Join Dwight Jaynes & Chad Doing live on Monday as we break down the biggest stories of the weekend!
All right now three o’clock chat here the NBA saw a record number of points in yesterday’s All-Star Game East defeats the West Damen Lillard named MVP Jordan and Dame now the only two in history to win an event Saturday and take MVP honors on Sunday the Nets have fired
Head coach jock Bond the team is named Kevin oy as the interm Trailblazers get four more days off they’ll host the Denver Nuggets Friday night at motor Center game day at 4:30 tip at seven here in your home of the Blazers 620 rip City radio 28 games to play for Portland
15 at Moda and 13 on the road the Rip City drive with Dwight and Chads coming up next Alex sprink will join the show at 320 and Craig Chek of the Portland Diamond project will stop by at 420 well happy President’s Day what’s up Godfather I got to tell you what I
Really enjoyed the we weekend without Trailblazer basketball everything I told you I was going to do on Friday I did and it was very relaxing how about you nice weekend yes uh although Abraham Lincoln and George Washington are spinning in their graves that we have to work on President’s Day I know very
Upsetting I could have authorized the entire staff get the day off the problem is when your competition’s working it’s like I would feel very lazy to wake up and not going to work today on a President’s Day no disrespect to Abraham Lincoln and George Washington of course
Yeah no that’s all right so happy to be here the Portland golf show is coming up March 1st to the 3D we’ve got a pair of tickets to give away today and the rest of the week so we’ll do that coming up at 3:45 Alex Brink is going to come by
To put a wrap on the football season here at 320 Godfather and Craig Chic Portland Diamond project is going to check in at 420 to get the latest on the Portland Diamond project we know that they’ve been talking to the city about the site where the Red Tail Golf Course
Sits but we don’t know if an official offers been made right what the latest is would they commit to building and putting a shovel in the ground if they don’t have a commitment for Major League Baseball a lot of questions to be asked so we’ll get those answers hopefully at
420 we hope we’ll get those answers yes we need answers right that’s right we need answers so Craig Chek will join us and we’ve got different things we want to talk about at five o’clock we’ll talk NFL draft a lot of discussion around the Chicago Bears they’ve got the number one
Pick Caleb Williams is going to be in the draft will they draft Williams or will they keep Justin fields and look to trade back and collect a hall so we’ll get to that at 5:00 if you want to reach out to Dwight you’ll find him on social
Media at Dwight James you’ll find me there at Chad in Rip City and the telephone number here on the show is 503 24862 Michael shacker is with us and happy to be with you on this President’s Day but yeah Saturday was great I woke up late in the morning drank my coffee I
Watched Kansas in Oklahoma basketball and then I went and practiced for about 90 minutes golf went home relaxed for the rest of the evening and then yesterday Isaac and I took a road trip up to Belleview and then we drove back so I got back yesterday about 5 o’clock
So I spent a lot of time on the roadways driving yesterday I swear I could do the drive from Portland to Seattle with my eyes closed I’ve done it so much I know all the stops where everything’s at it’s just a familiar drive for me okay I I
Get the whole road trip to VW Thing you get to bellw you just turn around and come back what did you do up there you find a den and have lunch or what did you do well Isaac had a plan he wanted to go to church at the church where he
Goes to a bellw so we did that and then he wanted to go to Red Robin at Factoria Mall so we hit Red Robin after a church service and then when we were done there we got a cup of coffee and made the Trek back and the good thing about the
Roadways yesterday all the way up and all the way back no traffic issues whatsoever that’s very unusual on met stripper Road it is especially when you get up around Tacoma Mall and you start to make that bend the right hand turn towards the coma doome it usually Stacks
Up there not a sole inside it was open driving the entire way which is really nice and it just goes to show you that when there’s no traffic the drive is not bad at all two hours 15 minutes W two hours and 20 cruising at normal speeds
But when there’s traffic it can change everything significantly so the day turned out to be pretty darn good and then I relaxed uh the rest of the evening and got up this morning I was like oh president day but we’re going to go to work so it was good well I I saw
On the internet you gave instructions on how to watch the allstar game that’s right there’s only one way and that’s in the Lazy Boy recliner and what was happy or what made me happy when I got to work today is you said hey I took your advice
I did I went downstairs jumped in my lazy boy flipped on the game saw that they weren’t going to compete once again so I just fell asleep it’s not a bad plan that’s exactly what I did I pulled the comforter up first so I knew I’d be
Nice and warm and toasty and uh the game put me to sleep rather rapidly you can’t beat the President’s Day Sale which is ongoing to the the rest of today 25% off for ciner starting at 3.99 and interest free financing for 36 months The Lazy Boy Is Awesome anyone that’s got one and
Is relaxing in Comfort the right way understands the beauty of it it’s spectacular and you know I have one Chad like you do but I’m starting to feel a little guilty that I don’t have another one I am so I’m kind of taking a look at
That sale a little bit because Nancy is over there stuck on the couch with the dog uh and I’m thinking if we could fit another Lazy Boy in there we could just the you know the couch could be the dog’s perview not a bad idea yeah yeah
You may have to look and get in a second one I enjoyed that and I’ll tell you what the Joe Dumars and Adam Silver the NBA Commissioners spent a lot of time talking about how this year was going to be different it wasn’t different it was the worst display of competition I’ve
Ever seen I would like to submit that it was different it was even worse than it’s been that’s how it was different it was terrible I’ll tell you what was fun and I did watch the entire All-Star Game unfortunately that’s a commitment but the Sabrina and Steph competition was
Terrific I enjoyed it immensely I love Sabrina I love watching Steph shoot the ball but I thought that competition with those two and you mentioned this too Sabrina before the competition appeared to be a little bit nervous which would be understandable based on the stage and who she was competing against but once
She got going and she got her stroke in high uh working order she looked just fine out there awesome great performance by her yeah she really came through I I think everybody in Oregon was proud to see that she’s still beloved in this state I still see her Jersey walking
Around on guys backs all the time more men than women by the way but uh she came through in a big moment for her and a very important moment I thought for the WNBA we’ll get to Kenny Smith’s comments which a lot of fake outrage around then we’ll get to that at five
445 today in regards to the competition and how it went down but I’ve had a chance to meet Sabrina I know um a couple that is very close with her she’s a beautiful gal but she’s an even better person like she’s a terrific person to have in the league and someone
Representing your franchise because of how she operates she really is uh you know a terrific person but basketball wise I mean she could shoot and her stroke was it was pure man yeah against step too that’s prf sure yeah I would say actually Chad I’ve watched some New
York Liberty games they need to get her more shots they have two or three other very good players and I think she’s sacrificing shots for them they’d be better off if she shot more threes well why don’t you make that happen I don’t have enough influence in
The WNBA yet I I’m working on it Chad yeah so I watched that on Saturday that was nice uh Dame won his second three-point competition the rest of the stuff on Saturday night outside of the three-point competition it just doesn’t work for him anymore so I don’t really
Pay attention but I do watch the shooters I like watching guys shoot the basketball and I enjoy that but I would say what I enjoyed most over the weekend of all the events TNT’s coverage was like usual terrific yeah but they had this uh tribute to Indiana basketball
Where they had a panel it was Reggie Miller who obviously was a Pacer Legend they also had Larry Bird who is he’s Larry Legend from French Lake Indiana played at Indiana State and took them to the national championship game and then went on to work for the Pacers
As coach and president of basketball operations and then Isaiah Thomas who was an Indiana basketball legend played at Bobby KN played for bob Knight at IU and won championships so those three guys together for 48 minutes talking hoop and talking about different moments and memories from their careers that was
Exactly what I needed I just didn’t know I needed it but if L Birds normally I’m going to be listening because I love him so much but I thought those three guys together were terrific in a connection well CN does a great job putting features together putting panels
Together they’re so far ahead of any other network right now in doing that kind of thing and it’s it goes back to their you know Inside the NBA with with Chuck and and Kenny and Shaq and of course the great Ernie Johnson Jr uh on that panel you could put them on before
A major league baseball game a National Football League game and they would still be the most entertaining pregame postgame panel in the business they are really really good and we’re we’re lucky to get to see them as often as we do I agree that crew with Kenny Charles sha
And Ernie I’ll tune in to listen to what they have to say even if I don’t really care about the event that’s going on because those guys are so good their chemistry their willingness to speak and say whatever’s on their mind it’s uh it’s great and it’s been great for a
Long period of time and Ernie Johnson’s been one of the best broadcasters for a long period of time and I got to admit Shaq I didn’t know how that would work when they brought him on board it works perfectly because he and Charles are always getting at each other and then
Kenny’s a little bit wild in terms of all the different things going in his mind but it it the four of them together just mesh yeah uh Shaq was uh I think he grew into it the first year wasn’t so good and I was kind of surprised when
They signed him and I asked Charles about it and what he told me was we were afraid he was going to go to another Network other words ESPN yeah so they signed him to block that and he turned out to be much better I think than they
Even had their hopes to be and I like the fact the dynamic Chuck teases him a lot and he takes it well that’s what I like about him he’s won me over in his ability to be able to AB take the abuse gets and either give it back or just
Laugh it off I love that the other person I like on their coverage that I don’t think gets enough credit for the job they do but I think Candace Parker does an excellent job she does talking about the game of basketball I like listening to her talk she’s got a nice
Voice I like her insights on the game and she meshes well with the guys on the panel she she really is a an underrated broadcaster yeah and and what I like best Chad and it’s not easy she’s very at ease in front of the camera she’s
Very comfortable on air and a lot of EX athletes never quite find that spot you know where they’re comfortable she she just fitted in right away yeah I guess that’s just how I’ve always done it I always pay attention to broadcasters maybe a little bit more well of course
Because I’ve had such an interest in the game but I understand now that I’ve done a little bit of TV the challenges in that so she handles it really well and I think Rebecca Lobo who has made the transition to TV and does a lot of commentary for ESPN on the women’s game
I think she does a good job as well so I like I like that but TNT is awesome their coverage was great the game was well it was awful it was truly awful and we’ll talk about that uh in the show today about how if there’s anything they
Can do to fix it because as you know I go to YouTube a lot and watch a lot of old games I just happen to have watched a couple of old school Allstar games back from the uh 80s yeah it’s a different game today than what they
Played back then back then they would allow for some freestyle to a degree through the first three quarters but a fourth quarter hit they were ding up and competing trying to win the game and what they’ve got out there is some type of weird exhibition where guys aren’t
Even trying yeah that that’s a difference you say you know in the fourth quarter they but in those days Chad at no time did they not try you know they maybe they didn’t guard as hard they didn’t hand check as much but they were still trying what you see
Yesterday they were even trying no it was a joke well we got some ideas on that and frankly B Bas on how much the players are getting paid to be there in that game it’s almost hard to argue with their lack of interest in the game yeah but they’re all getting pretty good
Salary for the season and I think that’s kind of included in the package but okay we’ll come back and we’ll talk some football we’ll put a wrap on the season with Alex Brink from E4 Sports former cou he’ll join us next Craig Chek Portland Diamond project at
420 you got the rip SE drive with Dwight and Chad all right very happy to welcome to the show our college football and NFL Insider who uh is here to put a wrap on the season after the Super Bowl from uh E4 Sports and former Washington
State Cougar it’s Alex Brink who is here on the ripy drive Alex it’s great to have you back on the show Happy President’s Day my friend I guess we’ll start with this you know now that you’ve had a a week to think about it what what was your big takeaway from the Super
Bowl with the Chiefs and 49ers boy what a game right I mean that was uh that was pretty fun I mean my biggest takeaway I mean there’s the obvious ones around you know Patrick Mahomes and his play and kind of where he’s headed you know potentially in terms of of
Greatness but boy my biggest takeaway is Andy Reid I think Andy Reid as a as a head coach um is as good as it gets I think as an offensive play caller uh I don’t think there’s anybody better in the NFL I mean when you really think
About uh right what they did with that touchdown to seal the game and you think back to when he’s used it before and that same motion and basically the same play and to be able to kind of pull that out in just the right moment at just the
Right time among the rest of the game plan uh that I thought was so good in the Super Bowl I mean look in all honesty I mean they’re Second To None when it comes to Andy re calling plays uh not just now but it’s possible he might be one of the best
Ever Alex curious what you thought of Kyle shannan’s decision in the overtime to take the ball first well he certainly made everybody believe afterwards that you know it was the right decision right that there was some sort of analytics behind it but no I mean I obviously I think I think it
Was a mistake I think I think you would um like to go on defense and know what you were gonna um you know know what you’re going to get I guess so to speak and so I you know I I guess uh in in my
My eyes it was AK um obviously there’s a lot of rhetoric around it afterwards and you know the reality of human error is is you know stands out sometimes in the brightest moment hey Alex what about P’s Play We Know Mahomes is great but what do you think about the overall
Performance from Brock pie yeah I thought pry was solid you know I mean I don’t think uh you know I certainly think he he gave uh he gave the Niners as a chance to win um I think you could go back and anytime you lose a
Big game like that you can nit pick throws here in there uh you know the reality is is that uh the ners were were in command of that game and my big probably my big criticism overall is that you know essentially you’ve got you know one of the top three to five
Players in the NFL and Christian mcaffrey who’s very productive early in the game and then he just disappears early in the second half in moments when you probably uh you know the ners probably could have started to break things open a little bit and they they
Put the hand they put the ball in the hands of but more so it’s just you the the uh you know throwing the ball that often against that defense is going to lead um you know he going to lead to some inconsistency and and that’s what
Showed up and that allowed them uh to excuse me to hang around and eventually uh get in Striking Distance and then um and then win the game and so I just think you know I think the Niners going away from the Run game less because of
Who Brock p is more because of who Christian McCaffrey is was a real mistake Alex we’re kind of curious about what what these college players are doing now in preparation for the draft and and the combine coming up too what’s going on there with these guys boy there’s a lot you know there’s
A it’s it’s a whirlwind I look back to you know my experience as I transitioned from Washington State you know up to the NFL draft and the Houston Texans and you know it’s it’s a lot of things and everybody’s a little bit different but in a nutshell right the season ends you
Immediately go to uh you know you have your bowl games or you know play college football playoff for some guys then you immediately go to an All-Star Game typically whether it’s the senior bull East West Shrine there’s a couple other ones so you’re prepping for that and then pretty much immediately after
You’re done with your uh All-Star Game you fly to wherever you’re training at for your pre-draft um prep and for the combine right and so all of these guys are spread across the country they’re living in Florida I went to Texas you know they’re in California they’re all
Over and they’re they’re preparing for the combine primarily right if if they’ve been invited and so U you know they’ve got to get ready for those things after their you know after the Senior Bowl and after all that and then you know you do that and once you do um
Once you do the combine well then you gota get ready for prod day that’s another month away from that typically so now you go maybe back to the facility you were training at in my case I went back to Washington State and I just kind of continued to train there you got to
Prepare for pro day and then after pro day and the draft you know the draft’s coming up so you stay ready for that and then as soon as you’re drafted you’re writing mini camp right and then you’re writing OTAs and then all of a sudden it’s the summer workouts and then before
You know it it’s training camp and so that’s the hard part that people don’t realize for rookies is they don’t get an off season from the end of their senior year until the end of their rookie season that’s why a guy like CJ strout or any of these other rookies you know
That are so productive over the course of the entire season is so impressive because typically rookies tail off because they get fatigued after playing all that ball from the start of their senior year all the way through the end of the NFL their rookie season Alex we
See the combine we know about the shuttle you know the shuttle thing and the the 40R Dash all these things do these guys when they’re preparing for the combine is that what they’re doing are they trying to get better at those things that they’re going to be tested
On primarily and then depending on the position I would say every position also has a position specific development um element to it right so as a quarterback you’re working on the drills that you’re going to throw at the combine because typically those throws and those drills are pretty specific same for receivers
So you want to make sure right they combines a beauty beauty contest everybody knows what’s coming so you’re kind of getting ready to take the test so to speak um you know and at the same time you want to hone your skills but it’s really about prepping for that
Combine or Pro Day experience you know but you are working on your skills you know I had a quarterback coach come in work with me but I also had our strength and speed trainer you know work on 40 yard dash and all those sort of things and for quarterbacks it’s a little bit
Different um you know if you’re a skill player you know really any skill player you know you’re trying to run the fastest 40 possible and that’s really the main goal because we’ve all seen over the years right if somebody runs fast they’re gonna probably get drafted right even if maybe they haven’t shown
Everything they need to on tape so that’s just the reality NFL but yeah primarily it’s about preparing for all the drills you do at the combine and then a little bit of that pos position specific development we’re talking with Alex spring from E4 Sports former coug
Here on the Rip City Drive I was wondering you could kind of take us into the thinking the Chicago Bears have the number one pick as we all know they’ve got Justin Fields the Caleb Williams and Drake Mayer available so like what are all the different factors including the
Resetting the rookie scale contract that goes into this type of decision like what type of things are they looking at to try and come up with the ultimate decision yeah I gez I mean it’s a right is a myriad of things you’re you’re looking at the financial impact no doubt
Um you’re kind of that organizational impact of what uh you know what it’s going to mean to press the restart button and you know have you seen enough of Justin field we we know all about you know the negative things but you know there’s been bright spots as well and
You feel like you know in the back half of the season did he make enough strides for you to try try and run with it and um you know if not again you’re pressing the reset button you got start all over and and you know no I don’t know that
Anybody in this draft Cass is is a slam dunk I think you thought some of the guys were good going to be um slam dunked and there’s some really really talented players but you I don’t know that anybody’s walking in and you’re just saying like yeah this is going to
Be a sure thing and so um you know I think that’s a big piece of it uh you know they they’re going to go into these meetings with the the high level quarterbacks you know the potential first round guys or you know first first overall guys and they’re gonna say you
Know hey you know how can you change the the culture of this organization how can you change you know our future and what’s happened and those guys have got to come in in a job interview like Manner and be able to show that they can do that with both their play and their
Personality because you know nowadays these franchises it’s really I mean we’ve seen it over the years it’s a when you take that first uh you know top five top 10 overall quarterback and then it doesn’t work out I mean the Bears are stuck in it right now right trais and
Then fields and then is it another guy like you know they’ve just been swinging and missing and they can’t get over the home I’m kind of curious what you think about this situation Ryan grub had an opportunity to go to Alabama I believe he actually went there for a day or two
Before coming back to Seattle and he has taken the job as the OC for the Seahawks can you tell us what kind of how is he gonna be in the pros that how big of an adjustment will that be for him going from college football into the
NFL it’ll be really interesting I mean I definitely think that there’s going to be a transition I mean it’s a is a little bit different game I would say that you know coach grub um probably runs an offense and and you know him and kayin Kaylin dbor had run an offense
That you know had more application in the NFL and some other guys right you know whether it be like the Lincoln riy of the world or Cliff Kings vares of the world I mean you know what they ran at Washington utilizes tight ends utilizes some fullback a lot of play action pass
Very balanced in the Run game I mean very you know things that you’re gonna you’re gonna see and use in the NFL so I think you have that um in general right it’s going to be figuring out how do you attack defenses in the NFL that are significantly more complicated that’s
For sure but you know the reality of what this tells you if you really step back from it think about this a a an offensive coordinator who got a job at Alabama with a good friend of his who just had a ton of success at Washington
Right chose to go to the NFL over staying at Alabama and I don’t know that in the past you could say that that would always happen right because the path of being the offensive coordinator at Alabama is probably probably there go be a a head coach at a major division
One University somewhere after that and it shows you that the landscape of college football is in a really bad spot in the sense that these coaches don’t want to deal with transfer portal and nil and all the stuff that comes with it even at Alabama they would much rather
Go and take the risk of going to the NFL um you know and his Situation’s madebe a little unique because he did in Seattle with udub but still rather go take that risk then go to Alabama which you in my opinion five years ago would have been a
Sure thing Alex Brink is here on the Rip City Drive E4 Sports and former cou what what do you expect uh Chip Kelly to bring you the Ohio State offense what are what do you expect to see I’m G I’m gonna be actually really interested to see what he’s gonna bring
To be totally honest with you I would say based on what I know and have seen from Chip the past few years you’re gonna see a lot more creativity in the Run game than you’ve seen from Ohio State in the past few years and you’re going to see a lot more more utilization
Of kind of formations and personnels you know you’re going to use more more two two three tight end sets you’re going to see uh some unique Run game schemes where he’s using guys coming from maybe the slot position moving into the back field a lot of the outside Run game that
He’s been really known for I think it’s gonna actually be a nice wrinkle for Ohio State to have Chip Kelly come in and also the other thing is knowing chip right he’s going to be kind of innovative in his own right he’s not really the type of guy that just does
The same thing year in and year out he’s going to try and see what the the Personnel uh for the Buckeyes allows him to do and then he’ll start create plays and create packages around that Alex what type of quarterback is Jaden Daniels gonna be in the
NFL I think it’s a huge question mark you know Jaden Daniels was incredibly successful at lfu um obviously Heisman Trophy winner I mean just unbelievably productive but you know even in the SEC in some big games he didn’t show up in the same way uh his time in Arizona
State was a little bit up and down and so he’s got all the tools in the world I think my my frankly my main concerns is that his frame is a little slight and that you know taking some hits in the NFL is different than taking hits even
In the SEC and in college football and so I think you know his health is gonna be one thing to watch can he stay healthy um he likes to run the football and that can be a real powerful tool but also how do you protect yourself right
You look at some of the guys and the way they’re built running the football um in the NFL right whether it’s the Josh Allen of the world Lamar Jackson I mean those are big dudes they’re really well built and jayen Daniels just kind of built a little bit different so it be
Interested to see how that game that part of his game translates but when it comes to throwing the football I mean he’s got uh he’s definitely blessed he can really throw it and so I think he’ll be able to make all the throws in the NFL um I’m just interested to see the
System he gets in how they develop him and what they ask of him early in his care all right final question for you on the football Bo Nicks and Michael penck we know teams get desperate and take quarterbacks in the first round but do you see these guys as first round
Quarterbacks are they second round guys how do you view them yeah I think they’re both to me they’re both second and third round guys but you know I would say Nick in particular isn’t that far off from being a late first round pick and and could even maybe go a little higher depending
On kind of what the needs are for teams and you know penck to me as talented as he is and some of the great things he showed at Washington I mean there’s just a lot of question marks both with you know his health right his knees the
Acl’s um you know he’s not a super mobile player so he has to be able to do all those things from the pocket that um you know at Washington he did really effectively at times but then there were some times where it didn’t look quite as
Easy and I think people are going to evaluate him and say you know when he goes up a level right when he goes when he goes from the Pack 12 now to the NFL is he without the athleticism that some other guys have is he then able to
Execute from the pocket the way that um you know the way that teams need him to you know if you’re talking about being a first rounder or even second rounder now does he have the arm talent to do it does he have the knowledge and some of
The intangibles for sure I truly believe that but you know when you’re talking about a first round pick you know they’re looking for uh somebody that’s pretty sure fire and I think he’s got enough question marks that he might flip a little bit Well I this is pretty cool
We’re giving away tickets this week on the show for the Portland Golf Show which is coming up March 1st through the 3 and one of your partners headquarters physical therapy is going to be out there at the Portland golf show tell me what’s going on boy how about that look at that
Beautiful I love it let’s go whoever gets those tickets come by the uh HQ physical headquarters Physical Therapy Booth uh it’s gonna be a f fantastic setup you know over a headquar physical therapy really focused on um you know not just people that are injured but
People that um you know want to uh stay healthy or active lead an active lifestyle and a lot of it has to do with golf nowadays right golfers want to get out and play their best and stay healthy not have back issues and knee issues and elbow issues uh so we TPI screen
Everybody make sure see where your deficiencies are that may be affecting your swing you’ll be able to get that done at the Golf Show uh and then you’ll get to be exposed to some of the great things we do to help athletes in the area and help golfers in the area and
Take that game to the next level so check out headquarters pt.com you can check out what we do with golfers check out um you the options for us everyday Joe’s that need to stay healthy and make sure we can move and feel all right every day when we get up in the morning
They do a fantastic job uh we look forward to seeing everybody at the Portland Golf Show well another football season in the books uh Dwight and I certainly enjoy our time with you Alex so thank you for everything enjoy your week and we’ll catch up soon you’re the
Best thanks guys I appreciate it take care you got it there’s Alex Brink what he’s right about that man staying healthy and being able to move around the golf course is critical for sure you know Alex hits a home run every time it comes on he’s the best he’s he’s a great
Guest so happy to have him on as regular as we do his knowledge base because he played the game went to the NFL yeah and now he’s coaching and working with quarterbacks and he deals with all these youngsters in the Elite 11 so he knows all the guys yeah he knows them when
They’re first coming up and then follows them from there so we get a great read on the young quarterbacks from well we just mentioned the Portland golf show it’s coming up March 1st to the third we got a pair of tickets to give away coming up next and then we’ll talk about
Tiger Woods he withdrew from his tournament this uh past week and he also made a decision with his apparel that may not be the best decision so we’ll talk about that as well you got the Rip City drive with Dwight and shad hey Godfather do you remember what you
Thought of Steph Curry coming out in the draft did you see him becoming what he is no did anyone no one did right no I’ll be the first to admit I did not Chad I I thought a little bit too small and a little frail because he’d had all
Those ankle problems that really bothered him the first couple years of the Le but You’ mentioned to me several times that just sort of went away where’d it go I don’t know but he hasn’t really had that lately at all he’s been remarkably durable for a player of his size I can’t
Get over the shooting but also the leadership he provides and the help to Steve Kerr yeah with some of those Dynamics they’ve had with Kevin Durant Draymond Green and the issues there he helps keep everything together Chad they all respect him did he shoot like that
In college because I don’t know I can you know I don’t watch college basketball much I just know that he had that great run during the tournament back in ‘ 08 yeah I saw those you know two of those games yeah but I’ve seen a
Lot of guys in college light it up and then they get to the pros and they can’t make shots right right that happens all the time you can tell me all the time how how well a guy shot from three in college I’ve seen just as many guys not
Pan out as the ones who have Jimmer fet he was a great shooter in college fantastic didn’t do jack in the pros right yeah we see that all the time yeah and some of them just take a lot longer to get there in in the pros yeah yeah
Steph Curry is he’s unique for sure and I give him credit for competing against Sabrina because he he had everything to lose you lose to Sabrina and he’s gonna take heat for that right yeah for sure but what a great opportunity for Sabrina to go out there and competing against
Staff I enjoyed it the Portland golf show is coming up March 1st through the 3 out at the Expo Center um I’ve gone every year by way I recommend it it’s great it’s fun for your golf addicts out there and I know there’s many of you the Portland golf
Show is great every year and we got a pair of tickets to give away today and the rest of the week and you can use the tickets and then stop by the booth that Alex was talking about with headquarters Physical Therapy E4 Sports has now dipped into the golf which is a genius
Maneuver on their part so we’ll give away a pair of tickets right now we’ll take the first caller your telephone number is 503 24862 503 248 620 call now and get a pair of tickets for the Portland golf show coming up March the 3 and it’s a
It’s a nice little savings because the tickets if you buy out of pocket um they’re expensive you know a little spendy so get your tickets for free right now yeah have you got any for me Chad I I might be able to find something for you yes I figured you might be able
To help me out I got your back I can help you but if you want a pair of tickets for the Portland Golf Show March 1st and third call now 50324 a620 first caller through gets a pair of tickets for the Portland golf show at the Expo
March 1st through the 3rd call now 503 24862 503 248 0620 call now for your pair of tickets for the Portland Golf Show 503 248 0620 let’s go out to David in Salem David appreciate the phone call you’re up on the Rip City Drive what’s on your
Mind it’s good to talk to you Chad Godfather I just had a different take on the NBA Allstar game you know I I thought you know whether there only three fouls called in the whole game you know this you know that troubles me I’d like to see a more competitive game than
That I I’ve watched the NBA it’s my favorite sport um and I just think it’s just become too soft and um I I thought you know gee I I like all the players and and some of the best players in the NBA did not really win the U what is it
The U player of the game award and I thought I like Damien Lillard you know that I’m a fan but I thought you know really it was almost like hey let’s go through the motions I think they need to add more reasons to win like hey if you
If you don’t compete and play hard you could lose your guaranteed contract do something that means something to these people money means something yeah that the guys would play hard then but David you don’t have a different take than Dwight I we both thought the game was
Garbage too yeah not competitive oh I’m sorry I I heard you seem we were talking about no no no we were talking about Steph competing against Sabrina in the three-point competition we were not optimistic about the All-Star Game the first thing we said coming out of the show was that they
Failed on their attempts to make it more competitive in fact it was worse well I’m sorry I I’m sorry I I heard that and I’m going oh no because you know I listen to Justin Myers I listen to all your shows on on on the radio program on on your station and I
Thought Justin Myers had a really good take this morning that’s a comp compliment for me because I’ve not been a fan of his and I thought he did a beautiful job this morning well I appreciate that thank you so much and don’t worry David we’re used to people
Putting things in our mouths that’s been happening for the last 16 years of my life ages ages yes I love that too that’s like a backhanded compliment yeah I really like Justin’s show this morning I’m not usually a big fan of his thanks for getting that little stab in there no
Justin’s a beautiful man yeah the bottom line is with that game it’s they don’t compete they don’t compete and can you like it when how am I supposed to care when they don’t care I know like watching guys just stand there as they watch another guy just go uncontested to
The hoop that’s weird to me and again I grew up watching the NBA when it didn’t used to be like that so it’s a bit bizarre uh another news in golf I like I’m like anyone else I I enjoy watching Tiger Woods play golf sure I’m also a
Guy that enjoys Nike apparel I wear it frequently and I love their golf shirts I love dry fit one of the greatest things ever in invented with the dryfit technology Tiger Woods decided to walk away from Nike and he came out with the Zone apparel line and I’ve seen it
Godfathered I’m like this is a classic Mistake by someone who probably has someone around him like dude you don’t need Nike you can go make your own gear and make more money from it and now you see the result less quality gear that doesn’t look as good and now no one’s
Going to buy it that’s my prediction yeah I think it’s really dangerous to walk away from a brand that’s tried and true has a lot of Confidence from the public you know you go by Nike step look we’re not getting paid by them either no nobody’s giving us a dime to say I
Should based on how much money I spend on their products I know but I think we both trust what they put out you see their swoosh you know it’s going to be a certain level of quality so you trust it and you buy it I can’t say that I would
Have that same level of trust in Tiger stuff because I’ve already heard people saying you know it’s not as well made that Nike stuff he was uh endorsing yeah that’s problematic but you know how it is you get these guys my guess would be it wasn’t solely a tiger Choice it was
Probably a combination of people around him thinking they’re Geniuses convincing him to make the move and then you walk away and realize that was a big mistake I can’t imagine how many people are in his ear all the time telling him oh my you know tiger you
Know tiger you don’t need to do this try this your name is big enough you know they’re they’re suck suing up to him anyway your name is big enough you don’t need Nike what do you need them for MJ is the biggest name in sports the
Biggest brand he has been with Nike by purpose for a long period of time because he realizes that the Jordan brand without Nike would become something different and not better it would become lesser than what it is right now you need both each other so I think it’s a mistake tiger was the
Featured golfer for Nike for years and I wish he wouldn’t have walked away because I’m not going to buy his gear I’m going to continue to wear Nike yeah the piece of it I’m brand loyal Godfather of course well the other piece of it is a whole marketing piece where
Nike markets their athletes very well everybody knows that they have for decades now are you telling me your own brand is going to spend that kind of money on marketing your stuff I doubt it especially when you’re pulling out every tournament because you can’t play yeah that’s a problem too like Nikes
Brainwash me like I can’t even won’t even consider buying another pair of sneakers or gear they’ just got me Hook Line and Sinker now I’m in I’m in too deep and I’m like that when it comes to certain things I wear certain shoes I wear certain gear and I’m stuck
There yeah Chad you I’m not the only one right well no I mean that’s you’re more I mean you’re you’re I wouldn’t say set in your ways but when you find something you like you do not vary from that you’re going to do that forever it’s
True very true all right when we come back we’ll get to the greatest comedy that came from the Allstar Weekend I mean LeBron James has said some ridiculous things but the stuff that came out of his pie hole yesterday was like are you kidding me my biggest issue
With him it comes down to one thing he’s a fraud and he put that on full display yesterday he doesn’t always tell the truth either no they when I was talking about last week people that need to be placed in the truth machine this would
Be exhibit a right here yeah we got it for you next all right now four o’clock Chad here hope you’re enjoying your President’s Day the NBA saw a record number of points in yesterday’s allstar game the East defeats the West Damen Lillard named MVP Jordan and Dame now the only
Two in history to win an event Saturday and take the MVP honors on Sunday the Nets and fired head coach jock vaugh the team is named Kevin oy as their interm the Trailblazers four more days off to host the Denver Nuggets Friday night at motor Center game day at 4:30 tip at 7
Here in your home of the Blazers 620 Rip City radio 28 games left in the season for the Blazers 15 or at home rip city drive with Dwight and Chad two more hours to go we’ll talk with Craig chica of the Portland Diamond project at 420
I’m not sure why shacker is playing MC Hammer but it’s going to be stuck in my head the rest of the day now thanks a lot Shaq certain songs get stuck in your mind you can’t get them out Godfather no matter what you do I know that’s one of
Them too I have the same problem with that song and I never even like the song but that just gets stuck get stuck that’s why my dad for years anytime The Brady Bunch theme song comes on or The Adams Family theme song comes on he runs
Away he’s like I can’t take it he doesn’t want it stuck in his head okay let’s uh play this audio here LeBron James look one of the greatest basketball players of all time uh there’s no question about that but the problem is is that I’ve always taken him
To be fraudulent he’s a fraud there you go he is a fraud and this audio would provide prime example he was at a press conference during Allstar Weekend talking about the future and a retirement and ask about whether or not he wants a retire IR parade farewell tour a farewell tour yeah apparently
He’s not sure if he wants that or not oh yeah I’m sure he that’s a lot of doubts there and apparently and he’s also not comfortable with praise it’s like you wouldn’t believe it unless he said it and you’re like okay he did say that so let’s take a listen
To some of the nonsense from LeBron James oh there’s a way to get him to play harder Bri that’s not the LeBron James I’m looking for I think this is the LeBron James I’m looking for I have not mapped out how many seasons I have
Left um I know it’s not that many um I also don’t know if I will I was asked this question a couple days ago will you kind of take the farewell tour or will you kind of just T dunking it I’m 5050 um I’m a so right now he
Just said he’s 5050 on the farewell tour sure okay I don’t believe that let’s take a list to the rest of what LeBron had to say I’m 5050 yeah really okay and you haven’t mapped that out yet I don’t believe that either this is definitely a um strong this is in strong
Consideration for the truth machine um I’m G be honest because there’s times where I feel like I guess I owe it to my fans that’s been along this journey with me for two decades plus to be able to give them that moment you know whereas every city
And whatever the case may be you your flowers or whatever the case may be you know and that seems cool um but the other side of I’ve never been that great with um accepting like praise yeah he’s got the tattoo on his back that says the chosen one and every
Time he’s introduced he does that panim of putting the crown on his head because after all he is the king and by the way all his subordinates call him King it was such a ridiculous statement that even he kind of paused I’ve never been real comfortable with uh praise
It’s like should I really say this because are people going to laugh when I say it but I’m going to try it see if I can get over on it all right let’s finish the rest of the comments from uh the gentleman who’s not comfortable with
Praise it’s it’s a weird feeling for me um I never really talked about it much but it’s just a weird feeling for me so to to go in each City if that’s the case I don’t know I’ve seen I’ve seen Mike’s I’ve seen Kobes seen a lot of guys um I
Just don’t know how much I how I feel I don’t know if I will feel great about it maybe the only child in me maybe but um but I don’t I don’t know um but I am a Laker and uh I am all right enough enough enough okay I I will
Tell you right now I guarantee you with every I will bet my bottom dollar and every part of my body that he is going to take a farewell tour there there’s zero doubt that this guy he’s not just gonna end a season and say I’m out peace
Out there’s no way an H double hockey sticks that’s ever going to happen not only is he comfortable with praise he actually loves it oh seeks it out oh all the time yeah he he tries so hard to be accepted by everyone yeah and this is where he gets himself into trouble
Because criticism and people that criticize him for various reasons it bothers him the guys I grew up with like Larry Bird didn’t give a flying rip what you said about him he did not care right neither did MJ and neither did Kobe Bryant you know some of the great but this guy here
Absolutely loves praise and there’s no question that he is going to to before he retires he will let everyone know ahead of time this is my final season to make sure that he gets praise in every Arena he goes to for the very last time guarante he not only wants the praise he
Wants the presence because you know you got to give him a gift in his farewell appearance yes hopefully I still will never forget the Trailblazers offering up a back gam and set to Kem Abdul Jabar during his retirement tour well he likes back gam I
Guess but this is the kind of stuff I’m talking about with LeBron it’s like why you don’t have to just flat out lie you are okay with praise and you are going to take your Victory Tour and that’s okay you don’t have to come out and pretend like it doesn’t matter to
You just be like yeah I’ve been playing this game for 20 years I love it and I want to go out in style I would respect him more if he just came out and said this is exactly what I want yeah but he has to pretend like none of that matters
To him but it does and that’s where he gets himself into trouble he tries too hard to get other people to embrace him to like him to be accepted and and then he ends up looking like a a fool and that’s crazy talk right there he’s 5050
On the retirement tour I mean he also said over the weekend somebody asked him what about all these rumors about you going to Golden State you know being traded over there well I didn’t know anything about it you know I just didn’t you know I never heard about that you
Know sometimes when you’re on a team these things happen in the background and you never hear about it come on LeBron you’re the de facto general manager every move that’s made you know all about it and they certainly wouldn’t trade you without telling you about it
There’s no way he didn’t know about that yeah it’s crazy of course he doesn’t have to act like he doesn’t know of course he knew my guess is Joe lob is the one that started that right now either Joe lob is dumb and I don’t think
That’s the case he probably had his guys reach out through back channels to see if that was something that could be materialized also the rumor that that was an owner to owner conversation because of the magnitude of player involved it’s like apparently lob talked to GD bus about it and I think that’s
Not a bad way to do it because she’s got to sign off on any LeBron deal of course so you know I think that could have happened but whatever LeBron knew all about it yeah clutch is too plugged in for him not to know exactly what’s going
On yeah there’s no question so this is where we’re at with LeBron he’s going to continue to say things like this it just drives me crazy and I can’t take it this is he’s been bothering me like this for a long period of time and it’s just a
Fraudulent act and I can’t take it I can’t stand it and it’s too bad because he’s such a great basketball player he truly is one of the greats do I think he’s better than MJ no is he one of the all-time greats yes he’s right up there and he’s awesome basketball-wise but the
Whole off thec court stuff and the way he rolls it’s like it’s just too much for me you know and it goes back to the decision and then when he criticism and heat for that they came out with that whole cockamamy story about how it was
For the kids and all the crap because he took a lot of heat for looking like a fool yeah he didn’t need to do that but why did he do that because he wanted the attention you don’t have a special show called the decision with Jim Gray handpicked unless you care about the
Attention well and then you go there and you have to have that remember the huge show they had when he showed up and not one not two not three all of that stuff with the way they were introduced and all that that’s just crazy town yeah it’s insane yeah now to his credit
Everywhere he’s been they’ve won an NBA championship so he is a productive basketball player he’s a great basketball player and he puts together rosters that really give him a lot of help too yeah he knows how to piece it together he knows exactly what he needs
And he’s been great for a long period of time what I’ll always give him credit for that I Marvel at is the high l LEL of play at this stage of his career 20 years in and at his age I haven’t seen that before it’s remarkable that he can
Still play at the level he does it’s not the same level but it’s a pretty darn good level he’s neglecting the defensive end much more than he ever has before he used to be good there and I would to at that age it’s hard for him at that age
To be able to expend that much energy so he has to pick his spots and I understand that but the durability and the way he’s been able to play at a high level for that period of time is impressive testimony to Modern Medical Science it’s great I mean how many guys
Like even Kareem who played for a long period of time that last season in 88 he was not the same player but LeBron is still he’s still getting after it so there you go just like it’s too much see like you can’t even you have a hard time
Giving him credit for anything because he drives you crazy yeah yeah he does and a guy that searches for approval as much as he does you don’t want to give him approval you know what I me I mean there’s just something resistant about that and I’m sorry about it but at least
I recognize it he’s looking for my approval all the time and you’re approval and everybody’s approval well if you’re trying that hard for it you may not get it he had Michelle Beetle removed from IND countdown because she criticized him for the decision oh he’s got so much power at ESPN it’s
Unbelievable I think Michelle felt flattered that he cared so much about what she thought what she said well wouldn’t you yeah that’s a big deal I love it too because he’s always wanted MJ’s kind of endorsement you know and MJ’s always kind of oh shunned him a little bit he knows
Better no no no and none of those other players they didn’t care yeah in fact I was listening to there were a lot of great podcasts with NBA players this weekend because they’re all together in one spot but I think it was Trevor arza who was talking about Kobe and he goes
Look here’s the difference between Kobe and everyone else he said Kobe didn’t give an f what anyone thought about him he just didn’t care he was going to go out and do it his way regardless of what anyone thought he wasn’t worried about others other people’s thoughts and their
Feelings about it he didn’t care he was going to go out and do it his way and there’s certain aspect of that that I respect his Focus was so much on the game he had no time for any other thoughts really yeah he was I mean that
Guy was laser focused on what he had to do yep yeah and if you weren’t going to work or work hard to help the team win then he didn’t have time for you that’s just how he rolled my other issue with LeBron has been the stops that he had with you know
Chris Bosch and Kevin Love when you play with LeBron if things don’t go well the blame’s gon to be placed elsewhere I thought Chris Bosch and Kevin Love took unreasonable blame for some failures because they’re the ones that had to change their game the most to adapt to playing with
LeBron absolutely Chad they never got enough credit for sacrificing as much of their careers as they did they were both true one options on their team before they joined LeBron but that’s what his crew does if it goes sideways fingers going to be pointed elsewhere outside of LeBron LeBron needs more
Help all right we’ll keep things rolling here in the show when we come back we’ll focus our attention to the Portland Diamond project what’s the latest on the site at Red Tail Golf Craig Chek will join us next here in the Rip City Drive 5 Seconds To Go the inbounded Timmy
Hardaway Hardway at Mid C is going to have to let it glow he does it’s air ball after three it is 82 80 Miami will be right back culer what’s wrong with your man down there we find out what’s wrong with yeah Michael shacker just sent over some
Audio I don’t know how he had it it’s so random but it’s a Trailblazer game and the audio recording is of Mike rice and Bill Shanley during the course of a timeout and they’re having a discussion and it was a question that you must have had with him a little interaction about
J.R Ryder yeah and then all of a sudden rice launches into slamming on MC song that we just heard on the show very random uh Mike was fairly uh opinionated if you recall I do recall but back then you sat what right behind the broadcasters no right next to them right
Next to Front Row yeah we were at the score stable awesome was great well very happy to welcome to the show the founder and president of the Portland Diamond project Craig Chek is joining us Craig good afternoon thanks for your time how’s life hey life’s great happy
President Day Chad and Dwight great to great to be with you guys well it’s great to have you on the show we appreciate it yeah Craig I want to ask you a while back a week or so ago you announced an interest in the Red Tail Golf Course property uh seemed like
You’ve settled on that but what I’m curious about is what’s the next step there in that property uh have you made an offer on it uh where does it stand and what’s going on with that yeah great question white and uh and I think it was important for for all
Of us you know our investors our team the Portland metro area just to be just to be clear sometimes when you got multiple properties that you’re looking at you can just seem like man they’re spraying the infield and they’re they’re not quite sure what what a winning
Formula looks like so we were very clear a week and a half two weeks ago that um we believe the winning strategy and and what’s going to carry the day for us is is having a parcel the size of red tib which is 164 Acres so we made that clear
It was very disappointing to um you know the mayor of Portland and some of the city council that we weren’t able to figure out how to make an urban downtown location work um specifically Lloyd Center was the most recent one that we had locked on to but um the next process
Is uh we’ve had two appraisals on the property so we did an dependent one the city has done one and now that the city’s clear that that’s where we would like to focus our effort and get a uh uh purchase and sale agreement in front of
Them we are we are crafting um that offer um and getting the the right people to take a look at it and then um working its way over to the city for for review and then the process is it would have to carry a four out of five vote at
The city council so on parall tracks we’ve been working with setting up individual meetings with uh with the City commissioners answering any questions walking him through why you know some of the rationale on why we like red tail and what happened in in Lloyd and so all of that has been um
Really kept us busy over the last couple of weeks yeah I I don’t know if I’d want to get a four out of five vot from the Council on anything Craig but moving on what what was wrong with the Lloyd Center site because a lot of people seem
To kind of be pulling for you guys to settle on that site yeah and let me start with the with the glass half full on that side um from an accessibility standpoint by far it it probably had the most going for it you got you know the bandfield running down
One side you got i5 and there’s even potential about that I5 capping to expand that Log Jam there over time and then you got Max lines that you know that that run right by there so we we liked it because it it it was very uh
Accessible um but what but we knew that it was always a heavy lift it’s complicated it it technically is not for sale we were having to work back with KKR who took the note back from the previous um owners of the mall so you were we were kind of forcing the issue
Of of is it really for sale and then and then we found out and you just get smarter as as as you get kind of further in the process it was too small so it’s complicated it’s expensive it’s too small and it was taking too much time
And and now what we’ve found in meeting with a lot of different groups and analyzing um a lot of what’s worked in other cities you really do need to create economically a a sports and entertainment District that that can completely have the fans engaged but more importantly hold up the economics
Of what it takes to drop2 billion dollar on an expansion franchise and then build a a billion plus Stadium knowing that you’re not going to get a tremendous amount of of public support um we’re going to need x amount to be able to you know show the the league that that we’ve
Got support in the in the state the county and the city but um the economics now of the land play have become Paramount the two the two things driving the viability and sustainability of a franchise is really your media rights deal um and then your land and and how
You are um monetizing and operationalizing that and we just felt like having 164 Acres would be a powerful message to the league that we’re thinking big uh would also be uh an important um to note that that Salt Lake probably our our our competitor that
That is thrown their hat in the ring in the last year is talking about a 100 Acre uh development and so we wanted to play we wanted to play big and we wanted to play the most successful that we believe will carry the day with the league and our investors so that’s
That’s kind of what happened with Lloyd it just became evident that it was going to be too complicated too small it was only 27.1 acres is the mall and um these ballparks are taking 13 to 15 of the acreage and then you got to build a
Little bit of an apron around it there wasn’t much development opportunity for us to uh to really build our our ballpark Vision around it it was going to be too tight we’re talking with the president of the Portland Diamond project K Chic here in the rip seity
Drive Craig I’m curious what type of concerns have been expressed about the red tail site going after a public parks location with a golf course well you can imagine that that the shock is definitely uh washed over uh over folks and and you know the Baseball fans are
Like hey this this seems really really exciting because it’s one step closer and then you know the Skeptics and the naysayers are like have you driven 217 lately uh terrible so trans transportation and and neighborhood are the two biggest um probably call outs and and rightfully so uh but but again
As we’ve become students of of what’s worked around the country if we have four years technically we would be thinking of of an opening day pitch April of 28 that’s a lot of time to put all of that infrastructure in place right so you know 27’s under construction now they’re they’re they’re
Widening they’re putting more off ramps but but there’s actually room for another lane or two and we spent I don’t know maybe three or four times in Atlanta looking to see how they executed their transportation plan that that now they’re really claiming victory for how they did that out there in a very
Congested freeway system getting out to the suburbs so we’ll work with infrastructure um there’s not one Silver Bullet that’s going to solve Transportation it’s a multimodal kind of effort from the commuter line that West line that drop shop at Hall turning into bonafide max line that would run all the
Way through to shuttle services coming off of uh you know the 26 and 27 to you know we want we still want bike tailgating we think summer nights are going to be great so we’re going to try to figure out all these different ways uh to make it accessible to get in and
Out of there um and then the the neighborhood association uh in that area we’ve heard from a few of them they’re like oh man you’re killing us we we like this this private you know um Serene area back here you guys are just going to crush us well we haven’t even laid
Out our master plan yet this is not going to be a concrete jungle of 164 Acres we’re we’re looking at some of the most unique designs from the 20 acre Reservoir man-made lake in Central Park and and how that’s become so iconic in New York City in Central Park to walking
Trails to an Amphitheater to all kinds of open spaces and training facilities for some of the soccer clubs so I think once we roll out a real comprehensive plan and we engage the community around there I think they’re going to have more amenities than less when we’re done and
We would probably anchor that ballpark more up towards the commercial zone now right which is the Washington Square Mall and the Target and all that area coming off Hall and and uh old won or sches right there the ballpark on 164 Acres only takes up 7% of the space wow
So I think people people Envision it oh it’s just gonna envelop that whole thing it actually takes up 7% of the overall development so we just have to educate people and engage them and and I think we’ll get them we’re not going to win everybody but but uh but our our job is
To collaborate and make sure that people feel great about our plan Greg um it seems as if you’re in a bit of a race with the group in Salt Lake City I’m curious do you have any idea now when Major League Baseball is going to start
Taking uh bids or whatever they do or taking a look at potential expansion candidates when is that going to happen and are you prepared to be ahead of the Salt Lake City Group when that happens yeah great great question Dwight I I think that um we we saw some really
Positive messaging when it when it felt like the entire Oakland a situation was settled and it felt like Tampa was settled those were the two prerequisites that the commissioner gave that he said I want to I W to unilaterally know that those two cities and those two stadiums
Are are stabilized and then we do want to aggressively move and and turn our attention to expansion um that I still believe everybody is is probably believed that that the A’s are gonna are G to land in Vegas the vote already happened um but it it’s if
You’ve seen in the news in the last couple weeks that that’s got a little wonky from the mayor of the mayor of Vegas during Super Bowl week uh mentioning that she thought they should stay in Oakland and that nine acres the S of the the where they’re going to put
The ballpark is just too tight and too small um these are all very real issues that that John fiser and David caval with the A’s are going to have to work through with uh um you know with Vegas and with the state but I still believe that they’re they’re probably the
League’s probably believing that that’s gota that’s just gota land and they got to just kind of work through so then we we had hoped 24 this would be the year that that we would get clarity on that and I still believe that can happen I know pitchers and catchers are reporting and we’re
Gonna have spring training and a hope another fantastic season um and commissioner Manford just came out and announced you guys probably saw that that he is he is not going to seek um another term after this fiveyear term finishes so he’s on the watch to accomplish a lot within the last five
Years ending in 2029 he did say he wants expansion in in process now we hope it’s on the front part of his fiveyear uh 10year left not not at the T then but I think a lot of that is is incumbent upon the cities and groups being ready I
Think if the league knew that they’ve got Portland and Nashville and and Salt Lake and Montreal and you know four five six cities ready then they can go okay let’s get let’s form the committee let’s start visiting the groups in the cities and let’s start narrowing this thing
Down and then pick our pick our two best prospects so I think it’s sooner than later I don’t have a crystal ball the league has not announced the the uh expansion committee being formed yet but it could happen uh you know relatively soon if they feel confident that that
Oakland is really gonna stay in Vegas um I think those are the things to watch for Craig I’ve got two more questions that people want me to ask you number one would you put a shovel in the ground before getting uh the okay from Major League Baseball that you’re going to get a
Franchise man that’s been the $64 million question for our group um there’s there’s times where we say put put the foot on the accelerator and go um there’s lots of that development that you could put in yeah maybe we don’t get games right away but there’s lots of those amenities lots of that
Infrastructure um and and maybe if it if it’s open for for a couple of years we we bring exhibition games we get Portland State to reinstate their program we get Oregon State or to play there up to play there um we hold events and concerts there I know Tampa did that
And they waited six years to finally get their their Devil Ray back in the day and so it kind of worked for them to to go ahead and lean into success it’s a it’s a big commitment though to drop whatever it’s going to be a billion two
On that Stadium without knowing you have a team so um but I think there’s some things that we could take a look at to begin to to build out the development um and and maybe plan that timing where we’d get more clarity from the league so not a not a solid answer
For you Dwight in terms of would we we are considering it and um we’ll debate it and it may be in our best interest to go ahead and and and lean into that but um we haven’t made that call yet okay one more now I get this all the time
From people Craig they they’re not sure why you haven’t identified the potential owner of this franchise uh people are suspicious that you don’t even have one which I know enough Money’s been spent already there’s somebody back there with money but can you go through the reasons that you haven’t
Identified who might own this franchise yeah it’s it it’s a tough one because we’ we’ve tried to be and again we’re not trying to be you know mysterious or or cryptic about it there are some some reasons that that when when we’re in that position to roll that
Out people go oh I I I get it now it it makes more sense to me um but I would tell you that um just watch our sequencing when we hopefully purchase the red tail um and and we hope that’s very soon uh and that will be a proof
Statement that we are we are spending cons considerable amount of money um on this effort and at that time we would disclose who the who the group is um but but it’s it’s it’s confidential because it it does involve ownership um in sports franchise today right and and
That that complicates things because you you you don’t want to force the hand of somebody having to sell a steak or divest of a stake or whatever until it’s it’s more imminent um and it’s the appropriate time to to to showcase the group but we do have um great traction
With our investors they are committed we are going to purchase land um and make that that significant commitment and then then I think um we would roll out uh a pretty exciting ownership group and there’s going to be even some additional um probably baseball DNA that
We’ll be excited to talk about so uh it’s it’s stay tuned I I I’m not going to unveil it right now but it’s not that far off from people knowing who’s uh who’s behind the effort all right he is the president and founder of the Portland ement project it’s Craig Chek
Here on the ri Street Drive Craig man that was an informative H talk we certainly appreciate your time and thanks for the update and we’ll catch up soon enjoy your week that was awesome thanks guys be well I’ll talk to you soon you guys there’s Craig Chek all
Right when we come back on the Rip City Drive we’ll uh get into more of the specifics of what Craig laid out because I want to ask you some more details on why the ownership hasn’t been announced and who you think it might be if it’s
Someone local or not and then also four fifths of the city council that sounds like a really tough job to me especially when they want you going somewhere else good luck with that four fifths Godfather I know the only thing you got going for is they’re gonna have to pay a
Lot for that piece of property and they may need that money you know they’re sitting on that you look at a you know millions and millions of dollars be hard for them to turn that down that’s true politicians have a way of uh latching on
To cash yes they do all right we’ll get into that when we come back here on the Rib City Drive that of course is Mike in the mechanics Paul Carrick on the lead vocals I love him good stuff oh such a great song all right Craig Che just joined us
Portland Diamond project did it make sense to you as to why there’s a lot going on behind the scenes as to why you haven’t named an owner yet right they don’t want to let that stuff out it sounded to me like whoever the owner or owners of the Portland franchise would
Be that they’re involved in ownership elsewhere yeah and and often even if it’s not an ownership stake in a baseball team it could be another League that prohibits uh dual ownership of teams so they’d have to devest before they knew that they were getting a franchise here I don’t know that they’d
Want that but um that could be it U but it’s an issue where the owners just don’t want to get their names out there yet I know I had heard originally some people said guys that rich don’t want anybody to know they failed to get what they
Wanted to get yeah they they wanted the franchise they finished second and they didn’t get it they don’t need people to know they were the guy but four fifths of the city council gracious good luck with that yeah yeah I mean if you got to rely on
Four out of the five voting in your favor in the council that would seem dicey Chad uh I’ll just tell you this they crazy city council they crazy well the only thing I could think of when he said that was thoron melon um he better reach
Out to them to get some uh details on how to deal with the local politicians oh you left out a bunch of stuff oh really like what for instance well first of all you’re going to have to grease the local politicians for the sudden zoning problems that always come up then
There’s the kick back to the Carpenters and if you plan on using any cement this building I’m sure the teamers would like to have a little chat with you and that’ll cost you oh and don’t foret something for the building inspectors then there’s a longterm CA such as waste
Disposal I don’t know if you’re familiar with who runs that business but I assure you it’s not the Boy Scouts that’ll be quite enough Mr melon maybe bribes and kickbacks and Mafia payoffs are how you do business but they are not part of the legitimate business world and they’re
Certainly not part of anything I’m teaching in this class do I make myself clear sorry just trying to help it’s all now not withstanding Mr melon’s input the next question for us is where to build our Factory how about fantasy land so good so good how about fantasy
Land oh my goodness well I think we could all uh pay attention if this deal goes down I’m going to take a special interest in automobiles driven by Portland City Council Members see what’s going on behind the scenes you think somebody might get greased is that what you’re
Saying I’m saying if you’re gonna get four out of five people on that group to agree to anything there’s GNA be some special work done that’s that would be my guess you know politics such a legitimate game of course oh my goodness Godfather that that was the sticking
Point for me four out of five oh yeah that’s uh that’s never happening but you’re right if they know they can get 50 million for that site where red tail sits yeah it’s big chunk of change or more than that who knows 75 I don’t know
What it’s worth but well I trust me I bet they have to overpay to get it oh yeah guaranteed yeah you’re not getting a discount on that yeah no no there’s even though it be good you know it’s not in Portland it’ be very good report yes you know where I stand on
This I I want baseball I just don’t want my uh Portland Public Park Golf Course is taken away because what concerns me this would be my great concern it starts with red tail and then before you know it someone moves in to take out Heron and then that’s a serious problem for me
Yeah if it happens in one place I’m concerned it could happen elsewhere we’ve already seen cwood get destroyed into a par three course and brow’s gone so that that’s a great concern for me but I do want baseball I just I love access to public golf courses so I don’t
Know it’s a tough one but but I appreciate Craigs uh he was he was very forthcoming with insight there uh very much so I think we learned more this time than we ever have about the project where it stands what the pitfalls are all of that uh KGW has got a new figure
Out uh Portland the Trailblazers uh their TV viewership this year down 49% which is the most in the NBA for the local TV markets ouch that’s painful really painful and as they pointed out because a lot of fans will just simply look at it and say well it’s a
Rebuilding team they’re not good what do you expect but there are other teams suffering too like the Cavaliers down 16% I think the Pelicans are down 12% in viewership and they’re good teams so there’s just a myriad of factors one you you trade Dame so your franchise
Cornerstone and you’ve got a group of young players that fans haven’t identified with with you also have a team that’s rebuilding so they’re not winning a ton of basketball games right now and then also remember we had um we talked to the trouble acers before the year began exfinity made that shift and
Mooved Root Sports to their uh premium package which means you have to pay extra to have access to Root Sports and so that’s been difficult because now fans are some have made the decision not to pay the extra dollars because people are trying to you know cut costs when it
Comes to their streaming and their viewership and so forth well let’s face it too it’s not a great time to be raising the price of viewing their games because you know first of all they lost Damen Lillard and second of all they’re in the third year of probably being a
Lottery team um there’s people willing to say not now you know not not gonna pay that extra money to watch well what would be interesting I think that deal with root ends in 2425 what’ll be interesting Godfather is would they take on the model like the
Suns have the Suns have seen an increase in TV viewership and as you know their owner went straight to over the broadcast television making all the games free I think that’s going to be a thing in the NBA real soon I think we’re g to see more of
That I’m assuming that the uh all of the uh um illegal access to games probably don’t count as viewers right you don’t get credit for the illegal streams no pirating gam does not count in the ratings I’ve never done that before so I don’t know what it’s like to Pirate
Games it sounds interesting sure you heard about it but you don’t know a lot about how to do that I would never do anything like that it’s a great song I went back and reviewed Thriller and looked through all the songs because I had forgotten some of the details that
Was a freaking awesome album ridiculously good oh it’s incredible you know what’s cool about that video for uh the We Are The World the greatest night in pop music uh doc on Netflix how about the cameraman that was in there before everyone showed up and it’s just Michael
Jackson singing his part and there was no like editing done it was just Michael singing he goes I’ve never heard such a beautiful voice in my life just singing by himself crazy and he’s like hey hey Quincy was that okay yeah it was pretty good yeah yeah I still can’t believe
Lionel Michael Jackson wanted him to hold his uh pet Shimp Bubbles and then Lionel sitting there as they trying to write the song and he hears some hissing he looks over it’s the Python and he’s like Lionel he heard us singing he came out he wants to meet you oh God lel’s
Like I’ve seen how this ends with the brother and the snake it’s not good yeah Jackson did a lot of things to make you wonder about him and that was just one who wants a python crawling around their crib Godfather not me oh I have never understood the idea of a snake as
A pet and then the dog and the parrot are yelling at one another he’s like Michael what is that noise you gotta watch it that’s a great great dog right we’ll come back and focus in on the Chicago Bears hopefully they’re not as dumb as some people think they are
All right it’s five o’clock Chad here what’s up my friends NBA saw a record number of points in yesterday’s All-Star Game Damen Le named MVP he and Jordan now the only two to win an event Saturday and take MVP honors on Sunday the Nets have fired head coach Jac vaugh
The team is named Kevin o is the interim the Trailblazers will get four more days off the nuggets are in town Friday to kick off the stretch run it’s at Mota game day at 430 tip off at 7 here on your home of the Blazers 620 Rip City
Radio 28 more games to go for the Trail Blazers more the Rip City drive with the white and shag coming up right now we’ve got tickets for the Portland Golf Show to give away all week all right here your key headlines the NBA Allstar game yesterday was even
Worse than I imagined it would be Sabrina and Steph put on the show and LeBron James is still lying with the best of them and those are your key headlines uh Dwight and Shad with you we’ll dig into the All-Star Game you know we’re going to try and come up with
A solution on how they can improve the competition in that game uh that was not what commissioner silver was looking for he or Joe Dumars and you could tell silver was disgusted after the game he looked pissed that trophy presention well I guess you guys scored the most
Points here than us trophy get out of here knucklehead it was not good my buddy Steve reached out to me before and he goes I took the over on the allstar game 357 points and I thought yeah that’s probably a pretty good bet yeah after the first quart they put up a
Record number in the first quarter I thought yeah that’s in the bag he’s got that one and they did it with ease yeah that that happens when you don’t play defense or make any effort to stop the opposing team you just don’t care they played like a group that
Really was just going through the motions whatever yeah no no energy in the building either it was a bizarre scene they no obligation to the fans or the league or anything no not really all right so we’ll get to that coming up here in 20 minutes I do want to talk a
Little NFL don’t you find it oddd how we’re getting closer to the draft Godfather and there’s all these smoke screens around the Chicago Bears are they gonna take a quarterback at number one will it be Caleb Williams or are they going to stick with Justin Fields trade back
Collect resources and draft and add to other parts of the team you know the difficult part for them is that Fields started to play a little bit better down the stretch but he’s beloved in the locker room and he’s got a lot of people within the organization that respect him
And now they’re in a situation where they got to make the tough choice I don’t think it’s a tough choice but the Bears are in that spot and you know my guess would be their other teams are going to reach out there are teams praying that they decide to stick with
Justin Fields so they can have access to either Caleb Williams or Drake May for sure what do you think about the reports do you think Chicago is seriously considering keeping Justin Fields they crazy if that’s what they’re thinking I’ll tell you that because that’s the one position you think you’re
Pretty good at quarterback you got to get better and if you have a chance to get a guy better than the one you have is there any question that Caleb Williams is better than Fields I don’t see any chance that’s true I think in football in the draft there are four quarterbacks
Thus far who are no-brainer can’t miss prospects at the position just four yeah normally at the top when you got quarterbacks it’s a dicey proposition but the four guys so far that were can’t miss obvious prospects that you have to draft were John Elway who was drafted by
The Colts and then traded to the Denver Broncos you also have pton Manning can’t miss Prospect out of Tennessee Andrew Luck can’t miss Prospect out of Stanford and then the fourth one was Trevor Lawrence and he’s with Jacksonville the fifth guy that would fit into that category in my mind
Is Caleb Williams and most draft experts would agree although there are some that feel like it’s closer between Williams and people might think I look at Caleb Williams and to me it’s a no-brainer he’s got everything you want at that position smarts arm strength all the athletic ability and the he can
Improvise when have to yeah he’s got the same type of physical tools that you see in Patrick Mahomes now I’m not comparing the two because Patrick Mahomes is the greatest but he’s got the same type of skill set that you see in Patrick and that’s the type of quarterback I want
But on top of that I’m drafting him just simply on the basis that you get to reset the quarterback contract and that gives you multiple years to be able to rebuild the team before you have to sit down and pay him big time cash and that’s huge four years you get to reset
That clock unless you think Fields is a camp Miss Prospect and you want to pay him then you’ve got to go and make the decision just on the basis that you reset that contract and when I look at Fields he’s showing some flashes this past year but I haven’t seen enough to
Where I think you got to stick with that guy no reset the clock take Caleb Williams who’s going to be a better quarterback and then you set up your franchise which has been looking for a quarterback a franchise guy since before I was born they haven’t had that guy
Forever and you have a chance to draft him and you’re G to stick with a guy that you’re not even sure about in Justin fields that is total lunacy to me take Caleb Williams it’s that simple yeah and your fan base will be happy and
Then you get a chance to build around a legitimate quarterback and then you move on and everyone lives happily ever after it’s really that simple for me Godfather and if you get that rookie quarterback contract again it gives you room to go after some free agents but you also have a pretty good
Stockpile of stockpile of draft picks yeah from you know the trade last year so I think you’re on your way to rebuilding the team you don’t necessarily have to trade the first round pick this year for draft picks because you already have enough and you’re going to be bringing Fields Back
Back and you know you’re talking about a big contract now well the problem is and you know this I don’t care what else you have on your team if you don’t have the quarterback you’re screwed yeah you’re out of luck because you have to beat a guy like Mahomes to win a championship
And if that’s what you’re trying to accomplish then you need to settle on a guy who can be the ultimate quarterback and I think Caleb Williams is that player but what I think’s Happening Here uh the teams that are praying Chicago passes on him and keeps Fields teams
Like Washington teams like the Patriots what they’re going to do is they’re going to continue to pump out all of these negative stories about Caleb Williams question marks about his dad question marks about you know issues is he really committed to playing in the
NFL is he going to be a guy that you can really build around because he had to do a lot of things and improv improvise and kind of going on off his own script at USC like you’ll hear all these negative reports that No One Believes but they’re
Putting them out there hoping they can convince the Bears to either stick with fields or take May because they all want Caleb Williams that kind of nonsense goes on constantly there are teams praying the Chicago Bears stick with Justin Fields because they want access to one of those two guys that’s how it
Works Washington commanders would die to get Caleb Willam gosh a Washington kid well they already went out and got U what’s his nuts you know the former Arizona Cliff King Cliff Kingsbury what’s his nuts what’s his nuts you know how much would Cliff Kingsbury love to work with Caleb
Williams you kidding me that’s a pretty good match oh that’s amazing yeah so I think that’s what’s going on but in the NFL you know how this works if you can operate with a high level quarterback who’s on his rookie deal that’s why the charges are so dumb they
Blew and wasted all that time with Justin uh um with Herbert when they had him on the rookie deal but they were trying to figure out the head coach and poor leadership and now you’re bring in Harbaugh and you make the right call and now you know you’re paying Herbert big
Time money you got to capitalize on that that window you can do a lot of great things like the Seahawks have done like other teams have done where you load up your team and you make a run before you get into the big time money for your quarterback yeah because we know that
NFL rules of the salary cap conspire against you when you’re paying big money to your quarterback well look at the Chiefs this year you know they’re they’re they’re they’re finding ways to win but they’ve got the restraints are starting to fill the impact because they’re paying M homes yeah that means
They had to say bye to Tyreek Hill which impacts the offense now they’re in a position where they may have to say bye to Chris Jones because of salary cap rests because they paying a quarterback and the question is how many Big Time Players can you lose before you’re
Unable to get over the hump it puts such a pressure on your drafting too I mean you cannot afford to miss in your drafts uh you got to get players out of there every year you can’t be successful longterm in the NFL unless you draft
Well you have to hit on your drafts yeah that’s why these whole situations in the draft when you when you get in a camp Miss Prospect at quarterback you simply have to take it how many times you see teams take risk in the first round and
They take a guy that doesn’t pan out and they end up blowing that first round pick you know when you take guys in the first round they’re expected to be starters and highly productive and when they’re not it damages you moving into the future where you look back and
You’re like where are the starters from our last two or three drafts and you can’t find them because you made mistakes that can set teams back for a long period of time yeah the Bears have made their share of mistakes and you look at it you think well they’re
Certainly capable of making one more yeah what I like about Williams is that and I noticed this down at PTO media day like he ain’t screwing around this is very serious to him he he he puts in the time and works on his craft I also like
The fact that he worked with uh um what’s his nuts at USC the the quarterback Whisperer who I think is a great quarterback coach who can work with them we’ve seen the success he’s have with other guys and they’ve just got to go out and you got to take
Williams if you don’t that you’re probably going to get fired because he’s going to go to washhington or he’ll end up else where and then he’ll turn out to be great and then your owners going be like why did we pass on him why did we stick with Justin fields and that’s not
A conversation you want to have with your owner no I’d love to hear the discussions inside the owner has to be wanting to take Williams if nothing if no other reason than economics right you would think yeah and you got I mean got right the Jacks would be
All in favor of a a lower paid quarterback see what what’s great about this the the teams in the NFL that have been bad for an extended period of time there’s usually reasons behind that and it’s because of poor leadership poor decisionmaking right or poor poor ownership or poor ownership so if the
Bears talk themselves into not taking Williams then you’re going to look back and be like well there’s another example of a franchise failing to do what was right and make the right decision yeah you know I mean you know sometimes when these teams get it figured out in the
Front office they start making good decisions look at the Texans right you know they get Dem o ry’s and then the CJ strad Falls in their lap and now they look like Geniuses and they’re gonna be set for a long period of time yeah and
And a lot of it’s luck with the draft I mean it’s like the Blazers yeah you get that number one pick you get wi Bama and you’re set you know whether you’re dumb or whatever and they were one ping pong ball away from getting him yeah yeah but
You know you get the third pick you take scoot we think it’s a good pick looks like a good pick but boy a lot is riding on that being a good pick well the other thing too like you talk about a lot a lot of guys make decisions off of preservation right if
You if you try to convince your owner that feels is the right choice and you don’t and he doesn’t continue to develop and become big time how you you’re Gonzo man yeah they’re gonna drop your ass quick all right we come back and we’ll dive into the All-Star Game you know
What can be done because what I saw yesterday was just a continuation of what’s happened now over the last decade plus where the game has no competition it wasn’t like that in the 80s and early 90s and the NBA’s got to find a way to get it back I think we’ve uncovered one
Of the big issues with why the players seem disinterested so we’ll kind of break it down and talk about it you got the Rip City drive with Dwight and Chad e all right Godfather let’s try and dig in we all know the All-Star game is not
What it used to be I think most people can see that with the lack of competition and yesterday they set an alltime record for points scored in an NBA Allstar game and the problem is no defense no competition and like I mentioned I grew up watching it in the
80s and early 90s where you know the players just approach the game differently they would show up they would want to compete and showcase and the game would be a little loose through the first three quarters but especially in the fourth quarter it was kind of known amongst the teams like okay we’re
G to lock it down and play basketball here and try to win and that I don’t know how we got to this point but the game is evolved into uh no competition guys not competing and not really playing to win and it’s kind of just a layup line out there it’s really weird
It’s bizarre how do we get to this point what happened I I think that’s really hard to pinpoint several factors but Chad I I my honest belief is that when you look back on players and you always talk about Larry Bird let’s talk Larry let tuck magic
Jordan those guys wanted to play in the NBA to compete to show people how good they were and to win basketball games Larry Bird said it many times the Celtics paid me to win basketball games that’s why they paid me not to not to score points not to rebound make passes
They paid me to win basketball games that was his focus and he did then whatever it took to win and I think a lot of players in previous eras played to win basketball games and to compete with other guys to show where they stood on the ladder of success as individual
Players I think today’s players an awful lot of them are playing for the money they like being NBA players they like the lifestyle they like the Adoration and they like the money competing I think that’s down the line a little bit and you see that with
Guys sitting out games gez I played a lot of minutes last night don’t want to play tonight uh load management all of those things got playing hurt um game’s changed and the players have changed L bird has always mentioned that famous quote artist Gilmore went to him once
When he was young in his career and said hey you can’t play like that and last a long time in this league he was talking about Larry diving for loose balls getting on the ground going into the stands because artist was just showing genuine care it’s like you got to take
Care of yourself so you can last and Bird’s like I understand what you’re saying but I I can’t play any other way but that way and if that means I got to sacrifice years off my career then so be it but I’ve got to play it that way well
And he did he didn’t play as long as he should have no because of the wear and tear on his body his back just couldn’t taken any longer from carrying those Celtic teams yeah no question here’s Brian wior ESPN talking about the All-Star Game them you know Adam Silver came at
The start of the Season he had three priorities for this year one he wanted players to stop resting as much and he put a financial penalty in for teams if players rested on National Television games where they weren’t injured that has gone way down there’s been a couple
Of of penalties done and teams have really knocked it off two he want wanted the players to really invest in the inseason tournament he offered 500,000 to the winning team 300,000 to second place we saw great buying and guys talking about the money all all the way
Through and three he wanted the All-Star Game to be more competitive made a whole bunch of changes went back to the east west format eliminated a lot of the pregame ceremony to let them focus on the game well two out of three ain’t bad there was no money involved and so the
Players just went out there and had fun Adam Silver didn’t seem too thrilled he pretty much W you know rushed through the Trophy presentation and expressed his annoyance but look I’ll show you the incentive and I’ll You can predict the result and that’s what happened here all right so I
Looked it up I think as it sits right now the losing team the participants get 25 Grand and the winning team the participants get 100 Grand not enough that’s not enough I that’s really that’s a shame I mean I’m never going to feel sorry for a millionaire but on that
Level for that game $100,000 is a little bit of a slap in the face for those guys those are the best of the best showcasing you need to increase the prize money for the players who are there because you know as well as I do where would the players rather be
Hanging out that weekend playing in the game or on vacation enjoying their All-Star break they’d rather be Cabo Maui somewhere like that yeah of course so you got to raise the money up make make the money more significant I I’ll give it up to this for the commissioner
I think the inseason tournament is I don’t think there’s any purpose in having it because garbage there’s no stakes in it whatsoever but the players did they cared because there was big money on the line and they they bought in more than I thought they would so
That was impressive so you’re gonna have they B more than the fans did goad they did yeah they’re gonna have to raise the prize money for the participants in the All-Star game I think that’s a good start to try and get guys to care but the problem is like you mentioned this
Is this is something that’s been going on for a long time you can’t make someone care about something if they don’t care about it you can’t make guys want to compete if that’s not their natural desire yeah and this has been look this has been going on in sports
For a long time right some guy everyone plays a sport for a different reason some guys play because they are they have a burning desire to compete and showcase their talents and be the best there are guys like that throughout my entire lifetime there are guys that play
Because they want money they like the money and so and they’re good at it so they do it nothing wrong with that no everyone’s got their own reasons for why they play the problem is is that you can’t manufacture fake competitive desire right it’s either you have it or
You don’t I’m just surprised that I would think um most people this is not just athletes but most people in the work that they do they they if they’re going to show up and do something they want to do it the right way so that they can
Be proud of the effort that they put pride in their job and their workplace yeah because I’m not just going to show up and do a radio show unless there’s a proper process in getting that show ready right yeah I don’t want to just show up and go through the motions I
Want to if I’m GNA do it I want to at least show some care um for the craft and I would think that a lot of guys would feel that way yeah your name is on it you want your name associated with something successful yeah I just don’t
Know how I would be impacted if if I were making that much money like Fu money like they do I mean I don’t know how would it distort me how would I approach it I don’t know that’s what I was going to ask you chat if we’ve
Settled on the way to motivate them would be money yeah how much I would say any you know I would say the numbers that you have for the inseason tournament would be appropriate okay half a million is what the winners of the inseason tournament got yeah I I would offer this the teams
In the inseason tournament feature three or four guys making huge money like all stars and then a bunch of guys who are probably vastly underpaid yeah who a half a million dollars meant something to them now bring the all stars together how much does a half a million dollars
Mean to those guys many of whom are on Max contracts or very close to max deals that motiv that might not be enough for these guys you got to give them a million but I always go back you’re right I always go back to what
Patrick Ying said we make a lot of money but we spend a lot of money yeah a lot of those guys making big money spend a lot too so they’re not going to shy away from a nice little cash grab or what you could do is you know make a ridiculous I
Mean make it even bigger than that yeah to where you have the winners walk away with I mean just a ridiculous number something that would grab their interest and the losers walk away with just a fraction in comparison up the stakes to where the winning team gets a serious
Number to walk away with and I guarantee you guys would compete that’s what I was going to say the prize jackpot is $100 million winner take all yeah winning team divides it all up coaches trainers players Etc everybody get it you know two and a half million bucks probably
The losing team would get nothing now there’d be some desperation in that game yeah because that’s serious money and those guys care about that yeah so that’s what I think at this stage that’s what you have to do you you up it to where the money’s so big that they’re
Like okay I guys we need that and then you you can that’s a good way to manufacture some competitive desires just to offer up a ridiculous number isn’t it a shame that that’s what you might have to do to get them to care about an All-Star game yeah because well
I all I can do is relate it to myself and look I sucked at basketball but I love playing it when we’d show up on the on the uh at the water tower hoop where we played constantly two on two three on three like when we stepped on the court
It was there was a a desire inside of you like whoever you were competing against like we’ve got to beat them well we have to do whatever it takes man don’t lose we just lost two games in a row we’ve got to get this game and it
Would piss you off if you didn’t win you’ve seen the Kobe Bryant take when he was asked about it many years ago and he said guys competed harder played harder in the pickup games at UCLA and that’s true that’s flat out true they’re played for nothing but they didn’t want to be
Embarrassed by these other guys and no Spectators no TV so there wasn’t quite the problem with losing the game or being embarrassed yeah yeah a lot of these athletes don’t like to be embarrassed either no so if you don’t go very hard if you don’t try then if you lose yeah
We didn’t try we didn’t try you remember kids when you on the playground that way they they would get pissed and they wouldn’t try yeah I didn’t really want I didn’t I didn’t care I didn’t really you know yeah I used to think that was punk
I’m like whatever man it’s a punk move no it’s a punk move in the NBA too you’re right we don’t care yeah so you’re just GNA quit then yeah you’re a loser uh yeah that’s where we’re at but it’s the game as it is right now it’s
You know and that’s the problem with the Pro Bowl and football is that you can’t can’t play fake football it doesn’t work like the Pro Bowl I can understand why guys might shy away from playing because the Pro Bowl used to be pretty nasty you know that football is a dangerous sport
You can get hurt out there yeah I can see why why am I playing an exhibition game where I can get hurt and damage my future earnings that’s a problem basketball’s a little bit different than that baseball is the last remaining All-Star game that’s legitimate yeah it’s a legit All-Star Game guys are
Competing there you go that’s what we have is that nice well we solved that problem didn’t we money all it takes is some of the NBA’s profit which I sent h100 million I was just pulled out of the sky that’d be no problem for them
Well how many how many players are on a All-Star team was it 14 15 and then plus staff and coaches how many would you have like 20 2 20 would be probably the most okay well let’s uh let’s do a little math here oh by the
Way Doc Rivers is so kind that he’s going to give his earnings to Adrien Griffin for stealing his job and taking a spot very nice well he should okay 10id 20 well 10 million divided by 20 is $500,000 a piece that’s a pretty big number yeah
That’s back to the playin number I don’t know if it’s enough you go to 20 million pot winter takes all one million buck a piece there you go that’s a pretty good number yeah and guys do care about that you know they got these incentives built in for a
Million bucks here whatever like that that matters to guys you can do a lot with a million bucks I’m assuming right yeah we’ll never know so you know it’s just hard for me because I I don’t want to be like that guy it’s like well I wasn’t like I used to be I
There were probably guys who didn’t care there were guys I know there were there were guys who played in the 80s who didn’t care but my favorite guys cared that’s why we love those guys right yeah is and that’s really what it comes down to like we love watching guys that where
You know like if they lose that game they’re going to feel as awful as you feel as a fan we love that where you can see a guy out there like I’m gonna give you everything I got to make it happen and I and that’s what I want to see I
Think that’s what every fan wants to see like do these guys care do they want to win yeah because when you see them out there competing like that it’s like okay like I said Chad if they don’t care I’m not going to care well it’s like MJ like
That my favorite dunk contest Back in 88 in Chicago MJ’s out there on the floor going up against Dominique I mean that’s the ultimate competition it’s like Jordan knew that Dominique was one of his contemporaries one of the best players in basketball and those were the two best dunkers and
Dominique and Jordan wanted to go head-to-head to Showcase what they could do but you’re right a lot of guys are afraid to get on that stage now because they don’t want to get embarrassed yeah that’s why Lebron never entered the dunk contest he didn’t want to lose
It he didn’t want to lose the dunk contest well don’t you respect Curry for going out there and shooting against Sabrina absolutely absolutely because he’ have taken a lot of gas if he to blow that to to her he had everything to lose but he
Was willing to go out there and do it against Sabrina which was cool yeah because if you as an NBA player if you lose to Sabrina then guys are going to pile on stuff what are you doing losing to Sabrina yeah I thought you were the best shooter in the world yeah you
Embarrassed the league by losing to her and he goes out there and does it I don’t know part of the reason I think he really likes her that they’re they’re friends you know and I I give him so much respect for taking an interest in the whole situation and being involved like that
Yeah you could see there was a mutual respect there for sure I enjoyed that I didn’t know what to expect going in but after watching him compete I’m like well I’m down with Sabrina and I’m down with Steph so I I like the way they went at
It which was cool and I I respect Dane for going out there he’s he’s established enough where he doesn’t have to go out there and compete in a three-point competition but that’s part of what made the the competitions back then great is that it wasn’t uh bench
Guys it was MJ Dominique Clyde Dr J Jeron Cy yeah in the three-point competition it was Larry Bird Danny a Dale Ellis all the best three-point Shooters in the game going up against each other yeah I like that that it was the Stars to bring you in well that’s yeah it’s why people
Watch people I can’t tell you in those days people talk more about the Saturday stuff than they did the game did you ever cover an All-Star weekend huh how many All-Star weekends did you cover a ton probably 10 yeah did you enjoy covering it back then
Or was it a hassle a lot more well it’s always a hassle in an event that big but yeah I enjoyed it I covered the last one in Indiana where Jordan won the dunk contest I was standing in the background on one of those Nike posters where
Jordan had a great dunk um it it was uh it was a lot more fun then because nobody knew what was going to happen I mean Jordan’s in the dunk contest there were guys there that you thought might be able to beat him Dr Jay was in that dunk contest oh
Yeah that’s pretty cool that’s pretty and that went back to the original ABA Dunk Contest which I believe was held in Denver and he that’s the one where he went from the uh free throw one that’s pretty sweet all right there were some dunkers in the ABA by the way oh yeah
That a lot of good dunkers too oh they had that deal was like almost like a uh a science deal where they were they were trying to come up with ways to simulate the force that Shaq had on the hoop when he brought it down and they had a hard
Time trying to figure out how much pressure Shaq had on the hoop when he brought that thing down yeah yeah that’s changed too Dar Dawkins busting backboard shattering him I remember Jerome Jerome Lane in college at Pittsburgh did that mhm and then they brought the uh you know the the
Breakaway rims Shaq brought a couple of Hoops down they had to continue to to up their game to protect the baskets because of the different dunkers yeah I was at a Blazer practice when Jerome kiry broke one at the Jewish Community Center sorry about that Jewish Community
Say Jerome was a strong guy too oh yeah yeah that’s money they’re going to have to up the Annie to get those guys to take interest in what’s going on there isn’t any other way is there no the other thing that jumped out of me too in some of these podcasts I listen
To different players George Carl is a hated coach amongst players in the NBA I couldn’t believe Carmel Anthony when he was talking about the first time he met Carl when when he was in Denver Carl went up to him and said before he’d even really introduced himself he’s like yeah
I think you’re kind of overrated and then started talking about the role he would have on the team who does that that’s a great way to start a relationship that’s that’s terrible what would possess a guy even say that George Carl’s an a-hole Kenyan Martin I think wanted to kill him like literally
Was going to beat him up because of disrespecting him Kenyan Martin had that edge by the way I’d be worried about that I think it was Kenyan Martin who someone played a joke on him and popped a bunch of popcorn in one of his new rigs yeah I remember
That he threatened to kill him he filled the entire car up with popcorn they put a popcorn machine in there and popped a bunch of popcorn and got butter on the seats yeah it did work out as well as they thought who who in their right mind
Would think oh let’s play a joke on Kenyan Martin that’s the wrong guy to miss with yeah like there are certain guys you can look at and be like oh he can take a joke not Kenyan I just wouldn’t mess with certain dudes that might be one near the top of
The list he he couldn’t play in today’s NBA he couldn’t there’s no way he could have I don’t think Xavier McDaniel could play in today’s game either either I mean you think grond green is something X was five times more crazy and X would be more than happy to throw down with you
That was a tough dude he was legit tough he was looking for that fight I told you I I heard a story once from a very reliable source after practice fight up in Seattle once between X and Dale Ellis the quote I was told was blood was shed
It was not X’s blood yeah okay that makes about that makes sense Charles Oakley was much the same way yeah he popped guys’s shoot arounds guys on the other team oh my favorite story Brian Grant told me in Vegas at the meetings Charles Barkley was holding
Court leaning back in his chair he had done something to piss off Oakley Oakley walks in walks right over to him open hand slaps his face knocks him back onto the ground stands over him and says you ever say anything about me to another woman I’ll kick your ass and then he
Walked out I was like that seems like the Oakley that uh yeah even Brian Grant told me he’s like one day he’s wrestling around on the ground trying to get a loose ball and this one guy was overly aggressive and he was getting ticked he looked over
He’s like oh well we’re good Oak and he he realized it was Oakley yeah and Brian Grant’s a tough guy yeah he is yeah all right Rip City Drive Dwight and Chad are you going high five or just regular segment here got callers on uh just checking in is it high five
Or Reg okay two callers on hold yeah two oh I hung up I hung up I’m here I’m here yeah you hear me down the line all right let’s go out to the phones 50324 0620 let’s go to Paul in West ly who’s joining us Paul welcome to the show what’s on your
Mind oh the Ace of space that’s a pump up song um guys I uh actually disagree of course I think money is the problem with the allstar game it’s it’s exactly the same problem with college sports money is ruined it you know you going back to the
80s with kiry and Jordan and Drexler and Nick they weren’t making 30 40$ 50 million per year um you know I remember when Clyde signed a $2 million per year contract that was considered a big deal well that’s less than the inflation for 2024 as far as salaries going up these
Guys don’t care about money um when they’re getting contracts like that they care about championships that’s how they’re going to be defined and so I was thinking why not just take it back to the fundamentals let’s make it three on- three tournaments each team submits their three players or three best
Players double elimination three on three tournament the winner the winning team would get like I don’t know five games added to their their win total and take away five losses so like it’s the Lakers and LeBron and ad and whoever else is on that team let’s say they’re
41 and 41 if the Lakers team win a three on three they would have Now 46 wins and 36 losses so ures they have a better record there’s an incentive to play hard to try to win make it playground make it win by two first team 21 win by two I
Think you get a lot of Buy in but money these guys don’t need money when they have 30 40 50 million per year guys well I would disagree with that I think people are always looking for more money regardless of how much they have in the
Bank I’ve never seen a rich guy yet who didn’t want more money no millionaires are trying to become billionaires yeah it’s just there you got to reach that level where you know it’s I’m not going to reach down and pick up a penny on the
Ground but I’ll reach down and pick up a $5 doll bill yeah it’s that sort of deal 100% And I’m not in favor of I don’t want three on three tournaments having impact on regular season standing I don’t want to see a three on three I don’t either doesn’t interest me
Let’s go out to preacher hey what’s up preacher you’re on fire away all right thank you um I’m picking up what the last caller is going down and of course any Pennies on the ground I pick them up for good luck so has um let me say this
Instead of doing three on three the allstar game was a joke um we’re GNA work kind of backwards here I’d rather do on five four teams five on five and literally the number one team that wins three games in a row just like pick up basketball either 21 or 11 that group
There is the allstar so hence if you win whatever you win that when you choose the allstar I would think that would help in in the competition he you want to be an All-Star well go with your team five on five there could be twoam teams
Playing at the same time two teams over there playing at the same time long story short I really enjoyed Daman L winning that Allstar I had watched Clyde Drexler literally go after it against Michael Jordan for a long time and he lost to it against Magic Johnson and
That was kind of a give me year because Clyde should have won it yeah and he should have right exactly and he had you so Dame either he’s in a Milwaukee uni or he’s in a Blazer uniform he still is bleeding black white and red and I
Enjoyed that and I actually feel sorry for the Blazer organization that they missed out on that Que in regards to man we really gave away a three-point shooter that one and now an All-Star MVP so however G got it his look didn’t look very satisfying he kind of looked up
Like yeah I just got it because I’m the point guard and I got the ball and I’m shooting it and that is the new era of ball basketball and I hate to say it I see in the playgrounds all the time that’s why I don’t even play pickup
Basketball anymore because I’m not going to sit there and grab some guy’s three-point long rebound and then give it back to them and shoot it again and again it’s just ridiculous basketball I agree and that’s why there’s something to be said for that Larry Bird was talking over the weekend and he was
Talking about how it’s amazing when you get the ball movement and you get a bunch of different guys involved good things seem to happen yeah yeah it’s still a team game people don’t want to admit that and more and more it’s gotten away from that it’s a ISO one-on-one
Game now let’s go out to North Portland Mike wants to join Mike appreciate the phone call you’re up on the rip to drive fire away so how do you fix Allstar Weekend it’s real simple Chad you you have you have the best players from the East
Versus the best players in the west and and guess what the winner of the game their team gets home court for the finals for their conference oh oh by the way let let’s get the actual bet team from the East and West let’s have people who know what they’re doing and talking
About appoint these allars isn’t it by fan vote now what are we so like La is always gonna have Five Guys in New York’s always gonna have Five Guys in or by association guys from New York what are we doing it’s a popularity contest I know it’s usually the best players and
That’s how it usually shakes out have the game keep it the same don’t do this whole most popular player in the league gets to draft their team that was ridiculous don’t I mean keep it East versus West make the game matter and have people who know what they’re
Talking about point out starters that’s what I got guys there you go it would be kind of cool if they get a representation from each team they used to that used to be mandatory You’ need to you know enlarge the size of the rosters but there’s nothing wrong with
That either no I would like that you would have a representative from at least one player from each team there should be a player on there that every city in the league can root for you know their own guy yeah I agree with that who would be the Blazers Allstar this
Year Sim Anthony Simons yeah and people would tune in to watch him play yeah hope that he would get into the game because there’s slot more guys of course they all get in now because coaches are afraid to sit a guy the whole game in an All-Star game that’s not going to work
Yeah well you brought me out here and you didn’t play me yeah I would not play well in the locker room yeah all right big thanks to Michael shacker to Craig Chek and Alex Brink Justin Myers will have uh Rip City mornings tomorrow at 6 and then Dwight and I are
Back from 3 to 6 with the Rip City Drive be here or be nowhere yeah they played they played 17 Innings before they just called it a tie I heard about it right no thanks
