my damn fans.

I love my fans.

Man.

For them to.

Vote me in, I mean, you know, hopefully the Robbers they voted me in twos, they been.

It's all good.

I love you.

But but the heart and the soul is the fans, man.

I mean, I did it for the fans.

I did it because I love the game of baseball, and also I did it for my family.

But for myself to be inducted right now, I have to thank the fans, and I think my teammates were really making as possible for me.

Now, talk a little bit about the the journey.

You started out with the Montreal Expos.

You were then, you were what you were traded to Cleveland, and then all of a sudden, I guess you get a call and the Reds weren't you.

It was in two thousand and six, and you played here till twenty sixteen.

Tell me around the road, Brandon Phillips, I had to the Reds Hall of Fame.

Well you're doing throw bags, man, you're trying to make me cry over here.

Man, dang got me think about the bad times.

But you know what, we'll get great, We'll get the bad.

You know, the goods coming.

And stop telling people I got to dropped by the XO.

Is he telling my And I still look young.

I still like I'm in my late thirty because come on now I look good.

But again, so I gotta say it again.

So yes, I'll drift about the Expos.

Was in the organization.

I was in the organization for for a little bit, and you know I was going to get called up with with the Xpos to the to the Big Leason and am getting traded to the Indians, and you know the Indians.

I was the guy.

You know, I was a guy, and.

We just said see I with my style of play, and I tried my best to be the best player I can really be.

And you know, when you.

When you're young, you don't really know what you got to do to be successful at a young age.

Back then.

It's totally different now how the game has really changed now, But back then, you know, I mean, when once you get up there, you got to produce.

You can't be hitting two thirty.

You can't be hitting too citty and get called up to the big leads.

That that was never done back then.

And I ended up getting designated for assignment in two thousand and six, and I was at home practicing with my high school team and I was like, man, this is my first time.

I've been defeated.

I felt like I failed had something for the first time ever in my life.

And then that's you know, Wayne Kresky called me and he was my brand.

You know, congratulations, we're gonna sign you and bring you the Reds Country.

And they called me in the office when I got there during Aaron was right there and it's like, Brandon, we want you to be the best place you could be.

Do it your way, and I said, thank you very much for this opportunity.

I appreciate it, thank you for letting me be me.

And the restless history, and I just put the city of Cincinnati on my back end and the fans loved it, and I became that dude, mister Cincinnati called him, mister Smile, call me whatever, Nicknam and a half of me, you know what I'm saying.

Then we ended up having that dude and the Sigma Show.

We did everything epic.

That's how we do it over here, Baybay.

That's true.

That's true.

So Wayne Krisky just calls you out of the clear blue and says, hey, we want you here in Cincinnati.

That's amazing.

Yes, I mean it was that man right there.

I thank him that he changed my whole life, my career, not just my career, but my whole life, because you know, I wouldn't know what I would have been doing right now if it wasn't for him.

You know, I don't know what I would have been doing.

And I thank him for giving me the opportunity.

It was.

It was all Wayne, Wayne, Wayne.

I was Wayne's guy, you know.

So you got to think about the guys that Wayne brought over.

He brought me and Bronson, Ryan Brussell came over.

There were the two guys.

Yeah, and we was there for a long period of time, and we wrote, we rode that time together.

We did that thing and and it was a it was a great time to be alive.

Let me just read some of this stuff.

Three time National League gol Star, four time Gold Glove winner, a Silver Slugger winner, a three time winner of the Ernie Lobardi Award is Reds MVP, and they're one of three Reds in history, along with the number forty four Eric Davis, Number eleven Barry Larkin.

Thirty home runs and thirty stolen bases in the same season.

You did it all, man, You did it all, and you played for, like you said, for the fans, and you played your best each and every day.

Well hearing all that, man, I mean, I mean, it's pretty impressive.

It's pretty cool.

I never really heard.

It like that, you know, to be honest, I mean, I just played the game the best way I knew how, man, I thought.

I thought baseball was born as hell.

So I had to do something made me enjoy it.

So I started letting balls, returned my legs behind my back, hitting home runs, pimping them.

But now the game is totally different.

Like I mean, if I played in this generation, oh, Lord, you never know what kind of dad do it would have been.

It would have been crazy.

But back then, I mean, my teammates made me successful, you know, and the coaches that I had, I'm right, managers, coaches and managers, they did that.

Jerry Naron, you know, Dustin Baker, right, Pete mccannon.

You got to think about those guys, man, I mean, they really elevated my game and they made me take off.

Tell me about that two thousand and seven season, as I said, thirty home runs, thirty stolen bases, and only three Reds have done it.

I mean, that really puts you on the map, didn't it?

It really did, you know?

And I, like I said, I was hit between Griffy and Done, so I had a lot of pressure on me and then.

But the thing is though it made me step my game up.

It made me realize my work and what I can really do by by doing that.

And all I can do is just be the best version of me.

And I took advantage of the situation, and I thought I was going to keep on just putting up numbers and doing and things like that.

And then the next following year I ended up breaking my finger and I mean I started like a lot of injuries started coming to my hands and to my wrist, and so I've never been like ever since that had happened.

I was never the same after that.

But I figured out ways how to do it and find out way to be successful, you know, so to really go out there day in and day out to be successful with the team and also for the fans.

And I never made excuses.

I went out there and try to find a way to get it done.

And that's how I was raised as a person.

Even though you're not one hundred percent, but you know what, you can go out there, find a way still get it done and still be successful.

And I did that.

Tell me a little bit about how and uh, you're your WWE superstar wife got together.

I mean, uh, I'm kind of surprised you haven't entered the squared circle and uh, you know fought the Gunther or brock Lesser or you know, maybe John Cena.

I mean I was looking for that dude BP to be out there running around and doing the you know, doing the sleeper holding all that stuff.

How did you and your wife get together?

Uh?

We we met to a family friend, you know, and my my gut.

My family friend metor at a event and you know, he told me all about it, and that's how we end up talking.

You know, she saw the last year, maybe the last two years, and sistant.

She saw it a little bit.

Yeah, you know what I'm saying.

You know what I'm saying.

Be cause we was friends, we was friends, she saw a little bit of it.

So she didn't know how the city assistantatic really loved me, you know what I'm saying.

She didn't see the.

Grit, the love, the passion that the fans poured into me.

But that's how we met.

And yeah, she's that's my queen.

She's killing a gang.

She's a tampion right now.

We talked about us doing the US doing something wrestling for me to getting the ring of where we talk about it.

But I'm like, hey, this.

Is your time.

We supported you supported me in my career.

So I want to make sure that she gets well she needs out of it.

But she needs me to go body playing somebody.

I'm ready.

I'm ready to just you know, body playing D D T.

I'm ready, r KOs, I'm ready to do all that.

You know what I'm saying.

I already gotta give me too.

I'm more with some baseball paths.

I'm gonna be slide in there home runs, making it rain on people.

There we go, here we go.

Well, I got it.

I got to end this now because we uh we we had a great time in the doug out.

I mean that, that dude BP show will never be forgotten.

It was.

It was.

It was quite an honor to talk to you on a daily basis and get guests on every so often, but just to have you to talk to uh was was remarkable.

I mean it was we we had a thing going on, and we did We did our thing, and I think everybody, everybody enjoyed it because it showed another side of you that other than just playing second base and playing baseball.

It shows what what Brandon Phillips was all about.

And I appreciate you for giving me the opportunity.

Man.

I mean, people can listen to our show stuck in traffic, you know, about to come to the game.

They hear what we had to say and how it was going to go.

That was a good time to be alive.

Like I said, man, you know, I even told Jay she didn't know nothing about this guy.

I told the other day, I said.

What baby, Oh boy, oh boy, I bet you that one over big did it?

No, she loved it.

Okay, okay, because you know I'm gonna say she had the batty section in w W E.

So she has the own stuff like that.

Okay, you took that from me.

I did it first.

I did it first.

She's got you got the Debbie, she's got the dudes.

No, no, she got the batties.

Oh I got the Debbie got Yeah, you got good looking women.

That's competent.

That's what you call him, batties.

But me, Miles was little Debbie cakes with little of the Debbie.

You know.

Brandon, once again, congratulations man, you're the best.

And we'll see in April.

But quite an honor and you're there going to be a Red's Hall of Famer.

I appreciate your time as always, my man.

I appreciate you man.

Thanks for having me, man, I'll see you soon.

How about those two back together again from the dugouts to uh the uh conversation tonight.

That was awesome.

Thanks to seg for getting that done and passing it along.

And how about the big time praise Brandon Phillips had for Wayne Krivsky and uh Wayne Crisky and Jerry Naaron allowing him to be himself a winn.

He came here.

When we come back, The Reds have reportedly signed a reliever, not official by the team, but background on him and an assessment of the Reds bullpen.

This edition of it compared to last year's edition of it.

That is ahead as we continue with RNL Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevelle seven hundred WLW be on whether it's Twitter, Instagram, TikTok at, Lance Pacalister would appreciate you following, would really love your involvement during the show and outside the show as well.

I've also got a Facebook page if that's your thing.

No, they're all on the Facebook page.

Lance Pacalister, Sports Talk jump in.

We're talking now about the Reds and the bullpen news.

The Reds have not made this official.

I wonder if it's like a physical today or tomorrow, the announcement tomorrow and then he joins Red's Hot Stowe League show tomorrow night.

Maybe.

Reports are the Reds have reached an agreement with right handed relief pitcher Pierce Johnson.

He turned thirty five in May, pitched for the Braves last season and sixty five appearances out of the pen.

His earned run average three zero five not bad, fifty nine strikeouts fifty nine innings.

Big curveball guy through his curveball seventy two percent of the time.

And if you're wondering, he was much better than league average, ERA plus is a way of telling you how much better or worse than league average a pitcher was.

His ERA plus was one thirty seven, meaning he pitched better.

He pitched thirty seven percent better than your average pitcher in Major League Baseball last season.

A strikeout rate better than average, a walk rate lower than leg average, fly ball rates a little bit higher than I think you would initially like.

He's more of a six to seventh, seventh eighth inning guy, not a closer type.

He does have sixteen saves in his career, but last season, pitching in the sixth inning, his earned run average was one fifty nine.

When he pitched in the seventh, it was two thirty five.

When he pitched in the eighth, his ERA was two fourteen.

When he pitched in the ninth, it was over ten.

So he got knocked around in the ninth inning for whatever reason.

Last season the year before.

He appeared in fifty eight games with an earned run average of about three to six zero career three hundred and thirty appearances, twelve postseason appearances over four different postseasons.

Pretty good postseason pitcher.

One and a half earned run average in twelve innings of playoff work.

He was originally a twelve twenty and twelve twenty twelve first round pick of the Cubs.

He went number forty three.

I think it was in that round.

He was like a compensatory pick of that first round, think like eight picks later.

The Reds took Jesse Winker that year, but went to the Cubs in twenty twelve.

So, having said all that, this is what the Reds have done with their bullpen this offseason.

They have added Caleb Ferguson.

They have added Pierce JOHNSONLB reports the deal for Pierce Johnson is one year, six and a half million.

They've lost Scott Barlow, lost, Brent Suitor, lost Nick Martinez, re signed Emilio Pagan.

So would you feel better, worse, or the same about this bullpen compared to last year's bullpen?

I would cautiously opt, be cautiously optimistic and saying I think this bullpen can be better than last season.

I'm a little bit worried if they didn't get the best out of Emilio Pagan and there's no way he replicates that, but we'll see.

I'm a little bit worried about the workload of Tony Santion.

Eighty appearances is a lot of work and relievers performances are so volatile from one year to the next, and when you're young and through that many innings, that many appearances, I'm always curious how you're going to respond armwise the next year.

But Caleb ferguson the lefty, I like him, Pierce Johnson, the new guy, Graham Ashcraft.

I think counter Phillips is an important part of this bullpen in terms of does he was what we saw last season like legit?

And is there is there a next level to get to or does he regress this season You've got But he's still young, so I think he's gonna get better, I hope, And if he does, look out because he's nasty.

Sam Mall and an open spot.

If you figure there's eight bullpen spots, that's about seven that appear to be taken.

Pegan Santition, Ferguson, Johnson, Ashcraft, Phillips, and Mal with one more and maybe that one more comes from Zach Maxwell or Luis may yos Verzulueta, Brandon Williamson, Ryan Richardson, they invited to spring training Josh Stammont.

I believe it's pronounced so that grouping maybe fills the last spot.

I find it hurt to believe they're going to spend more money on another reliever, as much as they've spent on relievers this offseason.

But if it's Beegone, Santion, Ferguson, Johnson, Ashcraft, Phillips, Maul, and one from that group, I mentioned that shapes up this is a pretty good bullpen, does it not?

That bullpen last year an innings pitched was twenty fifth in baseball.

Now Terry went to the penalot Terry went to the pen five hundred and fifty times last year.

That was the sixth most in all of baseball.

I think if you could squeeze another couple outs or one more inning out of your starting rotation on average, probably a lot to ask in this day and age, but if you could think of how much that easier it makes on your bullpen.

When it's all said and done, some more Reds ahead.

Plus does anybody recall Do you recall the famous recipe Classic?

Stumbled into this last week in an email I got.

I love emails with stuff I didn't know anything about, and I knew nothing about the famous recipe Classic, And the more I looked at it, the more fascinated I became.

That and more.

As we continue with Darnel Carrier Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevrolet seven hundred WLW, It'll be available on the podcast a little bit later on if you missed Travis Steele talking Miami RedHawks seventeen and zero, one of five unbeatens in the country.

Kyle Smith, the pride of La Salle High School, newest member of FC Cincinnati.

All of that and more, including the entire show eventually seven hundred WLW dot com and through the iHeartRadio app.

Shout out to Andrew Lovens, who passed along something to me last week I had no working knowledge of.

I'm fascinated by it.

I loved the deeper I got into it, the more I was intrigued by it, And he sent me a Northern Kentucky high school basketball Facebook post I think it was from David Hartman, and last week was the anniversary.

He was forty eight.

Three years ago this past week that the largest in season basketball tournament in Kentucky tipped off, the famous Recipe Classic.

Now this when it started, I was in high school, so I wasn't here.

I had moved and by the time I came back in ninety seven, it was wrapping up, so I didn't get a chance to experience this.

But it was a sixteen team tournament in Northern Kentucky.

The top eight Northern Kentucky high school boys basketball teams squared off with the best eight teams available around the state of Kentucky.

And the Classic idea started with a gentleman named Tom Cummins who was the owner of famous recipes Fried Chicken in the Northern Kentucky area, and he had a brain trust of three men.

Ed Pendry, editor and publisher of Kentucky Sports newspaper, Dale McMillan, the legend sports director whkk here WLW voice in the Bearcats at one time, and Mel Webster, a coach and an official.

It was kind of the publicity director of the event.

And this tournament began as a four day elimination tournament across northern Kentucky that would grow to four sites and pool play, and it kicked off at homes I think in Lloyd High School, and at the start the tournament was centered around the boys side.

They later expanded to the girls side.

But the more I read about this, the more cool it sounded.

The fact that the team headquarters was the Holiday Inn South and Fort Mitchell, featuring the Holidame, and there was a team reception at January the fifth.

Each visiting team in the tournament was guaranteed thirteen hundred and twenty five dollars and a share of the visiting profits.

Each local team in the tournament got twelve hundred dollars and twenty five percent of the profits went to local schools.

The players got a tournament newspaper and a t shirt for participating in it.

There was a big push to convince the local leaders to build a basketball arena, a minimum six thousand seed arena as part of all this.

I think Holmes High School was the largest gym at the time if I remember reading correctly.

The tournament provided hotel accommodations, There was money up front of the schools.

There was a media guy that was over sixty pages that was sold for one dollar in nineteen ninety two.

At one time the field one year, the coaches in the field had over forty eight hundred combined career wins.

I was looking at matchups one year, and don't hold me to what year this was, but it was Tates Creek versus Scott High School coached by Jeff Mitchell led by was it Jeff Knof a Campbellsville voice versus Lloyd who had Greg Kunkel and j Stencil Grant County took on Highlands coached by Ken Shields, the legend my guy went on to coach at NKU.

Kenny Shields team had Jeff Kramer and Willie Schlarman Willi Schlarman.

The year I was looking at was averaging twenty two a game.

East Carter took on Newcath who was ten and zero.

Newkath was the smallest team in the tournament three hundred and forty, led by Tom Freppin and was it Jimmy Pagnala Pagnola Paducah Tillman took on Connor In a player named Tony Hilton.

Newport had Madison Central as the matchup.

Knox County Central took on Covcath with Brian Clemens and Todd Shulty and Owensborough against Holmes one year.

But I cannot thank Andrew enough for passing this along.

I talked with Skinny Richard Skinner about this yesterday and Tom Gamble about this.

I knew nothing about it, but I loved the idea that I'd love to see something like that come back.

That must have been cool back in.

I think it ran from nineteen eighty three to like nineteen ninety seven.

Let's grab some reds that I got to get to some NFL conversation as well in Tennessee.

Jeff, Welcome to seven hundred WLW.

Thanks to McCall.

I got it.

A couple of questions, Doc Tasky Bud.

Yeah.

Number one that uh Mark Hate from.

Colorado, Yes, signed into a to a minor league contract first baseman formerly the.

Rockies, Okay, and then uh Garrett uh.

Hanson, Yes, minor league contract.

He was here for a brief time last season.

Nice.

Yeah.

And my last question, yeah, are.

They done well financially?

They're close to being done if they're gonna stick with last year?

Was the last year's payroll?

Is going to be very close to this year's payroll.

Uh, they might have a little tiny bit of wiggle room, but I would think anything that happens now is gonna come from money freed up in a trade.

Beyond that, I don't see a lot of room to make any deals.

Well, they they they've got seven five five with the Rands last year.

Is that correct?

No?

Six?

Maya Pegan, he's the only one to thank signed free agent that was our with them last year.

The others are hasn't been with the Reds right, correct?

Yes, yep, okay, but I appreciate you taking a call of Fank.

You got to.

I appreciate you checking in.

You have the first baseman they signed to the Rockies, Mike taglia to og l i a is a switch hitter.

He is.

I think he's twenty seven years old.

Hit twenty five bombs two years ago, hit eleven last year.

Has never been a big batting average guy.

I think lifetime two oh one.

But in reality, he's depth in the minor leagues.

He's not gonna be.

The only way he becomes a part of the major league roster is if something has gone dramatically wrong on the major league side of things.

The same thing with Garrett Hampson.

It's all about depth in the minor leagues.

And having said, if something goes haywire, you need something at Triple A Louisville, and he would be something at Triple A Louisville.

I watched, we watched the five NFL playoff games.

I watched four and a half of them turned off at halftime last night.

Do you know this was the first time in NFL history there were four games decided by four points or fewer in a single round of the NFL postseason.

First time in NFL history four games decided by four points or fewer.

Bears beat the Packers by four.

I have no idea still how the Bears won that game.

What a game.

Rams beat the Panthers by three, The Bills beat the Jaguars by three.

Josh Allen is the single, maybe the single toughest dude in the NFL.

Got the crap beat out of him.

Do you know, Josh Allen?

I think this is right.

I think this is his eighth year.

Josh Allen has not missed a game since his rookie season due to injury.

That was Let's see one, two, three, four, five, six, seven eight.

He has not missed a game since his rookie season, and I think that was a tendon issue or soreness with his elbow.

He just takes a beating and keeps on playing.

And the forty nine ers, oh, Kelly was freaking out.

Forty nine ers somehow, I don't know, beat the Eagles by four for all the for all the injuries the Bengals had this season, to losing Joe Burrow for what nine games they went won in eight nine games and losing Trey Hendrickson, do you realize what the forty nine ers did this year with Kyle Shanahan as their coach.

They win, they advance.

Now they've lost George Kittle for the season with the torn achilles, but Brock Perdy played nine games this season for the Niners.

They went twelve and five.

They lost Fred Warner, they lost Nick Bosa, George Kittle, Ricky Pearsall, Brandon Aiyuk, they lost their fifth string linebacker, they lost their sixth string linebacker, and the Niners are still playing after going twelve and five in the regular season.

Unbelievable.

But the game on the Saturday Packers Bears game, Bears trailed twenty one to six in the fourth quarter and scored twenty five to beat Green Bay thirty one twenty seven.

And I gotta tell you, every time I watch Caleb Williams, I feel the same way.

That guy will make an incredible throw, and then he makes a throw, you say, what in the world was that?

And it played out on Saturday night.

He was dynamic, and he completed half his passes.

He threw it forty eight times and he only completed twenty four.

But we're in a day and age where quarterbacks are pushing seventy percent if they're good.

He completed fifty percent of his passes and it was almost exactly.

Half of them were incredible and half of them are like, what was that?

Man?

He made a throw I can't even begin to describe.

In the fourth quarter with the game on the line, it was incredible.

Three hundred and sixty one yards, two touchdowns, they advance and the other thing that jumped out for the weekend.

And I know we're talking about an analytically driven world of sports in this day and age.

In the five playoff games, NFL coaches went for it on fourth down twenty six times.

They punted thirty two times.

They went for it twenty six times and converted half of those thirteen of twenty six, and it seemed like everyone was a big one either.

All that blew up and I would give you, I would give you early on it blew up in the Bear's face and Ben Johnson, but they were able to overcome it.

But it is crazy how often teams go for it on fourth down this year.

And I will say, oh, one other note I saw today on the playoffs.

One I'm thinking about it.

And this was a courtesy of John Breech, son of the legend Jim Brade.

John writes for CBS Sports, this is hard to figure out.

Sean McVay and the Rams will play the Bears this week.

Sean McVay, this will be his fifteenth playoff game.

He has played faced fifteen different teams.

How is that even possible?

No duplicates in fifteen playoff appearances He's faced fifteen.

That sounds impossible.

In fact, I didn't know John Breach was such a fantastic writer.

He said, well, that can't be right, but it is doesn't seem like it could be possible.

I do have a broadcasting note that I will tread lightly on because he's a legend and he's a Hall of Famer, and I don't say this lightly, but to me, it is striking how lacking Al Michaels has become on calls of games for Amazon.

I mean, his diminishing awareness and sharpness and even visual understanding of what's happening on too many occasions is difficult.

Kirk Kurbstreet is really good at cleaning up and finishing off too many of his calls now, it just really and I haven't watched every game that Al's done this year, but that Saturday night it was striking just where he is right now from a game calling standpoint, at what I think he's eighty now.

Man, I think Tom Brady is getting better and better.

I think Tony Romo is slipping and slipping.

I think Tony Romo sounds like too often he shows up to the game just to have fun, and really he has done no background or prep on the game, which I don't understand.

And I'm not so sure.

Well, I think I am kind of sure.

I think Greg Olsen's better than both of them.

He's much better than Romo, and I think Greg Olsen's better than Tom Brady.

But Tom Brady's getting better.

I enjoy listening to him on games.

All right, I'm gonna run out of time I gotta do on this date.

Final segment is next RNL Carrier Sports Doc presented by Kelsey Sherblay seven hundred WLW The Stretch, final segment of the night.

We do it with an on this date in Red Or sports history, and I've got a couple of things that happened to be related to the Reds on this list.

So here we go.

Nineteen thirty two, Red's legend Ed Roush announces his retirement.

He hit three twenty three over nearly two thousand major league games.

Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in nineteen sixty two, won two batting titles, never struck out more than twenty five times in a season.

Holy cow, there's guys who track out twenty five times in a week, it seems.

In nineteen sixty nine, the Red celebrated the centennial and Raush was voted the greatest player in the team's history at that point.

Nineteen forty three.

On this date, the Reds and Out Spring training will take place in Bloomington, Indiana, at Indiana University for the duration of World War Two, teams had been ordered by the Commissioner Landis Kennesaw mount Landis to save travel expenses, So the Reds trained in Bloomington for three spring trainings, and due to the weather, conducted many of their workouts inside of Indiana Fieldhouse.

How about that for a note?

Nineteen fifty one.

On this date, Ezard Charles knocks out Lee Omen in the tenth rout at Madison Square Garden in New York to retain the heavyweight title.

Nineteen sixty nine.

History Joe Willie Namath guarantees of victory before the game against the seventeen point favorite Colts, then leads the AFL and the Jets to its first Super Bowl victory sixteen to seven in the Guarantee Game.

Nineteen seventy two.

A Red's Note.

The Reds select man he junior college pitcher Tom Hume in the secondary phase of the Winner Amateur Draft.

Hume would say ninety two games over eleven seasons.

He was an All Star in eighty two, and I believe he is the only Red to save a game.

In the All Star Game nineteen eighty one, the Reds become the last team in Major League Baseball to sign a free agent.

They inc Cubs outfielder Larry Bittner.

Free agency had started five years earlier in nineteen seventy six.

The Reds did not sign their first free agent until nineteen eighty one.

Bitner hit two eighty six over one hundred and thirty nine games in two seasons for the Reds nineteen eighty eight.

On this date, Jimmy the Greek Snyder of CBS NFL today out fired for his racially insensitive comments during an interview the previous day with a TV station in Washington.

And this couple more to wrap it up.

Twenty fifteen, Ezekiel Elliott Russia for two one hundred and forty six yards and four touchdowns.

The Buckeyes win the National title, running over Oregon forty two to twenty.

And on this date, twenty seventeen, the Chargers announce a move from San Diego to Los Angeles.

Speaking of National title games, cannot wait one week from tonight Indiana versus Miami.

By the way, I listened to our guy Luke Brenneman and the broadcast of his crew on the way home Friday night out of Bloomington.

They do the games for Indiana University Radio.

They were stellar, good job, captured the moment, painted the picture, really enjoyed it on the way home, and cannot wait one week from tonight to see the Indiana Hoosiers.

What I performance on Friday night to take out Oregon unbelievable.

All right, So tomorrow night I follow Red's Hot Stove at eight, So we're on seven to nine.

I'm working on a project and I don't know if I can convince myself of it, but I'm trying to get creative, and I'm trying to figure out how the Reds can get a bat.

They still don't have a bat, and yet their payroll is if we're if we're to believe what they're saying, it's close to bumping up right against their limit.

But a couple of things to ponder.

Do you realize the Reds are going to spend this year just over thirteen million dollars on three catchers.

They're going to go to arbitration with Tyler Stevenson and he's gonna make a round when it's all said and done, around six and a half million.

They're paying Jose Travino five and a half million, and they're paying Ben Rourtvett, who they claimed on waivers from the Dodgers a million two.

Now he doesn't have any options, so they can't send him back to the miners.

So that's just over thirteen million on three catchers.

Could you envision a scenario where they would trade Tyler Stevenson.

Clearly there's something going on that they couldn't reach an agreement and they're going to arbitration over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

Nobody does that, but the Reds and Tyler Stevenson are and he's entering the final year of his contract.

What would you be able to do with six and a half million if you traded him?

In terms of putting it towards a bat, would you be willing to live with an offense of Jose Travino and Ben Rourtvett who's a catch first catcher and can't hit.

Then you're down to little offense behind the plate and a little offense at third.

Could I convince you to be okay and believe that Chase Burns in rhet Ladder combined could cover Brady Singer and the Reds trade Brady Singer's twelve million dollar if you put together Singer and Stevenson.

That's eighteen and a half million.

You could put towards a bat, either in trade or in free agency, but you'd have to depend on Louder and Burns to cover Singer, who was the most reliable starter on the staff, and you'd have to live with no offense behind the plate and at third.

But you'd add a bat in theory, either for first base or left field.

I don't know if I can convince myself of that, but I've been toying with that and I think I'll be ready to present it tomorrow night.

Let's hang out tomorrow night at the Red Hot Stove.

Thanks to Rus Jackson for producing, Thanks to you for listening, Stick around the News, and then it's the Nightcap with Gary Jeff Walker.

This has been Arnel Carrier Sportstock presented by Kelsey Chevrolet seven hundred WLW