Do Rings Matter? (Hour 3)

It is. The JR Sport Brief Show here on the Infinity Sports Network. Man, I'll be hanging out with you for the next two hours. This is a four-hour show. It gets started every weekday at 6 p.m.

Eastern. Three Pacific. I'm in Atlanta, Georgia. Our producer, Holding Things Down, is in New York City. His name is Ryan Botcher.

Wherever you might be. Thank you for bein' here. Maybe you are in Edmondson. Hoping for another victory. Maybe you're in South Florida hoping that you could win another Stanley Cup with the Panthers.

Maybe you're in Indianapolis hopin' that.

Well, that Tyris Halliburton, his leg will be A okay. Lor, mebbe you're in Oklahoma City. waiting on a championship potentially as early as Thursday. Man, we got a lot to discuss. We've already been through quite a few things.

Thank you so much to Matt Moore for joining us last hour. Covers all things NBA from the Action Network. We heard from Rafael Devers, or at least his translator, as he's now officially a member of the San Francisco Giants. We talked about Travis Hunter and. his dexterity and what he's gonna play and how often he will play it.

Otani returned. Yeah, we've been through a lot. If you've missed any portion of the show, You can go ahead and hit Rewind. On the free Odyssey app and get going things just like that. Hey, we got another guest coming our way.

So much going on in Major League Baseball. Bob Nightingale. He'll be here with us in about twenty. Minutes from USA Today. We'll get into Raphael Devers.

We'll talk about Oltani. We'll make fun of the Colorado Rockies. Of course, why not? There's so so much to do. At the end of the show, of course, we'll talk about a few things that took place this day in sports history.

and then a piece of history that uh did not or will not take place or occur. Noah Lyles versus Tyreek L. You heard me correctly, and not in an octagon. Are these two?

Well, one is an Olympic. gold medallist The other one isn't a Super Bowl champ. They were supposed to race and then, um well It's not happening. I don't know who the hell was going to have that on their wish list to just go and check out, but uh Apparently they ain't they ain't racing and I think the world will go on.

Well, perfectly fine. That's it. No one allows always Getting the people riled up. Brought up that conversation, and he was defending himself. I got to be honest.

When. When Noah Lowes, a couple years ago, maybe last year, two years ago, basically said, oh, NBA champs, world champs, world series champs, world champs, a what? It's like I'm competing with people all over the world, and you got these domestic leagues in the United States of America, where he's from. that they're not world champions? Like he was patting himself on the back.

I know a lot of people are like, oh, yeah, he's You know, sticking up for the rest of the world. That guy was just trying to kiss his own. Backside. Like, I compete against guys from every country. I compete against this.

I'm a real world champion. Who cares about the? I don't know. Boston Celtics. They're not world champs.

Okay. I think if we saw the Boston Celtics in a seven-game series against Euro League's best team, I'd take the Boston Celtics. Uh every time. But I digress. Noah lows is He's not averse at going at anybody.

Tyreek Hill. or NBA players. And, you know, one primary NBA player that Well, he's the most famous basketball player active on earth right now. It's LeBron James. And as these NBA finals are going on, LeBron James has taken a spot of, I guess, Draymond Green.

LeBron is sitting around with Steve Nash. I thank God Draymond has it on the podcast, or maybe I haven't just paid attention. That's a great thing. But Lebron was sitting around with Steve. On their Mind the Game podcast.

And LeBron James brought up something that gets kinda used against him quite a bit. The fact that he's been to the NBA Finals ten times, But LeBron James only has four championships. And we all know LeBron James is compared. to Michael Jordan. who is six o' six, in the biggest stage of em all.

Now, you could say on the other side of things, LeBron James. Man, this guy was going to NBA Finals that he had no business going to. Like when he went and just got smoked. That first time with the Cavaliers and the Spurs, like he had no business being there. And so LeBron James just he he thinks it's unfair.

That professional athletes are just judged right now. By how many rings and how many championships you have. Listen to him have this conversation with Steve Nash. I don't know why it's discussed so much in our sport. And why it's the A-all, B-all of everything.

You sit here and tell me, you know, Alan Iverson and Charles Barclay and Steve Nash, you know, you know, are wasn't Unbelievable. Like, oh, they can't be talked about or discussed with these guys is because this guy won one ring or won two rings or one. Like, it's just, it's just weird to me. It's like Sam Peyton Manning. Can't be in the same room with Brady.

Or Mahomes, because he only has one ring. They don't ever discuss that in these sports. Or telling me that Dan Marino is not the greatest slinger of all time. Or he can't be in the room with those guys because he didn't win a championship. They don't discuss those things, you know.

I I don't know. I don't know. Did Barry Bonds win a World Series? I don't think so. Mm-hmm.

I don't think so. Barry Bonds never won a World Series. You can't sit here and tell me that he's not the greatest baseball player to ever touch a bat. I mean, Jerry West. I think went to like nine straight NBA finals.

Right. And was only able to win one. And he's the logo of our league. Yeah.

So you you can't sit here and tell me that, okay, well, because he only won one. The guy can't be in the same room with the guy who won two or three or four. Like, why not? This guy. He's our logo.

Yeah, but there's They're levels. it levels to greatness. I don't think looking at a championship or not having a championship kind of. Kinda beats you down, of course in the in in public opinion. It is.

It's what people look at. And it's we because we live in a microwave society. It's like how many championships you got? You got none. All right, whatever.

Who cares? Look. People are still looking at what Michael Jordan did. Six for six. And I wouldn't say there's anybody, nobody's thinking about Allen Iverson.

People know how hard he played. He took a team to the NBA Finals offensively by himself. And then he got smashed by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Okay, Jason Kidd, he was able to pick up a championship late in his career. and he wasn't the player that he used to be. But man, he was taking the Nets to the NBA Finals. He didn't have any superstar cast, he had a good team with him. But he had no superstars out there with him.

He was taking on Kobe and Shaq. They had no chance in hell. I don't know. Maybe LeBron is just feeling it because. It probably comes down on him.

And I think that he's unfairly judged when it comes down to championships and titles. I do. 'Cause he's been and went Third sum. that he had no business going to. As a kid, we're gonna punish him?

Like Michael Jordan had to wait years. Until he finally went to the NBA Finals. He had to be eliminated. Braun James was taking a bunch of bums with him out there. And he was just still wet behind the ears.

So, we're going to punish him if anything. I think he should be given a pat on the back for what he's done. Look, nobody looks at Michael Jordan and just goes Hey, MJ, you don't have as many as Bill Russell because people look at the era and the time and they go, oh, well, it's a different time. I don't know. People just need to respect that greatness comes in different ways.

Not everybody's going to walk around with Seven Super Bowl rings like Tom Brady. A lot of times it's just a matter of. of circumstance. And then I guess one of the reasons LeBron feels this way is because we do have people who say. Stupid things like this.

This is your favorite sports guy. Or political pundit, or whatever he is, solitaire player on ESPN. This is what Stephen A. Smith had to say about Giannis that made people go. The hell you talking about?

What's one word you would use to describe Giannis' career if he doesn't win another title? Underachiever. And achieve them. Mm. I'm going to tell you why.

It's one of the greatest players that ever played the game. Over the last four years Minimum 200 games. Giannis, second in the league. 30.4 points per game. Fifth in the league, eleven point seven rebounds per game.

Fifth among qualifiers at 58% from the field. And Nine all-NBA selections in his career. Nine All-Star selections. and top 10 finishes in league MVP voting nine times. And he does, and he has more of that than postseason series wins.

That's unacceptable. It's not his fault. I'm not in any way pointing to him or what he's not doing. I'm saying that you don't look at somebody that dominant. That fantastic.

With that kind of fire in his belly to compete on a night in, night out basis. And all you have is one championship to show for it. He's got one Playoff Series win in the last four years. Ain't his fault. He was hurt a couple of times.

Got upset by Miami Jimmy Butler and the crew. Jimmy and them gave it to him, no doubt. But this year, Damian Lillard goes down, you lose to Indiana. We understand all of that. But to see to know Giannis, his career, his accomplishments, his cachet.

and to say one championship. Nah. No, no, no, no, you definitely expect more than that. This man basically just said uh one plus one equals three. Like he's an underachiever, but it's it's not his fault.

What? How are both existing in the same place? Like, it is a team sport, it is a team game. And one singular guy is not just going to take a team to a championship, and damn it, when Giannis went out there and did so, he had some great role players around him, but this man was running around on a bum leg and It's like superhuman healing powers. He was out there getting it.

It's sort of think about a guy Coming over from Greece. that looked like a baby deer playing basketball. And to look at him and just say, if he only wins one championship in his career, he's an underachiever. Nobody Nobody looked at Giannis when he was drafted and just said This dude right here He's going to be one of the greatest players ever. Like if anything, Giannisotekumpo has already exceeded expectations.

I still have to look at it and go, yeah, he's a far ways off from the baby deer. that was runnin' up and down the court as a teenager. To now, already being one of the NBA's top 75 players ever? Like that's that's overachieving. We've all heard what Giannis has to say about not winning a championship every year.

It doesn't mean that your season. was a complete failure. I already know what he thinks about the comments by Stephen A. Smith. It doesn't start with a failure or an F.

I think it has a lot of B and S in it. As well. Uh just Just just bad. And it's tough. You you can't just qualify and quantify.

everybody via a ring. I think it is definitely a part of the conversation. There are players who don't have championships. That doesn't mean they weren't great players. We know about.

Charles Barkley, MVP, Hall of Fame, Steve Nash, LeBron James mentioned him. I don't know why the hell he brought up Barry Bonds. Barry Bond's got a little bit of assistance. along the way. I don't know if I put him in that conversation.

Uh but yeah, everybody is is ring crazy. Why? It's an easy conversation to have. It's a lazy conversation to have. It's easy to just go.

Here we go. Man, for all the years ago, Tom Brady. Taking on Patrick Mahomes. People already kind of spat on Mahomes, like, oh my God, he'll never be. Tom Brady.

Yeah, but you know what? He may never have seven rings. Maybe he will, maybe he won't. Patrick Mahomes might have accomplishments that Brady never will. I don't know.

Maybe Patrick Mahomes and who wants this? Nobody, but. Who's to say he's not just going to go to the Super Bowl the next, I don't know how many years? Tack on another five years to the three that just did it. Who's to say that he's not going to break every record imaginable except for his.

His Super Bowl a ring his his trophy case Like greatness comes in different forms and sometimes you just have to accept it. uh for what it is. Uh Botra, what are your thoughts on those comments uh by LeBron? I think LeBron is not wrong as a player himself. But as fans, we really do care because we like to compare things and rank things, and we like to kind of.

Yeah.

Compare and contrast the errors of basketball, and rings do matter when you're trying to compare someone like LeBron James to Michael Jordan. And though he may not like it, and though it may not affect their true greatness in a sport and how they're seen by other athletes. People who are not inside the sport They're going to react. They're going to say stuff like, oh, you only have one ring. Maybe he wasn't as good as this person because they didn't live it.

So they need numbers to contextualize what happened. Yeah, yeah, but it's tough. How many peop Bill Russell has eleven. And uh Who's looking at him and calling him the best and the greatest?

Okay, Yogi Burra has, what, like 10, 11 himself? Like. Nobody's looking at Yogi Berra. Yeah, he can be a Hall of Famer, but nobody goes the greatest of all time. Look nobody looks at Robert Ory.

And I guess if you're the star And you you are the guy, then I I guess it definitely would make a difference, but That's why I And a lot of what fans think is is built off of Like what we just heard from Stephen A. Smith. What's on TV? What ranking was here? What was this?

Like LeBron is is right. You can't just look at a championship and determine the greatness of a player. But it is a category. And if you got more championships, you got more rings. Hey, there's a reason why the Lakers are the Lakers.

Forget individual. Championships. The Lakers are the Lakers. The Celtics are the Celtics. The Yankees are the Yankees.

That's why the cachet is there. It is because. Of those titles, it's simple. Not every team is going out there trying to win them. And some teams are just out there just trying to make some money.

It's the JR Sport Re Show here with you, Coast to Coast, on the Infinity Sports Network. Let's take a break. When we come back, let's talk some baseball, let's talk some money. Let's talk about Shaul Hey Otani and Raphael Dovers and the Yankees and the Mets and everything going on in baseball and the Tigers. How long are they going to do this?

We're going to have a chat with Bob Nightingale, covers all things MLB for USA today. We'll have that chat with Bob on the other side of the break. You're listening to the JR Sport Re-Show, Coast to Coast, on the Infinity Sports Network. 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.

What a busy week! Big week in baseball. Baseball is about to take center stage with the finals wrapping up for the NHL, the NBA. And Major League Baseballer's like, Yeah, Otani on the mound. Endeavors moving across the country.

We're pulling up on the all-star break. It's a lot. Going on in Major League Baseball to talk about what we've seen, what we can expect the rest of the way. Joining us right now is someone who covers all things ball for USA Today. He is Bob Nightingale.

Bob, how are you, man? Yeah, doing great. Thank you. Absolutely. Thank you for taking the time to join us.

We've heard that Rafael Devers at his press conference just a few hours ago, and he's now looking forward, doesn't want to look back. We've heard from both sides, San Francisco and the Sox, that this has been something that's in the works. Were you surprised that it took place when it did, though? Oh, I did well, particularly the timing. I mean, they uh It's like you just won eight or ten games, five in a row, just swept the Yankees.

It's like at some point they might might have had some second thoughts, like, wait a minute now. This team is playing so good. It'd be different if they just got swept by the Yankees. But yeah, I just say, you know, why not do it? Why not do it in the off season?

Unless they really thought that No, it was gonna be such a uh a harder deal to pull off, you know, come winter time. Absolutely. Now, when you think about Devers and his fit in San Francisco, of course, now he's a good soldier. He will. Play wherever Buster posing crew want him to What do you think he's going to do for San Francisco in a wider scope being out in the NLS?

Yeah, I mean, I think he'll, like you said, I think he'll be a good soldier. I think he'll be playing first base. I wouldn't be surprised to see him play first base against the Red Sox just to say, okay, see, you're asking me right, I would have done this.

So I could see that happening too. But no, he's a big bat. Their first base was a complete mess. I mean, they were only hitting about 204 all season long.

So this is what he needed. And you know, I think it'll DH a lot too. I think he uh you know just just what the Giants need. I I thought there were Playing over their head. Up until now, and I didn't want I wonder whether it will last.

But yes, it's yeah, exactly what they need. Bob Nightingale here with us from USA today. And we saw Shaw Hey Otani return to the mound for the first time, at least for the Dodgers in his career. Kind of crazy. He won an MVP.

We haven't even seen him. On the mound. What do you think about the process? What is the best process to kind of get him stretched out over the next several months?

Well, I think he's kind of going to this is kind of his rehab assignment. You know, one inning yesterday. Uh you'll probably have uh Maybe two innings next start. You know, maybe two or three, the next one to the all-star break. And I think just slowly building them up.

until you can go at least uh six innings, you know, sometime sometime in August. When you think about the expectations for him throughout the course of the season and the issues that the Dodgers have had with depth, despite all of their signings. Is there any type of pressure on him later on in the season? Or and see if he can really contribute on the mound as well.

Well, it's only O October. I mean, I think the Dodgers kinda yo. street uh regular seasons a dress rehearsal for uh For the playoffs. And so, you know, that Sasaki now looks like he may be done for the season. I don't know if he'll pitch.

So you got Yamamoto. Uh you know, Kershaw's pitching well now. But you know, who knows how long that will last.

So they kind of need him. They need him to be healthy. Yeah.

Give them a chance to repeat. I mean, last year they won the World Series with only three starters. I don't think they want to take that gamble again. When you think about this team and who has the best chance of going out there and And knocking them off. Is there a team that you look at and go, Oh man, they could compete with the Dodgers if healthy?

Well, yeah, I mean, I think even in the National League, you know, you look at the Phillies with that rotation. They can certainly do it. Uh Mets are well balanced. uh you know Cubs have that offense uh you know they don't have that No big ace pitcher. You know, I mean, surely manga i is uh, you know, it is a top tiered guy, but uh sort of Hurt losing Jeff and Steele.

So, you know, we'll see. the Pondres they look at the Pondres number. I mean Pondres are a good team. But it almost seems like every time they play the Dodgers and y they just come up short. And the American League, of course, is wide open.

There's not Is that really a super team in the American League? Bob Nightingale here with us on the JR Sport Brief Show. Coast to coast. The New York Yankees, you want to talk about returns. Giancarlo Stanton made his return yesterday.

And for the Yankees, he was able to get through the game scot-free. I don't know how much longer that's going to last. Are you surprised that the Yankees are doing this again? Kind of just is sitting at the top of the L East.

Well, you know, they were playing so well for a while. You know, now they've hit a wall. I mean, just what lost Forest Race, swept by the. I mean, could have scored one running 11 inning against the Angels.

So they're kind of a streaky team. You know, the vegetarian is, you know, Max Freed's been unbelievable. But yeah, I mean, they're a very good team. I still think the best team in the East. But you know, you know, look around and look at her carecoms arrays and look like they were They were dead in April.

And uh you know here they are just swept to and have out.

Now, out in the American League Central, the Tigers, 46 wins already so far this season. They took a massive leap last year. Of course, the offense needed to catch up with everything they have going on with School. Do you think that they'll be able to maintain pole position? We know the Central typically is a.

A a a a real race when we get to the stretch run. Yeah, I think they're a good team. I mean, they can still make the argument they're the best team in the American League. Very solid. Of course, you got the best.

You know, you got the best pitcher in baseball and Tarek Skoogle. uh very solid team and uh you know it's not like anybody is playing over their head among position players.

So no, they can they can be scary. Bob Nightingale here with us on the JR Sport Reshow. I I got you talk about scary. There's nothing worse right now than looking at The Colorado Rockies. 15 victories.

57 losses. We saw the White Sox set a modern era record last year for futility. Are we in store for one of these conda sorta every single year given baseball's current economics? We shouldn't be. I mean, obviously.

The White Sox were rebuilding. The Rockies weren't. I mean, it's not like they were dumping guys, it's just. didn't foresee this happening. You know, they didn't think it'd be this bad.

They are playing better of late. I thought they were going to break the record just because they're playing the National League West. No, I'm not sure. They're actually, you know, picking up some wins. But no, this should not happen.

I mean, we haven't seen it happen since the you know, the 61, 62 mats. You know, it should not be happening in back-to-back years. Not with the parody that we've seen a bunch of teams.

Well, we see we certainly see parody in the teams. Every season now, I feel like we go longer off seasons before deals get done. I lie, Alex Bregman in his situation. And we see some guys get huge deals with Soto deal and then other guys have to wait. Do you think we're coming to a head when it's time to sit down and come together on a new CBA?

Yeah, not so much that. I think just with the uh disparity in payrolls, particularly the T V. I mean, a team like the Dodgers are making three hundred and eighty million dollars a year just on a local T V. where a lot of teams are making 30, 35 million dollars. You know, that sort of thing.

You know, I think we may still, I'm not sure that will change as far as with the free agency, but there is have and have not. in the middle class, it seems like, you know. They get squeezed and you know, like you said, you uh You know, guys have to wait, you know, all winter long. You know, it's a lot more fun in the NBA and NFL when you see such a mad rush. Uh since yeah, you know, guys I'll go for free agency.

and baseball, just a slow march. It's like you mean your free agent. 24 hours after the uh World Series. you know, they don't get serious until late late late December.

Well, is there any correction? Of course, the Players Association want to make sure that it is a free will and dealing system. They do not want. A cat. But is is there any middle ground to help solve that at all?

Yeah, I mean they uh they would like to have a uh and the owners would love to have a salary cap. I don't th I don't think that will apply. Uh you know you have to have a salary pl you know a salary floor. But no, I just think it's uh Yeah, uh everybody Having a judgment, like, okay, we're not gonna get a real money, you know, until you wait. You know, I mean, guys like Soto, yeah.

you do that, but but a lot of these guys have said You know, you're asking for too much. We're going to wait you out. We're going to wait you out. And then uh Yeah, th then they then they sign and You know, and we've seen that for years now. I mean, even remember the free agency with Bryce Harper and Annie Machado, those guys didn't sign until spring training started.

Yeah.

Well, we we're in a different era, a different time and I'm expecting to see the Dodgers sitting at the top of the mountain again later on this year. We got a long way to go before we get there. Hey, Bob, thank you so much for your time and your expertise. We will catch you down the line. Where can people follow you and your work?

Yeah, just on USA Today, so USA Today.com, or and I usually tweet out my stories at uh B Nightingale on uh on X. Yeah, USA today.

Alrighty.

Well, thank you, Bob. Appreciate the time. We'll catch you down the line, okay? All right, look forward to it. Take care.

No doubt about it. that Bob Nightingale, national columnist covering all things baseball, For USA. today. The JR Sport Brief Show on the Infinity Sports Network, 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-45.

Man, we already are underway in Sunrise, Florida. We got some action that has already taken place. When we come back, we'll talk about some other action. You talk about all this movement? What the hell is gonna happen with Kevin Durant?

And then, one guy who doesn't have to move is another guy in San Francisco. His name is Christian McCaffrey. Apparently, he is going to be back and he's going to be helpful. Healthy. We'll talk some football.

We'll talk some basketball. But right now, what's going on in the Stanley Cup finals? It's Tom Ford Newsflash 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.

Man, it's. It's a Tuesday and things are just getting chippy all over the place. We got guys in the penalty box right now. You got Florida, the Panthers leading Edmonton one to nothing as the Panthers are trying to advance.

Well forget advanced, they're trying to win the Stanley Cup just tonight.

Okay, there's about 10 minutes to go here in the first period. And the Panthers already uh already on the board here, as you just heard. From Rich Ackerman, and we saw Van DeKane. I didn't see who he was out there scrapping with, but no surprise. He was scrappin'.

And then also minutes ago, We saw Caitlin Clark make her return over the weekend against the New York Liberty. She had 32 points in about 31 minutes. Of course. Caitlin Clark is getting knocked around tonight. as the Indiana Fever host the Connecticut Sun.

Caitlin Clark got hit in the face, and then there was some pushing and shoving. Caitlin Clark was then shoved. To the ground after kind of pushing the defender away, like, get out my face, you just smacked me in the face. And uh, yeah, we had a bunch of technicals and flagrants that were were assessed. I and and maybe I'm missing something.

Of course I'm not checking in on every WNBA game, every WNBA matchup. And of course Caitlin Clark is She's the most famous player in the WNBA right now. I don't think I'm going out on the limit saying that. Are they gonna like relax? I get it, they wanna play her close and tough and.

I don't i is she gonna have to start busting people up? I mean, is she going to have to have some of her teammates going out there? Aaliyah Boston and. being an enforcer because she just takes Too many hits from too many people. And nobody on her team helps it and pushes back.

It shouldn't necessarily. uh be her job. And it's it's apparent, like when she plays, She's the golden goose. And people are going to play her hard. They don't want to be embarrassed.

They want to show her up. Oh, this is the golden child. Like, I don't know how many more years is she going to have to play? Is she going to have to win an MVP? Is she going to have to win a championship before people just leave her the hell alone?

She's still in her only. Her second Year. And it's flagrant foul, technical foul. They are beating the hell out of her. Botcher, what are your thoughts on this?

They don't give her a break. They should have. The team should have signed a bruiser anyway, or an enforcer in the offseason. If they didn't and they just wanted to keep the team young near the core, I get that, but. It's one of these events is gonna over overflow one time.

They're close to fight fights. But when they do, it's gonna happen, but I guess you'll have your own Kaitlyn Clark rules, like the kind of Jordan rules back in the day. Yeah, but the thing is, this the Indiana Fever actually added they've they've added veterans, people like Dawana Brono, who's been in the league a very long time. Like they have, they brought in vets to try to make this team to move them as close as they can. To a contender.

Do I think Dewana Braun is going to go out there and start swinging at somebody? No, I don't. But there's been too many times, even in two years, two seasons. Just Caitlin Clark. hitting the deck.

Is somebody hitting her with a cheap shot? and nobody's stepping up to go, Whoa, if you do that again, like I'm going to lay you out. And so I don't know. It's just an ongoing situation here. With Caitlin Clark.

And she just keeps on ticking. And nobody's going to tell me that this lady. Uh is not tough. She's tough as nails and but she's also not afraid to kind of hit back. Um we'll see what happens.

Um Just this is going viral right now. Caitlin Clark kinda getting Knocked around by the Connecticut Sun. We'll see how that basketball game ends. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4.

For ISN. Thank you so much to Bob Nightingale for joining us on the last break. Covers all things baseball for USA today as we saw Shohei Otani make his return. from his second Tommy John surgery out in Los Angeles against those Padres, of which he won Six to three.

Now, Speaking of just And and we also talked about Rafael Devers. And and speaking of San Francisco, The Forty Niners have gone through quite a transformation and change. From the offseason.

So many injuries last year, especially Christian McCaffrey. Only playing in four games. Basically, his Achilles, his Cavs. He went to Germany trying to get them fixed. And they were saying that it's all due to overuse.

I don't know how many calf raises that takes. But it's Christian McCaffrey, when you're giving this guy a two-year contract extension. When you're now upping him and giving him almost $20 million a year, only Saquon makes more than him from the running back position. You expect Christian McCaffrey to be out on the football field. And you expect him to go out there and help out the new $53 million a year quarterback.

Christian McCaffrey spoke to the media.

Now that the 49ers are pretty much open for minicamp, and Christian McCaffrey basically told everybody. Uh yeah, Marchilles?

Well. It's fine, it's better. This offseason I spent a lot of time kind of building back a base, starting from scratch.

So a lot of it was rehab. And wanted to put myself in a position where I didn't miss a day of OTAs and I could practice and play football again and be healthy and not miss a day. And I did that.

Now we can kind of kick back up the training again, but I feel great. Man, he bare he barely played last year. And so he had all the time in the world to rehab and warm up and slow down and get better.

So. All things considered, if anybody should be cool and good, a little refreshed, it's Christian. McCaffrey, this is what he had to say about all the time off that he's had with the injury. Being fully transparent, this this break obviously Last year didn't go the way I wanted, didn't think it went the way anyone wanted, but having this time off has allowed me to. start from scratch and have the time where I can build a base again, come into OTAs, play football, and now get back into it mentally, emotionally, physically, in all ways.

It's been much needed and I'm happy we had it. Yeah, that base, huh? Here about that base something, well, the McCaffrey the whole damn family, damn Ed was I Ed got some jeans on him, man. and passed it down to every epic, even Ed's Ed's brother Ed's father. Like, you talk about a base.

If anybody knows how to get together, it's the McCaffrey family. And they need that man out there. You think about some of the offensive weapons. That they've missed. Deball Samuel now will be catching passes from Jaden Daniels and.

Brandon Iyuke went down, we blew out his knee. The defense is completely new. John Lynch. basically took a I can't even say a scalpel he took a chainsaw. to this team.

Knowing that you have to give Brock Purdy all of this money. John Lynch spoke to the media and he says Yeah, I knew we had to cut salary and yeah, I had to pay Purdy. It wasn't going to be no easy decision. You know, I'd say it's a little uneasy and you have to understand that you're executing a plan. And I think when you have that, when you have a process to it, it makes it easier.

But there is the unknown and we've been a team, like I said, been aggressive. And so you've been adding early in free agency. And so even though we kind of warned our fans, I think that's a tough pill to swallow. Even if you hear it's happening, I think when it does happen and you see players, I think it spoke to how good our roster was. We had a lot of talent on it.

Well, yeah, it it was. They would go to the Super Bowl. They be competitive. I mean, God only knows what would happen against the Philadelphia Eagles a couple of years ago off Hassan Reddick. Didn't knock the living hell out of Brock Purdy.

Who knows, you know, what would have taken place.

So, yeah, they had a great roster. And now they're they're gonna need some of their guys to go out there. and step things up. And as I mentioned, Bright Purdy.

now making a fifty three million dollars a season. There's some expectations that he's going to go out there and continue to do what he's done. And of course, when you pay one guy 53. The money and the fat has to get cut somewhere, and it's what John Lynch had to say about Brock Purdy, his contract, and what it means for the rest of the roster. We had to get younger and we had to get a little cheaper because we had some plans on what we wanted to do with our corps and obviously our quarterback.

And so I think, you know, some twists and turns, but we executed a plan that we needed to and was really excited with the way it all came together. Yeah.

I think all things considered, When you look at the forty niners, who have just pretty much been been strong the past several years, Anchored by the defense, all the offensive weapons. Look at what Shanahan can do with those guys out there. You looked at the NFC West, And you said, Yeah, they're the forty-niners. The Rams were in that rebuilding space coming out of the Super Bowl. Seattle is a mere.

In Arizona you can never trust. And so that certainly works in a favor. Of the San Francisco 49ers, who last year went 6-11 with all the injuries all over the offense and the defense. The Rams certainly got better. Is anybody hoping or expecting anything out of Seattle?

Well, not me. Not with Sam Donald at the quarterback position. And Arizona is the most. Up and down team, I feel in the NFL. They are the definition of mediocrity.

Yeah, a small quarterback, let's run around, score points and You know, figure out ways to screw up. Arizona isn't scaring anybody.

So that should work in the benefit. of the San Francisco 49ers. And let's just put it this way. If Christian McCaffrey is hurt again, And they they're just screwed. Like they absolutely need him with some of the weapons.

that they went out there. and that they've lost. And so good luck to that man and his Achilles. And speaking of Achilles, I don't know. Bacha, which one is the longer story?

Is it the Knicks looking for? A new coach, or is it Durant? Which one is more played out at this point? Durant at this point, because I feel like the Knicks They can somehow get away with like being rejected, and they can go into like the shadows of college and maybe the free agency market. Katie's had four options or five options for the last week.

And you just gotta choose one at this point and it's just going on and on and on. Yeah, I don't even think it's a matter of him choosing one. Un unless he kinda he wants to open things up. You would think Phoenix would look to find a space for them where they can get something. Uh, back.

It's it's gone to nuts. This is what Shams had to say, Shaam. about Miami, Houston, Minnesota, Uh this is what he told Pat McAfee. At Miami, Houston, and Minnesota is where the focus of the Suns conversations are for Kevin Durant. And, like, from my understanding, right now, the Spurs have not.

Been the aggressive team for Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant has a list of three preferred destinations: it's the Spurs, it's the Rockets, and it's the Heat. But out of those three, you know, the Spurs have had a level of interest. I mean, it's Kevin Durant. Like, who wouldn't?

But their timeline compared to the assets and potentially what it would take to go get Kevin Durant. They're just not on that time that Miami may be on or Houston may be on. Oh man.

Well, I mean, if I'm Phoenix, I'll I want I want something from Houston. At least I know I got some good young players there. Let's go ahead and keep it moving. Apparently, the New York Knicks didn't want to bring in Kevin Durant, which is kind of funny given the fact that he spurned them. In 2019, to go with Kyrie to the Nets, and he said the Knicks are not cool.

And I guess right now the New York Knicks are like, Well, we don't want to give up anything for you. And then give you a contract extension. I don't know how that would work for the New York Knicks in their timeline. If Kevin Duran is healthy. Which is a difficult thing to say, really, about I feel like a lot of players at this stage.

Now he's a no-brainer. But a dude getting ready to turn thirty seven. who is built like a well, Built like a a a A tree. He's nothing but arms, he's in legs, he's had an Achilles issue, he's going to go down every now and then. If I'm the Knicks, like, why why do I want to open that up?

If I know I'm having Kevin Durant and there's a good chance that he's going to be healthy in the postseason. Then then absolutely. If not, I don't need not even a drama. He shows up, he plays basketball, he doesn't bother anything. I just don't need to rock my boat.

And if you're the New York Knicks, you do enough of that on your own by firing a head coach with a. with no plan right after it. A very New York Knicks thing. To do. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network.

Florida. The Panthers, they still lead Edmondson one goal to nothing. About two minutes and change left here in the first period. We'll keep you all up to date on the other side of the break. It's been a busy day, Rafael Devers.

Shows up with his new team. He says he's happy to be there. We got an update on Halliburton and his leg. It's not looking good. We have so much more to discuss.

We continue on. This is the JR Sport Bee Show on the Infinity Sports Network.