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Landry Locker: National Media ‘Losing Effing Minds’ on Deshaun Watson

“There’s a certain portion of media types, and I’m not trying to get too much on my soapbox, that feel they can be extreme on one side of things and ignore facts.”

Jordan Bondurant

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The Cleveland Browns and the Houston Texans agreed to a trade last week that sent beleaguered quarterback Deshaun Watson to the Browns in exchange for three first-round draft picks, a third-round pick and two fourth-rounders.

The news came on the heels of a grand jury choosing not to bring charges against Watson, who has been accused of sexual misconduct. He still faces 22 lawsuits in civil court regarding those allegations.

Sports radio had plenty of reaction to the news of the trade and on SportsRadio 610 in Houston, hosts John Lopez and Landry Locker couldn’t help but react to some of the more outrageous reactions.

“It doesn’t seem like a lot of people that have the strongest opinions have really done the appropriate research to speak on something as serious as what’s going on with Deshaun Watson,” Locker said Tuesday on In The Loop.

“There’s a certain portion of media types, and I’m not trying to get too much on my soapbox, that feel they can be extreme on one side of things and ignore facts. And if you’re ignoring facts, then how seriously are you taking the matter even if you’re siding on the more conservative side of things?”

Locker and Lopez first listened to a caller on Zach Gelb’s CBS Sports Radio show, who basically said Watson is a terrible quarterback and pointed to the Texans’ 4-12 2020 season as the reason why the former Clemson University standout was terrible. Despite the abysmal record as a team, Watson had his best season yet in 2020, throwing for 4,823 yards and 33 touchdowns, career-highs. He also only threw seven interceptions, a career-low.

Locker and Lopez brushed that aside and then turned to Fox Sports Radio host Ben Maller, who asked what the Browns are doing and called acquiring Watson a lose-lose situation. He couldn’t believe that the Browns would be dumb enough to make the trade and called the organization slimy.

“I don’t know if this guy is being serious, or I don’t know,” Locker said. “He’s trying to be funny. He’s failing miserably.”

The focus then shifted to Mike Ruiz of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, who told Le Batard he felt like someone died after news of the Watson trade broke. He felt like he got slapped in the face and felt numb by the news.

Ruiz did mention the grand jury, and Locker and Lopez both felt like he got some facts mixed up about how the legal process played out.

“If someone died, or he discovered himself (as a Browns fan), do a little more research and you might feel a little bit better about it, buddy,” Locker said. “I know that there’s a certain brand that you gotta keep going, but just do a little bit more research, you might feel a little bit better. You might be able to sleep.”

The duo did listen to a clip from Shannon Sharpe on FS1, who felt like it was no longer innocent until proven guilty in the court of public opinion, but rather guilty until proven innocent. Locker and Lopez believed that was a benefit of the doubt Sharpe doesn’t usually offer to others.

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Mike Florio: Chris Simms Isn’t Desensitized to Internet Criticism

“Chris takes a lot of crap. I take a lot of crap. I’ve been doing it a lot longer than Chris, and I think sometimes Chris just kind of reaches the end of the rope.”

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Courtesy: Heidi Gutman/NBC Sports

Chris Simms caught some heat this week while discussing the death of Miami Dolphins fan Eric Carmona. Carmona was the brain behind the Tuanon viral videos, which featured him in a Dolphin mask attacking critics of Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Simms was one of his frequent targets.

Carmona was killed in a motorcycle accident last week. He leaves behind a wife and four children. He was just 30 years old.

Mike Florio brought the story up on Pro Football Talk Live, because Tagovailoa himself donated $10,000 to a GoFundMe campaign to support Carmona’s family. Simms responded by noting that Carmona was a frequent critic of his.

Florio pushed back saying that trolling is better than being ignored. People are passionate about their teams and if they are passionate about attacking you for criticizing their teams, it means you matter to them.

“This is a deep subject and I think it’s societal and I won’t go into it because I’m only going to get myself in trouble,” Simms responded. “We’re also setting an example like, ‘Hey here’s money to a guy who was very negative too.’ That’s all I’m saying.”

On Friday, Florio made his weekly appearance on WQAM in Miami. Morning show host Joe Rose asked Florio what Simms was thinking with those comments.

“I don’t know. That’s a question for Chris, and you could invite him on and he could talk about that,” Florio answered. “And I’m not trying to be flippant by saying that. I understand the way he feels from my perspective.”

He did try to explain the point he was making to Simms in saying that being trolled is better than being ignored. He reminded Rose that there is a thick skin required to having the kind of jobs they do.

“Chris takes a lot of crap. I take a lot of crap. I’ve been doing it a lot longer than Chris, and I think sometimes Chris just kind of reaches the end of the rope. He doesn’t actively participate in Twitter. He has one of the producers at NBC that primarily updates his account. So I don’t think he’s become as desensitized to it as I have over the years.”

Simms caught heat earlier this week from another fan base. Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie of the WIP Morning Show ripped the NBC analyst for ranking Jalen Hurts as the seventh best QB in the league.

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Stoney & Jansen Baffled By NBA Finals TV Schedule

“They’ve got to get up early on the [West] Coast. We’ve got to stay up late because Monday Night Football can’t start until 8:30. It goes both ways.”

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Courtesy: Audacy

The NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final continue with games taking place this weekend, and many basketball and hockey fans are expected to tune in to watch the action. The Denver Nuggets will try to take a 3-1 series lead on the Miami Heat, while the Vegas Golden Knights will look to rebound from an overtime loss to return home one win away from a championship. Aside from the pomp and circumstance, there is considerable intrigue pertaining to the action on both the court and the ice. The challenging part of the entire situation is knowing when the games are played due to the disjointed nature of the schedule.

Throughout the NBA Finals, games have taken place three days apart from one another, while the Stanley Cup Final has followed a similar pattern but both avoid playing games on Sundays. As a result, there were only two days between the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals, but three for the remainder should it reach a deciding seventh game. Similarly in basketball, the first three games of the NBA Finals were played every other day, but the remainder of the series is scheduled with two days of rest. There is a chance the decision was made to accommodate travel schedules, as both series are aligned in a 2-2-1-1-1 pattern, meaning the first two games are played in one city; the next two are played in the other; and then they continue to alternate until a champion is crowned.

“I don’t know why the NBA’s not playing on Sunday,” 97.1 The Ticket morning co-host Mike Stoney said. “That big travel day – because you really need travel days nowadays with your private planes to fly from Miami to Denver.”

Show co-host Jon Jansen, who played 10 seasons in the NFL as an offensive tackle with Washington and Detroit, expressed how some players may need to acclimate themselves to the altitude in Denver, Colo. The city is located 5,280 feet, or one mile, above sea level, making the air thinner and dryer and presenting some visitors with difficulty breathing. Jansen never felt the effects of altitude sickness, claiming that it was never a big deal for him, but obviously, everyone reacts to things differently.

“Basketball in particular and hockey because it’s constant running, especially at your position,” Stoney proposed. “You’re not running like madmen [in football] like they do in basketball where I think it affects you the most.”

The schedule also presents challenges for consumers around the United States living in different time zones. The NBA Finals do not begin until 8:30 p.m. EST, and the games often do not include until close to midnight. Especially on weeknights, asking East Coast fans to stay up late and then go to work early in the morning limits the amount of sleep they can receive. Meanwhile, those on the West Coast are just returning home from a standard eight-hour workday and may have other tasks to carry out.

“They’ve got to get up early on the [West] Coast,” Jansen said. “We’ve got to stay up late because Monday Night Football can’t start until 8:30. It goes both ways.”

There is no perfect time slot that will appease all consumers, but even so, ratings for this year’s NBA Finals have exceeded most expectations. Game 3 attracted an average audience of 11.2 million viewers and peaked at a figure of 12.4 million, down 2.5% from last year’s third game of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors. Viewership for the first three games of the NBA Finals is averaging 11.6 million, representing a nearly 2% decline from last year’s numbers. ESPN reported its most-watched playoffs across its platforms in the last 11 years, with the total playoff viewership audience averaging approximately 6.1 million people.

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Colin Cowherd: I Have Tried to Invest in MLS Teams Twice

“I think they’re smart. I think they’re boutique stadiums, their fanbases feel European. The in-game environment’s excellent.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Courtesy: FS1

Could we have seen FOX Sports Radio host Colin Cowherd having some sort of ownership stake in an MLS team? Cowherd said he tried, and then he tried again.

Talking about Inter Miami adding global superstar Lionel Messi on Thursday, Cowherd mentioned that he inquired about getting involved with the league, but the asking price at this point is too much for him.

“I have twice tried to invest in the MLS, and I just can’t afford it,” Cowherd said. “I think they’re smart. I think they’re boutique stadiums, their fanbases feel European. The in-game environment’s excellent. The academy is slowly becoming something, but it is becoming something their academy system. And they are now on a regular basis going and getting the world’s biggest soccer stars.”

Colin pointed out that Messi is the most popular athlete in the world, boasting social media followings and name recognition that easily eclipses that of superstar athletes like LeBron James and celebrities like the Kardashians and Beyonce. So not only is Messi’s signing a monumental moment for Inter Miami owner David Beckham, but it’s a feather in the cap signing for Major League Soccer as a whole.

“Messi is massive for the MLS. It’s the biggest moment in the history of the franchise,” he said. “Think Beckham times two. And Beckham was big when he arrived here in the States.”

“I think it’s cool that the MLS, our domestic soccer league, can go out and bring a superstar – not a star, a mega superstar on our soil regularly,” he added.

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