Week 12 Matchups, Jets + Giants & Knicks vs Magic This Weekend -The Michael Kay Show – 11/21/25

Week 12 Matchups, Jets + Giants & Knicks vs Magic This Weekend -The Michael Kay Show – 11/21/25

[Music] is on the radio today and he ain’t afraid to say what he’s thinking. It’s the Michael K show on 880 ESPN radio [Music] and a good afternoon everybody. This is indeed the Michael K show. We thank you for joining us on this Friday, November 21st, 2025. Me and you for two. Me and you for two. Those are the rules of engagement. Fastest two hours in sports talk radio from 1 to 3 every Monday through Friday. Once again, we will start off by apologizing for what could be a little bit of a shaky voice today. I’ve tried to get better. It’s it’s it’s just not happening. I feel a little bit better, but the voice is somewhat compromised. But I owe it to you on a big Friday to do this show, and I will. I will because that’s how I roll. And that’s how you roll. You spend these two hours with me, I spend these two hours with you. All right, so we start off Giants play this weekend and we found out about an hour ago uh that Jackson Dart did not clear concussion protocol. So Jameus Winston will start. I’m a little concerned. This is a pretty serious concussion then. He suffered this two weeks ago and he’s still not cleared for concussion protocol. Now, I know that they’re being careful, but they did say Mike Kofka, the interim coach, said when he’s ready, he’s going to play. And he’s not playing again. This happened two games ago and he’s still not cleared for Sunday against Detroit. Yeah, it happens. And you wonder the other three times that he went into the tent, was he not concussed or was he able to get through the test and get back on the field? Because it’s a little worrying that it’s taking that long. And that’s my biggest concern with Jackson Dart moving forward. I think he’s got all the requisite skills to be a really good quarterback in the NFL. Can he keep himself healthy? That’s the bottom line. Can he keep himself healthy? That’s the way to root. That’s the way to root. That’s the only way to root. Why would you want somebody that talented not to be able to play? Uh we’ll get to more football a little bit later on, but um baseball has been a sneaky uh topic of late. And let’s be honest, can we all talk Frank here? the Jets and the Giants. I is it really driving the boat? Are we really excited about this team? I’ll tell you what, there’s a decided lack of interaction when we bring up Jets and the Giants. I think people are cooked. They’re done with it. The storylines are eh Aaron Glenn doesn’t treat the media well. Uh they change quarterbacks. Uh Jackson Dart to me is important, but I mean what do you say after you you’re a little bit concerned that um he hasn’t come back from concussion protocol, but we will get to football because it’s a Friday, but you know, Don has brought this up too on Don Han and Rosenberg. You do wonder is football in this area ruining itself at least in terms of being fans of the Giants and the Jets to be this bad for this long. So my son is 11. So his whole young life both teams have stung. But let’s let’s take it to a guy or a gal that just graduated college, 22, 23 years old, 15 years of ineptitude. Now, I know the Giants have made the playoffs twice, but there’s been so much bad football. So, you started as a seven or an eight-year-old. This is all you’ve seen. And I think that we really have to worry when we see, you know, I went to the 49er Giant game and it was much more than 50% of 49er fans. And then the Packer game, way more than 50% of Packer fans. So, I don’t think that football is in danger because it’s such a popular sport and you could almost watch every single game. You can literally if they have the NFL package, but think about it. Are we raising Jet and Giant fans in this area? Have we lost an entire generation who doesn’t want to root for a team that’s terrible and dysfunctional? Think about that, everybody. An eight-year-old kid has seen nothing but dre if his father’s a Jet fan or his mother’s a Jet fan. Nothing. Nothing but bad football. Heartbreak after heartbreak after heartbreak. And the Giants one playoff win since they won a Super Bowl. One. So many different coaches. dysfunction at its height. How many fans are the Jets and the Giants losing? Think about that. And and you know, I’ve talked about it with people in the station as well. When we talk Jets and Giants, it doesn’t move the needle like it used to. When Don and I first started the show in the afternoon, Giants were good. They were good. We had two Super Bowls in that the start of our show. We used to have Eli Manning on every Monday. Was great. Now, what excites you about the Giants? What excites you about the Jets? I hope against all hope that we have not lost a generation of Giant and Jet fans. Talk baseball. For the 14th straight year, Brian Cashman did the sleepout for Covenant House. It’s a really nice thing that he does. He sleeps on the sidewalk to call attention to the fact that people actually live that way where they don’t know where they’re going to sleep night to night. So, they sleep on the sidewalk under terrible conditions. I give him credit for that. So, he had a beanie cap on, talked to the media. After that, he lays down on the concrete and goes to sleep for the night. Now, I don’t know how much sleep he gets, but he did make one comment that interested me. He said, “I know this is going to be a meme, and it is.” So when anybody in sports tell you they don’t check out social media, how would Brian know that that’s been a meme? It has been a meme. So whenever you know the trade deadlines happening and it’s not happening as quickly as Yankee fans want it to be, they put the picture of Brian sleeping on the ground for the Covenant House. He’s seen it. So when they tell you they don’t know what’s being said on social media, on talk radio, they most certainly do. That’s just an aside, but it caught my attention cuz Brian said it with a wink. I know this is going to be a meme again. I’ve seen it before. They know everything that’s said. So I don’t know if fans particularly make the decisions, but they might color them. Now, he said the Yankees are not going to hide their um desire to bring back Cody Bellinger. He said it’s silly to do that. We want to bring him back. So, Cody had a really good year. Really good year. A five war. That’s outstanding. He has Scott Boris as an agent. So, coming off a five war year, remember Cody made $25 million last year. Five of it was paid by the Cubs. So, the Yankees got themselves quite a bargain. I would say that Cody is probably going to demand upwards of $30 million a year. And we hear the Dodgers could be interested. I don’t think they will be. Dodgers don’t need another left-handed bat. The Mets could be interested. They don’t need another left-handed bat. They need a right-handed bat. But there will be interest in him. But there’s going to be a threshold that the Yankees won’t cross. You know, if Bellinger wants a six-year, $180 million deal, I’m not sure the Yankees are going to do it. But I have a solution because I’m always working for you. And it’s been brought up a couple times this week, so I did the deep dive. The San Diego Padres’s are looking to sell the team because of their late owner, Peter Sidler, who was trying to win a championship before he passed. He overspent to an unbelievable degree. The contract he gave Xander Bogarts is is is going to be laughable. If it’s not laughable now, the contract he gave you Darvish, laughable. Absolutely laughable. They extended Machado at big money, but Machado is a heck of a player. But by the end of the contract, it’ll be laughable. So I I don’t think that Bogarts is movable. You Darvish is going to miss the whole year. And Manny Machado probably movable, but not certain because of the length of the deal that takes him into his 40s. There’s one movable deal that could clear money for them, and that’s Fernando Tatis Jr. Now, what do the Yankees need this year? Need a right-handed bat, right? Fernando Tatis is 26 years old. He’ll be 27 the beginning of January. Coming off a year where he hit 268, 25 home runs, 71 ribbies, 159 hits. He’s a brilliant outfielder. He plays right. He could play left easily. We know that he came up as a shortstop, so he could do that, too. At the end of 2020, he signed a 14-year deal for $340 million. And at the time, people were gassed. A gasast. Not anymore. You know, the average annual value of that contract is $24.29 million a year. That’s um $2.9 million more than Trent Gisham was making. The deal runs through 2034. Now, the only problem is this year coming up, 2026, he’ll make 20 million. 2027 will make 25 million. 2028, he’s going to make 25 million. And then from 209 through 34, he makes $36 million a year. So, what’s remaining on the deal is not quite an average annual value of 24.29, 29, but it’s it’s below market value for a player of that ilk. Also, since he’s just 27, you’re not signing him till he’s 40 or 41. It’s not a deal like what Machado has or what Sodto has. It’s not. You’ll get out of that deal by the time he’s 36 or 37. I would make a phone call to AJ Prowler. What do you need? What do you want? We got a deep form system. This type of player that would play huge in New York, he’d be unbelievable. Be a huge star. I I know he’s had his PD problems. And if he gets banged again for PD problem, you know what? You’re kind of out of the contract, aren’t you? Now, you can say, “Well, we’re giving up a lot of people and we’re one bad test away from maybe being out of contract.” You can take that chance because he has he’s excelled since being banged on the PD job. He has a no trade clause through 2028. I think with his theatrical flare, he would wave that clause to go to the Yankees. If I’m the Yankees and I see the bidding for Bellinger gets over 30 million, I might have to tap out. Cody’s 30 years old. And let’s not forget, he’s had great years and he’s had really, really bad years. The Dodgers after he won an MVP for them non-endered him. The Cubs after one good year and then one year they traded him to the Yankees for Cody Potit. Cody Potit and they ate $5 million of his contract. So it has not been a steady arc up for Cody. Maybe he found the place that’s perfect for him in the Bronx. Maybe. But Scott Boris is gonna not gonna play that game. He’s going to play the game how much money and how long. And if there’s some team that’s willing to step up and break the bank, I don’t think the Yankees will. That’s that’s when I make my pivot to Fernando Tatis Jr. Call me crazy. I wonder what you think. Brian also said that he checked in with Scott Boris on Tatsuya. am I pitcher? That’s something that interests me. He’s young. He’s dominated in Japan. And we’ve seen that Japanese pitchers for the most part. They translate very very well to the States. They they sometimes need extra rest, but Yamamoto didn’t need extra rest when he started game six and pitched in game seven. So, I think that that could change, especially with a young pitcher. But again, Boris represents him, so it’s going to be a lot of money. I’m glad they’re checking in on him. Non-tender deadline is tonight. Decisions yet to make on Lighter, Hamilton, Cousins, and Ephros. That’s a bullpen right there. They’ll probably try to trade them before tonight’s deadline or they might not tender them. My best guess of being tendered would be Hamilton. Cousins had surgery last year. They like him, but he’s going to miss half the season at least. FROS has been a disappointment since coming over from the Cubs and Lighter struggled at the end. Also interesting, Yankee fans out there, you actually watch Devin Williams. He failed miserably at the beginning, lost the closer role, and then actually pitched quite well. And when you look at the Yankee bullpen in terms of just flatout stuff, Devin Williams might be the best pitcher they have. But is he suited for New York? And there’s teams that are supposedly interested in him, including the Dodgers. If you could get Devin Williams for 10 million a year, if I’m the Yankees, I would do that because your closer, David Bedar, doesn’t make that m money and you still have control of him. So, you could pay a setup guy big money. But does he want more than 10? Is he going to get more than 10? think he might simply because Rael Eiglesius got $16 million for one year from the Braves. Devin Williams might get more that time. The Yankees going to tap out. Talk about the Mets. Do the Mets give Diaz 20 million a year for four years. And there seems to be a robust market for him. He’s probably the best relief pitcher out there right now. Would the Dodgers be interested? That’s the one thing the Dodgers failed at last year. Their their their bullpen was awful. Lot of teams need relief pitching. Will somebody spring for Edwin Diaz or will the Mets do it? And also out there, Kodi Sena, Kodi Sena, Mets look like they’re they’re trying to deal him. He’s fascinating to me cuz when he pitches, he’s something else because before he hurt his hamstring on the bad throw by Alonzo at that game at City Field, he was having a tremendous year. He came back not even close to the same. He’s so fragile. But if you keep him healthy, you know, he’s working on a $75 million five-year deal, which has a couple years left. That’s not that much for a guy who has at least number two and a half starter stuff. Might be might be a thing to do. Might be a trade that you can make. But the Mets are so light in starting pitching. The fact that they’re looking to trade this guy, pretty amazing. 1 800 919 3776. It’s time for the co-host, everybody. Let’s go to Julian in Virginia. Julian, hey, Michael K. Good to talk to you again. You got it. What’s up, man? So, you kind of Yeah. Uh, so you kind of just covered it already, but uh, my question for you was, what do you think the bullpen plans will be for the Yankees? Because you said today is the non-tender deadline, and I feel about half the Yankees bullpen are non-tender candidates. So, do you think they spend any big money on bullpin pieces or will they go the scrap route and try to strike gold with a bunch of rec uh reclamation projects? And uh that’s really all I wanted to get uh get Julian. Thank you, Michael. You got it. Have a good weekend. The thing is, if you look at the Yankees, you know, you could say derisively reclamation projects, they do a good job of that. I mean, Weaver was a a reclamation project. He closed in the World Series in 2024. So, they know what they’re doing in that. Ian Hamilton, a reclamation project. Jake Cousins, a reclamation project. They’re great at it. Do I think they could strike at a big money price for somebody? Yeah. But that’s where the Gisham contract becomes a little bit of an albatross. Do you have that money to throw around now? I mean, we’re talking about a limit of 300 million. I I just don’t think it’s possible to put this together this team together at 300 million. Then I think you got an issue. You only have 19 million more to spend. Let’s go to Bill and Union. Bill. Hey, Bill. I I I love the idea. I love the idea of trading for Tatis Jr., but this guy screams a guy that is not going to play well in New York. Just like you touched on with Devin Williams. I mean, this is a guy who’s got into a motorcycle accident. Why is he on a motorcycle? This is a guy who has had teammates come out and publicly disgrace him and say negative things about him. How bad do you have to be to have your teammates do that? This is a guy who’s had problems with with the Dodgers and come out and said negative things about that. What’s going to happen when he goes and plays against the Red Sox or the Mets? Yeah, it’s it’s a great question and they certainly Bill uh they have to do the due diligence of what you’re talking about. I understand that. Uh they’ve got a lot of people that played for the Padres’s that they could reach out to. They could reach out to Kyle Higashio. uh they could reach out. I don’t know, you know, with Michael King if if he would give that information, but the bottom line is talent, you know, in the analytic world, talent supersedes any other worry. That’s why the Yankees took a chance on Jazz. Not many teams would have. And he was supposed to be a bad guy. He’s not a bad guy at all. I mean, does he talk a lot? Sure. Does he annoy them sometimes? Sure. But I have such faith in a Yankee clubhouse that’s led by Aaron Judge and Aaron Boone that I think that they could corral a guy like that because you take a chance on talent like that. You do? Jerry in Virginia. Hey Michael, how’s it going? Good Jerry, what’s up? So I love the Tatis idea. Um, I had a question though. Would you rather trade for Tatis um give up a lot of our farm system and young assets or would you rather sign Kyle Tucker to a more expensive contract and not have to give up any of our farm system? Yeah, it’s it’s a it’s a great question. So, here’s what you have to think about, Jerry. What do you value more? All the money that you’re going to have to say you save if you get Tatis rather than Tucker because Tucker’s going to be over a $400 million contract. or do you value the the the uh the farm system? You know, the Yankees made a trade where they, you know, they gave up a lot that they they probably didn’t want to give up when they when they signed or they made the trade for Sodto and that was for one year. They had no guarantee that he was going to resign with them and it turned out that he didn’t. That was for one year. You’re getting this guy for eight years signed at a reasonable price in today’s market. Now, the labor dispute that might happen in 2027, I don’t know how that impacts making a deal like that, and I’m not saying it’s the perfect deal because he’s not the perfect player, but boy, he’s good. He’s dynamic. He’s dynamic. He brings eyeballs. You don’t think people are going to turn to Yes to see when Tatis comes up. You don’t think people buy tickets to see Tatis? He’s that sort of inspiring talent. He just is. I take a chance. I really would. I would take a chance. It’s going to take a lot though. But, you know, the the Padres’s didn’t want to trade Sodto. They did it because they had to get rid of that money. So, they got as good a deal as they could. How many teams would be willing to take on Tatis? I don’t know. Maybe the market is limited. And AJ Prowler likes to make deals. So, it’s right there. Brian Smart. He’s dealt with prowler before and the Yankees have a lot of depth in that farm system. A lot. And if you get Tatis Dominguez becomes a trade piece. Spencer Jones becomes a trade piece. And they’re going to need pitching because they desperately need pitching. That’s the route I would take because Tucker Tucker is not near the outfielder that Tatis is. Although he’s not bad and right, but I’m not moving judge anymore. Judge my right fielder until he becomes my DH whether that’s in two or three years or or never. He’s my right fielder. I’m not jerking him around putting him in center. So, can Tucker play left field at Yankee Stadium? I don’t know. I think Tatis can. Guy transferred from shortstop to right field. Won a platinum glove. It’s worth investigating. Allan on the Upper West Side. Talk to me Allan. Hey. Hey, Michael. Listen, with the veterans committee coming up with the vote on December 7th, and I know Mattingly, Bonds, and uh Clemens are some of the big names on the list. I’m looking My question to you is there are seven ex players that are in the major leagues as part of the 16 people that vote. So, you got Chipper Jones, Greg Maddox, Jack Morris, Ryanberg, uh Lee Smith, Frank Thomas, and Allan Traml. And then there’s some uh writers and then a couple of old uh older people I guess are the historians. What do you think the feeling is with the ex players if Bonds and uh Clemens have any chance at all? Do you think that these ex players are going to be maybe more with the uh steroid guys? You know what? It’s a great question, Alan. And I think they’ll be tougher than the writers cuz if you look, Bonds and Clemens got 60% of the vote, which is a lot. You have to get 75, but they never made it in their 10 years. I think it’s the players that didn’t use that are going to be more harsh on them. And I don’t think I think they had their best chance with the writers. I don’t think that they’ll get in with that committee. I mean, when there are that many players on it and of the 16 votes, you have to get 12 of them. I think the players are going to be their biggest impediment. How are you? Thanks for taking my call. Fan of your show. Thank you. Thank you. Um what are your thoughts? I saw John Boyd reporting yesterday about Cory Seager potentially being a trade target. Um what are your thoughts there? And do you think we’d have to give up a lot to get him for the Yankees given his contract for the Yankees? Um I don’t I wouldn’t go there. um that that contract is so ownorous. Uh he’s only going to get older. That’s that’s what we do, right? And uh he’s not the same player that he used to be. He’s just not. So, um I I think you could get him. He’s 31 years old. I I think he has like six more years left on that contract. Yeah. I I love him as a player. I really do. But, um, he’s working on a a 10-year $325 million contract. So, that’s an average annual value of 32.5. You know, people are saying, “Well, the Yankees should look Yankees are not going to do something like that.” Uh, I know you don’t want to hear this. They still believe in Vulpi. And Vulpi is cost effective. He’s cost effective. And if you looked at the teams that made the playoffs last year, a lot of them had bad shorts stops. And one more thing, because everybody wants you to sign everybody and the teams that go out on a limb to make those signings, they always regret it. Look, the the Rangers want to get out from under that deal, and Seager helped them win a World Series. The Padres’s want to get out from under the deals that they’re in. All these long-term contracts, it’s like relationships with someone that, you know, they’re fun, but it probably not going to end up well, and you end up going into the relationship anyway. That’s what this is. If I’m the Yankees, I would not look at Cory Seager. Now, if if they said, “We’ll eat half the contract.” I think about it. Guy could hit. I think about it, but that’s to me that’s a no-go. I wonder how many an we we have Buster Only coming on in just a moment, and I’ll ask Buster about what kind of market there’s going to be for this guy. So, stay tuned for that as we talk some baseball. will do football a little bit later on. Also some basketball with Fred Cats of the Athletic. Right now Bay Rich Honda. Experience the wonder of holiday savings on Honda cars, trucks, and SUVs during happy Honda days. Like the Accord SE only $239 per month or the all-wheel drive Honda Ridgeline for only 2.89 a month. These clearance deals won’t last long. 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Options, futures, and crypto trading carry significant risk and may not suit all investors. Securities offered through Robin Financial LLC member SIPC. Future trading is offered by Robin Derivives LLC. Not FDIC or SIPC protected. Crypto offered through Robin Crypto LLC. NMLS ID702840. Not FDIC or SIPC protected. Portfolio management offered by Robin Strategies and SEC registered advisor. Hey fans, welcome back to Fansville’s Cheers and Tears. Oh, okay. So, like everybody deals with losing, right? To a rival on a last second field goal. Whatever. It’s fine. I’m totally fine. But I cope with losing with an ice cold Dr. Pepper. M. Those 23 flavors are like so delicious. They totally wash away the pain of your college football team taking a big fat L. College football. It’s a pepper thing. So, since um you know the winter meeting is coming up at the beginning of February, I’ll be beginning of February, beginning of December, we’re talking some baseball today. And I just gave you my little blueprint for the Yankees with Bellinger and maybe going after Tatis. And listen, I I got to be honest. I’m going to be quite frank with you. I’ve missed talking to Buster only. So, I said, “Let’s get him on today because I miss him so much.” And Buster agreed. Buster, thank you for agreeing. How you doing? I’m doing okay. I’ve been feeling sorry for you. I got to tell you that though. Okay. And try because every week you have to talk about the Giants and the Jets and try to make sense of it. And you know, it’s funny that you mentioned that cuz I open the show. It doesn’t get traction anymore. I don’t think New York fans care because they’re so bad. There’s there’s no meat on the bone. There’s just not. I mean, we’re just making stuff. So, right, you’re going down a well and you’re trying to you’re wondering where rock bottom is, right? you just all you’re doing is falling and you’re not sure when uh when the turnaround’s coming. Absolutely. And it it could be a while. So, I want to give you my crazy idea. Uh and I’ve mentioned it the last couple of days. I open the show with it as well. I think Bellinger is going to cost a lot of money. I I I don’t think that Scott Boris is going to give the any any discounts because Bellinger like playing here. We we’ve seen that before. I say if they can’t sign him to a contract that they feel is reasonable, pivot and go to the Padres’s and make an outrageous offer for Fernando Tatis Jr. I love it. Um I absolutely love it. I would cosign on that for sure. Uh and I do think it’s going to be hard to for them to resign Cody Bellinger. Not to say that, you know, that they won’t uh you that they won’t wind up signing him, that it’s impossible. I mean, as you know, I mean, Cody really enjoyed it this year. He he was a perfect fit. But here’s the thing, you know, he’s bounced from big market to big market to big market. He’s totally pliable. I mean, it made it clear on the day he was traded the Yeah, I’ll play wherever you want. Sure. Chicago. Yep. Did that thrive there. Went to the Yankees, thrive there. Um, and he’s in a great position. And I actually think one of my fun conversations this winter is asking people you know I how much of a gap is there between Kyle Tucker who’s you know regarded generally as you know as a better offensive player and Cody Bellinger who is a better defensive player someone who might have more longevity because of the athlete that he is runs a bases well uh you know the different positions and and the feedback I’m getting is you know Kyle Tucker’s you know going to get a a $300 million plus deal but Cody Bellinger is not going to be that far away from that. And from what I understand, there is a lot of plan, Cody. Uh you know, who knows if uh you know, the Blue Jays get involved. Uh you know, other big market teams get get involved because of the positional flexibility. So, I agree with you. I think there is a a world in a world in which the Yankees don’t sign it back. And Fernando Tatis Jr. would be a great fit. Um in a lot of ways, uh he’s a 100% he’s an excellent defender. uh he would improve their defense. He’s already under contract, you know, and as time goes on, if he continues to, you know, grow as a player, that contract could look very affordable. So, I love the idea. And I also think that you’re probably that phone call to the Padres’s would be made at a time when, you know, they’re going through an ownership change and uh they’re probably looking to shed some salary. And that’s how the Yankees got sodto. They were they they didn’t want to trade sodto. They had to shed salary. And when you look at their big money contracts, Buster, I don’t Bogarts is untradeable. Darvis is going to be out all year. And Machado, I guess somebody would bite on Machado, but that contract takes him into his 40s. This contract takes Tatis to 37. And it only averages out to under 25 million a year. Uh 100%. And a lot of it depends on sort of what you believe in him and what your your information that you get on him is. How how would he respond in New York? My instinct is is that he’s a big stage guy and he’d be one of those guys. And coincidentally, I you know this week I talked to Craig Stamon, the new manager of the Padres’s, and he talked about how uh Fernando Tatis Jr. and all of his talent and he’s looking forward to managing him. But at some point, if you’re 100% right, if the Padres’s are going to shed salary, he’s the biggest candidate because you Jarvis can’t move. Just he’s going to have Tommy John. Joe Musgrove is coming back from Tommy John. uh there just not a lot of ways to to dump money for them and that would be the most obvious way to go and the Yankees obviously be one of the candidates to get him. All right, in our last segment, a fan from Virginia called up and said, “How about the Yankees checking into Kyle Seager?” And I I like Seager as a player, but that contract to me is ownorous. Cory Seager, I’m sorry, Cory Seager. Um yeah, I I I wouldn’t go there. I mean, it’s 10 It’s $32 million a year and there’s seven more years left on it. Do you think he’s tradable? Um, I do I do think he’s tradable, you know, if there’s some financial adjustments, whether it’s the, you know, the the Rangers eating some money, um, whether it’s uh, you know, them taking a bad contract back. I mean, I don’t think anyone is necessarily in tradeable if you’re eating money, right? Um, here’s the other thing, too, is that, and you know this cuz you talk to people, he Cory, you know, is very respected as a as a good hitter in big games, but there’s always been a question about Cory and how much he wants to all the other stuff that goes along with being the guy. Aaron Judge embraces that. You know, if the Yankees ask him to do stuff as being the guy, you know, be the leader, he fully embraces that. Cory Seager has made no secret of the fact he didn’t like doing the bells and whistles stuff, right? And if you’re, you know, you’re a team like the Yankees, the Mets, you’re going to want some degree of that. So, I don’t know if that would chase the Yankees off uh interest from him and, you know, especially coming to New York. Talking with Buster only of ESPN right here on the Michael K show. Uh I had a problem, Buster, and I I this isn’t like Monday morning quarterbacking. I could not believe may you might disagree with me 100%. I could not believe the Yankees um offered Gisham uh the the uh the one-year deal, the the qualifying offer, and he and he took it. And I think he did the right move because he wouldn’t got get anywhere close to that in average annual value. Do you think that was a bad move by the Yankees or a good one? I I thought it was a great move. And it’s so interesting because I remember the first time you and I talked about it uh on air uh I mentioned it to you and you thought it was crazy like and I and I thought just because it was a one-year contract and it’s and it’s a it buys you time for whether you’re counting on younger guys to advance the big leagues whether you’re trying to you know go out in the market and you’re looking for a right fit somewhere it gives you some uh protection if Bellinger leaves if now that you and I are talking about it if you can’t make a deal for Fernando Tatis Jr. and it’s only one year. And I agree with you if you’re, you know, given Gisham’s history, uh, and the fact that the next time he hits free agency, he’s not going to be tied to a QO qualifying offer, draft pick compensation, you know, that, uh, that’ll be good for him. I thought that was a good choice. I loved it for the Yankees. I thought it was exactly the right move. Well, I I I I just can’t see paying that guy 22 million if you I I said this yesterday, Buster, and you correct me if I’m wrong. Everybody said, “Well, there’s no such thing as a bad one deal.” Well, that’s money you can’t spend on the bullpen in a starter that you had allocated other ways. If you if the Y if Brian Kman called up all 29 teams and said, “We’ll give you Trent Gisham with this contract. You don’t have to give us anything back.” Not one person would take it. I agree with you in that regard, but I don’t think the dollars would be that far off. I think if you were to if his price tag was say 15 to $18 million, you would get some bites from other teams. You’re right. the $22 million salary, it’s it’s higher than what people want to pay him. And that’s why he took the qualifying offer because his represent, right, his representation recognized that. Um, and I think if you’re the Yankees, that’s one of the luxuries you can do. You can overpay a guy for one year. You know, through the years, they’ve done that with with uh, you know, individual veterans, paying them well on a one or two year, threeyear contract, um, you know, in some regards. So, it gives them some protection if other things don’t work out. All right. So, let me ask you this. Right now, Cot’s contracts has the Yankees at 281 and they might not non tender, they might non-tender a couple of guys today. So, it’ll go down a smidge, but if if House Styber is true when he says he thinks that 300 million is unsustainable, how they building this team? Yeah. Uh they could, and I mean, I’m going to agree with you in this regard. Uh I I think that’s right. But, you know, as they go through these deals like Fern, let’s say that they do make a deal for Fernando Tatis Jr., I think there would be some salary relief in that as there was when they acquired Stanton. I don’t think there necessarily would be a bunch of teams lined up saying, “Hey, we’ll take the whole contract in the way that the Giants did with Raphael Devers.” Um, so I I think that, you know, they’d be able to to get some numbers back. Here’s the other thing, too, and I agree with you, you know, that they’re going to have to rebuild their bullpen. There are so many options. The the the pool of of free agent relievers is so enormous that I I I I mean it’s more like an ocean and and so you’re going to be able to go out and get guys on the cheap um it’s remarkable. I mean the other day when we saw them sign uh you know the reliever for $2.5 million that tells you it’s not going to be expensive to build that. They’re actually in good I think in a good shape when their rotation. So, I don’t, you know, I I think that Bellinger would be the guy that would push them over. I I can’t imagine anybody else where they would chase them to a point that that would necessarily be an issue. All right, you mentioned the relievers, so that brings up Edwin Diaz is probably the best reliever that that’s available. Do the Mets definitely keep him or is there a chance they lose him? I think there’s a chance they lose him because he clearly is the best guy out there. you know, surprising to me that uh you know, after the the Blue Jays lost the World Series, they made it very clear that Jeff Hoffman is not necessarily coming back as their closer. Um we need to start talking about the Blue Jays in the same realm that they we do the Yankees, the Mets, the Dodgers. I mean, that’s pretty clear. Um you know, when they when they went after Sodto, they went after Show Otani, I think we all kind of chuckled like, “Oh, those nice little Blue Jays, they don’t have a chance.” I think the perception among among the about the Blue Jays has completely changed, you know, with this championship run with what we saw with Vladimir Guerrera Jr. and if you’re asking me like who’s the most likely team to take a shot at Diaz, the Blue Jays are right there. I think the Dodgers clearly need an upgrade with their bullpen and maybe they would look at him. You know, as I say, there are a lot of other options, but I do think the Mets are going to have to compete with them. And it’s part of the reason why the perception of other teams is that the Mets right now are trying to figure out other ways to save some money, which is how Brandon NMO now finds himself in the middle of these conversations because if if they’re going to shed money, much in the same way that you talked about Tatis Jr. being the, you know, the the quickest avenue to do that for the Padres’s. I think Nemo is the most likely guy because he’s a guy who still has some value. I’m intrigued, Buster, about Devin Williams. I watched him all year. I don’t know if he was totally comfortable in New York. I thought he he ended the season quite well. And I’ll be honest, I think he has the best pure stuff of anybody in that Yankee bullpen. But is he going to command big money and and might he come back to the Yankees? I I would be surprised uh just because it did feel like all year there was a disconnect there. Now, what I’ve been fascinated by is the question I mean David Sterns knows him probably better than any other executive given their mutual time in Milwaukee. Uh and you know this that I mean what you hear from uh analysts is that when they look at Devin Williams performance this year, they feel like that in some ways he was unlucky. They feel like that actually the underlying numbers suggests that he’s going to be pretty good. He’s a great candidate for a bounceback year. Um, and it’s going to be interesting to see exactly who’s going to strike that. Now, I I do think because of the nature of his struggles this year, they’re going to be a lot of questions asked about him. Would you give him a multi-year deal? Um, so I’m I’m fascinated by his free agency like it sounds like you are. I think we’re going to be surprised wherever he signs. you know, where you’re gonna go, “Wow, they they took a big shot at him. Maybe that’s the Dodgers.” Uh, maybe it is the Mets. You know, even after, you know, the questions that came up about Deon and whether or not he’s comfortable in New York. I I I have He’s one of those guys that I’m struggling to get a read on. Do you think that the free agent market and you know, from the GM meetings, it seems like the answer is no, but do you think the free agent market will be impacted at all by the looming um work stoppage? Not so much. Um I think the trade market is absolutely going to be impacted by it. Uh for this reason that the teams that maybe were looking at some of their veterans and saying you know what let’s keep them till next July uh for players who are under team control in 2027 28 etc. Um, and I’m thinking of guys like Joe Ryan, Hadley Rutman, um, uh, Steven Quan of the Guardians, guys who might normally would have been on the trade market next summer, uh, under team control into 2027, those guys are going to get moved this winter because I think teams are understand that next July, if there is uncertainty about the trade market, you’re not going to get nearly what you think you should get for a player like that because we don’t know about the start of the 2027 season. So, I don’t think the free agents market’s going to be as affected, but the trade market will be significantly affected. Do you have any positive feelings that there won’t be a 2027 work stoppage? Yeah, I’m not nearly as negative as uh as I think a lot of people are because, you know, for a couple reasons. one I I mean the owners, yes, I I think there’s a desire to get a salary cap and more cost certainty, but how far will they push that knowing what a great season we just had, knowing how marketable the sport is going forward? And and and I think the big media miss from the last round of labor negotiations was the enormous split between the rank and file among the players and what the leadership stance is. If you remember the last time, you know, we had the we were in labor negotiations, the executive committee voted unanimously to reject the owner deal and then what happened? It was put before the rank and file players and they voted overwhelmingly to bulldoze the recommendation of the executive committee because they wanted to work. And so I think that that dynamic still exists. I’m going to be fascinated to see if uh you know the rank and file players what their view on the salary cap is versus what the stated uh uh you know belief of the the leadership is. I think I’ve talked to you about this before. It really reminds me of the peed testing issue back in the 90s where the union leadership was never going to have testing. We’re never going to do it and privately rank and file players are saying we need to do it. And eventually that sentiment won out. They went to Don Fear and Gors at that time and they agreed to testing and I wonder about that when it comes to the salary cap. When push comes to shove and the question of working or not working is on the line. What’s the actual belief of the rank and file among the players? Buster, great stuff. I could talk to you for three hours, but I’m not going to be unfair. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. You got to talk Giants and Jets, Michael. No, no, I’ll pass on that, my friend. Have a great Thanksgiving. Okay. Thanks. You, too. All right. That That’s Buster Only. Great stuff from him. So, a little appetizer as you know after the uh the Thanksgiving holiday, it’s going to be big time with the winter meetings and they’re going to be a lot of free agent signings, too. Hey, the fall savings event continues this November at Bayridge Mazda. Lease the 2025 Mazda CX30S for as low as 169 per month or the 2025 Mazda CX-5 Select for as low as 229 per month and get as low as 0.9% APR financing rates on select models. Plus, enjoy one-year complimentary of Bay Ridge Plus benefits like ding and dent coverage, key replacement, windshield protection, and roadside assistance. Visit them in Brooklyn or online at Bayridgemaza.com. Bay Ridge Mazda, where confidence comes standard. See dealer for details. If you’ve been injured on a construction site, then you need a lawyer who knows New York’s unique labor laws. 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Well, game time brought to you by Teldor Irish Whiskey because when it’s game time, it’s Tully time. 7:30 p.m. The Nets are in Boston to play the Celtics. That game will be on Yes. Telm do the original triple distill, triple blended, triple cask matured Irish whiskey. Be sure to grab a Telmour Do or try the new Telmour Dooney during today’s action. glass up to enjoying teleore dew responsibly. Now, I was meaning to talk about this. We’ll talk to to Fred Katz, the NBA writer from The Athletic in just a moment. So, the Nets are clearly tanking tanking. I mean, not only they’re bad, but they’re tough to watch. I mean, they’re they’re just dreadful. They’re absolutely dreadful. So, they’re doing this because they obviously like some of what they see in terms of the players that could be available. And so there are three players um that you know you look at and you go, “Yeah, I I would really like that guy on my team.” But here’s my point. You’re going to tank for either Cameron Brooks, the kid from Duke, Darren Peterson, kid from Kansas, and AJ Debansa, the kid from BYU. Those are the three top players and they could they could really impact the team. That’s how good they are. Even if you finish with the worst record in the NBA, you only have a 40% chance of getting one of the top three picks. So, you’re willing to give away a season, embarrass your organization, charge your fans full price to come to your games, put that product on. Yes, you’re willing to do all of that, and there’s a 60% chance that you will not get you will not finish in the top three. And if you think I’m lying, who got Cooper flag? The Mavericks defied all the pingpong ball odds. All of them. And they got Cooper flag. Did they deserve to get him? No. They didn’t have the worst record. But because they’re trying to discourage tanking, they put this lottery in place. So would you give up two years of your team’s existence that you’ll never get back and you’ll be losing fans in the process? for a lottery pick. Literally a a lottery pick. It’s certainly not um as ridiculous a chance as as Megaillions or Powerball, but I’m not giving up an entire season for a 40% chance at one of the top three picks. That’s that means that six out of 10 times you’re going to get something lower. It looks like it’s going to be a loaded draft, but remember the Knicks had the the Nets had five first round draft picks last year. What player of those five? They took all five, which surprised me. Which player of those five moves your needle? Which one? So, yeah, you could you could you could really hope on a Boozer. You could hope on a Peterson, on a Deba. You could you could dream on them. But it’s really really odd to dream on something where there’s a 60% chance you’re not going to get the dream. I I’ve come down pretty hard on the Nets and and I like the people at the Nets. They’ve treated me very very well. But that’s not the point. The point is that you should not really just disrespect your fan base by giving them nothing. Giving them absolutely nothing. That’s exactly what you’re giving them. This team is not just bad, but it’s tough to watch. Hey, the ESPN New York holiday party is back. This show, the Michael K show, and Don Han and Rosenberg are bringing the holiday cheer at your mother’s house in Garden City Park, Long Island. That’ll be on Friday, December 12th. Now, we’re once again collecting unwrapped toy donations this year to benefit the Garden of Dreams Foundation. All kicks off at 1 p.m. on Friday, December 12th at Your Mother’s House. brought to you by Amazon Pickup, Security Dodge, and Spike Aid. I’m going to talk more basketball with Fred Catz, who does a great job covering the NBA for the Athletic. 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So if you love the NBA like I do, then you got to read Fred Katz in The Athletic. He’s on top of everything. Great writer. Really puts it out there. Makes you think with the stuff that he wrote. has a a column out today about Lori Markin which is really really interesting how Markin not passing but scoring over 30 points per game and and he’s an unselfish player. We’ll get into that in a moment but we welcome Fred to the show. Fred, how you doing? I’m doing great. Thank you for having me. I appreciate you saying that. Of course. Um, I wanted to start off with the the the words of Steve Kerr who intimated that the soft tissue injuries are a result of, you know, the quick and pace in the NBA and they can’t really survive an 82 game season. They should cut back on the season. And, you know, my initial reaction is, you got to be kidding me. Most of these guys don’t play 82 games anyway. And there’s no way the owners would give up the gates and no way the players would give up the money. Is there any traction to lessen the inventory, Fred? No, I don’t think so. I mean, I’ll tell you this. Every year at the Athletic, we do a anonymous player poll and we get, you know, triple digit players and stuff on like who’s your MVP and all that kind of stuff. And one of the questions we did either last year or two years ago as a bonus question was, would you be down to shorten the season if it meant taking a lesser cut of of your salary? And I nobody said yes. I mean a couple of people said yes, but it was overwhelmingly a no from the players. And I don’t think you can go to any industry and say would you work a little bit less but also make a lot less and and people would be for it on any side on the the management side on the employee side. I don’t think you’re going to see it. So as much as people say that kind of stuff, look at the actions of the league. Like all the league has done is add stuff, right? All they’ve done is add the in-season tournament. All they’ve done is add the playin tournament. Like they’re just adding things because they’re searching for more revenue. So no, I don’t think it will ever actually happen. Even though it is a noble proposition by Steve Kerr, I I I do wonder if it has to anger Adam Silver and if if Steve Kerr got a phone call from the commissioner because you just cut this multi-billion dollar television deal with three networks and now, you know, one of your most esteemed coaches is saying, “Well, let’s cut back on the inventory.” And I I wonder if it it’s selfishness on on Kerr’s part because he has an aging team, particularly Green and Curry. So, but my my my reaction to him would be then play them fewer minutes. Don’t I mean, and also he does rest them. So, I don’t exactly know what having 74 games would do compared to 82. Yeah. I think another part of it too, and this is something that’s kind of popped around the league, especially this season, is the way, and this is some real inside baseball stuff, but the inseason tournament has totally changed the way the early season schedule is now. And so what you have is you have NBA teams are obsessed now with this idea of rest advantage. There are all these internal analytics that say the team that is more rested wins a disproportionate amount of time than the team that is less rested. So the NBA has tried to make it so that you have a similar rest advantage, you know, that evens out for throughout the course of the season, but because of the inseason tournament and because inseason tournament games are only played on some Tuesdays and some Wednesdays and every Friday. And because they have that gap in the schedule in December, now what’s happened is you have teams that some teams that have these long stretches of off days and some teams that have tons of these backtobacks. In Golden State’s case, they’ve had five backto-backs so far. That’s the most in the league. I was talking to another team that’s had a bunch of backto-backs and they were saying they haven’t played anybody else who was also on a backto-back. So, they’ve had a ton of rest disadvantaged games so far this year. And that’s like a topic in the league right now. And I think that also leads Curry to say that kind of stuff as well. Let’s shift to uh the Lakers because they fascinate me. Without LeBron starting the season with them because of the sciatica, they got off to a great start and Luca’s been unbelievable. Reeves has played very well as well. Uh, so LeBron comes back. Is he okay? Because we all know as great as he is, like all great athletes, they have egos. Is he okay being the second option to Luca Donuch or is he going to be unhappy? I don’t know the answer. Honestly, I think we just kind of have to wait and see. Obviously, you know, Rich Paul had his cryptic statement over the summer and there has been a lot of conversation that’s swirled about LeBron LeBron about what his off seasonason might look like after this one because he’s on an expiring contract for the first time in his entire career and you don’t know what’s going to happen. This is the first time where LeBron hasn’t been the guy on any team that he’s ever played on in his entire life. He’s the other guy, but he’s not the guy, right? I will say I thought he played pretty beautiful basketball during his first game. Uh he wasn’t crazy moving off the ball all that much. I didn’t take that as a LeBron not trying thing. I took that as a this guy just had sciatica and is about to be 41 years old thing. I thought his passing was unbelievable in that game. I mean, you know, obviously he’s one of the greatest passers of all time, but his some of the moves he some of the passes he made in that game, especially out of the post, he was using these pick and rolls with Dantric and with Reeves to get into postups, and he was facilitating out of those, and it was gorgeous, especially in that fourth quarter. He had a couple of incredible dimes. Uh, one to one to Jackson Hayes for a dunk. Uh, another one to a cutter down low, which got a dunk uh from the left side of the post. like he was a really beautiful distributor. I also think like this team is good. If this team stunk or something, then maybe it would be more of an issue. But like you just said, they’re balling out right now. Offensively, they’re awesome and their role players are playing well. Ruy Hatimura is having an incredible season for them. Easily the best year of his career. He has been great. Eaton has been a good pickup. He’s shooting 70% from the field right now. So, you enter LeBron into this with Reeves as a guy who’s just this incredible scorer and facilitator now as well. This offense could be one of the most potent offenses in the entire league. And I wonder about their defense, but this is a good situation for a 40-year-old all-time great to be in where you’ve got two young incredible facilitators and off the dribble scorers. you’ve got good role players around him and LeBron who has always been the guy who just makes the right basketball play can just make the right basketball play and still get numbers probably. I think it’s actually a great situation for him and we’ll see if he agrees with me or not. Um we’re talking with Fred Katz of the Athletic here on the Michael K show. So let let’s talk about Luca to the Lakers because that ended up getting Nico Harrison fired. Um, was that a power struggle that was won by Mark Cuban who lost a lot of power when when he sold the club? And did Nico Harrison deserve to be fired? Yeah, I I think he did deserve to be fired. I think it’s hard to argue otherwise. Uh, it wasn’t just the quality of the trade, it was the way the trade happened. It was, you know, whether you go by results, the trade was a disaster. Whether you go by process, the fact that Nico Harrison kind of decided he was going to trade this one guy, spoke to one team, didn’t get the best package from that one team that he could have, and then justified it with stuff that didn’t make as much sense, saying, you know, essentially they wanted to shorten their window. They’re the first team in sports history that actively said they wanted to shorten their window for some reason, uh, when they had a long window and they just made the finals. Um I I it it didn’t make any sense. The process behind it didn’t make sense. And speaking of people there and being around that team some the last couple of years, it was so toxic in that organization. Just the constant calls in Dallas, the fire Nico chance, it had seeped into every single part of that organization. And it was going to be a toxic, unmanageable workplace until they made that decision. It really was. Uh, and I considered it an inevitability this summer. I didn’t think it was going to happen as soon as it did, but once the Mavs get off to such a bad start and Kyrie is hurt and Anthony Davis is hurt and you know, you’re 4 and 12 or whatever they are right now. It’s like, you know, you know that moment’s coming. I didn’t know it was coming the exact moment it did, but you know it’s an inevitability. It it it just the thing that jumped out at me when it happened, when the trade actually happened. I think the most egregious thing, as you mentioned, okay, I’m going to do it to the Lakers, and I’m not going to even explore it. Muel Bridges got the Nets five first round draft picks from the Knicks. I mean, if he would have offered around Luca Donuch, I mean, he would have gotten a Hershel Walker sort of deal. So, he, as great as Anthony Davis is, he is injuryprone. That right there is almost a fireable offense. And the fact that, you know, the Dumont, the governor, actually said, “Yeah, do the deal.” Some of it’s on him, too. I think he’s trying to clean his hands of it. Oh, no question. You notice he put out a statement after about committed, did not mention the Luca trade, did not mention his part in the Luca trade, right? I think you’re absolutely right about Patrick Dumont. I think what happened is the Aden’s by the team. Patrick Dumont becomes the principal owner and the controlling owner and the guy who’s operating it on a day-to-day basis, the new Mark Cuban, and he doesn’t have knowledge of the NBA. He doesn’t have knowledge of the league, of the sport. And so what happens is he leans on the people who are already there and he figures, you know what, Nico Harrison’s in this job. He’s running a team. He came to me. He said, “We need to do this, and I’m going to trust that the person who has this job knows what they’re doing.” Turned out it was not worth doing. That being said, an owner has a responsibility to educate themselves to some degree on the team that they control, and they certainly have a responsibility to do their due their due diligence. Just like in any business decision that has major consequences, they have to do their due diligence before allowing any sort of significant transaction to go through. Uh Duman didn’t want to pay Luca Don the supermax. If you’re not going to pay the supermax to Luca Dantes, who you going to pay it to? Right. Right. Uh he he deserves blame for that as well. I agree with you completely. Uh Harrison was the one who had the idea, who pushed the idea, and who executed the idea. But it was all done with at the very least the permission of Dumont and without clearly without enough push back to make any difference in disrupting either the timeline or the decision-m or the way the deal went down. Uh let’s talk about Mitchell Robinson who I’ve talked about a lot this week and and he’s a big part of of your story in the Athletic today. Uh he’s had a phenomenal season in terms of rebounding, specifically offensive rebounding. You you point out in your story that he’s also been passing the ball very well and in the right way, getting it out to a three-point, not just passing it out. And the one thing that I’ve brought up because I I I try to play this out, he he can’t play every game because of the management of the ankle. He he can’t shoot free throws. I’m just wondering, Fred, when he becomes a free agent at the end of this year, what kind of money does this player get? Because he’s great at one thing, but he’s so limited in other things. What kind of money would he command? Such a great question. I have asked this question to a lot of people in the league, and you know what happens? I ask this to people and they say, “I have no idea.” Right? I have and and nobody in the league even really has a value. Their answer is, well, let’s wait and see if he can play real minutes. See if he can play this season. I’ll tell you this, Jonathan Isaac, uh, great defensive player when he was healthy for the Orlando Magic, uh, got a contract that paid him. Isaac had serious serious injuries, was out for multiple years, and got to a point where he literally couldn’t play in more than 15 20 minutes a night. When he did play, he was one of the tier one fantastic defensive players in the league, but he had more ball skills than Mr. Robinson, but he he wasn’t a shooter. He wasn’t a passer. He wasn’t a creator. He was one of the elite defenders in the league. And Jonathan Isaac, based on just that, because of his size and his ability to guard everybody, his wind protection, everything else, got a deal that got him about $15 million a year. But it was a really interesting structured contract. There were all of these injury provisions put in there. So if he didn’t play a certain number of games or whatever else, the contract wouldn’t guarantee for the following season. And I could see somebody doing something like that with Mitchell Robinson because he is more than just a rebounder because he’s he’s an excellent defensive center. I mean, he his motor is incredible. His rim protection has really become fantastic. And I would say the best part of his defense is his ability to guard the back end of pick and rolls is as good as pretty much anybody else’s in the league. He’s a fantastic positional defender. He’s huge. Knows exactly how to use his arms. because he disrupts passing lanes all the time. You just you can’t get the ball to the roller. He’s great at guarding the the ball handler and the screener at the same time, which is such an unbelievably difficult thing to do. You just need to have the instincts plus the size plus the athletic ability to do that. And so few people can do that and he can. I think he’ll get money, but I could also see like injury provisions in that deal. If he gets to a point, he’s not going to play back tobacks this year, but if he gets to a point where he’s playing 25 plus minutes a game and he can play 50 55 games, like I think he gets right now he makes 15 million. I think he gets more than or he makes 12.9. He got it was a decreasing contract. I think he gets at least 15 would be my guess. That’s around the mid-level exception. The I also have some trepidation though, Fred, because everything that you’re saying with him defensively, he could guard I mean, there’s a video of him guarding all five positions. He’s he’s tremendous and the rebounding speaks for itself, but when he’s on the court, it’s four on five for the Knicks offensively. He has no offensive game at all. No. Well, here’s the thing. The offensive rebounding is so incredible that it genuinely makes up for that. It gets the Knicks extra possessions. The Knicks right now have the third ranked offense in the league in terms of points per possession. And a huge reason for that is their offensive rebounding. They are really good at offensive rebounding. And you mentioned what I wrote about today. They’re really good at offense after offensive rebounding. People talk about how often you get offensive rebounding, but they’re how how often you get offensive rebounds, but there are teams that are that whose offenses kind of stall after they get offensive boards. And the Knicks are quick and he’s a huge reason why he’s so great after getting that offensive rebound of kicking it back out. And the Knicks create a ton of threes offensive rebounds and they are very very very good at that. Mitchell Robinson’s a huge part of it. When you’re gobbling up that many offensive rebounds, you’re just going to outpossession the other team and it’s also exhausting for the other team. So, if you look at the numbers, the Knicks offense is still incredibly elite when Mitchell Robinson’s on the floor. And that’s been the case for years now. And the reason why is even though you’re kind of playing four on five, it’s because you’re playing four on five until the shot is released. And then what happens is you got maybe the best rebounder in the whole league, it’s him or Steven Adams going up for a ball and he’s changing everything. like he’s rebounding 26% of missed shots when he’s on the floor this year just on the offensive boards. That that’s a higher percentage than some teams. I mean, it is insane what he’s doing. And it completely throws off the balance of the possession game. And if you can get 10 more shots than the other team, even if you only make four of them, that’s just that’s just eight that’s you’re just starting with an eight nothing advantage right there. Yeah. I mean, some of them are threes, you’re starting with a 100 advantage. So, it really offsets all the stuff he doesn’t do offensively. All right, final thing. Is OKC a 70 win team this year? Yeah, I I kind of thought they would be coming in for the year. I I totally think so. Now, they’re they got one loss. They haven’t had and they don’t seem complacent at all. No, that’s not the attitude of this team. I mean, this team is still really young and they act like they have something to prove. They have for a while. They’re very young. They’re very hungry. Shay Gildas Alexander is like that, but the rest of this roster is like that. The Flender have made a very conscious effort to go out and get personalities who are like that. You know, Lou Dort is an undrafted guy who always feels like he has something to prove. You know, Jaylen Williams fell to the end of the lottery and he hasn’t even played this year. Uh Chad Homegrren has missed time. Isaiah Joe has missed time. Aaron Wiggins has missed time. Alex Caruso has missed time. and they’ve got one loss and they are destroying everybody and their defense is so much better than everybody else’s in the league. It’s not even close. They’re allowing like 103 points per 100 possessions. The difference between them and second place at 109 points per 100 is the same as the difference between second place and like 20some. They are so much better than every other team in the league defensively. Uh yeah, I mean I I think they’ll pretty decent chance they’re going to get better because they’re not healthy right now and they’re still killing everybody. And and to make it worse for the rest of the NBA, they have the Clippers first round pick. Oh yeah. I mean if they they can’t get the number one pick. Yeah. Imagine if they end up with Darren Peterson. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. I mean Presty does some job. He really does. There’s there’s a pretty good chance that they’re set up better than any team in league history. Good for them. They did it the right way. Thank you for coming on. Have a great weekend. If we don’t talk to you, have a happy Thanksgiving. Thanks, Michael. Same to you. You got it. Fred Catz, read a story in the athletic today. You know, just to um piggyback on the Dallas thing, people that that sell teams, right, like Mark Cuban did. So I think Cuban still owns like 26% of the Mavs, but he doesn’t control them at all. So he decided to cash in. I don’t blame him. And he thought he was still going to have a say in basketball matters. And Nico Harrison elbowed him out and didn’t have a direct line to Patrick Dumont. So what I’m saying is you can’t have your cake and eat it too. You can’t cash in and then expect to still run the team. Who would buy a team if they weren’t going to run the team? Because as Woody Johnson once told me, buying a a team, yeah, you you’ll make money when you sell the team, but if you put that money, let’s just say in an SNP500 um index fund, you’re going to make way more money than you would holding on to the team. So you buy a team for the incilliary stuff where you know you build around it. You build um uh you know a new arena with everything around it where you where you you control that and they want to build the casino in Dallas as well. So Cuban thinking that he was going to have a say in basketball matters when he sold 75% of the team. Silly. Which brings us to the Los Angeles Lakers. Jeannie Bus sold the Lakers for $10 billion to Mark Walter. And if that name sounds familiar to you, Mark Walter is a guy who owns the Dodgers. So, she made an agreement in the agreement that she was still going to run basketball operations for five years after selling the team. I’ll make you all a little fun bet for Sasparilla. She’s not running basketball operations for five years. Mark Walters is not spending $10 billion of his money to sit back and let Jeanie Bus run the team. And one of the first things they did, they just fired both of her brothers. So, you can’t get the old proverbial cake and eat it too. You can’t cash in on your team and then expect to run it as well. And I I’ll bring you back. Some of you might be too um young to remember this. George Steinber was going to sell the Yankees to Jim Dolan and the Dolan family, Charles Dolan, the patriarch, but Jim was going to, you know, going to run it like he runs the Knicks and the Rangers. And the cautisal in the contract was that Jim Dolan was going to allow George Steinbrunner to run the teams for however long. I don’t remember the exact timing. And it it was almost a done deal. I mean, how the world would be different, right? Do you realize that George Steinber figured out nobody’s gonna pay me all this money for this team and then let me run it? It’s not likely. And the people that have the money to make those deals, they’re barracudas. You think they’re going to let somebody else play with their toy? So, Steinber backed out. Otherwise, Don would still be owning the Yankees. But but Steinber was going to run the Yankees, the Rangers, and the Knicks, and he wasn’t going to own them, a majority of them, but he backed out of it. Well, Jeannie Bus didn’t back out of it. I want to see her run basketball operations for 5 years with Mark Walter, just like Mark Cuban thought that he was still going to be running basketball operations with the uh with the Mavericks after selling them to the Aden family. It doesn’t work out that way. It never does. It never does and people should know that. Nothing for nothing in this world. Nothing for nothing. Hey, Mley crew is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Carnival of Sins at PNC Bank Art Center. That’s on Friday, July 31st, 2026. We here at ESPN New York, we have your chance to score tickets on the ESPN New York app. Find the contest tile and submit your entry. Brought to you by LiveNation. Tickets are on sale now at livenation.com. We have two pack for sure coming up at the end of the hour. Uh we want to talk with you my co-host. Give you a chance as we finish up another great week. You know the number to apply for the job of co-host 1800 9193776. We got a lot to do. We got about a half hour to do it. Hey, it’s Michael K talking to you about my friends at PC Richard and Sun. They’re local, familyowned, and I trust them and you can too. Right now, get Black Friday deals throughout the store. And with their holiday price guarantee, your price is protected. If the price goes lower from now through December 24th, they’re going to match it. 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As you all know, I care deeply about pediatric cancer research and awareness. That’s why I’m proud to talk about Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For over 27 years, every Hyundai sold has helped fund life-saving pediatric cancer research. Together with over 850 dealers nationwide, they’ve raised more than $277 million, supporting over 25,000 kids in their fight against cancer. At Hyundai, hope isn’t optional, it comes standard. Visit hyundaiusa.com and search Hyundai Hope on Wheels to learn more. Welcome back to the show, everybody. So, I I came upon this this uh this little item kind of stunning to me. All right. So, they’re they’re going to make Disney’s going to make Frozen 3 and four. Frozen an incredibly popular um animated movie and then Frozen 2 did quite well. Um I mean I I’ve probably seen each movie 30 times because when kids are little, they watch a movie, they watch it every day like it’s the first time they’ve ever watched it. So obviously they made a lot of money for Disney, but so they they’ve signed up to do Frozen 3 and four. Frozen 3 is coming out 2027. Frozen 4 um the date not known when it will be released, but they are going to be made concurrently. So it could be coming out in 2028. But here’s the thing that just caught my eye. Adena Menzel, Kristen Bell, and Josh Gad are the voices of the main characters to do these two movies. Again, they’re not on camera. They’re just voicing over the animation. They’re getting $60 million a piece. So, what I would say to everybody that begrudges an athlete for making huge money, oh, Sodto doesn’t deserve that. How could they give Judge that money? Why should LeBron make that? Why would a guy like Josh Allen make all that money? $60 million a piece to voice over animation. They don’t have to dedicate their lives to keeping their body in order, anything like that, nutritionally healthy, anything like that. Because being a sports star, it takes an unbelievable commitment in your life to be great. And I’m sure there’s an unbelievable commitment for their voices and things like that, but if they could make $60 million each to voice over animated characters, then really you all have to really check yourself when you criticize how much athletes make. Why is it okay? Because we can’t picture ourselves doing what Josh Gad and Kristen Bell and Adena Menzel did, but we can picture ourselves playing. We can’t play. If we could, we would. So, the jealousy of what people make in sports, it has to stop because nobody says a word about what actors make and a and actresses make and singers make. Nobody. Nobody says a word. But we always have something to say when an athlete cashes in. And sometimes I feel that way, too. But it is what it is. Frozen 3 is going to bring in a lot of money for Disney. A lot of people are going to see it in the movies. They’ll make they’ll make their money back, but it shows you how much money they’ll make when they’re committing $180 million to Three Voices. And then we have the nerve, we have the nerve to like criticize athletes that are making 50 million a year. And you know, for baseball player, this season starts February 12th in spring training. And if you’re lucky enough to go to the World Series, the the beginning of November, I don’t think it’s going to take that long to to voice over Frozen 3 and four. Just saying. And that’s not knocking these people. Credibly talented. Menzel is one of the great voices of all time. I get it. I understand it. But we do have to tamp down the criticism of athletes making so much money when people in entertainment make that kind of money. It’s all there is to it. Let’s go to Steve in Wartsboro. Steve. Hey, Michael. How are you? I’m great. How you doing? I’m doing well. Uh, what are the odds that the 49ers would trade M. Jones for a couple of picks that the Jets have? Well, I mean, they do have Brock Pury signed to a long-term deal, and M. Jones certainly did well, but if I’m the Jets, I would have some reservation about doing that because M. Jones did not play well uh with the Patriots. Uh and the Jets have shown no inclination to have any offensive idea on what to do with a player like that. I think that M. Jones is excelling because of who is his head coaches, Kyle Shanahan and the offensive system that he’s built. But would the 49ers consider it? Of course they would. If they could cash in big time by trading essentially a backup quarterback, why not? But if I’m the Jets, I’m not sure I would go that route. Not sure I would go that route. Uh, let’s go to Glenn in Connecticut. Glenn, hey Mike, thanks for taking my call. You got it, man. What’s up? Yeah. Um, I finished part three of the A-Rod documentary last night. I didn’t see the last one. How was it? Oh, it was incredible. Um, A-Rod Alex was awesome. You were awesome. I thought everyone who parttook in the documentary was awesome. And, uh, if you haven’t seen it yet, definitely go see it. It’s, uh, it’s definitely a great documentary. Let me ask you a question since you watched it and I talked about I thought episode two was so incredibly honest and raw. I mean, talk about like exposing yourself, cutting open veins. I can’t believe he did it, Glenn. Yeah, he was uh super vulnerable. It was uh it was I thought it was really cool to see that side of Alice and see how much he’s grown and uh and just the person he’s really become. And that kind of led me to my next point that Yankee Universe, you know, how they like to fantasize and everything about potentially Alex being a Yankee manager at some point. Uh, at this point in his life, I think he seems pretty content with where he’s at and I don’t see him doing anything like that. I think he’s kind of like goodbye to baseball, had his peace, and uh, he’s pretty happy where he is at the moment. Um, I Well, let’s let’s let’s look at several things about that, Glenn. Uh Alex Rodriguez is literally a billionaire. He has so many businesses. You know, he owns half of the Timberwolves, which is, you know, literally 50% of the Timberwolves uh with his um financial partner. And the Timberwolves right now could be sold for $4.5 billion. They paid 1.5 billion for it like three or four years ago. Uh I don’t even know how he keeps up with the schedule that he has. The business meetings, he owns so many different business. His hands are in so many things. I simply don’t think that there would be time there for him to be a manager from February 12th until the end of October. I think that the thought of it would probably intrigue him because he loves baseball so much, but his life would have to change dramatically for him to even accept it. Now, as for the Yankees, I mean, he sued he sued the Yankees. So, I I just don’t see that ever happening. And, you know, he’s made some pointed comments about Brian Cman. Now, as long as Cashman is in charge, there’s no way that Cashman would hire A-Rod as the manager. So, I I just don’t, you know, just the structure of his life, the amount of money that he has. Now, can I see him maybe buying a team one day and running it that way? Yeah. But the dayto-day um angst of running a baseball team and being a manager, I I just can’t see him doing it. And unless there’s a drastic change in Yankee management, I can’t see the Yankees bringing them in. Now, you could say, “Well, he’s sued Major League Baseball and, you know, he’s the one of the lead voices on Fox and, you know, he’s very close with Manford.” Yeah, I I call him Lazerod. He has risen from the dead, so I wouldn’t put anything past him, but I don’t think that’s something that would intrigue him. No, no, I take it back. It would intrigue him, but I don’t think that that’s something that he could fit into the busy life that he has. Joe in the Bronx. Joe, hey, what’s going on, Michael? How you doing, man? I’m doing good. Um, also watch the uh the A-Rod documentary. I watched actually the first two episodes yesterday, but I did not watch the third yet. Second one’s unbelievable. Right. The second one was unbelievable. I love the way it ended how like, you know, he goes from winning the World Series to the Red Sox when they threw the pitch at him. It was awesome. And I loved your storytelling also. I thought it was great. Um, so yeah, I just wanted I just wanted to hit on a quick um on a quick Nick’s point. Um, I think it’s I think it’s actually kind of weird how the Knicks are awesome at home, but they’re not great on the road. And then the Rangers are kind of the opposite. They kind of suck at at home and they’re a bit better on the road. Obviously, they’re not as good as the Knicks, but you know, it’s kind of the opposite. So, I was thinking, what do you think you would rather? Would you rather um be great at home and suck on the road or or the opposite? I think I’d rather be great at home and, you know, be okay. I I don’t want to stink on the road, but if I could be 500 on the road and dominate at home, I think that’s a recipe to win. Um I I I I I don’t think that we should get that caught up in the home and road record yet, at least for the the the Knicks because if you look at the the home, they they had a long home stand and most of the games were against really bad teams. So, the one game that they’ve lost at home was to Orlando and that’s a really good team and has the potential to be very good. Um but they beat the teams they’re supposed to beat. We’ll see. I think I think it will even out. I don’t think that they’re going to be bad on the road all year. I think it will even out. And as a team grows closer, and this team’s pretty close cuz they’ve been together. Uh road games are a little bit of a respbit. You know, you don’t have the people pulling at you for tickets and stuff like that and, you know, you have to entertain people after games and all of the stuff that goes along with it. So, I I I think the Knicks will be fine on the road. I I really do. Let’s go to John in Bethlehem. What’s up, John? Hey, Michael. How are you? Good. You? Yeah, I’m good. Uh, I wanted to chime in on two things. The I’ve heard everything you’ve said about the Gisham sign. I do not I for the life of me, I can’t figure that out. They have to have something else in mind. It just doesn’t If if if you and I and everyone else can think of how this doesn’t make sense, obviously Cashman must know that it doesn’t make sense. There has to be unless they unless they’re thinking on a different plane than us, John. That’s the only thing I could think of. Maybe maybe we’re just not bright enough to figure it out. They have to be. And when when that when that other shoe drops, I’ll call back in and we’ll have a different conversation. And I I I promise you I’ll do the same thing because I want to see how this plays out. This is just an unfinished puzzle right now. It is an unfinished puzzle. That’s a good way to put it. Um the only other thing I wanted to chime in on was the A-Rod documentary. I haven’t seen part three yet, but parts one and two were fantastic. I’m looking forward to part three. I thought it was incredibly insightful when they asked his ex, “Tell us what you thought of Alex when you met him and started knowing him.” And she said she felt sorry for him that he was socially awkward. And you know, you can almost sense that now even after all this time, he just doesn’t come across well socially, at least to me. Um I you know him, I don’t, but I that’s just the perception I get of watching him day in and day out as a Yankee fan. But that that he she felt sorry for him because his she said if he wasn’t hitting, he was throwing. If he wasn’t throwing, he was running. If he wasn’t running, he was watching tape. His whole life was so consumed that he had no ability to socialize properly. In and incredible. That was great. Yeah. And you know what? If he comes across awkward, John, I I think it comes down to this, and I I might have said this when they interviewed me in the documentary, maybe didn’t make it, but I think a lot of it stems from the fact that his dad left when he was 10 years old. And he kind of shapeshifts and wants to be liked. So, he might be different standing in front of Michael K than he is standing in front of Warren Buffett. I mean, I think there are different levels of A-Rod, but I think the one thing that has helped Alex the most in his life are his daughters. I think when you see him around those young ladies and they have turned into really incredible young people, he’s a different person. That’s the real Alex Rodriguez. I mean, we we did a couple of the the K-ROD shows at his home in Miami. And after the game, he had, you know, um had a chef at home that made us a wonderful dinner. And his daughters joined us and they had real conversations about life. And I think that they I want I don’t want to say humanized him because, you know, he’s always been a human being and he was flawed like we all are and he still is. But I think that they bring out the best in him and as they’ve gotten older and they become young ladies. I think his youngest daughter just turned 18 the other day. His other daughter uh is a junior in Michigan. Um that’s the real Alex. He doesn’t have to put on airs around them. He’s their dad. And if you watch the documentary, it’s on it’s on HBO Max. The star of the documentary to me, the one who’s most honest is Cynthia, his ex-wife. The stuff that she had to go through. You know, she talks about the infidelities and things like that. And, you know, while they were married, he, you know, he was with Madonna allegedly. She really lays it out there. She knows him better than anybody. and the fact that she lived through all that, they got divorced and at every big event that he ever has, she’s there with her new husband. She’s there. That’s how close they are. So, I think the public only gets to see so much. And when I was on the outside looking in, I only got to see so much. I think he’s just a people pleaser and it changes his personality for everybody he meets. But when you see him in that circle, that closed circle, and he has a closed circle, that’s the real him. And I think you saw some of that in the documentary, but I don’t know if you will ever really know the real Alex. And I don’t even know that I know the real Alex, but I think I I’m closer to knowing the real Alex than I did when when he was just a Yankee and I didn’t know him on that level. Let’s go to um John in Manhattan. Johnny. Hey, Mike. Hey, John. So, I got a So, I’ve been a Yankee fan for over 50 years, and I remember the good times, the bad times, and during the 80s when I grew up, the Yankees went through from 81 until they won in 96. We had nine general managers. Y we haven’t won since 2009, and we have had one general manager. What exactly does Cashman have to do, I guess, for the Yankees to release him from his his job description? Because I I’m I’m at a loss for understanding. It seems to be that the Yankees now we make the playoffs and I apparently that is it when I grew up with George Stein Brener, it was win or bust. You know that. Mhm. And now it seems to be we have accepted essentially some sort of mediocrity to some degree regarding playoff performance. And I’m asking you, what do you think actually is going to take for him to be let does he write his own ticket that he’s going to to stay? He gets to leave on his own terms because this is New York. I I can’t believe he gets away with this for 16 years. All right. Let’s let’s talk about this because it’s an interesting point. So, we talk about the 80s, right? Um, and the 80s didn’t make the playoffs, although I think they won the most games in the 80s. And during that time, they kept changing managers and GMs. And if you remember, John, because you’re a 50 50-year fan, people did not like George Steinbrer. And when he got suspended, we talked about this the other day. I was there that night, and the crowd at Yankee Stadium was cheering when he got suspended. So, I mean, that wasn’t the perfect way either. Now, when you ask me, what does it have to take? What it has to take is that for a couple of years in a row, they’re not competitive. They don’t make the playoffs. Attendance dwindles. And I still think that he would have an easy exit. I I John, I think he’s better than you think he is. I really do. Is he the perfect GM? I think he’s stubborn sometimes. He’s certainly set in his ways. Uh he I I think he’s he’s loathed to admit mistakes and a lot of people in those positions are. But uh you you said that George Steinberger used to say um World Series a bust. How Steinburn has ever said that. Nobody from the A organization other than George Steinber the organization upstairs has ever said World Series are bust. Jeter has. Judge has but the people that own the team and run the team they’ve never said that because it’s it’s it’s unreasonable. So I I’ll bring this up. If in fact it’s World Series or bust, you mean to tell me that they went to game five of the World Series and lost to the Dodgers in 2024, that was a bust of a season? That was a failure. I don’t I don’t think so. I think it was a disappointment. But I think as long as every year they have a chance to win, I think he’s good. I think there’s something to be said for putting it together team every single year that has a chance to win. And you can’t say, “Well, everybody could do it.” The Mets had a $340 million payroll last year and they didn’t make the playoffs. So, there been a couple of years when Brian’s the GM that they haven’t made the playoffs, but almost every year they have. And you come into spring training every year thinking legitimately they have a chance to win the World Series. Every year, I don’t think that can be dismissed. I could see I could hear the aggravation in your voice, John. But I I think that, you know, according to the Yankee ownership, they think Brian’s done a really really good job. Is there disappointment? They haven’t won a World Series. Yes. But they’re always competitive and they always have a chance. Two pack for sure coming up. Uh the fall savings event continues this November at Bay Ridge Mazda. Lease the 2025 Mazda CX30S for as low as $169 per month on the 2025 Mazda CX-5. Select for as low as 2.29 per month and get as low as 0.9% APR financing rates on select models. That’s right. Plus, enjoy one-year complimentary of Bayridge Plus benefits like ding and dent coverage, key replacement, windshield protection, and roadside assistance. Visit them in Brooklyn or online at Bayridgemaza.com. Bay Ridge Mazda, where confidence comes standard. See dealer for details. To help those who want to be helped but may not be able to afford it. That’s what PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray had envisioned for a foundation before he sadly took his own life at just 30 years old. His parents channeled their grief into creating the Grayson Murray Foundation, carrying out his vision to help those struggling with mental health and addiction. To donate and learn more, visit graysonmurrayfoundation.com. This is Rick Brunson, the assistant coach for the New York Knicks. I’ll be driving to our games this season in style in my new Jeep Gladiator from Princeton Jeep. My friends at Princeton Jeep gave me all-star treatment and you can expect the same thing. Just mention I sent you and they’ll treat you like family. Princeton Jeep has tons of inventory and great deals on new vehicles. Visit Princeton Jeep at 1045 State Road in Princeton, New Jersey, or online at princes.com and tell them Rick Brunson sent you. Friends, it’s football season, the best time of the year. You should be out there tailgating, cheering on your team, and enjoying every Sunday. But if you’re dealing with neck pain, back pain, sciatica, or nerve pain, even getting off the couch can feel like a challenge. You don’t have to live like that. There’s help. Dr. J. Shaw at Samuel Pain is New Jersey’s top pain specialist. He’s Ivy League trained, double board certified, and is dedicated to helping you get back in the game. 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With the lowest prices for over 30 years, you’ll always find what you love and love what you find only at Total Wine and More. Curbside pickup and delivery available in most areas. See totalwine.com for details. Spirits not sold in Virginia and North Carolina. Drink responsibly. B21. A SoFi personal loan is here to help you achieve something once thought impossible. Overcoming high interest credit card debt. Walk the tight rope of your finances with one low fixed rate monthly payment. No fees required and as soon as the same day funding. That’s right. Pull off your own debt stunt with a SoFi personal loan. Visit sofi.com/tick to learn more. Loans originated by SoFi Bank NA member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. NMLS696891. You live for this. The wins, the losses, the slam dunks, and the buzzer beers. The dream that this is your team’s year. Hope. It’s what keeps you coming back. So you represent with anticipation and with pride. Because when everything’s on the line, your support means everything. That’s why the NBA store is here to support you. Check out the largest selection of official NBA gear at nbastore.com. A fanatics experience. Oh yeah, baby. Two pack for sure has not been a good stretch for me. No, no, I don’t lie. 03 and one the last two weeks. Last week though, the power of a hook. We always talk about it, right? So, I pushed with the Pats. I pushed. I gave 13 points and they beat the Jets by 13. Killer. So, that’s a push. Then I lost by a half point. I gave seven and a half with the Ravens and they won by seven. Stinks. I’ll try to do better for you, my people. All right. The Chiefs are at home against the Colts. Chiefs are three and a half point uh favorites over the Colts. Colts have been very good. Very good. But I look at this Chiefs team and the players are slipping away. I mean, if not now, when? They they’ve got to start winning games. I wouldn’t say this is a must-win, but they got to start posting some W’s. Also, Arrowhead’s a tough place to play. Loud. Daniel Jones in the toughest place he’s played so far this year on the road in Pittsburgh. He didn’t play well. Didn’t play well. Worst game actually. So, it’s going to be interesting to see how he responds to the noise at Arrowhead and how the Chiefs respond to their season being on the line. I mean, Travis Kelce has come out and said, “We got to put all the distractions aside. We got to concentrate.” So, give me the Chiefs. I think they win by a touchdown in this game. Now, I usually take favorites, but I’m going to take an underdog next. The Steelers are two and a half point underdogs to the Bears. This is in Chicago. The Bears are seven and three. Ben Johnson’s a brilliant offensive mind. He really is. He’s changed the way we look at at Caleb Williams. But are they that good? You know, they barely beat Washington and the Raiders. Two bad teams. I think they beat them each by one point. and they somehow beat the Giants by four in a game that the Giants should have held on and win and won that game. So, I don’t know if the Bears are all there yet. And the Steelers pretty good offense. Uh, not not a pretty good offense, pretty good defense. And they should be able to slow down the Bears offense. I know it’s in Chicago. And I don’t even know if if Rogers is playing with the the injured left hand, but if he is, he owns the Bears. If he’s not, I’m not afraid of Mason Rudolph being the quarterback. pretty good quarterback, nice backup. So, I think the Steelers win this game outright. I really do. So, give me the two and a half points. Steelers over the Bears. So, once again, my two pack for sure. Give me the Chiefs, I’ll give three and a half to the Colts. That’s in Kansas City. And give me the Steelers getting two and a half in Chicago against the Bears. That’s my two pack for sure, baby. Hope it does well for you. Hope it does well for me. Hey, FanDuel is turning up with NBA Happy Hour. Every Friday from 6:00 to 7:30 a.m. Eastern, FanDuel is dropping limited time specials to get you in the zone. Boost, bonuses, surprises, all designed to bring the Friday energy. This isn’t just another promo. No, no, no. It’s your weekly pregame. NBA Happy Hour every Friday 6:00 to 7:30 Eastern, only on FanDuel, this official sports betting partner of the NBA. Visit fanduel.com/k to grab your reward before the clock expires. 21 plus and physically present in New York. Optin required. Rewards are nonwithdrawable. Restrictions apply including bonus and token expiration. Leg requirements and max wager amount. See terms at sportsbook.fanol.com. For help with a gambling problem, call 18778y or texty 467369. All right. Giants Lions. Lions a 10 and a half point favorites over the Giants. Uh no Jackson Dart still out with concussion protocol. So Jameus Winston will start. I thought he played very well last week. He gave the Giants a chance to win and that last interception was more on Hyatt than it was on Winston. But the Lions are good. I don’t think they’ve been as great as they could be. I think their defense is pretty good. 10 and a half is Zafig. And this is not one of my two packs. I’d take the Lions. I’d give the 10 and a half Jets and the Ravens. Uh, this one’s tough. Ravens 13 and 12 point favorites. 13 and a half points. I I I’m leaning toward taking the Jets. I’m not sure about the health of the of Lamar Jackson. And the Jets do have Tyrod Taylor starting at quarterback. So maybe they’ll be able to score more points than they do with Justin Fields. So, give me the Jets reluctantly with the 13- 12. Give me the Lions getting the 10 12 over the Giants in Detroit. The Jet game is in Baltimore against the Ravens. It’s been a fun week for me and you. It’s been eight hours because I was off on Tuesday because of this cold, but look forward to talking to you again on Monday at 1. In the words of Billy Joel, life is a series of hells and goodbyes. I’m afraid it’s time for goodbye again. See you everybody. Have a wonderful weekend. Don Han and Rosenberg coming up next and I will talk to you Monday at 1 p.m. This is Bart and Carlin on ESPN New York. The Jets have no quarterback. So what?

The Michael Kay Show dives into a packed sports weekend, breaking down Week 12 in the NFL, including the latest on the New York Jets and New York Giants as both teams face crucial turning points in their seasons. We discuss quarterback questions, coaching pressure, and will the Giants be the first team out of playoff contention?

Plus, we shift to the hardwood as the New York Knicks head to Orlando to take on the Magic. Are they emerging as a legitimate force in the East? We break down the latest performances, injuries, rotations, and expectations.

Chapters:
00:00:00 – Dart Protocol, NY Fans, Yankees Roster
00:00:30 – Buster Olney on Tatis Jr.
00:00:45 – Nets Tanking
00:01:00 – Fred Katz on NBA Pay Cuts
00:01:30 – Athlete $$ Debate, Jets for Mac Jones, A-Rod Buzz, Knicks Road Issues, Cashman on Hot Seat
00:01:45 – 2Pack for Sure

Weekday Lineup:
DiPietro & Rothenberg — 6a-10a
Bart & Carlin — 10a-1p
The Michael Kay Show — 1p-3p
Don, Hahn, & Rosenberg — 3p-7p

#ESPNNewYork #NYsports #DiPietro&Rothenberg #BartAndCarlin #TheMichaelKayShow #Don,Hahn,&Rosenberg