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Russell Watson Tour Dates and Upcoming Concerts

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Monday 29 April 2024

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Interview with Russell Watson on his cathedral tour

The tenor russell watson is touring cathedrals — and raising funds for his parish church, he tells susan gray.

Russell Watson

DECEMBER is a busy month for churches, and St Mary’s, Astbury, near Congleton , in Cheshire, is adding to the usual Advent and Christmas plans by hosting three fund-raising concerts by the self-styled “people’s tenor”, Russell Watson. Such is the demand for places, a post on the church’s Facebook page urges music -lovers to obtain tickets only from the official outlet, a post office near by, as tickets advertised online will probably be fake.

Mr Watson, who lives on a farm near Astbury with his wife, Louise, has developed a strong relationship with his parish church : “I raised £20,000 for them last year, when the paving around the outskirts of the church was stolen, and we fund-raised to get it replaced. This year, I’m doing the same thing.

“The Rector [the Revd Anne-Marie Naylor] came to me after the performance and said, ‘Thank you so much for this, Russell. It would take our church years to raise these kinds of funds, and you’ve done it in one night.’ And I replied: ‘Let’s do it again next year.’ And it looks like we’re going to raise another £20,000 for them this time, as well. So, as much as I can’t be with them every week, they are very much in my thoughts.”

Salford-born Mr Watson worked in a factory when he won Manchester Piccadilly Radio’s “Search for a Star” competition in 1990, singing Neil Diamond’s “Love on the rocks”. A decade of performing in clubs and pubs followed, until an invitation to sing “ Nessun Dorma” at Old Trafford for the last match of the Premiership season brought him to the attention of record companies.

His debut album, The Voice , a mixture of operatic arias and covers of pop songs, released in 2001, made him the first artist to be simultaneously number one in both the British and American classical charts. He performed for the former US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Pope John Paul II, and at Buckingham Palace for Queen Elizabeth II , for the 2013 Coronation Festival Gala.

Mr Watson recalls his 2001 performance for Pope John Paul II as taking place in a magnificent Vatican room with painted ceiling: “We met the Pope in the Sistine Chapel, and I kissed the papal ring and had a quick conversation with him. But the performance was in Vatican City.”

Reflecting on his childhood, Mr Watson maintains that, although his family were not churchgoers, their values mirrored their faith. “I was still brought up in what I consider to be a Christian way. I was taught the morals of life. The fundamental thing was integrity and honesty. There was always lots of love in the house. And I’ve taken that with me throughout my life.

“I came across a lot of dishonesty in the music business. But the necessity for people to be dishonest and deceptive is still a confusion to me. I wasn’t taken to church, but I do believe my parents had — and to this day still have — a Christian outlook on life, as much as they may not practise Christianity as we know it.”

IN 2005, Mr Watson underwent extensive surgery for a brain tumour . The tumour returned the following year, and treatment shaped his faith and ideas on the life of the world to come. “I’d gone to bed, and the tumour growing in my skull haemorrhaged and was bleeding into my brain. I didn’t wake up the next morning, and my assistant found me and called an ambulance.

“The doctors needed to assess the damage; so I was wheeled into an MRI scanner, and all I can remember is huge furore around me. I was flicking in and out of consciousness. My vision had gone. I was just seeing a sheet of black with shadows around. MRI scanners are quite noisy, and and there was clap-clap-clap, bang-bang-bang noise. The pain in my skull was immense. I felt like I was going to die.

“There was a singular moment when it felt the noise of the scanner began to drop. The pain stops. And it felt like I was leaving my body. I could see a visualisation: I was sat in a dark room, and there was a door in the corner, with a sliver of light. As a child, I’d get frightened in the dark, and say, ‘Can you please leave the door open slightly?’ and there would be a sliver of light down the door.

OTHER STORIES

Warwickshire church listed in victorian society’s top ten endangered buildings.

A CHURCH in Warwickshire in need of £250,000 for emergency repairs has been included on the Victorian Society’s list of top ten endangered buildings in 2023

“Then I felt like I was leaving to go wherever — hopefully, heaven. And I imagined myself walking to the door and opening it, and, if I did, I would never be returning to my body again. The thought of my two children Rebecca and Hannah and how they would manage without their dad was foremost. I began thinking: I’m not ready to go yet, my kids need me. And the clatter of the MRI scanner came back, the pain in my head was back, I was back in the room. If I’d have walked through that door, I would have been going to another plane.”

Such a close brush with death has strengthened Mr Watson’s belief in an afterlife, but his conviction comes with a caveat: “If I was 100 per cent certain there is an afterlife, I’m not ready to go there yet — even if it’s a better place; even if it means that all my woes, worries, and troubles are gone, and all the people that have gone before are waiting with open arms. Death frightens me, because I have so much to do here, and so much more time to spend with the people that I love. The prospect of my mortality does still scare me.”

Recovery was interlaced with faith and prayer. “I drew on my faith more than I’ve ever done. I don’t pray for material things — a better car, a better house, more money. If they come to me, then it is a bonus. I pray for health and longevity for my children, for my mum, my dad, and the people around me. And, when they go through difficult times, I pray for them, too. If I see situations on social media where others are in trouble, I will pray for them, but rarely for myself.”

Mr Watson swaps Bible and theological readings with a friend — disappointingly, not Aled Jones, the co-creator of Mr Watson’s 2022 Christmas album — and the tenor will reveal his scriptural partner’s identity only as a wealthy businessman. “I don’t read the Bible every day, and not as much as I’d like. But a friend who is a very devout Christian will often swap certain passages from the Bible.”

Last week, they exchanged the writings of the Victorian Baptist Charles Spurgeon, “prince of preachers” and founder of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London: “The more grace we have, the less we shall think of ourselves, for grace like light reveals our impurity.” Mr Watson says this crystallises his fears for his loved ones during his health issues: what would be left for them if he was not there?

The “code for Christianity”, he says, is contained in John 14.21: “He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.”

Referring to the verse as a “guide to life”, Mr Watson elaborates: “I don’t necessarily think it’s something that we should rigidly stick by, because, in this world, it’s impossible. But if as Christians we endeavour to be the best versions of ourselves, that represents good Christianity.”

GIVEN his Cathedral Tour, which runs into next year, as well as his local fund-raising events, what effect does seeing performances in historic places of worship have on audiences? “Whenever we walk into these magnificent buildings, there’s a sense of ‘I must show a certain amount of decorum and respect in here.’”

Balancing the audience’s respect for the space with their enjoyment, Mr Watson says, “I don’t want them to feel that they can’t let themselves go, or be themselves. I will inject some light humour into the proceedings, to loosen things up. And I’ll usually start with a big, upbeat, buoyant aria, something I know will get their attention; so we’re all aware that this is a concert, in a place of God, and I want you to enjoy it.”

The repertoire for religious venues includes Ave Maria , César Franck’s Panis Angelicus , “Abide with me”, and “How great thou art”, and “some of the big classical arias that I love to sing, and even a touch of musical theatre as well. But the songs that lend themselves best to those types of venues are the big ones.”

Reverence for churches also extends to performers. “It’s a perspective thing. I’m aware that I am going into their house, and respecting their rules is something that I’m happy to do.” Complaints about uneven sound quality along the nave receive short shrift. He says, “This building has been here 700 years. We can’t change the nature of its acoustic.”

The one day when Mr Watson will not perform is Christmas Day. “It is sacrosanct. No way will I perform on Christmas Day. Christmas is when the furore of the music industry finally dies down. I walk into the house, close the front door, and it becomes all about family: bringing everybody together, all our loved ones, and spending a significant day together.”

Russell Watson’s Cathedral Tour runs until March 2024. russellwatson.com

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Russell Watson

Salford's answer to Pavarotti whose debut album 'The Voice' established him as a major international tenor. After starting in the pubs and working more...

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It’s been a long road, but the Browns are finally coming to the end of the ‘Deshaun Watson Tariff’ – Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The NFL Draft is here and for Browns fans, the good news is this is the final year of the “Watson Tariff.”

That’s what I call the draft picks sent to Houston for Deshaun Watson . The Browns shipped first-rounders in 2022, 2023 and 2024. They also added these picks: 2022 fourth round, 2023 third round and 2024 fourth round.

I’m not going to dive into the details of what Houston has done with those selections. They used several of them to move up in the draft to secure talented players.

As for the Browns, they have justifiably been praised for finding a way to find players without those high-end draft picks in the previous two years.

THE RAMS EXAMPLE

At his pre-draft press conference, Browns GM Andrew Berry mentioned the L.A. Rams.

“If they keep their first-round pick, it’s the first first-round pick that they’ll have in the Sean McVay era (which began in 2017),” said Berry.

The Rams’ biggest trade was sending QB Jared Goff, first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 along with a third-rounder in 2023, to Detroit for Matt Stafford. It worked out well for both teams. Stafford delivered a Super Bowl in 2021. That alone made the trade worth it.

In the last two seasons, Stafford had records of 3-6 and 9-6.

Goff had a record of 3-10-1. But then improved to 9-8 and led the Lions to the playoffs with a 12-5 record in 2023. The Lions also had those three picks, including a pair of first-rounders.

IT WAS A DESPERATE DEAL

When it comes to the Watson deal, Browns fans are still waiting.

The QB was limited to six starts in 2022 (3-3 record). Last season, the Browns were 5-1 when he started. But he missed 11 games due to shoulder problems. He’s coming off major shoulder surgery, but is expected to be healthy for this season.

As for Houston, they will have the Browns’ first- and fourth-rounders this weekend.

The Browns were willing to make the major deal because they were desperate for a QB, even though they hate it when I write that. But the cost in terms of draft picks and Watson’s $230 million fully guaranteed contract underlines my point.

I believe the deal was made out of the frustration of not finding a QB in the draft. They were willing to gamble on Watson despite him facing a major suspension (11 games in 2022) and having sat out the 2021 season with Houston. They are counting on him to regain his form that made him a three-time Pro Bowler with the Texans (2018-20).

They still are hoping to have the trade payoff as the Stafford deal did for the Rams.

Berry has stressed this is a “long-term play.” At one point, he talked about a “10-year” time frame, the idea being a “franchise QB” can play for a decade.

THE RUSSELL WILSON STORY

Denver made a Watson/Stafford-type trade for Russell Wilson before the 2022 season. The Broncos shipped first-rounders in 2022 and 2023 to Seattle. They also sent a pair of second-rounders and QB Drew Lock, defensive tackle Shelby Harris, and tight end Noah Fant to Seattle.

After two years, Denver cut Wilson. They suffered an $85 million hit on their salary cap. Wilson has since signed with Pittsburgh.

So these types of mega trades can work out … or not.

FIRST-ROUND LOTTERY PICKS?

Berry said the success rate of first-round picks is about 50%.

“They’re lottery tickets,” he explained. “They’re good lottery tickets at the end of the day. They’re highly, highly valuable. But even if you have a first-round pick, it’s certainly not a certain thing.”

That’s why Houston wanted multiple first-round picks for Watson. It’s why analytics pushes for hoarding draft picks. The more picks, the more chances to find an impact player in the first round.

First-round picks also are valuable because these players come into the NFL on salary-cap friendly rookie contracts. Having extra first-round picks allows a team to trade up on draft day.

They are “highly, highly valuable,” as Berry mentioned. He’ll finally have one in 2025, unless he trades it. I doubt that will happen.

A SOLID JOB

Berry has an interesting background. He was first trained by former Colts GM Bill Polian, a traditional executive with a scout’s mentality.

Berry later worked for Sashi Brown in Cleveland and Howie Roseman in Philadelphia. Those men are more in the analytics camp, valuing draft picks. They don’t trade away high picks unless it is to add more lower picks.

Part of what makes Berry effective without having the first-round picks is him being flexible – he uses analytics, but also makes bold old-fashioned trades.

Classic wheeling and dealing helped the Browns to an 11-6 record last season and a playoff spot. Watson played only five full games (a 4-1 record). The Browns were 7-5 with backup QBs. Nick Chubb played only six quarters.

I still marvel at how they were 11-6, given the injuries to Chubb and Watson. Other key guys were hurt. But knowing Watson and Chubb would combine to play only six full games plus two quarters … what would you have guessed the Browns’ record would have been in 2023? I’d have said a repeat of 7-10 in 2022.

A big factor in the 2023 success is how coach Kevin Stefanski and Berry have worked well together and not splintered when things turned ugly on the field. The days that owner Jimmy Haslam once called “internal discord” have disappeared since 2020.

DAYS OF THE TARIFF TO END

The Browns have been able to stay in good shape on their salary cap thanks to excellent planning by the front office.

The Haslam ownership also is willing to turn contracts into signing bonuses, a complicated process that helps with the salary cap. Many owners aren’t willing to do that because they don’t like writing those huge upfront bonus checks rather than spreading it out over several years.

At some point, the salary squeeze becomes very painful, even with the reworking of contracts. That’s why the Browns need to keep Watson healthy and productive. It’s why they’ve made major changes to the coaches on offense. Watson is still under contract for three more years at $138 million fully guaranteed.

Berry is upbeat about working without the top picks and the question marks hanging over Watson due to the injury.

“We’ve been pretty systematic in terms of how we were going to deploy our picks and our dollars,” Berry said. “We feel pretty good about where the roster sits today. But we’re looking forward to having one (first-rounder) next year for sure.”

©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit cleveland.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Terry's Talkin' podcast logo

• Terry Pluto, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Welcome to a Thursday edition this week of the Terry’s Talkin’ podcast with Terry Pluto and host David Campbell. This week, we talk about the Cavs as they prepare for Games 3 and 4 of their first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic. We also get into why the Guardians are off to such a hot start under first-year manager Stephen Vogt.

And with the NFL Draft upon us, Terry gets into the “Deshaun Watson Tariff” that the Browns will finish paying this weekend.

Stories by Terry Pluto

• Readers share visions of life, death and maybe even heaven – Terry Pluto’s Faith & You
• Taking an inside look at how Browns decided to draft Michael Hall Jr. and Zak Zinter – Terry Pluto
• Cavs show disturbing lack of heart and poise in loss to Orlando – Terry Pluto

In addition, Terry has asked fans to send in stories of when and how they got a foul ball at a baseball game. We read a couple more of those. You can email your foul ball story, along with any other comments or questions you may have, to [email protected] .

Want to keep up with everything Terry is writing? Be sure to sign up for his free weekly newsletter .

If the player below doesn’t work, you can listen to this week’s podcast here.

A transcript of the podcast is below. Because it is computer-generated, it contains many misspellings and errors.

You can find previous podcasts here:

David Campbell (00:02.87)

Hey, everybody. Welcome to this week’s edition of the Terry’s Talking Podcast. I’m David Campbell, your host, and I’m joined by Mr. Terry Pluto. Terry, we’re taping a couple of days later than usual. I was out of town for a couple of days with some friends. Glad to be back right into the draft. How are you doing?

Terry Pluto (00:16.886)

I’m doing well.

David Campbell (00:18.466)

Good. We, um, we had a thing last week. I went on a mini rant about the phrase don’t sleep on. And then you said, uh, you invited fans to send in some kind of pet peeves they have about things they hear on sports TV or sports radio or read. And, um, yeah, we got one from Brian Kirkendall. I think you might’ve heard of a couple other ones too that you want. I don’t know if you wanted to drop those in or not, but Brian.

Terry Pluto (00:24.897)

Terry Pluto (00:32.986)

Terry Pluto (00:40.802)

The problem is I forgot them. I mean, it really was, so, okay.

David Campbell (00:44.918)

But we’ll carry them out. They’re not going away. So but we did get one from Brian Kirkendall, who’s a longtime listener. And he says, Hey, guys, my contribution to the band list when people do the and then they add an S to last names, it’s usually a broadcaster. And they say something like he has the chance to go down as a Cleveland legend joining the Duane Kipers, the Bingo Smiths, the Don Cockrofts, the Mike Junkins, all legends in their time. So, yeah, you hear that quite a bit. But thanks for that, Brian. That’s a good one.

Terry Pluto (01:04.499)

Terry Pluto (01:11.126)

Yeah, I like that because a couple of younger writers, I heard them, this is sort of scout talk or something originally and I heard them say this on a radio show and I didn’t mention to them, I was like, well, you know, there’s only one, whether you want to talk about it, there’s only one Joe Charbonneau or there’s only one Manny Ramirez. You know, it isn’t like there’s a grouping of a whole bunch of these people because if it were, it would be a lot easier to scout and evaluate them because they would all be coming right out of a box.

That is a big one, Brian gets an A plus on that.

David Campbell (01:44.278)

Yeah, it’s like a murder of crows or a flock of geese or whatever. Yeah. So anyway, if you want to send those in before I forget to give the address out the email address to hit us with comments, questions, we’re still taking foul ball stories that we’re trying to work through. We’ll have some of those later on sports at cleveland.com . Uh, Hey Terry, we’re going to start with the guardians today because I’m trying to think of a bigger story in major league baseball right now than, than your, your nicknamed the go-go guardians. And we have a letter to kick us off here from Neil.

Terry Pluto (01:46.418)

Terry Pluto (02:09.729)

David Campbell (02:12.37)

in Jamestown, New York, longtime listener. He says, Hey, Terry, are the Guardians the real deal, fools, gold or somewhere in between at this early point in the season? Their roster moves have played out way better than I expected and several players who underperformed last year are performing well. That’s from Neil. So let’s get into the Guardians here. Terry, what do you think about what you’re seeing so far? There’s what’s 17 and 7? They’re two and a half games up on the Royals in the division? Yeah.

Terry Pluto (02:37.402)

How about that? What you just said there. Two and a half games up on the Royals.

David Campbell (02:42.882)

who are on the come. They’ve got a lot of good young prospects coming up and they’re putting it together.

Terry Pluto (02:45.734)

Yeah. After a lot of this more time. All right. I will ask you this. Who’s the biggest surprise for you?

David Campbell (02:53.834)

Well, and I know this player is close to you and Roberta’s heart, Terry, but Stephen Kwan, I thought he was going to have a good season, but he’s doing some things that I didn’t know that he could do really in terms of consistency and quality at bats. I think yesterday they lost to the Red Sox, but he got a single in the third inning. I think it was, I was reading the game notes, it was his 35th hit of the season. He’s tied with Jose Altuve.

Terry Pluto (03:10.086)

David Campbell (03:22.446)

for the American League lead after he got that 35th hit. And he’s had 35 straight plate appearances without a strikeout. That’s the longest active streak in Major League Baseball. He’s tearing it up and I don’t know if it can continue, but he’s surprised me. He’s playing way above what I even thought he could do. But I know you got something you wanna get into. Why don’t you go?

Terry Pluto (03:46.198)

Well, with Quan, they worked on him in the off season. Tyler Freeman was in some of the same sessions. To pull the ball more, if you’re up to an own account, really take a good swing at it, don’t just swing for contact. That kind of stuff. And it’s created more extra base hits. And Freeman’s had some extra base hits too. I think he’s got three home runs. So that’s been a thing. But it hasn’t.

Especially with Kwon, led to a lot more strikeouts or a drop in on base percentage or anything. He just seems to be getting better. I did say to Roberta and I, use this find out, so what if this guy’s turning into an all-star? Because remember, you’re talking a go-go of left fielder. So you have that, you have a consummate lead-off hitter, and now if he starts hitting over 300, no PS over 800, you’ve got a bunch of doubles and some home runs, is there something special?

And other than, if you look at him, he had a big April when he first came up a couple years ago, then he had a slump in May, survived it, and then just stayed and continued to play well since even last year. He had a pretty good year. It wasn’t as good as this rookie year, but it was good. And so, yeah, just because he’s getting better there. But while it’s not one person, my biggest surprise is by far is the bullpen.

I did not see any of this coming other than Kwasi. I figured if Kwasi would always come back and be good as long as they just don’t wear him into the ground. Remember Kwasi had been in more games the previous three years total than anybody else in the majors. And on top of that, just about ninth innings or safe situations in nearly all of them or even sometimes a harder situation, you come in when a guy on second, the score is tied in the extra innings, which is a tough one.

But you would turn around. Um, I liked the idea of Hunter Gaddis. I thought he had a chance. I didn’t know he was just going to be almost locked down. Tim Heron, I had lost faith in because I thought fundamentally he has, he was all over the place, uh, in terms of his windup and delivery and, you know, a lot of walks and he has been terrific. And you know, uh, they’ve been getting some out of some other guys too, but where you have those three Sam Henshitz is supposed to be coming back fairly soon. Um,

Terry Pluto (06:13.226)

I’m anxious to see if they can continue to do it because you know, Paul Hoynes and Joe Noga have been writing already that they’ve been writing the starters. If they get to the fifth inning, you almost want to stop the game and give them a ball. I mean, it’s rarely that you’re getting any innings out of these guys. But the bullpen has been another reason by the way, everybody goes, boy, Steve Fovolt’s doing a great job is when you go to the bullpen, just by everybody does a great job. Looks like you’re doing a great job.

David Campbell (06:41.642)

And I was just looking at some of the areas of some of the relievers, Terry, class a 0.75 Heron 0.79. It’s just, I mean, this is like a bullpen of kind of epic proportions. If they continue this in terms of Cleveland history, I mean, I think we were talking last week about you have to go back to the 1970s to find some of these numbers, if they can keep this going, uh, Sanlin 1.69 and the other thing, these guys are striking out a lot.

Terry Pluto (06:49.728)

Terry Pluto (07:05.978)

To me, Sandlin always looks like he’s in a mess, but then you look at the numbers and he struck out, Sandlin struck out a ton of guys too. I didn’t know the Yari is 1.6 on him though, geez.

David Campbell (07:17.238)

And the other thing about the bullpen, Terry, I think that this bullpen has a lot more heat to it than, you know, when you have Eli Morgan, whose main pitch was like, you know, his get out pitch was his change up. I mean, you’ve got some guys, Cade Smith can bring it. Gaddis can bring it. The strikeouts, I was just looking at the strikeout to walk ratios per nine innings here. Gaddis 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings to 2.3 walks. Sandlin 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings, 2.5 walks per nine innings.

Terry Pluto (07:22.426)

Terry Pluto (07:27.213)

David Campbell (07:46.066)

Cade Smith 13.9 strikeouts per nine innings 4.9 walks So you talked about some control problems But these guys are getting strikeouts at key times in the game and keeping guys off the bases So I think you’re right. This has been this has probably been the biggest surprise on the team so far, right?

Terry Pluto (08:03.822)

And I know that Tom Hamilton is, he and I are very close. We were talking in spring training and that, and I brought up the bullpen and he said, yeah, that’s one of my biggest worries too. So we’ve been totally wrong about that. And you want to be totally wrong when things go right, as opposed to, boy, I thought that was gonna go right and that went sideways and upside down. So that’s been a big deal too. I’ve been really pleased with Freeman and-

Now and then I get these emails from people who love Miles Strawsell. And okay, Freeman once in a while isn’t as smooth as Miles or whatever out there, but he’s played a really good center field. And while his batting average isn’t that high, he has shown some pop. And what I like about what they did there, they put him in the outfield and left him there. And they put him in the lineup and left him there. Remember the couple of spring trainings in a row.

they would get this brainstorm about the first of March. So they’ve already been in spring training, like about 10 to 15 days. Let’s put Rosario in the outfield. And then he would go out there and Arizona, it is hard to play the outfield there. It is windy in the desert and the sky is all blue. And I remember way back when, when the tri played in Tucson, I would go and we’d catch fly balls or whatever. And you would actually see this called a black,

dot effect is almost looked like a black dot, the ball coming there. And it was hard to judge. So, um, they would, they would try Rosario for a couple of weeks. Then they kind of go back to short back to the outfield. And by the way, he’s playing primarily the outfield with Tampa Bay. The other day I was looking, he was hitting like three 40 for Tampa Bay. Cause he’s, you know, Rosario is a good, a good athlete. And if you have a good athlete, you could.

And a willing attitude, Rosario’s always had a willing attitude. Remember, he was willing to do whatever they wanted. Uh, he could do it. Well, Freeman is showing the same thing. So that’s, I hope they, it seems like they learned something from that. Uh, if you’re going to do it, do it. Yeah.

David Campbell (10:11.622)

Commit to it. Yeah. The other thing I wanted to mention, Terry, and I think it’s because the Red Sox are in town. And I know what Guardians fans are going to say, like the Guardians have to play smart and fundamental baseball to compete. But until you see a team that doesn’t do that, you don’t appreciate what the Guardians are doing. I mean, so the Guardians are 10th in Major League Baseball. They have a 986 fielding percentage, right?

Terry Pluto (10:20.223)

Terry Pluto (10:30.465)

David Campbell (10:38.754)

The Red Sox are last at 977, but aside from that, like how many times during this series have we seen, you know, there’s a throw coming in from the outfield and the Red Sox can’t get it out of a glove and get it home to challenge a play at the plate, or there’s a double play ball and they can’t turn it and that keeps an inning going. And you don’t see the Guardians have a lot of those problems. They’ve, and it’s impressive because with a new manager and a new way of doing things, like they are very good at the little details right now.

Terry Pluto (10:51.147)

David Campbell (11:08.594)

And I was reading during spring training, I think Hoynsey had this story. They even changed, you know, when you’re growing up, Terry, you played baseball. What would you yell when the fly ball was coming to you and you wanted to call somebody off? What would you yell out? My mind, I got it. I got it. So the guardians have changed that because you get two guys yelling, I got it. I got it. And it kind of becomes like a cacophony. Their thing now, and I think this came from Kai Correa, the, um, the field coordinator, he’s like, maybe it was.

Terry Pluto (11:20.746)

mine or whatever. Yeah, I got it. Yeah.

Terry Pluto (11:27.267)

David Campbell (11:36.542)

Maybe it was Stephen Voet, I don’t know where this came from, but now they’re saying, get out, get out, get out, get out. And that doesn’t mean, it means get away from me that I have the ball. And instead of having two guys yelling, I got it running toward each other. They’re yelling, get out, get out. And that sends a different message and it’s, it’s sharper to the ear. And like, yeah, that’s a tiny detail, but we’ve seen Cleveland players running into each other or standing and looking at each other because they thought somebody said they got it. And.

Terry Pluto (11:47.191)

Terry Pluto (12:04.014)

Well, it almost... Sure.

David Campbell (12:04.286)

I thought that’s just a good example of how minute the details are that the guardians are paying attention to.

Terry Pluto (12:11.842)

and how cataclysmic it could be, because remember, that’s when Josh Naylor ran into, and I forgot who was the shortstop, but there was a collision, and he had broken Tibia and all that other stuff, and really set him back. So that’s the thing. By the way, Ahmad Rosario’s hitting 341. That’s why I just kind of wanted to look to see there. And Freeman, he’s got, I believe, three homeruns. He’s got some doubles. So it’s really good.

David Campbell (12:17.304)

Oh yeah. Yep.

Terry Pluto (12:41.798)

Um, now the other thing that I’ve been pleased is real early and all that, but Estevan Floreo is kind of intriguing. You know, this is, he’s got some power. He’s got some athleticism. He started poorly. He’s been hitting better of late and he’s actually come off the bench and pinch hit and done some stuff. So what this is not about, oh, they found another star, but when you’re

David Campbell (12:48.674)

Terry Pluto (13:08.702)

in Cleveland, you’re always looking for an outfielder who might have a little bit of power and might have some potential. And so, Florio, that was why they traded for him. They traded Cody Morris, a guy I like, but could never stay healthy for this guy. And to their credit again, spring training, he was awful, Florio was. I remember talking to...

not just media people down there, but some of the guardians people. And they finally just said, if it was just based on spring training, we couldn’t keep them, but we, we have our reports. This is our guy. He’s feeling a lot of pressure. He’s swinging the balls like over his head, you know, all these things. And we saw a little that early in the year, and then he started to hit. So let’s see what they’ve got there. But, uh, that’s intriguing. And overall, they do have this just nice.

sense about them, kind of like they did in 22 when they surprised everybody. The difference there was that starting rotation made just about all of their starts that year. They had very few injuries to that rotation. Where this year, my goodness, I mean, who, what Gavin Williams now he’s what they’re given a cortisone shot, he’s going to rest for seven days. That was came after he told Hoynes like, I can’t wait to get going.

You can never believe these guys on injuries by the way.

David Campbell (14:36.418)

Yeah, that’s baseball. Like everybody was like, oh, the starting rotation is going to be good, but the bullpen is going to be a real challenge. And it’s been the exact opposite. That’s baseball in a nutshell, right?

Terry Pluto (14:39.789)

Terry Pluto (14:48.67)

Well, if you look at, if you talk about the rotation, all right, who’s the ace right now?

David Campbell (14:52.906)

Man, I don’t know. Like, is there one? Yeah, yeah.

Terry Pluto (14:58.422)

Yeah, that’s it. It should be, it should be by B, but it’s not. He’s been up and down. And then, you know, you’re looking at, they got two starters, Carlos Carrasco and McKenzie. It’s like they’re riding a unicycle on a tightrope. I mean, they’re just like, you just feel like the whole thing’s going to fall apart at any moment. McKenzie can say whatever he wants. He’s not healthy.

You know, that elbow, he’s pitching with a partial terror of whatever the ligament is. And it’s just, I was at the game the other day in Oakland and that wasn’t good when they played, I think he pitched against Oakland, it wasn’t good. He got through it, but it wasn’t good. And Carlos, I give him this, the guy takes the ball, he knows he could barely throw 90 miles an hour. I love Carrasco, he’s working the corners, you know.

He’s like a comedian. It goes out there with about 47 different jokes open, like four of them work. And if, and he doesn’t get too shaken. Um, and I just hope he stays healthy. You know, he pitched fairly well. It was a little better than this with the Mets two years ago, and he won 15 games. He was thrown like 92, but this is how he, he kind of, he averaged a little over five innings to start and he got through the season, but you know, you’re really looking at, uh,

That this is going to be hard and the unfortunate thing I was trying to find a starter in triple a you know they’ve got curry down there who should be up and bring him up but um I mean Ben Lively what’s that about where did he come from?

David Campbell (16:30.254)

Yeah, some story and he’s given them, I think he had a huge outing on Tuesday, if I remember. And coming out of the weekend, they needed some innings and he’s given them some great innings. Cause you’re right, it can’t go on like this forever. Right, like they need to get more out of the starting rotation. And when some of these guys get healthy, but yeah, talk about coming out of nowhere.

Terry Pluto (16:38.422)

He said two good ones in a row.

Terry Pluto (16:43.955)

Terry Pluto (16:49.939)

Yeah, they do, but...

Terry Pluto (16:54.978)

Well, Ben Lively, I looked it up because I remember when they signed him, I looked it up. By the way, in the KBO, the Korean Baseball Association, if you remember from the pandemic time, his career record there was 10 and 12 with a 414 ERA. In the majors heading into this year, he was eight and 17 with a 505 ERA. Last year with the Reds, he was four and seven with a 538.

One thing that looks like what he does is he does take the ball. So, and he looks like he works his way through the innings. And, um, so there, there’s that. And, you know, we’ll, uh, we’ll see how all this goes, but, uh, thank goodness for Ben Laiwe, which is something I never thought I’d be saying. I remember when they signed them, I went to that, I’ll go, Oh, great. You know, some guy with a five ERA, then I went to get a four ERA in Korea. I’m like, okay.

Adam Plutko has been pitching, I think not this year, but the previous two years he pitched in Korea. I used to like him with Cleveland and he had some really nice years in the KBO. Not that anybody but me would be paying attention to that.

David Campbell (18:05.25)

Yeah, you always wonder how it translates from the majors from the Korean League to the majors or even from the Japanese League to the majors So yeah

Terry Pluto (18:10.112)

Yeah, Korea is considered a step below Japan. It’d be like AAA. But, you know, a lot of guys have gone there and then a few have revived their careers. So, all right, what else?

David Campbell (18:23.91)

I’m sure they have analytics on all that too, in terms of translating one league to another. So it’s interesting, Terry, I think Guardians fans have gone from like, oh my gosh, when are Kyle Manzardo and Chase DeLotter coming up to where I think they’re enjoying this team and how they’re playing. But I know you’ve been looking at some guys in the minor leagues that you wanted to talk about in terms of who’s doing what.

Terry Pluto (18:28.721)

Terry Pluto (18:40.139)

Terry Pluto (18:45.871)

Mm-hmm We’ll try to do this every week during the season kind of a little bit of a farm report, all right I’ve mentioned this guy my nose two weeks ago His name is andrew walters. He was a closer from the university of miami This is his first year in pro ball and you could tell they uh like him a lot because they’ve started him in double a All right, andrew walters has pitched eight innings

and struck out 19 at Akron. His ERA is 1.13, he’s walked three. Andrew Walters could be up by July because I could see them moving to AAA. Relievers come up fast. Cody Allen did, I remember a few years ago. Some of these others, they can do that. So that’s my AA. And Chase DeLotter, my guy, I remember I was on him early last year. And in spring training, he hit like 450 or something.

190 at Akron with a 560. He’s got eight walks, 13 strikeouts, one home run. I had somebody from the guardians tell me that, um, they’ve started him down there because he said everything came so quick and so fast for him. Cause last year’s this first year of pro ball. He opened it, put a little bit in that, uh, the Goodyear league in the summer. No, before that there’s a Goodyear league a little bit there.

David Campbell (20:04.194)

The Arizona Fall League. Oh, okay.

Terry Pluto (20:11.566)

Then they moved him to Lake County, where he hit like 350 or whatever. Then the fall league, to your point, where he mashed the ball again. Then the spring training. So, as they said, and of course, at James Madison, he was hitting 400 or whatever it was. Even Cape Cod League, he hit. He’s always hit. And they want to see, you know, I don’t care how great you are, at some point you don’t hit. And then what happens? Because this is now, remember, he has this weird swing where he moves his back foot.

Now, do they tinker with that or do they leave it alone? So we’ll keep an eye on, I’m not writing off the water, but I just wanted to mention that. Now, when he flipped the triple A, Kyle Manzardo had a little bit of a slow start and he’s just been crushing the ball ever since. He’s sitting 292, he’s got five homers, 12 RBIs, 962 OPS, too bad he didn’t play the outfield, you know, he’s first base in DH. So, you know, what I like is.

12 walks and 15 strikeouts. So I remember when they traded for Manzaro, I was very excited about it. And especially when I dug up some tapes and I saw he’s a left-handed hitter with a lot of power to left center. And the other guy is Jonathan Rodriguez down there. He’s probably the next Oscar Gonzalez, but I’m gonna ride on that horse again. I’m gonna hop on the Rodriguez horse. He’s hitting like 305, 977, this is a AAA, and five home runs. So we’ll see how they go.

All right. One of my guys, one Brito. Oh boy. He’s probably going to end up back at Akron. He’s at 197. I’m really surprised about that. I thought he would, uh, do better, more controlled of a spring swing. Uh, miles straw, two 44, six 34 OPS, zero home runs. I mean, miles just doesn’t hit. I mean, all right. We mentioned Walter’s the other guy for call up.

Nick Enright, and I believe I mentioned them last week, but if I didn’t, I should have. Relief pitcher, this is AAA now, nine innings, 19 strikeouts, nowhere in runs, four hits, one walk. So, I think with Walters and Enright, you might have some more power arms and given the state of the starting rotation, what are they going to be doing to start some of these games, David? Bullpen games, baby!

David Campbell (22:27.106)

Pitching bullpen games.

Terry Pluto (22:32.954)

Could be Nick Enroy taking the ball after the national anthem or who knows who. Uh, so somebody like that. So that’s a little bit of a, uh, last guy I was trying to find a starter. Um, the only other guy that pops out and he still a ways away is Doug. Nick Casey. He was their second round pick in 21 and, um, he started slowly, but this year he’s thrown 10 scoreless innings at Akron. So, cause they’re going to have to find somebody to

to pitch four or five innings. And it’s a shame they don’t have the same pitching debt because they called them all up last year. And then you turn around, you know, the Gavin Williams is hurt and, you know, Mackenzie, it’s a scary situation and Bieber’s gone. So there you go. But there are 10 games over 500, I think right now, or whatever it is. And playing, I mean, the old line is don’t beat yourself.

They’re not beating themselves. They’re not walking a lot of guys and they’re really good defensively. Uh, I’ve been waiting for it’s a little early for it to come out. Fangraph sometimes has a thing called kind of a defensive efficiency thing. But I was told by a top person from the guardians that those numbers are just so right now they’re just not enough sample size to go much of anything. Uh, but that’s, uh, but just watching it, the eye test, the all feels been good. And, uh, the infield.

Andres Jimenez is just sensational. What do you think’s going on with Lindor? I’m very serious. I just know he’s not. I’ll give you the stats in a moment. What’s your theory on him with the message here?

David Campbell (24:03.31)

other guy who’s playing better than everybody thought he might.

David Campbell (24:16.914)

Yeah, hey, you know what? We’ve talked about this Terry people like coming to Cleveland who are who like to play baseball and just immerse Themselves in the game when you go to New York again I’m not in Francisco Lindor’s shoes But you’ve got the tabloids ripping you every day if you don’t get a hit and the talk shows there the sports talk like It’s a different you are held to account every at bat there. We’re in a way that you’re not here I don’t know if it’s gotten to him or you know the way he played Terry. He was so joyful

Terry Pluto (24:27.967)

Terry Pluto (24:41.262)

David Campbell (24:44.258)

about baseball and I wonder if he’s lost some of that going to the big Apple where it’s just a different world. I don’t know. What do you think?

Terry Pluto (24:47.467)

Terry Pluto (24:56.466)

Well, I will say this, the last seven games he’s, he’s 10 for 28 sitting three 57, so he’s starting to come around, but overall he’s batting like a two 54. It’s got four homers. I do think one of the things that happened there is he wanted to become more of a power hitter. He really, uh, now he had 30 home runs here, but it seemed to me like he was. The little bit I watched, he was swinging for more power there. And then, as you said, the spotlight. So, uh, it’s always interesting to watch all those. And then.

You know, we got Jose Ramirez, just continues to be Jose Ramirez. I mean, I know he’s not hitting as high as you want, but heck, he’s usually terrible in April and May anyway, so, you know, what’s the difference? And I believe, do you have your guardian stats there? I think he leads the team in RBI, so I think he leads the team in RBI.

David Campbell (25:39.792)

I think I have some, yeah, what are you looking for?

Yeah, I don’t have that here, sorry. I did have one stat I wanted to share. Baseball reference is a thing called extra bases taken percentage, which I thought is really interesting. And it kind of feeds into the guardians doing the little things. It’s the percentage of times that a runner takes more than one base on a single and more than two bases on a double when possible. It doesn’t take, yeah.

Terry Pluto (25:51.714)

We’ll get that in a moment. Go ahead.

Terry Pluto (26:00.619)

David Campbell (26:11.134)

It doesn’t take into account where the ball’s hit or if it’s an infield single. But the Guardians are 10th. And again, small data sample. It’s early in the season. But they’re 10th in Major League Baseball at 46%. So again, fielding, taking the extra base, all that little kind of stuff helps win games, as the Guardians always say. So all right.

Terry Pluto (26:12.895)

Ooh, I like that.

Terry Pluto (26:17.706)

Terry Pluto (26:23.608)

Terry Pluto (26:36.746)

Okay, Josh Naylor, Josh Naylor, 20 RBIs, Jose 19. All right, who do you think is third?

David Campbell (26:45.614)

Steven Kwan?

Terry Pluto (26:48.802)

And even fourth, no him and as his third with 14 Tyler Freeman, fourth 12. So there you go. And by the way, we should, yeah. I mean, and that’s like, you know, you look at that and Gabriel Harris is sitting 298. Maybe this, you know, they, I was among those who rolled my eyes when they came out at the start of spring training. And I remember I had a conversation with Antonelli casually, and then he did it as press conference of.

David Campbell (26:50.902)

That’s working out, isn’t it Terry?

Terry Pluto (27:18.77)

We’re not bringing in some, some more of these guys on one of your contracts. Cause we want to give some more advice to these guys. Cause you know, they believe that maybe they, they bail out too soon on some of the players who’ve gone on and played elsewhere. So they wanted to look some more at area. That’s why they kept areas and Rokeo to see what’s going on. And then they did this Freeman thing in center. Uh, and so, uh, you look at that and there’s areas who.

By the way, did not have a good spring and he had a terrible winter ball year and he was awful last year. Maybe it’s kicking in for him. So we’ll see. But this is exciting and we should enjoy this.

David Campbell (27:55.678)

Terry will the Guardians have a suit they play Boston today. We’re taping this on Thursday around noon They’re playing last game against Boston at 110 today, and then they head out on a road trip to Atlanta and Houston and then go ahead

Terry Pluto (28:11.318)

Ah, ah, you know, ah, this is one that Hal Lebowitz, the late Hal Lebowitz, will put on the list. I remember I’m a young baseball writer in Cleveland. He comes over to my desk. He looks up, he says, “’There’s no such thing as a road trip. “’A team is either on a road or on a trip,’ “’and walked away. “’I have never written or said the phrase road trip again,’ “‘and that was 1980.’”

David Campbell (28:37.134)

All right, we’ll put that on the list along with don’t sleep on, no more road trips.

Terry Pluto (28:42.742)

How how how’s list of no road trips you’re either on the road or on a trip?

David Campbell (28:44.77)

They are out of town to play Houston, Atlanta, and then Houston, and then they’re back next week on Friday for the Angels, which will be interesting for sure. So all right, Terry, let’s take a break. When we get back, you’ve been writing about the Deshaun Watson tariff that the Browns paid for with draft picks and everything. And that ends tonight with the draft and this weekend.

Terry Pluto (28:51.491)

That’s okay.

David Campbell (29:10.49)

But I want to ask you, what do you think was the worst deal so far? The Deshaun Watson trade for the Browns or the Russell Wilson trade for the Broncos? So maybe we’ll get into that and more. We’ll have some foul ball stories. We’re going to talk some Cavs playoff basketball when we get back on Terry’s Talking.

David Campbell (30:29.814)

We’re back on Terry’s talking. I think we’ll go to the Cavs first, Terry, since they’re in the playoffs and the Browns are kind of not in season, but 2-0 lead in the series against the Magic. Terry, they’re playing tonight, game three, Don and Orlando, Chris Fidor, our colleague will be down there covering it. What have you thought of the Cavs so far in this series?

Terry Pluto (30:57.73)

You know, for a while it’s like, we don’t want to have a big lineup. Not just here, but also when Minnesota traded for Rudy Gobert and they had Townes, which is their version of Mobley and Allen, it’s like, oh, you know, this is awful, it won’t work. Everybody’s supposed to be shooting three-pointers and be Greyhounds running around. And if you have a big guy, all he does is set picks close to the basket and dunks, or he must shoot from the three-point line. That’s it. Well, if you look at

New York exploited that matchup last year because they had smaller, tougher guys getting rebounds.

And the lessons that were learned there by Allen and Mobley, you know, have carried now the Brown, the Caz are doing the same thing to Orlando. But if you look, as we’re speaking here, I believe Minnesota is up two to O on Phoenix, which is a super team with Kevin Durant and all that. And the size is bothering Phoenix. So my view is.

Mowgli’s game keeps expanding. I ran into Kobe Altman right before game two. We were just kind of walking by. So we talked for like five minutes casually. And he is granted Mowgli’s this guy, he drafted him. And actually he said to me, cause he knows I like Suggs. He goes, Terry, no, your guy Suggs is turning into a player too. I said, no, you did the right thing. He goes, I know that, but I was glad he said that as opposed to.

Uh, cause I liked Mowgli, but I really thought Jalen Suggs would become a, um, kind of a powerhouse point guard leader. And he may still turn into that. He’s probably going to make an all defensive team, but you could see the difference. But Mowgli really worked on his jump shot during the time that he was rehabbing from that knee injury, because he could go out and do things and it looks better and he’s tougher now. He’s not looking at the officials when he gets pushed around and things. He’s developed a nice little right-handed hook.

Terry Pluto (33:01.482)

So that has been a thing there too. And he’s always had the great instincts on defense. See the, the reason they can play, um, Alan and Mobley, uh, is because both of those guys could jump out and car, got Defender, Guard or small forward away from the basket, what they had to do is just basically get a tougher mindset on the rebounding. I mean, Jared Allen, their first two games at 38 rebounds, 38 and Mobley, you know, has been a double figures.

We’ll see, you know, as the story goes on, but they learned the painful lessons of the New York series. And Alan also has learned, remember you and I, I don’t know how many years on the podcast go shoot the ball more. You’re a career 63% shooter. Take the shots. He’s still, he, I w I looked at the tape of the game, the other, um, game two yesterday and there’s still twice. He got the ball like 60 from the basket. He threw it out to the corner for somebody corner three. No, two points is better.

then zero and you know, just take it score, run down the other end.

David Campbell (34:01.862)

So the big guys, Terry, I just want to give fans a little bit of a look behind the scenes. Our guys who do the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, they have long days, right? They get there for warmups, they cover the game, they’re there till 2, 3 in the morning, they do a podcast when it’s all over. But I thought they made a really interesting point the other night about the big guys’ effectiveness with the rebounding, this series, the other night after the game. And, you know, they were talking about Jalen Brunson, kind of lives in that...

Terry Pluto (34:17.272)

David Campbell (34:29.254)

eight to 15 foot range like he tantalizes you by dribbling in there and that makes that made the Cavs big guys go out on him to help which left the boards wide open and I thought they made a great point on the podcast the other night that there’s nobody like that in Orlando like it and you know defense you’ve been watching basketball for a long time so you know that interior defense starts with exterior defense right and if you keep guys from getting into the paint

Terry Pluto (34:35.912)

David Campbell (34:56.586)

Jared Allen or Evan Mobley don’t have to leave their rebounding assignment to go help. And that shores everything up around the basket and the rebounds come. And I thought that was a really good point, but, and also on Mobley, like he’s a different player than he was a year ago. Right? You’re seeing that.

Terry Pluto (35:14.75)

Yeah. Well, well sure. And it’s Kobe said to me, he should be a senior at USC. I mean, just the fact, I mean, everybody goes, Paulo, you know, uh, man, Cheryl, who I love his game. It’s funny. Even they took them number one, but you know, some of the people weren’t as high in them because you know why he shoots medium range shots. We don’t like that. We want dunks and we want three pointers analytics. Okay. But. Mobile is only a year older.

David Campbell (35:17.079)

Absolutely. He. Yeah.

Terry Pluto (35:43.266)

So you see they’re both really young players. To your point, and then see what you think, when your big guys go out, then your small forward shooting guards gotta get in there and rebound. Max Struz, nine rebounds each of the first two games. I believe Mitchell had seven in game two. I see Mitchell and Struz coming back sometimes to sort of poach the ball out of the

Like a big guy’s kind of backing the ball in towards the rim and they just, they drop down these, they just tie them up. So that, that I didn’t see, I didn’t see that last year. Josh Hart did that continually to the Cavaliers. So there’s growth in that area. Um, and Struces, even when I remember I was told this, but I had to see it to believe it that even when Struces isn’t shooting well, he’s really a good player. Well, even when Struces isn’t shooting well, he’s really a good player.

David Campbell (36:37.706)

And I was just looking at Mobley’s numbers Terry the thing is he’s last season in the first round He played thirty seven point six minutes per game this season He’s playing thirty four so far in the two games, right? but his scoring average has gone from nine point eight to sixteen point five and Which means he’s being more efficient in the minutes. He’s getting last year. He might have attempted one three-pointer. I think in the Knicks series

Terry Pluto (36:53.006)

David Campbell (37:01.73)

One, okay, because it says 0.2 per game that he attempted. And so that would be one, it must be 0.25. But he’s attempting four per game so far and he’s making one and a half. And like you’re saying, that opens things up inside. It’s a different dynamic for Jared Allen when he doesn’t have Evan Mobley eight feet from the basket. He’s got Evan Mobley 16 feet from the basket or further. And the spacing just seems like it’s a lot better this time around.

Terry Pluto (37:05.414)

One, he took one, he took one. I know that for a fact. Yeah, yeah, he took one, yeah, he took one. Yeah, he missed it. Yeah.

Terry Pluto (37:30.282)

And it creates a lot of room for Jared to go blowing in there. That’s the thing. He comes firing in from the foul line somewhere after such as those offensive rebounds. So that’s been an amazing thing is, you know, Struz and Niang can’t make a shot to save their life from the outside. Now, okay. Niang shoots pretty much. He has two things he does.

takes a standstill three or he rumbles to the basket like a guy in a beer league and bounces off of somebody and throws in a bank shot. That’s his game. But Struz can do all these running off picks and everything else to get open. They’re not doing it. I don’t know where this went. And they’re not doing it even when Mitchell is running the offense. It’s like disappeared. And JB’s been complaining about lack of movement. Well, call some plays.

You want some movement, put Merrill in the game. He never stops and just kind of go with it. Um, and I understand that they, all these teams play fewer guys in the playoffs, they just do, but you have a chance, um, especially in these games, which have not been that tight to try some of that stuff, to get some more of that movement.

David Campbell (38:46.03)

And to your point, Terry, I think game one, JB played nine players and that Sam Merrill only played a couple of minutes. So that’s barely nine. It’s more like eight, which was game two. Yeah, game two was eight players. No Sam Merrill, no Tristan Thompson, no Marcus Morris Sr. Do you want to see JB Bicker’s staff expand the bench a little bit tonight and for game four over the weekend?

Terry Pluto (38:59.426)

Yeah, he played four minutes. Yeah.

Terry Pluto (39:06.464)

Terry Pluto (39:11.658)

I tell you what I would do, if Neon continues to struggle, you could cut his 20 some minutes down and throw Morrison for 10 of those. I don’t think you lose a thing, you might gain something. Tristan’s just good to be there. Right now they’re kicking butt on the board, so I don’t really need Tristan. But a game where they’re being bullied and all that, that’s when I need Tristan. Now, I have to, I’ve been very critical of Garland.

in different notes and things. Now I have to, as they say, check the tape. I looked at it. Nine turnovers is too many in the two games compared to 12 assists, although he’s made some really nice passes to set up the big man. But Garland to his credit in a series where it seems like nobody could shoot well from the outside, is shooting 50 from the field and 47 on threes.

And a lot of those, because this is tapes I kind of reviewed the last two days, have come at key moments where it seemed like the cows just couldn’t make a basket to save their life and he would hit some three-pointer. So I’ve got to give him credit for that. The way these games are being called is tough on Garland with the bodies bouncing around and that because Suggs and these others, I mean, they’re kind of half mauling him and taking the ball away.

Of course, the Knicks did the same thing too. So that’s something he’s gonna have to deal with. But my view is this, if you’re having trouble with Garland bringing the ball up, and maybe you’re worried about Mitchell just being tired, putting so much on him, let Strews bring it up. Tell you one thing, you try to take that ball away from Strews, he’ll nail you with an elbow in the middle of the chest. I mean, he’s a good ball handler, he’s strong. You don’t have to have your point guard ever bring it up. I remember Lenny Wilkins, it’s an old thing story, but.

David Campbell (40:44.151)

No, that’s an idea.

Terry Pluto (41:04.314)

Uh, when Mark Price would get worn down or whatever, he would have Craig Ewell bring the ball up and he ran Price learned he had never run off picks in his life till he came to the NBA. Wilkins taught him how to run off picks on the baseline and things like that to get open. And so, uh, and Ewell who was six foot six, kind of like a little like streus and athletic, and he would be able to do that and just take some of that ball handling pressure off of them.

David Campbell (41:27.906)

So if I’m a Cavs fan and I’m watching Garland play, this is the thing, Jimmy Watkins wrote about this the other day in his column, but what I’m seeing from Darius Garland is like an amazing play followed by a turnover. And then a great play where he dishes to Allen for a dunk, followed by throwing a terrible pass that ends up going out of bounds. Like I feel like it’s home runner strikeout with him at this point.

like let’s be honest that the magic there’s a reason there’s 22nd in offensive efficiency like they can’t shoot like when like even after the whistle blows and they throw up shots like just to get a shot in after a whistle blows those are bricks like they’re not even making those so like i get it but like i’m just envisioning in the next series and i know that the celtics lost to the heat yesterday but there’s going to come a time when teams are going to realize that Darius Garland does not like to go into the paint

Terry Pluto (42:12.593)

Thank you. Now.

David Campbell (42:23.738)

Hard with the ball anymore and they’re gonna start pressuring them out and those threes might not fall and I think down the road This this boomer bust Darius Garland version that we’re seeing is gonna is gonna haunt the Cavs What do you think of that?

Terry Pluto (42:44.542)

It could, it could, because their best back court is Struce and Mitchell. You’re not gonna see that starter or whatever, but that’s their best back court. Garland, right now, a big thing that you’re seeing is he’ll kind of drive in, get past the foul line, he goes up in the air, and he has no idea where he wants to pass it. That’s where these crazy passes come from. And some of them also are caught by Mobley or somebody else, but they’re such horrendous passes that they can’t do much of anything with them.

And he isn’t shooting much. He used to have kind of a floater from 10 feet or whatever. He isn’t throwing that up. So he’s struggling, but I will, you know, we have to give credit in a game where, uh, people are not making outside shots. He is. So that could be kind of use him in that area. And he doesn’t, I know he’s, he’s a point guard wants to handle the ball, but sometimes it’s not such a great idea.

David Campbell (43:37.406)

No, you’re right. If he keeps making threes, no problem. That’s going to erase a lot of issues. I just, if he doesn’t make the threes, he’s got to bring value somehow. And I’m just trying to envision where that value comes from. And we’ve seen flashes of it, but the consistency just has to get better. It just has to be more even.

Terry Pluto (43:46.34)

Terry Pluto (43:52.878)

Terry Pluto (44:01.647)

Yeah. Or he’s just going to be, he’s just not a, uh, he’s not an all star. He was a couple of years ago. He’s not now. So, um, but

David Campbell (44:02.474)

Yeah. And you know, in the playoffs, Terry, like if you waste five possessions against the Orlando Magic, like no pro you can win, you’re going to win the game. But if you waste five possessions in the next series or in the Eastern Conference finals, like you lose, you don’t win that game. And

Terry Pluto (44:14.002)

Terry Pluto (44:23.07)

To be fair, remember Orlando ranked third in defense. They ranked second in forcing turnovers in the NBA. This is what they do. They make teams look bad. So it’s not as if they’re playing, you know like Indiana guards, nobody just wanna outscore you. So they are facing a tough defense in Orlando. And as you said, the problem is they can’t shoot. The great thing is how the Cavs have taken the challenge on the boards.

David Campbell (44:47.33)

All right, Terry, well, game three tonight in Orlando at seven, that’s Thursday night. Then they are in Orlando for game four, that’s Saturday at one on TNT. And then Tuesday, they’re gonna take a home trip, come back home, and there’s no tip-off time for that one yet, I’m guessing it’ll be seven, but we will see what the TV people say. And that will be game five if necessary. So, all right, Terry, let’s move on to the Browns. It’s draft weekend, and you wrote...

Terry Pluto (45:04.652)

David Campbell (45:13.002)

over the weekend about what you call the Deshaun Watson Tariff and how the Browns will be done paying that this weekend with the end of the 2024 draft. Why don’t you get into the Watson Tariff, what you meant by that, and kind of what it all means.

Absolutely. When goods come into the country, it’ll get an extra tax to make it more competitive with the locally, the homegrown goods. Did I get it right?

Terry Pluto (45:30.034)

All right, before we start, do you know what a tariff is? It is what?

Terry Pluto (45:46.322)

Yeah, for example, yeah, if you brought in a car, I don’t know if there’s still one of the cars from Japan, but I know there’s tariff on goods from China. Uh, you bring in a car from China and they go to sell it. They’ll throw two grand on it and that’s a tax. Okay. The tariff, which I put on the, um, Watson trade, cause this feels like it never ends. This is the third year in a row with no first round.

You know, there were a total of six picks traded in that one. And finally, they are going to be past that. I love how Andrew Barry, who look, he’s half of the analytic school anyway, and how they brought prize those first rounders, rolled out the, well, you know, the hit rate on these first rounders is only like about 50%. And so, I mean, they’re not a sure thing.

on and on from there and the Rams, you know, 2017, they haven’t had a first round pick since 2017 till this year. Uh, okay, fine. I mean, that’s one of those things. This is your job and you got to do with it. And of course the point is that Watson ends up being the guy who was a three time Pro Bowl over in Houston, you know, heck you give up more than three first rounders, but we’re still waiting on that. But in terms of the draft, sometimes people.

don’t view the effects of the tariff on draft fix the right way. Well, they got past the last two years without it hurting them in this year, but see, those picks that you’re taking sometimes take a couple of years to develop.

And along with the fact that it’s nice to be able to trade them to get good players on rookie contracts and the cost of that. So that was on my point. And you know, we’re going to see how this plays out. So that’s your tariff. But at least after this year, it’s over.

David Campbell (47:46.286)

Well, and you mentioned in your column, Terry, the Russell Wilson trade that the Broncos made, and they gave up first rounders in 22 and 23 and a pair of second rounders and a few players, Drew Locke, Shelby Harris, Noah Fant. And now they’ve given up on Russell Wilson, who has gone to Pittsburgh, and he’s gonna be there with Justin Fields. And that got me thinking, like, all right, two years in Denver for Russell Wilson, two years in Cleveland for...

to Sean Watson. And at this point, like, if I’m looking at these numbers, I don’t see much difference, Terry, in terms of the bust factor here. Two years in Denver, Russell Wilson started 30 games, right? Completed 63.3% of his passes, 42 touchdowns, 19 interceptions, 90.9 quarterback rating.

Deshaun Watson has started 12 games in Cleveland. He’s gone eight and four in games that he’s started. 59.8 completion percentage, which is less than Wilson’s 63.3. 14 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a QB rating in Cleveland of 81.7 compared to Russell Wilson’s 90.9 in Denver. So like so far, even with people calling this Russell Wilson deal a bust, I think it was a better deal for Denver.

with two years of Russell Wilson that it’s been two years of Deshaun Watson. I don’t think the Browns would argue that. They’re, they’re looking long-term. They’re looking at a 10 year window, but I mean, this is not good so far. I think everybody knows that.

Terry Pluto (49:24.054)

Yeah, they do. Right.

Well, the exact, yeah, the difference is that they, um, bailed out on Russell after two years and took an $80 million hit on their cap over the next, whatever that is, it gets complicated. The Browns are not doing that. Um, but another difference is Russell Wilson is healthy.

They say Deshaun is healthy. And Deshaun at his press conference went to great detail on his broken bone in his shoulder and also mentioned a partial tear of the labrum. And then went on a weird rift about, and I’m just saying that because it seems strange that he possibly could have broken his shoulder in the Tennessee game and then played two games after that with a broken shoulder. I mean,

Maybe David, but I would think when they were looking, remember they were looking at all the micro tears in the shoulder and they’re doing MRIs there. I just find that hard to believe that he had a broken shoulder back then.

David Campbell (50:22.058)

We may never know. It could be one of those only in Cleveland stories 10 years from now when we look back at it.

Terry Pluto (50:30.223)

No, I don’t think we will.

Terry Pluto (50:35.19)

But at least starting next year, they’re past all the tariffs that they paid in all those picks, and they could go back to business as usual. Finally, towards the end of his press conference, Barry did admit it would be nice to have a first-round pick next year. And I give him credit for that. So the big thing will be, I have to admit though, reading Watson’s account of his shoulder problems,

David Campbell (51:02.17)

I don’t think you were alone in feeling that way, Terry.

Terry Pluto (51:05.151)

was somewhat alarming.

Terry Pluto (51:10.226)

whenever he broke it, he broke it. And the labor room thing, and then, you know, when a, you’ve had some tears in your rotator cuff there, uh, they heal, but you can, you’ve got to be very careful to get them back. And so that’s why I wrote a lot in the, the Sotherkahn about that. They should take pictures, uh, cut up video cutups of Patrick Mahomes, who I think has missed like six games in four years or something like that.

and show them to Watson. We’re not saying just stand in the pocket and throw the ball away, not get hit, but look at how this guy doesn’t end up in a hospital and you do. So let’s, yeah, they have to. Okay.

David Campbell (51:43.15)

They’re talking about all that stuff, yep. Yep.

Well, you’ve been talking about the draft area. It’s draft weekend. Do you have any inkling of what the Browns might do? They have the 54th pick in the second round on Friday night. We have no idea, right? Let’s be honest.

David Campbell (52:03.786)

Yeah. And I don’t know that Brown’s fans are all that engaged with the draft this year because of what we just talked about. I’m trying to think like the front office and I’m thinking, where does this team need some depth, who can play special teams? And if you’re playing Patrick Mahomes in the AFC championship game, what is the one thing you don’t want to run out of? And you say this all the time, Terry, it’s like pitchers. I think they’re going to take, again, we don’t know who’s going to be there at 54 if they’re going to trade. I think they’re going to be looking for.

Terry Pluto (52:05.79)

Now, what do you like about, I’m tossing it over to you because I have to admit I have not paid much attention to the draft whatsoever.

David Campbell (52:32.59)

corners and safeties who can give them some good special teams reps. Somebody that maybe can develop. I think they’re a little light in the back end at safety and Grant Delpit has, you know, he has his own injury history. I think they’re going to try and stock up on some defensive backs and safeties to give them some depth and to give them some special teams guys that they can rely on. That’s just a general feeling. I have. I don’t have anything to base it on and you know, I don’t even think the Browns are like, well, when we get within 10 picks, we’ll start looking at who we’re going to take or what we’re going to do.

Terry Pluto (52:40.922)

David Campbell (53:02.678)

They don’t even know how it’s going to go down tonight, heading into tomorrow night. So I don’t know. That’s just my gut feeling.

Terry Pluto (53:13.238)

No, they probably have a circle. They probably have a circle of at least 20 guys that they think could be there at 54 because of how strange it gets the, uh, you know, linebackers, a good line backer would, would be helped. And remember they did trade. I think they traded up to get JLK what the second round. I know that. So, you know, they have done that. Um, you know, they lost talkie talkie. I thought talkie was a pretty good player for them last year.

David Campbell (53:33.538)

Yeah, he really rounded out his game as he stayed here and stuff. So, I don’t know, maybe they’ll get some linebackers. Linebackers are good on special teams too.

Terry Pluto (53:43.166)

Terry Pluto (53:47.678)

maybe then necessarily have to be second, second round pick. Of course he is traded though. Second round picks too.

David Campbell (53:47.698)

and might do it again. So anyway, draft starts tonight. It runs all weekend. The Browns will be picking first and that first but their first pick will be on Friday night as it stands right now. Hey, I did want to mention real quick, Terry, this kind of came out this week but Kevin Stefanski and his family are starting a new charity. They’re calling it the Keepers Foundation and it’s kind of named after the verse in the Bible about being somebody’s keeper. They’re having a couple of events and we don’t need to get into one of them June 6. They’re giving it under lights.

Terry Pluto (53:56.094)

He might do it again.

Terry Pluto (54:11.094)

David Campbell (54:15.094)

with Coach Stefanski and friends, but I just thought it was worth noting because I don’t think Browns fans have seen a coach be here long enough to start something like this after his fourth season. And it’s I think Browns fans are probably very thankful that they have a coach that is doing well and has been here four years and is starting something like this after four years and things that can be here for a while. So I think that’s quite a change for Browns fans to get used to. So I just thought I would mention that.

Terry Pluto (54:33.741)

David Campbell (54:47.018)

Yep. OK, so Terry, let’s talk about your faith column from last weekend. And you wrote about people having kind of life after death experiences. And I know you got some really strong response, which you’re going to turn into your column for this upcoming Saturday for your faith in you column, but some really striking responses.

Terry Pluto (54:49.294)

And he must be figuring an extension is coming because he’s in the final year of his contract coming up. So that’s good.

Terry Pluto (55:15.586)

I mean, it’s a thing I’ve been interested in for years from stories people have told me to, I keep looking at psychology today and other, you know, secular research things and the near-death experiences, there’s a lot of common themes to it. You know, someone is on the table, their heart is stopped or at least close to that. The white tunnel, the white light approaching something.

The Bible calls it a city on a hill or whatever you want, where there’s comforting music. Oftentimes they see people that they knew who were deceased like they were waiting for them. People nearing death have talked about seeing dead relatives, that kind of stuff, visions of them. I’m sure some are drug induced, but there’s so much to this that there’s something.

to this. So I remember this lady came up to me at Walmart that I’ve known forever. It’s not my friend Gloria passed away, but it’s one of our mutual friends. And, and she had been taking care of her 90 some year old father for like 10 years. And she said, I know you’ll believe me when I tell you this story. And she talked about how her father could sing somebody at the edge of his bed. This is like in the last week of his life. And then how

He would go into the state and then he would come back and talk about, you know, his dead brother and somebody else. And he said, they’ve keep saying, I’m waiting for you to come home. They’re to keep saying the same thing. And then he passed away and she just asked me what I thought. I said, that fits in with a lot of different stories that people have. And I don’t discredit any of those. And I’m sure, I mean, there, there have been a couple. Books that.

written like the person who went to heaven and they find out it wrote this whole book, it became a Christian bestseller and I forgot which, which one it was, so don’t, don’t take that title. And it turned out to be a fraud, you know? So there’s always that stuff, but, um, Oh, and she’s not a churchgoer, by the way, or anything. I mean, she, she always just like, as Gloria and I would pray for her when her father was driving her nuts and money was short and all this other stuff.

Terry Pluto (57:37.934)

a long-term care thing, but she said, it just opened my eyes to a lot of stuff. So I wrote about that and a few other things, and then I got some really interesting emails from people. So that’s going to be this upcoming week’s column.

David Campbell (57:45.962)

Yeah, I was looking at the column today, Terry, when I was given a quick read and this woman, Loretta said, she said she’s a retired federal investigator and she was asleep and she saw her grandmother descending steps with her arms out to greet her and she ran to meet her grandmother in the dream. And then she, she was awoken by a phone call and it was her mom telling her that her grandmother had just died. Like that’s, that’s crazy stuff.

Terry Pluto (58:01.345)

David Campbell (58:18.678)

The timing of that one, I was just like, whoa, that’s so weird.

Terry Pluto (58:20.022)

It’s a lot of stuff. Yeah. I mean everybody has a vision every week. Okay, fine. Whatever but

Yeah. And I think she put that in to say that, look, I’m not a total whack job here. In fact, if anything, I’m wired to doubt as a federal investigator. It happened to me. I mean, Harry Watson was a guy who was a mentor to me in jail ministry. Bill Glass was my first. And then after that, Harry is a salesman for years for Procter & Gamble and played the stock market.

Not a big I see angels every moment guy at all. In fact, the only other one vision, but he had a major heart attack He said at one point they said he was gone. They’re beating on his chest He had the white the tunnel the white light the approaching of the city on the hill not getting in And seeing several people from his church All deceased who had been Very helpful to him and he was he would say brought him into the comfort of the lord right after he’d been divorced and feeling lost

And then he came back and then he just told me that story once. And then I talked to him. He had gotten ill about 12 years later and I called him and he, Harry, how you doing now? He said, I’m coming to the end. He goes, I’m ready to go. I’ve seen it.

David Campbell (59:37.154)

Yep, I’ve seen it seems to be a common, yeah. I’ve seen it seems to be the common theme. I’ve seen it, yeah, interesting. We’ll catch Terry’s Faith in You column. If you haven’t read the one from last weekend where he kind of laid all this out, check it out. And then some interesting reader stories in this Saturday’s column, Terry’s Faith in You. So, all right, Terry, we still have a couple of...

Terry Pluto (59:42.966)

and he died the next day. So, you know, you can do whatever you want. Yeah, yeah, I’ve seen it. Yeah.

David Campbell (01:00:00.702)

Letters emails from fans about why they’re cleveland sports fans We’ll keep we’re down to the last couple of these but um, i’ll read one of those then We got a couple of good foul ball stories and We’ll share those right now. So all right. This first one is from vince granary And vince says i’m 67 years old and a cincinnati resident for the past 25 years But I was born and raised in acron My earliest cleveland sports recollection was heading down the long dark portals at old municipal stadium to emerge in bright sunlight

and see the greenest grass on God’s earth way back in 1963. I saw many games in person thanks to my dad, including the MICK and poor early win as he struggled to win number 300.

David Campbell (01:00:44.144)

Was that a long, he was, it took him a long time.

Terry Pluto (01:00:48.146)

Oh, I remember that. That was a free. Yeah. Oh Lord. Yeah, it was. He was older. He’s older. He was heavy. He was fat. Trivia question. I believe a guy named Jerry Walker had to pitch the last four innings to save it for him to make sure he got the win, but he finally got number 300. Yeah.

David Campbell (01:00:56.682)

No kidding, huh? Well, anyway, Vince continues. He says, my grandpa though really kindled my love for the game. His favorite player was Rocky Colivito. We watched countless games on TV together. I also remember being bundled up under many blankets, watching Jim Brown and the 63 Browns play in that cavernous place. I’ll never forget the Sugardale hotdogs and the unique mustard. I left the area for good in 1979, but I never lost my affinity for the Tribe Browns, Cavs, Crusaders, Barons, Forests, and whichever Cleveland sports team was playing.

Terry Pluto (01:01:22.862)

You’re seeing something.

David Campbell (01:01:25.726)

I had full season tickets for the Tribe, New Browns, and Cavs for many, many years, all while living no closer than 150 miles and as far as 600 miles away. I saw World Series games in 95, 97, and 16 in person, and virtually every playoff game of the Cavs in the LeBron era, including the watch party for the victorious game seven, where I was at the queue watching with the fans.

Terry Pluto (01:01:42.368)

David Campbell (01:01:50.502)

As you can see, loyalty is important to me, and I’ve also been a loyal follower of your sports columns and your faith columns. You speak to your listeners and readers in a way few can. Thanks for continuing to connect.” And Vince says, finally, last question, Terry, from Vince. He says, why do the Guardians want to keep Kwan in left field? He seems like a prototypical center fielder. Small, speedy, good back control, great defense. Left field is where the lumbering power laden guys play, like Greg Luzinski, for example. Talk about a difference in players there.

Terry Pluto (01:02:09.831)

All right, go ahead.

Terry Pluto (01:02:26.759)

Well, I think the same reason they like to keep him in as a second base. If you have a guy just so exceptional at that position, you know, why move might take something away. All right. My memory of early win is correct. After giving up four runs to Kansas City, Wynn made an exit to watch the rest of the game from the Indians broadcast booth.

David Campbell (01:02:47.19)

So he just went up to the broadcast booth. That’s the best.

Terry Pluto (01:02:50.182)

After his roommate, Jerry Walker came in the sixth inning to protect a seven to four lead. But Casper and afterwards he said, Jerry Walker relieved me and pissed like a man possessed.

David Campbell (01:02:59.461)

Trying to save it for his roommate. I love that.

Terry Pluto (01:03:07.15)

There you go. Why I remember Jerry Walker or whatever, I don’t know. 63, I was like eight years old, so.

David Campbell (01:03:07.682)

You have a mind like a steel trap, Terry. I’ve always said that.

David Campbell (01:03:16.414)

Alright, thanks for that Vince. We appreciate you sending that in. I know you had to wait a while, but I’m glad we got to your letter. This next one is a foul ball story from Michael Sekarek. I hope I said your name right, Michael. And Michael says, I don’t remember exactly when, but I do know how and where and who for our foul ball story. Section 157, row X of what is now Progressive Field with my son about age 5. We waited all day for a ball, sharing one glove with no success. Late innings.

Terry Pluto (01:03:17.79)

Yeah, it goes right on my tongue sometimes and it should stop whatever’s coming out next.

David Campbell (01:03:42.698)

We decided to leave and we’re in the exit tunnel when loud rock music started blaring. Let’s go back and see what it is. The first appearance of John Rocker as an Indian’s reliever. Of course, rock music would be playing waiting in the aisle at the top of the section, a foul ball came over our heads into the deck above, hit a railing and Karen straight down into the glove. Now on my hand, I opened the glove and showed the ball to Al who with big wide eyes asked, do we have to give it back? He still has the ball.

Terry Pluto (01:04:00.615)

Oh, ho, ho.

David Campbell (01:04:12.842)

So thanks for that Michael. It’s a good one and a John Rocker reference as well for a bonus. So And our last one is from brian varley from elgent illinois and brian says hey terry and david I look forward to the podcast and terry’s insights every week. I am a lifelong indians guardians and browns fan and although i’m not a fan of the nba I do love terry’s knowledge of basketball and his take on the calves

Terry Pluto (01:04:25.111)

David Campbell (01:04:34.27)

I moved away from Cleveland area in 1983 for my first job, but I’ve never stopped following the Indians or the Browns. My foul ball story, I took my older daughter to her first major league game in 1995. We live outside Chicago where my wife and I moved in 1989. We like so many Indians fans at the time could get tickets in Sox Park much easier than in Cleveland. We arrived early enough for batting practice and sure enough a foul ball came our way down the first base side.

My daughter ran and picked it up. I honestly never had been close to a foul ball before, and now my daughter gets one on her first trip to a game. But the best part is that Kenny Lofton came over and started signing autographs along the foul line and my daughter got her ball signed. Kenny has been her favorite player ever since. And now I had a lifelong fan to share my love of the Indians and now guardians baseball, a love she is now passing on to my grandchildren.

Terry Pluto (01:05:22.72)

David Campbell (01:05:25.058)

Keep up the good work. I look forward to hearing your takes on this transitional baseball season and the ongoing saga of the Browns quest for a Super Bowl best regards, Brian Varley, Elgin, Illinois. Thanks for that, Brian. Kenny Lofton, of course, is from East Chicago, which is right around the lake from Sox Park there. It’s probably about half an hour away. And they named a street after him in East Chicago. Do you know that, Terry? Where his house was, yeah. I used to work near there, so.

Thanks for those letters everybody. If you have more foul ball stories you want to send us, and as we mentioned earlier, things that annoy you in sports lingo, send them to sports at cleveland.com . Just put Terry’s talk in the subject line. So, all right. Hey, our last thing, Terry, we usually do a book of the week here. Is there any book you want to throw out, you’ve been reading, or something you want to tell people about?

Terry Pluto (01:05:55.968)

I did not know that.

David Campbell (01:06:18.296)

What about vintage calves? That’s a good time to read that during the playoffs here.

Terry Pluto (01:06:23.058)

No, my brain is frozen. Oh yes, vintage calves. Yeah, that’s right. I was gonna, I can’t even remember to promote my own book that shows how bad it is. Yeah, vintage calves. And it’s a good, it’s primarily about the calves of the 80s and 90s where they, you know, where they were coming with the Nance Doherty, hot Rob Williams act group.

That team, by the way, three times lost in their first round of the playoffs, twice to Chicago, and then also they ran into some other problems. But they took them three times knocking on the door to finally get to the second round, and that was in 1992. They went to the conference finals that year. So this team reminds me a little bit of that. I hope they don’t go through the same struggles. But a younger team built together.

You know, they were patient with Lenny Wilkins and that group. And the problem is in that whole era there, they got knocked out of the playoffs. It, this goes even after Fratello took over five times by Michael Jordan, five times. So you really don’t know what you had of, and you didn’t have Michael Jordan on those bulls. That’s what you know.

David Campbell (01:07:32.078)

Alright and if you want to check out that book or any of Terry’s books I think the easiest place to go is just terrypluto.com and you can see all of Terry’s many books in there so. Alright I think we’re good right Terry? Alright oh let’s see do not forget to sign up for Terry’s newsletter we’re going to be making some changes to the newsletter you can just go to cleveland.com slash newsletters and click on the box for Terry just put in your email and you will get Terry’s newsletter every week.

Terry Pluto (01:07:47.096)

Terry Pluto (01:07:52.91)

That’ll do it.

David Campbell (01:08:00.302)

including everything he has. And we’re gonna, like I said, we’re, last week we’re gonna have some announcements very soon about that. So I think we’re done. It’s, I’m feeling like early win, Terry. It’s about time to go to the press box and let, let you, do you want to finish this? But yeah, you can be the Jerry Walker, but thanks for listening everybody. We’ll catch you next week on Terry’s Talking.

Terry Pluto (01:08:23.539)

Let Jerry Walker finish it up.

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Moscow Metro Tour

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Description

Moscow metro private tours.

• 2-hour tour $87:  10 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with hotel pick-up and drop-off
• 3-hour tour $137:  20 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with Russian lunch in beautifully-decorated Metro Diner + hotel pick-up and drop off. 
• Metro pass is included in the price of both tours.

Highlight of Metro Tour

• Visit 10 must-see stations of Moscow metro on 2-hr tour and 20 Metro stations on 3-hr tour, including grand Komsomolskaya station with its distinctive Baroque décor, aristocratic Mayakovskaya station with Soviet mosaics, legendary Revolution Square station with 72 bronze sculptures and more!
• Explore Museum of Moscow Metro and learn a ton of technical and historical facts;
• Listen to the secrets about the Metro-2, a secret line supposedly used by the government and KGB;
• Experience a selection of most striking features of Moscow Metro hidden from most tourists and even locals;
• Discover the underground treasure of Russian Soviet past – from mosaics to bronzes, paintings, marble arches, stained glass and even paleontological elements;
• Learn fun stories and myths about Coffee Ring, Zodiac signs of Moscow Metro and more;
• Admire Soviet-era architecture of pre- and post- World War II perious;
• Enjoy panoramic views of Sparrow Hills from Luzhniki Metro Bridge – MetroMost, the only station of Moscow Metro located over water and the highest station above ground level;
• If lucky, catch a unique «Aquarelle Train» – a wheeled picture gallery, brightly painted with images of peony, chrysanthemums, daisies, sunflowers and each car unit is unique;
• Become an expert at navigating the legendary Moscow Metro system;
• Have fun time with a very friendly local;
• + Atmospheric Metro lunch in Moscow’s the only Metro Diner (included in a 3-hr tour)

Hotel Pick-up

Metro stations:.

Komsomolskaya

Novoslobodskaya

Prospekt Mira

Belorusskaya

Mayakovskaya

Novokuznetskaya

Revolution Square

Sparrow Hills

+ for 3-hour tour

Victory Park

Slavic Boulevard

Vystavochnaya

Dostoevskaya

Elektrozavodskaya

Partizanskaya

Museum of Moscow Metro

• Drop-off  at your hotel, Novodevichy Convent, Sparrow Hills or any place you wish
• + Russian lunch  in Metro Diner with artistic metro-style interior for 3-hour tour

Fun facts from our Moscow Metro Tours:

From the very first days of its existence, the Moscow Metro was the object of civil defense, used as a bomb shelter, and designed as a defense for a possible attack on the Soviet Union.

At a depth of 50 to 120 meters lies the second, the coded system of Metro-2 of Moscow subway, which is equipped with everything you need, from food storage to the nuclear button.

According to some sources, the total length of Metro-2 reaches over 150 kilometers.

The Museum was opened on Sportivnaya metro station on November 6, 1967. It features the most interesting models of trains and stations.

Coffee Ring

The first scheme of Moscow Metro looked like a bunch of separate lines. Listen to a myth about Joseph Stalin and the main brown line of Moscow Metro.

Zodiac Metro

According to some astrologers, each of the 12 stops of the Moscow Ring Line corresponds to a particular sign of the zodiac and divides the city into astrological sector.

Astrologers believe that being in a particular zadiac sector of Moscow for a long time, you attract certain energy and events into your life.

Paleontological finds 

Red marble walls of some of the Metro stations hide in themselves petrified inhabitants of ancient seas. Try and find some!

• Every day each car in  Moscow metro passes  more than 600 km, which is the distance from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
• Moscow subway system is the  5th in the intensity  of use (after the subways of Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai).
• The interval in the movement of trains in rush hour is  90 seconds .

What you get:

• + A friend in Moscow.
• + Private & customized Moscow tour.
• + An exciting pastime, not just boring history lessons.
• + An authentic experience of local life.
• + Flexibility during the walking tour: changes can be made at any time to suit individual preferences.
• + Amazing deals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the very best cafes & restaurants. Discounts on weekdays (Mon-Fri).
• + A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime.
• + Good value for souvenirs, taxis, and hotels.
• + Expert advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time in Moscow.

Write your review

First refuelling for Russia’s Akademik Lomonosov floating NPP

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The FNPP includes two KLT-40S reactor units. In such reactors, nuclear fuel is not replaced in the same way as in standard NPPs – partial replacement of fuel once every 12-18 months. Instead, once every few years the entire reactor core is replaced with and a full load of fresh fuel.

The KLT-40S reactor cores have a number of advantages compared with standard NPPs. For the first time, a cassette core was used, which made it possible to increase the fuel cycle to 3-3.5 years before refuelling, and also reduce by one and a half times the fuel component in the cost of the electricity produced. The operating experience of the FNPP provided the basis for the design of the new series of nuclear icebreaker reactors (series 22220). Currently, three such icebreakers have been launched.

The Akademik Lomonosov was connected to the power grid in December 2019, and put into commercial operation in May 2020.

Electricity generation from the FNPP at the end of 2023 amounted to 194 GWh. The population of Pevek is just over 4,000 people. However, the plant can potentially provide electricity to a city with a population of up to 100,000. The FNPP solved two problems. Firstly, it replaced the retiring capacities of the Bilibino Nuclear Power Plant, which has been operating since 1974, as well as the Chaunskaya Thermal Power Plant, which is more than 70 years old. It also supplies power to the main mining enterprises located in western Chukotka. In September, a 490 km 110 kilovolt power transmission line was put into operation connecting Pevek and Bilibino.

Image courtesy of TVEL

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For the first time Rosatom Fuel Division supplied fresh nuclear fuel to the world’s only floating nuclear cogeneration plant in the Arctic

The fuel was supplied to the northernmost town of Russia along the Northern Sea Route.

The first in the history of the power plant refueling, that is, the replacement of spent nuclear fuel with fresh one, is planned to begin before 2024. The manufacturer of nuclear fuel for all Russian nuclear icebreakers, as well as the Akademik Lomonosov FNPP, is Machinery Manufacturing Plant, Joint-Stock Company (MSZ JSC), a company of Rosatom Fuel Company TVEL that is based in Elektrostal, Moscow Region.

The FNPP includes two KLT-40S reactors of the icebreaking type. Unlike convenient ground-based large reactors (that require partial replacement of fuel rods once every 12-18 months), in the case of these reactors, the refueling takes place once every few years and includes unloading of the entire reactor core and loading of fresh fuel into the reactor.

The cores of KLT-40 reactors of the Akademik Lomonosov floating power unit have a number of advantages compared to the reference ones: a cassette core was used for the first time in the history of the unit, which made it possible to increase the fuel energy resource to 3-3.5 years between refuelings, and also reduce the fuel component of the electricity cost by one and a half times. The FNPP operating experience formed the basis for the designs of reactors for nuclear icebreakers of the newest series 22220. Three such icebreakers have been launched by now.

For the first time the power units of the Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear power plant were connected to the grid in December 2019, and put into commercial operation in May 2020. The supply of nuclear fuel from Elektrostal to Pevek and its loading into the second reactor is planned for 2024. The total power of the Akademik Lomonosov FNPP, supplied to the coastal grid of Pevek without thermal energy consumption on shore, is about 76 MW, being about 44 MW in the maximum thermal power supply mode. The FNPP generated 194 million kWh according to the results of 2023. The population of Pevek is just a little more than 4 thousand, while the FNPP has a potential for supplying electricity to a city with a population of up to 100 thousand people. After the FNPP commissioning two goals were achieved. These include first of all the replacement of the retiring capacities of the Bilibino NPP, which has been operating since 1974, as well as the Chaunskaya TPP, which has already been operating for more than 70 years. Secondly, energy is supplied to the main mining companies in western Chukotka in the Chaun-Bilibino energy hub a large ore and metal cluster, including gold mining companies and projects related to the development of the Baimsk ore zone. In September 2023, a 110 kilovolt power transmission line with a length of 490 kilometers was put into operation, connecting the towns of Pevek and Bilibino. The line increased the reliability of energy supply from the FNPP to both Bilibino consumers and mining companies, the largest of which is the Baimsky GOK. The comprehensive development of the Russian Arctic is a national strategic priority. To increase the NSR traffic is of paramount importance for accomplishment of the tasks set in the field of cargo shipping. This logistics corridor is being developed due regular freight voyages, construction of new nuclear-powered icebreakers and modernization of the relevant infrastructure. Rosatom companies are actively involved in this work. Rosatom Fuel Company TVEL (Rosatom Fuel Division) includes companies fabricating nuclear fuel, converting and enriching uranium, manufacturing gas centrifuges, conducting researches and producing designs. As the only nuclear fuel supplier to Russian NPPs, TVEL supplies fuel for a total of 75 power reactors in 15 countries, for research reactors in nine countries, as well as for propulsion reactors of the Russian nuclear fleet. Every sixth power reactor in the world runs on TVEL fuel. Rosatom Fuel Division is the world’s largest producer of enriched uranium and the leader on the global stable isotope market. The Fuel Division is actively developing new businesses in chemistry, metallurgy, energy storage technologies, 3D printing, digital products, and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. TVEL also includes Rosatom integrators for additive technologies and electricity storage systems. Rosenergoatom, Joint-Stock Company is part of Rosatom Electric Power Division and one of the largest companies in the industry acting as an operator of nuclear power plants. It includes, as its branches, 11 operating NPPs, including the FNPP, the Scientific and Technical Center for Emergency Operations at NPPs, Design and Engineering as well as Technological companies. In total, 37 power units with a total installed capacity of over 29.5 GW are in operation at 11 nuclear power plants in Russia. Machinery Manufacturing Plant, Joint-Stock Company (MSZ JSC, Elektrostal) is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of fuel for nuclear power plants. The company produces fuel assemblies for VVER-440, VVER-1000, RBMK-1000, BN-600,800, VK-50, EGP-6; powders and fuel pellets intended for supply to foreign customers. It also produces nuclear fuel for research reactors. The plant belongs to the TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom.

Rosatom obtained a license for the first land-based SMR in Russia

On April 21, Rosenergoatom obtained a license issued by Rostekhnadzor to construct the Yakutsk land-based SMR in the Ust-Yansky District of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

ROSATOM and FEDC agree to cooperate in the construction of Russia's first onshore SNPP

ROSATOM and FEDC have signed a cooperation agreement to build Russia's first onshore SNPP in Yakutia.

Rosatom develops nuclear fuel for modernized floating power units

Rosatom has completed the development of nuclear fuel for the RITM-200S small modular reactor designed for the upgraded floating power units.

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Saturday 04 November 2023

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2024 NFL Draft winners and losers: Eagles, Steelers, Commanders load up; more iffy moves by Panthers

Will brinson breaks down winners and losers from the 2024 nfl draft.

Knee-jerk reactions to the NFL Draft are never easy, but they are necessary. And we've got 257 picks done now with every single NFL team bringing in an entirely new group of draftees to try to rebuild/reload their respective franchise. 

This draft in particular is going to be tough to judge, with six -- SIX! -- quarterbacks being drafted in the top 12 of the first round. Some of these QBs will be asked to carry a team out of the gate while others won't be seen for a couple years if things pan out right. 

But make no mistake -- those QBs will ultimately end up determining who won and lost this draft. Let's get to my picks for it. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

This was an easy one for me, and not just because of the fourth-round pick of Payton Wilson , arguably the biggest steal of the entire draft. Injuries and age are a concern for the NC State linebacker but he is going to produce early and often for the Steelers. Landing Troy Fautanu in the first round is perfectly Steelers, and should help them be more physical in the run game, especially crucial with Arthur Smith in as offensive coordinator now. Zach Frazier is another physical addition to the offensive line, which suddenly looks like it might be rebuilt. Mason McCormick late in the draft won't hurt matters either. Roman Wilson is a beast of a block in the run game but also will give Russell Wilson/Justin Fields another capable and reliable weapon in a wide receiver room suddenly short on bodies after the offseason Diontae Johnson trade. This is a really difficult division, but if either one of the QB additions hit in a meaningful way, it's not impossible to imagine this draft flipping the Steelers' expectations for 2024. 

Philadelphia Eagles

Howie Roseman's sterling reputation is well deserved. The Eagles GM turned in another outstanding draft performance over the weekend. It started with him zigging a little with two early cornerback picks in Toledo's Quinyon Mitchell and Iowa's Cooper DeJean . We've seen Philly focus on the SEC and the trenches over the last few years, so this was a surprise, albeit a welcome one. Both guys could end up starting early in a defensive backfield that already features Darius Slay and James Bradberry . Jalyx Hunt is a fascinating safety-turned-EDGE prospect, something you don't see often. Clemson running back Will Shipley was a steal in the fourth round. Dipping back into Death Valley for Jeremiah Trotter Jr.  is just good for business, even if it's largely an emotional pick. Johnny Wilson in the sixth round?!?! NC State's Dylan McMahon (aka "Baby Jason Kelce ") later in the round?? Just elite stuff from Howie late in the draft. Maybe most impressive: He traded out of spots a ton and acquired extra picks for next year. The drop-off in talent in this class (largely due to NIL trickle down) made moving out of the seventh round and improving your 2025 ammunition a smart play. 

Washington Commanders

The first draft in Washington under Adam Peters -- running his first draft as a GM -- and Dan Quinn -- now working things a second time around in the head coach role -- feels like a smashing success. And not just because we're used to the WFT limping on the struggle bus under the misguided hand of Daniel Snyder. Obviously everything about this draft will hinge on how Jayden Daniels turns out. Unlike the Bears , Washington will have Daniels directly compared with Drake Maye over the next decade, making it a much more difficult pick. K-State tight end Ben Sinnott and Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey are nice supplementary weapons for Daniels on a team with a pair of strong wideouts. Johnny Newton was a steal early in the second round. Mike Sainristil gives Quinn another piece on his defense. I like the late-round gambles with Jordan Magee (Temple LB), Dominique Hampton (Washington safety) and Javontae Jean-Baptiste (Notre Dame DL) to help give this defense some upside. People forget how many mid/late-round guys made huge impacts for Quinn's defense in Atlanta. 

Buffalo Bills  

It has been a wild offseason for Buffalo. Finding Josh Allen some more help was paramount in the wake of the Stefon Diggs trade. The Bills did just that early on the second night of the draft, grabbing Keon Coleman after the FSU product fell to the second round. The Bills only lacked a first-round pick because they moved down multiple times in the draft; I'm on board the Bill Belichick bandwagon when it comes to getting worked up about trading with the Chiefs -- worry about your own team first. Ray Davis out of Kentucky is a thumper who should fit well in Joe Brady's more run-heavy approach. The Bills took some fun Saturday fliers on the offensive line with Sedrick Van Pran-Granger out of Georgia, Tylan Grable out of UCF and Travis Clayton out of ENGLAND. Bunch of big dudes with upside who should provide good depth and maybe grow into something more. Cole Bishop in the second round should help replenish the very important safety spot in Sean McDermott's defense. 

Kirk Cousins

Let's caveat any "loser" designation with this: Kirk Cousins is still getting paid $100 million by the Falcons and is still the starting quarterback in Atlanta. But his decision to leave Minnesota and sign with the Falcons was couched in part because there was no competition from a future replacement. Clearly Cousins felt somewhat slightly burned by the Falcons' decision to sit at No. 8 and take Michael Penix Jr.  out of Washington. That's a top-10 pick on a quarterback. We over-scrutinize depth-chart situations when a quarterback is drafted with a midround pick. It's impossible not to think/talk/debate the decision when it's the eighth overall pick. People (mostly fans) are angry about it for various reasons and it has brought into question Cousins' health status as he recovers from an Achilles injury suffered last year. Would he have signed with the Falcons this offseason if he knew they would take Penix there? Would the Falcons have signed him ? This situation is going to be scrutinized heavily. If Cousins is rehabbing and Penix is slinging darts all over the place during the offseason it's going to really get awkward. 

Cleveland Browns (Deshaun's version)

With Saturday's draft action, we got the final selection from the Houston Texans in the Deshaun Watson trade. Which means we can reasonably make a case for who won and/or lost the blockbuster deal that sent a huge pile of picks to the Texans in exchange for Watson. The Browns received Watson and a 2024 sixth-round pick. Watson has played in 12 games for Cleveland, missing 11 in 2022 after being suspended by the NFL and 11 last year due to injury. He has thrown for more than 300 yards zero times and crossed 250 yards just twice. The Texans, meanwhile, ended up with the following picks and players as a result of the swap:

2022 1st-round pick -- 15th overall -- OL Kenyon Green 2022 4th-round pick -- 107th -- RB Dameon Pierce 2023 1st-round pick -- 3rd overall -- edge Will Anderson Jr 2023 4th-round pick -- 69th overall -- WR Tank Dell 2024 1st-round pick -- traded to Minnesota -- CB Kamari Lassiter (2nd) and LB Jamal Hill  2024 4th-round pick -- 78th overall -- Caden Bullock

They traded up for Anderson and gave up some capital in doing so, but also traded back with Minnesota and picked up more picks as well. So it's not a perfect science. But the bottom line is pretty clear: The Texans crushed the Browns in this trade. Anderson alone probably wins the deal and when you add in Dell's upside, it's pretty easy to give the Texans a win, especially when you factor in the Browns giving Watson a massive, fully guaranteed deal and the Texans moving on and acquiring C.J. Stroud as ancillary fallout. 

Denver Broncos

I'm pretty typically a blind Sean Payton acolyte. You won't hear me question his quarterback decisions. Convincing the world Russell Wilson was going to work and bailing after just one year definitely has an eyebrow up, and I've got it fully cocked after seeing the Broncos grab Bo Nix with the 12th overall pick. The idea of taking Bo Nix AT TWELVE is just wild. It helps the Broncos used a fourth-round pick on Nix's old teammate Troy Franklin , a physical burner who highlighted my buddy Pete Prisco's Better Than Team and inexplicably fell into the third day of the draft. That duo could be fun. Audric Estime , the running back out of Notre Dame, might be a legit threat to start for the Broncos. Not having a second-round pick in this particular draft doesn't help matters at all, especially for a team trying to bounce back from a rougher-than-expected 2023. Ultimately this could end up landing really well for Denver, I'm just not entirely sold on the idea of Nix running this offense from jump street. 

Carolina Panthers

The idea of using picks to help Bryce Young makes a ton of sense and the Panthers deserve credit for doing just that with a lot of their selections. But they didn't have the No. 1 overall pick as a result of the Young trade and did what I was really hoping they wouldn't -- trade back into the first round for a wide receiver. That they traded back to No. 32 is just wild, especially when they were sitting at No. 33. Xavier Legette is a nice weapon for Dave Canales and Young, but that's a bad trade. And while it was a good trade to move back from No. 39 into the 50s and pick up a second-round pick in 2025 -- they gave up theirs to the Bears in the Young trade -- it was also a bad trade to move back up to No. 46 in order to grab a running back. Jonathon Brooks is the best back in this class by all accounts, but he's coming off an injury and this team just paid Miles Sanders and has Chuba Hubbard on the roster as well. They're not a running back away. Trevin Wallace was a surprising pick at linebacker with better options on the board. Ja'Tavion Sanders was a really nice start to Saturday with the first pick in the fourth round -- you can make the case he's the second-best tight end in the class and buddy are they loading up on Texas players. Carolina made some OK defensive picks on the final day of the draft but generally I wasn't blown away by this draft class even if I appreciate the idea behind it.

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