It is! The JR Sport Brief Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you to everybody for being tuned in all over North America, regardless of where you might be. You don't have to be here in Georgia with me.
Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I hope you're safe. I hope you're well, I hope you have had. A tremendous Tuesday. I'll be hanging out with you for the next four hours. This is when the show gets started every weekday.
At 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. Thank you so much to our producer holding it down in New York City, Ryan Botcher. We got a lot to get into here. NBA Finals looks Just about a wrap.
Pastors look just about cooked. And now you got Tyrese Halliburton? He's getting ready to have an MRI on apparently a strained calf. You're the Pacers. They're cooked.
Tonight. in Sunrise, Florida. Panthers hope that the Edmonton Oilers, they hope that they cook them and send them back to Canada. Without a Stanley cop, Well, they hope so. Yeah, the Panthers have an opportunity to clinch and go back-to-back tonight down in Florida.
Shawhey Otani made his debut last night. Beating the Padres, even though he only pitched one inning. Travis Hunter. He's going to be doing a lot of work, according to the Jacksonville Jaguars' new general manager, Manny Ramirez. He says that one guy, well, He was mistreated at work.
That guy's name is Raphael Devers, who's going to make his debut tonight. For the San Francisco Giants. Hey, we got Matt Moore joining us to talk some hoops from the Action Network. We got Bob Nightingale coming through from USA today to talk some baseball, the Stanley Cup finals, NBA finals, and Dare I say we even have Some football? Yeah.
Travis Hunter, Christian McCaffrey. Noah Lowes, he doesn't play football, he gets into it with football players. And more. If you want to be a part of the show you can do that. Here's the number.
888-710-45. That's 888-710-2010. For I S N. You can find me online. I'm all over the internet.
I exist. I am at JR Sport Brief. Ryan Bacha, welcome back. How are you on this Tuesday? I'm great.
I'm doing pretty solid.
Okay, good. I'm happy for you, man.
Well, thank you for being here. Thank you for helping to run the show and put it together and all the things from soup to nuts.
So, very much. Appreciate it. Anyway, we got a lot to get into. Let's just get into this unfortunate news right out of the box. As it relates to Tyrese Halliburton.
Last night, The Thunder put the pacers, they put their backs up against the wall. They put them on the edge. Last night, we had an opportunity to talk about this while it was going on live. And The thunder They beat the Pacers 120. To 109.
Jalen Williams went out there, dropped a career high, a playoff high, he had 40 points. Shake Gilgis, Alexander, 31 points, 10 assists, some big defensive stops, and the pace as well. Their superstar, Tyree Talliburton, he could only muster. Four. points.
This man injured his calf early in the game. He went to the back. He came back out, and he was pretty much cooked. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that Tyrese Halliburton in his body, his leg, his calf. We're compromised.
And so to think about what happens next, well, I know what happens next. Paces is done. I don't care. what that MRI says. Keep in mind Tyrese Halliburton was injured earlier on in this series.
He was kinda limping around after game two and then he came back and played and And now he's looking like he's done.
Now let's also be honest here. If you're the Indiana Pacers, The last thing you want. Is for a sore calf, a calf strain, anything. to now develop into a larger issue. I mean, it doesn't take a game of operation to figure out the calf is connected to the Achilles, the Achilles is connected to the ankle, the foot, everything is connected.
You screw up one thing, everything can all go out of whack. Go ahead and ask Kevin Durant. Circa twenty nineteen. Knowing that he was moving on from Golden State, going to Brooklyn, and Brooklyn was going to acquire him after he couldn't make it through the NBA playoffs. He tried to push it through, and boom, pop.
Goes the Achilles. Nobody wants that for Tyrese Halliburton. I mean, last night. Before it was reported that he was scheduled for an MRI, Tyree Siliburton says, You know what? Yeah, I got hurt.
But at the end of the day I I was not gonna quit, I was not gonna stop. And listen to what he said. I miss the NBA Finals. It's the finals, man. I've worked my whole life to be here, and I want to be out there to compete, you know, help my teammates.
Anyway I can. It helped him out anyway.
Well, Can't do much or nothing if you can't push off. Can't run, can't jump. Can accelerate. It's what this guy's game is predicated on. Moving and moving quick and fast and fine in the open man.
If he can't play defense, if he can't play offense, if he can't get the ball and go the other way, then. What good is he? Damn, you might as well just throw T.J. McConnell out there and hope that he has the game of his life, the game of his career. I mean, last night he did have 18 points off the bench.
The Pacers did go on a little bit of a run at the end of the game, but then OKC just pretty much closed the book on him. and said no. Not tonight. Rick Carlisle, head coach of the Indiana Pacers, he talked about Tyrese Halliburton. He's like, listen, man.
That dude over there is a tough you know what. This is a lifetime opportunity. Not many guys are going to sit. You know, even if they're a little banged up. If you're injured, that's a different story.
You know, um But we'll evaluate everything with Tyrese and Yeah. See how he wakes up tomorrow. Oh boy. Oh, he didn't wake up good today because, as I told you, he's getting. in M R I on a calf string.
This is not what you want heading into a game six. This is not what you want trying to push and force towards a game seven. This is not what you want being down 3-2. Here in the series. Listen to what Shams had to say about Halliburton and his calf injury earlier today on ESPN.
Malika, the belief is that Tyreus Halliburton has strained his right calf and I'm told he will undergo an MRI to determine the exact severity of this strain. And remember, this is the same leg that he had ankle soreness in last week. He was adamant after game five that he would be playing in Thursday's game six of the NBA Finals. It is the NBA Finals, but it was described to me today that if this were the regular season or even the first round, there's doubt that he would play.
So once the Pacers and Halliburton get the results back on this MRI, on that calf strain, they're going to be able to identify the severity and then huddle and map out exactly what the plan will be going into game six. It's a wrap. And he's absolutely right. Come on, man. If this was the regular season, why would that man be.
What NBA player have you seen? That's capable of doing more than that. What player have you seen wake up and say, oh, yeah, you know, Coach, I can. I heard I can only give you four points. Ain't nobody doing that.
This was the regular season. They would have packed him up for a couple of days. Maybe they would have packed him up. For a few weeks. But the hope is that he can maybe potentially push through.
Thursday night, tomorrow, back in Indianapolis. I don't know. They're going to give this guy a shot. They're going to tell him to take it easy. Is he going to be a big old decoy?
He will be out there. unless they feel his leg is being held together by Mm-hmm. Hopsicle sticks and some chewing gum. Tyrese Halliburton, I I I'd be surprised if he's not. playing.
He may not be able to go full bore. I think we saw that last night. But just the art of deception is pretty much all. That these Indiana Pacers have left. They got ran into the ground last night.
Jalen Williams is out there dream shaking, guys. and hitting fadeaway shots. He was asked about his own performance, a career playoff high. forty points and he says, You know what? I do not care.
I want the ring. I want the championship. It's something more that I'll like look back on later on. Then like Worry about what kind of statement it makes. I think the only statement we have right now is we're up 3-2 and we still have to go earn another win.
But it would be cool to look back on later on. Yeah, if they won a title. And his co-star Schmuck, the MVP, the reigning MVP, Shea Gilgas Alexander, he went out there, had 31 points in 10 assists. And even he looked at his teammate Jalen Williams and was like, well, damn, bro, where'd you get that from? You Was like really gutsy tonight.
He stepped into big plays. Felt like every time he needed a shot, he made it. He uh He wasn't afraid. He was fearless tonight. Whether they went in or or didn't, and obviously tonight they went in more than they didn't, but uh he stepped into the the plays with confidence for sure.
Oh yeah, now now they're up three too. They got a chance to close them out tomorrow in Indianapolis.
Now, it would have been cool. To see the PAYCOM Center. It would have been cool to see the Oklahoma City Thunder, their home arena. Arrupt. The place is loud.
They got the lights. It's like a light show out there, like an EDM concert. Checking in on the Oklahoma City Thunder. It'd be cool. to see them pick up that victory.
I remember the last time they were in the NBA Finals, they were taking on LeBron James and Chris Bosch and Dwayne Wade and Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Hardin. the the young trio could not get The job done. The place was moving and jumping at that point in time. It would have been great to see the home fans be able to celebrate, but I don't think that's going to happen. I think we're g we're going to get to Thursday.
and the NBA finals would be a wrap. And we can then start thinking about the draft lottery.
Well, not the lottery, but the actual draft. We think about what miserable parade they'll probably have in Oklahoma City. No disrespect to them, but I can. Imagine that parade will not be all that exciting in the streets of OKC. And then we can just start thinking about some of these trades going on.
Is Kevin Durant going to move? Is Giannis eventually going to move on? What's going to happen with the draft after? Cooper flag. And so there's a lot of questions.
But before we get there, There's two things I'd like to see. Tyrese Halliburton makes it out of the playoffs, get through the finals. Healthy. healthy enough to conclude the series and and certainly healthy enough to start next season. without any massive delays or constructive surgeries.
That would be great. And second. Let's just get this over with, okay? God bless the Pacers if they could force a game seven on Thursday. God bless them if we get more basketball on Sunday.
But at this point in time. with a one-legged Cyrese Halliburton. It's very simple for me. Very, very simple answer here. I'm done and finished.
Finish 'em. This is like the end of Mortal Kombat. This is when one of the guys comes out and says, finish him, and you got to give him. the fatality. The Pacers, it's time to read them their last rights.
The Pacers, I think time is up. The Pacers, I thought that they would pick up a game or two, and that's exactly what they have. And the Pacers, well, They're going to join all the other NBA teams with their season's over. I just hope. As much of a pain in ass daddy is, I'm not wishing injury on anybody.
I hope Halliburton makes it out without anything major. Looks like we're gonna have the Oklahoma City Thunder be crowned your twenty twenty five. NBA champs. And I love this parody in the NBA. Last year it was the Celtics.
We expected them to be here. The year before that, we had the Nuggets. Then we had the Warriors shock the Celtics, or even for being there. We had the Bucs, the Lakers, the Raptors back in 2019. Every single season here.
that we've had. Since the warriors repeated in seventeen and eighteen, We've had a new champ. I mean, that's to breathe some life into some of these miserable NBA franchises out there. Which is why I think we got so many guys who are angling for someone like a Kevin Durant, a former member of the Thunder, Who's been now a multiple-time finals MVP, MVP this. Kevin Durant is like, I play ball, I'm a hired gun.
Where can I go? And we'll talk about Kevin Durant later on in the show. All the best to Tyrese Halliburton as he's getting this MRI on his leg. Nobody wants to see a series end or be put down due to injury, let alone a player I have to go down due to an injury. And the Thunder, if I'm a Thunder fan.
I'm just crossing my fingers, man. Finish it off get it done get her done On Thursday. And the NBA season. It's time to move on. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network.
I told you that will take place on Thursday, tonight. We could have another champion crown. The Florida Panthers are trying to eliminate. And finish off the Edmonton Oilers down in Sunrise, Florida. We'll talk about that game.
Man, Travis Hunter, there's so many comments about what he can or can't do. Raphael Devers has been introduced in San Francisco, I'm pretty sure, with lots of hugs and kisses now that he's no longer in Boston. Matt Moore is going to join us to talk some hoops from the Action Network. Bob Nightingale will be here to talk some baseball from USA today. We're going to talk about, speaking of championships, LeBron James.
had some comments on On rings and the validity of rings, and how many rings do you need to be great?
So we have a lot to do. You want to be a part of the show? You can. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN.
When we come back from break, you know what? Let's talk about something else that took place last night. The Return to the Mound By Shohei. Otani, Was it good? Wasn't bad.
Shohei Yotani, he returned to the mound, and his translator.
Well I think I told you yesterday where he ended up. I'll remind you on the other side. Congratulations, we're just getting started. It's the JR Sport Brief Show, the Infinity Sports Network. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief.
It is the JR Sport Brief show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. Before we get into some. Of the hockey action tonight.
Before we get into Shohei Otani, what he did last night making his pitching debut. for the Dodgers. And let's let's ask our producer here, Ryan Botcher. But before we move on from the Pacers for the meantime, What are your thoughts on the rest of this series and what we might see? Oh, I am fully believing that this series is done now in six.
If they don't have Tyrese Albertin to control that offense, I really don't believe. in Andrew Nemhart. I don't believe in Nee Smith and I don't believe in TJ McConnell. to play a good forty eight minutes. Yeah.
No Halliburton. The Pacers are basically a 500 team. They're just. Call a spade a spade. They got healthy around January 1st.
They were able to turn things around. They've been one of the best teams in the NBA. Uh but it's it's curtains. It's finished. It's done.
It's gonna be like a bunch of chickens about their heads running around trying to squirrel to try to catch up with the thunder. It's gonna be wild. Uncontrolled. He's one of the best point guards that we have in the league. He certainly sets the pace.
We've seen what he's been able to do at the end of games. We see how he controls the game. And um it's it's just bad. I mean, if you're a Pacers fan, let's I would also be honest. Did you expect to be here?
Did you expect to be in this space? The answer is probably, probably not. And there's one thing to be a one of the best kept secrets here throughout the course of the The regular season going into the postseason, you're the underdog. It it's another thing when you just kind of get chopped down. By the legs at the end of the season.
So we'll see what happens with Halliburton. But either way, whether he's playing and compromised or he's out. It's it's looking like curtains. For the Indiana Pacers. Injuries suck.
It's certainly a part of sports. And there's one guy who's very familiar with that. I'm not going to say more than other people because he can hit, he can pitch. He's just stealing bases last year because he didn't have to pitch.
So he said, why not just run wild? Shohei Otani. made his pitching debut. for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yet they're giving this guy seven hundred million dollars over the next twenty years.
And they said, oh, well, we know he's not going to pitch in the first year. Who cares? We're going to pay him regardless. He had a 50-50 season, MVP, helped him win a World Series. I guess he's already kind of helped them.
A cash out. In more ways than one, when you think about the attraction of the Japanese market in Los Angeles, Otani is big business.
So last night, He was the opener. He pitched one inning. The Dodgers beat the Padres. I'll get to how he won or how he helped himself. And the team went, of course he did.
28 pitches in that first inning. Sixteen strikes thrown. One run, two hits, and I guess the most important thing coming off of Tommy John isn't necessarily the location. But the fact that Shohei Otani was able to go out there and still throw some gas. The man went past a hundred miles per hour, and was consistently in the high nineties, so He's just a beast.
He's a freak. He is a baseball. Machine. And so, knowing that he went out there was only going to pitch one inning, He stayed in the game as a DH. He went two for four at the plate, two RBIs, had a game tie in double, hit the go-ahead single.
What else is new? when you're show haltani. Everything just works out. in this guy's favor. Dave Roberts, the manager of the Dodgers, He talked about Otani and his return.
the baseball amount. I thought it was great. Obviously, we gave up a run, but I thought the stuff was really good. much better as far as the fastball velocity than I think anyone anticipated. Hit one hundred.
You know, I was thinking ninety five to ninety seven. But I think that just a competitor adrenaline came out in him.
So simple question. Dave Roberts. You Google what you saw, you happy with it? Seeing how he's just managed the emotions of it all, you've got to be extremely disciplined. To be able to kind of put your mind and body in the position to do that.
But the stuff, Like I said, I didn't expect to see 100 tonight. I didn't expect to see the command that he had tonight. And the stuff was really good.
Well, we we know he's he's a freak. If God made a baseball player, I guess it'd be him. He's out there doing everything humanly possible. He's like, I pitch, I hit, I steal bases, I just. Sho Hail Tani is amazing.
You think about the Dodgers and some of the issues that they've had. Throughout the course of the regular season and They're just getting this guy. warmed up. And you spending $700 million on a dude? Yeah, a little disappointing to not have him thrown to the Wolves or not see him out there and.
Three innings, four innings, five innings, six innings. I know that's the new era of baseball. Six innings, a quality start. They're paying him so much money. We weren't going to see no rehab starts.
We weren't going to see him. Take that bat down to the miners. This has been a slow grind here. For Shohi Otani, as the Dodgers are trying to go out there and win yet another. A World Series.
Little l little appetizer. I hate the whole opener idea, but and you got to get him in when you can. I'm sure next go round he'll go with maybe two or three. as they start to to build him up in the the regular season. It's unusual.
We don't see this because we've never seen this. We've never seen a guy. who is pitching and hitting, At the same time, at an all-star elite level. Dodgers can hope that by the time they get to the postseason, they got a weapon here. in Shohay Otani, and it's still kinda crazy since he's been a member of the Dodgers, he's He hasn't pitched.
Last time he threw a baseball. Wasn't another Los Angeles uniform. Wild stuff here. Hey, Botcher, what do you think about his potential and what we're going to see? They're going to give him the slow walk here.
I don't actually like the way they're stretching Notani out here. I understand he's been doing the back backfield workouts, throwing to live hitters. But him pitching important, meaningful games. for the Dodgers just doesn't feel right until he's fully stretched out to throw a hundred pitches. And I know we all expect him to be great, but You're putting more pressure on the guy who's trying to get into a guru, get into a routine now over every five or six days.
You can't expect the guy to be crazy. He's gonna Mess up his arm, mess up his mom put his momentum here. Yeah, I don't, but there's no other way to do it. It's one thing if he was just a pitcher. And you're just gonna throw him down to the miners and then give him a start, give him a start, give him a start, and work him out.
You want to keep his bat out there. I don't think this, to be honest, I think throwing the baseball now in June for an inning. I don't think there is any pressure because the idea is not for him to do anything in June or July or August. It's to see can can we get some some something solid out of him. Come late in the season.
And I don't, in all honesty, I don't even think it's it's a move. Yes, it's for this season, but They got the dude under contract after this season for another eight years, and we know at the end of the day. You get to the back end of that contract, God only knows what Otani's going to do. You know, is he even going to be able to throw? Are they going to just have him be a hitter?
Is he just some emergency dude that they have out there? I think he is so. Walking on water. Up in the clouds. Like, tell me, what pressure is there on Shohi Otami?
The Dodgers are good without him even pitching. They've been dealing with plenty of injuries. Like, what pressure could he possibly feel? I could say that maybe he's pitching to feel the pressure of the fans getting him back to normal, where they saw him as a scion contender and Ulster as a pitcher. And so that maybe he doesn't.
Really feel relaxed until I get, okay, I feel trust in my fastball. I don't feel comfortable with my curveball. It's a mental thing, maybe. Yeah, no, I think this guy's good. I mean, it's not like he says anything for us to know anything different.
Anything anything that he does say comes through a translator. This guy goes home, plays with his dog, looks at his wife. and plays baseball. I think they tr I think they put him in the wall.
so he can get charged up so he can go back out there and play again. He's different. He's coming off of a World Series, an MVP. I just... I think he'd have the least pressure out of just about anybody in the game outside of anything that he.
puts on himself to be excellent. And, um I remember vividly, and it's not a surprise, we see the same type of Of execution and commitment. Like when Ichiro came up, I loved this rookie season. Ichiro came up and It's every month went by. And it was just like, oh boy, what's he gonna do?
He kinda was slow at the start, and then after that, it was. Are you serious the guy was MVP in his first season? It's because Man, out in Japan. They treat baseball in many regards like it's going into the military, it's regimented. And I think with Shohei Otani, I don't think, I know it was, it's the same exact way.
when he was coming up in the system. It's like, hey man, we going to boot camp. for baseball.
So I think his dedication and His mind is is probably sharp as as anybody's Um Slow burn, slow grind here. For sure, hey, Otani. I can't wait to see what he does at the end of the season. And look, the guy might have an ERA. North of four, and even if it is four and a half or what have you.
I think everybody's understanding that, look, it may not be until next year. Where he's He's back at it.
So, look, there's a lot of things I don't like about baseball in the first place. The idea of an opener. Just makes my skin crawl, but it's a new time, it's a new day, it's a new era. And Shaw Yotani's back. He's out here doing double duty.
And let's see how the Dodgers go out there and stretch them out. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-45. We know Otani does a little bit of everything. When we come back on the other side, we're going to talk about an NFL player.
His general manager said This guy can do it all, and damn it, we just might make him go out there and do it all. That's Travis. Hunter. They're like, man, he ain't going to play all the time. It's impossible.
And then, yeah, Shohi Otani, by the way. He made his return to the mound yesterday. the same day that his uh old translator Ipe Muzuhara Yeah, he checked into federal prison. No, life comes at you fast. Here's some advice, people.
Just. Don't steal. There's a little bit of J.R. Wisdom. We'll talk about Travis Hunter on the other side of the break.
We'll talk about Minnie Ramirez. Rafael Devers just had his introductory press conference. We got NHL action tonight. Stanley Cup finals could come to a close. There's a lot going on.
So let's go to a news flash right now with Rich Ackerman. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Well, We'll see Otani down here for his uh Little all-star break, if he should have any of it.
We just talked about Shawi Otani and his return last night. I pitched one inning but then had all the wonderful hits at the end of the game. to help the Dodgers go out there and beat the Padres. And and Shawy Otani is a he's a freak. The guy can do it all.
Yeah, maybe he can walk on water. I don't know. Just. Next thing I know you'll be saving cats from trees and Helping old ladies across the street, inshallah, Tani. Can do no wrong.
He's so naive to the world. He got robbed by a. is on translated to the tune of seventeen million dollars. He's a special duke. A special individual.
Anyway. He's not the only special guy in the world of sports right now. Show your Tani two-way start, right? He's like, oh, he can pitch, he can hit. In the NFL, Every now and then we've seen somebody operate on offense, see them operate on defense, but not to the degree.
potentially that we might see and have. and Travis Hunter. and I know we got to wait a while to see him really get in action. Young guy got married. One a Heisman, first two A due to win it.
Since Charles Woodson did it. Seen him operate in mini camp. We'll see what they do with him in training camp. But the biggest thing will be what will Travis Hunter do? How will he be utilized by new head new head coach Liam Cohen?
By the time the games really matter, come September. And so I think we got a little bit of a hint. Liam Cohen has been effusive about, oh, absolutely, we're going to use him in both ways. And their new GM, James Gladstone, I believe, is the youngest GM in the entire league at 34 years old. The guy looks like he's 20.
James Gladstone basically said When it comes down to his snap count, Uh Well, listen to what he said on Sirius XM NFL Radio. Time will truly tell. And I think the thing that you can, in fact, lean into at this stage is he does not tire. He has got a spark. He has got the energy, the capacity from a physical standpoint just to be able to do it is certainly there.
It'll be in terms of one game to the next. Where does it fit? Where does it make the most sense? Certain game plans might dictate usage differently.
So time will truly tell. And I don't know that one game to the next is going to be the exact same, but putting a number on it at this stage is, I think, probably premature. But look forward to seeing how it really plays itself out here and him earning his spot on both sides. Certainly going to be an opportunity for him. Got to take advantage of it here down the stretch.
Man, that's that's crazy. Of course he looks like he's physically capable of Playing offense and defense all day. He's not doing anything. And I mean, not anything isn't like, of course, he's showing up to work, he's practicing, he's learning to play, but of course, he's doing all of those things. He ain't playing in no real game.
Ain't nobody out there trying to lay his ass out? He's playing offense and defense. In a glorified scrimmage. Come on, man. He's not doing that in the regular season.
He's going to have his offensive place, have his defensive place. I think they'll run him out there primarily on offense. There is no way in hell. He's goin' be out there. I I would say damn it.
And uh maybe game plan changes game to game. 50% of the time on each side of the ball, I doubt it. I just know this. He has to get hit and beat up. By real NFL players.
That part. has not happened yet. And so, everybody can pontificate and think about what's going on. But I think it's a massive transition from his body. We can all talk about him.
being uh an energizer bunny Even back in college, I mean, he would take some hits there and he would miss Tom. He'd get banged up. And yeah, okay, fine. You gain some weight, you put on some muscle here at the NFL. It may take a few years.
Well, it will take a few years before his body reaches max and full level maturity. But I I kind of pumped the brakes on the the Travis Hunter hype train. He ain't doing what he did in Colorado. at the NFL level. It just it does not seem feasible in any way, shape or form.
James Gladstone continued on and he talked about overall his development here just from when he's arrived a couple of months ago. The windows for development in the NFL are few and far between, right? The offseason program is where it exists in its healthiest state. Our understanding that Travis is most naturally comfortable, most naturally in tune on the defensive side of the ball, we wanted to load him offensively throughout this window to ensure that by the time we got to training camp, we had a runway built up on that side because there's so much more nuance, so much more adjustments in real time on the offensive side of the ball that would require a lot more learning.
So, with this phase of the process sort of being rooted through that lens, that's why we wanted to put the emphasis on O, knowing that we would then trickle in the defensive participation a little bit more towards the back end of the offseason program and really as we get into training camp. I do think there's. A little bit of a misconception in that it's wide receiver first, corner, second, as much as it is the learning methodology of wide receiver through this phase and then continuing to trickle in more defense since that is his primary background. Listen. This is what it boils down to, Brad Sacks.
The NFL is an offensive driven league. I think if you want to ensure that he has success, and Bacha, you talked about it, and confidence in regards to Shohi Otani. Showy Otani's been here before, done and seen it. Travis Hunter is getting ready to experience something that he's never done. At this level, there is no other level for him to go past this.
And I certainly believe that he can have success. But I think as you're slowly but surely indoctrinating him and baptizing him here into the NFL, We all know it's easier to play offense than defense. The NFL has adjusted the rules for so many years. To encourage offense. You know, we don't have 6-3, 9-3, 12-3 games anymore.
These games are 45, 35, and they're just shootouts. And when you have a pure athlete like Travis Hunter, I think the first way that you get him acclimated and set up on the field is by letting Trevor Lawrence throw him the ball. And then having him go out there and spot duty until he feels much more comfortable. Boucher, what do you think about his potential usage this upcoming season? I also think it's ten times safer to be an offensive player only.
If you're a defensive player, you think about it. Every single play, your job is to tackle and take down an opponent. When you're on offense, you can block, yes. But most of the time, when you're a receiver, half the time you're not getting to the ground.
So if you're thinking long-term success with your young lottery pick, you should not try to rush him into a two-way role. Get him on offense, and then you can maybe after year one, after he learns how to diet, take care of his body, then push him into a du-way role. Yeah, so you wouldn't have him play defense at all? No, nickel, not to start the year now. I would say maybe maybe a series here or there when you need 'em.
And then you work it work his way up. It's like a snap count. Yeah, I think I I think that's what they will do. When you when you talk about him on off and yeah, he got a if he's playing defense, uh it wouldn't shock me if he goes out there, lays the wood and next thing you know, he's clutching at his shoulder. That's what nobody, nobody wants.
But at the same time, with his frame, We don't really see a lot of wide receivers that are that wiry, that are that successful. Granted, He's a freak athlete. He just won a Heisman. Chado Chosenko was not somebody who was just walking around with extra LBs. I could think about Robbie Anderson.
He's one of the skinniest wide receivers that I've ever seen. in my life and I don't know. It it only takes one hit. to lay a guy out. I mean, if Travis Hunter's out there and he's getting Let's just say six targets is way in a game.
It only takes one to lay him out good. And we've seen him in college. He got popped, and he's just like, oh my God, lacerated this. And. busted up that.
So I I think there is a concern, but he's a freak. I think in a lot of cases he I think he would be fine. on on offense. And I yeah, sprinkling Little snap count here, there, little duty, maybe that's a particular player he's he's familiar with and the other thing is Not trying to take a A dump. on the conference, but It's not like he was playing in the the Big Ten.
Not like he was playing in the SEC. A lot of these players that he's going to be going up against for the most part at this next level. They're they're gonna be unfamiliar. And so go ahead and work them out. And then also, let's also be real.
Everything with the Jacksonville Jaguars. It's brand new. the head coaches knew, The general manager is new. The only thing that's new is Shad Khan. And Uh it This is a guy who got swindled out of millions of dollars by a guy working and his own accounting.
department. is also the same guy who decided to hire Urban Meyer. And so you would hope That the Jacksonville Jaguars Do not ruin. Travis Hunter. Like they traded up to go out there and get the guy.
They've made some poor decisions in the past. And I don't put it past the Jags to make some poor decisions moving on into the future. Hopefully this also helps Trevor Lawrence works things out. I think he's been a massive disappointment coming out of Clemson. mean, shoot, when the guy was just here still in Georgia, He was the second coming.
Yeah, the long hair it's like this guy is quarterback of football Jesus. coming out of Georgia. Goes up to Clemson. The next thing you know, he's just He's like, okay, he's the next thing. And the Jacksonville Jaguars take him, and maybe they have ruined him.
With some of their poor decisions.
So we'll see what happens with the Jacksonville Jaguars and then Travis Hunter. People talk about his uh personal issues, him getting married and all this other stuff, but He seems like a good dude. I wish him nothing but the best. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN.
Man, I'm still on the correlation between... Shohei Otani getting robbed and Well, the Jaguars getting robbed. Bacha, how much money do you have to have in a bank? before you don't recognize a seventeen million is out your account.
Well, he's got a oh, seventeen million. You'd have to be at Close to a billion, right? I feel like How much money would you how much money would it take for me to notice $17 million was forget $17 million. How much money would have to be out of your account before you go, hey, who stole my money? I would say like thirty dollars, forty dollars.
Thirty, forty bucks, yeah, yeah. Shoahi Otani is swimming in money. He's like $17 million is missing.
Okay. Where is it? I don't need it, but what happened to it? Also, I I just still don't get how He didn't have any security, didn't have like text to his phone. emails, anything that could have told them, Yeah, your money's being transferred.
It's called being naive. It's called being naive. I know there are people that think that Shohil Tani, it's an easy joke to make. Oh, he was in on it. Oh, you know, this guy's going to prison for Shohail Tani.
I mean, look at Shaw Hiltani looks like he is thinking about one thing. Baseball. And I think he really trusted this dude. This is a guy who came over from Japan. He's out here playing in America.
His closest person, the closest human being that he is to. is also Japanese, happens to be his interpreter. and his interpreter took him for a ride. I mean, how difficult is it to just say Hey, I have access to all his things. Yeah, bro, I hope you open up a bank account.
Yeah, sure. And then he's handling he was his assistant. Like. You think Shohei Otani is a crook too? Not a crook.
I'm just saying he's an idiot. Because you can hire a financial banker. You can hire an accountant. Your translator should not be your accountant. He doesn't have to be his accountant, but if he is.
at his beckon call and he's right there with him. It's it's not Look, stupid people are born every day. But when you're Shohei Otani and you don't have to penny pinch or watch every dollar that's in the account, and you really trust somebody. Sure.
Well, look, the guy got caught. He's going to prison. I don't want to call Shaw Hay Otani stupid. I don't think he's a stupid man. I think he's naive.
I think he came over and he did his job. He's done his job. That's played baseball. And he's learned a crazy, crazy lesson. I mean, if you would tell me that some guy out of I don't know Chicago was getting his account tapped into.
Some baseball player in Chicago be like, Yeah, that guy's stupid. Shohi Otani is baseball. Militant. I don't think he's I don't think he's prepared for uh Everything going on. In life, and he trusted a guy.
I think you live long enough. I think every now and then you encounter somebody, you just go, Yeah, I trusted that guy. And look where it ended up. Shaw Hiltani, unfortunately, learning. Uh the hard way.
Still getting paid. $700 million contract. Who cares about 17 mil. Oh, let's also not count the endorsements. What a world.
888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. Speaking of a crazy world, Rafael Devers introduced about an hour ago to everybody out in San Francisco. We'll talk about him and how he'll do in San Francisco now that he's out of a Red Sox uniform. It's the JR Sport Reshow, the Infinity Sports Network.
