Joe Schoen’s Giants Future & Can Devin Williams Thrive with Mets? – The Michael Kay Show – 12/3/25

Joe Schoen’s Giants Future & Can Devin Williams Thrive with Mets? – The Michael Kay Show – 12/3/25

[Music] is on the radio today and he ain’t afraid to say what he’s thinking. It’s the Michael K show on 880p radio [Music] and a good afternoon everybody. This is indeed the Michael K show and thank you for joining us on this Wednesday. It’s December 3rd, 2025. Me and you for two. Those are the rules of engagement. You know the story. You’re the co-host. It’s the fastest two hours in sports talk radio. Thank you so much for joining us. We certainly appreciate it. Uh sorry I was out yesterday, but I uh I was having a good time. I was having a grand old time yesterday. I was undergoing uh a colonoscopy, which is always terrific. And I’m glad I got that behind me. Pun intended. Nothing. it it I I know we have a lot of younger listeners and maybe you have not undergone the colonoscopy experience yet. Uh the actual colonoscopy really you don’t even know what’s going on. You’re out. You’re completely out. You have the greatest sleep of your life. But the preparation for it is just dreadful. It’s just the worst. And they’ve changed it from the way it used to be because what what it used to be was you drank this stanky stuff. It was just awful. It was like it was like cups and cups of chalk and then that in turn made you go to the bathroom a lot often. And um now they turned it into pills. But you have to take 24 pills over 23 hours and you have to do it over a certain amount of time. So there’s 12 pills that you take in an hour and it’s one pill every 5 minutes. So over 60 minutes you take the 12 pills and and involves 16 ounces of water or it’s just it’s just something else. You would think that in 2025 they’d find a different way to do this, but uh this is the way they do it and then they put you out. They put a little camera where the sun doesn’t shine and they find out if everything is okay. And at this point, as far as I know, everything seems okay. So that’s why I was out yesterday. You know, I’ I’ve got to be honest with you people. You’re my co-host. So when you’re co-host with somebody, when I was doing the show with Don and Peter, if I was out, I would tell them why I was out. So, I felt that you really should know why I was out. And that’s why I was out. But because I was out yesterday, I could not opine on things that were significant to opine on. But I’ll do it today. I’ll make up some ground, baby, because that’s what it’s about. That’s what it’s about. Now, I do have some some bad news as we start because you you you might be listening to the show on the ESPN New York app. And if you go that far to listen on the ESPN New York app, you might be clicking on the ESPN New York YouTube page because you want to see the caster. For some reason, it’s not happening. It keeps saying establishing connection. So, you’ll just have to listen to my duet tones until we figure out exactly what’s going on. So, it is not happening video-wise, and I apologize for that, but I know most of you don’t tune in to look at me because, you know, I’m a big-headed looking freak. You just come in to uh, you know, get all the pertinent information that I can hand out to you. So, let’s start off with the Mets signing of Devin Williams. I don’t think it’s a bad signing. it it’s certainly a little bit more um than I thought he was going to get. Comes out to $51 million for three years. So, you do the math. That’s $17 million a year. Um now, if somebody offered him that he he had become a free agent after his final season in Milwaukee, I’d go, “Yeah, I get it. Probably probably a bargain. It’s probably a bargain.” But um he came off a rough season with the Yanks. Um he lost a closure job twice. He did not seem comfortable at all. Now I got to give him credit though. Uh when he went to a setup role for Bedar, I thought he was I thought he was excellent. Not just good. I thought he was really really excellent. And u when you look inside the numbers at the um the pitch shapes and stuff like that, he’s terrific. His stuff is absolutely filthy. It really is. I mean, his change up there’s there’s no comparison to any other change up in baseball. You could call it whatever you want. Some, you know, weird little nickname, the air bender. He’s got great stuff. and when he combines it with his 94.5 mph fast ball, it’s a pretty decent combination. And I think a lot of the things that went wrong with the Yankees is the enormity of the Yankee um situation. And you know, ironically enough, the Yankees opened up last year at home against Milwaukee where they had acquired Devin Williams in a trade. And I was talking to a lot of Milwaukee people and they go, he he’s not going to do well here. He he’s he’s just not. And I said, “Why? He’s great. I mean, he might be one of the best relievers, if not the best reliever in baseball.” They said he doesn’t have the mindset for this. And if you remember that first game, he almost blew the opener. And he got booed. And you know, a Milwaukee announcer came up to me and said all the years he ever pitched in Milwaukee, he never got booed once. He just got booed in the first game that he’s playing at Yankee Stadium. He said, “This is not going to go well.” And you know what? For a while, like he was right, it didn’t go well. Lost the closer role, regained it, lost it again, became a setup guy, and I thought he was really, really good um down the stretch. So, no complaints about that. Now, I think what the Mets did with this acquisition is they gave themselves some leverage when it comes to Edwin Diaz. Now, obviously, I don’t think the money spiggot turns off when it comes to Steve Cohen, but David Sterns is going to operate this in a way that you just you’re not going to be a proflegate spender. You’re going to you’re going to spend what you have to spend and according to the market. And if Edwin Diaz at the age of, you know, 32 wants a five-year contract, I don’t know if David Stern’s going to want to give it to him. So, by getting Devin Williams, you give yourself some cover. Now, Devin Williams is not as good as Edwin Diaz, but you’d also have to say, is Edwin Diaz going to be Edwin Diaz in two or three years? Because Edwin Diaz has had some bad years in there as well, and then he’s had tremendous, tremendous years otherwise. This is a guy you want. He’s a top reliever on the market. But if Edwin Diaz was going to hold the Mets up for five years, $100 million, which is contract that he opted out of, the Mets now have the ability to say no and they could pursue others. They could pursue Robert Suarez. They could pursue Pete Fairbanks. Uh they might make a roll of the dice with Kenley Jansen. But they have some cover now because of Devin Williams. Now, I don’t think that there was ever a possibility that Devin was going to resign with the Yankees. Not because he didn’t want to, because I think that as the season wore on, he became much more comfortable with what being a Yankee was. And even said at the end of the year when the Yankees were eliminated by the Blue Jays that he would like to come back. You know, he he really enjoyed his time here. His family enjoyed his time here. But I’ll give you one quick um scenario that happened. It must have been um maybe early August. The Yankees were on the road and I will not betray a confidence by telling you who I was talking to, but it was somebody um it was uniformed personnel. So I was talking to that person out outside. It was not it was not in the clubhouse. And I I saw Devin Williams come out of the tunnel into the dugout and he was laughing uporiously at something. And I said to the person I was talking to, I said, “Wow, he’s in a good mood.” And the person kind of waved derisively and said, “We never know what mood this guy’s going to be in.” He said, “It’s a crapshoot every day. If he’s in a bad mood, if he’s in a good mood, we have no idea.” So, that gave me an inkling right there. That was not a marriage that was going to last a long time. It just wasn’t. Um, I think that he also, and we used to always talk about this on on the afternoon show, that when the Yankees finally remove their hair and beard policy, it better not be because of a a player that didn’t want to cut his hair or or shave his beard because then all the focus would be on that guy that he made the Yankees get rid of this quaint long-term rule that they had. Now, no one has ever come out and said that Devin Williams was the reason that they lifted the um the rule, but he played a role in it. Nobody even said that. But um I know for a fact that in spring training he he did what he was supposed to do. He shaved his beard and he he made it known that he was very uncomfortable doing that, that he wanted to have a beard. And then in spring training, there’s different stories about how it went down, but how Stein Burner lifted that rule and most fans correctly assume that it was it was Debon and I think that put a lot of pressure on him and heat that maybe wasn’t deserved. I’ve always said, Don used to say it as well, that if you’re going to lift the rule, lift the rule in the middle of the middle of the winter and it can’t be there can’t be a finger pointed at somebody. Oh, we lost that rule because of you. Well, most people assumed that Devin Williams played a role. But I give Devin Williams credit. Devin Williams never ever said, “I’m not shaving my beard.” He said he was uncomfortable, but he still did shave it. And I think that brought it to light. Is this a rule that has legs? it really exists for a long time. It had existed, you know, for as long as George Steinber on the team, which was in 1973. I think it was kept around out of respect to Steinbrunner. Uh, and and the family kept it around. And I think Hal just realized that, you know, it’s 2025. We’re going to be competing with teams that, you know, they don’t care if you have tattoos on your face. Um, if you if you could play, we’re going to sign you and we’re going to trade for you. And the Yankees could not be left out on a player because of this quaint rule. But again, most people pointed at Devin Williams. Now, Yankee Stadium crowd never really got around to loving Devin Williams at the end. He got cheered because he pitched very, very well in big situations and a lot of people didn’t like him. And I got to tell you, just on a personal basis, I thought he was terrific. I mean, I didn’t have a great, you know, outgoing relationship with him, but I didn’t have a bad relationship with him. And I thought that he handled himself very, very well. I thought that he answered all the questions. He took all the heat. Sometimes took him a while to come out when he had a bad outing, but he came out, he never ducked the media, and he answered every single question. He asked as asked it the right way or answered it the right way. And one day I walked up to him, I said, “You know what? the way you handled the media yesterday. He had blown a game. I said, “That that’s kind of a master class on how to do it in the city.” He said, “Yeah, they’ll come after me anyway.” So, I I I think he had that defeist attitude, but there was one game where he pitched a great eighth inning. He might have struck out the side. And the crowd gave him a standing ovation and, you know, he noted it and he said it felt better. It felt better than what it felt, you know, at the beginning of the year. So, long story short, I don’t think it’s a bad signing by the Mets. And I also hear people go, “Well, if he’s closing for the Mets, that’s really trouble.” Well, why is it trouble? The guy was one of the best closers in baseball when he was in Milwaukee. He’s got phenomenal stuff. If if they can’t sign Diaz, and Diaz is asking for an exorbitant amount of money and a longer term deal than they want to give him, so what? Now you’ve got a closer. And if you want to, you know, broaden your scope and and look at a Suarez or something like that, then you could do that. But if it comes down to, okay, Devin Williams is a closer, you’re going to tell me the Mets are in terrible shape. No, the guy proved by the end of the year that he could actually do the job in New York. And the fact that he reuped in New York, although uh a different team with the Mets, shows you that he did like it here and his wife did like it here. So, I wish him good luck. I think the Mets actually made a good signing. I really do. And I don’t blame the Yankees for not bringing him back. I don’t think they liked um the vibe that he brought, you know, because he was a little bit moody. They didn’t know what guy they were going to get on a day-to-day basis. And um it turns out that I don’t even think they were in on it. I mean, they might have checked in, but I don’t think they ever made him an offer. Ever made him an offer. So, he goes to a different clubhouse with a different level of pressure. Uh, not that Met fans going to be easy on them, but Yankee fans could be a little bit tough. Now, another story that came out, and this was kind of over the weekend where Mike Puma does such a good job covering the Mets for the Post wrote a story about how Juan Sodto and Francisco Lindor didn’t seem like they got along that well, and Lindor certainly didn’t get along with McNeel. all well and good. But the thing that stood out for me in the story was that and I knew that this this had to be the case because there were there were quotes from Juan uh toward the end of the year where you know he was raving about the leadership of Starling Marte. He said he’s the real captain. Now there is no captain of the Mets right now. No titular captain. But the bottom line is everybody thinks that, you know, Francisco Lura is, you know, the non-titled captain or the eventual captain. But the fact that Sodto went out of his way to say how great um Sterling Marte is, he said he’s the real captain of the team, I took that as meaning, well, Sodto doesn’t seem like he’s he’s really that much in love with um with Lindor. And that’s okay. I mean, the Oakland A’s won three championships in a row in the 70s. They all hated each other’s guts. And the Yankees won two titles in 77 and 78, and there was not exactly a love fest. I mean, Reggie didn’t have that many friends on that Yankee team other than Fran Healey. So, he was not beloved, and you know, there was clashing between Reggie and Thurman. But baseball’s a sport. You’re not you’re not throwing passes to somebody. You do your job. You let them do their job. And if you hate each other’s guts, it works out and you could win. But the one thing that jumped out at me from the story that that Puma wrote was the reason that Sodto doesn’t really get along that well with Lindor is Lindor is funloving. Always joking around, laughing, whatever the case may be. He’s into fashion, all of that. And Sodto is very, very serious. wants to come to the ballpark, prepare, do his job, none of the bells and whistles, doesn’t care about fashion, anything like that. Very serious baseball-minded guy who just wants to play ball, prepare to play ball, and has a way that he prepares to be great. And he doesn’t look at Lindor the same way. And and here’s the thing, and and it comes down to when people say it’s not about the money, as George Young used to say, it’s about the money. Like I I laughed when Lane Keifin in his press conference said, “I don’t even know what I’m making.” I told my agent, “Don’t even tell me what I’m making.” Okay, I’ll play along, Lane. You You don’t care what you’re making at LSU. You don’t care. So if they offered you $4 million a year and miss offered you 12, you’d have gone to LSU because LSU, you know, provides you better NIL and you just think, yeah, a better vibe there. Oh, okay. Again, people in the public eye lie to us all the time and it’s our job to try to dissect the lie and find out, you know, if they are in fact lying. But here’s what I want to say about Sodto. The Yankees historically have always been an incredibly buttoned up organization. You know, I have a line where I say it’s so apppropo that they wear pinstripes because, you know, all the big guys on Wall Street or wherever, they wear pinstripe suits. Yankees wear pinstripes. They’re very buttoned up. It’s very corporate. It’s very business-like. It’s not a laugh a minute. Now, I think it’s a little bit looser than it used to be, but it’s a very serious serious uh endeavor from the top to the bottom. That’s just the way the place is run. You walk into City Field and it’s just got a looser vibe. It just It does. It just has a looser vibe. And it’s always been known as, you know, they’re fun. they, you know, they they joke around, you know, they they have the, you know, um the OMG and well, whatever. And it’s it’s not a knock. It’s just a different feel. But Sodto, knowing who Sodto is, decided to take the the the better offer to go to a place that is known as being looser and more loosey goosey than the place that he left. Because if he was really, you know, going to choose the place that’s best suited for a guy who doesn’t want distraction, doesn’t want the joking around, just wants to prepare for his game, wouldn’t the play have been for him to stay with the Yankees, so he goes to the place that’s more loosey goosey. And now, according to Puma’s report, he’s not all that into that. He just wants to play baseball. He wants to be great. He wants to be the greatest player that he could be. Doesn’t it sound a little odd that you choose the Mets though over the Yankees? Just saying. Doesn’t make sense, right? Doesn’t make sense. 1 800 9193776. That’s the number. Um we are going to talk about the the Joe Shane press conference from yesterday as well. Knicks lost a game to the Celtics. They continue to struggle on the road. They’re three and six. Um Jaylen Brunson had one of the worst games he’s had as a Knick. Was he was dreadful yesterday. Not ripping him. People going to have bad games and he had one yesterday. Missed 13 of 17 shots. He was one of eight from three-point land. And the Knicks pulled to within three with 240 remaining. But when their big gun couldn’t do it, they couldn’t win. Muel Bridges played very well. He had 35 points. He looked tremendous. So the Knicks had their four-game win streak snapped. Uh they will play again tonight. So, back to backs and we’ll see how they respond to that. 1 800-9193776. That’s the number. And now it’s time for the co-host to join in. And we’ll start off with a longtime co-host, Moose in Jamaica. Moose. Going on, Michael. Good afternoon. How are you? I’m great. How you doing? Can’t complain. All is well. Good. So, yeah. Remember on your previous iteration of the Michael K show, I told you, Don, and Peter that in solidarity with the Yahheis, as much as I love to let my beard grow and grow my hair with every haircut every month, it trim the beard to like a light five:00 shadow, go with the mustache like the 70 Yankees, you know, Reggie Jackson, all those dudes, just to be like, you know, I’m old school old soul sort of I’m going to go with that book and do that until the season’s done. yada yada, right? Okay. So, when it came to the beard policy changing, I grew my beard like some of the Yankees, Jason Dominguez, I guess Austin Wells, when he goes in a struggle, you notice it sometimes players will shave their beard when they struggle or let it grow when they’re doing well at the plate. You know, they’re super Moose, land the plane. What are you What are you getting to? So when it comes to the whole idea of the beard policy changing because of one player, I don’t think how did it for one player. I think it was to move the the organization forward to allowing the players to express themselves so they can feel more comfortable when performing. I think the that was the bigger picture in mind as opposed to signing a player or not signing a player. It’s more about the players we have or the players coming up. I’m not saying I’m I’m not saying and boy a very verbose co-host today. Um I’m not saying that it was specific to Devin Williams, but he was part of it. You know, want I I laugh at that nonsense. Let let players express themselves. They went to the World Series the previous year. Did they express themselves properly then when they weren’t allowed to have beards? You need a beard to express yourself properly. Johnny Damon got his hair cut and his beard shaved when he became a Yankee. Oh yeah, they won a championship in ’09. Randy Johnson, who used that long hair as part of an intimidation tactic his whole career, got his hair cut really short when he when he came to the Yankees. Jason Giani, the same thing. Nonsense. I think it was spurred by Devin Williams making it known that he was not comfortable. He did it though. That’s why I don’t blame Devin Williams. I think that that was the tipping point. That was the tipping point where um the Yankees said there there might be an issue here moving forward. But please don’t tell me about expressing themselves. That makes me throw up in my mouth. It really does. They all were well um capped and uh shaven and and haircut in 2024 and they went to game five of the World Series. So in order to get those extra three wins they needed to to grow beard. How’d the beards work out last year for them? How how’d it work out? Not not great. They got they got eliminated by the by the by the Blue Jays with their beards and their long hair. Nonsense. Come on. every walk of life, every job, there’s certain ways that you have to comport yourself. There’s there’s certain ways that you have to groom yourself. They just are. And if you don’t want to do it, then you don’t do it. The problem is that in baseball, you have choices. You could go someplace where they actually will allow you to do that. And that’s what the Yankees had a way. But express yourself. People express themselves because they have a beard or long hair. Let’s go to Rob in Brooklyn. Rob, hey, Michael. How you doing? Um, good. Just I don’t I don’t I’m to me it doesn’t make sense why this would be an issue with uh Sodto and Lindor. Like I’m wildly different than a lot of my friends. We get along just fine. I don’t get why you can’t just both have your own methods. One guy likes to have fun. One guy likes to be a little bit more serious and you both just go be good baseball players. Why does But you know, Rob, that’s a great point. And I think that that’s exactly what happened. And the story it was like they they were not tight. Doesn’t mean that they hated each other’s guts, but they weren’t tight. All right, that’s good that they don’t hate each other. It just seems like Yeah, it’s like you don’t have the ability to be flexible and let somebody be the person that they are so they can perform. I you know what I mean? Like they just need to just per just play baseball with each other. It’ll be fine. I I thought that the the more problematic thing, Rob, was between McNeel and Lindor. I mean, that that seemed to be a real agitation. you know, a couple years prior they allegedly fought over something and then according to Puma they buted heads again but uh in terms of you know it wasn’t even a throwaway line but it was a part of the story that you know Sodto and Landor are not they’re not kindred spirits but but the whole story if it’s true and I trust Mike Pulma you left a place that is exactly the way you want to buttoned up, businesslike, all baseball, no nonsense, no silly little traditions or anything like that. No grimace, nothing like that. No OMG, uh, no Timmy Trumpet. And again, there’s nothing wrong with that. But he knew that that was part of the Mets. The Mets have always been the looser, younger brother to the Yankees. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I mean, those Jeter teams that won those championships that that was one of the reasons that they brought in Cece because they felt that it was too buttoned up and that players weren’t loose enough and it was too corporate and Cece obviously did a great job. First year that he’s there, they they won a title in 2009, but still, he can only move the needle so much. Everything about the Yankees is a corporate structure. It’s a very serious endeavor. I know it’s sports, but it’s serious. With the Mets, it’s looser. So, my point is, if Sodto is against that, then why go there? Why didn’t you just stay at a place that almost seems like it was designed specifically for you? All about baseball, nothing extraneous. Go in, scatter reports, extra BP, coaches are there all day, work their butts off, whatever the case may be. you choose to leave that place to go to a place that doesn’t seem like it fits your profile. That’s what’s odd to me. That that’s what didn’t quite click. 1 800 9193776. That’s the number. We have so much to do today. Again, I want to involve you. Um so I hope that you could join us again. 1 800 9193776. Joe Shane with a press conference yesterday. We’ll break that down as well. Mike Lupa uh at 2:30 because it’s Wednesday. It’s the K show rolling on here live on ESPN New York Wednesday with Don Han and Rosenberg. Will anyone in the Giants regime survive into next year? And obviously that was the case with what was going on with, you know, what happened with Rabel when he was down in Tennessee as opposed to what’s happening within the New England right now because the Giants have to try and figure out a way to get that kind of result, get that kind of chemistry, get that kind of synergy going within the walls of that building with whoever is going to be the head coach in 2026. Don Han and Rosenberg today at 3 on ESPN New York and streaming live on YouTube. 1877 cars for kids. K A R S Cars for Kids. 1877 Cars for Kids. 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Cat.com/garanty for full details. Welcome back to the show. Game time is brought to you by Telmour Irish Whiskey because when it’s game time, it’s Tully time. 7:00 p.m. Devils host the Stars at the Credential Center. Al McGreer will be on the call. 7:30 the Knicks host the Hornets at Madison Square Garden. Coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. That’ll be right here on 880 ESPN. And 8:00 p.m. the Nets are in Chicago to play the Bulls. And that game will be on Yes. Uh speaking of Yes, by the way, our first hot stove show tonight, me, Bob Loren, and Jack Curry. And special guest in studio for those that want to tune in. We we go on at 6:30 will be Cam Schlitler. How about that? So Cam will be in studio with us. The hot stove show on Yes. First one of the year. Telmord, the original triple distilled, triple blended, triple cask matured Irish whiskey. Be sure to grab a Telmordo or try the new Telmour honey during today’s action. Glass up to enjoying Telmour responsibly. Let’s go back to the phones. Uh let’s go to Jose in Connecticut. Jose, talk to us. Hey, how you doing, sir? Uh, one thing I just want to say I I think that this whole story is a little overblown and let me I’m going to tell you why. Because um this whole thing about Sodto not liking, you know, the Lindor, his playfulness and all this. It was actually Marte who really broke him out of his shell and he called a leader and Mart is one of the also the biggest playful guys who got him to get out of the show which I think he appreciated. So if he hated that style so much, why does he love Mart so much, right? and and obviously with the whole McNeel and and Lindor thing, they had a fist fight and still played well after. Although I do agree for baseball reasons McNeel should leave. But Mike, I just want to ask you two quick things. Uh first, um I think it’s not a coincidence that Nim this this came out when NMO left. You know, we know you know NMO is the one that wanted to be the captain, right? And number two, do you think that most of this is also probably because while the Mets were winning and being all playful, he was really struggling and I know that really affected him. So, I don’t know if you think that that played a part in his frustration with the team and they endor Well, wait. Whose frustration? NMO or Sodto’s? Oh, Sodto. Sodto. Cuz when the Mets were winning and playing and being very playful and having a great time, he was really struggling and he was that’s when he really wasn’t comfortable. Right. It wasn’t until he started playing better that you start seeing him coming out and being more playful and joining in the picture. I think Jose, what we’re doing is we’re misinterpreting, you know, playful. you know, he had, you know, the Yankees have fun in the dugout. They go up and down the d, you know, dugout when somebody hits a home run, whatever the case may be. I think it’s behind the closed doors where Soda wants to lock in, doesn’t want joking around, anything like that. Doesn’t want any distractions, extraneous nonsense. He wants to lock in on being a great player. And although Sodto started off slowly for Sodto, let’s remember one thing. through everything. He was the uh number three finisher in the MVP. Number three. He had a great year. He had a great year. And he’s going to continue to have great great years with the Mets. He He just is. And even if players don’t get along, that’s not why the Mets didn’t make the playoffs. Mets didn’t make the playoffs simply because of the fact their pitching went south. Their starting pitching was awful. Their bullpen was awful. Just was. wasn’t because Sodto and Lindor didn’t hang out together, but it’s just something that Puma uh you know pointed out. I think in the beginning of the year with Sodto, he was adjusting to a new situation. He was just adjusting and it took him a while and he still finished third in the MVP voting. Third. So the Jan Sodto is one of the least problems that the Mets have. if it’s a problem at all. I don’t think I don’t think it’s a problem at all. They will they’ll always love the fact that they sign this guy. Let’s go to Kevin in New Jersey. Kevin, hello Kev. Hey, how’s it going, Michael? Good. How are you? I’m great. First time caller. Big fan of yours. Oh, thank you, man. Thanks for calling. Listen, I have a question where and it just doesn’t really make much sense to me given that how is already kind of acknowledged that he doesn’t want to go over a $300 million budget, you know, given we still don’t even have an outfielder, you know, h how does that affect our bullpen now? Cuz, you know, we didn’t tender a lot, you know, they nendered a lot of guys. So, won’t that affect, you know, don’t you think we would go over or don’t you think that would Kevin said it would be ideal for them to be under 300 ideal. They’re going to be over 300. They’re not going to be able to put together a team that’s going to be as good as last year’s team that won 94 games unless they go over 300. I mean, that’s all there is to it, you know. So, they’re at 279 now. So, let’s say that they sign U Bellinger. Probably going to be 25 to $30 million a year. Boom. They’re over 300. They’re going to go over 300. He never said that they were going to be under. He said it would be ideal. It would be ideal. It would be ideal for my wife if I look like George Clooney. I don’t I don’t So, it would be ideal for them to get under that final threshold. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I think the milk is out of the udder. The horse is out of the barn. The toothpaste is out of the tube. You’re not going to get get it back in. It’s going to be hard to reset. You have too many big contracts on that team in order to put a full-fledged team out there with an under $300 million payroll. You got the money that you’re paying Cole, Rodon, Freed, Judge, Stanton now 22 million on Gisham. It’s It’s impossible. It’s impossible to be under 300 and field the team as good as last year. just is Frederick in Savannah. Frederick, hey, Michael, thanks for taking my call. You got it. I was uh listening to you. I really agree with you on the uh the beard rule and uh just um you know, I have a Yankee jersey and when I put it on, I walk out and I just I feel like a million bucks. And I’m curious as to whether you think that certain players will put on that jersey and just expect the wins to fall in their lap. Well, I I don’t think that, you know, it’s it’s kind of a a magic talisman. I mean, they’re they’re players that, you know, even if they didn’t grow up Yankee fans, you see them put on that uniform for the first time and they kind of look at it and they, you know, there’s a special thing to it, but it doesn’t mean that you just automatically go out there and win championships. If that’s the case, then that uniform has not had the magic in it for 16 years. I think that there are players that just it’s it’s a special history that this organization has and there’s a special feeling to it. But I don’t think that people put on the uniform and think, well, I’m going to automatically win because I’m a New York Yankee or I’m wearing these, you know, you know, pinstripes and, you know, the interlocking NY on the left chest, no name on the back. Of course, they’re not they’re not thinking that. It’s kind of kind of an odd question, Frederick. I don’t think anybody thinks that. I mean that that’s almost intimating that they don’t try. They just think, well, there’s going to be a magic elixir that boom, they put on the uniform, they’re going to automatically win. No, that’s not the way it works. Not the way it works. 1800 9193776. Um, when we get back, I I want to talk about when you’re represented by an agent or an agency and the misconception, and I found this a lot in all walks of life where there’s agents. People represent other people. The agent works for you. You do not work for the agent. I’ll tell you what I mean when we get back. right here on the K show on ESPN New York. I know that hiring can be challenging. You sort through tons of resumes and you get too many so applicants. You’re just waiting for someone to match your role perfectly. Well, now there’s a place where you can meet them fast. Zip Recruiter need to hire right away. Start your search for strong candidates. The right fit awaits. Build your team, build it sooner. Meet your match on Zip Recruiter. 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So, we’ve been talking a lot about the Lane Keifin situation and and I I just think that the Keifin story is is just um the tip of the iceberg of what’s wrong with college sports. Uh but there have been a number of ESPN personalities that have had a certain take on the Keifin situation and and in explanation the people that talk about what’s talked about on ESPN well they just rationalize well these people are represented by the agency CIA which is an extraordinarily powerful agency in Hollywood and also uh in sports. Um, and so guys like Kirk Herbstreet and Nick Sabin, uh, I believe are represented by Jimmy Ston, who works for CIA or represented by CAA. And they had certain takes that didn’t align with um, the takes of most people. So rather than just say, well, their take is different, everybody has to try to connect the dots and say, well, they’re represented by CAA, so of course they’re going to, you know, lean toward being positive toward a CIA client. I don’t get it. Now, I I can’t tell you that’s why their opinion was what it was or not. I I give people the benefit of the doubt because every time I have an opinion about the Yankees, people that don’t agree with the opinion, their knee-jerk reaction would be, “Well, he’s only saying that cuz he’s the Yankee announcer.” Rather than saying, you know, maybe he really believes that. And that’s okay. Rules of engagement. I I’ve gone through it for years. I get it. I understand. But to say that Kirk Herbstreet feels a certain way because he’s rep by CIA. I mean, really, could you insult somebody more? Why would he care? He’s represented by CIA. They negotiate his contract, with ESPN, or with Amazon. That doesn’t mean that he has to align with everything and everyone that that they represent. It’s insulting to him. It really is. Now, other people are saying about Nick Sabin. Well, he’s represented by the very powerful Jimmy Sexton, who’s the agent that represents uh Lane Keifin and that Saxon works for CIA. Well, there’s only only one thing that I would disagree strongly about with Nick Sabin and I have some receipts and and and Kirk Herbstreet felt the same way that Kein should have been allowed to continue to coach at Old Miss as they go through the College Football Playoffs. And I give the committee credit, by the way, they actually moved them up in the rankings after they won uh the Egg Bowl. Good for them. They’re six. So they didn’t they didn’t penalize the players because the fact that Lane Keifin left for LSU, but Sabin was a guy who felt that Kein should be allowed to um to do his thing and and continue to coach them while being the head coach of LSU. I I think it’s laughable. And the reason why I scratched my head with with what Nick Sabin said, Nick Sabin was the head coach at Alabama and Lane Keifin was the was the offensive coordinator for that team and they were going to the national championship game and Lane Keifin, he took the job at Florida Atlantic and Nick Sabin let him go. If you want to use the word fire, go for it. And it it would it would apply because this before the national championship game because it was he was distracted. He was late for meetings and events. He was the offensive coordinator team going to playing the national championship game, not just the college football playoffs, the actual national championship game. Nick Sabin couldn’t have it, so they fired him and let him go take the job at Florida Atlantic. But Nick Sabin now wants Lane Keifin to be able to coach Old Miss while he’s the head coach at LSU. Doesn’t make sense. If he was distracted because he was the head coach at going to be the head coach of Florida Atlantic and he was the offensive and not even the head coach, why would he not be distracted being the head coach of essentially two teams? Make that make sense for me. And another guy at ESPN that had a a very strong take on it was Rex Ryan. And you know, Rex said, um, Lane Keven’s allowed to do whatever he wants. And then he kind of he rips players because players could come and go as they please. But isn’t that kind of bass backwards? Lane Keifin came and went as he pleased. Now players have the same rights as coaches. Imagine that. Imagine that. They have the same rights as coaches, but people that actually have coached for a living, of course, they take the side of coaches, but they don’t see that the players should have the same rights. Coaches used to do this all the time. And people go, “Well, it’s a little different because they have to pay a They don’t have to pay the buyout. Coach doesn’t have to pay the buyout. the team that’s hiring that coach has to pay the buyout to the other school. So coaches went back and forth with impunity. They didn’t have to sit out when they transferred. And when people go, “Well, you shouldn’t pick a school because of a coach.” Nonsense. If you’re an athlete that has professional aspirations, you go to the school with the coach that you think helps you best to get to those professional aspirations. You don’t go because a place has a good set of buns and burners in their in their science department. So you chose a school because of a coach and he could up and leave whenever he wants. Oh, now the horror that players could do that. And I’m not on the side of either because I think the system stinks. It’s broken. It’s a joke. It shouldn’t be allow you shouldn’t be allowed to go back and forth whenever you want. You should have to make a commitment. Make a commitment. This is what I want to do. I’m signing here. If you’re a player, take the money from them, but you got to sign a contract. You got to sign at least a two-year deal, a three-year deal, something like that. The the way it is now, they’re all signing one-year deals, which tells you that they don’t even have to go to class. They don’t have to go to class at all. So, for Rex Ryan to say, “Well, he’s doing this because players can come and go as they please.” So, can coaches. That’s always been the case with coaches. The players are just now catching up. Just now they are catching up. The hypocrisy is amazing. It’s amazing up and down the line. But I’m just saying all of these people that have these opinions that I might not agree with, I’m not going to sit back and go they have these opinions because they’re bought and paid for by an agency. Why? The agency works for them. It’s not the other way around. They don’t work for the agency. So yeah, I disagree with Nick Sabin. I think it’s hypocritical because he got he actually canned Lane Keifin for the exact reason that he wants Old Miss to keep him. Hypocritical. But I’m not saying he’s doing it cuz Jimmy Ston is his agent and Kirk Herbstreet felt that Keifin should be allowed to to remain coach through the I don’t I don’t agree with Kirk, but I’m not going to insult him by saying that the only reason he has that opinion is because the people that negotiated his contract are the same people that negotiated the contract for Sexton. Why? Why would you be beholden to them? Again, you employ them. They work for you, not the other way around. I’ve never understood that. How players sometimes are beholden to agents as if they’re working for the agent. No, no, no. The agent is actually a parasite. And I hate to say it, but they’re taking 10% of your money for nothing other than the the the time they get in to negotiate your deal. But if if if a agent comes in and negotiates a five-year deal for you, right? So they might put in that work going back and forth getting the right numbers putting the stuff down on paper. So the billable hours if they were just a lawyer would even if it’s 20 hours 30 hours they’re getting 10% of all the money you earn over the next five years and they are gone. They’re pretty much out of the picture after they do that contract. That’s why they’re ticks. Doesn’t make them bad people but that’s what they are. They’re not doing the work to get the money. They’re getting 10% of your money because they spent 20 hours negotiating your contract. And now I’m supposed to be beholden to them. Not Not the way I think. And I don’t think that any of these people at ESPN think that way either. But that again, people want to connect the dots all the time. Oh, he has that opinion because he has the same agent. No, stop it. I don’t have an agent anymore. You know who my agent is? Me. Why should I give 10% of my money to anybody at this stage in my career? I know everybody I’m negotiating with. I know the people that I work for. I negotiate my deals with them alone. But I’ve had agents before and I’ve criticized people that came out of their agency. And I never had a repercussion. I’ve had a phone call and go, “Hey, you better stop that. That guy’s part of our agency.” Never. And if they did it, I said, “Well, now you’re fired. You don’t tell me what to do. You work for me. I don’t work for you. So, I am not going to insult Nick Sabin, Kirk Herbstreet. I don’t even know if Rex Ryan is represented by sex. I’m not sure because they have different opinions than than the ones I have. I’m not going to say, “Oh, they only have that opinion because they’re bought and paid for.” That’s an insult of the highest level. But, Nick, you got rid of Keifin for the the exact reason that you’re saying that Old Miss should keep him. Make it make sense. ESPN New York Holiday Party, it’s back. I think you’ve heard this, right? 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’s on Friday, December 12th. 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. It’s going to be a great time. And it’s brought to you by Amazon Pickup, Security Dodge, and Spiked Aid. 1 800 919-3776. That’s the number. And when we come back, we’ll talk about Joe Shane’s press conference yesterday. Doesn’t really feel I don’t know if you guys feel differently. Doesn’t feel like it’s a sure thing that he’s going to be back as a GM of the Giants next year. We’ll talk about it the case show right here on ESPN New York. 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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Welcome back to the show, Mike Lupa at 2:30. All right, so uh yesterday Joe Shane, the GM of the Giants, spoke it. It’s one of the most ridiculous and hackneed um traditions in football and they’re allowed to get away with it. Well, the GM only talks on the by-week. Why? Why? Who? Who made that rule? Who who who died and made you media god? You you It’s It’s amazing to me that yesterday is the first day that Joe Shane spoke when his coach was fired three weeks ago and he didn’t have to say a word. It’s amazing. But they they say, you know, we only speak week of the by-week. So, a Giant by-week is late and you have to wait till now to have the GM speak about a season that’s unspeakable. By the way, baseball’s just different. Something happens with the Yankees. Brian Cashman is always available. Something happens with the Mets. David Stern speaks about it, but football just above and beyond any reproach. Although, you know, Leon Rose says, “Hold my beer.” He has not spoken in years. And again, it’s allowed to happen. The league allows it to happen. Fans don’t care, so I’m not going to waste my breath because fans will go, “Who cares that you they don’t talk to you?” But remember everybody, those that are saying that right now as they’re listening to this, that means they’re not talking to you. That means they don’t care what you think. They don’t care about giving you the information about what’s happening with the team that you love. Has nothing to do with the media. They are spitting in your face. Anyway, beside the point, Joe Shane speaks And you know, he he he took some accountability for what’s going on, but I get the feeling that he knows that his position is tenuous at best. There’s no guarantee he’s going to be back. The wording of John Mar’s release when they got rid of um Dable made it seem that Shane was safe and he was going to run point uh to to look for the the next head coach. I get the feeling that’s slipping away if it ever was that at all because let’s just look at numbers. We’re all into numbers, right? There’s a there’s an era of numbers since he became the the GM of the Giants at 20 43 and one. 20 43 and one. 20 43 and one. They’re 5 and 20 in their last 25 games. This guy put the team together. It’s the guy who put the team together. He spent $215 million in free agent money during the offseason. How’s that worked out? How’s it worked out? Then you look at all the money that the Patriots spent and they highlighted on the Monday night game. That worked out. Those players contributed. That team’s been turned around now. They have a great coach. They found the perfect coach for the team and they happen to have an excellent quarterback as well. But it it’s hard for Joe Shane to flash his resume and go, “Yeah, he’s got to come back. Yeah, let let’s have this disparity. He’ll hire another coach.” And then if they have another bad year, then they’ll fire the GM. And then they’ll bring in a GM who inherits a coach that he didn’t hire. Yeah, that that works out. And that works out. How it work out with Adam Gase and Joe Douglas. How’d it work out with Idik and Ryan? It doesn’t work out. You’ve got to keep them together. I’m not saying that Shane had to be fired when when uh when Brian Dable was fired because I mean somebody’s got to run the shop, right? They’re not making any trades or anything like that. So, let him do all the clerical work and then when it’s time to go, it’s time to go. But a guy who I I respect above and beyond, he he doesn’t write things for clicks or anything like that is Ian Oconor of The Athletic. He’s locked in. If he writes something, you know, he got it from somebody really, really reputable, not making stuff up. And when the Dable thing went down it was Ian who came out and said, um, Joe Shane’s not a sure thing for staying. He’s the only one who wrote that. Now, he comes out today and writes that if Shane wants a chance to keep his job, there’s pretty good chance that he has to win three of the last four games, right? And I scratched my head. Why would that change anything? Why would that change one thing? If he wins three of the next four games, it’ll be 2344 and one. The games mean nothing. The season is over. Your handpicked head coach has been fired. The money you spent in free agency didn’t work. You got guys that you drafted, Evan Neil, Deontay Banks, and Jaylen Hyatt, who are essentially unplayable, and you drafted them at a high level. And you really have to scratch your head what’s happening with Abdul Carter, the third pick in the draft last year. Can’t can’t report to meetings on time. Sat out a series uh the week before this past week on Monday night. He sat out the entire first quarter. That was your first pick this year. You can’t rest your entire being on the quarterback, Jackson Dart, who if you believe the stories, your coach kind of prodded you into making the pick. So even if they win three out of four, even if they win four or four, why does that mean he should keep his job? And I’m not saying fire him. I’m saying your decision should be made by now. He’s either good enough or he’s not. What happens in these last four games mean nothing. Absolutely nothing. These are worthless games. They mean nothing. So why would that impact whether or not he’s kept? That to me means that the ownership is out of its mind. And I don’t think they’re out of their mind. The last four games of a meaningless season, another season in the crapper. And that’s going to decide or have a bearing on whether or not you keep this GM who has not done a good job. Because I’ve been saying this for weeks and people push back all the time. This is not a great roster. It’s not a roster loaded with talent. He’s had four years to turn it over from the team that he inherited from Gtlman. And when you look at 20 43 and one, uh most of those wins came in the first year when they went to the playoffs. Oh yeah, with the talent that Gtlman left him. And Gtlman, according to all Giant fans, was the antichrist. And the only winning that Dable and Shane has have done are with his players that he left them. So, you’ve turned the roster over. You’ve cleaned up um the salary cap situation. You let go of Bartley. You let go of McKini. And the last four games are going to impact whether or not he’s going to stay. Make it make sense. And if you listen to the press conference yesterday, what did he really say? I appreciate the question. Yeah, I don’t care if you appreciate my question. That’s that’s the new get out of jail free card. when people are talking and they don’t want to talk. Well, I appreciate the question. Well, that I I understand why you’re asking that question, but I’m not going to answer it. Well, I appreciate the question, but I’m not going to then don’t even don’t even get in front of the the media if you’re not going to answer questions. Again, this is my new thing that I sell. Why do we even talk to people in charge? Why? They lie to us. They obiscate. They never give you a direct answer. They never answer totally honestly. And I I kind of don’t blame them because them answering honestly that’s at loggerheads with what they’re trying to do. They don’t want to give away the state secrets. And I’m glad that managers have stopped telling you who’s available in the bullpen. They just I’m not telling you that because if I’m I’m telling you that then I’m telling the other manager who’s available in the bullpen. He’s going to manage differently. Don’t even talk anymore. It’s not worth it. It’s not worth it. Players don’t say anything anymore except on their own podcast. So listen to their podcast. I don’t even like having uh active players on. I think player fans like kind of hear well they they they want to hear their voice or whatever, but what are they really telling us? What are managers really telling us? What are coaches telling us? Uh we’re under Cincinnati. Well, I appreciate the question. Crap. It’s ridiculous. Now, I got a lot of push back with stuff that I said on on Monday about the Jets winning. And I said, first of all, there’s no overwhelmingly unbelievable pick that would be the number one pick in the draft that you’re missing out on by winning games. And but but I I maybe I misspoke or didn’t articulate the way I should. Here’s the deal, everybody. I understand if you’re a Jet fan why you want them to lose because you want to have the best draft pick that you could have. So, I think they fell from like the second or third pick to the seventh and there’s a lot more wins out there for the Jets. They can win more games. So, they might even drop further. But the Giants have the second pick and they really do believe in Jackson Dart. Jets have five first round draft picks. They can move up if they want. But what I meant to say, coaches and players don’t lose on purpose. Especially the players, what does it behoove them to lose on purpose? Why? So they could lose their job to a high draft pick. And with Aaron Glenn, he’s trying to establish quote unquote a culture, another buzzword. And that culture is better suited if you win games. So people know how to win games. And he experienced that with the Lions. Remember, the Lions got off that terrible start and then they won seven of eight and then the next year they were on fire. Winning breeds winning. So, I get it. I’m not saying that it doesn’t hurt the Jets if they if they if they win games. It does hurt them in the draft, but I’m I’m saying you can’t realistically expect a coach or players to lose on purpose. You can’t. Players will never lose on purpose. It doesn’t help their their career. And although Aaron Glenn has a big role with the front office and it would help him with a higher draft pick, again, this to me is a deep draft, not as deep as next year’s draft’s going to be. But I don’t think that, you know, you’re going to tank your season in order to pick Mendoza with the number one pick. I I I just don’t think you are. So, I’m not going to battle with Jet fans to say, “Oh, you’re an idiot.” Of course, it’s better if they lose. It is better if they lose. But you can’t expect them to lose on purpose. They’re not going to do it. Nor should they. Nor should they. One quick thing about football. It’s amazing how popular that sport is. Did you see the numbers on the Cowboys Chiefs game on Thanksgiving? So, that game was on CBS. The total number of viewers for that game, 57.2 million people. That’s the highest rated NFL game in the regular season of all time. A regular season game. Now, the Chiefs have become a very popular team with all their winning and Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and and the like. And the Cowboys are the Cowboys. So, it was a perfect storm for CBS to get a big number. But take a look at the pack Packers and the Lions on Fox. That was 47.7 million. Football is king. King. I mean, we were we were dancing in the streets, those that love baseball of how great the rating was for game seven of the World Series, a tremendous World Series. What was about 35 million people? And if you add in Japan, and if you add in Canada, it came out to 50. That was seven the g seventh game of the World Series. This is a regular season Thanksgiving game 57.2 million. And that’s why the NFL does what it wants. They don’t tell their GMs they have to talk more than just the by-week. They can do whatever they want and we’re all going to watch. That’s the beauty of it. We’re all going to watch. Let’s go to Greg in the work truck. Greg, what’s up, man? Hey, it’s going Michael. How is everything with you? Everything’s terrific. Thank you. I’m glad to hear that. I want to agree with something and then uh slightly give a give an opinion about Joe Shane. First of all, I want to agree that players and coaches aren’t going to lose. As a diehard Giants fan, when when fans were clamoring for the Giants to tank, no, you play to win. The same way with Jets fans, and I can’t stand the Jets for the life of me, but these players aren’t going to tank to lose. You play to win. And if you happen to get further down in the draft, well, then so be it. But like you said, they have all these draft picks that they could trade away and and move up in the on the draft board. And one thing, and I’ll let you finish your point, Greg. Don and I used to always argue about it. Don would say he didn’t understand fans rooting for their team to lose. That I understand. I understand fans wanting the team to lose to get the better draft pay. I don’t understand how fans expect the players to want to lose. It just doesn’t work that way. That’s not what they’re not wired that way. No, they’re not. And one more thing about that, Drew Lock last year for the Giants, he played to win, but these guys are also playing for jobs. Right now, pivoting to the Giants in this aspect. It’s I’ve tried giving Joe Shane a lot of slack, so to speak. Mhm. I can’t for whatever the reason because of Mr. Mara’s unfortunate situation where he’s not feeling too well. He’s battling his illness. Something in me, and I could be wrong, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Joe Shane is retained because of this situation. If Mr. Mara was in perfect health, I think he’s gone at the end of the year. But because of this circumstance with Mr. Mara, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Joe Shane is retained for this. I believe it’s the final year of his contract. Well, I mean, but you might be setting, Greg, you might be setting your team back years now. Um, I I only wish the best for John Maro, who’s an incredible g gentleman, and and he is battling cancer, but there there are other people. I mean, Steve Tish owns half the team, too. And there’s other Mar family members. There there’s there’s a plan of succession just like there was with Wellington. It was going to be John. I’m not quite sure who the next Maro would be if John stepped aside. But you can’t have a leadership void because Jon is sick. You know, you have to do what’s best for the the organization. And if it’s best for the organization to keep Shane, then you keep them. You don’t keep them because Jon is sick. I mean, that’s where Tish, you know, Tish and Mara each own 45% of the team. And then the Koch family bought 10% of the team for a billion dollars this year, which means the Giants are valued at 10 billion. But if you put the whole thing up for sale, they’d get more than that. But I I I would disagree that there’s that void um in decision-m because John is having this health battle. I think there are other marers and and the Tish family that could step in and go, “No, Joe Shane’s got not going to stay.” Let’s go to uh Jerry in New Jersey. Jerry, Michael, how are you? Good. How you doing, Jerry? Good. Hey, just a quick question. I I don’t know the answer. So when you left from broadcasting with John Sterling to go on Yes. Yeah. What was your main reason? Um I wanted the opportunity to be uh the lead guy and you know to try television and it was more money too. All right. There you go. So the So why are people busting on Lane for leaving for a better opportunity? They’ll drop you just like they did James Franklin when you’re not doing well. But yet, when Lane wants to do better for himself, possibly future- wise, why do they bust his chops? Well, I don’t I I don’t bust his I bust the chops of the NCAA for putting together a system, Jerry, where you could leave before the the national championship games or the the college football playoffs. That’s ridiculous. And also the thing that that bothers me, I don’t know if you feel this way. So I admitted to you right now, TV is more money than radio, but Lane Kein said that money had nothing to do with it. Do you do you believe him? No. See, that that’s the only thing. I mean, Lane Kein, it’s Listen, I don’t know the guy personally, Jar, he he doesn’t seem huggable to me. He He’s not overtly likable, and he’s done stuff like this before. I mean, he left Tennessee after one year. One year. That’s not quite a commitment. And I understand going someplace to better yourself. And the one thing that I don’t agree with you is, you know, you brought up James Franklin of of Penn State. They got rid of him, but he got paid. What was left on his contract, he got paid. Brian Kelly got fired by LSU. He got $54 million. So yeah, they could fire you, but you got to get paid. But Lane Keifin had a contract with Old Miss. But contracts, I guess, are made to be broken. It’s not like, you know, Old Miss scored a big money advantage from LSU because Lane Keifin left. There’s just an inequity there to me. And I always see this with with college coaches. Contracts don’t seem to mean anything. They don’t seem to mean anything. See, my agent, when I was doing the radio, I had signed a five-year deal. The last year I signed was a five-year deal. And the 10th year on radio was the fourth year. The fourth year. So, he put in the contract. He had the foresight to put in the contract. If a television job opens up and my um client is offered that job, he has a right to leave the radio to go to the TV. If he didn’t put that in and I had a fifth year left on my contract, which I did, I couldn’t have taken the yes job. And you know what? I wouldn’t have taken the yes. I would never break a contract ever. Like I’m in the middle of a multi-year deal right now. If WFAN came to me and said, “We’ll pay you 10 times what you’re making.” I’d say, “No, I I won’t take it.” Because not only is my word my bond, but that contract means something, too. The thing that bothers people in college sports, it doesn’t seem like it it’s the beall endall. It only protects the coach. It doesn’t protect the university. and it doesn’t protect the players. Pendulum swing. And the thing is with with the players now, they’re getting back some of the power to the point where it’s almost laughable where they can move around with with with no connection, no obligation whatsoever. That That’s problematic. That that’s that’s problematic to me. I I think the NCAA, which really doesn’t have any power, has to step in and put a grid together on what’s right, what’s wrong, how long a player has to stay, and how long a coach has to stay. Tony in Connecticut, Tony, hey, Michael, how are you? Good. How you doing, Tone? Good. I just want to make two comments. One, I agree with you on Jet fans. Of course, I’m a 43 year season ticket holder. Would I love the number one pick? Sure. But what I want to see more is progress with this new regime which I think they have been making because if if we start playing worse toward the end of the season, that’s not a good sign. And what I like about what Aaron Lenn has done is these players are playing hard for him. That was one point I want to make. The second point is on, you know, the coaches and management talking the media. I I still think there’s value for the fans to have the coach go up there and the players go up there. I’ll give you an example like when Isaiah Williams almost made that punt return for a touchdown and he got tripped up at the end. He kind of explained, you know, why he made the cut back. He also talked about the new receiver AD and how hard he works. And I think fans like to have that insight. I guess that the from a from a team perspective and the coach perspective, they could say to the media, why are you asking us questions that would give the other team a competitive answer, a competitive advantage? We’re not going to answer those questions, so why are you going to bother asking them? See, but Tony, what I would like is if they said that, right? Just come out and say, “I’m not answering that.” I mean, Aaron Boon has taken to say, “I’m not telling you who’s available in the bullpen.” He kind of laughs at it. And, you know, it’s unspoken. I’m not going to do that because I’m not going to give the manager I’m managing against an advantage. So, yeah, sometimes you do get these little gems that help out and the fans want to hear. But when when when you know the guy doesn’t speak other than on a by uh a by-week and then says, “Well, I appreciate the qu you appreciate the question.” Just tell the truth. I don’t want to answer that. Don’t give me some uh you know PR mumble jumble that somebody told you. I’ll just say you appreciate the question and then don’t answer it. They never answer it. So my question to you about speaking to coaches and GMs and managers, is the juice worth the squeeze? And you said, you know, the the the the coach is going to ask the media, does why am I going to give a why are you asking a good question that gives a competitive advantage to the other team? And if I’m the media, if I’m the person, that’s my job. I don’t care about a competitive advantage for the other team. I want the information for my readers or for my listeners. So everybody’s at at cross purposes. That’s the problem. The media wants to find out stuff that you don’t want them to find out. So you don’t answer the question. So don’t even go up there and ask. Don’t even don’t even have press conferences if you know you’re going to insult everybody’s intelligent. Well, I appreciate the question. No, you don’t. 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Discover how easy it is to bring every room to life with incredible sound. Explore Sonos speakers, sound bars, and more at sonos.com. Welcome back to the show, everybody. Wednesday 2:31 and that means it’s time for Mike Lupa of the New York Daily Newsmlb.com, esteemed best-selling author. He joins us every Wednesday at this time. Hi Mike. How you doing? Michael, how are you today? I’m doing great. I’m doing great. Um it it’s funny. We talked a little bit yesterday on the phone and we were talking about Lane Keifin and and you know the AD of Old Miss, you know, came out today and said, you know, some of the stuff he’s saying just doesn’t I mean, he didn’t call him a liar, but he’s essentially saying he knew and his agent knew that once he signed somewhere else, he was not going to be the Old Miss coach in the playoffs. So, what’s your take on the whole Lane Keifin situation? I wouldn’t believe Lane Kein if he told me water was wet, Michael. Um, at this point I I I I seriously shake hands with this guy and count your fingers. I th this whole thing my my We talked about these yesterday. My favorite part of this my favorite part is I talked to God and God told me to go. Um, first of all, God, we have no way to talk to God ourselves and get his version of that conversation. Do we Michael? I don’t think we do. No, we don’t have those kind of contacts. and and the idea and you know you’re talking to a good Catholic boy. I’m at 7:30 mass every Sunday. I’m a good I’m a former alter boy, Michael. Okay. But I I I think this is just my opinion. God has bigger things to worry about than whether this Yaya is going to coach at Miss Old Miss or Louisiana State. Do you agree? I I would agree. And I I I don’t even understand what’s the circus about. You know, the way the rules are, he can go if he wants to go, but he wants his cake and eat it, too. Scott Vampel, I think we talked about this yesterday. Scott Scott Vampel had a great analogy for for Lane wanting to coach Old Miss in the playoffs even after he’s taken the LSU job. It would be like a husband saying, “Honey, I’m leaving you for my girlfriend, but for the sake of the children, I want us to all live together during the Christmas holidays.” That That’s pretty much what Lane Keifin wanted. And and even his own players are disputing his version of things that they were begging him to stay. No, they weren’t. No, they weren’t. And and it was never in play for him to to coach the playoffs. that comes out now and I believe the athletic director that they were having a conversation about him perhaps coaching the the SEC championship game if if they got there. By the way, I not only believe he would he wanted to wait till he found out if Alabama beat Auburn on Saturday night, not because of the SEC championship game. I think in this guy’s mind he’s thinking, well, wait a minute. If Kalin Dbor loses this game and they miss the playoffs again, maybe the Alabama job could could come open and then think about it, Michael, he could have screwed Old Miss and LSU in the same week. And and one more thing about this guy, we can have an overunder now number now on when he does to LSU what he just did to Old Miss to go to the NFL. And he’s done it before. He did it to Tennessee. I mean, a leopard doesn’t change its spots. It just doesn’t. No. Somebody said this the other day. There are a couple of great lines I heard. Um, one agent told Brett um McMury of On Three Sports, Lane’s the only guy who can try to burn a bridge while standing on it. That was, you know, as somebody else said, the the most basic thing about Lane Keifin is this. When somebody tells you exactly who they are, you need to believe them. I mean, and when you look up the word oily in the dictionary, his picture’s right there. He’s kind of oily. He’s not huggable, I’ll tell you that. No. And I’m telling you, he will do it to LSU the way he’s done it to everybody else. The only people who didn’t wait around for him to screw them was was USC and they fired him. And oh my god, my favorite part about this is he went to Nick Sabin for advice. The Nick Sabin who bailed out on the Dolphins two years into a five-year contract to to go to Alabama. And his other consiguary was Pete Carol who got the hell out of USC because he was one step ahead of of the law. That was his support system other than of course our creator. And and also the thing that bothers me and I mentioned this earlier in the show about Sabin. Sabin said he should have been allowed to coach in the college football playoffs for Old Miss. Sabin fired him as the offensive coordinator before the national championship game because he took the Florida Atlantic job. H how does that work? How could you be so hypocritical? By the way, Michael, it’s probably one of those just crazy coincidences that you you get in life sometimes that Nick Sabin and Lane Kein have the same agent in in Jimmy Ston. Well, I just I just did a whole segment on that and I I mean, you have agents, whatever the case may book agent, they work for you. Why would you sell your soul for the agent? The agent 10% of your money for doing nothing and and you’re going to your opinion is going to be shaped because to the agent, I I give them too much credit for that. I really do. I don’t understand why you would bend your will for an agent. No. Listen, Michael, I’ve had the same literary agent for over 40 years. But yes, I you know are the the the levels of responsibility are quite different. Okay. And and but but this guy this guy he stands there and tries to look pious in front of the world. And and I’m I’m telling you he is a goldplated phony. He has been a goldplated phony his entire coaching career. And Al Davis made a lot of mistakes at the end of his life running the Raiders, but one of the biggest was making this guy his coach when he was 32 years old. And and and for Pete Carol to say to him, “It’s what your dad would have wanted you to do. Shut up.” Now, I think the major problem even more than Lane Kein is the system that’s set up in the NCAA. It’s such a bad system, Mike. Now, we all love Coach Patino. He’s jumped from job to job. He even said that it’s ridiculous. I mean, it has to be changed somehow. You can’t allow coaches to leave before their teams are finished in the college football players. You can’t allow recruiting. Recruiting starts today for high school players. That’s early signing. It’s the system that allows Lane Kein to Lane Keifin. The the Michael, here’s the thing. They have to change the calendar. They do. But even if they change the calendar, here’s even if they change the calendar, Michael, there is no legislative body with any teeth in college sports because it’s not the NCAA. That for all of the flaws of the National Football League, this does not go on. But I’m refusing to give this phony a pass and and and act like he’s some sort of victim of the calendar or or or or or the way the system is set up. No. If you LSU wanted him that bad, and I know when signing day is, I get all that. Okay. So, they might have lost some recruits. Do you think they were not going to wait for him if he had coached out the season? Come on. That’s true. Now, I I’ve known you for a long time. You you’re you’re an unbelievable reporter. So I just want I this you don’t have to tell me the truth. Did you in fact in putting the story together try to get in touch with God for comment. I did I did I I and and I I I because I Mike I I don’t want to make a big thing out of this. I do have an inside number. Really? That’s big. Yeah, I do. But I It’s like with you. I know this I know that the phone I text you on is not your only phone. Okay. And so I I I feel like, and please people, we’re having fun here, you know, again, I I was an alter boy for so long. I I really I’m a good boy, okay? But I think I think I’m not the only one with the number, okay? And and so I just I finally said the last message I left was, “Listen, if you don’t get back to me, I I’m just going to write the column the way it is now.” All right, shifting gears. What did you think of Joe Shane’s performance yesterday where he doesn’t answer questions? He just tells you he appreciates them. Is Joe Shane long for this job? I I c if they listen, they’ve they actually have some games that they could win. They they can’t lose out and have this guy keep his job. I I I’m I’m not sure why they made the decision here. Here’s all I know about Joe Shane. Ownership likes it, Michael. I he’s given them I they just like him personally. They they they’re buying into this notion that they do have as he say kept saying yesterday around how he appreciates the question pieces in place. But but if they have at least that many pieces in place even without Scatteraboo and even without neighbors, okay, how come they don’t win a game in the fourth quarter even by accident? Okay. I I think the mistake the Giants are going to make is they’re going to keep this guy. They’re going to buy into that narrative that they’re knocking on the door. They’re going to look at all the fourth quarter losses and say, “Hey, but how different would things have been if we’d won the Broncos game?” The these are all fair things for them to do. How different would things look if we’d won the Packers game and the Lions game after we had won the Broncos game and and we did lose our best player. And I think they’re going to talk themselves into believing that they are closer than they are because they have a quarterback that we all like. And Mike, we do like him. But does this mean he is an automatic surefire star? I watched, you know, obviously Drake May has more talent with him in New England, a lot more than Jackson Dart has with the Giants. But Michael, when you watch that game on Monday night, I I saw one guy who is going to be the MVP this year and I saw a kid with a lot of potential, but to to to say that he they have their Drake May, there looked to be a lot of green between Drake May and Jackson Dart. Now, one thing that I don’t understand like you you just brought up that they’ve got they’ve got to win some games. They have four games remaining. Three. Why should that matter? The numbers are 20 43 and one. And when we talk about the weapons he has, one of the names that everybody keeps mentioning, Andrew Thomas, not drafted by him. He’s also ownership of Evan Neil, Deontay Banks, Jaylen Hyatt. $215 million of free agent money spent. That was didn’t do a thing. They’re having a worse season than last year. Why are you retaining them? Because they like him. I mean, there are people that like me that don’t they’re not going to let me run their company. Michael, if you had to add it all up, and I’m not going to say that Brian Dable had done enough to keep his job. I’m not. Nobody would say that, okay? But they’re banking their whole future on this quarterback. They really are. And from everything I know, it was Dable who was pushing the Giants to draft this kid. And and and not Shane. Hey, Michael, I would have fired Shane for his performance on Hard Knocks. You know, I I I I I started to have my doubts about the guy then. No, he can’t run on his record, Michael. He can’t run on his record. And if they if Dable was going to go when he went, um Shane should have gone too. And I just think they didn’t want to bang them both in the middle of the season. And now here we are. But that listen, there was nothing he could say yesterday to defend his record. Nothing. and and you you could see him kind of getting steamed as the thing went along, but but every question he was asked yesterday, I thought was fair. I mean, Pat Pat Leonard of of my paper went at him pretty good in a respectful way. And basically the theme of it was, “What have you done to keep your job?” Right. I’m sure he appreciated the question. Yeah, he did, Michael. He did. He clearly did. And and that ought to count for something. I’m just not sure what I’m sure, Mike. I mean, you can see how things become things that some PR genius has come up with that phrase. I appreciate the question. Oh, that’s a good qu and they don’t answer it. I don’t even know why we talk to them anymore. Why do we talk to people anymore? They don’t ever tell the truth. Mike, yesterday I appreciate the question replaced a phrase that I hate in modern life, which is this one. I appreciate you. I hate that one, too. Or on to Cincinnati. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Hey, Michael, I got to ask you a question before you go today. Yeah. Now, we’ve known we’ve been friends a long time, right? Mhm. And I just want to know, and we don’t we we don’t need to get in too deep into the weeds here, but when I once again send you a text message that ends with this, or else does that still pack a wallup with you? Um, it packs a wallup and it actually um it wrankles me a bit. I said, “Wow, this guy’s my friend.” And he goes, “Or else?” Like, “Okay, so our friendship would be over if I don’t do this.” It hurts. It’s hurtful is what it is. No, but here’s the thing. Here’s the thing, and I’ve told you this before. I’m not really clear on what or else really means, Michael. It just I just feel it. It It just sounds good. Well, I’m g I’m you know what? I’m going to pray on that and and see exactly how I feel. Oh [ __ ] Michael. See you, baby. Byebye. That is Mike Lupa. So, good stuff from him. We’re going to finish it off with you. Lot of stuff still to talk about. And then we have Don Han and Rosenberg coming up as well. It is the K show rolling on right here on ESPN New York Wednesday with Don Han and Rosenberg. Will anyone in the Giants regime survive into next year? And obviously that was the case with what was going on with, you know, what what happened with Rabel when he was down in Tennessee as opposed to what’s happening within the New England right now because the Giants have to try and figure out a way to get that kind of result, get that kind of chemistry, get that kind of synergy going within the walls of that building with whoever is going to be the head coach in 2026. Don Han and Rosenberg today at 3 on ESPN New York and streaming live on YouTube. 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Order online by 2 p.m. and get free same day delivery right to your job site. Lowe’s. We help you save. Orders placed after 2 p.m. will be delivered next day. Valid in select zip codes. Subject to driver availability. More terms apply. You live for this. The wins, the losses, the slam dunks, and the buzzer beaters. 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. [Music] Welcome back to the show. So a lot of Yankee fans um have contacted me. So, what do you think about the comments that Sunny Gray made? You know, Sunny Gray was traded from the Cardinals to the the Red Sox and and he said, “I’m I’m paraphrasing. I’m glad that I’m at a place where it’s acceptable and easy to hate the Yankees.” So, I I mean, what do you want me to say about that? He He’s gone to the perfect place for him to say that. He didn’t like his time here. It makes total sense. Um, this guy’s a top flight pitcher who was far from that when the Yankees got him from the A’s. He went on to Cincinnati and kind of saved his career and then pitched well for the Cardinals and now the Red Sox. Uh, he’ll pitch this year. I mean, I I can’t imagine Yankee fans getting upset at him. I mean, again, he’s in the perfect place to say you hate the Yankees, right? So, I get it. I mean, it didn’t move my needle. I I’m wondering if it it moved a lot of Yankee fans needles. Kind of odd. Uh, the one thing that I would never do as an athlete, why would you make yourself bulletin board fodder? So, why would you say something like that so when you take them out at Yankee Stadium, they’re just going to excoriate you? And whether or not you believe that players use bullets and poured fodder, I’m sure to be brought up in the premeating with the AO hates the Yankees. Again, why put yourself in the crosshairs when you don’t have to? Again, it didn’t didn’t affect me whatsoever, but he didn’t have a good time here. He did not have a good experience. So, of course, he’s going to say that, but it it somebody I I give credit. The internet never forgets. You know, when he came to the Yankees, he talked glowingly about how he was so happy to be here. you know, they they only want to win. Sounds a lot different all these years later. But again, he said that before his Yankee experience, which didn’t turn out the way he wanted it to and the way the Yankees wanted to. And he said, you know, he never wanted to come to the Yankees. He didn’t sign with the Yankees as a free agent. He was traded to them. So, he didn’t choose to come there and he didn’t choose to go to Boston. He was traded there. Although, he had a no trade clause and he did wave it. Got a raise to wave it. We’ll see how he does with the Red Sox. Game time brought to you by Teldor Irish Whiskey because when it’s game time, it’s telly time. 7 PM the Devils host the Stars at the Prudential Center with Don LGRA on the mic on MSG. 7:30 the Knicks host the Hornets at Madison Square Garden. Coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. right here on 880 ESPN. 8:00 p.m. the Nets are in Chicago to play the Bulls. That will be seen on the Yes Network as will our first hot stove show. Me, Bob Loren, Jack Curry, and Cam Slitler in studio. And that’ll start at 6:30. Telmord, the original triple distilled, triple blended, triple cask matured Irish whiskey. Be sure to grab a Telmour Dew. Try the new Teldu honey during today’s action. Glasses up to enjoying Teldue responsibly. Um, Chris Paul released. So, some some players don’t really note the passage of time. So Chris Paul was very vocal about what was wrong with the Clippers and he and the the coach Ty Louu. They didn’t speak uh over the last couple of weeks. He became persona nonrada in the Clipper universe. It’s the last year of his illustrious career and he wanted to finish it with the Clippers and they just bagged him and released him. And my my point is that players don’t note the passage of time. He’s not CP3 anymore. He’s just another player. He’s not even an average player anymore. So, you you got to kind of hold your tongue and not be that tough, not be that that that hard-nosed. So, it’s kind of odd that he did that, but he certainly did. I’ve been meaning to say this. Anybody ever watch the Jennifer Hudson show? And they they have this stuff where they knock on the the dressing room door and the all the people that work on the show, they line the wall and they like sing and everything and then you have to dance down with a camera following you as you go on stage. And I have I’ve I’ve come to the conclusion it’s the cringiest thing I’ve ever seen. And anybody who’s on that show that wants to do that and doesn’t think they look like an absolute nozzle, I’d like to talk to them. You could see everybody just hates it. Everybody just cringes at it. Why would you put your guest in such an uncomfortable situation to be dancing down the aisle of a hallway with people cheering and hooting and hollering? I don’t get it. Something that bothered me and I wanted to talk about it for a long time and I finally did. We’ll be back again tomorrow at 1. I can’t wait. We’ve got so much to do. We’ll talk a lot of football as well. In the words of Billy Joel, “Life is a series of hells and goodbyes. I’m afraid it’s time for goodbye again.” See everybody have a wonderful day. Don and Rosenberg. Next, bet 365 is paying out before the final whistle. Check out Bet 365.

Michael is back Wednesday and is ready to breakdown a busy day in New York sports, from Devin Williams’ Mets outlook and rumors of a Lindor–Soto rift, to Yankees payroll concerns and the future of the beard policy. Michael discusses Joe Schoen’s future as Giants GM, whether teams can truly tank, and why the Jets still need to show progress. Mike Lupica joins to discuss Lane Kiffin’s move to LSU, plus thoughts on Sonny Gray’s Yankees comments and Chris Paul’s vocal leadership.

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

Chapters:
00:00:00 – Devin Williams to the Mets? Lindor–Soto questions & Yankees beard policy calls
00:30:00 – Callers on Soto narrative, Yankees payroll concerns & beard policy tradition
00:45:00 – Commentary on criticism of differing sports opinions
01:00:00 – Will Joe Schoen remain Giants GM? Tanking talk, Mara speculation & Jets progress
01:30:00 – Mike Lupica on Lane Kiffin’s future and the LSU–Ole Miss situation
01:45:00 – Sonny Gray on Yankees; Chris Paul’s vocal leadership debate