April 19, 2023 • 28 mins
The move the Penguins needed to make, was made. But we'll save our thoughts on it for when Chris comes back next week. In the meantime, Corey shows you who he thinks will win the Stanley Cup, now that he doesn't have a dog in the fight. Also, the solid start for the Pirates, some quick NFL notes before next week's draft show, and more!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Top notch sports talk you'll love fromtwo guys you know him love. Welcome
to the chop Talk Podcast. Ohmy God, episodes from the Chalk Talk
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Podcast on consecutive weeks. It's amid April miracle. I know that's exactly
what you're thinking, and I wishyou didn't have to think that. But
we are back next week finally gettingthings in check here, So hallelujah again.
This is the chalk Talk Podcast inconjunction with Fox Sports Wheeling Just me
this week, Corey clude Chris Thoburnfeeling a little bit under the weather,
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so just me again. But goodbit to get to here, including a
pretty hot start here for the PittsburghPirates, able to keep it going over
the course of the weekend and evenduring this week out in Colorado. So
we'll talk about that a little bit, and then we'll also talk about some
stuff leading in in two next week'sNFL Draft, And don't forget, Chris
and I will have our NFL Draftshow where we predict all the thirty one
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picks in the first round and willalso throw in the second round pick for
the Steelers that they acquired in theChase Claypool trade. Because we want to
make it thirty two somehow, butMiami forfeited their first round pick because of
tamperings, so we might as welljust throw in the thirty second overall pick
because why not. So look forwardto that next week. So big thing
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going on here though, the StanleyCup Playoffs getting underway on Mondays, So
I just want to do some quickthoughts here. On the first couple of
days of the Stanley Cup playoffs.You had Carolina defeating the New York Islanders
on Monday two to one, finalscore in that one in a really close
game here, And when I mademy predictions here for the first round and
beyond, I had a really toughtime going back and forth on who was
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going to win this series because it'sgoing to be that much of a scrap.
The only guarantee in this series isthat a guy named Sebastian Aho is
going to win this series. It'sjust a matter of which Sebastian Aho.
But Carolina able to come through righthere. Great stuff from both goaltenders,
but Anti Ranta just doing a littlebit better right there to keep Carolina in
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the lead. Bruin's beating the Panthersthree to one in their Game one,
and I knew the Panthers were goingto have some fight, and they're going
to have some fight throughout this series. But Boston's just two daring good.
I know, I know, it'slike no Dust Charlock, but Boston is
just way too good. When yougot Poster Knock playing out of his mind
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all season long and a good teamaround him and two good goaltenders at that,
Boston's just way too good. Andyou'll see that in my predictions here
coming up in just a few minutes. But Bruin's able to win Game one
against the Panthers three to one,and then on Monday, both of the
other games out West finishing in overtimesome way, shape or form, the
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Wild beating the Stars three to twoin double overtime, Ryan Hartman coming through
with the overtime heroics to get theWild to win. And this was another
series that I kind of went backand forth on here, because these are
two really good solid teams going atit here, both with our fair share
of young star power, both withsome pretty solid goaltending as well. So
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I definitely went back and forth onthis series as well. But Minnesota coming
out with the edge in Game one, and then La the King's able to
stun the Oilers four to three inovertime on Monday. So a good bit
of thrilling stuff for you to enjoyfor a Night one of the Stanley Cup.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs Night two lastnight not so much. All four
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of the games were kind of sortof a blowout. You had the Rangers
being the Devil's five to one.Not not to spoil anything when it comes
to my predictions here, but yougotta tip your cap to New Jersey being
as good as they did. Youjust know that all those young guys are
gonna get a very hard lesson onwhat it's like to be in the Stanley
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Cup Playoffs, especially against the NewYork Rangers team that is out for blood.
So definitely a hard first lesson therefor all those young guns with the
Devils, and you got positive contributionsif you're the Rangers from Vladimir Tarasenko,
and that's really going to be thekey right here. Tarasenko and Kane,
they kind of gotta get on thesame level of guys like Kryder and so
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many others because and Panarin as well, because they're plus minus to end the
regular season not where you want itto be exactly, So good to see
Tarasenko with the goal came with theassistant Game one making some positive contributions in
that Game one. With the DevilsTampa Bay making easy work out of Toronto
last night seven to three, thefinal score in Game one of that series.
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I don't think it's going to bethat easy for them the way hit
the rest of the way out inthis series. But Toronto's got to show
some better fight or at the veryleast wake up a little bit earlier.
That way, it's not too littletoo late for you to make this competitive.
And then Tampa Bay pulls away again, because that's exactly what happened in
that game, see because because Torontofallen behind trying to claw their way back
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in the second period, but thenTampa Bay woke up and blowout Central.
So gott to do a little bitbetter right there, if you're Toronto and
you want the first round misery tostop. Winnipeg smoking Vegas last night five
to one. A bit of aquiet first period in that game, but
then Winnipeg just turned it on.Adam Lowry with a couple of goals in
the game showing exactly why Winnipeg iskind of a dark horse pick for a
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team to maybe make a run tothe conference finals, because yeah, they're
not flashy by any means, butthey played the game pretty well. Not
to mention you want to you haveone of the better goalies in Hellabuck between
the pipes for you, So it'seasy to see why the Jets are,
like I said, that dark horsepick for a team you wouldn't expect to
make it to the conference finals,but it could definitely happen for them,
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So don't sleep I want to pegtoo much here. And then Seattle with
the stunning Game one win over Coloradothree to one, and this is another
series where you can't really underestimate theunderdog because Seattle is better than people think,
La is better than people think Colorado. Bear not sleep on them too
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much, not saying they will,but they definitely got to get together for
Game two. So the first gamesof each of the first round series in
the books here as we now gointo my predictions here for the Stanley Cup
playoffs. Now, the only reasonwhy we couldn't do them last week was
because a we were still in theregular season and b there were still some
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things that we sorted out with seatings. So by no means well, the
game ones of each series affect whatI have in these predictions here. Made
these early enough, so not tryingto cheat you here. So starting with
Boston and Florida, I know Floridais going to show some fight here in
this series. They had to showsome fight to scrape and claw their way
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into the playoffs here. But Bostonhas the edge and darn near everything when
you look at things, and notto mention, like I said, two
two goalies and lightness Allmark and JeremySwayman, who are just playing absolutely brilliant.
So as with as much, eventhough Florida is going to pack a
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punch, I still say Boston makesit a clean sweep over Florida. No
President's Trophy curse to be had here, at least in the first round.
Carolina and the New York Islanders.This was one of the series where I
went back and forth on who wasgoing to win. In the end,
I have Carolina over the Islanders insix. It's kind of a mixed bag
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with special teams for both of theseteams. Not good power plays but solid
penalty kills for both. It's justthat Carolina has been the more consistent team
throughout the season and better team onthe road as well. That's definitely going
to be key when you're trying towin along see series like this, and
if you can get the kind ofeffort that and that Anti Ranta showed has
showed you in Game one between thepipes and even Frederick Anderson, you're going
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to be in good shape in thisseries. So Carolina over the Islanders in
six. The Dallas Minnesota series,I say this is going to go the
distance, and I say Dallas overMinnesota in seven. As we saw in
Game one, two solid teams goingat it. Wild will show some fight
right here, especially winning that gamein double overtime. But the Stars have
a considerable edge in special teams,and I feel like that's going to carry
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them here in this series. Youcan't really lean on Jaconinger too much,
but I feel like they're special team'sedge will be just enough here to propel
the Stars past the Wild and inthe second round, and then you have
Edmonton and La I got the Oilersin six. I mean the Kings,
like I said, they showed they'rebetter than people think. But the Oiler's
offense is lethal, is as lethalas anybody else in the league. I
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mean, when you have eleven playersin the regular season scoring over one hundred
points and the top two are ConnorMcDavid and Leon Dreysidel, you've got some
good stuff for working for yet andthe Oilers actually have some goaltending for once.
That was kind of the thing holdingthem back for the last couple of
years. Now they have it anda good young guy in Stewart Skinner.
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So not the start of the seriesthat you wanted if you're the Oilers,
but still's still some time here toget it right, and I think they
will get it right. I sayEdmonton over LA and six the Rangers and
New Jersey. I'm actually gonna havethe Rangers in five hats off of the
Devil's all the young guys coming togetherand having a spectacular season, but the
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rain. It's clear that the Rangersare in win or bust mode. When
you make moves to bring in PatrickKane and Vladimir Tarasenko, you have Stanley
Cup on the brain. Now,like I said earlier, you need a
little bit better contributions from Kane andTarasenko. But you were able to get
that in Game one, so there'llstill be a New York team heading into
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the second round. It's just theRangers over the Island instead of the Islanders.
Rangers over the Devils. In five, Tampa and Toronto, I say
that series goes a distance as well, but Tampa is going to come out
on top and the misery will continuefor Toronto in the first round. You
just simply put Tampa Bay is builtfor the playoffs. I know Toronto is
a little bit better defensively this season, but Tampa is built for the playoffs.
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It's just gonna be a little bitof a buzz saw because you run
into Boston next. But Tampa shouldbe able to beat Toronto. It's gonna
go to the distance, but Lightningshould come out on top and then the
big upset here. I'm gonna ridethe hype train with Winnipeg. I have
them over Vegas in six. Vegashas to hope that the offense is going
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to be efficient here, and itdidn't get off to a good start in
this series last night, so gottafix that here if you want to make
this series. Because the Jets areso solid defensively, like I said,
has one of the bigger, oneof the better, rather goaltenders in the
lead Egan Hella Buck. So I'lldrink the Winnipeg coool aid here. I
have them beating Vegas in six,and then Colorado, I have them beating
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Seattle. But I'm gonna make thisthe gentlemen sweep here, just like the
Rangers in Devil series. I havethe Abs over the krack in in five.
And it's just going to be asimilar case to the Rangers Devil series
because all those young guys on thecrack and they're gonna learn that the Stanley
Cup playoffs ain't sweep And when yougot a team like Colorado looking to be
like Tampa the last couple of yearsin Pittsburgh a few years ago and try
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to run it back, they shouldbe able to take care of business in
this series and bounce back. SoI have Colorado over Seattle in five.
So moving on to round two,this is going to be a slugfest here
between Boston and Tampa Bay. SoI have this series going the distance and
I have Boston beating Tampa. Twogood teams built right here for the playoffs.
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It's just tough to unseat Boston andnot to mention, they could probably
exploit Tampa's penalty kill, which hasbeen pretty much mid the entire season.
So Boston over Tampa in seven,and they will meet the New York Rangers
in the Eastern Conference Finals. Ihave then beating Carolina in six. Heavy
goaltending advantage here for the Rangers,and that's really what it's going to come
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down to, because I feel likethese two teams mirror each other in terms
of in terms of style of playand consistency throughout the year. It's just
we all know how important goaltending isin these playoffs and Rangers have the advantage
in that department. So I havethe Rangers over Carolina in six. They'll
be meeting Boston in the Eastern ConferenceFinals at West Colorado and Dallas meeting in
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the second round. We all knowsome of the history between these two teams
in the late nineties. That's kindof how I got introduced to the Avalanche
because my dad's an Avalanche fan,and it seemed like every other year they
were meeting up in the playoffs.So that rivalry is going to be renewed,
and I have Colorado over Dallas.This series will go the distance.
But I have Colorado in seven.Lot of close games, and the Aps
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have the edge when it comes towinning in close games. So I have
Colorado over Dallas in seven, andI have them taken on Edmonton in the
Western Conference Finals. I have themover Winnipeg in six. Winnipeg, like
I said, very solid defensively,but that Edmonton offense is just going to
be way too powerful powerful, wow, powerful, and the decorps a little
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bit better here and a little bitbetter goaltending like I mentioned in the round
one. So Edmonton will be goingon to face Colorado in the Western Conference
Finals. So in those Conference finals, I have Boston over the Rangers in
six. You know the Rangers aregoing to try to make it tough right
here, but I just can't getover Boston's goaltending here. When you have
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two good ones, you're gonna behard to beat right here, just as
Depens when they had Flurry and Murray. So Boston meets up with Colorado,
who I have them beating Edmonton insix. Apps have to find a way
to defensively to cool the Oilers off, but I say they're going to find
something to stop them here. Plusbetter goaltending match up there as well.
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So Boston and Colorado in the final, I'm gonna be rooming like heck for
Colorado because I got I do nothave a dog in the fight, but
I have Boston over Colorado in seven. Just goes back to the two good
goalies point. Boston's considerably better onthe penalty killed than Colorado. When you
have a historic team like this,you expect a lot out of them,
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and I think Boston has what ittakes to live up to those expectations and
ride it all the way to aStanley Cup parade in Beantown. So it's
gonna be fun to see all thisplay out, but in the end Boston
hoisting the Stanley Cup and Colorado willwatch in disappointment as they will fall short
and running it back. So goingfrom the ice over to the diamond here
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will go to Major League Baseball anda pretty solid start here for the Pirates.
Continuing, of course, over theweekend four game series in Saint Louis,
you're able to get the split,maybe should have got the series win
if we're being honest here. Ofcourse, Sunday not exactly the best game
in terms of late game and willCrow going into pitch. Will Crow just
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ain't hit at the very least inlate game situations. Haven't really been high
on him to begin with, butit just doesn't do many favors when you
blow a save like that. Butmake no mistake, there was still a
lot to like in this series splitwith St. Louis. Good to see
Vince Velasquez finally figure it out onThursday in Game one, the five nothings
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shut out when they're six innings,six innings pitched, if I can talk,
three hits, two walk, sixstrackouts, And this is what I've
been loving out of the starting rotationhere, more quality starts. It seemed
like last year it was such astruggle for them to get past five innings,
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and now, at least for thebeginning part of this season, you
see the starters going deeper and deepermore consistently, and that is going to
pay dividends the rest of the wayright here, and take some pressure off
of a bullpen that really needs toshow me something this year. So great
stuff from the rotation, even fromJohan Oviato because he had a really good
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outing Friday night despite the three nothingloss. It's just the bullpen kind of
ruining things as well. Dwayne UnderwoodJunior not looking sharp. So then you
go to Saturday, the six tothree win for the Pirates in ten innings,
pretty thrilling stuff. Good to seeAndrew McCutcheon blast the go ahead home
run in order for him to getthe win, just bring them back,
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all kinds of nostalgia as you wouldexpect with Kutch being back in the Black
and Gold. But the contributions fromRodolpho Castro in the win Thursday and in
the win on Saturday, because itwas Castro that pretty much saved the game
there for the Pirates. They weredown three two, but it was Castro's
double the top of the eighth thattied the game up. Was able to
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send a text or endings and thenyou see the heroics from the Cutcheon and
then Castro is able to get anotherRBI in the tenth to make it the
sixth of three score that ended upbeing the final. But these contributions from
Rodolfo Castro is exactly what we needout of him. We're not expecting him
to set the world on fire,but you got to be consistent. While
Cruz is out and Castro answered thecall in that series, so tip of
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the cap to him, and thenof course the heartbreak of Sunday and Will
Crow, like I said, justain't it. There is still a lot
to like from the bullpen though.I mean, Colin Holderman, at least
at the moment, has been verytough to hit and has definitely earned that
setup role. But Will Crow's gotto show me something, Zastrisney, He's
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really gotta show me something as well. My feelings on the bullpen are better,
but they still have a good bitof work to do. So then
we had a little further out westand some rocky mountain highs so far in
Colorado for the Pirates. You couldhave made the joke on Monday that the
Steelers beat the Broncos fourteen to three. But definitely a pretty good butt whooping
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by the Pirates here as rich Hillgets his turn to figure it out.
I mean, when your team scoredsix runs in the second inning, that's
pretty easy to do. But RichHill solid outing six innings, six hits
with just one ear and run,two walk, seven strikeouts, and again
a starter on the Pirates with anotherquality start in this early part of the
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season, which was so tough todo last year. Then last night a
little bit more work to do forthe Pirates because Colorado jumped out to the
three nothing lead after one inning.But that four run inning in the fourth
just what the doctor ordered. Twohome runs from Jackson Winski doesn't hurt either,
So this is kind of what Iexpected how the Pirates here in this
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series against Colorado. They needed topounce on a team that just really hasn't
been known for their pitching the lastfew years. And Urania, you're just
looking ugly in that outing last night. You gotta strike while the iron's hot
in that scenario, and the Pirateshave been able to do that the last
couple of nights, and they're offto a good start with it right now,
because as of three twenty two thisafternoon, as I'm recording this,
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we are not out of the topof the first yet, and the Pirates
are up three nothing already. Checkthat they're not leaning five nothing in the
top of the first two people ableto score on a Jason Delay single.
You love to see it. Youjust you just hope that what happened to
Colorado last night doesn't happen to thePirates today. But hopefully they can keep
it going right here because they justgot done with the top of the first,
so Colorado able to stop the bleedingat least for the moment. But
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five nothing already in the first.She'sh you talk about some momentum to build
right here, just beating up onColorado before you come back home. With
Cincinnati waiting for you at P andC Park, you better ride the wave
of momentum while you still got it, your pirates, because this is a
pretty good opportunity to make noise,so fingers crossed they are able to do
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that and other stuff around the league. Fortunately, Tampa Bay is undefeated no
more and ended up losing three tofour after their pretty historic start, but
still looking all right, especially afteran eight nothing win over Cincinnati today.
And the AL East kind of agauntlet here, all teams at five hundred
or better, so definitely gonna bea tough one here, at least in
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the beginning part of the season.And now you got to focus on Atlanta
here when it comes to winning streaks. Winning eighth straight heading into the day,
and this is just kind of whatyou expected from the Braves here,
just just able to jump up tothe lead right here in the AL East
and try to pounce on whatever disarrayNew York is in and Philly is in.
So some rather interesting stuff in thesefirst couple of weeks here of baseball
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season. Now moving on here tosome stuff in the NFL. Jalen Hurts
one rich man nowadays becoming the richestin the NFL in terms of annual salary
five years, two fifty five milliondollars extension, one hundred and seventy nine
million of that guaranteed. And youjust love the story here of how Jalen
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has been able to grow into thequarterback that he is. Really should have
won the MVP this year, butto no dice, but just amazing stuff
out of him after getting bench atAlabama, making a name for himself again
in Oklahoma, then taking the reinsin Philly, and having the success that
he's been able to have in thesefirst couple of seasons. Now, it's
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definitely gonna lock up something for agood bit of the future here for Philly.
I know they lost a good bitin free agency, but at least
you solved your quarterback woes and youhave a pretty darn good one now with
a deal like this, you gottawonder what this means for Lamar Jackson,
does he finally cave in on notgetting not wanting rather a guaranteed contract.
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I don't think that desire is gonnawane at the moment. I know Lamar's
pretty dead set on getting a prettybig contract like Deshaun Watson, but eventually
he's gonna have to do it.I'm not saying it's going to turn into
a Levon Bell situation where he missestime and a lot of time at that,
but you got to figure out somethingbefore it gets too ugly, and
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it's gonna be a little bit harderfor Baltimore to give you that kind of
money after giving all the money thatthey gave OBJ. So Lamar Jackson really
has to consider swallowing his pride,actually getting an agent and just trying to
do some damage control, or justhope that Baltimore is able to come through
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with the trade, because their generalmanager did say that they have no problem
drafting a quarterback late in the firstround. So we'll see what is able
to come up that. Elsewhere Washington, it looks like a sale of the
team is going to be going throughhere for quite a few billions of dollars.
But a league with no Dan Snyderis already a better league. The
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disarray he's left this franchise in thetoxic culture that he built. I said
it a couple of times, howduring the Deshaun Watson scandal, how Houston
was probably giving Washington to run fortheir money for the most inepped franchise in
the league. And now you alreadyhave things looking greener here for Washington in
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the future. Now, you definitelygot to fix some of the team here,
but just better overall ownership is alreadya step in the right direction.
And not to spoil too much aboutmy NFL Draft first round predictions next week,
but I do have Washington pulling offsomething here because you know, with
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this new ownership group, they wantto make a splash, and I think
the Commanders are at least going tomake a pretty decent sized splash in round
one. You'll see what I meannext week. But new ownership for the
Commander's glory, Laurie, hallelujah.It can only go up from here,
of course, not the new yet. On the whole. Aaron Rodgers is
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he going to the Jets thing?But when you hear him say that he
was ninety percent set on retiring beforethe big Darkness retreat and then suddenly wants
to go to the Jets. Youcan only imagine how scared the Jets are
to want to commit to Aaron Rodgers. That's probably what's holding everything up here.
So until here's something new, we'renot really going to be talking about
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this because just pretty much dead stuffat the moment until there is some actual
movement. And then the Steelers makingnot necessarily the biggest move out there,
but it could be a solid oneif Alan Robinson is able to turn around,
had his fair share of struggles lastyear with the Rams, but acquired
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by the Steelers in the midst ofan exchange of seventh round picks. I
mean kind of low risk, highaward and high reward if you look at
it closely. Here. I mean, if it works out great, you
have three viable options for Kenny pickat the throw too. If not,
Alan Robinson might be Robinson might bewashed. But at least you only gave
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up a seventh round pick. Sosome solid moves still being made here by
the Steelers and looking to see whatthey do next weekend in the draft,
and before we close out this episodehere some big news concerning West Liberty University
men's basketball, of course, ridingall the way to the national Championship game
before losing Nova Southeastern and Jim Crutchfieldin that title game. Well, of
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course, he had Bryce Butler enteringthe transfer portal. He's going to be
going to College of Charleston now,following in the footsteps of Dalton Boland and
Pat Robinson. But now you haveone of their assistant coaches, Michael Lambertie,
going over to Western Colorado and takingover the head coaching duties there.
Does this move suck? Hell?Yeah it does because Bertie is good pete
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and has a good basketball mind,but just is just a proven winner,
was able to make the finals asa player, make the finals as a
coach, and now takes over aprogram not exactly looking the best, but
maybe he is able to instill thatwinning culture from West Liberty into Western Colorado's
so hate to see a guy likethat leave, But I'm wishing Coach Bertie
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all the best because he definitely deservesomething like that. And I'm keeping my
fingers crossed for a non conference matchupbetween Westlibe and Western Colorado at the a
SRC because that'd be a pretty goodhomecoming, but all the best to Michael
Lambertie as he takes over the headcoaching duties at Western Colorado. So I'll
put an end to this week's episodeof the Chop Talk podcast again. Next
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week is our NFL Draft extravaganza whereme and Chris predict the first round and
we'll even throw in the thirty secondoverall pick because it's held by the Steelers
and I just want to make thirtytwo picks like we normally would, so
tune in for that next week.I got most of my predictions figured out.
Of course, it is going tochange throughout the course in the next
few days, but I'm pretty deadset on most of the picks that I
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have made here. Chris told mewhen we got done recording last week that
he's expecting this to be one ofthe craziest first rounds we're ever going to
see, if not the craziest firstround we'll ever see. So I'm eager
to see what he's got up asleepfor his predictions, So make sure you're
tuning in for that, and stayin tune with past episodes and everything in
between with the iHeartRadio app Spreaker ApplePodcasts wherever you get your podcasts, and
(27:30):
don't forget about the talkback Mike onthe free iHeartRadio app because you could sound
off on anything we talk about andyou just might hear your opinions on a
future episodes, So make sure toutilize that if you listen to us that
way. But in the meantime,I'm Corey Glue. Thanks so much for
listening to the Chalk Talk podcasts.Have yourself a great rest of the week
weekend. We'll see you next weekfor the big NFL Draft show, and
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until next time, keep calm andchalk on
Top notch sports talk you'll love fromtwo guys you know him love. Welcome
to the chop Talk Podcast. Ohmy God, episodes from the Chalk Talk
(00:24):
Podcast on consecutive weeks. It's amid April miracle. I know that's exactly
what you're thinking, and I wishyou didn't have to think that. But
we are back next week finally gettingthings in check here, So hallelujah again.
This is the chalk Talk Podcast inconjunction with Fox Sports Wheeling Just me
this week, Corey clude Chris Thoburnfeeling a little bit under the weather,
(00:46):
so just me again. But goodbit to get to here, including a
pretty hot start here for the PittsburghPirates, able to keep it going over
the course of the weekend and evenduring this week out in Colorado. So
we'll talk about that a little bit, and then we'll also talk about some
stuff leading in in two next week'sNFL Draft, And don't forget, Chris
and I will have our NFL Draftshow where we predict all the thirty one
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picks in the first round and willalso throw in the second round pick for
the Steelers that they acquired in theChase Claypool trade. Because we want to
make it thirty two somehow, butMiami forfeited their first round pick because of
tamperings, so we might as welljust throw in the thirty second overall pick
because why not. So look forwardto that next week. So big thing
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going on here though, the StanleyCup Playoffs getting underway on Mondays, So
I just want to do some quickthoughts here. On the first couple of
days of the Stanley Cup playoffs.You had Carolina defeating the New York Islanders
on Monday two to one, finalscore in that one in a really close
game here, And when I mademy predictions here for the first round and
beyond, I had a really toughtime going back and forth on who was
(01:56):
going to win this series because it'sgoing to be that much of a scrap.
The only guarantee in this series isthat a guy named Sebastian Aho is
going to win this series. It'sjust a matter of which Sebastian Aho.
But Carolina able to come through righthere. Great stuff from both goaltenders,
but Anti Ranta just doing a littlebit better right there to keep Carolina in
(02:16):
the lead. Bruin's beating the Panthersthree to one in their Game one,
and I knew the Panthers were goingto have some fight, and they're going
to have some fight throughout this series. But Boston's just two daring good.
I know, I know, it'slike no Dust Charlock, but Boston is
just way too good. When yougot Poster Knock playing out of his mind
(02:38):
all season long and a good teamaround him and two good goaltenders at that,
Boston's just way too good. Andyou'll see that in my predictions here
coming up in just a few minutes. But Bruin's able to win Game one
against the Panthers three to one,and then on Monday, both of the
other games out West finishing in overtimesome way, shape or form, the
(02:59):
Wild beating the Stars three to twoin double overtime, Ryan Hartman coming through
with the overtime heroics to get theWild to win. And this was another
series that I kind of went backand forth on here, because these are
two really good solid teams going atit here, both with our fair share
of young star power, both withsome pretty solid goaltending as well. So
(03:21):
I definitely went back and forth onthis series as well. But Minnesota coming
out with the edge in Game one, and then La the King's able to
stun the Oilers four to three inovertime on Monday. So a good bit
of thrilling stuff for you to enjoyfor a Night one of the Stanley Cup.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs Night two lastnight not so much. All four
(03:43):
of the games were kind of sortof a blowout. You had the Rangers
being the Devil's five to one.Not not to spoil anything when it comes
to my predictions here, but yougotta tip your cap to New Jersey being
as good as they did. Youjust know that all those young guys are
gonna get a very hard lesson onwhat it's like to be in the Stanley
(04:04):
Cup Playoffs, especially against the NewYork Rangers team that is out for blood.
So definitely a hard first lesson therefor all those young guns with the
Devils, and you got positive contributionsif you're the Rangers from Vladimir Tarasenko,
and that's really going to be thekey right here. Tarasenko and Kane,
they kind of gotta get on thesame level of guys like Kryder and so
(04:29):
many others because and Panarin as well, because they're plus minus to end the
regular season not where you want itto be exactly, So good to see
Tarasenko with the goal came with theassistant Game one making some positive contributions in
that Game one. With the DevilsTampa Bay making easy work out of Toronto
last night seven to three, thefinal score in Game one of that series.
(04:53):
I don't think it's going to bethat easy for them the way hit
the rest of the way out inthis series. But Toronto's got to show
some better fight or at the veryleast wake up a little bit earlier.
That way, it's not too littletoo late for you to make this competitive.
And then Tampa Bay pulls away again, because that's exactly what happened in
that game, see because because Torontofallen behind trying to claw their way back
(05:15):
in the second period, but thenTampa Bay woke up and blowout Central.
So gott to do a little bitbetter right there, if you're Toronto and
you want the first round misery tostop. Winnipeg smoking Vegas last night five
to one. A bit of aquiet first period in that game, but
then Winnipeg just turned it on.Adam Lowry with a couple of goals in
the game showing exactly why Winnipeg iskind of a dark horse pick for a
(05:39):
team to maybe make a run tothe conference finals, because yeah, they're
not flashy by any means, butthey played the game pretty well. Not
to mention you want to you haveone of the better goalies in Hellabuck between
the pipes for you, So it'seasy to see why the Jets are,
like I said, that dark horsepick for a team you wouldn't expect to
make it to the conference finals,but it could definitely happen for them,
(06:00):
So don't sleep I want to pegtoo much here. And then Seattle with
the stunning Game one win over Coloradothree to one, and this is another
series where you can't really underestimate theunderdog because Seattle is better than people think,
La is better than people think Colorado. Bear not sleep on them too
(06:21):
much, not saying they will,but they definitely got to get together for
Game two. So the first gamesof each of the first round series in
the books here as we now gointo my predictions here for the Stanley Cup
playoffs. Now, the only reasonwhy we couldn't do them last week was
because a we were still in theregular season and b there were still some
(06:42):
things that we sorted out with seatings. So by no means well, the
game ones of each series affect whatI have in these predictions here. Made
these early enough, so not tryingto cheat you here. So starting with
Boston and Florida, I know Floridais going to show some fight here in
this series. They had to showsome fight to scrape and claw their way
(07:04):
into the playoffs here. But Bostonhas the edge and darn near everything when
you look at things, and notto mention, like I said, two
two goalies and lightness Allmark and JeremySwayman, who are just playing absolutely brilliant.
So as with as much, eventhough Florida is going to pack a
(07:26):
punch, I still say Boston makesit a clean sweep over Florida. No
President's Trophy curse to be had here, at least in the first round.
Carolina and the New York Islanders.This was one of the series where I
went back and forth on who wasgoing to win. In the end,
I have Carolina over the Islanders insix. It's kind of a mixed bag
(07:46):
with special teams for both of theseteams. Not good power plays but solid
penalty kills for both. It's justthat Carolina has been the more consistent team
throughout the season and better team onthe road as well. That's definitely going
to be key when you're trying towin along see series like this, and
if you can get the kind ofeffort that and that Anti Ranta showed has
showed you in Game one between thepipes and even Frederick Anderson, you're going
(08:09):
to be in good shape in thisseries. So Carolina over the Islanders in
six. The Dallas Minnesota series,I say this is going to go the
distance, and I say Dallas overMinnesota in seven. As we saw in
Game one, two solid teams goingat it. Wild will show some fight
right here, especially winning that gamein double overtime. But the Stars have
a considerable edge in special teams,and I feel like that's going to carry
(08:33):
them here in this series. Youcan't really lean on Jaconinger too much,
but I feel like they're special team'sedge will be just enough here to propel
the Stars past the Wild and inthe second round, and then you have
Edmonton and La I got the Oilersin six. I mean the Kings,
like I said, they showed they'rebetter than people think. But the Oiler's
offense is lethal, is as lethalas anybody else in the league. I
(08:58):
mean, when you have eleven playersin the regular season scoring over one hundred
points and the top two are ConnorMcDavid and Leon Dreysidel, you've got some
good stuff for working for yet andthe Oilers actually have some goaltending for once.
That was kind of the thing holdingthem back for the last couple of
years. Now they have it anda good young guy in Stewart Skinner.
(09:20):
So not the start of the seriesthat you wanted if you're the Oilers,
but still's still some time here toget it right, and I think they
will get it right. I sayEdmonton over LA and six the Rangers and
New Jersey. I'm actually gonna havethe Rangers in five hats off of the
Devil's all the young guys coming togetherand having a spectacular season, but the
(09:41):
rain. It's clear that the Rangersare in win or bust mode. When
you make moves to bring in PatrickKane and Vladimir Tarasenko, you have Stanley
Cup on the brain. Now,like I said earlier, you need a
little bit better contributions from Kane andTarasenko. But you were able to get
that in Game one, so there'llstill be a New York team heading into
(10:01):
the second round. It's just theRangers over the Island instead of the Islanders.
Rangers over the Devils. In five, Tampa and Toronto, I say
that series goes a distance as well, but Tampa is going to come out
on top and the misery will continuefor Toronto in the first round. You
just simply put Tampa Bay is builtfor the playoffs. I know Toronto is
a little bit better defensively this season, but Tampa is built for the playoffs.
(10:24):
It's just gonna be a little bitof a buzz saw because you run
into Boston next. But Tampa shouldbe able to beat Toronto. It's gonna
go to the distance, but Lightningshould come out on top and then the
big upset here. I'm gonna ridethe hype train with Winnipeg. I have
them over Vegas in six. Vegashas to hope that the offense is going
(10:46):
to be efficient here, and itdidn't get off to a good start in
this series last night, so gottafix that here if you want to make
this series. Because the Jets areso solid defensively, like I said,
has one of the bigger, oneof the better, rather goaltenders in the
lead Egan Hella Buck. So I'lldrink the Winnipeg coool aid here. I
have them beating Vegas in six,and then Colorado, I have them beating
(11:07):
Seattle. But I'm gonna make thisthe gentlemen sweep here, just like the
Rangers in Devil series. I havethe Abs over the krack in in five.
And it's just going to be asimilar case to the Rangers Devil series
because all those young guys on thecrack and they're gonna learn that the Stanley
Cup playoffs ain't sweep And when yougot a team like Colorado looking to be
like Tampa the last couple of yearsin Pittsburgh a few years ago and try
(11:28):
to run it back, they shouldbe able to take care of business in
this series and bounce back. SoI have Colorado over Seattle in five.
So moving on to round two,this is going to be a slugfest here
between Boston and Tampa Bay. SoI have this series going the distance and
I have Boston beating Tampa. Twogood teams built right here for the playoffs.
(11:50):
It's just tough to unseat Boston andnot to mention, they could probably
exploit Tampa's penalty kill, which hasbeen pretty much mid the entire season.
So Boston over Tampa in seven,and they will meet the New York Rangers
in the Eastern Conference Finals. Ihave then beating Carolina in six. Heavy
goaltending advantage here for the Rangers,and that's really what it's going to come
(12:13):
down to, because I feel likethese two teams mirror each other in terms
of in terms of style of playand consistency throughout the year. It's just
we all know how important goaltending isin these playoffs and Rangers have the advantage
in that department. So I havethe Rangers over Carolina in six. They'll
be meeting Boston in the Eastern ConferenceFinals at West Colorado and Dallas meeting in
(12:37):
the second round. We all knowsome of the history between these two teams
in the late nineties. That's kindof how I got introduced to the Avalanche
because my dad's an Avalanche fan,and it seemed like every other year they
were meeting up in the playoffs.So that rivalry is going to be renewed,
and I have Colorado over Dallas.This series will go the distance.
But I have Colorado in seven.Lot of close games, and the Aps
(12:58):
have the edge when it comes towinning in close games. So I have
Colorado over Dallas in seven, andI have them taken on Edmonton in the
Western Conference Finals. I have themover Winnipeg in six. Winnipeg, like
I said, very solid defensively,but that Edmonton offense is just going to
be way too powerful powerful, wow, powerful, and the decorps a little
(13:20):
bit better here and a little bitbetter goaltending like I mentioned in the round
one. So Edmonton will be goingon to face Colorado in the Western Conference
Finals. So in those Conference finals, I have Boston over the Rangers in
six. You know the Rangers aregoing to try to make it tough right
here, but I just can't getover Boston's goaltending here. When you have
(13:41):
two good ones, you're gonna behard to beat right here, just as
Depens when they had Flurry and Murray. So Boston meets up with Colorado,
who I have them beating Edmonton insix. Apps have to find a way
to defensively to cool the Oilers off, but I say they're going to find
something to stop them here. Plusbetter goaltending match up there as well.
(14:03):
So Boston and Colorado in the final, I'm gonna be rooming like heck for
Colorado because I got I do nothave a dog in the fight, but
I have Boston over Colorado in seven. Just goes back to the two good
goalies point. Boston's considerably better onthe penalty killed than Colorado. When you
have a historic team like this,you expect a lot out of them,
(14:28):
and I think Boston has what ittakes to live up to those expectations and
ride it all the way to aStanley Cup parade in Beantown. So it's
gonna be fun to see all thisplay out, but in the end Boston
hoisting the Stanley Cup and Colorado willwatch in disappointment as they will fall short
and running it back. So goingfrom the ice over to the diamond here
(14:50):
will go to Major League Baseball anda pretty solid start here for the Pirates.
Continuing, of course, over theweekend four game series in Saint Louis,
you're able to get the split,maybe should have got the series win
if we're being honest here. Ofcourse, Sunday not exactly the best game
in terms of late game and willCrow going into pitch. Will Crow just
(15:15):
ain't hit at the very least inlate game situations. Haven't really been high
on him to begin with, butit just doesn't do many favors when you
blow a save like that. Butmake no mistake, there was still a
lot to like in this series splitwith St. Louis. Good to see
Vince Velasquez finally figure it out onThursday in Game one, the five nothings
(15:35):
shut out when they're six innings,six innings pitched, if I can talk,
three hits, two walk, sixstrackouts, And this is what I've
been loving out of the starting rotationhere, more quality starts. It seemed
like last year it was such astruggle for them to get past five innings,
(15:56):
and now, at least for thebeginning part of this season, you
see the starters going deeper and deepermore consistently, and that is going to
pay dividends the rest of the wayright here, and take some pressure off
of a bullpen that really needs toshow me something this year. So great
stuff from the rotation, even fromJohan Oviato because he had a really good
(16:18):
outing Friday night despite the three nothingloss. It's just the bullpen kind of
ruining things as well. Dwayne UnderwoodJunior not looking sharp. So then you
go to Saturday, the six tothree win for the Pirates in ten innings,
pretty thrilling stuff. Good to seeAndrew McCutcheon blast the go ahead home
run in order for him to getthe win, just bring them back,
(16:41):
all kinds of nostalgia as you wouldexpect with Kutch being back in the Black
and Gold. But the contributions fromRodolpho Castro in the win Thursday and in
the win on Saturday, because itwas Castro that pretty much saved the game
there for the Pirates. They weredown three two, but it was Castro's
double the top of the eighth thattied the game up. Was able to
(17:02):
send a text or endings and thenyou see the heroics from the Cutcheon and
then Castro is able to get anotherRBI in the tenth to make it the
sixth of three score that ended upbeing the final. But these contributions from
Rodolfo Castro is exactly what we needout of him. We're not expecting him
to set the world on fire,but you got to be consistent. While
Cruz is out and Castro answered thecall in that series, so tip of
(17:26):
the cap to him, and thenof course the heartbreak of Sunday and Will
Crow, like I said, justain't it. There is still a lot
to like from the bullpen though.I mean, Colin Holderman, at least
at the moment, has been verytough to hit and has definitely earned that
setup role. But Will Crow's gotto show me something, Zastrisney, He's
(17:47):
really gotta show me something as well. My feelings on the bullpen are better,
but they still have a good bitof work to do. So then
we had a little further out westand some rocky mountain highs so far in
Colorado for the Pirates. You couldhave made the joke on Monday that the
Steelers beat the Broncos fourteen to three. But definitely a pretty good butt whooping
(18:10):
by the Pirates here as rich Hillgets his turn to figure it out.
I mean, when your team scoredsix runs in the second inning, that's
pretty easy to do. But RichHill solid outing six innings, six hits
with just one ear and run,two walk, seven strikeouts, and again
a starter on the Pirates with anotherquality start in this early part of the
(18:30):
season, which was so tough todo last year. Then last night a
little bit more work to do forthe Pirates because Colorado jumped out to the
three nothing lead after one inning.But that four run inning in the fourth
just what the doctor ordered. Twohome runs from Jackson Winski doesn't hurt either,
So this is kind of what Iexpected how the Pirates here in this
(18:52):
series against Colorado. They needed topounce on a team that just really hasn't
been known for their pitching the lastfew years. And Urania, you're just
looking ugly in that outing last night. You gotta strike while the iron's hot
in that scenario, and the Pirateshave been able to do that the last
couple of nights, and they're offto a good start with it right now,
because as of three twenty two thisafternoon, as I'm recording this,
(19:18):
we are not out of the topof the first yet, and the Pirates
are up three nothing already. Checkthat they're not leaning five nothing in the
top of the first two people ableto score on a Jason Delay single.
You love to see it. Youjust you just hope that what happened to
Colorado last night doesn't happen to thePirates today. But hopefully they can keep
it going right here because they justgot done with the top of the first,
so Colorado able to stop the bleedingat least for the moment. But
(19:41):
five nothing already in the first.She'sh you talk about some momentum to build
right here, just beating up onColorado before you come back home. With
Cincinnati waiting for you at P andC Park, you better ride the wave
of momentum while you still got it, your pirates, because this is a
pretty good opportunity to make noise,so fingers crossed they are able to do
(20:02):
that and other stuff around the league. Fortunately, Tampa Bay is undefeated no
more and ended up losing three tofour after their pretty historic start, but
still looking all right, especially afteran eight nothing win over Cincinnati today.
And the AL East kind of agauntlet here, all teams at five hundred
or better, so definitely gonna bea tough one here, at least in
(20:23):
the beginning part of the season.And now you got to focus on Atlanta
here when it comes to winning streaks. Winning eighth straight heading into the day,
and this is just kind of whatyou expected from the Braves here,
just just able to jump up tothe lead right here in the AL East
and try to pounce on whatever disarrayNew York is in and Philly is in.
So some rather interesting stuff in thesefirst couple of weeks here of baseball
(20:47):
season. Now moving on here tosome stuff in the NFL. Jalen Hurts
one rich man nowadays becoming the richestin the NFL in terms of annual salary
five years, two fifty five milliondollars extension, one hundred and seventy nine
million of that guaranteed. And youjust love the story here of how Jalen
(21:07):
has been able to grow into thequarterback that he is. Really should have
won the MVP this year, butto no dice, but just amazing stuff
out of him after getting bench atAlabama, making a name for himself again
in Oklahoma, then taking the reinsin Philly, and having the success that
he's been able to have in thesefirst couple of seasons. Now, it's
(21:29):
definitely gonna lock up something for agood bit of the future here for Philly.
I know they lost a good bitin free agency, but at least
you solved your quarterback woes and youhave a pretty darn good one now with
a deal like this, you gottawonder what this means for Lamar Jackson,
does he finally cave in on notgetting not wanting rather a guaranteed contract.
(21:53):
I don't think that desire is gonnawane at the moment. I know Lamar's
pretty dead set on getting a prettybig contract like Deshaun Watson, but eventually
he's gonna have to do it.I'm not saying it's going to turn into
a Levon Bell situation where he missestime and a lot of time at that,
but you got to figure out somethingbefore it gets too ugly, and
(22:15):
it's gonna be a little bit harderfor Baltimore to give you that kind of
money after giving all the money thatthey gave OBJ. So Lamar Jackson really
has to consider swallowing his pride,actually getting an agent and just trying to
do some damage control, or justhope that Baltimore is able to come through
(22:36):
with the trade, because their generalmanager did say that they have no problem
drafting a quarterback late in the firstround. So we'll see what is able
to come up that. Elsewhere Washington, it looks like a sale of the
team is going to be going throughhere for quite a few billions of dollars.
But a league with no Dan Snyderis already a better league. The
(23:00):
disarray he's left this franchise in thetoxic culture that he built. I said
it a couple of times, howduring the Deshaun Watson scandal, how Houston
was probably giving Washington to run fortheir money for the most inepped franchise in
the league. And now you alreadyhave things looking greener here for Washington in
(23:21):
the future. Now, you definitelygot to fix some of the team here,
but just better overall ownership is alreadya step in the right direction.
And not to spoil too much aboutmy NFL Draft first round predictions next week,
but I do have Washington pulling offsomething here because you know, with
(23:45):
this new ownership group, they wantto make a splash, and I think
the Commanders are at least going tomake a pretty decent sized splash in round
one. You'll see what I meannext week. But new ownership for the
Commander's glory, Laurie, hallelujah.It can only go up from here,
of course, not the new yet. On the whole. Aaron Rodgers is
(24:07):
he going to the Jets thing?But when you hear him say that he
was ninety percent set on retiring beforethe big Darkness retreat and then suddenly wants
to go to the Jets. Youcan only imagine how scared the Jets are
to want to commit to Aaron Rodgers. That's probably what's holding everything up here.
So until here's something new, we'renot really going to be talking about
(24:29):
this because just pretty much dead stuffat the moment until there is some actual
movement. And then the Steelers makingnot necessarily the biggest move out there,
but it could be a solid oneif Alan Robinson is able to turn around,
had his fair share of struggles lastyear with the Rams, but acquired
(24:51):
by the Steelers in the midst ofan exchange of seventh round picks. I
mean kind of low risk, highaward and high reward if you look at
it closely. Here. I mean, if it works out great, you
have three viable options for Kenny pickat the throw too. If not,
Alan Robinson might be Robinson might bewashed. But at least you only gave
(25:11):
up a seventh round pick. Sosome solid moves still being made here by
the Steelers and looking to see whatthey do next weekend in the draft,
and before we close out this episodehere some big news concerning West Liberty University
men's basketball, of course, ridingall the way to the national Championship game
before losing Nova Southeastern and Jim Crutchfieldin that title game. Well, of
(25:37):
course, he had Bryce Butler enteringthe transfer portal. He's going to be
going to College of Charleston now,following in the footsteps of Dalton Boland and
Pat Robinson. But now you haveone of their assistant coaches, Michael Lambertie,
going over to Western Colorado and takingover the head coaching duties there.
Does this move suck? Hell?Yeah it does because Bertie is good pete
(26:00):
and has a good basketball mind,but just is just a proven winner,
was able to make the finals asa player, make the finals as a
coach, and now takes over aprogram not exactly looking the best, but
maybe he is able to instill thatwinning culture from West Liberty into Western Colorado's
so hate to see a guy likethat leave, But I'm wishing Coach Bertie
(26:23):
all the best because he definitely deservesomething like that. And I'm keeping my
fingers crossed for a non conference matchupbetween Westlibe and Western Colorado at the a
SRC because that'd be a pretty goodhomecoming, but all the best to Michael
Lambertie as he takes over the headcoaching duties at Western Colorado. So I'll
put an end to this week's episodeof the Chop Talk podcast again. Next
(26:45):
week is our NFL Draft extravaganza whereme and Chris predict the first round and
we'll even throw in the thirty secondoverall pick because it's held by the Steelers
and I just want to make thirtytwo picks like we normally would, so
tune in for that next week.I got most of my predictions figured out.
Of course, it is going tochange throughout the course in the next
few days, but I'm pretty deadset on most of the picks that I
(27:10):
have made here. Chris told mewhen we got done recording last week that
he's expecting this to be one ofthe craziest first rounds we're ever going to
see, if not the craziest firstround we'll ever see. So I'm eager
to see what he's got up asleepfor his predictions, So make sure you're
tuning in for that, and stayin tune with past episodes and everything in
between with the iHeartRadio app Spreaker ApplePodcasts wherever you get your podcasts, and
(27:30):
don't forget about the talkback Mike onthe free iHeartRadio app because you could sound
off on anything we talk about andyou just might hear your opinions on a
future episodes, So make sure toutilize that if you listen to us that
way. But in the meantime,I'm Corey Glue. Thanks so much for
listening to the Chalk Talk podcasts.Have yourself a great rest of the week
weekend. We'll see you next weekfor the big NFL Draft show, and
(27:52):
until next time, keep calm andchalk on
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