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Aug 1, 2025
Best of A Numbers Game | August 1, 2025
Best of A Numbers Game | August 1, 2025
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45:43
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Transcript
0:00
The numbers tell the story. They always do. It's one of those idiots who believe in analytics. This is a Numbers Game with Gil Alexander on VSiN. Good Friday morning to you.
0:10
It is a Numbers Game at VSiN, the sports betting network, vsin.com, Game Plus, iHeartRadio, YouTube TV, and of course Sirius XM channel 158. It's Gil Alexander. It's Kelly Billin on a Friday morning.
0:22
I mentioned Friday twice already now. [laughs] We have so much to get to today. So much. Hey, it's a busy Friday morning. Yes. And because it's Friday, you know what that means. Hour number two, Falica and Fezzik.
0:33
Chris Falica, The Bear, from Fox Sports. Uh, or as we like to spell it, Kearse Falica. Uh- Do you love that I always call that out? Do you love it? Yes. Yes. Do you like that? It's great. Fantastic. Thanks, Gil.
0:42
Thanks for pointing out the bu- the spelling error. And Steve Fezzik, everything on his mind sports betting-wise. Falica will have all his picks across the sports betting landscape.
0:50
Fezzik's got a seminar beginning today. Yeah, he does. He's got a seminar today and tomorrow. I wonder if he's nerv- nervous. I wonder if he is, too. Maybe he also- I haven't even texted him yet.
0:58
Steve, Steve, I'm gonna do my best. I'm gonna do my best to make it. I gotta take the car in, man. Then what a sucky Friday. I got a horrible Friday ahead of me. Like, just the car. The car with the engine light.
1:09
Like, you never know how bad that's gonna be, you know? How many hours, how many thousands of dollars. Sorry, Gil. Sorry to hear that. You wanna talk more? You wanna complain more about this or...? Just, just life, man.
1:20
Okay. All right. Life being life, you know? It's curious.
1:22
Uh, we, we will also in the first hour, uh, talk to our own Adam Burke, how he's feeling about, uh, the Guardians losing Shane Bieber, keeping Steven Kwan in the end. Mm-hmm. Um, and then Pete Futeck.
1:33
Wait a minute, you booked Futeck? Pete Futeck. Some college football with Peter Futeck from the heartland. Looking forward to that. We'll ask him about, uh, [clears throat]
1:41
his, his big picture thoughts heading into the college football season. Um, where do we begin? Okay, let's, let's do. We got a bunch. One, tennis picks. Let's get those out of the way. Yesterday, one and two.
1:52
Second consecutive day of a one and two. Uh, led by a set in all three of these matches, only got one of them. Oof. Yeah, uh, yesterday, uh- Hey, what do you call this tournament?
2:03
If I was to say, uh- Oh, it's a great, it's a great bu- Some people call it the Canadian Open. I was destroying Zach for this, by the way, the other day. Some people call it, like, the Rogers something or other.
2:11
I just say- Well, it, it, it's, I think it's, I think it's technically called the National Bank Open. That's correct. It's the bank. There's a bank involved. The National Bank Open.
2:19
I just say the men are in Toronto- But then the Canadian Open... and the women are in Montreal.
2:21
And if you go to the sports books, which matters for our audience the most, it's usually, you're usually looking for ATP Toronto, WTA Montreal. I prefer talking about your engine light over this. No, I don't know.
2:33
It's men in Toronto. It's women in, in Montreal. I'm just trying to help people. For the Canadian Open. The o- Oh... the other one that I've caught that's confused people- Yeah...
2:39
is there's a lot of peo- a lot of books, if you're looking to bet NFL pre-season, a lot of books are listing it under a separate area away from NFL. So people are freaking out going to the NFL tab- Hmm...
2:50
and they're like, "I only see week one games." Why would they do this? I don't, I don't know. I, I don't know. DraftKings has done it. Caesars is doing it, though. Like, you gotta go back and go to NFL pre-season.
2:58
Uh, three picks today, all on the men's side in Toronto. Wow. All at Toronto. Uh, Arthur Fils, plus 128 versus Jiri Lehecka, is pick number one. Uh, Jakub Mensik versus Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, pick number two.
3:14
He's at minus 101. And then, uh, Fabian Marozsan, plus 101 versus Flavio Cobolli. Would you like to repeat those now? No. Flavio Cobolli. Uh, so Fils, that's spelled F-I-L-S, he's the dog in this. Arthur Fils.
3:30
Arthur Fils. Uh, yeah. F-I-L-S, Arthur, Arthur Fils. Young, great French player. But these, these are all great matches. Mensik, uh, Mensik and Marozsan. Fils, Mensik, Marozsan.
3:40
Those are the three all on the men's side today in tennis. All right, um, baseball trade deadline yesterday. Um, everybody does the winners and losers thing.
3:51
I think we covered it pretty much, uh, as thoroughly as we could be 24 hours ago, because during the show, Mason Miller went to the Padres. Among the big moves, Shane Bieber did go earlier to the Blue Jays.
4:00
But, um, you gotta, you gotta, if you're a Padres fan,
4:05
um, or if you're a Mariners fan, obviously the Mariners acquiring both of the guys from the Diamondbacks in Josh Naylor and then Eugenio Suarez, they gotta feel good about themselves.
4:13
Beat the Rangers last night, six to nothing. Um, we'll see if this makes the difference for the Mariners. Um, still question marks for me in their, in their lineup, although that certainly helps.
4:24
At least they're going for it. I love to see that with teams going for it. I'm feeling great about my Tigers-Padres World Series matchup now. Yeah. It's 66 to one. Yeah.
4:33
With Mason Miller added to what is already maybe by some, you know, folks' opinion, the best bullpen in baseball. So I love that. Um, you know, Mets and Phillies did very well.
4:44
If you're the Cubs and the Brewers, that was a little odd, a little, uh, non... You know, the, they were very chill compared to those teams. And again, I'm almost- Good point. I didn't think about that. Yeah...
4:53
I'm almost fascinated by the other side. I always talk about this, which is just imagine being a Diamondbacks fan or a Giants fan- Ugh...
5:00
or a, or a Twins fan, and, you know, not even three quarters into the season, right? We're not, we're just shy of the three quarter mark. And you're, and you're definitely not completely out of it.
5:09
It's just, it's just such a funny, it's just a funny feeling just to basically tell your fan base at this point, "Yep, this is the way this sport works, so, uh, let's all enjoy August and September together.
5:18
I'll see you at the ballpark." Yeah, no. Uh, although Twins did hang on to Ryan and Buxton, I guess, but Correa goes to the Astros. Anyway, um, we talked about w- was something actionable or not.
5:28
I, if you're doing anything with the Mariners or the Padres, I would do them for beyond the division. Al- although if you said, "Which would you do for the division?"
5:37
I would actually lean Padres to get there more than I would the Mariners. I think the Astros stave off, and then there's the Rangers in the mix in the AL West.
5:46
I do think there's a world [laughs] where the Padres overcome the Dodgers now in the NL West. Just, uh, so, so I thought it was- Okay...
5:53
I thought it was, basically what I'm saying is I thought that was a pretty awesome, based on where we thought we were 48 hours ago, I thought it ended up being a pretty good trade deadline Pretty exciting, uh, in the end.
6:03
Baseball, did you see this game? There's only three games in base- Todd, Padres plus 750. You interested in just a little sprinkle? We talked about this yesterday. I may sprinkle that. I may sprinkle that.
6:11
I mean, it is, it's a three-game lead, and you're hitting over seven to one. Sprinkle me. Sprinkle me. Sprinkle me, Ming. Uh, the other thing, there's three games in baseball yesterday.
6:19
Did you see the, uh, did you see the Reds- Let me ask you one more-... Braves game? Can I ask you one more trade deadline question real quick? Oh, yes, please. Dustin May goes to the Red Sox? Yeah.
6:28
Is that, is that, is that a, is that a knock on May, or do the Dodgers, like, just have too much? They literally have too much that they can't even use this guy. Uh, they have too much. They have too much. Okay. Yeah.
6:35
And that's all I wanted to know. Yeah. It's incredible. Um, Braves and Reds yesterday. I was sitting in the, at the Caesars sports book with Todd, our buddy Todd Wishnev, uh- Did you have some comfy chairs?
6:46
Star of the Megapod. No, and it smelled like the chimney in there. Oh, no. For God's sakes. Were you at the bar? And, and that was, and that was just Wishnev. The rest... No, I'm kidding. [laughs] No, I'm kidding.
6:55
Uh, he doesn't smoke. So, uh, y- he had the, he had the, uh, Reds in this game. So it's three to three in the eighth, and the Braves put up an eight spot in the top of the eighth for those who missed this.
7:05
[laughs] And so Wishnev, he's like, "Ah, this game is over. Ah, this is terrible, it's terrible." The Reds then proceed in the bottom of the eighth down 11 to three. The first eight men get on and score
7:19
to tie it up at 11 with nobody out in the bottom of the eighth, and Wishnev looks at me- That's nuts... and he goes, "Watch, I'll still lose this. [laughs] This would be the greatest win ever. I will still lose this.
7:30
Why, Kelly? Because Hashem, of course," he says. So, uh, guess what? He lost it in extras. [laughs] 12-11. But anyway, I tweeted. I was like, "You watch a million baseball games, and this never happened."
7:40
Uh, Stuckey, who I've never met by the way, but Stuckey, who's been on Twitter and sports gambling- Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah... for all these years, uh, he, he unearthed that there was a game in 2017 where there were
7:50
crazy eights, if you will, in an, in a frame, in a White Sox game. But those are the only two documented games in the history of Major League Baseball where this has happened, and then one of the two was last night.
8:00
It's amazing. Yeah. It is nutty. I mean, that is... It, it's insane to see happen.
8:05
And of course, like, you know, I, like, I have no idea what the live betting numbers were, but they had to have been out of control, right? Yeah. Oh. I mean, when you go downtown that much, [laughs] like...
8:13
I wish I had looked. And how many people actually put a bet in, right? [laughs] Like... I just love that Wishnev's like, "I'm still gonna lose." Like, like, this was like, like Todd's, like, declaring the game over.
8:21
Not many people are gonna be like, "Well, let me rush to put in a money line bet right now."
8:24
The, I would have s- I would have told you the sportsbook was going crazy, but there was, like, 16 people in the sportsbook, so yeah. Really? It's a, it's a Wednes- a Thursday night in the middle of, the end of July.
8:33
Yeah. I don't, I guess I don't really spend much time- Yeah... but, like, it's still Caesars sports book. Wow. I don't, I don't know if you've heard, but occupancy is down in this here town of Las Vegas.
8:41
[laughs] And the other thing last night, of course, the Hall of Fame game between the Chargers and the Lions. Um, read into, you know, result what you will. Chargers rolled them.
8:49
Uh, Trey Lance looked pretty good, I guess. Do you wanna call Lombardi and tell him that Trey Lance looked pretty good? [laughs] He may wanna know. He may be interested in that information. Uh, [laughs] uh, yeah. Yeah.
8:57
Uh, Trey Lance looked awesome, I think. Yeah. Like, I don't, I, I'm not that guy who tries to... I, I never try to overreact to anything you see in preseason or training camp. I'm trying to.
9:07
But, like, man, he had some throws. He had some throws. Well, I mean, you've, you, you, you've held the clipboard for all these years. This, this ought to be the moment, right? I was- Should be. Yeah.
9:17
I mean, look, and the big thing for us around here, again, and this can't be emphasized enough, 86-year-old Brent Musburger, f- uh, co-founder of Vsain. Oh, he was the s- he was the star of the show.
9:26
Um, Pro Football Hall of Fame's greatest recognition for a media award is the Pete Rozelle Award. For anyone in the media, it's the Pete Rozelle Award, and Brent is the recipient of that.
9:35
And, um, it's the annual prize awarded to a media member who exhibits excellence, Kelly, in and around the booth, both in radio and television. And good God, if that's not Brent Musburger, I don't know what is.
9:45
So Maria Taylor interviewed him before the game last night. Uh, he got some booth time with Collinsworth and Tirico. And, uh, it was great. Every time...
9:53
And by the way, uh, we had one tweet this morning from somebody already who was like, "Yeah, every time, every time Brent was on, they stopped. And whatever they were doing, they wanted to hear what Brent had to say."
10:03
He did a You Are Looking Live. He did all the greatest hits. Toss to break. Toss to break on NBC. Toss to break. And they had, had Tirico sweating because he was talking so much gambling stuff. Yeah.
10:13
They went, "Oh, well, we..." Did you hear the whole thing? It was fantastic. I did while Todd was, you know, when the moments where Todd shut up and I got to hear it, yeah, I got to- Oh, it was amazing. Yeah.
10:21
It was ama- I mean, Tir- and Tirico clearly had the, uh, cl- had some NBC... Like, kind of like we were discussing yesterday- Yeah... with the music, right?
10:28
NBC producers were going nuts in Tirico's ear, and you could tell. [laughs] He was trying to, like, move it along. It was like, "Nope, Brent's, Brent's gonna say what he's gonna say, man."
10:35
Yeah, I think he said he had the Lions and the over or something like that. Well, he was talking. Yeah. He was just talking. I mean, they were asking him about the, about his roots, right, and him coming up.
10:42
And, and he was just talking about how he, uh, used to talk about the spread and kind of got the nod from the NFL. Nope, you're no longer gonna do that, and then it's all come back around. Yeah.
10:51
He, he, he told the story about how back in the day, the NFL Today, which he's told many times here on air, um, you know how gambling was obviously verboten back then.
10:59
And that's when they came up, he and Jimmy the Greek- Yeah... with a chart. You know, with the check mark chart. For those of a certain age, we remember that thing, and the intangibles at the bottom.
11:07
And g- and the Greek would have to say things.
11:09
He'd have to speak in code during the NFL Today, where he'd be like, Brent would say, you know, if the Cowboys were favored by seven over the Skins, he would say, uh, "Do you think the Cowboys win this by a lot?"
11:20
And, uh, Greek would be like, "Yeah, I think they win it comfortably." [laughs] Which was code for they will cover, right? That's great. That kind of thing. So great. Anyway, uh, Brent Musburger, mazel tov, man.
11:30
Yeah, it was awesome. It was awesome. And, and dude looks like he could be doing this for 20 more years. I, I, I, like, sounded great, looked great. The v- Miss Brent... the voice is, the chops are still there. Yep.
11:42
My goodness, the voice is fantastic. Uh, we'll come back more. Terry McLaurin, we gotta talk about Terry. Oh, and, uh, how do you like virtual replay last night? That's next.
11:51
[upbeat rock music]VSiN, the sports betting network Circa Survivor: The Quest for 14.2 Million will make its debut next Tuesday here on VSiN.
12:13
Kelly Bill, uh, 80 sent me a copy of the unfinished episode one, the un- un- sort of... It, it still needs a little more editing, but it's basically episode one. It's fantastic. The pacing of it is super rapid.
12:28
It's awesome. All right. There we go. 10- Let's go... 10-part documentary on the world's largest legal football contest. Follows contestants as they chase the $14.2 million prize.
12:36
Episodes air August 5th through the 9th, then again August 12th through the 16th, 9:00 PM Eastern on VSiN. For more, visit vsin.com/survivor. It takes us through all of, uh, Survivor last year.
12:48
And, uh, let me just say, episode one, the most prominently featured person, as it should be, the lovely and charming Stormy Bonatony. She is fantastic in it.
12:58
Uh, and the equally lovely and charming Dave Sharapan, our buddy. Mm. Those two, uh, that run the show. I managed to, uh, finagle my way into apparently l- you know, like a, a few little jab and moves.
13:07
I'm in there maybe collectively for 15 seconds. And of course, what do, what do I do in 15 seconds worth of time? What do I manage to do? I cursed. Whoa, naughty Gil. Like, I just forget that I- This isn't your podcast.
13:19
I just- Calm down. I was gonna say, I was like, I thought I was on the Megapod or something. Jeez. I forgot that I was on a documentary. Can't take you anywhere. All I could hear was my mom in my, my head going.
13:28
You embarrassed your entire family. "Really, Gilly? You can't think of better words?" Yeah. "You can't choose better words? You have to curse? Fe, gal nefesh." [laughs] Sorry, had to go Hebrew on you.
13:39
The- That's what she would said to me... dump question mark? [laughs] Circa Survivor: The Quest for $14.2 Million, uh, debuting August 5th, uh, this coming Tuesday. Uh, we got tweets @BeatingTheBook.
13:50
I always appreciate the, uh, feedback from everybody. Once again, y'all are the best, uh, in the biz. JC, "Yay, area." Talked about the, uh, E40 reference earlier.
13:59
Bruce Dobingan, "In a time far away, I spent an afternoon at Aqueduct doing a TV Guide feature on Jimmy the Greek. He was losing and went mute." [laughs] "Nothing.
14:08
Asked him a Brent question though, and he suddenly had stories. Lifesaver." Oh, that's, that's great. Harold Irving said, "By the way, 68 degrees in the Northeast and still no most wins in August on DraftKings," he said.
14:17
Oh, I thought they put them up last night. They're up, they're up at DraftKings. Yeah, they're up, Harold. I mean, if you've, if you've bet them there before, they're up. Joe C- You go to monthly specials, most wins.
14:26
There you go. Monthly specials, most wins. Uh, JoeC714, "With so many GOAT moments for Brent Musburger, all I think about is him take, uh, talking about H.A. McCarron's girlfriend during the national championship.
14:36
LOL, he's the GOAT." Oh, so many. Yeah, he is. Yeah, he is. You know, you know what one of my VSiN highlights is, is from year one. Can you imagine?
14:42
It was, it was Al Bernstein, me, and Brent, and I ha- I, a little pitcher like me, had the audacity to ask Brent, "Hey, could you do my podcast? Just a one-on-one retrospective of your career."
14:52
And he said yes, and he sat with me for, like, over an hour, and I still have that podcast. I should, I should link it out. You should. Uh, Beating The Book- You definitely should... with Brent Musburger.
15:00
We talk about Eminem being high in the booth with him. Oh my God, I forgot about that. Uh, [laughs] or that's not how they said it. And actually, Brent said that that wasn't the case, but we go through all that.
15:09
We go through, uh, NFL Today, stories about Phyllis George and, uh, Jimmy the Greek and Irv Cross and Jane Kennedy. It was awesome.
15:17
Uh, and then finally, James Fessler, Mizzou soldier, "Completely concur with you, Gil, in the NFL insta spot.
15:22
I'm interested in how they're going to sync the whistle for forward progress being stopped with the constantly changing position of the ball. Definitely not as clear cut as everyone thinks it's going to be." Yeah. Yeah.
15:31
Well, that'll all be one, two, three, right? It's still gonna be forward progress whenever that whistle gets blown, then the human's gotta go spot the ball based off of that- Yes...
15:40
and then the computers will review the humans. It's junk in, junk out. Yeah, it is. That's how computers work. Yep. So junk in, it doesn't matter in the end.
15:47
Pete Fewtak, ladies and gentlemen, joins us to talk some college football from the heartland courtesy of Progressive Gas Line. You can follow him on Twitter @PeteFewtak, F-U-E-T-A-K. Peter, happy football.
15:57
How you doing, man? I, I don't mean to, you know, disagree with your mother, but there are no better words than swear words. [laughs] They're the best.
16:05
They're the absolute best, and they work, uh, not all the time, but y- a, a finely placed one, perfect. You absolutely need them. Well, I appreciate it. My mom is shaking her head at you as well.
16:16
I'm on the Gil, I'm on Gil's side on this. I'm on Team Gil on the, on this one. Sometimes you need to emphasize a sentence. Yeah. Yeah. Who is this friend of yours who agrees with you?
16:25
Uh, Pete, college f- [laughs] He's neither lovely nor talented either. Uh, [laughs] Pete, college football. Let me just talk about some big, big picture questions.
16:33
Uh, let's start with, I'll tell you just, just anecdotally, this off-season, and we've heard this in other years, not every year, but other years, where folks are, are wanting to sort of put Penn State in the conversation of the very elite.
16:47
Is this the year where you can put Penn State up or above the Ohio States and the Alabamas of the world? As I keep saying, they all went to the Final Four last year. Hell, I mean, they're already kind of elite.
17:01
Um, if it was anybody else but Penn State with, you know, the history of not being able, recent history of not being able to beat the Ohio States and the Michigans and stuff, they would be everyone's screaming number one this year.
17:13
Last year it was kind of obvious. I mean, I, you, I was, you know, annoying you all year last year saying, "It's Ohi- Ohio State's gonna win the national title. It's... You know, there's no point in watching the season.
17:21
They were the best, way better than everyone else." Penn State's better than everyone else for right now, mainly because they've got the, the starting quarterback who's been there for 12 years.
17:31
They've got most of the talent back. They are the most complete team.
17:35
And for all the dogming of James Franklin, the only other guy who's been around as long as Franklin has at one school currently co- in the college football coaching world who has 70% more of a b- a better of a winning percentage is Dabo.
17:49
So Franklin wins a lot of games. He's got the team. And remember last year it's like, oh, you know, Ryan Day can't win at Ohio State the Big One, and Jim Harbaugh couldn't win the Big One.
17:59
This is the best team in the country. Now let's... They got the best schedule. They got a joke of a non-conference slate. So let, but they're gonna get to the college football playoff.
18:08
Now you gotta get pa- past the Final Four, you at least play for the national championship On a scale from Ewing Galilei to completely meeting all the hype, where is Arch Manning gonna be on this spectrum when all is said and done?
18:21
Uh, as always, he's gonna fall short 'cause everyone's expecting him to be Peyton and, uh, Eli all wrapped up in one. I will say this about him. I have not heard a single negative word about him.
18:33
Usually, in the little sewing circles of college football world, there's always something like, "Yeah, this guy's kind of a jerk. This guy's..." There- everyone loves this kid.
18:41
He's bas- he's essentially the most chill kid possible. Has a great, you know, s- Manning-like sense of humor. Uh, very just self-dep- deprec- de- depreciate, dep- nice, deprecation.
18:52
Uh, he's good at, he's great with all the teammates. Every coach loves him, and he's fast. I mean, everyone kind of forgets, Eli could run in college. He didn't do it in the pros, but he was a pretty good athlete.
19:04
Peyton, not so much. And Arch seems to have a, the, all the mix and blends of Mannings, plus, you know, from birth, having the Manning family teach you how to play quarterback.
19:13
He seems like the perfect fit quarterback, uh, especially for a team that, "You know what? Let's see if this all can play through." I mean, he's still gonna have, uh, errors. He's still gonna have mistakes.
19:22
He's still new. He only played four games last year as a starter against, like, UTSA and Louisiana Monroe. So there's still gonna be a problem, especially at Ohio State to start the season.
19:31
But as far as a, a prospect, yeah, it's all there. Arch Manning, of course, the short shot to win the Heisman at plus 650.
19:37
If we throw those odds up there for you, Pete, where's the play for Pete Fewsmith in the Heisman market?
19:42
Uh, I'd st- I'd, speaking as the person who still doesn't quite believe that Travis Hunter is ever going to win a Heisman Trophy, um, I, I, the, the play is tough- [laughs]...
19:52
because there aren't the starting quarterbacks this year. I mean, look, you know, Garrett Nussmeier, I mean, half the college football world doesn't know who he plays for quite yet.
20:00
Cade Clubnik, I mean, he's a, he's a brand name.
20:02
Jeremiah Smith, I'll do my Travis Hunter thing and, no, he's not gonna win the Heisman 'cause his stats aren't gonna quite be there, unless he goes absolutely off on Texas, uh, in the opener, and then he's the odds-on favorite.
20:14
Uh, but most of these quarterbacks are on teams that aren't gonna win national champi- come close to winning the national championship or even their conference championships, and a lot of them are new guys who don't have any experience.
20:23
So it is a tough year to handicap this. Uh, it's gonna have to be the guy who's got the big stats and the big plays. I think,
20:31
looking at these stats right now as you kind of have them, I think Carson Beck is gonna be good. He's b- he, everyone forgets, he was, talent-wise, supposed to be the number one pick in the draft.
20:42
Lot of drama around him, lot of other, you know, aspects to his game that everyone's gotta overcome.
20:47
Uh, but talent-wise, he's got number one overall pick skills in a Miami offense where he might not be Cam Ward right out of the gate, but he might be just as effective. You and Felica, I believe, are simpatico on that.
20:59
Didn't Felica love Carson Beck? Uh, Felica's in on Beck, yep. Yeah, same reasoning. Uh, all right, before we go- That's my Miami Chris Felica, though. He loves everything about South Florida. Yeah.
21:06
Eh, he's pretty good about that. I know he went there. He's great about it. Yeah. Um, okay, before we go, give me the team, and let's, let's, let's go to the actual team around the country.
21:15
You can go to any conference anywhere. Uh, not among the usual suspects that are named at the top of college football. What's the team sort of under the radar that you feel is primed for a very, very good season?
21:29
Can we say Indiana again? Yeah. I mean, everyone just assumes, "Oh, well, their schedule wasn't all that great." They destroyed everybody.
21:35
I mean, everyone forgets that, okay, yeah, your schedule wasn't amazing, but they ble- blasted through everyone.
21:42
It wasn't their f- they played the two teams that played for the national championship the year before, Washington and Michigan. Beat, blew out Washington, kind of easily got by Michigan.
21:51
Their one major sin, they couldn't get by, you know, the elite of the elite in the college football playoff. Okay, but they were still really good.
21:58
They return just about everyone and, and probably hold serve at quarterback. And Kurt Signetti is j- just that good of a head coach, where, I, they're not gonna win the national championship.
22:08
They're not gonna win the Big 10. But they might be right there in the college football playoff. They might get the 10 wins again. Which is the team among the usual suspects at the top that you're not buying? Texas.
22:19
Uh, until Steve Sarkee- There's the guy. I mean, everyone wants to rip on James Franklin for not winning the big one.
22:23
And until Steve Sarkeesian can prove that he's not gonna melt down in a key moment, uh, in a big game, uh, you look at that Texas schedule, there are three losses potentially there.
22:33
And if you don't get to 10 wins, you're not getting to the college football playoff. Pete, great seeing you. We will talk often, sir, as the college football season, uh, ramps up and then actually starts. And curse word.
22:42
Let me know when I can throw a curse word in there, too. [laughs] You may not. It is not allowed. But thank, but thank you for asking. [laughs] Pete Fewsmith, everybody. @petefewsmith on Twitter.
22:50
Adam Burke on the other side, managing editor on baseball and more, next. [upbeat rock music] A numbers game on VSiN, the sports betting network.
23:06
Back on The Numbers Game, live from Circle Resort Casino, downtown Las Vegas. Kind of, uh, sped through that. A Numbers Game, name of the show here at VSiN. Gil Alexander. Actually. Kelly Bidlin, everybody, alongside.
23:17
Producer number nine. Hey-o. So much more than a producer. So much more.
23:21
Kelly's going through, uh, the VSiN YouTube page, uh, analyzing, uh, the little still shots they have of your face, and you're not very happy about it, are you? Uh, no, I wouldn't say that. Oh.
23:30
It just, uh, Chris managed to, uh, catch me at a moment, I guess, where I was really fired up about something. Yeah, that's fair. I look very angry in a, in a, in a, uh- Some would-... profile shot...
23:38
some would say impassioned about some stuff. Yeah. VSiN YouTube page with all kinds of, uh, videos from our past shows. Just another way you can take in VSiN. That's right.
23:47
Um- It was a, it was a great teaser clip, though, 'cause guess what, Gil? I'm gonna have to go watch it during the next break, 'cause I'm, I don't know what I'm so angry about.
23:53
[laughs] Glad you're locked into the show, Kelly. Uh, Adam Berg joins us now. Always a tough booking. He is VSiN managing editor and, of course, part of the whole glue that holds this whole operation together.
24:02
One of the great Twitter handles of all time, @skatingtripods. Joins us now courtesy of the progressive guest line to talk about multiple things. Adam, good morning to you, sir. Hey, what's going on?
24:13
You know why I'm a tough booking? 'Cause Kelly never texts me to ask to come on the show. So what do you have to say for yourself, Kelly Bidlin? It's fair. So I sparingly do That's fair. Adam's a popular guy.
24:23
There's certain guys on this network that are popular, okay? That's true. That's true. We're trying to be respectful of your time. I get it.
24:29
But listen, when, whenever you can- I don't care about Adam's time, but, you know- Yeah... it's just network can't be all Adam Burke. Our, our house is your house, Adam. Let me ask you about a couple things.
24:38
One, you of course, um, and I know you, you are a humble guy, and you give credit to others as well, but you are always integral, uh, maybe the chief guy for every single betting guide that we put out.
24:50
College football, we are on the cusp of that betting guide. Yes, sir? Yeah.
24:54
Tuesday, August 5th, over at vsin.com, only available to VSiN Pro subscribers, so if you aren't one, become one, 'cause it's a really, really good guide.
25:02
All of our guides are good, but, you know, I think this one's really, really strong because you have 136 team previews.
25:07
But unlike a lot of the other previews that are out there, we don't have to worry about access to coaches or SIDs or players or anything like that, so we can be honest.
25:17
We can be very honest about these teams, what their expectations are for the upcoming season. And I think that type of unfiltered content really is a benefit to anybody out there who's going to bet on college football.
25:28
So all those team previews, like I said, we add Delaware and Missouri State this year to the FBS ranks.
25:33
29 season win total bets from Steve Makinen, a preseason top 25 from Matt Youmans, other feature articles, best bets from our VSiN hosts and contributors, uh, including Mr. Gil Alexander.
25:46
Kelly Bidlin texting me and saying, "I don't know anything about college football yet." Mm-hmm.
25:49
So, uh, you won't see Kelly in there, but I'm sure Kelly will know plenty as we go throughout the season here on The Numbers Game.
25:56
Listen- But get that guide over at vsin.com Tuesday, August 5th, the 2025 College Football Betting Guide. The man guesses college football lines on this show every week. I, I was going to add on to- Yeah...
26:06
promote the thing. Yeah. That it, it is, in, in my opinion, the most useful guide that we do because all these players, uh- Yes... move around teams and everything. Yes.
26:14
I have no idea who's playing anywhere, so I pull up the VSiN betting guide. By the way, that's a serious question. Is, is that, has that sort of made when you put this out, uh, had determined when you put this out, Adam?
26:28
No, I mean, you know, look, the thing that's really tough about this guide is you would put the NFL one out on July 1st, and, you know, the last three years we've put it out either the last week of June or the first week of July.
26:37
And it only gives us a four-week turnaround basically to put out the college football guide.
26:41
And to Kelly's point, and I mean, look, there were a lot of guys as I was researching, I wrote up four of the conferences plus the two independent teams.
26:49
As I was researching, I was like, "Oh, wait, that, that guy's not there anymore? Well, where's he at now? Oh, he went there?" Yeah. "Well, who went..." He...
26:55
Like, it's crazy, you know, to try and keep up with the portal. And keep in mind, too, I mean, a lot of these guys changed programs in mid to late December.
27:05
So, you know, if you're not paying attention throughout bowl season or the NFL playoffs or everything else that's going on, like, this is a really good refresher of who has actually changed places, changed locations, not just players, but also coaches.
27:18
There's 29 new head coaches this year, and I wrote those up in the guide as well.
27:22
So to Kelly's point, I mean, this is probably the most impactful and most useful preseason guide that we do just because of all the player movement and trying to figure out who went where.
27:33
Can you give us one of your favorite bets from the guide that you provided? Yeah, I can give you a couple of them. Um, I don't know why Liberty is a plus money price to win Conference USA.
27:42
I mean, they are far, far, far and away the best team in that conference without question. And the second-best team, the consensus number two team, Western Kentucky, they don't even play them during the regular season.
27:51
So the only way they might run into the Hilltoppers is if they play them in the conference championship game. So I like Liberty quite a bit.
27:57
I mean, I realize Kaidon Salters a good player, transferred over to Colorado, so he'll be with Dion this year. But I don't think he was a great fit for what Jamey Chadwell wants to do on offense.
28:07
Now Chadwell has a Coastal Carolina transfer in Ethan Vasko, who he recruited to Conway when he was there. We know what he did with Grayson McCall, obviously.
28:16
Now he has a quarterback that can run his system the way he wants to run it, as opposed to being such a run-heavy offense like Liberty has been the last two years. So I think the Flames are gonna be better this year.
28:26
I think they're actually gonna live up to those expectations that we placed on them last season, and I think they win Conference USA. I think plus 125 is a great number on them.
28:34
Then my favorite win total is Western Michigan over five and a half. A team out of the MAC. Obviously, people don't pay attention to the MAC unless it's MACtion and they're playing on weekdays.
28:42
But I think Western Michigan really improved under Lance Taylor. It's year three for him. Goes back to his Notre Dame roots for his new defensive coordinator, Chris O'Leary.
28:52
I think Western Michigan's a very underappreciated team in the betting market right now, and over five and a half wins can actually be had at plus money.
29:00
I think they make a bowl game, and not only that, I think they could be a dark horse challenger for the Mid-American Conference this season. Hmm.
29:07
Was Liberty consensus, by the way, just off the top of your head in, in our experts grid to win their conference? Y- yeah, I would assume so. Yeah. I think we had about 22 people polled or so. I'm guessing...
29:19
I, I'd have to go back and look, but it's probably 18 or 19 that have Liberty or something like that. Okay. So not quite unanimous. Um, okay.
29:25
To baseball, um, you're a perfect guy to talk again on a, on a day after the trade deadline. Cleveland Guardians guy, Adam Burke.
29:33
Adam and I are oppo on the Guardians season win total pre-flop here, and I look up at the standings. So amazing. Uh, you know, Shane Bieber goes to the Blue Jays yesterday.
29:41
It's obviously on the heels of the Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, uh, gambling matter. Those two guys suspended till at least August 31st.
29:49
Steven Kwan does stay a Guardian, and yet I look up at the standings, Adam, and they're 54 and 54. Like, just go away already. My God. How do... Uh, who, who is the winner or loser for you in all of this trade deadline?
30:02
Uh, well, well, I mean, uh, look, I... The Guardians missed an opportunity because of Emmanuel Clase getting suspended. I mean, the market for relievers yesterday, over the last three days really, has been very robust.
30:15
Yes. Uh, and to not have Clase, who they...
30:17
They, I, I think they absolutely would have moved on from him But, I mean, also they seem to think that they're still in this thing, and if you watch them on a daily basis like I do, they're not a good baseball team.
30:28
I have no idea how the hell they're 500. I really truly don't know. Um, but look, I mean, I think, you know, a couple of the big winners here, I mean, obviously Philadelphia and New York, right?
30:37
I mean, you get a Yoan Duran, he sets up everything for your bullpen. But I really like what the Mets did here at the trade deadline. Ryan Helsley's really good.
30:44
Tyler Rogers gives you a much different look as a submarine right-hander. And Cedric Mullins is a big upgrade over Tyrone Taylor.
30:51
So I think the Mets really improved in three very key spots in a race that's extremely tight. So I still kind of prefer Philadelphia just because I like their rotation a lot more.
31:02
But for the Mets to get clearly better and not give up any of their top prospects in the process, I think that was a really, really strong trade deadline for them.
31:10
Also, the Cubs didn't get any household names, but I love what they did. Willie Castro can play all over the field. Great depth guy to have on a team that expects to make the playoffs.
31:19
You can match up, you can pinch hit, you can pinch run, you can put him anywhere on the diamond. Really, really valuable asset for a team in a spot like the Cubs are.
31:28
Mike Soroka's a guy, 4.87 ERA, but a 3.22 expected ERA. Nationals were a bottom five team defensively. Cubs are a top five team defensively.
31:38
So Soroka gets a really big upgrade behind him, and he's a top 25 guy in strikeout percentage among pitchers with at least 80 innings thrown this season.
31:46
So I really like those two moves, plus Kitchridge is a guy that can slot in anywhere, uh, in the bullpen. Same thing with Taylor Rogers.
31:53
So I think the Cubs and the Mets, of the playoff contenders, uh, you know, got definitely stronger. I mean, obviously the Padres did too, but they paid a very, very high cost to do so. Yes.
32:04
So I can't call them a trade deadline winner, but for 2025 they certainly got better. Yes. I think all of that is true with the Padres.
32:12
Gave up a top three prospect in all of Major League Baseball, but yes, for 2025, whew, that team is stacked right now. Um, anything in, on the baseball slate today that you played? Uh, it's a rough one.
32:25
I mean, there's a few blanks. Not sure exactly who's gonna start. I will say one of the blanks that's out there, and maybe there's been a little bit more clarity on this over the last, you know, 15 or 20 minutes or so.
32:35
I think Shane Smith is coming back for the White Sox tonight. That's kind of the expectation as he's coming back from an ankle injury. I like them against the Angels.
32:42
I mean, look, you know, if you're an impending free agent, you've got a very good chance at being traded at the trade deadline.
32:48
I didn't hear a peep, not a single word about Tyler Anderson, the starter for the Angels here tonight. Uh, 4.11 ERA, 4.54 expected, 5.11 fifth. Nobody wanted this guy.
32:59
Or maybe the Angels have fooled themselves into thinking that they're actually a playoff contender. But either way, didn't hear a word about him.
33:06
So obviously evaluators around the league don't think that there's any upside in Tyler Anderson. The White Sox ridiculously are a top five offense in the second half.
33:15
I don't know how, but they're playing really well right now. I like them at a plus money price against an Angels team that continues to be in purgatory. Adam, super appreciate it, man.
33:24
And again, congratulations again on another betting guide well done. Thank you. I can say it in advance, college football betting guide coming out in a matter of days. Thank you so much, man. Thanks, gentlemen.
33:34
Have a good one. Adam Burke, everybody, @skatingtripods on the old Twitter machine. Yes, please, his Guardians, go away already. [upbeat music] 500 baseball still somehow. Falica, Fezzik next on the Numbers Game.
33:45
[upbeat music] The numbers told the story, they always do. It's one of those idiots who believe in analytics. This is a Numbers Game with Gil Alexander on VSiN.
34:01
Our number due of a Numbers Game at VSiN, the sports betting network. VSiN.com, Game Plus, iHeartRadio, YouTube TV, SiriusXM channel 158. I could go on, but good God, we have a show to do. Falica and Fezzik this hour.
34:14
Yeah. Chris Falica, The Bear from Fox Sports about to join us, and then Steve Fezzik. I don't know if you know this, Kelly, he's the only back-to-back winner of the Hilton Super Contest.
34:21
Has that ever come up before on the show? Really? Yeah. It's true. That's fascinating. It's very true. And- Is he doing anything today he'd like to promote? [laughs] As a matter of fact, he did. He is. Oh, okay, cool.
34:30
That's good. Yeah, he's got himself a seminar, uh, that he's doing today and tomorrow.
34:35
And I think if you show up, like if you, if you still haven't bought tickets, I think if you show up he's probably not gonna turn you away. That's my hunch. But we'll see. Okay. Are you going? You, uh, I hope to.
34:47
Todd and I are going. Why you gonna put me on the spot, man? I hope to, but I gotta deal with my car first, so. I'm just saying, you should probably support Steve Fezzik. But okay, Kelly, if you don't wanna go.
34:54
That was the plan. I'm not- That was the plan. By the way, I'm not asking you if you go for the whole time, because n- I'm not either, but I just wanna pop in. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
35:00
I would like to pop in to support our friend Steve Fezzik. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. Well- You want some slightly breaking news? Yes. Slightly breaking, slightly breaking news on a Numbers Game.
35:09
Well, and it's really dramatically worded too- Yeah... by Diane Russini, okay? Breaking.
35:13
The Micah Parsons Cowboys relationship has deteriorated to the point where the star pass rusher is considering drastic measures which could include a trade request or even a declaration that he is severing his relationship with the team, per multiple league sources familiar with the situation.
35:31
[laughs] You th- you think Trey Hendrickson and Terry McLaurin are mad. This guy. A declaration that he is severing his re- the relationship. Listen, if it's a declaration, he's re- Whew...
35:41
he's required to start it by saying, "I do declare." You gotta do that. There you go. Those are the rules. Well done. We get tweets at Beating The Book.
35:48
Bill Hooker, "Redskins and Browns agree to trade for Terry McLaurin. Terry rescinds trade request and says he'll play for free in Washington." [laughs] Trade jokes. Like, that's- [laughs]...
35:58
that's kind of where I'm at with it, where, like, the, the... What happens? There's always one side blinks first. Terry McLaurin- Terry, Ter- I think you're gonna be the guy who blinks first. Terry's gonna blink.
36:07
Go, wh- and, and by blink I don't mean to give it a con- a bad connotation, it's just that that's how this is r- that's how this is structured.
36:13
Like, you're not gonna not play, you're gonna show up and- That's how this usually goes anyways. Yeah. And then, Terry, how many bad quarterbacks have you played with through your whole career?
36:21
Like, you're gonna, you're really gonna just sit out games with Jayden Daniels out there doing his thing? It's year two of Jayden, baby. Come on.
36:27
This ain't Dwayne Haskins May he rest in peace But at the same time, what you said earlier is, it's all true. He deserves his money. He deserves it. Not Kyle Allen. We got part of the Kyle Allen experience last night.
36:36
Oh, Kyle. Yeah, we- It's not Sam Howell. It's not Garrett Gilbert, just to name some of the quarterbacks that Terry McLaurin has had pass to him over the years.
36:42
For how g- how, how good Trey Lance looked, Kyle Allen, oh, boy. How, uh, um, I, I said to, uh, Futak, I said, "On a scale from Uiaga- uh, Uiagalelei to completely meeting the hype, where will Arch Manning be?"
36:56
DJ was out on the field yesterday. I'm like, how is this dude still a thing when he's living on the hype of a s- of when he was 17 years old? Yeah. It's incredible.
37:07
We, we, we, we live in the day and age, and Ch- Chris would be a perfect person to talk to about- Yes...
37:10
we live in this day and age, though, that we declare these guys are gonna be NFL quarterbacks by age 10 because they've been working with private quarterback coaches. I admit, isn't that the Bo Nix story?
37:19
But don't we have enough evidence on some of these guys like Kyle Allen and DJ? It's like- No... Chris Fallica. If only we had a guy who knows about this subject. Chris Fallica joins us now from Fox Sports.
37:27
You can follow him on Twitter at, coincidentally, Chris Fallica, F-A-L-L-I-C-A, the emperor of the Bear Bets podcast empire. That's what you are if you're the emperor. You're emperor of an empire. It's an actual empire.
37:39
Chris Fallica joins us now courtesy of the Progressive Guesline. How you doing, sir? Well, we, we, we're, we're doing all right. We're, we're, we're managing through the week.
37:46
I will, uh, I'll be a hell of a lot better when I'm out, out there Sunday afternoon- Yes... watching the former Pittsburgh number one beat, beat up on you and Fez on the tennis court.
37:55
[laughs] Bro, I b- I beat him yesterday. I, I don't wanna hear about it. I beat, I beat him yesterday. Yeah. I, I, I don't like the circumstances of it. Oh, God. You forced him to play four straight games.
38:03
You made him get hurt. He's beating the hell out of both you and Y- yeah, just dirty pool. I agree. Dirty pool by you and Fez. Is that true? Wow. As soon as I- Why would you treat a guest like that?
38:12
As soon as I'm beating him, it's, "Oh, my hamstring." It's, uh, the same story every time. Fez will get a ruling on it. Um, what about that?
38:19
By the way, before we get into your picks, uh, th- game last night, and we're all probably watching the Hall of Fame Game, you know, sort of it's on in the background. We're kind of watching and doing other things.
38:28
But, like, Kyle Allen, DJ Uiagalelei. [laughs] Like, when you see these guys, do you have the same reaction that I do, which is like, "Wow, these guys are still a thing"? Oh, I, that's what I, I said.
38:37
I said, "Kyle Allen is still getting reps?"
38:40
And then I, I, I was texting with, uh, with, with Jeff Schwartz as well, and then Jeff just said, "It's just because there's so few quarterbacks out there, and yeah, you need a backup, and yeah, you need a camp arm," but you would think that at some point that there'd, there'd be someone out there you're willing to give a, a shot to that might be better than Kyle Allen.
38:59
And yeah, a- and y- and Kelly, you're right about DJU. He's... I, I think he's still kind of living off that first game, uh, when he had a start when, uh, Trevor Lawrence had COVID back in, uh- Mm-hmm...
39:08
in 2020 when they went to Notre Dame. I, I still think he's... That was probably his best career game, and I think he's still k- kind of living off that a little bit.
39:15
People saw that and think that that was there, but wow, he was, uh, he's been bad the last couple years. But hey, we're rooting for the guys. Yeah. We, we don't wanna see any of them fail. Yeah. No, we don't.
39:24
We don't, but it's just like after a while, it's like- But, but you, you mean, you mean, you mean you didn't run out last night and fire in the, uh, the Trey Lance Comeback Player of the Year bet?
39:31
[laughs] That, that, that's not in your portfolio? I did not. By the way, do you- Yeah... you have an awards bet, right, in the NFL? What did you play? I do. I do.
39:39
I bet Michael Williams 14 to 1, uh, Defensive Rookie of the Year. I think he falls into a, a great spot in San Francisco. Uh, you bring in Robert Saleh now as the defensive coordinator.
39:50
I think the last couple years we saw that Niners defense kind of fall off a little bit ev- ever since Saleh had left and went to the Jets to be the head coach.
39:57
And the fact that he's back now, you've got a, a team that faces, I think, the easiest or one of the easiest schedules, uh, i- in the NFL.
40:06
He's gonna be opposite Joe, uh, Nick Bosa, which, which is gonna open up a lot of opportunities for him, a lot, uh, Fred Warner. There are a lot of guys on that defense that are gonna wind up taking some blocks.
40:15
A- a- and I think Michael Williams is a game wrecker. Uh, I think he's got room to grow in this league.
40:19
I, I think 14 to 1 on what's gonna be one of the better defenses in the league and one of the weaker divisions in the league against a, uh, a pretty easy schedule. I, I, I like that bet a whole lot. Wow, okay.
40:30
Uh, 14 to 1 is what we're showing it right now at DraftKings. Yep, that's what I got. Uh, college football. Uh, let's talk about a game, August 30th, Texas, Ohio State. Uh, you have a play in this game. Yeah.
40:44
G- get me there. I, I had to search around a little bit, and I was able to find, uh, a, a lot of totals are 50 and a half.
40:49
I was able to find a 51 just because, though, I would hate myself if it landed 27-24 and I was holding- [laughs]... uh, under 50 and a half. But, uh, I, I found under 51 at minus 115.
41:00
I just think the circumstances of this game, uh, lends it towards being a lower scoring game.
41:05
Look at the, the semifinal last year where the Texas defense held that great Ohio State offense to 21 points, and then you had the Sawyer, uh, r- return late in the game that, that got it to 28.
41:16
But you've got new starting quarterbacks on both teams. Uh, I think the best unit on the field is probably going to be the Texas defense. Uh, you got new coordinators for Ohio State.
41:27
You got Brian Hartline, who hasn't called plays for Ohio State. You got a new defensive coordinator in Matt Patricia.
41:33
Uh, I don't think Steve Sarkisian and that offense are gonna go on the road against the reigning national champions in week one and just say, "Arch Manning, go fling it around with a, a n- a new group of skill position guys and an offensive line as well."
41:45
Uh, I, I think a lot of the circumstances in this game point to this being kind of like a, a 24-21 type game, so, uh, I, I was happy to pay a little extra juice to go, uh, under 51. Um, back to the NFL for a second.
41:58
I love, you know, 'cause we're, we have content to fill, so we're talking about all these things. Um, and then sometimes there's a bet staring everybody in the face that doesn't require much explanation at all.
42:09
[laughs] And we just stare at it, and some of us d- uh, we don't talk about, we don't make it. You have one of these. What is it? Uh, it, it, you, the Chiefs at minus 120 to win the, the AFC West.
42:20
Like, I, I don't get why everybody is as down on Kansas City as they are.
42:25
That was about as bad of a season as Patrick Mahomes could have had with injuries, e- everything else going on around that team, and they still won the division.
42:34
Now granted, they're not gonna go, go whatever the hell they were last year, 13 and four, 14 and three, what- what- whatever they, they wound up last year in the regular season.
42:41
But, uh, it's a lot of love for the Broncos. It's a lot of love for the Chargers. But I think the Chiefs shoring up the offensive line with Simmons, uh, you're gonna get Rashee Rice back.
42:50
Uh, Pacheco will obviously be healthy, uh, th- this year. I, I think they're gonna be better defensively. I, I, I... Like, when haven't they won the AFC West s- since Mahomes has been there? It, it's like the...
43:03
It's like an auto bet every year. I bet the Chiefs minus 120 to win the, to win the division. I bet them to win the AFC. I bet Mahomes to win, uh, M- MVP.
43:11
I, I think people are, uh, jumping off this ship just a little bit too soon just because of, uh, uh, how they looked at times last year and how badly they got beat, uh, against a [laughs] really, really superior, uh, Philadelphia team in the Super Bowl last year.
43:24
Yeah, it's funny, 12 and 0 in one-score games last year, so everybody immediately assumes, oh, well- Right... they must be overachievers. Well, they've been in five of the last six Super Bowls.
43:32
[laughs] And they've won, to answer your question, nine straight AFC West. Yeah. Nine straight. Is that good? At some point it'll come to an end, but- Yeah... um, w- we'll see.
43:41
Um, okay, real quick 'cause we have two minutes. Let's get to two other subjects. Yeah. One, Shohei, still favorite and a prohibitive favorite as NL MVP. Should that be the case? I, I, he...
43:53
I guess he should be favored, but now do we know if he's gonna continue pitching? I- I know they had cramps. I mean, we'll, we'll, we'll see what that was. But it's...
44:00
The way this guy is covered, like, people, like, I don't think realize he's hitting a buck 80 [laughs] for the last month now. Yeah. And now he's hit some homers, b- but, like, I don't know.
44:10
I mean, you're sure all minus 2,000 there at, at Circle. Like, I saw him at, like, 1150 or 1200 at some of the other, other online sites that I, that I have access to.
44:19
But, uh, does it mean P- PCA or Schwarber or someone else is gonna win the, the MVP? I don't know. But I don't think he should be th- th- this long.
44:27
I- if you're an MVP candidate, I mean, you should be hitting a little bit better than a, uh, a buck 88.
44:32
And like, and like you said earlier, if the Padres wind up catching them in the division, how can you give the guy the MVP? No. You s- you said a buck 88. I wanna clarify.
44:40
You, I'm glad you said it again 'cause m- somebody else might have thought you said something else there. Buck 88. You didn't say something else. Uh, and then lastly- No, no, no, no, not- Yeah...
44:47
no, I'm not allowed to say those words on Friday. No. No, you're not. Um- And- You didn't ask for permission like Pete Detach did... it's like Pete. Pete Detach is a gentleman, Chris.
44:55
[laughs] He asked for permission before he curses. Yeah, I'm not. [laughs] God. All right. Yeah. I'm not. Lastly, US Open, the, uh, last tennis slam of the calendar year. Uh, we're in Canada now.
45:04
We'll be in Cincinnati, but then we'll be at the US Open here at the end of the month. You have a play on the men's side.
45:09
I, I made a bet that I never thought I would imagine making, and I bet Ben Shelton to win the men's singles at 25 to 1. Ooh. Ooh.
45:16
Uh, and obviously the factors being maybe you th- maybe you think the year has taken a toll on Sinner and Alcaraz, that you got guys who are never gonna win one like Fritz and Tsitsipas and, and Medvedev, uh, Zverev.
45:29
Uh, can Djokovic's body hang together? He's gonna get a lot of crowd support. He's had some success there in the past. It could just wind up being that the path opens up for, uh- Thank-...
45:38
Shelton and a really nice number. Thank you, Chris. Fezzik, next.
A Numbers Game
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