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The State News sports reporters discuss all MSU sports.
Welcome back to Sports Roundtable State News' sports podcast. I am Jacob Smith joined by
Madi:Madi Warden. The dynamic duo
Jacob:is back. No dynamic duo is back. No guest today, but that's totally okay because we're saving it for a banger episode next week, but I am not spoiling that. No spoilers. No spoilers whatsoever today.
Jacob:We're gonna keep that on the the low key. But today, we have a little bit of an interesting range of topics, a little bit different from what we're used to on the show. We're gonna be talking men's basketball, of course. We will get to that because if you watch the game on Sunday, you probably have a hint of what we're talking about.
Madi:Yep.
Jacob:But we're also gonna talk a little bit of NFL and NHL or NFL free agency and NHL, the trade deadline, because both of those were wild in their respective sports. And just to switch it up a little bit from college every once in a while and highlight some of the professional sports and what they have going on in the leagues, but should definitely be a very exciting and action packed episode today. But without further ado, we're we're gonna start with men's basketball Oh,
Madi:boy.
Jacob:Because this was some kind of game that they just had against Michigan on Sunday. But they they won, on Sunday against Michigan to close out the regular season had the big ten championship banner raise. Very, very cool moment. They move up to number seven in AP poll with a 79 to 62 win over Michigan, which they were ranked number 17 in Sunday afternoon. Crazy game.
Jacob:Crazy energy. What what did you see?
Madi:It was just insane. It was definitely some kind of something to see. Obviously, good for Michigan State being able to sweep the Wolverines in, back to back seasons, which is awesome for us. But man, oh, man, was that an interesting game? I think well, we were up by, what, almost 30 points at the end of the first half.
Madi:Michigan was just not producing and not playing very well. The team that they were used to seeing at the beginning of the season, Michigan was on I think they were on a two game losing streak before coming into the Breslin Center. And, obviously, everybody knows that the Breslin Center is probably one of the toughest environments to play in in college hockey. Or
Jacob:Basketball. Oh.
Madi:Oh.
Jacob:We're fortunate.
Madi:Mun Mun is tough to play in. In college basketball, the Breslin Center is absolutely one of the toughest places to play in. Everybody knows that. So Michigan was in for, Michigan was in for a ride on Sunday, and they they made their self a little comeback in the second half, but Michigan State was just dominant on all cylinders during that game. That was a great game for them, all around.
Jacob:But It was definitely a one-sided game. I think most of most like you said, most of the game. I think the biggest standout for Michigan State and what's been helping them win recently, especially down the stretch where they've won seven in a row, is their guard play. Mhmm. It's been fantastic.
Jacob:We talk all the time about how deep it is. I'm not gonna say, save the view. I'm gonna save the viewers, with matching that again.
Madi:Strength in numbers.
Jacob:Strength in numbers, basically. But their guards have been absolutely insane in that and that's what wins in March. Guard play, strong guard play wins in March, especially in the March Madness tournament, but, Trey Almond finished with 20 points on eight of 12 shooting, very efficient. Mhmm. Jace Richardson also had 18 on six of 10.
Jacob:He's been some kind of story, and Jade Nagan's even added 11 points with those two back to back threes early on, had the energy rocking the entire game. But I think that's just been such a big reason as why Michigan State's had so much success, especially with how many ranked games they played recently and heading into the Big Ten Conference tournament and what ultimately led them to prevail to the Big Ten champions, for the regular season. It should've been such a balance of play. And on the other side as well, they took care of business against Michigan, and Michigan's guards had pretty much the exact opposite Mhmm. Of a performance of what Michigan State had.
Jacob:I'm looking for it here on my stats. I wrote it down somewhere. My goodness. But I believe they had 15 combined points from all of their guards, bench, and starters. Michigan, guards, bench, and starters scored 15 combined points.
Jacob:I mean Which is Unreal.
Madi:Absolutely insane. I mean, look at Trey Holloman had 20 points, and off Michigan altogether had 15.
Jacob:Off the bench too.
Madi:That's wild. And Trey Holloman is off the bench too. So it's just insane to see the players that we have had. Like, Trey Holloman is now coming off of the bench because we've been starting, Jace Richardson now in his place. But just seeing him come off the bench with 20 points compared to Michigan's altogether 15.
Madi:Are you kidding me?
Jacob:It's unbelievable.
Madi:It is unreal. Another thing I wanted to kinda bring up was, Michigan State has, like, 12 what is it? Like, high ranked games. I don't remember what they call them.
Jacob:12 quad one. Quad one wins.
Madi:Yes. They have 12 quad one wins for the first time since 1995, '19 '90 '6. Well, let me back up. For the first time since 1995 '19 '90 '6, Michigan State has 12 quad one wins with no players that are first big 10. That's insane.
Madi:That just shows you the depth of this roster. Again, we won't get into it too much because we've probably talked for a total of four hours about it on previous podcasts. But strength in numbers is such a huge thing, and it has been this whole season for this team because there's so many other players that could have been on, big ten all team. And the only two on there were Jaden Akins and Jace Richardson. You look at how Tre'Holliman has played this whole season.
Madi:You look at how Simone Zepoa has played this whole season. Jackson Kohler. There's so many different players that have had such different roles and such big impacts on this team. They didn't get a spot on all big ten. But, again, that just shows you the strength in numbers of this team.
Madi:It's insane.
Jacob:Yeah. I mean, the the numbers aspect is definitely undeniable, but I think it's just about how everybody else embraces their roles too. Holloman could have been furious when he got benched for a freshman, Jace Richardson. Obviously, that's not gonna happen. Their teammates or whatever, but, if anything, it they didn't play a little bit better.
Jacob:He embraced that role, realized that he can lead that second unit, especially as the guard because Jeremy and Chase Jamie Jeremy Fears and Chase Richardson probably aren't gonna play as much when Trey Holloman's on the court. So that second unit is his, and he's thrived in that position. He's really been able to lead the unit, and he even gets some minutes with the starters as well. So it's totally fine for him. And I really, really like how they've embraced that rule.
Jacob:And I know that we mentioned, Michigan's guards were hold to a 15 total points. Vlad Golden had a really, really good performance for Michigan, put up 28 points, I think, but that's not a knock Right. On Michigan State's bigs defense either.
Madi:Absolutely.
Jacob:Golden is one of the best big he was all, big ten first team, so one of the best players in the conference. But, it's just Michigan State in lockdown all facets of the game. And if not, at some points, they can lock down most of them. And I think that's what's so cool about this team is they are so good at everything. I know their shooting has been their knock as well, but they've really stepped it up in the second half of the season.
Jacob:I mean, as long as they can shoot around 35, 40 percent as a team for a game, they're gonna be golden. They're gonna be golden. They're gonna win games, especially in the big tournament as well as March. But it's just been so cool to see how this team has really embraced each other, playing for each other, and playing for coach Tom as though he just won big ten coach of the year, and this man is 70 years old.
Madi:Mhmm.
Jacob:I mean, if if that's not a great culture, if that's not a great testament to what this team can be because there's still a lot of season left, I really don't know what is.
Madi:Yeah. Absolutely. And that's the fourth of his career too, which is just wild for a coach that's been coaching as long as he has to have four big 10 coach of the year awards. That's just it's just so huge for him, as a coach. And that was his eleventh big ten regular season title tied, Bob Knight, and then there was one more coach on there, and I'm blanking who it was.
Madi:But this has just been a year of record breaking for Tom Izzo. It's just been insane to see what he's been able to do with this team that didn't have that much there wasn't a whole lot of spotlight around them at the beginning of the season, and they've come in and solidified themselves as probably a top five team in the country even though the AP polls don't show us that. We all know that this is a team that can thrive in March.
Jacob:Yeah. I mean, the metrics show it's an elite offense paired with an even better defense. Mhmm. They're they're like we said, they're great in all assets of the game. It now won seven straight games like we mentioned, five of which were against ranked opponents.
Jacob:They've won eight of their last nine. And during that eight of last nine game stretch, I wanna mention, Jace Richardson's been averaging 17 points per game. Holloman's also added 10 points per game. So like we've been saying, they've really stepped up. Holloman doing that off the bench, and that's such a big reason as to why this team has had success.
Jacob:It's honestly fantastic to see at this point in Izzo's career. And like you said, with the expectations, they were unrides coming into the season. So doing all that is far more impressive than having a loaded roster, I feel like, coming into the season, and still meeting or exceeding expectations. But, moving on to the other facet of the game, which
Madi:Oh, boy.
Jacob:I'm sure a lot of you have heard about. Mhmm. There was a scuffle at midcourt at the end of the game where Michigan State seniors were supposed to do their kissing of the floor ceremony at center court. The big controversy was that LJ Kaysen and Fat Fat Brooks of Michigan stood right at midcourt where the Spartans are supposed to kiss the logo. Obviously, this didn't go over well.
Jacob:Frankie Filler was the first senior to go up and kiss the logo. He had to kiss it on the side, which I do really feel for him. That's I do too. That kinda ruins his tradition just a little bit, especially as a transfer coming in. But, he had to kiss the side of the logo because those Michigan guards were still standing there.
Jacob:But after Trey Holloman kissed or after Ricky Fuller kissed at Trey Hallman went up to Cason and Brooks and pushed pushed them both at the same time, stood in his business, said the kids will say. Mhmm. And then it created a whole scuffle. I know this was kinda crazy to see in real time, live. Maddie, what did you think about the scuffle?
Madi:I mean, there was a lot of videos as well out on Twitter, out on social medias, out on everything that Trey Holloman and Jaden Akins had both asked them to move before that. You could see it in a video that Trey or Trey and Jaden had both turned around and were like, hey. Move out of the way. We're trying to do something. Like, you if you were a college basketball player, if you were a fan of college basketball, if you know Michigan State as well as people say they do, you should know that kissing the Spartan head has been a tradition for thirty years.
Madi:So for them to just be disrespectful in that asset of standing at midcourt after being asked to move, I think that even Tom Izzo said, Trey had every right to do what he did. He had already said move before. At least it looked like it from videos, and they didn't. And, yeah, absolutely. I feel for Frankie Fiddler.
Madi:I feel for the fact that he was a transfer student coming into this. He knew what he was going into, coming into a program like Michigan State and had to deal with the fact that there was opponents standing on the logo at center court. Yeah. It's just it's very frustrating, especially as a fan, for Michigan to feel like they needed to do that. I don't know.
Madi:I think there was a lot of frustrations that went into it. And, yeah, I think Trey had every right to do what he did at that point.
Jacob:Yeah. I would have to agree with you. I mean, I'm as a reward of Trey by allowing him to kiss the logo during the postgame ceremony just because that's what it means to play for Michigan State. Like, that's part of the tradition. And the fact that he really stepped up for him himself in the program really speaks a lot of volume, and I don't think anybody else in this team would wanna do that more than Trey Hall.
Jacob:I mean, he's Absolutely. He's talked all the smack and everything this whole season. So really, really cool to see, for his standard. And I I I like that Simone Zapata and Jay Ninkins were able to do the tradition right after, this whole scuffle kinda cleared. Definitely a really great thing and how the the tradition resumed, but, it's just really unfortunate that I unfortunate.
Jacob:I feel like that the Michigan and Michigan State rivalry across all sports is, like, still resulting in this kind of stuff. And I think, in light of recent events like the tunnel incident and the that when they've kicked the when Michigan players have came to Michigan State, Spartan Stadium, and kicked the logo pregame. Mhmm. Just all that kind of stuff. Like, it feels like more often than not, there's something happening between these two schools.
Jacob:It's bound to get chippy as rivals, but I feel like sometimes it's a little bit crossing the line. I think it's hard to not believe that the Michigan players had no idea what they were doing. I I I think they were standing directly on midcourt. I know that we were taking free throws, and that was what the time out was for, but, that was the exact place where it's always taken place. The court is huge.
Jacob:You can stand anywhere else on a free throw Mhmm. If you are not blocking out the rebounding side, but, just very unfortunate. And I think that, like, not to piss on Michigan here, but I feel like the accountability that they had and the credit they took for this incident was not, very, very respectable, and it didn't really wow me as a neutral or as a fan or whatever Mhmm. From a neutral perspective. Dusty May commented that he was not aware of this tradition.
Madi:Which if you are a college basketball coach or a college basketball fan or a player, how are you not aware of a tradition like that? It's so so well known.
Jacob:Exactly.
Madi:And I even said to my dad is a Michigan fan, so I have to deal with that sometimes. Exactly. But I've even I've spoke to the point of you are stepping on our logo at center court. What would you do if a player came into your locker room and stepped on the Block M? It would have the same results as it did with them stepping on the Spartan logo.
Madi:So what makes you think that it's any different for you to stand on our logo or for us to stand on yours?
Jacob:Yeah. I mean, take a hint. It's pretty much what it is. And the fact that does he may still denied all this even after that, and the refs told him before the game or during the game. I know he mentioned in an interview that this was going to happen.
Jacob:So even if he wasn't somehow aware before, he was aware during or before the game.
Madi:Exactly.
Jacob:So I feel like that kind of control of your players is definitely not the biggest and best message to send, to your rival. It it's bigger than sports, and it always has been. But
Madi:Yeah.
Jacob:He also went a part of my take today, the sports talk show, and he was like, well, if you have a logo so big, then, I guess that's what happens when you have to kiss the logo or something along those lines. And then he said, we'll get back to rolling. One, they weren't rolling because they got swept this
Madi:year.
Jacob:Right. Two, Michigan's logo is just as big as Michigan State's is, and he also played a coach at FAU last year, and their logo was just as big as all three of them. So I just think very, very, like, unrespectful for Michigan as a response. I'm not just saying that as a Michigan State attendee, as a student that's trying to diss on them. I feel like it was just, like, something like I said, some things are bigger than sports, and this was not a great representation of what Michigan can do to respond and acknowledge that.
Jacob:But, just a very, very interesting, like, end to the game. And it it kinda sucks it ended that way, but the energy did also get back to it how it was during the game after and during the ceremony as well.
Madi:Yeah. Absolutely. And I think as a first year head coach as well, why are you I don't think that's the impression that you want to leave on
Jacob:Most definitely.
Madi:Especially rival teams. I think that as Michigan State fans, we can all say that we respect the heck out of John Beeline. He was a great coach for Michigan for how many years in the making. But for Dusty May to come in and know what was about to happen and still allow his players to take part in the actions that they did, I think that as sports fans, we all kinda lost a little respect for Dusty May. Even what he's done in such a quick turnaround program, from last year under Jovan Howard not making the tournament, just having a rough year on all edges to, getting into the top 25 this year and having a great big ten, regular season.
Madi:They even they still have a buy, in the big ten tournament. So, I think that as sports fans as a sports fan, I lost a little bit of respect for Dusty May, especially after hearing all the post game interviews. And Yeah. Obviously, there's a lot more to come of the season. A lot more years with Dusty May as head coach for Michigan.
Madi:So we'll see how we'll see how that turns out.
Jacob:Yeah. That's a great way to start your tenure, I think. I think Michigan State fans had a little bit of respect even for him. Mhmm. Just be based on the season that he put together with a pretty much revamped roster, but now as this happened and even Juwan Howard's had some controversy in his tenure at Michigan, just not a great start for May's perspective.
Jacob:But, I mean, they kinda picked the fight. It is what it is, so we'll see how it develops. I don't know if there will be much development over the next few years of it, but, I'm sure for one thing, Michigan did learn their lesson, and that probably will not happen again. At least I hope not. Because I did not wanna go through that again
Madi:No.
Jacob:As a viewer. But, the Spartans are gearing up for March Madness style. They have received the first round by with the one c in the big ten tournament for their incredible season. They put together at twenty six and five during the regular season.
Madi:They
Jacob:will face the winner of Indiana and Oregon Friday at 12PM to kick off their tenure in the big ten tournament, and then we're gonna get into March Madness next week, so I'm not gonna say anything. But, they have a pretty good outlook for that tournament as well. So it should definitely be very interesting to see. Moving on now to a little bit of NFL free agency. Yeah.
Jacob:We listed down, like, some of the biggest signings and, like, a few winners that we thought, really put together solid free agencies. We'll just kinda run down the list a little bit, add a few comments or so for each one, and, really kinda just get you guys up to speed if you haven't been paying attention to a pretty wild free agency cycle. So to kinda start things off, the first one I have it written down here is Tee Higgins, wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals. He was franchise tagged for the second year in a row. He's making a hefty 26,180,000.00.
Jacob:That's a lot for a receiver, but, obviously, for Tee Higgins' perspective, he was projected to hit free agency last year, got tagged. Same thing happened this year. And the Bengals we've seen that they've been underwhelming in seasons past, especially last this past season when they missed the playoffs, came down to it in the last few weeks. And then, obviously, their defense is not looking great now with Trey Henderson requesting a trade and losing some of those defensive pieces. I don't know if the Bengals are kinda going for here.
Jacob:They need to bring me up the defense, but they wanna keep their team in core around to Jamar Chase and Teague against the pair with Joe Burrow. I don't blame them, but definitely kinda interesting.
Madi:Yeah. Definitely. I mean, I I don't have as much knowledge on the Bengals, obviously. But, especially after this past season with seeing them try and fight for that playoff spot in the last couple weeks, it literally came down to the last game. There was teams that they needed to lose to get in, and there was teams that they need to needed to win to get in, and it didn't end up shaping up for that.
Madi:Obviously, Joe Burrow still had the comeback player of the year after not having a great start to his regular season. But like you said, there's a lot that they need to do to work on their defense more so than, claiming these great wide receivers that they already have. Obviously, for the lions, they signed DJ Reed, which is a huge sign, for the defense rep in it.
Jacob:Such it all. Repping it.
Madi:I think that the most interesting sign was Sam Darnold.
Jacob:Yeah. That was very, very interesting. And, I mean, it kinda made sense as everything kind of got together. Seattle just dealt, you you know, Smith to the Raiders Mhmm. Last week.
Jacob:So they obviously are in the market for a quarterback.
Madi:Mhmm.
Jacob:The NFL draft class for quarterback isn't as deep as we've seen it in years past. So I feel like they were kinda pressured to meet like, feel like they needed to make a move. Mhmm. Sam Darnell is coming off a fantastic down to back season.
Madi:Oh, absolutely.
Jacob:In my opinion, he probably should have been up for comeback player of the year with how he put together a campaign. He was kind of written off by the Jets and the Panthers, signed with the Vikings and absolutely just came out of nowhere. That whole team came out of nowhere with 14 wins last year. Mhmm. So we're gonna go to the Seahawks.
Jacob:It definitely should help, but the Seahawks also just traded DK Metcalf to the Steelers. Mhmm. And they released Tyler Lockett. So now they got Jackson Smith and Jigba, and they just signed Marcus Valdes Scantlin today. So completely kinda revamped offense for them.
Jacob:Yeah. I don't know how Sandor is gonna fit in and produce the same production as last year.
Madi:No. I agree. And, honestly, some part of me, I'm as a Lions fan, thank god he didn't resign because I could not deal with
Jacob:Yeah.
Madi:The pressure of who's gonna get the number one seed with 15 wins in a regular season. That was so stressful. Yeah. But good for him for building a name for himself, getting that hefty contract with Seattle. Obviously, we have no idea what's gonna happen with them after releasing two of their best offensive weapons.
Madi:Yeah. But, it it'll now be interesting to see what happens with the Vikings because now they have JJ McCarthy who would be coming into his rookie season, and that would be a rebuild around him, honestly. After what we saw last year, obviously, you have Justin Jefferson. You have
Jacob:We're not even Yes. And they have, Jaylen Naylor, some other
Madi:trophies as well.
Jacob:TJ Hawkinson. Yeah.
Madi:Yeah. That's who I was yeah. Whatever. But it'll be interesting to see what happens with both of those teams with both Minnesota and with Seattle after swapping given, Sam Donald to Seattle, and now JJ McCarthy is up for grabs with, quarterback there. But, obviously, another big signing was Justin Fields signing with the jets who are also looking to revamp, their team.
Madi:Obviously, they have why am I just blanking on everything right now?
Jacob:They their offense is pretty interesting. Garrett Wilson is their best receiver. Davante Adams was released, so not as much firepower as they had last year with Aaron Rodgers at the helm. But like you said, the Jets have kinda been trying to figure things out since the 02/2011, '2 thousand '12 season. So Mhmm.
Jacob:This this deal didn't really make a ton of sense for me. I would have rather than commit to a quarterback in the draft. They have a high top 10 draft position. Mhmm. So, like, if you can't get one of the top two Cam Warder, Shuter Sanders in the draft, there's still options for you on the table.
Jacob:Mhmm. They obviously needed a bridge quarterback, but they signed him to a two year forty million deal for Justin Fields. So, paying him hefty money if he is gonna sit on the bench ultimately again kinda like he did in Pittsburgh. But Yeah. I'd like to see the Jets draft the quarterback.
Jacob:But this the signing could also be fun. At the same point, Justin Fields showed off his skills. He's a great runner. Mhmm. Decent thrower at the ball.
Jacob:That's always kinda been a little bit of his weakness, which is not great for the quarterback position, but he doesn't have a ton of weapons around him. I think Garrett Wilson will definitely help, but, I think it's just gonna be more interesting rather than anything. And I don't think the Jets are in any position to win now. They got a new head coach, Aaron Glenn. Their defense has been solid.
Madi:Thinking of.
Jacob:There you go. And Aaron Ben's a defensive coach. Yeah. So it should be interesting how he kinda uses his cards with Justin Fields. But I
Madi:can't believe I completely just blanked on Aaron Glenn. I did it. Honestly, I as a lions fan, I have so much respect for Aaron Glenn. Obviously, he helped our defense do what it did this past season even with having our entirety of the starting defense on IR, basically. Yeah.
Madi:So, yeah, it will be very interesting to see what the jets do. New coach, new quarterback, who could possibly be sitting on the bench. What's going on with their offense? Like, there's there's so many questions up in the air. But with Aaron Glenn Aaron Glenn learning from Dan Campbell with under a coach who utilized the, draft so well with him and Brad Holmes, it'll be interesting to see how Aaron Glenn takes that knowledge that he has from the lions to bring to the draft with the jets this summer.
Jacob:Yeah. And Aaron Glenn was never never able to, kinda counter a mobile quarterback on defense, so it should be interesting to see what he does when with Very. That's in his hands now. But, another signing that we thought was notable, I guess, too that can go pair and pair here is Carlton Davis and Milton Williams signed with the New England Patriots both through hefty deals. Three years, fifty four million for Carlton Davis, and four years, a hundred and four million for Milton Davis.
Jacob:I know as Lions fans, we kinda hope Carlton Davis would come back, but getting DJ Reed who was the number number one quarterback on the market Mhmm. Definitely kinda helped replace that.
Madi:Absolutely.
Jacob:But Carlton Davis did play well in Detroit. Just balance some injuries, especially with that neck injury late in the season. Mhmm. But good signing for the patriots. They've always had a very solid defense and pairing Carlton Davis with Christian Gonzales, who's still a very, very young and elite quarterback in the NFL, to learn alongside him will be great.
Jacob:Milton Williams was a big reason the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl. That defensive line was absolutely disgusting there in Philly, and I think he will be able to kinda contribute some of that same production to New England. They got new head coach Mike Vrabel, so he used to coach Tennessee a few years back and took them on many play deep playoff runs. So very good signs for the patriots. They're committing kind of fully to defense, but it's good.
Jacob:You need to build around your quarterback even if it's on the defensive side of the ball. Keep him off the field as much as you want. Mhmm. Drake May will definitely be able to take a leap in year two there for New England. Mhmm.
Jacob:But they gotta get him some weapons. We'll get to that another day, but two good signings for the patriots, I think.
Madi:I am absolutely heartbroken that Carlton Davis did not sign again with the lions. He he was such a he almost he was the heart of our defense for a little bit there at the end after, especially after Hutch was hurt. Carlton Davis was so just driven, and he was so dedicated to being a Detroit lion. So he's gonna he's definitely gonna be a tough loss, obviously, with, having DJ Reed sign. That's huge for us.
Madi:That's a gain, but losing Carlton Davis is definitely a loss. But you talk about who, Philly's losing losing Darius Slay.
Jacob:Yeah.
Madi:That's a tough They
Jacob:lost a good amount of their team.
Madi:That's probably a pretty tough one to lose for, Philly, especially, obviously, they're coming off of a Super Bowl season. But, yeah, there's definitely shake ups with those teams that were in the playoffs and
Jacob:Yeah.
Madi:You know?
Jacob:Yeah. Yeah. I never heard that year is what you're trying to say. But, yeah. I mean, Darius Slaves, obviously, like, a little bit older than when he was in his prime now.
Jacob:Kinda pushing past his days a little bit. The very still a very solid contributor. The Eagles also traded CJ Gardner Johnson, another former line a lot of the former lines today. But they they are revamping their defense a little bit. They kinda needed to because salary cap does unfortunately exist in the NFL.
Jacob:Unfortunately. They kinda have to do that, but, should be a nice little pickup for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They've always had a solid DB room. Another former steel that was on the move as well, Najee Harris signed with the chargers for a year or one year, five point two five. He's been the definition of probably your above average ideal running back,
Madi:a
Jacob:thousands yards in all the seasons in NFL so far, but kinda nothing really exciting beyond that. But definitely another notable signing. Those are kinda like the big ones that we hadn't written down, but I I did add two kind of teams that I thought really had a strong free agency. Those being the patriots and the bears, we talked a little bit on the patriots with Carlton Davis and Milton Williams coming in. Mhmm.
Jacob:But they also signed linebacker Harold Landry to a three year forty three point five million dollar deal. Linebacker Robert Spillane to a three year thirty seven million dollar deal. Mhmm. Joshua Dobbs, he's not gonna play, but a very, very solid backup two years eight million. And Mac Collins who came over from Buffalo, Two Years, Eight Point Four.
Jacob:So they put a lot of money into this class. It wasn't really regarded as a crazy elite free agency class, but I think some of these signings are definitely in the right direction for them. Like, I know their offenses work. Like, we needed to be like, why we kinda said it before, but these defensive signings are not gonna go under the radar. They're very good signings.
Jacob:Just kinda have to see how that meshes together with some potential rookies coming in or whatever, but very, very solid off season for the patriots. And we also written down the bears here. I don't like saying that as a lions fan, but, they put together a a very, very solid free agent class and off season if that, they brought in center Drew Dollman for a three year forty two million dollar deal. I'm gonna butcher this name so bad, so I really apologize in advance with defensive end. Dio Oda Yingbo, three years forty eight million.
Jacob:I think that's about as good as I could probably get Yep.
Madi:You did great.
Jacob:For that. Appreciate it right there. Grady Jarrett was a big one coming in for three years, forty five 43,500,000.0. Elite contributor there in Atlanta, One of the best defensive tackles in the NFL, and they also revamped their offensive line acquiring Joe Tooney and Jonah Jackson from the Chiefs, and the Rams for draft picks this off season. Bears put together a very solid class as well with a new kinda dynamic coming for their season upcoming.
Madi:Oh, yeah. Absolutely. And, obviously, having Ben Johnson. Alright. There it's gonna be interesting to see what the bears can pull off.
Madi:Obviously, Ben Johnson always talks about, oh, he has a mobile quarterback now and how much he can do with him, blah blah blah, whatever. But, obviously, some good signings. But I have a question.
Jacob:Yeah.
Madi:What are your thoughts on the Lions releasing Zadarius Smith?
Jacob:You know, I liked it when he was brought in Mhmm. At the trade deadline this past year, but I know that his situation was a little bit different because he's not a number one guy at his age of 30 years old, with Hutchison going down. I don't hate the fact that we didn't bring him back because the production was not there. Like, as I've I I kinda said, different situation, but, I don't think he was gonna contribute anything that, like, wowed us. He was really hyped up when he came into the Lions.
Madi:Yes. He was.
Jacob:Only recorded a few sacks. This edge class in the NFL draft is also really deep. Mhmm. So I have no problems kinda switching the focus to that, if that's what Brad Holmes is gonna do. Which
Madi:we know he will.
Jacob:We we know he will. Mhmm. But we also know he has tricks up his sleeve. So I really hope that he brings up or brings in an edge rusher or two or three that could really wreck the game because Aidan Hutchison went down last year. We saw how this unit kinda struggle a little bit without getting pressure.
Jacob:Obviously, other bodies like Ali McNeil went down, and Odes Rica can't stand stand the field as much. But, I think it was fine. Like, we can live without him, but we need to prioritize that position going forward. Same thoughts for you, or is it kinda
Madi:Yeah. I I mean, I was questioning it at first, which I think that a lot of Lions fans probably were. But, obviously, for me, I don't know the ideal draft class. I didn't know that there was a bunch of great, like, deep edge rushers coming in.
Jacob:This year.
Madi:So, it it'll be interesting to see what Brad Holmes can do with that. Obviously, we know him for using the draft.
Jacob:Took Hutch fourth overall, third or
Madi:Second overall. Second overall. Overall, third or Second. Second overall. I can't think about sports today.
Madi:But, like, you see how he has been able to utilize that draft. I mean, they took, who's our running back? Jameer Gibbs.
Jacob:Jameer Gibbs.
Madi:They took Jameer Gibbs at what? Twelfth or third twelfth overall, and we were ashamed for it. Yeah. And we all as Jameer Williams too. It was a Yeah.
Madi:Jameer. Ashamed. Yes. But we were all as fans, like, what are you doing? And then they turn out to be these amazing players that we might not be able to afford to keep.
Madi:Yeah. But it'll definitely be I was I was very questionable as to why they did that, but now I understand, and that's why I had to ask.
Jacob:I love the questions coming my way. It's it's fun to talk about the way, but, they should be fine moving forward. Just interesting to see their situation kind of develop a free agency, but, lots of opportunities to capitalize. That was kind of a quick little free agency roundup, but moving gears to the NHL trade deadline for our last segment today. Manny, this is more of your expertise, and I'm gonna be probably someone like you a little bit with some of those Odds coming straight to my mind, but I'll let you cook for this a little bit.
Jacob:But, obviously, I think the biggest move was Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers for a twenty twenty seven second round pick.
Madi:For a conditional twenty twenty seven second round pick too. Bad. What are you doing? What are you doing? It was as a Detroit Red Wings fan, I was on my phone in shock that the Bruins just traded their captain to the Florida Panthers out of any team.
Madi:I mean, there were so many questions up in the air because Brad Marchand was possibly on the move. There were a lot of, like, there were a lot of rumors circulating, all over social media, all over everywhere that Brad Marchand was possibly going to be traded at the deadline. And for a minute, Vegas golden knights tweeted and just said hi with a period. So we were all like, oh, here he goes. He's going to Vegas.
Madi:No. He goes to Florida for a conditional twenty twenty seven second round pick. That is horrible. That is such a kick in the butt for Brad Marchanda. It just feels like such a stab in the back to him, especially as your captain when you're on a team that is just not producing as much as they have been.
Madi:Now I put in there, there is only seven players left on the Bruins roster from their '23 or 2022, '20 '20 '3 team where they broke the Red Wings record for most wins in a season. There's only seven guys left on that team. The Bruins had an absolute fire sale this season. They're thirty, twenty eight, and eight, and now they're winning games. They traded Brad Marchand.
Madi:They traded Charlie Coyle. They traded Trent fed Frederick. They traded Brandon Carlo. They traded so many guys, but they got Casey Mittelstaedt, who's a big 10 guy. So shout out to Casey Mittelstaedt.
Madi:He went to Minnesota. He's a great offensive player. And then Henry
Jacob:Chagari, I think, or something like that.
Madi:Henry from the Colorado. I don't wanna butcher the last name. I would feel bad. And then, obviously, they got Frasier Minton from, Toronto in the Brandon Carlo trade. Why?
Madi:Like, there's just so many questions about why the Bruins would do this, and, obviously, they weren't having the season that they wanted to have. And they completely lowballed Brad Marchand on another contract, which I think he was asking for just over 7,000,000, which may be a lot for an older guy, but he's still producing in a great way. He's still he's still a great player. He's a great captain for the Bruins, and they were just like, alright. Peace out here.
Madi:Give me a second round pick back.
Jacob:Yeah. Conditional second round
Madi:pick. Conditional second round pick.
Jacob:Yeah. It's crazy. And I know Marchant is 36. So, like, obviously, in terms of hockey, that's that's old. In terms of sports, that's old.
Madi:It's very old.
Jacob:But just a great move for the Panthers to kinda swoop in there and take them. Yeah. I mean, they're sitting at forty, twenty two, and three. They're right back in the thick of things. They just won the cup last year.
Madi:Exactly.
Jacob:So they're gearing up to kinda do it again. I know, is Matthew Kachuk injured? I
Madi:can't He's on long term IR, which has a lot of people questioning this. That's the thing. So they bring in Brad Marchand for that 2027 conditional second round pick. Matthew Tkachuk is on long term IR. So Brad Marchand will come in and swoop that top spot on the first line in place of Matthew Tkachuk.
Madi:Playoffs roll around. Who's gonna come off of long term IR? Matthew Tkachuk. Here he comes. So it's gonna be, like, Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, and Brad Marchand all on the same line.
Madi:That is a rat line. Those three are, as Brad Marchand says, scumbags. It's insane. Like, Florida is gonna be insane when the playoffs come around. So, yeah, Brad Marchand takes that spot of Matthew Kachuk now.
Madi:And then when Matthew Tkachuk is not injured anymore, he will be back in the lineup with
Jacob:Oh my gosh. That's gonna be, like, on the road for the defending champs. Like, unbelievable. Kind of a steal for them. I think every hockey fan could kinda say that.
Jacob:Another team that was active at the deadline as well was the Buffalo Sabres. Kinda surprisingly, maybe not surprisingly, they're sitting at thirtieth in the league right now. So bottom of the standings. Horrible. They have not been able to get things going for quite some time now.
Jacob:Haven't made the playoffs since that 2011 season. So
Madi:Mhmm.
Jacob:They shipped off Dylan Cozens and Dennis Gilbert to the senators and a twenty twenty six second round pick. But they brought in Josh Norris, defensive, defenseman Jacob, Bernard Docker. Great trade for the senators. Really great trade. What do you kinda think about this one?
Madi:I mean, Dylan Cousins has come in and just kind of exploded already with Ottawa. I think that was a great trade for them. And Josh Norris is very injury prone. So it was I think that it was tough for Ottawa to want to give up a young guy like that because he's I think he is 24, 20 five. He's not an old guy.
Madi:He's still got a lot of time left, but he's had I think he's had shoulder surgery. Like, he's had surgeries in the first few seasons that he's been in the league. So it is tough to see Josh Norris leave Ottawa because we knew that he could be a great player for them. But seeing Dylan Cousins come in and take that role as another young guy for a team that is also fighting tooth and nail to get into the playoffs was a great move for them. I don't know much about Dennis Gilbert and Jacob Bernard Docker, but, obviously, just swapping defensive players at that point.
Madi:But for Dylan Cousins to go to Ottawa, I think that was I think that was a great move on Ottawa's part, to attempt to get him. And, obviously, the Sabers are not looking to make the playoffs this year. They have first year head coach Lindy Ruff, was just hired in. And he's not a great coach. He coached in New Jersey for the past few years, and he was kinda absolutely horrible except for one year where they made a fluke playoff and then lost in the second round.
Madi:So Lindy Ralph was never great, Went back to his home team of Buffalo. He played there when he was in the NHL, so it was I don't know. Buffalo has been a mess for the last twenty years
Jacob:Yeah.
Madi:Almost. We just looked it up before we started this actually. The last time Buffalo made the playoffs was twenty ten, twenty eleven season.
Jacob:Yeah.
Madi:So I think that the moves were interesting getting rid of one of your best forwards coming in, like, best one of your best young forwards, but you're getting a good young guy in return. He's just gotta stay healthy through it.
Jacob:Yeah. I think the return potentially could be a little bit underwhelming for Buffalo, especially dealing off one of your best players at that. Yeah. Centers are sitting at 34, 20 five, and five. So they're obviously looking to make that playoff push like you said.
Jacob:Mhmm. Kind of like a little bit of a low risk, low reward or low risk, high reward kind of trade. I definitely think that's kinda how it's looking, but should kinda be interesting to see how that plays off for the centers the rest of the season. It can only kinda, I think, help them, not as much hurt them. So good trade for them.
Madi:Absolutely.
Jacob:For the sake of time, we're gonna hit on two more, I think,
Madi:for
Jacob:the end of this segment. But, former red wing and former elite gritty master,
Madi:Jake
Jacob:Wallman, that was one of my favorite players for the wings. But
Madi:I love Walling.
Jacob:Oh, he was so fun to watch.
Madi:He was great.
Jacob:That Penguins win where he hit the gritty was top five hockey moments of my life.
Madi:I was there for the shootout win against Vancouver. Or not shootout. He got a penalty shot against Vancouver last year, and I saw him do the gritty in person, and it was probably, like, one of the greatest moments of my entire life.
Jacob:If you've never seen Jake Balmond do a gritty on skates on a high track, please watch him. Absolute scenes.
Madi:It's life changing.
Jacob:But he messed around a little bit this year. He was on the Sharks side of the own free agency with them last season. But the Oilers just swooped in and acquired him for a 2026 conditional first round pick. He's getting traded for a first round pick. Look at him go.
Jacob:Is. But I think great trade for the Oilers. That's what they needed to do. They needed to add another guy. They were so close last year to winning it all.
Jacob:They need to capitalize on McDavid still being there for Mhmm. Who knows how much longer now. I mean, they've been long overdue to really make another deep playoff run win a cup let alone win a championship. Right. So if anything, this is gonna help them.
Madi:Oh, yeah.
Jacob:Just very very sad to see him go.
Madi:I think that it was I think that that's a really good thing. I feel like even though it was I mean, it it was a pick and another forward from Edmonton. So that's gotta make Jake Wallman feel a little bit better about him and his defensive play for getting traded for a first round pick. Yeah. That's great.
Madi:I think that Jake is really gonna help with Edmonton trying to make that playoff push and just being a solid defenseman. We saw him produce when he was with the red wings, but not as well as he has this past season with the sharks. He's been great with the sharks. Obviously, playing on a team with a really, really, really young forward group, really young back end, have struggled a little bit with goaltending. So Sharks aren't looking great.
Madi:Obviously, had the first overall pick last year with Maclin Celabrine, so they knew that they know that they're a part of a rebuild. I think Jake has done a great job with, helping them be a part of that rebuild. It's probably gonna be tough to see him go from, the Sharks, especially for those younger guys, that look up to him as a a veteran player, but an older guy who's learned his way around the league a little bit more. But, yeah, I I think that's a great acquire I think that's a great pickup from Edmonton to grab Jake to put into their back end, into their defense.
Jacob:Yeah. The Sharks did everything they're supposed to. They sold one of their best players for high value right when they do it at the end of the deadline when everything's kind of frantic.
Madi:So I
Jacob:think definitely a good move for the Sharks. Mhmm. Oilers are like we said, gonna make that push again once more to kinda get back to where they were last year and definitely get over the hump. The last two, like, I I guess, like, moves for the Red Wings that we wanna touch on because we are Red Wings fans. We are.
Jacob:They bring back Peter Mrazek. I hope I did not butch that because I practiced it before this episode. Perfect. And then they brought in the goalie from Chicago Blackhawks, and then they trade away Joe Vileno in this process. Both these players were not producing to their best standards, let alone average NHL standards this season.
Jacob:I feel like Mrazek is another average goalie. The red wings love bringing him in. They did it with Husso.
Madi:Oh, yeah.
Jacob:They're doing it right now this season.
Madi:Steve Eiseman loves carrying, like, 14 goalies on his roster.
Jacob:They all do the same exact
Madi:No reason.
Jacob:None of them are elite.
Madi:They're all bridge goalies too. They're all getting us to Sebastian Cosa, to Trey Augustine, to these younger guys that are in Grand Rapids that are trying to get up to the big leagues. But to bring back Peter Mrazek, I just have so many questions about why Steve Iserman did this. I understand trading away Joe Valeno. He wasn't producing as much as we wanted him to this past season.
Madi:He's been playing on the fourth line. He's been scratched a few games for the younger guys like, Casper, like Soderblom. There's he's had his fair share of healthy scratches. But why couldn't we have traded away Hall? Why can't you just get rid of our bad defensive guys and pull up younger guys from Grand Rapids?
Madi:There's guys down there that are probably a lot more ready than Hall and Petrie. Respect my Michigan State guy, but he's just not good.
Jacob:Yeah. There
Madi:are so many questions about what Steve Agyeman is doing. What is the Eisner plan? There's no Eisner plan. What's the plan, pal?
Jacob:It's been loading for too long. Right. This plan was supposed to kick in. This plan was supposed to kick in three years ago. Like, they were they've been so close to the playoffs for too many seasons now.
Jacob:Two seasons in a row where they've been right there. Last season was a heartbreak at the end, with Washington getting in for that last spot. But I mean, like, it's just it's very confusing what the red wings are doing right now because they've been such a weird team this year.
Madi:So weird.
Jacob:They've lost few straight. They'll go out straight by the coach, brought him to go in. He went, he was caught fire
Madi:game win streak.
Jacob:Two, seven game ringstakes when he got hired, and now they are
Madi:Now they're on six now they're on a six game losing streak.
Jacob:Get yourself a team that can win seven straight and then lose six straight right after. I mean, it does not come around often, and I think
Madi:just They've got it right here in Detroit. I haven't
Jacob:made the playoffs since '16, so it's just like it's this team's confusing. They have young guy they have a great pool of young guys at their school.
Madi:They have one of the best AHL teams, period. They have so many young guys down there that are, I don't know if they're ready to come up, but they're producing just such they're so great down in Grand Rapids. And the same goes for, I think, Chicago, the Rockford Ice Hogs, and the Grand Rapids Griffins have the best AHL teams in the league right now. They both have great farm systems. They just gotta figure out a way to get them up there, but we can't because we have Jeff Petrie on a $34,000,000 contract for, like, nineteen years, it feels like.
Jacob:No. At some point, you gotta realize it's it's time to shift the focus, get your young guys some time. Like, it's it's reminding me of the Detroit Tigers situation where they were, like, in the midst of competing a little bit, started with the playoffs, and then brought us some of the young guys, and they went on the run last year to make the playoffs. It needs to happen. And it's at some point, you can't just keep relying on your guys that are getting older.
Jacob:Just playing them because they have a contract that's gonna cost you a little bit of money. It's okay to shift the focus to some of those younger guys sometimes. The red wings have been long overdue to make the playoffs now. Mhmm. It's got a lot of fans frustrated.
Jacob:There's no awards for having the best farm system in NHL. Right. You have to be able to contribute and produce at the next level. They've had the probably a top farm system for how this entire ISER plan that we call it, but the winning has not contributed at the main level. Just sad to see, but, I mean, these moves kinda don't really make a ton of sense or have a ton of significance for the rest of the season.
Jacob:But
Madi:And we can't keep bringing in 35 year old goalies who only have a year left in them, who can't win 20 games in
Jacob:a season alone. Maddie's gonna crash out.
Madi:Why? I am. The red wings make me wanna crash out. It's ridiculous that we cannot make the playoffs.
Jacob:And it's right there too. It's right there.
Madi:Right.
Jacob:I know. It's just such a sad
Madi:I don't wanna doubt Steve Iserman, but I'm beginning to doubt Steve Iserman. I don't wanna do it. There's so many questions. So many questions.
Jacob:Something's gonna happen soon or else those doubts will start to come into play. But I think before we kind of rip our hair out of our heads Mhmm. For this episode, we might just call it there because it could get ugly.
Madi:It will get
Jacob:ugly. Don't keep talking to me
Madi:about the red wings.
Jacob:It's not good. It would get ugly. But proud. This was definitely a fun episode to do. Kinda switch it up from the norm a little bit.
Jacob:Like we said, stay tuned next week because we are gonna be doing the I don't know if it was the first ever, so I am not gonna make that claim, but Brown Table is gonna do a March Madness bracket here collectively. We're gonna bring it we're gonna bring, bring, back in guest PJ for a collective March Madness bracket. You don't wanna miss that. It'll be lots of fun, with selection Sunday coming up this Sunday. But that's gonna do it here for us on this episode.
Jacob:Thanks again, Maddie, for joining me. It's always been a pleasure, and we will see you guys next week. We better.