And if the votes aren't there, what happens?

Yeah, I think there's, you know, that, the promise of that vote, I mean, that was, that was, that was put out by both, both sides.

Both Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz, Derek Schmidt mentioned it in their statements after the bill didn't get voted on.

I, I think knowing the amendments that were introduced in the last day, knowing, you know, Kennedy's comments, knowing some of the Republican opposition, knowing how strong the Democratic resistance now is with the AFL-CIO, with the CBC, with Murphy and Cruz aligned, two politicians who have not always approached college legislation the exact same way, but are definitely against this bill, um, I think there's a lot more horse trading to go, and that doesn't mean a vote couldn't come together quickly, but I, I, I think it stands to reason that, you know, the negotiations for this are not done.

I, I, I, I don't necessarily know if the exact 171 pages, you know, that were, that were updated pages that were released would be, would be the bill that, that ultimately reaches the floor, just because there's people who want thing-- different things with it, and there's, and there's, and there's definitely a lot of discussions to go.

So, um, you're, you're right to say, like, if we were told seven days ago this was a slam dunk pre-recess, once the SEC and Big Ten changed their tune on it, and obviously that didn't happen, I think, you know, it's a fool me once, fool me twice situation where maybe it's raising some skepticism to if this is sort of framed as outside of the midterms.

Well, it's just a, it's just a matter of, you know, s-the schedule and, and, and we're gonna get it done just because, you know, we just couldn't, we just couldn't get it in that global package right at the deadline.

but, but I'm happy to share it with you.

Did they get the most out of deciding to do this that they could have? Grade the trade.

Yeah, I mean, I think, look, like, the reality is he's playing extremely well, but he still is a, a platoon player.

He doesn't really play against lefties.

So to get four pitchers, and, and really it's, to me, it's, it's three, um, I shouldn't say Jake Bird is not, could not be an improvement on some of the guys in the bullpen.

I think that's exactly what he could be for them.

But when you think about prospect return and guys who maybe have a higher ceiling, it's, it's, it's the other three in the trade.

It's Jack Siebert, it's Graybow, and it's Cruz.

Regardless

Did they get the most out of deciding to do this that they could have? Grade the trade.

Yeah, I mean, I think, look, the reality is he's playing extremely well, But he still is a platoon player.

He doesn't really play against lefties.

So to get four pitchers, and really to me it's three, I shouldn't say Jake Burt could not be an improvement on some of the guys in the bullpen.

I think that's exactly what he could be for them.

But when you think about prospect return and guys who maybe have a higher ceiling, it's the other three in the trade.

It's Jack Siebert, it's Grable, and it's Cruz.

But let's start with, so who replaces Luis Garcia Jr.? Is it Shaparo? Is he the guy that's the everyday first baseman? And then what can he do offensively to minimize the loss of Garcia Jr.? Or who's going to fill that void?

Did they get the most out of deciding to do this that they could have? Grade the trade.

Yeah, I mean, I think, look, the reality is he's playing extremely well, But he still is a platoon player.

He doesn't really play against lefties.

So to get four pitchers, and really to me it's three, I shouldn't say Jake Burt could not be an improvement on some of the guys in the bullpen.

I think that's exactly what he could be for them.

But when you think about prospect return and guys who maybe have a higher ceiling, it's the other three in the trade.

It's Jack Siebert, it's Grable, and it's Cruz.

But let's start with, so who replaces Luis Garcia Jr.? Is it Shaparo? Is he the guy that's the everyday first baseman? And then what can he do offensively to minimize the loss of Garcia Jr.? Or who's going to fill that void?

Did they get the most out of deciding to do this that they could have? Grade the trade.

Yeah, I mean, I think, look, the reality is he's playing extremely well, But he still is a platoon player.

He doesn't really play against lefties.

So to get four pitchers, and really to me it's three, I shouldn't say Jake Burt could not be an improvement on some of the guys in the bullpen.

I think that's exactly what he could be for them.

But when you think about prospect return and guys who maybe have a higher ceiling, It's the other three in the trade.

It's Jack Siebert, it's Grable, and it's Cruz.

But let's start with, so who replaces Luis Garcia Jr.? Is it Shaparo? Is he the guy that's the everyday first baseman? And then what can he do offensively to minimize the loss of Garcia Jr.? Or who's going to fill that void?

Did they get the most out of deciding to do this that they could have? Grade the trade.

Yeah, I mean, I think, look, the reality is he's playing extremely well, But he still is a platoon player.

He doesn't really play against lefties.

So to get four pitchers, and really to me it's three, I shouldn't say Jake Burt could not be an improvement on some of the guys in the bullpen.

I think that's exactly what he could be for them.

But when you think about prospect return and guys who maybe have a higher ceiling, It's the other three in the trade.

It's Jack Siebert, it's Grable, and it's Cruz.

But let's start with, so who replaces Luis Garcia Jr.? Is it Shaparo? Is he the guy that's the everyday first baseman? And then what can he do offensively to minimize the loss of Garcia Jr.? Or who's going to fill that void?

Does Foster Griffin move to another team before 6:00 PM today?

Yeah.

I mean, if I had to handicap it, I'd say yes.

I think o- o- one thing that's kind of relevant there is that the, the starting pitcher market, especially the frontline starter, and, and he's played himself or pitched himself into that sort of category, has definitely thinned out in recent days.

I mean, we've obviously saw Screwball move.

We've seen Gausman move.

We've seen Freddy Peralta move.

If they get a salary cap, they gotta spend a certain amount of money, which will be a lot more money than what they're spending now.

Anyway, do you think CJ is now more in play before the deadline?

Yeah, it's an interesting question, and actually bringing up that throw is relevant too, because I think one thing that's really held up, Trey talks with him, and this is not new to this season.

It happened in the past too, was that the Nationals are looking for a return for a frontline shortstop.

And I think a lot of teams, when thinking about giving a big, big package for a player like Abrams, would say, well, we don't actually view him as a shortstop, which is a promotion position on the field.

I mean, defensively, along with catcher and center field, you know, it's important as it gets.

So they say, you know, he's a second base, maybe he's an outfielder.

So that's sort of, that's affected the trade market and talks for him in a considerable way.

But if they get a salary cap, they've got to spend a certain amount of money, which will be a lot more money than what they're spending now.

Anyway, do you think CJ is now more in play before the deadline?

Yeah, it's an interesting question, and actually bringing up that throw is relevant too, because I think one thing that's really held up, Trey talks with him, and this is not new to this season.

It happened in the past too, was that the nationals are looking for a return for a frontline shortstop.

And I think a lot of teams when thinking about giving a big, big package for a player like Abrams would say, well, we don't actually view him as a shortstop, which is a position on the field.

I mean, defensively along with catcher and center field is, you know, as important as it gets.

So they say, you know, he's a second base, maybe he's an outfielder.

So that's sort of, that's affected the trade market and talks for him in a considerable way.

Brilliantly boring since 1865.

warning track once.

I had to let him know because he said, first pitch... meet and greet, those found on the concourse.

Then he said, we'll have him do junkies trivia.

Oh, no, no.

Who said that? Todd Turner? No, not Todd Turner.

The guy who works for the Bay Sox.

And then he said something about the eighth inning.

It is a status symbol.

How many of these guys offensively are likely to still be around the next couple of years?

Well, that's like one of the main subplots of the season and could also be a main success of this roster is that there's a good chance that they've played well enough that trading CJ Abrams, who's been become a linchpin to this team, becomes a really tough proposition where.

You're right.

If they were tracking toward that Vegas number at this point, I think we'd all just be writing our, you know, wasn't he great and wasn't that a great Juan Soto trade and the success stories.

But it would kind of be as a farewell tone.

Now, I think it's in the balance whether they want to go that route.

And, you know, I think that's sort of, you know, there's always going to be.

Can you fill us in on what's different about how they prepared for the draft and kind of the structure and the guys involved in the draft?

How many of these guys offensively are likely to still be around the next couple years?

Well, that's like one of the main... subplots of the season and could also be a main success of this roster is that there's a good chance that they've played well enough that trading CJ Abrams, who's been become a linchpin to this team, becomes a really tough proposition where you're right, if they were tracking toward that Vegas number at this point, I think we'd all just be writing our, you know, wasn't he great and wasn't that a great Juan Soto trade and the success stories, but it would kind of be as a farewell tone.

Now I think it's in the balance whether they want to go that route.

And, you know, I think that's sort of, you know, there's always going to be, dissonant goals between the front office and the clubhouse when you're through a rebuild, right? Like the clubhouse wants to win every day.

Those guys, they rely on it.

Their future paychecks, arbitration checks, whatever, rely on playing well.

The front office, I think in a vacuum they want to win, but they want to win, you know, at a more sustainable level in the future.

Can you fill us in on what's different about how they prepared for the draft and kind of the structure and the guys involved in the draft?

But beyond that, give me the father's background, profession, career.

Well, it's not anything that really deals with basketball or contracts he was a campus cop at boston university um he's worked in retail before that he's worked a lot of odd jobs he's from the congo he lived in france i mean he describes himself as someone who's just constantly talking to people and absorbing information um coaches and people i've talked to around them have said you know he's always has his ears up he's writing down everything he hears from any agent that even they meet with i mean they've over the years they've been courted by more than 20, 30 people who wanted to represent his son.

And I think Ace is a very savvy business person and a very savvy parent in this case, where he's grabbing something from all those meetings.

And he's not necessarily calling back and saying, great, you're hired.

But I think he's always taking tidbits and forming his approach.

Now, again, They have an advisor who's very experienced.

They have marketing people to help negotiate Nike and Red Bull and Fanatics and whatever it may be.

But has his involvement as, let's just call it parent slash agent or agent slash parent, has it meant, has it manifested itself into anything more with the coaches, with the teams, with front offices? Like, is there a concern there?

Tell us why Ace DeBonsa, A.J. DeBonsa's father, is not your typical basketball dad.

Yeah, so what they've done is they don't have a traditional agent, which is fairly provocative.

And A major reason for that, and this doesn't just deal with the NBA, it also has dealt with NIL in college, NIL in high school, which A.J. made millions of dollars before he even got to BYU's campus, both through endorsements and NIL deals with his various teams.

They've decided not to go with the traditional agent because Ace has believed that through his own research and through support from the circle he has put around him and AJ, that he can do a lot of what those agents do.

And then the family can keep a four percentage cut that an agent would take from a first MBA contract or a 20% cut that an agent might take from an NIL deal in college.

Now, they're not alone.

They work with a man named Leonard Armato, who was Shaq's agent in the 90s.

But has his involvement as, let's just call it, parent-slash-agent or agent-slash-parent involved Has it manifested itself into anything more with the coaches, with the teams, with front offices? Is there a concern there?

Tell us why Ace DeBonsa, A.J. DeBonsa's father, is not your typical basketball dad.

Yeah, so what they've done is they don't have a traditional agent, which is fairly provocative.

And A major reason for that, and this doesn't just deal with the NBA, it also has dealt with NIL in college, NIL in high school, which A.J. made millions of dollars before he even got to BYU's campus, both through endorsements and NIL deals with his various teams.

They've decided not to go with the traditional agent because Ace has believed that through his own research and through support from the circle he has put around him and AJ, that he can do a lot of what those agents do and then the family can keep a four percentage cut that an agent would take from a first MBA contract or a 20% cut that an agent might take from an NIL deal in college.

Now, they're not alone.

They work with a man named Leonard Armato who was Shaq's agent in the 90s.

He's sort of framed as a family advisor They have a marketing team now that's based in Paris.

But has his involvement as, let's just call it, parent-slash-agent or agent-slash-parent involved Has it manifested itself into anything more with the coaches, with the teams, with front offices? Like, is there a concern there?

What if the deadline were tomorrow? How do you think they'd handle it?

Yeah, I mean, I think when you're tracking toward 80 wins, which is what they are, they're a little bit over that right now, but when you're about, you know, 500, I think what you do is you probably...

I mean, the most...

Savvy teams can kind of soft buy and soft sell at the same time.

So maybe you go, you know, you make some of your weaknesses a little bit better.

So you take some mid to low level prospects and get coin flip relievers.

You don't go all in for the best closer on the market.

Just give me any reason to be even slightly optimistic about pitching at this point.

What if the deadline were tomorrow? How do you think they'd handle

it? Yeah, I think when you're tracking toward 80 wins, which is what they are, they're a little bit over that right now, but when you're about 500, I think what you do is you probably...

I mean, the most...

Savvy teams can kind of soft buy and soft sell at the same time.

So maybe you make some of your weaknesses a little bit better.

So you take some mid to low level prospects and get coin flip relievers.

You don't go all in for the best closer on the market.

Just give me any reason to be even slightly optimistic about pitching at this point.

What if the deadline were tomorrow? How do you think they'd handle it?

Yeah, I think when you're tracking toward 80 wins, which is what they are, they're a little bit over that right now, but when you're about 500, I think what you do is you probably...

I mean, the most...

Savvy teams can kind of soft buy and soft sell at the same time.

So maybe you make some of your weaknesses a little bit better.

So you take some mid to low level prospects and get coin flip relievers.

You don't go all in for the best closer on the market.

Just give me any reason to be even slightly optimistic about pitching at this point.

What if the deadline were tomorrow? How do you think they'd handle it?

Yeah, I think when you're tracking toward 80 wins, which is what they are, they're a little bit over that right now, but when you're about 500, I think what you do is you probably...

I mean, the most...

Savvy teams can kind of soft buy and soft sell at the same time.

So maybe you go, you know, you make some of your weaknesses a little bit better.

So you take some mid to low level prospects and get coin flip relievers.

You don't go all in for the best closer on the market.

Just give me any reason to be even slightly optimistic about pitching at this point.

What if the deadline were tomorrow? How do you think they'd handle it?

Yeah, I think when you're tracking toward 80 wins, which is what they are, they're a little bit over that right now, but when you're about 500, I think what you do is you probably...

I mean, the most...

Savvy teams can kind of soft buy and soft sell at the same time.

So maybe you make some of your weaknesses a little bit better.

So you take some mid to low level prospects and get coin flip relievers.

You don't go all in for the best closer on the market.

The one they lost was to the Marlins where they got swept down at home and they took the first of three against the royals uh last night at nats park um just give me any reason to be you know even slightly optimistic about pitching at this point

What if the deadline were tomorrow? How do you think they'd handle it?

Yeah, I think when you're tracking toward 80 wins, which is what they are, they're a little bit over that right now, but when you're about 500, I think what you do is you probably...

I mean, the most...

Savvy teams can kind of soft buy and soft sell at the same time.

So maybe you make some of your weaknesses a little bit better.

So you take some mid to low level prospects and get coin flip relievers.

You don't go all in for the best closer on the market.

at home and they took the first of three against the royals uh last night at nats park um just give me any reason to be you know even slightly optimistic about pitching at this point

by the way how how crushing and surprising was it for you that the washington post eliminated the sports department like did you ever like envision that happening even right up until when it happened

Yeah, I mean, it was, it was crushing and, you know, we had heard rumbles in the month before that big changes were possible, especially for sports.

I mean, in the week ahead, we were a fascination of the media reports.

It ends up being more than 400 people.

So it went well beyond the sports section, but.

Yeah, I mean, I was crushed.

I mean, I was there nine years.

for Dylan Cruz?

By the way, how crushing and surprising was it for you that the Washington Post eliminated the sports department? Like, did you ever envision that happening, even right up until when it happened?

Yeah, I mean, it was crushing, and... you know, we had heard rumbles in the month before that big changes were possible, especially for sports.

I mean, in the week ahead, we were a fascination of the media reports.

It ends up being more than 400 people.

So it went well beyond the sports section, but, Yeah, I mean, I was crushed.

I mean, I was there nine years.

I made lifelong friends.

Is there anything, though, in the minors that could help the bullpen or some of the pitching issues that they have?

I'm not going to dive too deep into it, but it's kind of surprising.

Yeah, the only thing I'll say on that, and like, you can't necessarily prove this because it's totally subjective and kind of theoretical, but like, It's a lot to play at home when you're just getting ready, like just getting your feet wet in the majors.

Like you might have your girlfriend or your wife or your small kids around.

Your family often comes in more often when you're at home.

Like I do think there's a lot of responsibility that like maybe when you're a 35-year-old Ryan Zimmerman or a 36-year-old Harry Kendrick, like you're in a more conditioned to like shut that out or know your routines.

Like I can see a world in which guys who are still super new to this, like that being at home is an overwhelming thing.

you know, thing, you know, it's just, it's just so much, right.

Is there anything, though, in the minors that could help the bullpen or some of the pitching issues that they have?

And I realize neither one of us are on the floor of the Senate whipping up votes right now, but the time – The timetable and the calendar seem to be working very much against everyone on this, doesn't it seem?

Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, and that's the thing I heard from key senators, their aides involved.

I mean, that was the biggest hurdle.

Frankly, if you think of this as the...

I say the establishment in college sports, and that used to include, to me, the Big Ten and SEC on Capitol Hill, because everyone was kind of moving in the same direction, right? It was the NCAA, it was the SEC, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the ACC, and then a lot of the major conferences.

Now that's splintered, but if you think of the establishment group taking their shot to get congressional intervention, the SCORE Act was better timed in that it was farther away from the midterms.

But as Steve Scalise said yesterday, the majority leader in the House, one of the most important people in that town, if you don't have the Big Ten and the SEC on board, it's not going to happen.