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Rich Davis
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Covino
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Danny G
Hey, thanks for listening to the Best of Cavino and Rich podcast. Be sure to catch us live every day from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio.
Covino
Find your local station for Covino and rich@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR Feel Bad for the Celtics fans? Feel bad for Jason Tatum?
Danny G
I feel bad for Tatum. I don't. You feel bad for Celtics fans? Beat it Celtics fans.
Covino
Because I mean, look, I understand that they're a hateable franchise and defending champions, all that stuff, but you don't want to see star players down.
Danny G
So I feel bad. Danny G, I could promise you, feels bad for Jason Tatum. As a human, do you think Danny G, a lifelong Lakers fan, feels bad for the Celtics fans?
Rich Davis
Jayson Tatum's a little different though, because he's a long time Kobe supporter.
Danny G
Yeah.
Rich Davis
So I mean, I wish Tatum was a Laker.
Covino
I feel bad for any fan who watches their superstar go down an injury like that.
Rich Davis
I thought the wheelchair was a bad move though. I would have waved it off, especially if I'm a Celtic.
Danny G
Celtics poop their pants in wheelchairs, from what I understand in a key situation.
Covino
And again, the Oswaldo Cabrera injury, which I was glued to last night, was such a somber broadcast. And no one's really speculating. Before we get into all the fun stuff, Rich, right? And the Mavericks.
Danny G
Big night rigged, as everyone is saying, which is ridiculous.
Covino
But we'll get to just one quick question. Ten five ninth inning. You tag up to get that 11th run. No one's really questioning that. Was it that important for the dude to extend themselves on a sacrifice fly when they were up 105 in the 9th?
Danny G
Yeah, I'll tell you what I mean.
Covino
Maybe that's what I'm asking, because no one's speculating on that. Everyone's just really talking about how unfortunate that injury was. His ankle full 180, but still just a fracture. He's on the 10 day DL and now Lemayhu's off the DL, so that's how that works out.
Danny G
10 day. He might as well put him on the thousand day deal with that. You saw that angle as of now.
Covino
That'S what they're saying.
Danny G
But I'll tell you why they did the tag up. You're right, they're up five runs, ninth inning. It's low risk. Like listen, if the Eagles are up 17 with three minutes to go and Saquon gets hurt because he's in the game, bonehead move. If Mahomes get sacked, the Chiefs are up or down 21 points in the fourth quarter. You know, asinine play a tag up from third, what is it? One in a million. But there's a better chance of the Mavericks winning the draft lottery.
Covino
He tried to avoid the catcher. He goes around the bag, his speed and his momentum locks his ankle, distorts his body in a weird way, spins his ankle, his whole leg looked like it was backwards in that moment. And a real painful, somber situation for a really well liked and fun guy to root for, Oswaldo Cabrera. So wishing him and Tatum the best moving forward. But let's get into the other fun stuff and we'll talk more about that later on. Of course, gruesome injuries and your reaction to them, I want to get to that. But last night, dude, not only a Knicks and Timberwolf sort of night, a Maverick sort of night. Maverick with the number one pick in the lottery, obviously getting Cooper, Cooper Flag from Duke and the spurs got the number two pick.
Danny G
Did you call him Goober Flag because he's a little gooberish?
Covino
No, I called you a goober. I said Cooper Flag, Goober Flag. And you know, everyone's saying rig today because there was a 1% chance of this happening. You know, Nico Harrison feeling a sense of relief. Maverick fans are like, what? The odds of the Mavs and Spurs Landing the 1 and 2 were 1 in 1000. And the MAV Spurs Sixers combo in the top three was 1 in 10,000. So odds were way against this happening. It makes you scratch your head and say what? Well, how is this possible?
Danny G
I want to put in perspective, guys. I did the, I did the math. There was a better chance of Lloyd Christmas getting with Mary Swanson.
Covino
I don't think he had a 1% chance.
Danny G
So you're saying there's a chance? I think that we all felt the same way. I went to the gym right after the show. Yesterday.
Covino
So you're telling me there's a chance?
Danny G
One in a billion.
Covino
You went to the gym. Why don't you brag about it? I mean, was that your first time this month?
Danny G
Look at these pecs, bro. So I go to the gym, and without fail, the minute Danny G. Texts me and he's like, yo, people are gonna say it's rigged. You watch Danny. They didn't skip a beat. The dude checking in with his little phone scanner at the desk was like, yo, you see that Mavericks first word, rigged.
Covino
It was the hot envelope scandal.
Danny G
And the guy behind the desk is like, yo, the NBA is totally rigged. And I watched it firsthand. The chit chat at the gym simultaneously. Danny G. Saying social media is blowing up, saying, rigged.
Covino
Well, hold on. How could you not think that when there's a 1% chance of that?
Dan Byer
Excuse me, 1.
Covino
And when you have percent chance. 1.8. Fine. Thank you, Javier. Sam. And then when you think about all the ups and downs the team just went through with trading Luca out of nowhere overnight, all the controversy there surrounding the ownership.
Rich Davis
Yeah.
Covino
All the injuries that went down, this.
Rich Davis
Was part of the deal.
Covino
Everybody chanting, fire Nico. And all of a sudden they're number one with a 1.8.
Rich Davis
The NBA was behind this. This was part of the deal.
Covino
So I'm not saying that's the case. I'm saying I understand that people are buzzing about it.
Danny G
Wait, who? The. The same people that are behind this. Are they the same people that write the script for the NFL?
Covino
Okay. No, that's fair. That's craziness is crazy talk to think that sort of thing. But we also like to think that there's no cheating with officiating and things like that. Yet we've seen it and known it to be true.
Danny G
One of my favorite things, potential scandals of all time. Because I think it really is tricky and awesome.
Covino
Yeah, but how many times do people say that the officiating's rigged and you're like, get out of here, dude? Yet Donnie, he admitted it, and we have the proof. So it's not like it's impossible that these things could happen. And there's a reason why there's a buzz when you're such low probability. I do understand, Rich.
Rich Davis
You always point out about judges, ex judges and lawyers and people involved. And in our pre show meeting, we're talking about a law firm maybe presiding over the NBA draft. I looked it up, though. It says the NBA handles the legal aspects of the NBA draft through its own internal legal department.
Danny G
So it's not like where they have the Oscars or the Grammys and they're like, well represented by.
Rich Davis
They have their own lawyers in house, their own counsel.
Danny G
Well, I'll say this. One of my favorite potential scandal conspiracies is the 1985 Knicks Patrick Ewing draft. Where was. Was the envelope frozen and cold so that whoever stuck their hand in was.
Covino
Like I said, it was the hot envelope.
Danny G
Yeah, like, ooh, like. And it's the Knicks.
Covino
That's really. That's a stretch, though. You think you could dig your hand in a bunch of envelopes and decipher which one's the cold?
Danny G
If I told you. Yeah, if I told you there's, you know, at that time, 20 something envelopes and a. In a. You know, you're going to be able.
Covino
To pick the one out of 27 that feels cold. The cold doesn't transfer onto any envelope. It's just the one.
Danny G
Dude, it was in there with your Otter Pops and Freezy Freakies. It was like, if one.
Covino
If, like Danny G. Said, Hamlin, Hamlin, and McGill are involved in this, so it has to be legit.
Danny G
Well, all I'm saying is nowadays, though, where there's social media and people love to speculate and everyone is a little sleuth, right? Everyone wants to be their own little solving murder, you know, podcast, you don't think that someone would be investigating the whole process? What is it. Is it. Is it like lottery balls? Right? I mean, I didn't watch last night. What are we doing these days?
Rich Davis
Yeah, it's. It's lottery.
Danny G
Lottery balls, right? I mean, there's one weighted. Was one.
Covino
And then hot balls scandal. One ball was actually. It was extra hot for the Mavericks. Oh, there was a warm one for the Spurs.
Danny G
A case of the old hot ball.
Covino
Yeah, the old hot ball scandal. Ooh. This one doesn't involve Rich.
Danny G
You know what?
Covino
To me, those balls are perfect. Yeah.
Danny G
There was somebody to, like, lean into this. Remember when LeBron did that pretty open interview with Pat McAfee? He talked about the NBA being rigged. Take a. Listen.
Rich Davis
Listen, man, during the ball drop, you.
Covino
Know, during the lottery drop, Cleveland got.
Shaquille O'Neal
The number one pick.
Rich Davis
That's.
Covino
I just don't think that was. Whoa.
Rich Davis
What are you.
Danny G
What a coincidence, don't you think?
Covino
Wemby with the Spurs.
Rich Davis
Oh, my God, let's keep.
Covino
Let's keep LeBron home.
Danny G
You know what?
Rich Davis
Patrick Ewing to the Knicks, you know, Derrick Rose to the Bull.
Covino
But I understand the assignment, guys.
Rich Davis
I'm, you know, so, you know, it's.
Covino
I had to make sure that, you.
Rich Davis
Know, I had to do my part.
Covino
He's also being a little cheeky there, joking around, insinuating there's some truth to it. But I'm just joking and I want to know how you guys feel about it before we talk about reactions to injuries and Shaq Diesel trivia. The other big story of the night, the Mavericks with the number one pick, spurs number two. Do you believe that it could be rigged? Anything's possible, right?
Danny G
Well, then answer this.
Covino
But I'm going to tell you that I have to. I choose to believe that the Mavericks just got really lucky, man. You know, it's. It's improbable, not impossible. So we saw the 1.8% chance happen, which is wild.
Danny G
That's like, that's what I like. It's like getting struck by lightning.
Covino
It happens.
Danny G
Bitten by a shark. It happened. You know, it happened.
Covino
And that's why they were pumped about it.
Danny G
Getting a plane crash.
Covino
These, they're all acting and they're all in on it.
Rich Davis
If you want some lottery numbers to play later, the winning combination of ping pong balls that earned Dallas the number one pick. 10, 14, 11, and 7.
Covino
Ooh.
Rich Davis
Those are the numbers right now. 10, 14, 11, 7.
Danny G
You know, Danny G. I want, yeah, you, Sam, Dan Byer Covino, and in fact, I want the Fox Sports Radio Nation to hit us up 8, 7, 7, 9, 9 on Fox for anyone that genuinely thinks maybe it is rigged. Maybe this is the Denver airport, or maybe this is we landed on the moon. Maybe not. Is this the who shot jfk? If you believe in, you know, all the, the wild conspiracies.
Rich Davis
The earth is flat.
Danny G
The earth is flat. All right, Kyrie, then answer me this for real. I'm, I'm not mocking. I'm curious. How do you think they did it? Do you think it was a weighted ball? Do you think the league got in with the owners? Because no owner would agree to this. So I think it was a one on one, like Nico Harrison, Mavericks meeting, like, hey, listen, we did you solid. Luke is a Laker.
Covino
In order for that to happen. Yeah. You have to have some sort of plan, right? And some sort of scheme. And like Danny G insinuated, anyone that would assume that the law firm is involved in, anyone that would blow the.
Danny G
Whistle can't be involved. So this has to be like a secret inside job. So if you think that, you know.
Covino
20, you know, this is a shady Saul Goodman sort of, you know, it.
Rich Davis
Is their own lawyers now employed by the NBA in house, like I said Saul Goodman. They could. Yeah, they could be in on it.
Danny G
So if you think.
Rich Davis
You would hope they're not.
Danny G
But if you think shenanigans were a play.
Covino
Who was his name?
Danny G
Jimmy mcgill.
Covino
Yeah, but slipping Jimmy Slippin Jimmy, Slippin Jimmy situation. I think.
Danny G
Wait. Is slipping Jimmy involved?
Covino
You know, that's why I said Hamlin, Hamlin, McGill.
Danny G
I know.
Covino
But, yes, slip in Jimmy, because that's extra shady if you think everyone's involved in that way. Is that impossible? No, but I don't think that's happened.
Danny G
You know, for every conspiracy.
Covino
I didn't. I never believed that frozen envelope situation.
Danny G
The first thing I always ask myself in a conspiracy is how many people would have to completely shut their mouth, be involved, being on it without blowing, you know, whistleblowing.
Covino
Right. I believe that. I believe more in the Colombian alien sphere that they found this week more than. I believe that this was rigged. Damn.
Danny G
By. You're a reasonable guy. Are you. Are you just minding your own now because you feel like it's all hogwash, or do you think there's some. Some possibility that there's, you know, injustice? It's rigged. It's tomfoolery.
Sam
I do feel that there is an undercurrent of possible tomfoolery, or rigging, if you will. I am not happy that the Mavericks were the ones who were to benefit from it. And that would be the team that you could most likely conn to the rigging, not because of them being the Mavericks, but because they gave Luca to the Lakers. That's if Luca was traded to the Orlando Magic. I don't think that there's a. Hey, here's a solid. Here's a tip of the cap. But, hey, thanks so much for putting one of our premier superstars to take the torch from LeBron and our golden franchise and be able to carry that on. So I could. I could see it. I put it at 50% earlier, which, it was a bit of a stretch, but maybe around 20, 25%.
Danny G
Big words. I. You know, damn buyer. It's. It's interesting because that sense of how the Luca, you know, to the Lakers thing. The Mavericks need to be rewarded for this.
Covino
Well, I just wonder. You hate to think that's true, but of course, it's possible. At the beginning, middle, and end of the day, it's a business. So if it's good for the league, it's good for everybody. And it could be just a business move, and they're just. Well, don't you know what people say? Trying to make us believe that this is the truth.
Danny G
You know, how it's all, you know, what people love to say. And I don't know if this is true. I'm just repeating something I've seen on social media, which is the problem with most conversations nowadays. So I apologize every time people talk.
Covino
About, well, the NFL.
Danny G
Oh, yeah, the script. And it's rigged. People love to plot the fact that the NFL is registered as an entertainment league or something to the nature that, like, they're off the hook if something ever came out like that. Have you seen people say stuff like that?
Covino
I don't know about the legality of. It's registered as an entertainment league. But even in the fight game, anytime you see something go down like this, the first thing they always say is, look, this is still entertainment. It really is. They're trying to get people to watch. They're trying to get people to tune in. It's all about ratings and money. How many times the league, it's. It's possible.
Danny G
How many times Kavino has the fighter that they needed to win to set up another big fight, Lost in a close fight, but they won on the car because in a month or so.
Covino
People will forget because, well, fighting's rigged. Right? We know that there's definitely rigging going on, Shadiness in the fight game, but it's also a business. And you also want to be able to sell a fight. And if you can't sell a fight because there's no personality behind it, then you're failing in that entertainment factor of the sport. Right. Which is part of it. This is just good for the league. It's just a lot of drama for the league, which could sell the league, which could be more money, more ratings. Like Dan Byer insinuated a little back scratch for the Mavericks.
Rich Davis
And we saw a lot of that last night. We saw a lot of that. As far as the Lakers go, like it says, Chris Paul was traded from New Orleans to LA, and then New Orleans gets the number one pick. A.D. was traded from New Orleans to LA. New Orleans gets the number 1 pick.
Covino
Right?
Rich Davis
Luca traded to. From Dallas to LA. Of course Dallas gets the number one pick. LeBron left Cleveland for Miami. Cleveland gets three of the four next four number one picks, including the one when LeBron came home to for the trade for Kevin Love.
Covino
Yeah, it kind of just.
Rich Davis
It just looks bad.
Covino
It kind of feels like it looks really bad when you list all that out Danny G. But it kind of feels like how the WWE gave up the ruse of it being real at one point. Right. Because they always stayed into character. And then all of a sudden they stopped the NBA and fighting and sports. They still put up that illusion, that ruse that it's legit when maybe it's all planned out or maybe it is.
Danny G
Legit, but the game are legit. I don't know.
Covino
It's. It's not impossible. I do believe that it's improbable. I do believe that they just got lucky. But it's not impossible. Dude, I know you, Donahue.
Danny G
From a business story.
Covino
From a standpoint. Yeah. When there's that much money involved and if it's good for the league and favors are being done.
Danny G
Well, yesterday we went over.
Covino
Businessmen try to pull one over on anybody and they think the viewing audience is dumb.
Danny G
We went over the possible landing spots for Cooper Flag yesterday with Dan Beyer and of the top three highest odds, we said maybe Utah because they got good coaching and they're revamping that, that, that basketball program. And maybe the Utah Jazz was a good landing spot. But the other option seems sort of like, like where you go to die, you know, no offense.
Sam
Like Charlotte Hornets, Washington.
Danny G
Yeah, no, thanks. So, you know, you take a guy like Cooper Flag and you put him on a team with Kyrie and AD Both healthy, You don't. Not. You don't have a team that like might compete. You have a team that could very well be a top five team in the West.
Covino
Oh, they're back in it. Yeah, for sure.
Danny G
They're in the mix again.
Covino
Without a doubt. He went from possibly playing for a 20 win team to a contending team. Yeah, that would be the difference there. That would be the assumption. Anyway, for a Cooper Flag hot balls. It's the hot ball theory. You heard it here first. The hot ball scandal with the Mavericks.
Danny G
Not the, not the frozen envelope. The hot balls.
Covino
The hot balls.
Dan Byer
Personally, I think it's magnets.
Danny G
How do they work?
Dan Byer
How do those magnets. No, I'm kidding. Okay, but what if it's magnets? Well, how do they work?
Danny G
Well, think about, you know, when you're, when those balls are popping around like you're Yolanda Vega with the, you know, the lottery numbers. They're all ping pong balls, right? I mean, what. You're right. What if there's magnets?
Sam
Sam, the knicks theory in 1985 for Patrick Ewing was the, as you guys were saying, frozen envelope, bent corner. Yeah, but you visually could see the tumbler. You could visually see the envelope.
Covino
Right.
Sam
What makes this so secretive is no one Sees it. All we see is them unveiling the cards from the predetermined lotto drawing coming out of the hopper. That was one person saw, maybe two people saw. Like, that adds actually more to the theory of what is going on behind closed doors as opposed to maybe sleight of hand that happened right in front of you 40 years ago.
Danny G
DB you know, Richie, you're just not.
Covino
In the room where it happens.
Danny G
DB that's such an amazing point. Because, you know, I'll be honest. I gotta be honest with you guys. Perhaps because I was at the gym and I didn't see it. Every time I've seen the draft lottery, you know, winners, you're right. It's. They. They're all sitting there and they hold up the logo of the team. I thought maybe someone did see this. And if you're confirming that no one really sees the balls being picked then.
Sam
And there's someone from a law firm, maybe two people in the room, a couple people. They're the ones that conduct it because they don't want any leaks, they don't want any drama.
Danny G
But envelopes of money.
Sam
What's this?
Danny G
Hey, Charlotte Hornets. You like being in the league, right?
Sam
Yeah.
Covino
She. It does seem. Look, it's fair. All we're doing is speculating, guys, because nobody really knows. As I mentioned, we're not in the room where it happens. But when there's that much money to be made and that much money to be had and spent and bought, anybody could be bought to shut up and let it happen because it's good for the league.
Rich Davis
They used to show the actual drawing of the ping pong balls, by the way.
Covino
It was like. Yeah, like a lot. Like an actual lottery.
Danny G
Like I said, Yolanda Vegas. Let me bring up one more point, and this is by no means to be insensitive, but, you know, we were living in New York during 9 11, and, you know, there are people that have all crazy conspiracies about terrible days like that. And I will say, you saw planes hit towers. Awful. You saw things happen. The fact that they never released footage of a plane hitting the Pentagon is why people are like, what really hit the Pentagon? You know, you could put that to rest if there were video of that. Not to compare one of the worst days in U.S. history to an NBA lottery, but when you don't have the visual proof of something, it leaves your mind open to wander.
Covino
But plus, he never saw the plain parts, really. It was just.
Danny G
Yeah.
Covino
So it's like you never saw real evidence, and people just Want the evidence. That's all.
Danny G
But if you leave in this day.
Dan Byer
And age, though, people will get the evidence, and the Internet will just be like, well, no, we can explain this away. We can explain that away.
Covino
You know what? That's what Danny G. Was insinuating. We were having our little pre show meeting in the lobby when Shaq Diesel was walking in. We said, hey, what's up, Shaq?
Shaquille O'Neal
He's like, what are you guys talking about?
Covino
We were saying how you can have the proof right there in your face and you're still gonna believe what you want. Everything points into the direction of man that is fixed. And even me, I don't want to believe it. Really? My God. Come on.
Danny G
I want to feel like even though we're.
Covino
All the evidence is there for you to believe that there's no way, dude.
Danny G
I want to feel like even though we're the lightest, most fun on sports radio, I'd like to think that, you know, we don't take anything too serious. We're having a lot of fun. I still think we're above saying conspiracy, but I still. There is a part of me that's.
Covino
Like, yeah, maybe it is kind of wild. And I think social media has sort of conditioned our minds to amplify it.
Dan Byer
A lot of crazy thoughts.
Covino
Yeah. Yeah. To be like, ah, get out of here. I'm not believing that. Because you see so much hogwash and BS on social media, your automatic default now is like, nah, that can't be true. I'll believe it when I see it. And we're seeing this right before our eyes, but our default is, nah, they wouldn't do that. Come on. I mean, they think we're that stupid?
Danny G
Then again, did we really see it, or did we just see names being called?
Covino
And again, let me read that one stat. I thought it was really interesting. I screenshot it. That's my method here. The odds of the Mavs and Spurs landing one and two are one in 1,000. Mav, Spurs, Sixers combo, top three, one in 10,000 chance.
Danny G
Not good odds.
Covino
Not good odds. So 1.8%. It happened yesterday. Congrats to the Mavs.
Danny G
You said something off the air. I just had to point out. It's so true. I was Sam telling us that his confirmation name is Javier last week might be one of my favorite moments of our show.
Covino
It sounds like Jerry finding out that Kramer's middle name was Javier or his real name. And he's like, what?
Dan Byer
His first name being Cosmo. Cosmo.
Danny G
Oh, yeah.
Covino
It just sounds like Something you see on a sitcom.
Dan Byer
It really impacted you that much.
Covino
Rich. Really the whitest guy we know. Cotton headed ninny Muggins. And your confirmation name was Javier.
Danny G
For what really is. Honestly, you are like. You're a zany sitcom neighbor. I was Sam, everybody.
Covino
Thank you.
Dan Byer
Thank you.
Danny G
All right, now to your phone calls. We'll wrap up the draft lottery and like you said, lots of great stuff. We'll get to Pete Rose and news out of baseball. Shaq Diesel trivia. Let's go to Big Bird in Georgia. Big Burt, you're on with cnr.
Caller
Hey, guys. Hey. I just want to make sure it's.
Covino
Big Burt, not big, but what's up?
Danny G
Not like big, but.
Covino
No, no, big Burt.
Rich Davis
Not Mr. Butt.
Covino
Yeah, not Mr. Butt.
Caller
Speak on it. Hey, you know, the.
Rich Davis
The whole conspiracy theory is not always rainbows and sunshine.
Caller
Speaking as a New York Knick fan, we got Patrick Ewan in the shadiest form, but did we ever get a championship? No. What we really need to look at is the Vegas connections with Dallas and the bookies and see what n bet it on.
Danny G
You know our buddy Wes, speaking of Vegas, our buddy Wes in Vegas, one of our good pals, listener of the show, he did point out something interesting. He goes, so quote conspiracy theories over the years, things that we thought were conspiracies end up being not so. Conspiracy. Conspiracy. After all, he said some of the. Some of the things people thought were facts about COVID 9 11. There are things throughout life where as more and more comes out, like maybe it's not totally untrue, but parts of it are cover ups.
Covino
AFK.
Rich Davis
The tuck rule is still 100% rigged.
Covino
Tuck rule.
Danny G
But have you been told your entire life he said that something or sounds or looks too good to be true probably is bs.
Covino
Are you seeing smoke? There's fire.
Rich Davis
Rich, what were we looking at on Reddit? During the commercial break, Danny G. Showed.
Danny G
Me the feed of when they actually little ping pong balls are popping up. And there was some lawyers and media on standby, but again with their pockets lined. Yeah, but never know.
Covino
They don't really publicize that broadcast, which is odd when you think about how everything's a spectacle nowadays. Everything's a big event.
Rich Davis
Cove.
Covino
What I read the actual lottery of this. And by the way, there's an update. It's the old sticky balls conspiracy. It's not hot balls. Sticky balls.
Rich Davis
They have time constraints. Covino is what I read is why they've switched it up a little bit. Because. Yeah, they used to show the Long process. And people fell asleep.
Covino
People's gender reveals and birth announcements are more elaborate than this. And we're talking the NBA. And again, the winning numbers were 10, 14, 11, and 7. The Mavs getting the number one pick.
Danny G
The sticky balls.
Covino
With the sticky balls, DB there was.
Sam
Also only seven teams in the lottery at one point. Now there's 14. So, like, you didn't have as many teams in the league at that time. Seven or eight teams.
Covino
Another great point.
Rich Davis
Really fall asleep now.
Danny G
So it's the opposite of the. Remember In Home Alone 2, the Sticky Bandits, like, you just stick your hand in. The sticky balls will stick to you. There we go. Pops up.
Covino
All right, so congrats to the Mavs and the spurs, and we're gonna wrap it up with this phone call.
Danny G
Yeah, that's Charles in Florida. Hey, Charles.
Covino
Hey, buddy.
Caller
What's going on? I'm calling you from Cape Code Florida. How you guys doing today?
Danny G
We're good, man. What's up?
Caller
All right, so it's all rigged, brother. It's all rigged. I mean, I have friends that score. They were going to stop watching the NFL when they went to Vegas.
Danny G
Okay, so you are one of these guys.
Dan Byer
I wanted to hear his explanation.
Danny G
I was going to say, Charles, you're one of these guys that truly believes sports are rigged.
Rich Davis
Did he drop, Charles?
Danny G
Oh, my God. The NBA dropped.
Dan Byer
They got to him. They got to him.
Danny G
Oh, no, Charles.
Rich Davis
He got sniped.
Danny G
Oh, man. Sorry, Charles. You knew too much.
Covino
He knew too much.
Danny G
All right, so, hey, NBA draft lottery. Hey, it was fun yesterday, I think. You know what? Rigged or not, pretty cool to think that Cooper Flag is going to go to a team that matters. And instead of watching a young guy struggle on a bad team, we're going to watch a young stud player jump right in with AD and Kyrie, right into the mix. And a squad. So it should be interesting. And, you know, the spurs are going to get better.
Covino
Wemby, like, you're.
Danny G
You're setting the NBA up, which is fantastic.
Rich Davis
You know, it would be great. Nico trades this pick.
Covino
Yeah, I saw those memes yesterday. Hilarious. By the way, there is a side question that doesn't necessarily save his job, does it? Just because they got lucky.
Rich Davis
No, there's no guarantee that Flag is going to be a wonderful NBA player.
Covino
Right? Because, you know, like, oh, man, he's all happy now. It's like, yeah. Is he safe? I don't know.
Danny G
I heard. I told you about. You heard people at the gym talking about this. I go, yo, does that save Nico Harrison's job. And the guy screamed back at me, no, that B is going to get fired anyway. I'm like, okay, so some people think his days are numbered regardless. So we shall see. But let's go to Dan Byer for an update. Db what's going on, guys?
Sam
Breaking news from Major League Baseball as they have ended the lifetime bands of 17 deceased individuals. That includes Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson taking the players off of the permanently ineligible list. In a letter to the attorney for Pete Rose, Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said, quote, a person no longer with us cannot represent present a threat to the integrity of the game. Manfred calling the move a policy issue, stating the permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual. Now, this does not mean that Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson will automatically be enshrined in Cooperstown. Completely separate deal. However, they are now eligible to be enshrined in Cooperstown, as the Baseball hall of Fame says. The Historical Overview Committee will develop the ballot of eight names for the Classic Baseball Era Committee, which evaluates candidates who made the greatest impact on the game prior to 1980 to vote on when it meets next in December of 2027. So if they were to go into the hall, they would need 12 out of 16 votes from that Classic Baseball Era committee. And the that vote does not take place for another two plus years.
Covino
We're live from the Fox Sports Radio studio and it's time for our tire act play of the day. Are the Knicks really just one win away from the Eastern Conference finals?
Danny G
Yes. Rebound Robinson hands to Bridges, who's had the ball in his hands now for all three Knick wins over the defending champion Boston Celtics. The New York Knicks have done it again. 121, 113. And they've got the champs back on the ropes. A 31 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Madison Square Garden was popping. I'm telling you, New York basketball, it hasn't been like this since the Ewing Stark stage. Speaking of that frozen envelope.
Covino
And the stars were out.
Danny G
Yeah. Sad to see Jason Tatum's injury a little bittersweet as the Knicks go up three games to one. That's courtesy of Knicks Radio Network. And that's the tire rack play of the day.
Covino
Real quick, right quick. 8, 7, 7, 99 on Fox. Let's wrap up some of the other stuff we were talking about.
Danny G
Yeah, I mean, Charles is back. Remember we thought he got sniped.
Covino
Yeah.
Danny G
Charles in Florida. Your thoughts on. You're the guy. You're the type of Guy that thinks a lot of sports are rigged. Correct.
Caller
I don't want to believe that. I grew up in Chicago in the 90s and Mike was my jam. Yeah, I wanted to be like Mike. You know, I was faking the. I couldn't dunk. I had no off. But you know, you're talking about.
Danny G
Of course, man, but you. But you think, like, you look at that NFL draft lottery, the NBA draft lottery, and you think to yourself, it's gotta be fixed. That's your mindset.
Caller
It's gotta be. I mean, but the odds. The odds of like, didn't getting both. And then here's the thing. What about all the other sports too? Like, what about. What about the Taylor Swift, Travis Kelsey thing?
Covino
Yeah. And it makes a lot of sense as to why. Maybe they got rid of Luca. Maybe they had prior knowledge of that information. They knew that was going to happen. Maybe that's why it all. It does make it make more sense. Right? Because in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, they make that trade. For what?
Danny G
I'll say this. I know what I love to watch trash tv. I heard Spot say smut. No, that's that. Okay, yeah, sure.
Covino
It's Smut Island. That's what he's watching.
Danny G
No, I. I love to watch dumb stuff like ancient aliens and conspiracy documentaries. But at the end of the day, in fact, the beginning, middle and end of the day, I don't really believe all of it, but damn, it's fun. And I think when we have these conversations, man, it really is fun to talk about guys in a secret room being like, all right, the Mavericks are going to get the first pick because they gave up Luca to the Lakers and did the league of solid. It's so much fun to talk about, but really, it didn't happen that way.
Covino
I like to believe that.
Danny G
Come on, the league has.
Rich Davis
But some of these sports conspiracies got to be true, right? I mean, not all of them. Yeah, not everything is what it appears.
Covino
I choose to not believe that just for my own sanity. Like, there's no way.
Danny G
I gotta tell you, I started doing it myself the last couple nights because it's allowed here in California. On baseball, dude, we talk about the NBA over unders. I've been doing over under strikeouts and home runs. And it's so fun, honestly. For instance, like. Like Aaron Judge, home run. You know, yesterday I missed out because I had Verlander under four and a half strikeouts. But you could pick like three things, and it keeps you so locked in to just Deadly baseball. And again, this is not an. This is not an official commercial. This is me just telling you I'm having a lot of fun with it. The pick six thing, because you don't have to do six because the odds are tough with six.
Covino
What do you got tonight? You pick anything tonight?
Danny G
Yeah, I'm going to go over it a little bit.
Covino
All right?
Danny G
I want. I want to look. But, yeah, we do the codes and the commercials. Rightfully so. But I'm telling you personally, I'm really having fun with that. I was talking to some of my softball buddies about, like, dude, we do it. I'm like, you better use our stupid code, buddy. All right. Hey, Pete Rose. The big story today. Shoeless Joe Jackson. The big story today.
Covino
Can I tell you, for a split second, a split second, you thought it.
Danny G
Was Joe Jackson, the singer?
Covino
No, I thought it was Michael Jackson's dad, Joe Jackson. No, for a split second, I saw a picture of Pete Rose and his Captain Kangaroo haircut wearing his red sat, and it says reinstated. And I was like, yeah, he died.
Shaquille O'Neal
That's right.
Covino
Like, I forgot for a split second.
Danny G
You thought I said Pete Rose resurrected.
Covino
No, reinstated. So I'm like, oh, man, look. Finally.
Danny G
Oh, no, no.
Shaquille O'Neal
Oh.
Covino
But, yeah, he's dead. Breaking news today. You heard the end buyer. MLB commissioner Rob Manford removed Pete Roses and Shoeless Joe Jackson and other deceased players from the league's permanently ineligible list on Tuesday. Reinstated. Removed from MLB's permanent ineligible list. And I'm like, okay, Shoeless Joe Jackson, legend. We know the story. We've seen. Feel the dreams. We know Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Rich Davis
We saw good fellas.
Covino
Yeah. Pete Rose, okay, we all know his story. Little too. Little too late here, but okay. All right. It makes sense. And then my other question, along with J Stu, too, because I saw J Stu in the hallway.
Danny G
Yeah.
Rich Davis
Who?
Covino
Yeah, he's like. He's like, j who? J Stu, producer. He's like, my question would be, well, why?
Rich Davis
And I'm like, that was a good impersonation.
Covino
And he gave you that eyebrow raise.
Dan Byer
Is that big J?
Covino
Yeah. He's like, why? And I'm like, yeah, I know why.
Danny G
Now is that big?
Covino
He actually said, my first question is why? On a random Tuesday, May 13th.
Rich Davis
Because of what's happening tomorrow.
Covino
And then, yeah, we did the detective work.
Danny G
Oh, today.
Covino
Tomorrow is actually Pete Rose day. So it does kind of add up and make sense.
Danny G
I don't know if that's why it.
Covino
Ends up, but it does make it make more sense. Right? Like, why now? And Then. Then I started thinking, too. When I hear Dan Byer saying, and other 17 other people on the list. And I'm like, can I name anyone else on the list? And then it makes sense. Do you remember the movie Eight Men Out?
Danny G
Yep. Those are eight of them.
Covino
Yeah. Eight of them are from the Black Sox scandal. So most of them are black socks that played with Shoeless Joe Jackson. The guys with the shoes. So Shoeless Joe Jackson, most of them. And are affiliated with that scandal from back then.
Rich Davis
So Iowa. Sam brought up something about Ray Liotta, and I was laughing because it's exactly what I pictured in my mind.
Sam
Do you.
Dan Byer
You looking at, like, MLB Network right now and you see a picture of Pete Rose and a real picture of Joe Jackson. You're like, why isn't.
Danny G
Is that.
Dan Byer
Why is that not Ray Liotta's face? You're like, oh, wait. Oh, you think of Joe Jackson. You're like, can I give you a.
Covino
Ray Liotta fun fact?
Sam
Please do.
Covino
He's from my hometown of Union, New Jersey, and he's in our Union, New Jersey High School hall of Fame. And I was there sitting in the audience when he was inducted. Goodfellas came out in 1990. I graduated in 94. So he got inducted around 91, 92 or something like that, fresh off of the movie Fame. And it was an experience. I'll leave it at that. And we later had him on the show years later.
Danny G
But you in the hall of Fame.
Covino
And then you remember him most. Aside from Goodfellas and Shoeless Joe Jackson in the field of dreams, you know him best, probably from Chantix.
Danny G
Chantix.
Covino
Chantix.
Danny G
Are you in the hall of Fame, by the way?
Covino
Am I in the. No, I'm in the hall of Nothing.
Danny G
How are you not in the Union hall of Fame?
Covino
Because just. Just Ray Liotta going up against Ray Liotta. Ray Liotta, Robert Wool and Artie Lang. Artie Lang. They're all from my hometown.
Danny G
No one else.
Covino
No room for Steve Cavino, former Yankee Joe. Joe Collins. Joe Collins.
Danny G
You should be on the Melt Rush.
Rich Davis
Collins can get in there. You should get in.
Shaquille O'Neal
Yeah, man.
Covino
I think so.
Sam
Of those 17 players that were on. Of them in one way or another, except two were tied to gambling of some sort.
Covino
Yeah, I know. I had to look it up because I'm like, all right, well, that. There's eight covered, right? Eight Men Out. That famous movie from the. Was it late 80s with John Cusack? I remember going to see it, too. The Black Suck scandal looked to See, if I knew or recognized any other names. And you really don't. But they all are gambling related, which is so ironic and almost hypocritical in today's world. Look how Rich just started off this segment. How much fun he's having gambling on baseball.
Sam
Yeah.
Covino
And we're still like holding this against these guys. And I get it. They broke rules that applied. Then I understand maybe.
Danny G
What are the other reasons?
Sam
Yeah, yeah. I was gonna say don't hold it against Benny Kauf. Kavino. Just because he was acquitted on an auto theft charge but was still subsequently banned.
Danny G
Right, Auto theft.
Sam
And then we all know Shuffling Phil Douglas. Right, the old New York Giants player. He was banned after threatening his manager. So that's why he was on the in album.
Danny G
Shuffling Bill. No way.
Shaquille O'Neal
Shuffling.
Covino
I'm going to go to ChatGPT right now and see if ChatGPT could give rich an old school baseball nickname.
Danny G
Please do. Cavino's been obsessed with this.
Dan Byer
It's going to take 4 gallons of water to spit that out.
Covino
I got it.
Sam
I'd call him Scarecrow Rich Davis. That would be kind of mine. Maybe it's more wizard of Oz than anything.
Covino
Can we give radio host Rich Davis an old school baseball nickname?
Danny G
Let's see what they come up with.
Covino
Ah, Double Talk Davis. See, there he is. Double Talk Davis. Hold on. Look. Perfect for a radio host known for chatting up a storm.
Danny G
Double Talk Davis.
Covino
Rich to mouth. Rich to Mouthpiece Davis. Ah, reflects his role as a vocal personality. Yeah. Hey, there he is. Quick Draw Davis with the double. Quick Draw Davis suggests Double talk of the days, double plays at night and Fast talking.
Danny G
Oh, there he is.
Covino
Slick Davis with a play at second base. A nod to a smooth talker with charm. Oh, this one. There he is. Step into the plate. Chatterbox Davis. There it is. That's it. I think that's the winner.
Danny G
Chatterbox.
Covino
Chatterbox. Light hearted and era appropriate.
Danny G
Look at that.
Covino
Well, batten 213 chatterbox Davis.
Danny G
So Shoeless Joe Pete Rose. Now, I'm not saying this because I don't want to get on the bad side of Rob Manford. I don't want any baseball hookups ever taken away from me, but I'm reading a lot of sentiment online. Like Adam hit us up on X and said, yo, guys, I'm big baseball fans like you, I love mlb. But Rob Manfred is a damn coward. Removing Rose and Shoeless Joe from the band list because they, quote, are no longer with us and cannot represent a threat to the integrity.
Covino
No threat to the integrity. Of the game. As the quote goes, and as you heard from Dan Beyer, it does feel lame and like, yeah, was this really announcement worthy? We all know that. It's like death also eliminates people from life and imprisonment. His lifetime ban was lifted from baseball. Yeah, they're dead. Who cares? Not to.
Danny G
Not to sound morbid, I joked before and I said, hey, old Barry Bonds should fake his death. Just to know guys like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, the Rocket, those guys know now in the back of their head. It sounds terrible, but they're like, I guess when I'm dead, one day, nothing.
Covino
My family.
Danny G
My family will get to see this.
Sam
No, that is not correct. Because they are eligible. No one's voting for them.
Danny G
That's right.
Sam
This is the stipulation with Rose, is that it's also not a guarantee that this classic committee, baseball era committee, votes Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, and they still need to be voted in by the Baseball hall of Fame, which.
Covino
Is a separate entity, as we. Correct.
Sam
And in 1989, when Rose was given his lifetime ban, there was no ban for the hall of Fame at that time. It only came in 1991, when Rose was first eligible, that the hall of Fame said, well, anybody that's on the permanently ineligible list cannot be enshrined into the hall of Fame. Shoeless Joe Jackson actually was up for enshrinement in the 1930s and 1940s. Despite being banned, the ban for the hall of Fame didn't come in until 1991, until after Pete Rose had agreed to his lifetime ban with Bart Giamatti. But Bonds, all of Clemens, Rafael Palmeira, a rod, all have been on the ballot. Remember, we say they get 38% of the vote. They get 40% of the vote. So they're all clean. They're all clean for it to be enshrined.
Danny G
Pardon me. Chatterbox Davis got it wrong. A double take for Double Talk.
Covino
There he is. Double Talk Davis.
Danny G
Yeah.
Covino
He'S of a two today.
Danny G
Chatterbox Davis.
Covino
So funny. So to me, it's almost like. Yeah, what would he do? It's almost like you're. You're. You're making the statement for some sort of like, you know what? Rob Manford, you did the right thing. You. You did nothing. They died.
Danny G
I mean, you're not dead.
Covino
Does anything really matter? Like, Rich, you mentioned I'm not in the Union High School hall of Fame.
Danny G
Yeah.
Covino
Is it gonna mean diddly squat to me if I'm dead? Who cares?
Rich Davis
Yeah. This is like when Kenny Stabler was Put into the hall of Fame right after he died. I was like, it sucks the life out of, the joy out of it. I mean, it's.
Covino
You're not giving anyone an honor. You're just saying they're dead. So it doesn't matter. You're not giving them anything. They died. There's no more ban lifted. They're obviously not a threat. You know why? Because they're dead. It's dumb. The whole thing just threw away.
Rich Davis
What about the family in the organization? Like the Reds?
Covino
I was gonna say that.
Rich Davis
Put out the statement about how happy they are as an organization.
Covino
You know what? It made them much more happy to see their grandfather and their father and their family member honored when he was alive and when it mattered. So, yeah, it might help the family legacy a little bit, but it didn't help anything for Pete Rose. And again, it's. Again, it's baseball, dude. It's not like he murdered anybody.
Danny G
This guy. This guy here is dead. Cross him off then.
Covino
Cross him off.
Danny G
I look at it this way. Covino and I have made it a point over the years, and we try to do this, honor people while they're here. Nothing bothers me more than when some actor, musician, a great athlete, someone dies, and then everyone decides to, as the kids say, give them their flowers. Give them their flowers while they're alive.
Covino
I swear to God, we make a deliberate attempt to try to do that every once in a while, whether it be here on Fox Sports Radio or Patreon show, you'll just have a random thought. You'll appreciate somebody and, like, you know, I'm gonna write this down because this dude deserves some props or some credit. He's been doing it for too long. He's too great at what he does. No one's gonna talk about it until he's dead. Let's talk about him now. Yeah, so that's why I feel bad about this whole Pete Rose thing. We said it over and over again that he'll be acknowledged once he dies, and it's exactly what happened.
Danny G
Is Donald Trump gonna try to try to take credit for this? Didn't he say, like, early on, like, we're gonna get him in?
Covino
Oh, my God, dude. That's conversation in itself. And again, it doesn't matter. It doesn't mean he's going to be in the. In the hall of Fame, guys. It just means that he's eligible now and that he's no longer banned because he's no longer a threat to the mlb.
Sam
It also, as you. You brought up the point about the families.
Covino
Yeah.
Sam
And I know Danny brought up Kenny Stabler, but Kenny Stabler didn't do anything wrong like they should have. They should have enshrined him. Pete Rose did something wrong. And what Major League Baseball is saying is we know that he did something wrong. And if Pete Rose were alive today and we put this into effect, he would not be eligible. He still would be on the permanently ineligible list because he's still alive. The ruling, as Manfred calls it, policy, says if you are dead, well, then you're done. You are no longer a threat to the game. You're no longer, you know, could possibly bring any stain to the game. So that's over with. So with that, the end of your life means the end of your sentence, which may give solace to the family or the Reds fans, but doesn't necessarily put Pete Rose or shoeless Jewel Jackson off the hook because they aren't here to sell, to be selling.
Danny G
He's only eligible because he's lifeless. Joe Jackson.
Sam
Yes, that is correct.
Covino
And by the way.
Sam
Yes.
Covino
Think of how long the Joe Jackson family had to wait to get this news. How long has that guy been dead for? Sure, right? It's ridiculous.
Danny G
Probably like the FDR administration.
Covino
It's a weird announcement. You know, that's my feeling.
Dan Byer
Joe Jackson, how long he's been dead?
Shaquille O'Neal
Yeah.
Dan Byer
Jason Stewart said he had been dead for 71 years.
Rich Davis
He died December 5, 1951.
Covino
71 years. He's been dead. Guess what?
Dan Byer
73 years, 74 years.
Covino
Whatever it is, he was no threat 71 years ago, but now we announce it. I guess better late than never.
Sam
Yeah.
Dan Byer
You can't have a death sentence. I mean, you can. You can have a life sentence, and then when you die, was it eight men out for.
Covino
For a lifetime and 71 years.
Danny G
Now listen again.
Covino
No.
Danny G
You know, with no disrespect to, you know, victims and major crimes. Right?
Covino
Yeah.
Danny G
But you ever see someone in court and they hand down some piece of trash, some real piece of s, like back to back to back, all these life sentences, and you're like, one's enough. I get it. Because you want to make sure that the people that were affected have their. Their justice, their feeling. But like, there are times that it's like 30 years to life for this count. This counts 30 years and a guy serving like five back to back consecutive.
Covino
Life sentences, predicting this guy to live to 300, not gonna live five lives.
Dan Byer
It's symbolic. It sends a message.
Danny G
No, but I'm saying symbolic. But I think there's something, while meaningful to those families.
Covino
They always say, banned for what? Banned for life. Right. That's what you would think. So it's implied, isn't it implied that when they die, the ban is lifted, but not for Joe Jackson and the other eight guys. It was for life plus 71.
Sam
Manfred said that ban for life was never a part of this. It was the permanently ineligible list. Now, that's what he said. They called it policy that now they can be taken off the list and allow this to be put in the hands of the Baseball hall of Fame. I brought this up earlier. I'm gonna try it again because it didn't sound right. So maybe I'm gonna be double talk Davis here, double talk Dave. But earlier today on the network, on Doug's show, the Menendez trial is front and center here in Southern California. And I don't know if it's that way across the country, but there is. I think that there are parallels. They may not be exact to what's going on, but again, there was a questioning about the sentencing and how that went down. It was the same thing with Pete Rose, where he thought that he would be able to renegotiate his entrance into Major League Baseball after. After a year, but decided to accept this agreement to say that he didn't bet on baseball to stop litigation against the league. Then Bart Giamatti dies. Faye Vincent becomes commissioner and says, well, this is the agreement. You signed it. You said that you are permanently ineligible from Major League Baseball. And it was never moved from that. And. And commissioners after the fact did not want to change a commissioner's previous ruling. Manfred even mentioned that in the statement. It's. I mean, I don't know if it's like a game of Cavino's favorite game of Jenga, but there's just a lot of pieces, like in and out here and moving around. And somehow or another, Manfred's figured out a way to craft this in a way that I don't know, to me, kind of makes sense.
Covino
But I may be trying to take glory on. Just a weird announcement, like, see, Yeah.
Sam
I think that that could, you know, that could be part of it. And a lot of people like you, I think just don't see right through it.
Covino
It's like made up valor. It's like, hey, guys, look what I'm doing. And I'm like, okay. But he died. And by the way, speaking of the Menendez brothers, I do love the infamous Menendez brother Mark Jackson basketball card. Have you ever seen that?
Sam
Yeah. NBA hoops.
Covino
NBA hoops, 1990. It's Mark Jackson throwing a pass, but the Menendez brothers are sitting right there courtside.
Rich Davis
I have this card in my collection. I have it. Yep.
Covino
Yeah, that's a classic. It's a weird one. All right, let's get to the phone calls on this, because it is a big, big breaking story today. Pete Rose off the ineligible list, along with the other Black Sox guys and other gambling stories. And who do we got, rich?
Danny G
Let's say I had a Brooklyn. And Bruno. What's up, Bruno?
Caller
Seeing our boys. I love you guys.
Covino
Hey.
Caller
I, I. This is near and dear to my heart. I honestly believe this is such a really bad thing, Pete, you know, to put him in, or if they're considering putting him in after the fact, keep them out. You know what I mean? They shouldn't. They shouldn't put him in posthumously. It really isn't. Right. The other players, the Black Sox guys, I can understand that. But just think about the environment we live in today with legalized gambling. I mean, don't all these players that are still right now, I mean, NFL, NBA, these guys gamble on their phones every day now, that being said, it is. It just. It's window dressing. It's terrible now, because you know what? Just leave. I'd rather see him be left out. It's Susan Lucci.
Danny G
Don't give me the award.
Covino
It's almost a sympathy thing.
Danny G
It's almost better. It's almost insulting him. It's almost better off leaving him out. I agree. You know what?
Rich Davis
It's like, that's a great call, you know?
Dan Byer
Agreed.
Danny G
Great call, that is.
Covino
You could feel and see right through the tomfoolery, that it's just disingenuous. It feels odd, like, enforced, especially the current.
Danny G
Like I said, we started a segment, me talking about how I'm loving doing the DraftKings pick six. And, you know, gambling in sports, wagering is a part of life now. It's almost like that poor.
Covino
And guess what? Rose was around while the explosion happened.
Danny G
And let me tell you, it's also, it's like that sad story of, like, a guy that's sitting in jail because he had a joint on him and he got arrested for weed. Meanwhile, like, everywhere you go, there's, you know, shop, weed, legal shops everywhere.
Dan Byer
So Bruno's saying it's sending a bad message at this time, right?
Danny G
Yeah, yeah. It's weird. It's a mixed message. Kurt. Actually, let's go to Mitchell first. He's been on hold for a while. Thanks. Mitchell.
Covino
877-99-On FOX. What's up, buddy?
Danny G
What's up?
Caller
Hey, what's up, guys? Yeah, I just wanted to say, you know, blank Major League Baseball. And they can shove that lift up their football pass because to me, I.
Covino
Mean, you know, you had to know.
Caller
The man didn't have much life left. They could have took that up a year or so ago. They're not doing it now for his career or anything else. They're doing it to make themselves feel better.
Covino
So.
Caller
Yeah.
Covino
Yeah. I mean, I feel that the announcement on this random Tuesday, a day before Pete Rose Day, does make you feel that way. It does.
Danny G
Pete Rose legend. Shoeless Joe Jackson legend. Will they be in the hall of Fame in two years when the committee votes? Probably Kurt and Penn. What's up, Kurt?
Caller
Going on, guys? I love your show.
Danny G
Oh, thank you, man.
Covino
Thank you, man.
Caller
Yeah, no, so I'm probably. You're not gonna like me. I mean, I. I was so happy when I heard the news today about all of this, to be honest. I understand Pete Rose is T. Rose and as a person and everything else, but the fact that he owns the record and there's. I hate, like, the steroid guys, but he just was Charlie Hussle.
Covino
Hey, dude, we're not. We're not saying we're mad at. At this. We're mad at how it was handled.
Danny G
Yeah, yeah.
Covino
No, we all loved Pete Rose.
Danny G
Yeah. I just think it should have. I think it should have happened while he was alive. I hope you're not misunderstanding, Kurt. I like Pete Rose. I think he should be in.
Caller
I wish that it would have happened. I feel like people should be alive when they go in the hall of Fame. Like, I'm like, more stoked about the Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Danny G
Yeah, he's. He's smiling down somewhere. 71 years later.
Covino
Chantix.
Sam
So if. If Pete Rose is put on this ballot that's going to be voted on by the Classic Baseball Era Committee in December of 2027, this would be the class. Just some of the names that he would go in because remember, there's always headliners. Right. It would be Albert Pujols, Robinson Cano, Yadier Molina, Steven Strasberg, David Price, Lorenzo Kane. Some of the names that would be up that year. Pujols in for sure.
Danny G
I'm just laughing there because I'm thinking there'll be one writer that's like Shoeless Joe Jackson. I mean, he's not a first ballot guy.
Sam
It's the same thing. Like, it's. But like, when you know you would think it would be, what a weekend it would be for Albert Pujols, which would then be completely overshadowed by Pete Rose getting in at that point.
Danny G
That's true.
Covino
But an honor, no. To be inducted with those names, that's kind of cool.
Danny G
No diggity. No doubt. Now, before we do Shaq Diesel, Trivia, New York Duke online one says he has an explanation, a quick Ray Leota story.
Covino
I mean, the More.
Caller
Yes, I do.
Danny G
In fact, the most popular guy from Union, New Jersey, Ray Liotta. And then it's what, Artie Lang and then Steve Covino and then Robert Wool.
Covino
And then Steve Covino. Maybe somewhere down there.
Rich Davis
Yeah, he came up on the show today because of Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Covino
Yeah, he played Shoeless Joe in Field of Dream. What's up, man?
Caller
Well, I've got that. I've got a story for you really quickly. I met Ray Liotta briefly for an afternoon. My best friend at the time was an actress named Gina Master Giacomo. She played Janice Rossi in Goodfellas and.
Covino
The Gumad in apartment 8C or whatever it is.
Caller
Exactly, exactly. And it was part of the, you know, basically encouragement for Scorsese. They encouraged those guys, Ray and my friend Gina to spend some time together. So we lived up on West 82nd street, and Ray came over to the apartment. It was about this time, I want to say about 1989. And he was the most amazing, wonderful person. He was in between, obviously, Fields of Dreams and Goodfellow. But we spent the afternoon watching playoff basketball on the couch and talking to me. And I'm a Jersey. He mentioned he was from Union, New Jersey.
Shaquille O'Neal
That's right.
Caller
And I'm from Randolph, New Jersey.
Covino
Football rivals. Yep.
Caller
Just wanted to say.
Covino
Yeah, a very cool story, Chantix. Thanks for sharing, man. And by the way, correction. Janice Rossi lived in apartment 2R. 2R.
Danny G
So what girl did you call? A hoe in the house.
Covino
I was bringing someone else's bill.
Danny G
All right, well, you want to get a contestant here for Shaq Diesel Trivia? Let's go.
Rich Davis
Whenever we say not to name drop.
Covino
That means we're about to name drop.
Danny G
I'll name drop.
Covino
Oh, my goodness. Not only are CNR friends with Tyson and Mahomes. Hey, man, they're also buddies with the Big Aristotle.
Shaquille O'Neal
What's up? This Big Shack Diesel, AKA Shaq Fu, AKA Shaq Daddy, AKA the Big Aristotle. Guess what? It's time to win some C prizes.
Covino
Time for some basketball trivia.
Shaquille O'Neal
Basketball trivia.
Rich Davis
What he said.
Shaquille O'Neal
I used to break bad boys. Now I'm Breaking records for FSR Radio.
Covino
Shaq Diesel basketball trivia.
Rich Davis
All right. FSR security walking our broke Shaq Fu into the main studio. Sorry to make you wait.
Shaquille O'Neal
Dude, got me waiting here. A busy, busy man.
Danny G
Shaq, Danny G said you're no longer the most popular NBA legend. That's a broadcaster.
Shaquille O'Neal
That's fool's time.
Rich Davis
I didn't say that.
Shaquille O'Neal
He's following in my footsteps. My big footsteps. Michael Jordan wishes he was me.
Rich Davis
Let's meet the contestants.
Shaquille O'Neal
Michael Jordan trying to be like me.
Rich Davis
10 time winner. Double talk. Davis, right over there.
Shaquille O'Neal
Space Jam was not as good as Kazam.
Covino
Yeah.
Shaquille O'Neal
Now he's trying to get in a booth like me.
Covino
It's not wrong.
Rich Davis
Four time winner, Spotty Boy.
Covino
Hey, what's up?
Rich Davis
Five to Spotty. I'll use you for this. Would you love to travel to beautiful Tulsa, Oklahoma?
Covino
Okay.
Rich Davis
Waterloo, Iowa? Spokane, Washington.
Covino
All right.
Rich Davis
Roanoke, Virginia. Roanoke or Miami, Florida?
Covino
I'm a huge fan of the song Waterloo by Abba.
Danny G
Yeah, but you also. But you also like Tulsa spelled backwards.
Covino
Stop it.
Rich Davis
Oh, that's tough.
Sam
I'm gonna go with Waterloo.
Rich Davis
All right. That is Corbin.
Covino
Don't think that didn't cross my mind.
Rich Davis
By the way, Corbin, what's up? What do you do for a living there in Iowa?
Caller
I'm a truck driver.
Covino
Nice man.
Danny G
Keeps America running. Truck drivers, man.
Rich Davis
Here are the rules for Shaq Diesel Trivia. The first contestant with two correct answers is the champ. If there's a tie, we have a tiebreaker question. Your name is your buzzer, but you do have to wait until all three possible answers are read. If there's two wrong answers in a row, we move on to the next question. Are you ready? Yes.
Covino
Let's get it on.
Shaquille O'Neal
I've been ready, but you had me sitting around waiting.
Rich Davis
I know. All right, come on.
Shaquille O'Neal
All right, let's get this party started. Started. In the Knicks Celtics series, how many of their first 103 point attempts did the Celtics miss? How many of their. Okay, hold on. Is it A82, B75 or C67?
Rich Davis
Well, Corbin spoke up. Corbin, you got to say your name. You got to wait till all three possible answers are read, okay? Okay, so say Corbin.
Caller
Corbin.
Danny G
There you go.
Rich Davis
Which one? A, B or C?
Caller
B 75.
Covino
Yes.
Rich Davis
Corbin on the board. Boom.
Danny G
How did he know that he didn't need multiple choice?
Rich Davis
Oh, crazy.
Shaquille O'Neal
When you get it like that, you gotta say Kazam. With authority. Say with authority.
Rich Davis
All right, halfway to a swiggy Space Jam, we move on to round number two.
Shaquille O'Neal
Round two. What Was I once quoted saying about leadership? Okay, Michael Jordan has none. Just kidding. When you flop.
Rich Davis
No, this is actually about flopping.
Shaquille O'Neal
When you flop, that's just another message that you don't know how to play.
Covino
Me.
Shaquille O'Neal
Stand up and take your medicine like a man. Oh, B, I've never seen Michael Jordan flop, so I don't want to hear how it's only a problem with today's players.
Rich Davis
Wait, no, no, no. You read your own quote wrong.
Shaquille O'Neal
What do you mean I read it wrong? I've seen. I've.
Rich Davis
I've even seen.
Shaquille O'Neal
I've even seen Michael Jordan flop. Sorry, I don't have my glasses on, so I don't want to hear how it's only a problem with today's players. Or C, flopping is for suckers who should be flipping flapjacks.
Covino
Oh, spot, spot.
Shaquille O'Neal
What was that quoted saying about leadership?
Covino
Was it flop, floppers, or for suckers?
Danny G
Flapjacks.
Covino
Flipping flapjacks. I like that one.
Danny G
Oh, man, you're wrong.
Covino
That was a good quote, though.
Danny G
Corbin.
Rich Davis
Corbin, for the steel A.
Sam
Hey.
Covino
Yes.
Danny G
Yes.
Covino
Say it.
Danny G
Say, you gotta say.
Shaquille O'Neal
We know it's better than Space Jam.
Rich Davis
Yeah. You said, when I'm a true Foo Snick. Oh, nice. Yeah. When you flop, that's just another message that you don't know how to play. Shaq, stand up and take your medicine like a man.
Shaquille O'Neal
Let me guess. Next. Michael Jordan is going to want to rap. Michael Jordan's going to want a dj. He's going to want to be an Icy Hot. He's trying to be like Shaq Diesel.
Danny G
Oh, he's going to also try to do a. A meme of him or a gif of him.
Shaquille O'Neal
Jimmy, he's trying to do the Shimmy just like me.
Covino
Don't you own a bunch of Papa John's? I hear he's buying up Domino's, trying.
Shaquille O'Neal
To be franchises, trying to be like Shaquille. Hey, congratulations.
Rich Davis
Yeah. Great job, Corbin. Two in a row for the W. Great job means we're going to send out a shiny new CNR water bottle to Waterloo, Iowa.
Danny G
There you go, Iowa.
Caller
Awesome.
Shaquille O'Neal
Congratulations. All right, guys, enjoy the games tonight.
Covino
Tulsa, Iowa.
Shaquille O'Neal
Enjoy your NBA. All right, later, guys. I'm busy later.
Covino
Thanks, Shaq.
Dan Byer
Thanks, Shaq. I had to go back and spell Tulsa backwards and see what that read out.
Danny G
Did you just figure that out?
Covino
Did you hear him laugh?
Dan Byer
That's why I was laughing. I wrote it out and because I couldn't think in my head, and I.
Danny G
Was like, oh, you.
Covino
You pee brain.
Sam
I knew that's why you left the.
Danny G
The I would drop. You just played. That's Dan Patrick, correct?
Dan Byer
It is. And oh yes. Yeah, Iowa, there he is. And you have some maybe some DP news, right?
Danny G
Well, we're going to be filling in for Dan Patrick on Friday morning. So I will be there Friday morning in for the great Dan Patrick.
Rich Davis
Thanks for the warning.
Covino
Remember when I said I was watching I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry.
Danny G
Yeah.
Covino
Seen that in a long time. When's the last time you saw that movie?
Danny G
Probably in the 2000s.
Covino
It's now available on Netflix or whatever. So I was watching it. Dan Patrick also in that movie. He's in many Sandler movies but it was cool to see him in that. It's a wild movie. I think a forgotten classic from Sandler. And Kevin James worth the watch. I forgot all about that. But yes. Listen out on Friday when we get you ready for the weekend with weekend hobnobbing and what else. We do it on Friday. I feel like we have a new Friday spectacular.
Rich Davis
Yeah, we've been playing Steve Covino or Bill Belichick.
Covino
Oh yeah, I was trying to forget that. So yeah, that's in for Dan Patrick on Friday. And then tomorrow Fox Sports Radio Nation regular show, regular time. But we get you ready for your hump day midweek major. We do it every Wednesday. The biggest stories in sports and pop culture are they mid week or major?
Danny G
Well, hey, tonight you gearing up for anything you watch in the other Yanks on tonight or what?
Covino
Yeah, Yank Seattle got to play for Oswaldo Cabrera. Poor kid, tough injury.
Danny G
Let's not forget they put him on.
Covino
The 10 day DL. Honestly, that's like a season ender. It looked like an ankle fracture but it spun around.
Rich Davis
You guys think the Cavs are going to. I was get that W tonight.
Danny G
I was just looking. Is Donovan Mitchell out? Is that that. That's the determining factor if he.
Covino
I mean either way, the Pacers. You have to assume Pacers got this right. 3:1 and then you get the Pacers, Knicks. That would be. That's the dope series right there. But I think it takes you back to nostalgia times.
Danny G
Let's not forget we have a big game five tonight. Tied up two games apiece. Nuggies at Thunder. And the world seems to think the Thunder has us under control. 10 1/2 point favorite.
Rich Davis
Update 17 minutes ago on all star guard Spider Mitchell. He's going to be available to face the pace.
Danny G
Well, that would insinuate why they are eight and a half point favorites. So The Cabs are big favorites tonight. Same with the Thunder. So some NBA action tonight, some baseball, like every night. And, hey, hopefully you enjoy anything else you ever need. You can always reach out. Covino and Rich. And just a reminder before we get out of here, we're putting the final touches on our June 20th to 22nd party in Las Vegas.
Covino
This is your invite.
Danny G
All you got to do, make sure you're there. And very soon, we'll give you details. There's going to be events from some pool parties live broadcast, a lot of fun stuff. So meet some people. June 20th to the 22nd, book your Vegas. Book it. We'll see you until tomorrow. Ariva Dare you, baby.
Covino
See you in the promised land.
Rich Davis
And later, guys, you're listening to an I Heart podcast.
Podcast Summary: The Best Of Covino & Rich – May 14, 2025
The Herd with Colin Cowherd, produced by iHeartPodcasts and The Volume, offers a vibrant and opinionated exploration of the day's top sports stories. In the episode titled "The Best Of Covino & Rich," released on May 14, 2025, hosts Steve Covino and Rich Davis delve into several hot topics, blending serious analysis with playful banter, and engaging listeners through interactive segments. Below is a comprehensive summary capturing the key discussions, notable quotes, insights, and conclusions from the episode.
The episode opens with a deep dive into the surprising outcome of the NBA Draft Lottery, where the Dallas Mavericks secured the number one pick, followed by the San Antonio Spurs obtaining the second pick. The hosts discuss the improbability of this result, emphasizing its rarity and sparking discussions about potential rigging.
The conversation evolves into examining conspiracy theories surrounding the draft, with Covino and Rich Davis exploring the possibility of manipulated outcomes:
The hosts entertain various theories, including the "sticky balls" scandal, comparing it to past conspiracy theories like the 1985 Knicks Patrick Ewing draft:
Despite entertaining these theories, Covino ultimately leans towards attributing the outcome to sheer luck, emphasizing the low probability nature of the event.
A significant portion of the episode addresses Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum's injury during a critical game, sparking concern among fans and hosts alike.
The hosts question the decisions made during the game, such as extending for an 11th run in the 9th inning, and reflect on the aftermath of the injury, including roster changes and the psychological effect on the team and fans.
A pivotal segment of the podcast revolves around Major League Baseball's (MLB) decision to remove Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson from the permanently ineligible list, making them eligible for the Hall of Fame.
Listeners express mixed reactions through phone calls, debating the ethics and implications of reinstating these controversial figures:
The discussion touches on the historical context of the Black Sox scandal, the procedural aspects of the Hall of Fame eligibility, and the broader impact on baseball's integrity.
The hosts engage with listeners who voice their skepticism about the integrity of various sports leagues. These interactions further the theme of questioning official narratives and exploring alternative explanations for unexpected outcomes.
The segment showcases a mix of humor and serious contemplation as listeners share their beliefs about rigged sports events, often drawing parallels to historical conspiracies.
Injecting humor and entertainment, the hosts introduce an interactive trivia segment featuring Shaquille O'Neal, affectionately dubbed "Shaq Diesel." This segment serves as a levity break amidst the intense discussions on conspiracies and scandals.
This segment not only entertains but also reinforces the hosts' camaraderie and the show's personable nature.
As the episode draws to a close, Covino and Rich Davis discuss upcoming sports events, including NBA games and a celebratory party in Las Vegas.
Throughout the episode, Covino and Rich Davis navigate complex and controversial topics with a blend of skepticism, humor, and analytical thinking. The primary takeaway centers around the delicate balance between entertainment and authenticity in sports, questioning the integrity of processes like the NBA Draft Lottery and MLB’s eligibility decisions.
Overall, "The Best Of Covino & Rich" masterfully combines in-depth sports analysis with dynamic interactions, providing listeners with a thought-provoking and entertaining exploration of current sports narratives.