It is! The JR Sport Brief Show here on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you to everybody for being locked in, tuned in, wherever you might be. I appreciate you.
I'm in Atlanta. Thank you to our producer in New York City, Ryan Botcher. Thank you to you again for listening. Ye you in your car ye you at home you at work Yeah, even you holding it down, if you're holding it down Keep on, keep it on. Anyway, I'll be here with you for the next three hours.
This show starts every weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern. Three. Pacific. You can always listen on the free Odyssey app.
You can tune in on your local Infinity Sports Network affiliate. If you got Sirius XM, it's channel 375. And if you got a smart speaker, ask the speaker to play. The Infinity Sports Network. We have started off by discussing.
A lot. TJ Watt not leaving Pittsburgh.
Now the highest paid man in the NFL that is not throwing the football, TJ Watt is out here making forty one million dollars a season, for the next three years for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don't think the Steelers are gonna you know really go any further than maybe the divisional round. Yeah, I give him past the wild card, maybe. But that's about it. This contract is good news for Michael Parsons.
We know he's trying to get paid. from the Dallas Cowboys and Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals, well You're probably still gonna have to wait, buddy.
Sorry about that. Speaking of contracts Damian Lillard is signing a contract to return to Portland. What? He didn't want to go somewhere where he can win a championship? I'll explain his his reasoning?
We'll get into that. How about this in about twenty minutes? We're going to talk some Washington football. Ben Standing is going to come through and join us from the Last Man Standing podcast. Covers all things NFL, all things commanders, as Von Miller.
Speaking of edge rushers, He's on his way to the commanders. What can we expect from them? What's the deal with Terry McLaurin and his contract? We'll get into all of that with Ben Standing.
Next hour we'll talk some NBA action with Lawrence Murray. come through talk about the Clippers. Got some updates on Caitlin Clark. She is not going to be participating in a three-point contest. She is not going to be participating.
In the All Star game there will be no Caitlin Clark. She will be a glorified cheerleader this weekend in Indianapolis. And thank you to everybody who called up last hour as well. You can call me too. 888-710-4ISN is the number.
That's 888-710-4ISN. You can find me on the internet. I am at JR Sportbreak. If you got Facebook, So do I. I'm there, JR Sport Brief.
You got Instagram. I'm there at JR Sport Brief. I'm on X and Twitter, all of them things. I am at. J R A sport brief.
It's a crazy one. Spent so many days Thinking about where Damiy and Lillard might go, Multiple time all star. One of the most clutch players that the NBA has ever seen. Forget multiple time, nine-time All-Star. Damian Lillard is on the NBA's top seventy-five player list.
And a lot of that is because of how clutch he is. The numbers literally say and crunch time against the last two minutes, his shooting percentages. Go up. That guy got ice in his veins. There's a lot of idiots who run around in the league with just jack up shots.
They'd knock down one shot in the first quarter. They're already pointing at their veins. Man, get back on defense. Stupid. Damien a little bit is really about it.
Now unfortunately over the past couple of seasons, you know, being in Milwaukee, they they haven't worked out. He was traded from the Blazers, goes to the Bucks, expected to be the last offensive piece to help them get back to championship contention, it it didn't work out. You know we saw this man, Damien Lillard, just blow out his Achilles. For the Milwaukee Box. The Milwaukee Bucks said I, we done.
They decided to Cut him loose. and stretch his contract. One hundred and thirteen million dollars left on his deal. They said we're going to just stretch this out and pay him. Over the next five years.
He had two years left on the contract. They're going to stretch it out for the next five years. And so Damien loaded was free. And we knew that there were many suitors for his services. Was Damian Lillard now going to go to Los Angeles?
Was Damian Lillard gonna go to Boston? That was a big name. And and all knowing and understanding that. We weren't gonna see that that man this year. And so anywhere that Damien Lullard goes, the man who just turned thirty five years old.
Anywhere that he goes, He got a gap year. He's going sit down for a year. You don't see Damien Lillard. Until next October.
Next year, October. I don't know. Maybe there's a little bit of a miracle and he just pops up at the end of the season and you slowly integrate him. Maybe you don't have big expectations. But where he's going If he's healthy we might see him.
Because Damien Lullard, is going Home. Listen to this report from CBS Sports HQ. We've got some breaking news out of the NBA, and it involves that guy, Dame Lillard. And no, you're not seeing things. He is heading back to Rip City to play for the Portland Trailblazers.
Finalizing a three-year deal with $42 million to return to the Blazers per ESPN. The deal is expected to have a player option for the 27 slash 28 season and include a no trade clause. is he's a seven time all-NBA selection with the Trailblazers before being traded and spending a couple of seasons in Milwaukee. You see it there where he ranks in franchise history, arguably the best player they've ever had. Yeah, and and and at the end of the day the guy never wanted to leave.
It became uncomfortable. It's just like, is he leaving? Is he staying? He doesn't want to leave. He doesn't want to go.
And then then when he did want to go, it's just like, Well, I'd like to go to Miami. And then they said, No, Milwaukee. He was traded for Drew Holiday. who ultimately ended up in Boston and play a minute for the Portland Trailblazers. And this is not for basketball reasons, okay, not at all.
Because the Blazers and I give them credit. Chauncey Phillips is their new head coach. The Portland Trade Blazers this past season they went out there and won for them. thirty six games, which I would say is progress. Because they have been garbage.
The year before that they only won twenty one games. Drew Holliday is now a part of the team. You got Denny Odvia. And Jeremy Grant is still there. You got the Chinese import that they just drafted.
They decided to trade up to draft. And Yang Henson, he's been looking good in Summer League. You got Scoot Henderson. God only knows what he's going to develop into. If he doesn't make some progress this year they may be like screw this guy.
This is not a championship team. This is not, hey, where the Boston Celtics come back next year and then compete for a title with Tatum and Brown. This ain't that. There's like one reason for this. Damian Lillard, who's originally from Oakland.
God bless him, went to Weber's State also, further up north. He's staying in Portland, he's home. Right before the trade, there was his unfortunately his private life was all public. Damian Lillard. He him and his wife were divorcing.
This guy was away from his kids. He's back in Portland to put a bow on his his career and And maybe by the time in a couple of years they're back at championship contention, but He's back in Portland. And and I give him credit. Ah. And in a world where everything is driven by a ring, and you got to win a championship, and this is your legacy.
Damien Lillard's legacy will be. I rode with the Blazers, Until the wheels fell off. And then me and the Blazers tried to go in a different direction. And then we still ended up back together. Apparently Damian Lillard entertained every team imaginable.
That you would think would be in closer to championship contention, even by the time he plays and he's healthy. The Celtics, the Warriors, the Lakers He still decided. to go home. Just last year, When he was gone, Xamia Lullard made it very clear. I'm I'm always gonna love Portland.
I've always felt appreciated. I've always felt loved, you know, even during my time here as a player. But I think when it goes away, you know, you kind of see what was there, you know, and what you had on a consistent basis. You know, I was always out in the community. I was always showing up, you know, for as many people as I could.
Yeah. Portland is a great pla I love Portland too, I do. I like Portland. I l I I hate that that carpet is stupid. The design looks good on clothing and shoes and sneakers, but that carpet is stupid.
What I also like about Portland. Keep Portland weird Any place that acknowledges that they are weird and they have weird people sign me up? I know there are plenty of terrible things written and said about the city of Portland, and it might as well be on fire. I like it. I got no problem with Portland.
I need to go back. Botch, you ever been up there? I have not. It seems so far away at this point. Oh What's far?
The location. It's... Northwest.
Well how what well how what what's far? What I mean and A distance. I understand that. You don't wanna okay, that's far.
Okay.
Now obviously it's far for location for you, but what determines far? Is Chicago far? Uh no, it's not that far. I go by flight, so if it's like more than And saying Five hours on a flight, it's pretty far. Ah, okay.
It's not more than five hours. From New York it may be just f me it probably is five at that point. Yeah, it's pretty far.
So going to Los Angeles for you is far. That's far.
Okay, damn, well we gotta get you on some planes, Botch, okay? Portland is nice. People are relaxed, people are chill, they don't want to do anything, have a beer. I don't know, hang out in the woods, grow their hair. Portland is good.
I remember walking into a bar. I walked into a bar. This is not a joke. I walked into a bar in Portland. And they had a bobblehead of of Damian Lullah just sitting at the bar.
And I'm like, yeah, this is this is my type of place. They had the game on in the background, too. For a guy from the West Coast, spent his career out west now, goes to Milwaukee, did not go to Miami, and to return back to the Portland Trailblazers. The only reason is. His family.
and when everybody is ring chasing and chasing championships and worried about their legacy, I think it is admirable. That Damien Lilla is just like, listen. I'm going Home. And the full for family, you got your kids out there. Who cares about a championship?
The guy wants to see his kids grow up and and maybe, I don't know, he just and sometimes there's nothing bigger than family. And for a guy in Damian Lillard who's closer to the end than he is to the beginning, he's thirty five years old. He doesn't look like it. Doesn't appear like he is. I mean, outside of his body now breaking down.
not not a bad way to go out. He is likely to end his career. as a Portland Trailblazer. Does he spend one season down in Oakland to kinda wrap it up that that wouldn't shock me? But I think these ideas of Damian Lillard going to Miami or going to Boston, and he ring chased, he did it, he went to Milwaukee.
He was out there with Giannis. Didn't work out. They didn't know who was going to have the ball, who was going to score. They weren't healthy at the same time. It was a disaster.
And now, Damien Lullard? I know when he left, he wrote a A farewell rap. I think yesterday we talked about some of these NBA players in there. uh musical aspirations. Lonzo Ball raps Kobe rapped at one time.
Tony Parker rapped. Shaquille O'Neal definitely was out here rapping, making music. Zami and Lillard might actually be good.
Now he may have to write a return rap. This is what he said to the city of Portland and the Blazers when he initially left. Here's a quick snippet. I continue leaving trails but won't be for the blazers To the fans man I love you, it's unconditional Reasons for me leaving the city's nothing typical So it's imperative not to believe the narrative Just know that what I left is better than what I inherited I leave at peace cause I know in the end that this is business Hope you remember all the things you got to sit and witness Oh, that's nice. Botcha, now he has to write a return rap.
Is that what he has to do now? A disc track towards Milwaukee? No, not a diss track or a return. Why are you being so negative? I'm just saying: a diss track in Milwaukee would be great.
No, he has to write a welcome back. He asked, Do you know welcome back, Carter? You know that? No, I know I'm Coming Home. Coming home.
That one.
Okay, no. And everyone's coming home. Yeah, that one's overplayed. Mace did a return track when he stopped being a pastor. And he sampled Welcome back Carter.
Welcome back You don't know what I'm talking about. Nope, not at all.
Okay.
You know Mace, right? I know the name.
Okay, it makes sense. No. Mace is a famous rapper from Harlem. You know, Mace sits down with Cameron. They do a sports show.
You don't know what I'm talking about? I might might know him if I look him up. Yeah, look up. Look up Mace. Mace was a he's a big rapper out of Harlem, and he ended up being a pastor.
And he was he stopped being a pastor to get back to music. He was signed to to Puff Daddy and Bad Boy. And when he returned, he sampled Welcome Back Carter, Cotter, excuse me. And he put out a whole record about it. And so, what I'm saying is, Damian Lillard, in the reverse.
instead of dissin' Milwaukee and Yannis on the way out the building. He can embrace being back in Portland. That'd be cool. I like Portland. When Damian Lillard is healthy, I'm going to make sure I go back and watch them.
I'm going to go to Portland. I'm a catcher Blazes game. And then I'm gonna hang out in Portland and be weird. That's what you do in Portland. It's the JR Sport Breeze show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network.
Sometimes there's nothing more important than family. I give him credit for that. He said, Screw all this championship crap. I'm going to hang out with my family. Good on him for that.
We're going to take a break. When we come back, We're going to talk some Washington Commanders football. They've been in the news over the past couple of days. I mean, late last night we learned that they've added Von Miller to the pass rush. We know that Terry McLaurin, everybody's getting new contracts.
McLaurin wants his deal. And then what is Jaden Daniels gonna look like in his His second season. What can we expect from Debo Samuel? Is he still fat? We're going to have a chat with Ben Standing from the Last Man Standing podcast.
Covers all things NFL. We'll have that chat on the other side of the break. It's the JR Sport Brief 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.
And we got contracts that are getting handed out all over the place. Damian Lillard gets a deal, TJ Wadde gets a deal, and people are getting paid. There is a Washington commander he's looking to get paid. Terry McLaurin hasn't gotten his deal yet. Von Miller is obviously in the building.
Now with the commanders, he got paid. And here's some big expectations for this team heading into this season based on their appearance in the NFC Championship last season. To talk about what we've learned about the commanders over the past few days and what we can expect moving forward right now is joining us, someone who's covered them for years. You can catch him now on the Last Man Standick podcast. Joining us is Ben Standig.
Ben, how are you, man? Glad. Hey, I'm doing great. Thanks for having me. Absolutely.
Well, we we learned, obviously, last night and so early this morning that Von Miller is now a member of this commanders' team. We know that they needed defensive help. Are you surprised that Von Miller is the guy that's going to try to help plug this hole? Uh no, I mean he was I was certainly talking about it uh during the the OTAs and minicamp that you know if they're gonna add somebody it's They need more like a pure pass rusher, and there's a bunch of the sort of thirty-something guys out there, uh, including Von Miller. And, uh, you know, he's going to be a rotation piece.
I don't I don't think anybody's expecting him to come in and play heavy snaps, but he was pretty effective last year in that role with the Bills. And, um, You know, Washington's pass rush is sort of pass rush by committee. They don't have like one sort of obvious guy, and Von Miller is going to fit right into that.
So, you know, he had six sacks last year and, you know, relatively. Limited time.
So if he can produce like that and get and pressure the quarterback consistently, I think Washington would be pretty happy. We know that they were driven a lot by the offense last year. The defense wasn't necessarily anything to scream home about. They've also added Frankie Louvu to the team. You got another year of Bobby Wagner here.
What is the expectation of this defense moving forward? Yeah, I think that's the big, big question. You know, last year, you know, the run defense was. Pretty miserable. And, you know, like I said, it was sort of like pass rush by committee.
It wasn't, you know, you didn't always quite know where it would be coming from. I think the hope is, you know, it's the second year with this coaching staff.
So just having that experience, you know, more time together, that that alone. Should help some things. They've upgraded, I think, in the secondary in particular. They drafted Trey Mos cornerback in the second round. He could be very well be the starter this year.
But yeah, it's still sort of like an odd combination. This is a team that it's only its second year. With this group of Dan Quinn as head coach and Adam Peters as GM, they're still. Building up the roster and yet, because of the success they had last year, namely because of the offense of the Jaden Daniels, the defense has to be more than just sort of piecing it together a little bit, you know, year after year. They have to get some vets.
So they have a lot of older guys who can come in and play, but they don't have a ton of spectacular guys.
So we'll see how well they how well they do. But I think they've done better against the run. They should do better against the run based on some of their moves than they looked last year. Commanders reporter Ben Standig is here with us on the JR Sport Brief show coast to coast. You talk about coach Dan Quinn.
We know his bread and butter is defense. And I feel like even when he was here in Atlanta, he was well liked. I mean, you've been around him now. What's your impression? Why do people care for him the way that they do?
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's one thing to sort of No, it's it's it's say that you uh you know you're You're into your players as more than just the players, as people. He actually doesn't just talk about that. He actually does that. He's very. He's very personable.
He's the guy that I think. is like a connector of of people. You know, he can And that's really the sort of the uh the underrated part of last year's team was that They were able to get all these pieces together who guys that are either sort of spare parts or maybe over the hill or or what have you, and bring them together in short order and, you know, be a cohesive group. And Dan Quinn's sort of personality and vibe and like natural enthusiasm is really, I think, a a big driver. Um, of that, so he really is, you know, a guy that just does connect with his players on that personal level, and again, we hear about that in sports or you know, all the time, but.
you know, sometimes that can be Um overstated perhaps. Or is it not consistent? With him, it's it's it's a genuine article and the and the players respond to that. Oh, you talk about optimism and and bringing all the good vibes. How optimistic are you that Terry McLaurin is going to get a a decent deal to his liking?
uh before we get to game one. Yeah, I've been, my basic stance has been, you know, these things tend to work themselves out, you know, wake me up before, you know, at the start of training camp and nothing's happened yet. And now we're only a few days away from that. And we heard McLaurin speak the other day. I was there when he talked and was really candid about his frustration with the team.
It seems to me that There's an obvious sort of middle ground, which is like sort of roughly $30 million a year. That's where Brandon Ayuk and Amon Ross and Brown, Tyreek Hill are at. If his side is looking at what DK Metcalf got around $33 million, I don't know that the team is going to go there based on whatever it is. They look at Terry McLaurin as a guy who's really good, but maybe not like elite elite, and that's elite, elite kind of money, regardless of what you think of DK Metcalf versus McLaurin. On the other hand, if the team is offering somewhere around where T.
Higgins got a little over $28 million to be the Bengals number two, I feel like that's going to be a tougher pill to swallow if you're McLaurin's side because of the success he's had, even when they've had lousy quarterbacks in Washington at least most of the time before last year.
So it's a little bit of a tricky balance, but you think that logically cooler heads will prevail. They get this done. At some point here, but you know, clearly they've got some work to do based on the way McLaurin talked the other day. Commanders reporter Ben Standig is here with us. You talk about what Terry McLaurin brings to this team.
This year, Jaden Daniels is going to have another weapon to play around with in D Ball Samuel. We can all look at the fat, overweight jokes, but we do know he brings a different dynamic to this team. How do you think he'll fit in? I mean, stylistically, he should be a very good fit with what. um offensive coordinator cliff kingsbury is looking to do You know, Debo is known as a guy.
He's not like a classic, you know, rap running receiver, but he's the guy you get the ball in his hands. And watch him get those yards after the catch, quick throws. That's a lot of what was working for this team last year. But, you know, he's obviously. Debo Samuel is, you know, not coming off a particularly good year.
His style of play, where it's his really sort of physical. Nature is not going to necessarily age well.
So there is this wonder of: hey, was last year a tough year, not just because of whatever the 49ers were going through, but because this Debo may have lost a step. I think it's something to wonder. You know, he looked fine to me this summer, but summer practices are far different than the season.
So there's a lot to prove. But if he is, in fact, you know, able to to provide a similar um style that he pr did in in previous years and that's gonna be a big boost for washington again not as like a rat runner but as a guy you just put the ball in his hands and let him get after it they didn't have a ton of playmakers on offense and this would be uh one uh one for sure if you know again if he's really got uh enough cues left to be a pretty productive guy Well the guy who's going to be throwing him the ball or handing him the ball is is Jaden Daniels had arguably the best rookie season by a quarterback that we've ever seen, was one step away from going to the Super Bowl. Where is there room for growth in his game? He's already looked upon after his rookie season as being one of the best quarterbacks, period. Yeah, no, it's um You know, I'm not somebody who is like.
prone to just overt gushing especially after just like One year. You know, let's see what happens in year two. There's got to be things to work on. Know because everybody, you know, whether you're Tom Brady or you know, a newbie in the league, you know, there's always things to work on. And yet, with Jaden Daniels, honestly, there really isn't like one obvious issue he had last year.
Everything was pretty smooth, he was comfortable in the pocket, his accuracy was on point. He was. Rather good at, you know, knowing when to break the huddle or break the pocket, sorry, and and and escape the defenders. He could, you know, he could run and, you know. Was highly effective, especially late in the year for Washington.
So, you know, sure, there are subtle things, you know, a little better with the footwork and, you know, understanding of how defenses are, you know, setting them up at times. But yeah, like you said, it was arguably the best rookie season ever for a quarterback or maybe even any player in the league. And The fact that he is like this hard worker, the guy who is not prone to outside distractions um I really do feel like this is a guy who should be able to build on what was already a pretty incredible season. And I think it's a reason why. He is Feel like he may be that quarterback who's on the verge, if he keeps us going, of breaking down that door of the elite tier in this league.
And, you know, Maybe he's already there. I think we need a little more time to see it, but it's pretty close based on what we've seen. And I think he's got a real shot to be one of the best three or four quarterbacks in the league by this season. We talked about a lot of the adjustments and additions that this team has made, Ben. And you think about the offensive line, the defensive line, the addition, as we just mentioned, of Von Miller to the team.
Ultimately, Terry McLaurin, I think they'll get a deal done. When you take a look at the fan base, Last year, I don't want to say it was an anomaly, but it certainly was a fast-forward button. On what the team could be, what is the realistic expectation from fans? Are fans going, hey, Super Bowl a bust for the Commanders? Are they just like, what's the likelihood of us winning twelve games again?
What are the expectations of this squad? Yeah, I mean based on Twelve wins, NFC Championship game appearance. You would think under any circumstance. Super Bowl is the next step. And certainly, there's going to be pockets of the fan base or others who have that vibe.
I'm sure the people in the organization or in the locker room have that as well. But I think realistically, I think most of us are like, wow, that was insane. What happened last year? You know, it was the best, most wins, and deepest run in the playoffs since 1991, the last time they won a Super Bowl. And yet they did it with You know, again, Jaden Daniels.
spectacular, but so much of the rest of the team is still a work in progress. And again, I think if we're all being realistic, like they they won Um Five games in a row late in the year on the literal last play from scrimmage, whether it was them making a kick, a play, or the defense doing something. To win five in a row in those kinds of circumstances is fairly nuts. It's just not going to happen on a regular basis. They also last year, just based on the way the schedule worked, they had a The easier schedule, uh, and the opponents.
There was a stretch there like for like most of the season where they were not playing any quarterback that you know any of us would consider to be a real dangerous kind of a player. That's different this year. The out of division schedule has them going up against the NFC North and the AFC West. Those divisions combined for six playoff teams a year ago.
So, you know, it's going to be a lot more complicated. I think if they can get 10 wins, they could still be a better team with a worse record, if that makes sense, because of just all the circumstances.
So, I think people are realistic. But at the same point with Jaden Daniels, hope is in the air, and that's something that has not been here for years.
Well, we see that people are looking for a lot of hope. They're putting on the the old jerseys. And what's the deal been with the stadium? They're moving back into the city, huh?
Well, that's the hope. That's what the team, that's what the team wants. I think it eventually gets done. The DC City Council still needs to vote on it, and the question is. Um The the team wants this vote done.
It w If this month was when the DC council is going to finalize their budget. For the year going forward, if the stadium is included and it's passed, then the team hopes they can open this thing by 2030 and get moving. If it's not, if they don't get this. budget approved this month.
Now, there's potentially going to be a delay. And if there's a delay, I guess there's a small chance. Where Washington, where the team decides, you know, we'll just stay where we are in Maryland. They own the property. I doubt that's what's going to happen.
I imagine it gets done, but you know, you never know with politics. And, you know, in DC, it's always more complicated because you get the federal government involvement as well because the site is on federal land and yada, yada, yada. If you get the federal government involved, Including all the way up to the president, and you know, we'll see. But I think it gets done, but it's. Yeah, there's some tension in the air right now, but I think it gets done.
It sounds like everything else in DC.
Well, I'll tell you this, Ben. At least these conversations are being had about new stadiums, electrifying quarterback. There's a whole lot of optimism now that you got Josh Harris in, and Dan Snyder, I guess, is somewhere angry on a boat.
So that's good for the fans. Oh, absolutely. I mean, it's if you told anybody, I mean, nobody imagined this was going to happen. Anything close like this would happen a year ago to be in this position where, right, if the worst case scenario is like sort of, you know. That it's this type of optim.
We'll focus on football and not, you know, off the field. Uh You know, negative headlines, everybody's going to take it. It's a total 180. And hopefully they can build on that. And again, with Jaden Daniels, regardless of what else has happened, I think there's so much optimism there that people are pretty excited again in ways that have not been around here and forever.
Well, that and that's that's certainly a good thing.
Well, Ben, thank you so much for the time. Please tell everybody where they can follow you and all your work with the commanders. Yeah, you mentioned uh my podcast, uh Last Man Standing and uh You can follow me on Twitterx at BenStandig, and I'll have a few more things going on as we get closer to the season. But yeah, that's kind of it for right now. Amazing.
Well, thank you so much, Ben. We'll catch you down online, okay? Yeah, I appreciate it. Thanks so much. Absolutely.
It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Go ahead and check out Ben Standig all over online social media, the Last Man Standig podcast. When we come back, I'm going to tell you about somebody who will be sitting down this weekend during WNBA All-Star Weekend. It's Caitlin Clark. And then we'll also hear from Von Miller, who now he's a.
He's commander, but he said he wanted to be a Bill, and we'll get into that. But right now, News Flash 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. Hey, thank you so much to Ben Standig.
for joining us in the last break to talk about all things Washington Commanders. Yeah, it's kinda tough to look at the team that won twelve games last year. With a rookie quarterback, almost went to the Super Bowl. Yeah, they got blown out. The Eagles whooped that ass.
But to even think about what they did last year was like best case scenario outside of winning a championship and getting there for just about any team that's going out there and putting out a rookie QB. If anybody should only be so lucky. And in Terry McLaurin, I'm sure that they will come to an agreement on his contract, no different than what we saw today with TJ Watt. Michael Parsons will get a deal, McLaurin will get a deal, and by the time we get to the season, I think everybody will go along happy. Uh now I did mention Von Miller.
This man was cut by the Buffalo Bells. Let's keep in mind. He had six sacks as a specialist for the Bills last year. He was cut by the Bills in March. He tore his ACL the season before that.
He was suspended four games for a domestic violence situation. And no, he wasn't found guilty of anything. There were no charges brought, but he was still.
well, suspended by the NFL. And so now Von Miller's out here. Hey, got sacks, we'll travel. We saw what he did for Los Angeles, helping them to get a ring. We saw him win Super Bowl MVP at Super Bowl 50.
He was going to the Buffalo Bills to try to help them get a ring. It did not work out. He's 16th all time in sacks. And in a case of the world comes at you fast. It was only a couple of months ago before he got cut.
That Von Miller was like, Man, I I I wanted to be a Buffalo Bell. It's always some stuff that you can work out, or something that you can do. This is, I want to be here. You know, I'm. I don't want to speak for them, but I think they want me here too.
You know, like I said before, if you want to make God laugh, start making plans. You know, I plan on being in Buffalo being for sure. Yeah, God laughed at that one. He said, go to Washington. Go to Washington.
It'll be a good it'll be a good thing. It'll be fun to watch. Fun to watch him go out there chase around Dak Prescott. Fun to have him go out there chase around Russell Wilson. That'll be fun.
Going around chasing around hurts. That'll be fun. Yeah, Von Miller in the NFC East. That'll be a good time. Yeah, let's see what he does.
I'm looking forward to seeing what the Commanders do. More specifically, what Jaden Daniels does in his second season. Because he had the best damn rookie season. that a quarterback would have ever ever. had looking forward to that.
Uh unfortunately, one thing that I was looking forward to will not see Okay. Woe not have. Caitlin Clark. is out. of everything this weekend.
The WNBA All-Star Game is taking place in our home city of Indianapolis, Indiana. She won't be in the All Star game on Sunday or, excuse me, Saturday. She was originally slated to participate in the three point shoot out tomorrow night against and including Sabrina Unescu. But she she pulled her groin. in the last game early this week against Connecticut.
So she did play last night in Brooklyn, New York. against the New York Liberty, And she will not participate tomorrow night in a three-point contest. And she did say in a statement that she is going to be at all the festivities. There are not enough autographs in the world to make up for Caitlin Clark not out on the basketball court. Shooting threes.
And she's just been marred by injuries this entire season. Came into the year with a bad quad. Then ended up with a groin strain, and then had another groin strain, and missed some time. This is just Bad. For Caitlin Clark.
It's bad for the WNBA. Like ain't no lies here she is. The star Attraction. This is the report that CBS Sports HQ gave us when we learned that she goin' be gone. We've got breaking news out of the WNBA.
Caitlin Clark has been ruled out for Saturday's WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis. The Indiana Fever Star suffered a groin injury in Tuesday's win over Connecticut, and she sat out last night's loss to the Liberty. Clark says she will also miss Friday night's three-point shooting contest. Oh, yeah. This is the This is a matter of the players that's out here.
They kill him the golden goose. Players are beating the living hell out of Caitlin Clark. She can't go to the basket without being fouled. She can't come around the screen without getting a shoulder. She's being knocked down.
She was cursing out the ref basically the other day, saying I'm going to call the league on you. Damn. Oh man, that's some I can't even call that snitching. Could you imagine if Lebron James looked at a ref and said, Come here, I'm going to call the league on you? That that'd be hilarious He be roasted to high hell.
Caitlin Clark may want to kinda cut that down. me for the most part throughout the course of her career. Yes, she's been criticized, and yes, she had a reputation for destroying the refs in college, and being a complainer or whiner. Uh but when you're the big dog E there's a way that you smooth things out. And I think there is there is room to improve as it it stands with all refs.
I think the WNBA is an exclusive territory. People hate The NFL Refs. People destroy. The NBA raps. And so WNBA raps, where people don't even know their names.
Yeah, th th these guys are gonna get beat up. Stephanie White, the head coach of the Indiana Fever. Pretty much said. That the reps Man, they allow Caitlin Clark to just get beat up. Like, she sees a different level of physicality.
Listen to this. Are you trying to get me fined again? I am not. Yeah, I mean, there's a level of physicality that. That they're able to play with against her.
You know, I knew it as an opponent, and I see it as her coach. And, you know, I'm not exactly sure why, but it just is what it is. And we've got to help her learn to adjust and use it against them in certain ways. You know, we've got to find some ways to make it a little bit easier for her. But the level of physicality overall in our league has been at a different level than it's been.
for a long time. Yet things have been very different. But if I'm a WNBA player, yeah, you want to play her hard, and you're not thinking about the money when you're out there playing against her. You're not trying to make her look good. But if you're the league.
You you do want to protect her to a certain degree. You do. And you do want to have this be all across the board. We know that Michael Jordan. got the living hell.
beat out of him. When he's flying through the air and everybody's jealous, they beat his ass and he came back better.
Now Caitlin Clark. Can you be better? Do you need to take your game to another level? I mean, do you need to put on more muscle? She's already gotten bigger.
And she's had an interesting pathway to the WNBA. She basically went right from college. Didn't have too much of a break. One is of the WNBA, Didn't go into the Olympics. took a break because they didn't select her for the Olympics, and she came back post Olympics.
And she just lit. It. Up. She averaged twenty five points, nine assists, six rebounds. After the Olympics.
And then she came back, supposedly got bigger and stronger. and now her body is suffering for it. Like if there's anything that anybody wants to see. It's a healthy, Caitlin. Clark.
They better stop beating on that girl. That woman. WNBA needs to do a better job going out there and protecting her. It's the JR Sport Re Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. eight eight eight seven ten four I SN That's 888-710.
for ISN. We're gonna take a break when we come back. Oh man, last night with the Espies. Nobody. Was protected.
Nobody was spared. Even Caitlin Clark. We're going to talk about some of these jokes and whether or not they went too far. You're listening to the JR Sport Reeshow Coast to Coast on the Infinity Sports Network.
