Nothing Personal with David Samson

Today’s word of the day is ‘summer solstice’ as in the longest day of the year as in it’s lighter outside for a little bit longer as in everyday from here on out gets a little darker. Let’s talk about today. New beginnings and whatnot. (16:20) Let’s talk about the Yankees. This team is too good right now. Pitching is lights out. The bats are firing. 50 wins already. Biggest division lead in baseball. What’s the mentality right now? (21:00) What about the Cleveland Guardians? 6 games over .500 and 1 game back in the division. Do they go make trades now? Do they just keep going with what they have? How do you decide? (27:20) Review: Father of the Bride. (33:10) LIV Golf is making its move. We have another golfer defecting. Brooks Koepka is headed to LIV. Let’s talk abut the hypocrisy of it all. PGA Tour’s has sponsors that deal with the Saudis. USMNT scheduled a game against Japan a day after they outlawed same-sex marriage. NBA has dealings in China and UAE. Where is the consistency? (40:45) NPPOD. (43:45) Brittney Griner is still in jail in Russia. This has been going on for months. The saga continues as another problem occurred with her trying to reach her wife via the US Embassy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s word of the day is ‘epiphany’ as in I had one as in I spent the weekend in Austin and something hit me. But before that! What’s the deal with airlines right now? Flights canceled. Flights delayed. Staffing issues. What is happening? Back to the show… I am not 25 anymore. I think a tore a hammy waterskiing thinking I was still young. (8:10) What is happening with Kyrie Irving? Will he be a Net? Will he be Laker? Will he be Knick!?! This cannot be. (16:20) Anthony Rendon is out for the year. Anthony Rendon has a MASSIVE contract and hasn’t played a full season for the Angels yet. It’s an absolute disaster for the Angels. Now what do they do with Ohtani? Will Trout ever see the playoffs again? (19:55) Another Angels problems… the baseballs. Pitcher Michael Lorenzen went off because of how slick the baseballs are. There’s a problem with the balls at all times. Today’s theme is: what is happening? (29:40) Review: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. (33:55) So You Wanna Talk To Samson!? Someone asked me about Kenny Atkinson accepting an offer to be the next coach of the Charlotte Hornets and then turning down the job. What? Yes. It happened. He won the title with the Warriors and then told Jordan he was out. (40:45) NPPOD. (43:30) We have an MLB owner’s meetings update. Teams are not happy with the Oakland Athletics. Is anyone happy with them right now? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s word of the day is ‘champions’ as in NBA champions as in 4x champions as in Steph Curry as in Klay Thompson as in Draymond Green as in Steve Kerr. Let’s talk about the legacy of these guys. Let’s talk about Steph Curry and his legacy. Let’s talk about Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics turnover machine. (12:50) It’s officially baseball season! Rob Manfred held his owner’s meetings and some very important news came out. The biggest points of focus: pitch clock; automatic strike zone; digital streaming rights; Oakland & Tampa. (27:35) Review: Road Runner - A Film About Anthony Bourdain. (33:45) David Blitzer is now a limited partner of the Cleveland Guardians. David Blitzer has a chance to become a majority owner of the Cleveland Guardians. Let’s discuss. (43:00) NPPOD.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s word of the day is ‘NDA’ as in non-disclosure as in shhhh as in it never happened as in Vince McMahon is in the news after it was reported he paid a woman $3M he had an affair with to be quiet. Let’s talk about the use of these NDAs. Deshaun Watson was recently disclosed as being a user of this and we see the trouble he’s found himself in. Jerry Jones was in the news for the use of this. It’s everywhere. (17:15) Dan Snyder won’t be testifying. Roger Goodell will be testifying. The House Oversight Committee wanted them both there. Snyder was a lock to not show up. Goodell is interesting. (23:50) Review: Swap Me, Baby. (30:20) Aaron Judge is off to the best start of his career. He has bet on himself and he’s delivering. He turned down the Yankees long term offer before the season started. Now what? (39:30) NPPOD. (44:00) So You Wanna Talk To Samson!? Someone asked me if I ever had a player ask about promotional nights before signing. Huh? Let’s talk Liam Hendriks.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s word of the day is ‘Open’ as in open for business as in the US Open is here as in LIV vs PGA as in Phil Mickelson vs Rory McIlroy. There’s so much drama in golf right now. Players vs players. Media vs players. Sportswashing is the buzz word being used. LIV Golf is what it is. The PGA Tour has always been what it is. Different rules, same reason: money. (15:10) Dehsaun Watson met the media. He said he wasn’t sure if it was 66 women or fewer, but he can’t talk about it. The NFL has no idea how to handle this now. 26 civil suits. Possibly 27 suits. It’s all been bad news. (25:55) Review: Flag Day. (28:55) Walker Buehler is hurt. That’s not good. The Los Angeles Dodgers could be in trouble here. No Buelher. No Bauer. The San Diego Padres are on their heels. The San Francisco Giants are on their heels. Fernando Tatis is still hurt, but the Padres keep winning. (34:35) So You Wanna Talk To Samson!? Someone asked me how I would handle the Eduardo Rodriguez situation with the Twins. Rodriguez was given a 5 year, $77M deal this past offseason. He pitched a few games, but now he’s out with personal issues. (41:40) What about Stephen Strasburg? He signed a 7-year, $245M deal in 2019 and has pitched only 31.1 innings since then. Woof. (43:50) NPPOD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s word of the day is ‘bear’ as in polar bear as in grizzly bear as in teddy bear as in a bear market. Let me explain exactly what’s going on with the stock market right now. How concerned should you be? Are you worried? Should you invest now? Sell now? What about sports? Let’s say a team paid $10M for in arena sponsorships and then the team cannot pay. Well, it’s happening all across sports right now. (14:50) Now let’s talk about cryptocurrency. That market has almost crashed. Prices have been falling and falling and falling. Crypto dot com has invested almost $1B into sports deals and now its laying off staff. (25:15) Now we move to affordable housing. The Oakland Athletics are looking for a new stadium deal and affordable housing has become the main area of interest. (33:00) Review: Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams. (36:00) NPPOD - The Warriors won despite Steph Curry not hitting a three for the first time in his playoff career! (40:10) Josh Donaldson lost his appeal for his remark made to Tim Anderson. What goes into the appeal process? (42:40) What is going on with the White Sox? Is it time for Tony La Russa to go? (44:38) MLB is starting to fine teams for bench clearing brawls, even if it happens in the minor leagues.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s word of the day is ‘succession’ as not in the TV show as in the real life family fight for a major asset as in the Baltimore Orioles as in the Los Angeles Chargers as in drama. The Angelos family owns the Baltimore Orioles. John Angelos is the control person. Louis Angelos is the brother suing John AND his mother. Let me explain. (19:25) What about with the Los Angeles Chargers? The Spanos family is now fighting for the team. Dean Spanos is now being sued by his sister Dea Spanos. Wonderful. (29:35) Review: Fire Island. (34:40) Jack Del Rio was fined $100K by Ron Rivera and the team. This was after Ron Rivera said he wasn’t going to talk about it. This was after Del Rio doubled and tripled down and then was forced to apologize. Of course. (42:00) NPPOD - Lightning make the Cup. Warriors vs Celtics pivotal Game 5! (44:00) Tony La Russa chants have started. White Sox are done. They want a change. The White Sox are the most disappointing team in baseball. Will it happen? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s word of the day is ‘613’ as in my favorite number as in number of career victories Red Holtzman had as head coach of the Knicks as in the number of rules/commandments in Judaism. Just stay with me here. (5:00) Tom Brady is not going to tell you the truth. He loves to fool people. It’s what he does. He was asked about the reports about him being a QB/Owner for the Miami Dolphins and it wasn’t truthful. He chose his words very carefully, but he did not fool us. (15:35) Tony La Russa made a decision in yesterday’s White Sox loss that blew a lot of people’s minds. Let’s discuss what this was and why La Russa is so stuck in his ways. (25:40) The PGA has suspended every golfer who is playing in LIV Golf. Let’s discuss about the letter that Jay Monahan sent. It’s a fascinating time in golf. Did Monahan’s letter stick the landing? No. (36:25) Review: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. (38:55) NPPOD. (40:40) Lebron James wants to own an NBA team. He wants the Las Vegas team. He’s an investor in Fenway Sports Group. Liverpool. Boston Red Sox. Will they get the NBA team for him? Will LeBron be an owner, part owner, say he’s an owner? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s word of the day is ‘copy/paste’ as in no edits as in no fixes as in PR has sent a message and you just send it out to the masses as in Jack Del Rio the DC for the Commanders had to copy/paste his apology. What did he do? He had some comments on protests and the January 6th insurrection. One side he said was riots! The Capitol storming was a ‘dust-up’. Ron Rivera didn’t care. Some players didn’t care. But everyone else sure did enough for the team to make him apologize. (18:55) The FBI did nothing to protect hundreds of gymnasts around the country when Larry Nassar was running wild. These gymnasts have now taken the FBI to court for $1B. What is the FBI doing if not supposed to protect the right people? (28:35) Review: Butter. (32:45) What happened with the Broncos sale? Josh Harris said he would have bought the team for $5B if he knew that Walton group wouldn’t outbid them. Interesting. (38:45) NPPOD. (39:40) Dusty Baker was not happy that Joe Maddon was fired this early in the season. Why are all managers like this? Too soon to fire the manager? No way.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s word of the day is ‘66’ as in 66 massage therapists as in a report came out yesterday that Deshaun Watson used 66 massage therapists in a 17-month window while with the Houston Texans. There have been 24 civil suits against Watson. More details allege that the Texans may have helped set up some of these meetings. The NFL better start doing real work now to figure out what is right. Deshaun Watson’s future in the NFL should very much be in doubt (although it should have been before). (22:55) Review: Unknown. (27:35) Joe Maddon was fired as the manager of the Angels. They had lost 12-straight games. Mike Trout couldn’t get a hit. Shohei Ohtani couldn’t hit. They went from first to 10 games back in the AL West. (35:10) It looks like another manager could be on the hot hot hot seat. Don Mattingly. The Miami Marlins held a 90-minute team meeting before its 12-2 win over the Nationals. The team is underachieving. The team has some issues in the clubhouse. And they cannot blame me anymore! (43:55) NPPOD. (46:00) The Denver Broncos are being sold to Walmart for $4.65B. That’s a nice chunk of change.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices