Hey everybody, it’s that time. Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips, anything and everything in sports, with Laura, with Mark, with Art, and with you. Good email is sportsfred@.com sportsfred@.com. So what do you guys and gals think about Donald Trump and Nick Saban controlling, trying to control college football? Laura, do you have any comments about that?

Donald Trump and Nick Saban. Donald Trump is trying to control the world, so why would he stop, why would he eliminate college football?

And Nick Saban is a close second right behind that.

No, seriously, what do you think, somebody who hasn’t been right on too many things, trying to run college football now? Although I agree with him on this issue that obviously the NIL and the Transfer Portal has ruined the game. Art. I challenge anybody out there, and I mean this in all sincerity. You tell me who’s playing for UCLA or USC, or Penn State? Or

I know that the Iamaleava brothers are going to be at UCLA,

For one year.

For one year, yeah, but this is the whole trend of professional college football, it’s not what it once was. We used to have the bands, we had the excitement, the hoopla, the cheerleaders, and now there’s guys taking pay cuts to go to the NFL. Shedeur Sanders is one of them. Just like that, I mean. He went from making 10, 12 million in Colorado and he’s going to get a fifth round contract in the NFL this year. And really, what it comes down to, honestly, you guys, is, you know, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. With the new contracts that are coming out in football, you know, the SEC, the Big Ten, Plus Eight, or whatever you want to call them. There’s so much money, $75 million for each team in those conferences. How do you compete with that, if you’re the ACC, or, you know, if you’re the Mountain West? I just don’t see it. I think eventually you’re going to see 50 to 55 teams in a Division One that’s going to be separate, and then you’re going to have the group of five. And now, Fred, they’re talking about expanding the playoffs one more time. Now, if that isn’t agreed, then there’s no other reason for it, in my opinion. 12 teams is deep enough in my opinion. What are your thoughts, Laura?

Yeah, I think they’re talking about going to 16, right? Yeah.

When do the kids go to school?

Well, they have a lot of tutors.

No, when do we totally lose the loyalty of the fans?

We’re on the cusp of it right now.

I think the loyalty is going to just be to the team, it’s not going to be to any particular player,

Or the game.

Well, I mean,

What difference is, what difference is of what’s going on in college sports and what the Dodgers are doing with deferred payments? I think that’s going to stop pretty soon because somebody’s going to have to,

Or everybody’s going to do it, Mark.

Well, yeah, they’re going to put a stop to that, I think. They’re looking at it from afar and going, wait a minute,

Do you remember? Do you remember Wimpy? Yeah, remember what Wimpy said? I’ll gladly pay you tomorrow for a hamburger today.

Yes, yeah. So somebody that buys the team is going to have to inherit all that stuff. I mean, I think you’re going to see that coming out in the next couple of years, what the Dodgers are doing. They’re going to put a stop to it, I could be wrong, but,

And I don’t see how anybody can put a stop to it.

Because you’re deferring all that money and who’s picking up the tab down the line?

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. The Dodgers, under the rules, haven’t done anything that has broken the rules, they don’t,

They recreated the rules though, Fred.

They recreated the rules.

The Mets and the Dodgers don’t have a draft pick in the upcoming baseball draft, so that’s how they’re penalized based on their high salaries.

Would you rather have Ohtani and Soto, or a draft pick? Let me ask you a question, Fred.

No, I agree with you, but what I’m saying, that’s the rule. They lived under the rules. I don’t think, I don’t think that,

I’m not saying they did anything wrong, I’m just saying the game is going in the wrong direction.

Yeah,

But let me tell you,

Because when you see a team like Cleveland or the Detroit Tigers, which are building the right way with young guys, and maybe,

Or the Astros,

Yeah, the Astros who did it, right?

Yeah,

And then you say, and then you look at the payroll, I mean, that’s a billion-dollar payroll. And they’re not alone. There’s other teams like the Mets and the Yankees.

If you’re a baseball player in this country or Japan,

I want to play for the Dodgers.

Wait a minute. You’d sue Major League Baseball if they changed the fact of the deferral rule. If they didn’t allow you to get a deferral as much as you want,

That’d be one heck of a Supreme Court case. Laura, you’re in legal. I mean, can a league control what finances a team can do? That’s my question. Laura would probably know more about it than any of us.

I mean, there’s a provision in the Constitution that has been interpreted as being a freedom of contract, and I would think that would violate the rule against the ability to,

So is the front office of the Dodgers that much more savvy than everybody else? When they came up with this concept and sold Ohtani on this concept of deferred money, and he didn’t even get extra, like Bonita got percentages for cost of living. Ohtani didn’t even do that. He waived all that. He just said, I’m going to take that $800 million or $700 million, and I’m going to defer $600 million of it. But what would that $600 million be worth 10, 15 years from now?

Yeah, and how different is that of the Marlins when they won a title and then tried to sell the franchise and unload everybody?

Yeah, Lauria. Yeah, you’re right.

But they have a right to do that. That’s not the same thing as Laura talking about a person signing a contract, and I think you have a right to sign any contract that you want. I mean, there’s nothing illegal about passing on the money for a period of time.

Fred. And what happens in college now? When a kid signs a two-year deal, which we’re already having some cases now, a two-year deal to play for a certain amount of money. And then he decides that he’s going to take another opportunity. Does he owe the remainder of that money back to the university? I think he might.

I think yes, I think yes, I do, too. It can’t be two ways, all right. Let’s take a break,

It depends on the contract, on the terms of the contract.

Let’s take a break and come back with more right here on Fred and the Fantastics.

Welcome back everybody, Fred and the Fantastics, Laura, Art, and Mark. Right here, we’re talking about dollars, dollars, dollars, greed, greed, greed. Laura, take it away. What are your comments about deferring dollars and other players who might in the future, and your thoughts about that?

Well, I mean, I think you have to give the players who are deferring money credit for wanting to help their teams and wanting to build the best rosters that they can build. And if other players, like Juan Soto, he refused to defer any money, I mean, I don’t know how, why, I don’t see why that’s a problem.

Well, wasn’t Tom Brady one of the first guys to take a contract, a less contract, so that they would have money to build the team around him?

I mean, players are taking pay cuts to, you know, allow their teams to bring in more players. Because we’re all we’re talking about team sports here and the team, a team is only as good as their worst player, right? So, you know, I just, I give Ohtani credit for deferring all that money. I mean, it’s not as though anybody at that level can spend that money.

I wonder how much money the Dodgers make for televising their games in Japan?

Huge.

Because you look, you look at the. They have three of the greatest baseball players in the history of Japan on one team. And they even changed their bathrooms in the locker room to accommodate the Japanese players.

Look at all the Japanese company ads during the Dodger Games. Yeah, yeah. And that’s the reason, in my view, I haven’t heard this from anybody else. But I think the reason that Ohtani uses an interpreter is because it’s for the Japanese audience. He can speak English, he speaks English in the dugout, he speaks English to the other players. It’s not that hard.

And in golf, there’s a guy named Hideki Matsuyama, he’s a great golfer. He speaks very good English, too, but he brings his interpreter in there.

We have a friend, a friend who lives in Japan. He said Ohtani is insane, how big he is in Japan, He’s just insane. So, you know, I give him a lot of credit for doing that. I mean, he didn’t have to do that. He could have gone anywhere he wanted.

I agree with Laura as far as the Ohtani thing. I agree with Art as far as the Ohtani thing. You can email us, folks, at sportsfred@.com, sportsfred@.com.

Who’s going to be the favorite to win in the NFL this year, you guys?

I don’t know Philadelphia or Kansas City, the two that met last year.

Kansas City has eight stand-alone national TV games. Eight. Now, let me ask you a question. If the league comes out and makes a schedule and they put you on eight times, does that mean Taylor Swift’s going to start at wide receiver?

Hope they don’t break up is all I can tell you.

Oh God, yeah!

Demi Moore looks better than Taylor Swift.

Who does?

Demi Moore?

She’s 20 years older than her,

That’s Jacqueline’s old classmate in Charleroi, Pennsylvania.

Demi Moore is much more cuter than Taylor Swift.

Really?

Yeah.

She’s had a lot more work done than Taylor Swift.

I don’t care.

All right. The Preakness on Saturday, folks, we’re taping this Friday afternoon. Preakness on Saturday. Of course, Sovereignty, the winner of the Kentucky Derby, not even running in the Preakness. Hopefully there’s no mud in Baltimore, and Art, the weather’s okay, right?

It’s supposed to be beautiful, but you never know. We’ve had nothing but rain the last 10 days. Journalism is an eight to five favorite. You’ve got Sandman at four to one, you’ve got River Thames at nine to two. I like those three horses, but I’m going to go out on a limb and I’m going to take D. Wayne Lucas to tie Bob Baffert in terms of all-time Triple Crown wins. And I’m going with American Promise because I love the USA red, white and blue.

Laura, are you going to follow the Preakness? You didn’t watch much of the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago? Are you going to watch the Preakness?

No, I’m not going to. As I’ve said before, I think it’s animal abuse and I think it should be abolished. And what do I really think?

You’re kind of tepid on that.

Take this and shove it.

Mark, are you going to watch the Preakness on Saturday?

Well, if it’s up against the Pirates and Phillies, I’ll probably watch the Pirates and Phillies.

Speaking of the Phillies, how about Schwarber? 48 consecutive games getting on base and nobody really talks about it now. That’s a big power-hitting guy. Go ahead.

No, because they talk about DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. The 48-game getting on base is not as important. I don’t even know what the record is for getting on base, it’s got to be more than 56. But what is it, Art, do you know?

I have no idea, but I will tell you this – to get on base in 48 consecutive ballgames. And he’s not a fast guy, he’s not slow, but I think that’s quite an amazing accomplishment. I think the Cubs are quite lamenting the fact that they let Schwarber go.

All right, Laura, let me ask you a question. Art and I and Mark talk about greed, greed, and greed in sports, and certainly in baseball. But you’ve got a catcher named Barnes, he’s been there 11 years, a quarter through the season, he’s hitting as usual .215, but he’s not throwing anybody out at second base any more than Will Smith is. So the bottom line is, the Dodgers are saying we’ve got a catcher in the minors. Rushing was considered one of the best hitting catchers in a long time. So they dropped Barnes after 40 games of the regular season, a lot of his teammates and ex-teammates really get upset with that. Laura. Any comments about Barnes being released? Somebody will pick him up, but it’s just a very, very interesting scenario. Baseball is a business and a tough business. Take it away, Laura.

Yeah, I think Barnes is a big team favorite. Players really like him. It’s interesting the timing of it because you know, Kershaw always wants Barnes to catch, and,

He’s starting Saturday night, right?

Yeah, and the timing of it. I would have thought the Dodgers would have waited and let Barnes maybe catch his last game with Kershaw. But, you know, like you said,

Great point, Laura.

It’s a business. This guy Rushing, apparently, is a big prospect. I don’t know what, I don’t see his future with the Dodgers, though. I mean, I don’t think if he’s that good,

Is the best catcher in baseball ahead of him.

Yeah, I mean, I don’t think if he’s that good, he’s going to want to be a starter. He’s not going to want to be a backup.

Well, supposedly, he’s had 54 home runs in three-plus years in the minor leagues.

Yeah, he’s pretty good,

And Fred, you watched him last night. I mean, the kid’s a stick. I don’t know what his catching abilities are. I haven’t had a really good look at that, but I feel bad for Austin Barnes because, but then again, he won two world titles for the Dodgers. He’s a great catcher and like you said, Fred, somebody with a pitching staff, a young pitching staff. Maybe that would be a good idea for the Pirates to possibly pick him up.

Yeah, no, that would be, but you know, the guy that was in the papers today, they had a nice article on the Daily News. Manny Machado’s never won an MVP. I’d like to see this guy win something.

Ew!

You don’t like Manny Machado!

You know what? If he would have kept his powder dry in the playoffs and not rolled the ball into the dugout at the manager of the Dodgers? They might have won that series.

Talk about characters, though.

He does some quirky things, he does some quirky things.

Mark, Mark, As far as the Padres are concerned, Tatis is ahead of him. Merrill’s ahead of him. There’s no way he’s going to get the MVP, Merrill’s a top. I mean, you can’t find a better center forward than this.

And how about Pete Alonso and Aaron Judge what they’re doing in baseball this year?

And even Teoscar Hernandez, who’s the most underrated baseball player? I mean, all that guy does is show up every night. I know he’s probably on the aisle right now, but when he plays, he is a definite force. And the Dodgers got him for a ham sandwich from Toronto and that was a great move by them.

I’m just glad they signed him, I think they signed him to a three-year contract?

Yeah, they were holding out, they were having problems in the offseason. I love it.

The Padres have sold out. I don’t know how many games down in San Diego,

Petco’s rolling, no doubt about it. I remember going to the Wednesday Day game. They have during the season all the time.

10 people.

Yeah, there’d be maybe 5,000 to 6,000, 7,000 people in the stands. Not anymore. But now you’ve got an offseason game.

You guys know, I’m not a big fan of Max Muncy, so one of my favorite lines when I’m watching Max Muncy is, Manny Machado would have gotten that ball.

.188 Max Muncy.

He hit two home runs, though, back-to-back games, I mean, he hit a home run, back-to-back games

Against the Athletics, which I couldn’t even believe, the Dodgers lost the first game to the Athletics.

Wait a minute, Laura.

The second-first team,

11-1. Hang on, hang on.

On Tuesday, the Athletics against the Dodgers. At that point, Oakland was 14-7 on the road,

Best road record in Major League baseball. You’re 100%, right.

So, Laura. They’ve been very top-notch on the road and they’ve got a lot of talented young players.

Fred, what’s going on with Mike Trout? I mean, he’s just year after year. And the guy had the first 10, 11 years of his career. The greatest player I’ve ever seen. And he just everything seems to be breaking down in his body. And I mean, he’s on the aisle right now. And you know, the Angels got off to a great start this year and now they’re at that position again, where it looks like they’re in big trouble. I mean, I looked at their numbers the other day, I mean, they’re 65-1 to even make the playoffs.

There’s a lot of baseball left. I’d like the Angels to win the division. I said in the beginning of the year, You know that,

Sergeant Bilko, are you okay?

Hey, I had Mario’s A’s to be a playoff team.

All right, Laura, final thoughts.

A’s in a couple years are going to be great. Don’t worry about those A’s.

Laura, final thoughts on Fred and the Fantastics.

Looking forward to the NBA playoffs this weekend, looking forward to the game tonight, looking forward to the Celtics losing tonight.

It’s going to be a dandy game tonight. Fred, who do you like in that game?

I like the Knicks.

What?

I like the Knicks.

Think the Knicks can cover two and a half in the Garden?

Yeah, I think the Knicks are going to win. I mean, Boston, you know, they lost Tatum. I mean, that’s a huge loss.

If Boston can hit some three-point shots, they’re going to be in for it. Here’s the part that I think is really amazing, you know, you look at the West, and all the over and unders are 228-230. That over-under is 210 tonight in the Madison Square Garden. And I think that that’s going to be an 88 to 84 kind of game. That’s my personal opinion.

I agree.

This is not a prediction, it’s a spoiler. I think Milwaukee is going to shop the Greek Freak. Might come out to the Lakers.

Oh boy, now that would be, that would be. Now you’re talking. Can I call my bookie on the line?

I think because professional athletes want to be in L.A. I mean, they don’t want to be in Kansas City, or,

L.A., New York, even Chicago.

Laura, They want to be in Pittsburgh.

Do you want to live in a world-class city or do you want to live in the boondocks? I mean, if you have a choice.

Oklahoma City sounds right. Yeah, right, she can hang out with Rocky, though.

Bottom line, as far as the Celtics next game tonight, I think it depends on Porziņģis . He’s been hurt, he’s been injured, he’s been sick, I think his stomach situation, he plays well. He’s only gotten three or four points the last couple of games, he plays well, I think the Celtics have a shot, Tatum or no Tatum?

Do you think that New York crowd is going to be pumped up for this game though tonight, though? I mean, how long has it been mark since the Knicks were relevant?

Well, I’ll tell you one thing if Boston wins this series, the Statue of Liberty will fall somewhere in the Atlantic.

Are you guys Brunson fans? Are you Jalen Brunson fans?

I like Jalen Brunson.

I like him, but Indiana might win the whole thing. Guys, watch out for Indiana,

They play well as a team,

Indiana does look really good.

If the Knicks lose tonight, they’ll lose in Boston.

I kind of agree with you.

All, right, for Laura, for Mark, for Mario, and for Art. I am Fred. Stay tuned for a whole lot more down the road of Fred and the Fantastics. Bye, everybody.