FIRST & 10 PODCAST: Raiders Big Week Ahead with Owners Meetings, Mendoza's Pro Day

Vegas Nation podcast are brought to you by Station Casinos, STN Sports.

Download the app today.

You're listening to Vegas Nation.

Let's get it started with the first N10 podcast.

Welcome back in Vegas Nation first in 10 Adam Hill and Ed Greeney.

Your source for everything going on with the Raiders from the Lost Vegas Review Journal

and Vegas Nation are brought to you by STN Sports from Station Casinos.

And a lot to get into this week.

We're going to preview what's going to happen at the Owners meetings,

which are some potential minor rule changes and tweaks.

One, maybe a little bit more significant than others that are going on.

Also, we heard from John Spitek this week about free agency and more importantly his first public comments

about the Max Crosby situation.

Those were posted at Raiders.com on Thursday.

We'll get into that.

And the passing of a very complicated figure in Raiders history

that we just learned about a few hours ago here as we're going on the yarn Friday.

First of all, Ed, how are you doing?

Doing well, Adam.

We'll be off Sunday for the Owners meetings.

We'll be driving out to Phoenix and hopefully that Kingman turn style won't be as crowded as it's been recently.

So we'll just add on up there.

It won't be bad.

I guess you just went down for spring training.

But the drive is far shorter than it used to be.

Okay.

Well, you know I'm driving.

So we might take a little longer.

True.

That's a fact.

But I think the real key is that no matter how long it takes, it's going to be shorter than the TSA lines are.

Well, that's the thing.

I mean, if we make a choice in terms of flying or driving, driving is the easy choice nowadays.

Very easy for LA or Phoenix.

And we'll be heading down to Phoenix.

And yeah, we can get into what we're going to see and learn and find out there.

Obviously, it's the lead meetings.

There's a lot of just gathering, a lot of networking coaches talking to each other.

GMs talking to each other, owners talking to each other, everybody talking.

And then the meeting is kind of being a part of it.

It's a very weird part of the calendar for the NFL.

But there are things that get done and votes are taken.

Votes are taken.

Obviously, we know what the Raiders, one of those votes is going to be on a potential secession plan.

There's not really any drama to that.

It's already basically been approved by the committee.

So it's just kind of a yes vote that's probably going to happen afterwards.

Not really a huge deal.

We talked about this on the show last week.

It's a plan that's in place down the road.

If you're worried about who's going to be owning the team.

Really just the, you know, hey, this is what the plan is.

If Mark Davis ever decides to sell, this is who he's selling it.

Right. Right.

But for now.

He's not selling right now.

He's not selling it.

He's not selling it.

He's going to be plans too.

And we'll find out down the road exactly when that could take place.

But it won't even necessarily foreshort take place.

It's just the most likely scenario.

What will happen if he does put it on the market.

The minority owners that are in place now.

Egon Durbin and Michael Meldman.

Their group will then take over.

That'll be approved foreshore.

Super Bowl will be approved.

It appears that's been approved already.

It's been approved.

Well,

2029.

Yeah, there's not as much drama in that as there used to be.

Used to be, you know, several teams were bidding.

Right.

And then you get to the meetings and there would be.

All right, who's going to get it?

There'd be discussion about it.

It's proposals a couple years back.

The NFL went to an exclusive negotiating window where they identify the city.

Right.

Then they work to make that happen.

And if it doesn't, then they go to a fallback plan.

But they've been negotiating with Las Vegas exclusively for about seven or eight months now.

We knew this was going to happen.

Not a big mystery.

Not a big surprise.

They will announce the final vote, which is going to be unanimous.

It's going to be unanimous for Vegas.

We'll get their second two before Las Vegas in 2029.

So that's going to happen as well.

And then we'll hear from people like John Spitek, Mark Davis.

Thank you.

I could be there.

I could be there at the AFC breakfast.

For coaches.

Which will be, I don't, I'm interested to see how.

How attended it is because that's one of the interesting things every year.

Meeting eyes.

Yeah, because there, there's all the AFC coaches to be out there.

Right.

So who's the most, where do people go?

You know, who do people want to talk to the most?

Kubiak might have a big crowd.

Kubiak might have a big crowd.

It's early in the morning.

It is a 745.

It's breakfast time.

You want some energy.

Yeah, but with the whole, I'm just thinking about the whole Max Crosby.

Well, yeah.

And we know that Spitek's talked about it.

I don't think Kubiak has.

I don't foresee him saying much.

He's not going to say anything much different than Spitek did.

They welcomed him back.

We can play a sound by right now.

You ready?

Uh, sort of that Kubiak sound bite on Max Crosby.

We're very excited to have Max Crosby in the building.

There we go.

That was the sound bite.

Heidi, good job.

Good job.

Appreciate that sound bite.

It advanced.

Yeah, I was nice.

Yeah, good job getting that in advance.

He won't say anything different than Spitek said, which is exactly what you said.

Um, good to have him back.

He never really left.

Yeah.

Um, nice to have him back in the building.

You know, he's a writer.

He's, you know, his rehab is going well.

He's going to be, you know, full going August and all the things that you expected him to do.

You expected him to say he wasn't going to get controversy about it.

It's over.

It's done.

He's back with the Raiders.

I don't think there's any reason that Spitek or Kubiak would think to go beyond what they've already said.

Oh, let's just see like, you know, there's, there's a couple of different gatherings where, you know,

coaches standing on the bar, GM standing around the bar at the, uh, the hotel.

The hotel zone.

Yeah.

The cost on Spitek.

Oh, that'd be nice.

Throw hands.

That'd be nice.

Throw hands at the bar.

Yeah.

Have you video ready?

I don't think that's going to happen.

I don't think that's going to happen either.

That would be exciting.

I don't think that's going to happen.

And by the way, when I talk about Kubiak, like I've said this on the show, but if you're new,

like, it's kind of what I like about him is that he's not exciting.

He's not, like, he's not going to be great for soundbites and for media.

Right.

He just wants to coach football, which is, I think important.

I think that's good.

Again, not good for us, but we're not what's important.

Like he, he's literally just all business.

Like, let's go.

And we've heard his player around his players.

He's different that he's not like that.

But he is not going to be a guy that's going to generate, you know, as, when I say,

where is the media going to congregate at that AFC coaches breakfast?

He's not going to generate any headlines or soundbites for.

No.

But like you, and I know you've written in the past because you liked this about him.

One of the questions he would not answer from you or the media, whether it was at the Super Bowl

or wherever about the identity of the team because he doesn't want the media

to know the identity before his team knows the identity.

He wants that to be.

He wants that to be like the first meeting they have.

And this is who we're going to be defined about.

These are going to be the traits that we're defined about.

This is the mindset we're going to have.

So he doesn't want to impart that to the media.

And I'm sure he won't impart that to the media or much else at the owner's meetings.

Yeah.

So I wouldn't, I think there is going to be interest because it's a new coach coming off a Super Bowl.

A lot of drama around the team, obviously, with the next Grozby stuff.

So there will be a contingent of media.

I'm just, I'm wondering how much is going to congregate around him.

And then you have, you know, you have all these other teams on the league.

Obviously you want to hear like Jesse Mentor just went through it too.

There's a new coach.

Baltimore, what is his thoughts?

And so you have to be selective.

We'll obviously be with Kubiak because that's what our job is.

Who we cover.

I just kind of wonder on the national media or the NFC media.

Like if you're switching over, where do you go?

And we'll find out on Tuesday morning.

We'll let you guys know.

And I'm sure we'll do a podcast afterwards and explain it and then straight obviously to Indianapolis

for Bloomington.

Bloomington.

Indiana for pro day for Fernando Dosa and 22 other Indianapolis.

Do you see Signetti go off yesterday on the transfer from Michigan State?

Yes, with the shoes.

The shoes.

The gold shoes.

Yeah.

Yeah, he said.

So I don't know.

He got his, you know what, Rift?

And I don't think it happened to him in Michigan State.

I mean, he's great coach.

He's a great coach.

He is.

I don't think the kid will be wearing those cleats anymore.

I don't think so.

I think you learn that lesson quick.

And I don't think my dose is going to be wearing.

No.

Any gold cleats.

No.

At the pro day.

Yeah, I think that's going to happen either.

But yeah, it's a big week ahead.

The other things at the owner's meetings that we should get into besides the Raiders related

things, Super Bowl and the ownership secession plan.

Precession plan, I guess you would call it.

Precession, yeah.

Yeah.

The plan already laid out before.

Some rules changes potentially that are out there.

You know, I'm obsessed with special teams.

There are some changes that are probably going to impact special team significantly if they pass.

But man, it's in the weeds.

So it's, it's, you know, I don't know how much people will necessarily even notice it.

One is that you can kick and you can declare an outside kick at any point in the game.

Right now, if you don't know the rule, you can only do an outside kick if you're trailing in the fourth quarter.

Right.

Right.

This will be that you can declare an outside kick at any time.

And I saw some people get excited because man, people still don't get it.

Including one media person who last year was like, why can't you do surprise outside kicks?

Well, like, it's a whole different formation.

All right.

I know.

I'm trying to guess what you're talking about.

And they kept saying it over and over again.

I know that you know talking about.

Sure.

But like, you can't, how can you do a surprise kick if you're in a different formation?

It doesn't make any sense.

You will be able to now declare an outside kick at any point.

If you're ahead, if you're behind, whenever you want to do it, obviously you'll have to.

There's a famous one there.

Sure.

Obviously, you'll, it won't be a surprise and you'll have to change the formation to do it.

But you can declare it at any time.

Probably will pass out.

Imagine.

Like, I don't know why they want that.

Well, that's the thing.

And that one.

Who would really be against it?

I mean, a lot of times, you know, maybe owners go to their coaches.

And I'm sure there's discussions between them in terms of what do you think about this?

And, you know, how can this benefit us?

Can it not benefit us?

But in terms of that specific rule.

I don't want to, I don't know why you'd say no.

Yeah.

I think it gives you more, it gives you more opportunity to do more things.

Yeah.

I think that passes.

And then I also think the formation ones pass where, again, it's deep in the weeds.

But there's very specific alignment rules for returning a kick now.

With the new, with the new kickoff.

It'll give the receiving team a little bit more flexibility for where the guys line up.

Essentially, it's not going to, I think it will change.

A lot of the return philosophies and plays and how they run them.

Right.

It's not, I don't think it's going to look dramatically different to you.

I don't think many people even notice where guys are aligned on the return necessarily.

But it's a, it'll be a slight change that I think could create a little bit more excitement in that play potentially.

And a more option for how our team returns it.

So I'd imagine that passes as well.

I think you're excited about knowing how you love us, special teams.

I do.

I think any more, you know, the more you do to allow special teams to operate, you know, to give them more options.

I think it's good.

So that will probably pass as well.

There's, there's other ones involving.

There's one kind of, that's a stipulation.

If there is replacement officials, which it looks like they're very good.

They're very well could be.

It'll give a lot more leeway to the reply to this.

Right.

It's kind of overruled them and say, okay, that you miss this.

Yes.

To help them out a little bit more.

Give a little bit more assistance on video.

If there is replacement.

Well.

And I'll mind that.

If that passes.

Sure.

If that passes.

And then the refs come to a deal.

To not go on strike.

Then that rule would just be wiped out.

It'll go back to what it is now.

Yeah.

It's essentially.

If this happens, then this new rule happens.

But if it doesn't happen, then the new rule doesn't exist.

So I'd imagine that passes as well.

A little also some more flexibility in terms of.

If officials don't see something on the field that probably should have been of an injection.

That the replay could help with that.

Right.

Which is, of course, the DK Metcalf rule.

That's obviously what this is.

Sure.

If you don't see something.

If the ref don't see something on the field, but they should have kicked the guy out.

The video can come in and say, hey, you missed this.

But probably.

Neject.

Neject this guy.

Neject this guy.

So that that one I imagine passes as well.

And though some of these rules are just things that come up.

Because things happen on the field.

DK Metcalf happened.

So.

Well, and these are not like you said with the special teams rules.

A lot of what people are even going to notice.

I mean, people don't like referees.

They think they blow a lot of calls.

I get all that.

But these rules that you're mentioning now.

I don't know if fans are care one way or the other about this stuff.

Yeah.

And if you, I mean, if you really want to get into that aspect of rules.

There are some other ones that, man, I don't think fans are going to care about it all.

It's, there's not the most exciting.

I know Tush Push has gotten a lot of headlines the last couple of years.

And that's been one that everybody talked about.

The rules this year, not really generating much buzz necessarily.

Like the Tush Push did.

Like, you know, a day earlier of cut down day because there's international game on Wednesday.

Instead of Thursday, like, yeah, okay.

Make sense.

They want to make Sunday and Monday of Labor Day weekend working days.

And right now they're kind of, they're kind of like blocked out like a holiday at your job.

Like if you're at our job here or your job where, you know, whatever you do out there.

There's like a holiday where there's nothing can happen.

Right.

They kind of have that for those days over on Sunday and Monday.

They want to change that.

Okay.

They want to move up the ability to practice.

Like if a player starts the year on the public, they can't return it all till week four.

Even practice.

They want to be allowed players to practice after week two.

Yeah.

Okay.

I mean, that makes sense.

Obviously the room makes sense and it will impact teams and rosters and that sort of thing.

I don't think it impacts fans necessarily that much.

No, I don't think any of these do reading all over them.

You didn't get a sense that fans would be up in arms about really any of these.

Unless they're like you and they love special teams.

They wanted to be the other way.

Deep diving to special teams.

They want to be the other way.

And they don't want to have teams be able to, you know, have, have onsite kicks the entire game.

I mean, I don't know why people would care about it.

I don't even know where I found this.

I found like a 26 minute breakdown of how the returns could change with the new alignments.

And still after those 26 minutes, you realize most people wouldn't even notice it.

That's what I said.

I was like, I'm fascinated by this.

I love this, but I don't think anybody would care.

I was thinking I was like, oh, I can write a story about this.

I just don't think people would care, especially as much as I do.

I just love special teams so much.

So yeah, I don't think necessarily those rules.

The one that could be very, very interesting and I actually don't think it'll pass.

But we'll see.

Cleveland Browns proposed that what was a Steelers proposal?

Well, something, there was a rule last year that was in place in the Steelers.

Oh, before I get to the Browns one, the Steelers proposal, which I think is certain to pass,

there was a one year rule this year and a lot of people kind of missed it and then just noticed it the one day

that you could meet with players on Zoom or in person during the legal tampering period.

Right.

And the past you can only meet with agents.

Last year, one year rule, you can, you can meet on Zoom during the tampering period.

The Steelers have proposed to make that permanent and I'm sure it will.

I think that will almost certainly happen.

The Browns proposal, right now for those that don't know, you can only trade picks three years into the future.

Right.

Now, if you watch, if you follow the NBA, you see trades where it's like,

Oh, the 2037 to second round.

Exactly.

What?

That doesn't happen in the NFL.

You can only trade three years in advance.

The Browns have proposed you can trade five years in advance.

I like it.

I don't think it's going to pass.

What would be the pullback on this?

What would be the pullback on this for the Browns not to get this done?

I think one of one of the factors would be that you would have GMs potentially that aren't going to be there.

Making these kind of deals.

Like, hey, I know it's my last year.

Right.

I'm going to trade my next five.

My next five first round picks to get players to try to save my job this year.

Right.

Which could be fine for those GMs, but for the organization, probably not great.

Like, I think you want to have some guardrails in place.

I think that's part of it.

I think also they feel like fans then get checked out of the draft potentially.

You know, our team doesn't have a pick for five years.

First for the next five years.

Like, why am I going to follow the draft?

And they want the draft to be a thing.

Oh, they want it to be a big thing every year.

So they don't want to do it.

I think there's reasons that they just don't want to do it.

And I don't think they will.

I think in the end, they'll reject this one.

So that might be one of the few they do.

Yeah.

Of all these.

Yeah, most of them are very minor.

Most of them are pretty easy to pass.

Sure.

And this one will have discussion for sure.

If it does pass, I think it'll be because there's a lot of discussion and convincing,

but I just, I don't see it.

Yeah.

That's a five years a long time to say we're trading our first round draft pick,

five years from now in the NFL.

Yeah.

When they do it right ahead of, you know, potentially as we've talked about next year

being one of the best quarterback classes in a long, long time.

Right.

You know, some national people said the best quarterback class ever,

which is a wild statement considering some of the quarterback classes we've seen.

But, you know, you can be looking at team saying, all right,

well, next five first rounders.

Yeah.

For take archmanning.

For archmanning.

I mean, that could be impactful in terms of, you know, those types of moves.

So, you know, it'll be interesting to follow.

I just, I don't see it happening, but I don't think it's absolutely not happening either.

I think there's a possibility.

I just don't expect it.

But that would be the owner's meetings.

A lot of, you know, talking to not only just the Raiders coach GM owner,

who will be getting out of there very quickly, by the way.

Well, the Raiders have something important to go to.

Yeah.

They've got Wednesdays, Mendoza Pro Day.

And, you know, 23 other Indiana players as well,

that they have to rush out of things for a lot of players.

That's a lot of players.

That's a lot of players that, I don't know if they're all getting picked,

but what happens when you have success?

Exactly.

When you go 16 and know, this is what happens.

That's a lot of players to be on a board of anybody from one school.

But there will be some of his receivers.

Yeah.

Who brands are up?

Yep.

There will be picked.

He'll go.

Some of his linemen who are ranked pretty high.

So, yeah, I mean, 23 is a lot.

You'll see a lot of that.

You'll see all of it with you and Heidi at the pro day.

Let me ask you this.

What do you, you know, look, he's going to go number one.

They're going to take him.

He's going to be the Raiders quarterback eventually sooner or later.

We don't know yet in terms of who's starting the season.

They've said that Spiteca said he's not overjoyed about starting a rookie.

But, you know, I was just at the Rebels pro day.

And they went through the kind of the combine situation of all the lifting

and the drills and the jumps and all that.

And they're a handful of scouts to watch the Rebels.

But what do you, what are you most excited to see from Fernando Mendoza

after watching him live in college and in games?

This will be more of a set situation where he's going through the drills

they want him to go through.

Yeah.

So, I mean, just the throwing.

Yeah, the throwing and obviously with his receivers that, you know,

he's comfortable with the practice field.

He's comfortable with all that.

I want to see what they do in terms of taking snaps.

Like, I don't know that he's going to line up under center.

But I think they'll probably do, you know, a simulated snap where you,

you know, you get how you would line up under center and they'll, you know,

give them the ball and drop back and how he actually takes a drop back

and, you know, scans the field and keeps his eyes up.

I don't even know, I don't know that they'll do it.

Like, I know that's what the teams want to see.

But like, the Raiders are the only team that is drafting him.

Right.

They aren't going to change their mind based on how he looks in that.

I mean, unless it was a total disaster and they were like,

I don't know if we can do this.

That's not going to happen.

But that's not going to happen.

So, I don't know that the Raiders would even want them to do it.

Like, they don't care if other teams see it.

Unless they were showcasing him, unless they wanted to have the team fall in love

and offer a bunch of picks, which I don't think is the case either.

Right.

I think they're set on taking him.

So, does Indiana benefit from putting him under center?

Not really.

Does he?

No.

Right.

Do the Raiders?

Not really either.

Because they're taking him regardless.

So, I'd like to see him take, you know, actual dropbacks.

Let's get, like, be able to, you know, keep his eyes up, scan the field that thing.

But I don't know that they're going to do that.

Right.

Because what does it matter?

It doesn't.

They're going to take him.

Yeah.

And, like you said, I, I mean, it matters.

I mean, even though the Raiders care if he's under center.

I should say that it matters if he can do it.

Like, he's going to have to love.

It matters if he can do it.

Yes.

It matters if he can do it.

But I think they're, like you said, so competent they're going to take him.

They figure well, we can teach you that.

Right.

Right.

Yeah.

So, I don't know, so we'll see.

I don't know how they're going to handle that part of the game.

Real flow just, you know, throw to his receivers.

Right.

And, you know, big reason he's doing this.

He doesn't have to do this for the Raiders either.

He's doing it for his receivers.

Yeah, because they're, you know, in line to get drafted as well.

And he wants to help them out.

Yeah.

So, he doesn't have to be doing this.

He might as well just sit out and say, I'm just going to, you know,

go work out with the Raiders or go visit them or whatever.

He's doing it for the receivers.

So, why would he not put himself in the most comfortable position,

which would be just taking a, you know, taking a snap and throwing it instead of, you know,

dropping back out of the shot.

They're out of the, under center.

I'm going to under center.

We'll see.

I mean, I just don't know how they're going to design, although it drills and everything else.

But I think that would be the most interesting part.

He actually does thick snaps and drop back or turns back to the defense,

which he just has not done.

Right.

Which he'll have to do in this offense.

But he hasn't really done in college.

I don't know why they would necessarily do it a pro day.

But that'll be something to watch in terms of what's going on there.

So not, you know, I don't think the most eventful.

I mean, it's, it'll be an eventful owner's meeting because the Super Bowl and because the Raiders vote

and getting to talk to all those guys.

But in terms of actual rules, proposals, things like that,

I don't think there's anything that's going to change the league.

Just like the off season where we've said on this podcast in the big in off seasons

before the Raiders didn't make any news and no one talked about them.

But not only with the draft now, but now at the meetings, the Raiders are kind of the team

that's taken, you know, front and center with some of these votes and talking to the,

you know, talking to the coach and all of that.

And they really have and continue to make news in this league.

There's no question.

There's no question that.

I know a lot of fans were have been upset that they're just not have not been relevant at all.

Right.

Whether they're going to, I mean, they're going to be a better team in terms of record, I think.

I don't think they're going to be great.

Obviously, just yet a couple years away.

But they'll be better.

But regardless of where they finish, relevance is, is here.

It's better than the opposite.

Better than the opposite.

Welcome to relevance, Raiders fans.

Yes.

That's a good thing, I think.

Although you're not handling it well, I'll just, I will say that.

Like you, the melting down of just opinions of like wanting to murder people

because they have opinions that you don't like is crazy.

Yeah.

It's crazy.

But I, I think that might be better than the opposite also.

Indifference is a bad thing.

Indifference is.

Indifference is a bad thing.

Nobody cares.

No one's writing anything on social media.

It's, you know, they're just going to accept the same old, same old.

And Raider fans aren't doing that now.

I think they're excited about Mendoza.

You're right.

The whole Max Crosby ordeal was completely crazy.

And, you know, the people having opinions about, you know, tape and film.

And, you know, who looks better and things like that.

And wanting to kill analysts because they have certain opinions about the quarterback.

And again, I said like listen to what people are actually saying.

And don't just, don't just freak out.

Like when somebody says, hey, the film on the first eight weeks looks better.

Right.

One player over another.

Right.

They're actually right.

Right.

Like that doesn't mean they would take them.

Doesn't mean they shouldn't be the number one pick.

No.

And the tape when a certain quarterback got to the playoffs.

I heard this is what I heard, I'll just say.

So on the argument of Tyson's in his tape being better the first eight weeks than Fernando Mendoza.

Somebody goes, but Tyson's in short.

Mendoza is the prototypical size.

Like, what does that have to do with the tape?

No, the tape, the tape was better.

You've watched the tape.

The tape was better.

But I mean, what does the size, the size is why there's a big reason why Mendoza is the number one pick.

Right.

The prototypical size, he wins games at the end.

Like, that's a big reason of why he's number one.

And it should be the number one pick.

But like, that doesn't, that doesn't mean the tape isn't better for another player.

Right.

Just because one guy's shorter.

Yeah.

Like, there's guys that are more productive.

Right.

Just because it happens.

And you and I were talking about this the other day in a meeting that Tyson since tape was better the first eight weeks.

But like you said, when they got to the playoffs, Mendoza's tape and what he did elevated himself into this kind of piece.

And especially at the end of games.

And in the disingenuous, like, another one that bother me and we'll go to break here real quick.

But when there was a discussion on Pat Bakfey show, a lot of people saw it.

A lot of people freaked out about this.

And he said, yeah, but in big games, Mendoza was great.

And Rolowski said, okay, what big games?

He wasn't saying what big games that he played.

Right.

That's not what he's saying.

He wanted no specific ones.

He said, let's go game by game.

Game by game and see what he did.

It's hot.

But then people said, what big games?

Did you not see that he won a championship?

That's not what he said.

Right.

So now you're bringing disingenuous about what the discussion is and the argument is,

Mendoza should be the number one pick and isn't the number one pick.

But there are definitely a hundred percent times on the film.

If you look at the entire work, where Simpson looks better.

But he's short.

He hasn't had a lot of games.

Like, there are reasons that Mendoza's the number one pick over him.

But that doesn't mean that the Thai Simpson tape can't be better.

Well, I think Thai Simpson's tape is good enough to be a first Trump pick.

Yeah.

I think so.

Absolutely.

For sure.

But then if he's not, it's not because of the tape.

It's because he's short.

It's the match.

And if you look back at guys that have had less than 20 starts and their success rate in the NFL, not great.

There's a lot of reasons Mendoza's number one.

But like, don't freak out when people just have opinions.

Yeah.

Especially if you're not understanding what their opinion is and misrepresenting what it is.

It's just, it's crazy.

So.

But again, that's relevance.

Right.

There's a relevant.

People are talking about it.

People are getting mad.

That's a good thing.

That's a good thing.

If you're rational about it, I think.

I like even the irrational people.

Okay.

Well, that's fine.

I'm more of a numbers and rational type person.

But understandable.

A lot of the couple of things to get into.

And we'll do that as we continue.

We'll hear from Chuck Esposito from the station.

Casinos, STN Sports.

It's just a minute.

And as we talked about earlier, John Spide tech has spoken for the first time really publicly.

But the Max Crossby situation.

Do that.

All that and more as we continue.

First and 10 Vegas nation.

Locals know the SCN Sports app is the most trusted sports betting app in Nevada.

They have convenience and applications across Las Vegas.

So download the SCN Sports app today.

Joining us now here on the first and 10 podcast.

We have the race and sports book director from station Casinos.

Chuck Esposito in for his weekly segment.

Chuck, it's March Madness time.

Everyone's feeling the fever and sometimes, you know, you get a hot fever.

You get a little bit burnt.

And I think that's a lot of brackets are going thus far.

So we saw some upsets and some of the big games.

Just tell us so far what this season has been like in March Madness terms for you.

It's been a little bit different than last couple of years.

So the last couple of years as we have kind of discussed it.

It had been favorite laden, very chalky award.

We like to use a little bit more parody this year with Florida getting beat over the weekend and number one seed.

And then last night you had Texas that was able to cover against Purdue.

Illinois was able to win outright against Houston.

And Iowa outright against Nebraska really helps from our side of the counter.

I think it's evident in our last man standing contest over 2700 entries.

It's down to 62.

So anytime you get some of these upsets, it really helps a lot.

And there has been a little bit more parody this year than we've seen over the last couple of years.

Is there anyone that's kind of been, I guess, maybe more so than what your thoughts are as the strong team?

The favorite that the public has kind of been looking towards throughout the tournament.

You know, it's hard to say.

I mean, again, you had all these major schools that were in the sweet 16.

There wasn't that Cinderella story or that David against Goliath.

But you're seeing just a little bit more parody.

And I think, you know, you look at the big 10 and how strong they kind of have been with the teams that are still left right now.

You look at Purdue, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan state.

Who knows how it all shakes out.

But I'd say kind of a surprise that they've played so well this year in the tournament.

Okay. And finally, Chuck, tell us what is going on at Station Casinos right now.

You know, I know the last man standing contest, like you said, down to 62 folks.

But I'm wondering here if there's any chance that, you know, people might be able to get a second chance at the action maybe coming up.

What do you have going on?

There's so much going on right now, Heidi.

I mean, basketball and hockey seasons winding down the first opening day yesterday of baseball with the full slate of games going on.

So you've got baseball every day.

Of course, the tournament going on, men's and women's as we as we've discussed.

So it's a fun time for us.

We're not that far away from the pro football draft from Kentucky Derby.

Great drink specials in all of our racist sports books.

Great food offerings across the board at our restaurant.

So come on in and enjoy it.

I mean, we're working on something here at Red Rock now to bring back the pro football draft party.

So we think that'll be a lot of fun as well.

But no real downtime.

So we'll see how it all shakes out.

But it's nice to have some day baseball here as well during the summer.

Absolutely.

And of course, the A's you can probably find all those odds as well on the boards are on the app.

Don't forget to download that BST and sports app.

Get it all in the palm of your hand.

And thanks Chuck again for a wonderful discussion here on the first and 10 podcasts.

And now let's head back to the talk and discussion with Adam and Ed.

Great stuff there from Chuck as always.

A lot going on in the sports world.

A lot of who's going on.

A lot of who's going on.

Even when there's not football to be played, at least in the NFL.

Always something going on and always a great spot over at station.

Just make sure you download that app and make sure you subscribe to Vegas Nation.

Three month digital subscription for only a quarter.

It's not even a quarter a month.

A quarter total for three months.

Digital subscription to Vegas Nation, all of our content, the writing that we do,

all the stuff that we're going to have at the owner's meetings and pro day.

And I've actually got a, I was in Bloomington a couple weeks ago.

I've talked to a bunch of people around campus that'll be coming out in the next couple of days.

Just what the community feels about Fernando.

Fernando Mendoza.

And I'll tell you this, they love it.

Oh, I can, well breaking news.

He's never paying for another Mendoza burger in his life.

Mendoza Brothers Burger, which he insisted because he didn't want to just be about himself.

So yeah, and I had one.

Is this good?

Very good.

Very good.

It changed.

How about this for a tease for the story?

We expect that it was going to change, you know, people's attitudes about Bloomington.

It was going to change people's wardrobes.

They all wear Indiana gear now around, around campus when nobody.

Oh, sure.

Nobody wanted to before even with the basketball team was bad.

The football team was bad.

Right.

So everybody's wearing Indiana stuff.

It actually changed somebody's choice of condiments.

The burger.

Playing the existence of Fernando Mendoza.

Changed somebody's choice of condiments.

That's a good tease to the story.

And you have to read the story to find out.

That's a good tease to the story.

Subscribe for only a quarter.

Yeah, for three months.

Go ahead and do that.

That story will be worth it.

That was just laughing.

I was like, you're not serious.

Oh, yeah.

Okay, crazy.

But yeah, check that out.

We did hear from John Spitek of Raiders.com interview on Thursday.

This is Friday that we're talking talked about what is, you know,

what's going on in free agency.

A lot about, you know, how the title of the Interborn deal came together.

You know, some of the other free agents as well.

But the one thing everybody was obviously waiting for is his first public comments on Max Crosby.

And he said pretty much what you thought he would say.

You know, things happen for a reason.

Yeah.

He's back.

But it's like he never left.

And he was right back in the building.

And yeah, like you never left, welcome to back because he didn't leave.

He's right.

He's always been a part of this and said they have a great relationship and they have from the beginning.

So nothing you would not expect.

I paused on that one.

Of course.

Me too.

I paused on that one.

But it's what he has to say at this point.

Yeah.

So it's what he's supposed to say.

Yeah, it's what he's supposed to say.

He said what he's supposed to say.

But I did pause and we've always had a great relationship.

Pause is different these days.

Okay.

Pause is a different.

It's a whole different thing.

It's a whole different thing.

I stopped in my tracks when I heard that.

That's good.

I'm like I just, I know what happened at the end of last year.

You know what happened at the end of last year.

You know they upset, you know how upset Crosby was.

So great relationship.

I'm going to say no for the entire time.

But and Andy traded them.

So I don't know what the feelings were ultimately there inside.

We heard what Max said.

He said he's not going to talk about this anymore.

Yeah.

But you want him to have a good relationship now because he's back.

Yeah.

For sure.

And you want the relationship to be good now because you want him to get healthy.

You want him to react and you want him to be good.

You want those things and you also need everyone to believe it's good for many reasons.

Like if you are going to trade him again.

Absolutely.

At some point you need people to believe it's a good relationship.

But if it's not, they're not going to give you a good offer because they know you just want to get rid of them.

So it's of everyone's benefit to not only have a good relationship if possible,

but also to show that you have a good relationship,

to at least reflect to the outside world.

That you do.

Yeah.

Exactly.

You want to have leverage.

Yeah.

So, I mean, the quote was the quote he said.

He said, it's what he has to say.

I don't think you take anything or shattering from it.

I don't think you automatically just say, well, that's it.

Everything's good.

They're moving on.

Like, something they had to say.

And what was expected to be said?

Yeah.

If he would have said something different, that would have been news would have been shocking.

Bigger headlines.

For sure.

But it's not.

And that's kind of where the John Spitek Max Crosby situation is at least publicly right now.

Max Crosby has talked on his podcast.

John Spitek has now talked to Eric Dakosta on the Ravenside Talked and I don't think was completely truthful either.

No, I don't think so.

When he was talking.

So, you know, we get these, you know, sound bites in these public comments.

There's a reason Spitek also waited like he wanted to say the exact right thing.

He didn't want to act out of emotion like the statement kind of did.

Right.

It was a very snarky Raven the backed out of this trade.

Yeah.

So, you know, you want to say there are things that he did.

I think you passed the test.

And they will they'll not move on.

Came off as professional as a GM.

You didn't have to believe everything he said.

But like you said, you want to have leverage if in fact the trade deadline rolls around.

And this guy is playing out of his mind, but you're not in a playoff position.

And other people are and they want to come with you through a great two couple picks or whatever the deal at that point might be.

If you're John Spitek, you want everyone to believe everything's great, but you're just going to have to move on for whatever reason.

We're not saying that's going to happen.

Yeah.

But at the end of the day, I mean, I don't think either of us are going to be falling off chairs.

If in fact he's playing really well and something else happens this year.

Yeah.

And what he also said was that they have money.

They have money to sign draft picks.

They're not like tied up against the cat, but they're probably done making big splashes.

Infraredancy moving forward.

We know like, you know, there's been some visits, Nazi Harris will be next week running back.

I don't know that that makes the most sense necessarily, but.

You know, they've got they've still got some flexibility.

They're not panicked about salary cast base, even with crossbe back in the mix.

They'll they'll make those moves.

And that is kind of where they are right now in terms of they're not, you know, they're not strapped.

For cash, but they're also not, but they're not also what they would have been.

Had he not come back?

Yeah.

And it obviously changed the plans.

Like he didn't say that specifically, but obviously it changed the plans.

Yeah.

The money changed plan for sure.

And in the end, if you have max crossbe back and that's the worst thing that happens, I think you're okay.

Well, especially as good as they think he's going to be.

Yeah.

If he's, you know, on a mission and.

Right.

One who ruined the careers of everybody around him for whatever happens.

And so yeah, that'll that'll be interesting to watch.

On a no real transition on this, you know, sad note to close things out.

Bear Robin's former Raider passed away this week.

We just learned that last couple of hours.

But one of the more complicated figures in Raider's history, I think it's fair to say.

Yeah.

I would imagine that you were covering that Super Bowl being in San Diego.

I want to tell you this.

I was doing my assignment that week.

It was like an around the town column about things going on the periphery of the Super Bowl.

Not specifically to the games.

That fits.

So this fit extremely well when it happened.

And the stories of Tijuana and what happened and where he went and all of that.

And so I did write about Bear Robin.

So this morning when I read your story, that all flashed back.

Sure.

In terms of where he went, why it happened, how it happened.

So yeah, that was a, that was a big story in San Diego that week.

That day specifically.

And I had to write that.

And it all came rushing back today.

And yeah, 52, you know, way too young.

Feel horrible about it.

So yeah, he was, you know, there was controversy with Bear Robin.

Especially after his career.

Especially after his career.

So yeah.

I mean, that, that was a big story back in the day working in the San Diego paper.

Yeah, you're referencing the story.

But you know, for those of maybe your younger Raider fans or newer Raider fans who weren't fond of Team at the time.

He was, that was his best season.

2002 is all pro at center.

And the day before the Super Bowl, which is in San Diego, he disappeared from the team.

His belief, what you talked about afterwards was that, you know, he had a bipolar episode,

which he had, you know, mental issues that haunted him really throughout his life.

He thought they had already played the game and won the game.

And he went to, to a lot of Mexico, right across the border, you know, 20 minute drive ride.

Yeah.

A trolley ride, even 45 minutes, maybe to the border and celebrated it.

And celebrated the Super Bowl victory.

It was going around telling everybody we just won the Super Bowl and party.

And then he got back and wasn't able to play.

Obviously, they tried to run him through some drills in the parking lot.

That didn't go well.

He obviously was on a lot of substances and just a terrible situation.

Raiders got blown out, changed their entire game plan in that game for multiple reasons.

Not just because of that.

They were also playing a former coach in John Gruden there.

So he did come back the next year.

And then a year later was caught up in the Balco scandal as well.

And after that, his career was over.

And he just kind of spiraled with the dealing with his mental illness.

And just a lot of run-ins with the law and things like that.

And a real tragic life really afterwards.

And he dealt with mental illness even before.

That was just kind of the, you know, the point where it blew up.

And obviously very sad and unfortunate tragic for a guy that was with his raider,

with the raiders' soul career, nine years.

And like I said, complicated figures certainly in the history of the raiders.

Yeah, absolutely.

And like you said, I mean, you feel bad about all of it.

But more so, post-career.

Yeah.

You know, you had the one incident with Tijuana, I remember that well.

But mostly after his career, all that happened.

And you know, back when that happened with Tijuana, and I remember writing that,

you weren't writing as much about mental illness at that moment.

Yeah, for sure.

Or bipolar and all of that.

And it was not as well documented as it is today.

So it was different to write about then than maybe if it happened this year.

But even today, we worked a lot better at understanding.

But we're still not fully there.

And you know, a lot of people are dealing with things.

And I think it's been a lot of our families.

Like we've all, I think most people have experienced it somewhere or another.

So we have better understanding, we have better ability to talk and communicate.

But certainly, it's something that's important to continue that.

You know, be aware, get help.

Wouldn't, if people around you need it or if you need it, just try it.

And it, you know, I know that there, you know, people feel certain ways about mental illness still.

That are like, don't care.

Absolutely.

Whatever.

But it's real.

It's real.

It's real.

And just unfortunate.

So, you know, obviously just thinking about his family and everybody around him

that has dealt with it for a long time.

And now, you know, he has, he has passed a 52 years old.

So don't love ending the podcast on a down note.

But.

No, but it was news about the Raiders and we do a Raider podcast.

And it's important to keep everyone up to date on stuff.

And like you said, I think it's important maybe for younger Raider fans

who either weren't around at that time or don't remember it.

We're too young to remember it to kind of put everything in perspective

about Barry Robbins and what he went through.

I was, yeah, I was with a big group last night who are, who work in sports.

About 12 people.

And like two of them had heard the story.

I believe that.

I believe that.

Younger, but younger people.

Yeah.

So it was, you know, definitely, you know, that's a part of Raider's history for sure.

And a tragic end, obviously, for the life we saw Tim Brown tweet about it

and said, you know, a lot of teammates are going to be trying to deal with this for a while.

Which, you know, touched a lot of lives for sure.

Without a deal for us, like I said, don't love ending on a download.

But we appreciate you guys sticking with us.

We'll be down at the owner's meetings, found everything going on there.

Make sure you follow us on social medias.

Make sure you watch the podcast, subscribe.

Three months for a quarter.

Myelvrj.com slash nation.

Myelvrj.com slash nation.

I don't think I said that before.

We appreciate you guys.

And we'll talk to you again very soon.

Locals know the SCN Sports app is the most trusted sports betting app in Nevada.

They have convenience and applications across Las Vegas.

So download the SCN Sports app today.