It’s that time again. Fred and the Fantastics on BLEAV and on PodClips, Mark, and Art, and Laura, and Matthew, and I’m Fred. And we will discuss anything and everything in the wonderful and wacky world of sports. And I got to start with this. Tennessee basketball player last year, and I forgot his name right now, but it’s irrelevant. He’s played four years and he never redshirted. He’s now asking, he’s suing, he wants a fifth year of eligibility because he’s never redshirted. Art, your comments about never redshirting? Now he wants that fifth year of eligibility.

Well, everybody else gets to play until they’re 27 or 28, so I say, why not? I mean, they opened Pandora’s box. They might as well go ahead and do it. I mean if, you know, especially if they can get him on the cheap. You know how important it is with professional college basketball and football. I mean, it’s just it’s ridiculous that people have to take pay cuts to go play in the NBA or the NFL.

Matthew, Sports Historian, question: How could Mark Emmert, at that time the head of the NCAA, and the other fools pass such a rule that they passed? And I understand the Covid problem. But outside of that, the NIL and the Transfer Portal, it’s made a joke of it. Somebody like yours truly who loved college basketball, second only to Major League Baseball. I’ve lost interest because I can’t name all the players anymore and I used to be able to name them. Matthew, what’s going on?

Well, again, almighty dollar. I mean, why are they expanding? You know, they want to expand the tournament. I mean, it’s always, it’s always about the dollars. I mean, they changed, you know, when the Final Four is played, just to accommodate, you know, accommodate TV. I mean, everything is just being perverted is the sense. I mean, it’s just corporate, you know, corporatization and all that,

And along those lines, Matthew, the NFL now, since they’re pretty tied up till 2034, they’re already talking about streaming the 2034 Superbowl because they can make millions and millions of dollars. And I mean, it’s like, wow, what’s next? And now we’re going to have flag football in the Olympics, more guys get hurt playing flag football than they do playing tackle football.

What?

As you reach, don’t you reach your hand in there, and you rip your thumb apart? And I mean, it’s not, it’s not a real good situation. Wait till one of these NFL guys gets hurt in the Olympics playing flag football, and then you’re going to see the whole thing break loose.

Well, Artie,

I know, I know, I just it stinks, it’s just it’s. It’s the expanding of the college football playoff, that 12-team thing, I think that stank to you-know-what. I did not like it. They should go back to eight, but they never will. They’ll probably expand it further and further.

They’re going to go to 14 before they go back to eight.

Wait a minute.

It’s insane. No, I hate it.

It’s those, it’s those games at the end of the year for the money.

Wait a minute.

Hang on, Mark, let me throw something on that topic that bugs the hell out of me. I think if you’re in a different conference, you have to have something to play for. That’s winning the conference. Now, they’re going to change it to where you’re not going to, like last year, Arizona State was ranked fourth and they were actually only 12th-best team. But why are you in a conference? If you win it, you deserve to move up. They’ve changed it now, where that’s going to be irrelevant as far as the rankings are concerned. Laura. You have any comments about that?

You know, I try in my life not to be one of these people. That says, you know, in the good old days, everything was so much better. Because, you know, I think that that’s the first sign to becoming an old fogey, and I don’t want to ever become an old fogey.

Yeah,

So I try to evaluate the changes as to whether or not they’re beneficial and progressive, or non-beneficial and regressive. And I definitely agree with Matthew. And it’s all about the dollars, it’s all about the money. And that’s kind of the way our whole society is going. And it’s up to us to change it, it’s up to us to organize our friends and try to think of a different way. But as long as people are playing by the rules, then, you know, there’s really nothing we can do to stop it except change the rules.

As an old kicker, I like the goalpost staying in the same place, though.

Well, here’s the thing, here’s the thing. Matt, you don’t want to change it, the college football. So let me throw a scenario to you that happened about six years ago in Cincinnati when they were doing that first-half, second-half winner and there was 4,000, I think they had 10,000 fans for a four-game series in Cincinnati. So if you had a first-half winner and a second half winner, don’t you think that would be beneficial for the people to get involved in their teams rather than go to a game? When you’re 60 games out like the Colorado Rockies are right now at 8-42? Who’s paying to see the Colorado Rockies right now?

I never like split seasons. I mean,

Why not? It’s making money for getting people rejuvenated in their teams.

Aren’t they doing that in Double-A baseball and Triple-A baseball? Don’t they do that?

Yes, they do that. Yeah,

Actually. Negro leagues had split seasons, too, the old Negro Leagues too. You know, they had split seasons.

But what I’m asking you is, are you going to go see the Philadelphia Phillies that shattered a record before the White Sox broke that record? Are you going to go see the Phillies? If they’re 75 games out of first place in the middle of September, who’s going?

Well, Mark. The other side of that is you spent $400 for a family of four at a Dodger game in the first part of the season. And now there’s a second. You’re going to split the season in the double and the Dodgers have all kinds of injuries. You wasted your $400, bottom line. The team’s not going to get there. So there were two sides.

Good point, Fred, good point.

Yeah,

There were two sides to that. Hey Laura, I want to go back to the flag football. You remember when the Radicals at Cal State Northridge played against the basketball team in flag football? I was the quarterback for the Radicals. We beat them, yeah. I don’t know if you remember that, I don’t know if you were there that day. But we beat them by about two or three touchdowns.

Y.A. Wallin.

We could play a little bit,

I love it!

Now, I can’t walk, but we could play a little bit at that point. All right, we’re going to take a break and come back with a whole lot more on Fred and the Fantastics, on BLEAV and on PodClips. We’re going to talk about this, that and anything in sports back right after this.

Hey, welcome back everybody, Fred and the Fantastics with Laura, with Mark, with Art, and Matthew DiBiase, our sports historian, I am Fred. You can email us at sportsfred@aol.com, sportsfred@aol.com. All right. Used to be the NBA playoffs, first round would be two out of three, then it’d be three out of five, and then it’d be four out of seven. Now every darn series is four out of seven. And, of course, the Knicks blew a 17-point, we’re taping this Friday afternoon, folks. The Knicks blew a 17-point lead a couple of nights ago. Art. Do you have any comments about how do you manage to blow a 17-point lead? With a few minutes to go?

I got to tell you, you guys, you know, I do like to watch the last few minutes of playoff games. And I turned that one on and I said, you know what, all right, let’s see what happens. And I have never seen anybody go just completely bananas like the Pacers did. I mean, first of all, there’s a rule in the NBA that if you foul the guy, he doesn’t get three free throws. So if a guy’s hitting all these three-point shots, why not just foul him? I mean, to me, it was just the most ridiculous thing of all time. But to watch the crowd in Madison Square Garden, it was really scary. These people went back 30 years ago when Reggie Miller put the dagger in him. It was like, you know, a lot of these people had actually remembered that. It was like, No, not again. It was like, Unbelievable.

Laura, do you have any thoughts about the NBA and the playoffs and the Knicks blowing it? Your thoughts?

Well, first of all, I love the NBA playoffs, I love it. I’ve been watching every game tip-off to the end, other than maybe that other Oklahoma City blowout. But yeah, I don’t. Yeah, in fact, I think they were down, they were up 14 with two-and-a-half minutes left. And I said to my husband, This game’s over. I mean, I don’t want to, I don’t want to leave, but it’s because it’s not quite over, but you know, it’s pretty much over. Then they were up nine, I think, with 40 seconds,

Yeah, forty-seven seconds, you’re right.

I mean, I just, and I agree, that that interesting strategy about fouling the players and making them shoot free throws. My husband is not a sports fan at all, but that’s been his strategy for years. And I’m surprised that they didn’t use that because they were, the Pacers were just on fire with those three-point shots, I mean, it was. I really, I kind of want to know,

Hey you guys, what do you think the NBA is thinking if it winds up being Oklahoma City versus Indiana in the NBA Finals? Are they going to be a little upset with that?

Oh, they’re going to be crying their eyes out.

I mean, everybody wants the Villanova boys to, you know, reunite, sure, in New York.

I mean, what kind of an audience would that deliver? Even though Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is fantastic,

Basketball lovers,

And I mean, MVP, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Basketball lovers,

You know what I was hoping for? Denver making it into the NBA finals versus Indiana. It’ll be only the second time in NBA history you had two ABA teams going at each other for the NBA Championship. Because the first time was in ’03 when the Nets took on the Spurs.

Where’s Danny Issel when I need him?

Well, yeah, yeah, I think about an idea,

But I don’t have a dog in the fight because I’m so interested in the hockey now. With the Dallas stars still hanging in there,

Yeah, yeah,

Let me tell you something about Indiana guys. They got length. They’re young, they got an absence of fear, and you got to kill them when you have the chance to put them down because they just quieted that. And I don’t usually pop up the bubbly, the non-alcoholic, but I popped one up for those guys the other night.

You know, don’t think that’s the best basketball matchup,

They’ve got a great coach in Rick Carlisle.

And that Carlisle has been an underrated coach for years. Really great,

Yeah, he will be featured in my book that comes out October 2026, on the 50 greatest NBA coaches of all time,

There’s certain things I’d pop the bubbly for.

I got two books coming out next year.

When the Ravens lose, when the Capitals. I popped it on the Knicks.

Here’s the thing about the Knicks, though. Tom Thibodeau leads all active coaches in the heartbreak coaching ranks. OK, this is, I think, only a second attempt at actually snapping his heartbreak coach. Only the second time in his career, he actually made it to the conference finals. And all of a sudden, it’s the clock is striking midnight. And will the Knicks become pumpkins, right? You know the phenomenon, heartbreak coaching, and he’s, he’s, he’s a member of that club, you know?

Let me ask you a question Is it a question of the coach playing too passively? That’s why they blow close games down the stretch in important playoff encounters. Matthew, is that the reason, or what do you think?

Thing is, though, Thibodeau has always been the greatest defensive maven, you know, in NBA history of the 21st century. And I don’t know what it is, it could be injuries. I mean, how do you explain the phenomenon? But some coaches just don’t have the luck. I mean,

You can look at Kyle Shanahan, I mean, you can go down through history. There’s been a lot of great coaches in the big games

At least he made it to the Super Bowl, though, Kyle Shanahan, at least he made it,

He made it to it, but he, but he’s blown four as either a coordinator and a head coach. I mean, right there on the cusp,

But Thibodeau has never made it, but Thibodeau has never even made it to the finals. He’s kind of like Sean McDermott, can’t even get a ticket to the Big Dance. So you see some coaches, you may not win a championship at least one time or twice in your life you had a ticket to the Big Dance. There is a difference between the two,

There is.

You know, not everyone can win a championship, but at least you said once or twice. I had a man or a woman’s chance to see,

It’s like, Marv Levy, Marv Levy, who goes down as a great coach. So does Bud Grant. Even though they never won the Big One, they were there enough times where, you know,

They had a shot.

They had their shot, they had a chance.

I’m with the Dallas Mavericks,

Both those coaches. But, you know, in a way, it would be, really, it would almost be the best basketball if it was Indiana and Oklahoma City, right,

Offense against defense,

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, incredible players are so young and talented, and that Oklahoma City defense, I mean, and that almost would be a better matchup than the other.

Laura. Let me let me ask you a question. As a Laker fan, a lot of conversation that they may deal Austin Reeves to try to get a big guy. They almost got a big guy last year, and Williams didn’t pass the physical. What about trading Austin Reeves or do you keep him?

I mean, I look at all the players that are in the playoffs that are former Lakers that they dealt, you know,

Julius Randall,

Like Caruso. Which I never thought they should have done. I mean, I love Alex Caruso, he’s. But no, I don’t think they should trade one of their young stars to get another aging center. I think they need, I think the Lakers need to rebuild. I mean, really, that’s what they need to do. They need to rebuild around Dončić, and they need Dončić to get in shape.

Thank you.

You know they shouldn’t try to give LeBron another championship, in my view.

But what do you think?

Are you listening?

Let’s switch back to, let’s switch back to football for a moment. Because Matthew mentioned Sean McDermott in his new book. He never won the tournament.

Sean McDermott.

But, but Art? You mentioned in our Sports Overnight America program, you mentioned that the Buffalo Bills might have a very short winning span. Lifespan. Go on from there.

Well, you know, here’s the deal, you get a window in the NFL. I think the 49ers are in the same exact position as the Buffalo Bills. There’s like a five-year window. And I got to tell you there’s another team that scares me a little bit. The Ravens, they’ve been so good for so long. And then things start to happen and you come up a game short, you know, a play short, you know, God forbid when Andrews drops the ball in the end, David Andrews drops the ball in the end zone in that game. And I just got a funny feeling that you can only get so many opportunities to get the big bite of the apple. And then other teams start coming along, and I just see those three teams as being in that position. And, and Matthew, what are your thoughts?

You want to know, a sleeper, a sleeper is the Bengals.

In free agency, always the key is, with caps, and free agency, with the exception of baseball, is maintaining a core. Can you keep your central core players, who make your dynasty and are intrinsic to your dynasty, together? If you can maintain that cohesiveness, then yeah. You can get like a three, fou,r or five-year span. But then once contracts expire, you know, and you’re up for grabs and all that. I mean, how much loyalty? Do you stay with a franchise, or do you test the waters and you explore other areas? And that’s why you really don’t have sustained dynasties anymore. That’s why, with the Chiefs, what the Chiefs did with those three straight Super Bowl appearances, the fact they were an inch away from three-peating. That’s amazing in my view, but that’s the key is, can you maintain a core long enough to sustain it and get, you know, multiple shots at it?

So Andy Reid learned from the Philadelphia experiment because he had great teams that got there and got real close a bunch of times. But he found, he found the real key, and you know what the real key is? A superstar quarterback, it really does help.

McNab was no Mahomes, I mean, Mahomes, you know? As long as he doesn’t do anything stupid, you know, a gambler or something like that, his slot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is guaranteed. And all that and all of that, yeah, it’s the key is,

And I just feel bad for Josh Allen. Honestly, you guys, I really do.

Laura, I wanted to make a point is, thing is, what the Lakers need is what they haven’t had since the departure of Jerry West, is a great GM who can create and build teams, because that’s why you had that thing. You had Jerry West. One of the greatest GMs, you know, in NBA history.

God rest his soul.

They need a top-rated killer GM.

Yeah, Kupchak did pretty well, too, but

Isn’t his wife making the decisions now?

Best friends with Jeannie?

Yeah, but this new guy, I mean.

Final question of Fred and the Fantastics, and we’ll throw it to Mark. I’m going to set this as over and under, 30 commercials for Shaq, running simultaneously on television and radio. Over or under, Mark. Is he doing less or more, fewer or more than 30 commercials?

Prolific.

I’m sure he’s doing, I have met the guy, he’s such a great guy, I’m going to say over, I love that guy.

Laura, 30, over or under for Shaq doing commercials, I don’t know the answer. I just saw a documentary,

You know, it’s close either way, and all the commercials he’s doing are for products that, I don’t know, I doubt if he ever used. I do not think Shaq goes on a Carnival cruise,

How about his Papa, John’s the Shaq-Eroni, or whatever?

Everything it’s like, you know, that’s a little bit one of my pet peeves is all this junk food being advertised on sports shows, which, you know, these athletes never touch, ever. Anyway. Maybe Dončić does, who knows, but,

Matthew, over or under 30 commercials for Shaq?

Hey, the fact that you know he hasn’t played since, was it 14, or 14 to 15 years? The fact that he’s still getting their commercials, that tells you they love you, baby. I mean, it’s nice to be remembered they still love you. I mean,

I think Barkley’s actually jealous of him, Fred.

Well, hey, hey, because Shaq’s got the rings, bro.

All right for Mario, for Matthew, for Laura, for Art, and for Mark. This has been Fred and the Fantastics and folks, we definitely will see you around the corner. Bye, everybody.