VSiN By The Books | March 2, 2026 | Hour 2

0:00The Toyota Tundra and Tacoma are built to keep going, blending rugged muscle with precision engineering, all supported by Toyota's time-tested legacy of dependability. Step into a Tundra and feel the unyielding capability with the available iForce Max engine Tundra puts out impressive power, torque, and towing performance and the roomy high-tech cabin keeps you connected on the go. Or take a look at Tacoma made for drivers who push past the path. Agile, tough and relentless with available features like crawl control, portable JBL speaker, a power lift gate, so gear goes in fast and the adventure keeps moving. The Tacoma and Tundra are engineered to endure season after season, mile after mile. So drive one home today, visit toyota.com or stop by your local Toyota dealer to find out more Toyota. Let's go places. Top of the hour to speak soon by the folks on Dave Ross right here at the Mint Gaming Hall.

1:02And frankly, Kentucky, our co-zer, Jensenless, back home in Cleveland, Ohio. Gonna have Joel Goldberg join us from Kansas City Royals broadcasting a little bit later on. In this hour's we debut, the daily diamond again for 2026. That is daily appointment viewing here on these and by the books Will Hill is going to join us in hour number three as well. The King of Connecticut gets some of the plays that he likes on the docket today. But Jensen, we did see a long winning streak come to an end. That's where we begin our highlights and headlines. Help your bottom line with today's highlights and headlines. 11 game winning streak. It is over at the hands of the Knicks as they crush the spurs. 114.89. Again, you're looking at these teams. Knicks are about the fourth betting choice, but bunched up there from one to four in the east. The spurs clearly the third betting choice in the West behind O.K.C. and Denver. Jensen, is this just a blip in the radar?

2:03One at a at 82 for San Antonio. And again, when you get on 11 game winning streak, it's hard to take too much and put too much into one result like we saw yesterday. A lot of mistakes, a lot of turnovers, things that we were not used to seeing. At least not only overall for the year day, but for this great run that San Antonio was on. Hey, 43 and 17. You mentioned it last week and it bears repeating. If anyone had the spurs doing this well, this late, congratulations. I can't wait to see what those tickets look like from a future perspective. But a lot of turnovers from women, Yama, good defense, though. And let's get credit where it's due with the New York Knicks. Starting to see Jaylen Brunson really impose his will. And I'm fascinated, you know, there was a point here where it's defon castle. He's going to be one of the great young point cards here, not only presently, but also moving forward. Well, you can tell when the veterans kind of know we're in a needle, some of the young guys. Jaylen Brunson, one of the greats in the broadcasts at a great job talking about. He uses that shoulder

3:04to kind of gain a little bit of real estate, the physicality. That was kind of fun to watch. But hey, the Knicks at home, just from a betting perspective day, this has been a pretty stout team to be able to handle their business. They do it again against one of the best teams in the NBA. If we went back to say October, November, and I said to you, I'll give you Jensenless right now, whatever you want to get down, I'll give you 40 to one on Purdue to cut down the nets. And then you said, Oh, it's now March, and I can get 40 to one. I'm pretty, did Braden Smith get hurt? No, no, no, everybody's fine. Every selfie, Matt painters, nothing has happened, except we can't figure out where this team has gone. But they are 40 to one in the marketplace after Ohio State takes them down yesterday. The latest loss for boiler up boiler down 82 74. Jensen, I thought about taking a nibble at 28 to one. And now I'm going, I don't even know if I want to take a nibble at 40 to one. I'm with you. Just in conference, a big 10 games, Dave, there's seven and 11 against the

4:05number. And now if we're looking at a top eight seed, you know, right now, Purdue would have been projected to be a two seed, that's not going to happen at least at the moment with that loss to Ohio State. And also, we talked motivation this time of year, they have Ohio State squarely on the bubble, massive quad one win for them to be able to try and get to the right side of that. It looks like projected. They'd be one of the last four teams in to march madness. But it bears out about Purdue and your thought and our conversation, big picture at the end of last week, outside of Michigan. Who do you want to back? We talked Illinois. Illinois gets thrown by the Wolverines, but they feel a bit more resilient. Brad Underwoods crew does even looking to Michigan State going on the road to assembly hall. They take care of business. This is what they do when the calendar turns to March. So I'm, I'm right there with you very, very intrigue to see what Purdue's draw is what their seed number might be. Not to say they're around a 64 loss candidate, Dave, but you got to be hard pressed to advance them a really long way with some of the bad efforts

5:09that they've had, especially in big 10 play. Zach, he's not walking through that door kids. It's not two years ago when they played for the national championship. Amazing. It is for some, the best time of the year. And again, I've debated this externally as well. What is the best month viewing wise gambling wise? You can make a case for March. It says, good as it gets out there with everything going on. Of course, we turn the page to baseball and in April, daily diamond a little bit later on today. So some people might say that too. But with conference play, beginning today in the horizon league, Jensen, this does feel like one of the best times of the year. We made it excited and we get a little appetizer tonight between Cleveland State and IUPUI. Official play for me already in pocket. I will take the point to half with IUPUI. They were 9 and 11 ATS in horizon league games this year. Dave Cleveland State, a very poultry 7 and 13. Take that for what you will. Right state, two to one to win the horizon league tournament. Dave, for people that don't know how it works. First round games, everyone will play one. Tonight is

6:12designated as a play in game for the horizon league tournament between IUPUI and Cleveland State. And then everyone else will be in action tomorrow. It's a one bid league, okay? So you got to win this conference tournament to be able to get in there traditionally a 15 seed, maybe a 16 seed. So something to keep in mind when you're looking at conference futures there. visa.com all of these conference tournament right ups. Adam Burke, Zachary Cohen will have on later in the program. They do a great job, 48 hours before they begin to give you a real good insight on how to bet these conference tournaments overall. You know, the madness for the NFL is beginning as well because it's that calendar year now where it's time to dump salaries, time to move things before the April draft here. And we just mentioned here earlier in the program in case you're just tuning in now. We did have breaking news this morning that Titus Howard has been traded the right tackle has been traded from Houston to Cleveland. He gets a new three year deal on top of his arrival in Cleveland. The reason why we bring that up the Vikings might be clearing out some cap space as well. Aaron Jones, Javon Hargrave, very talented defensive

7:14tackle. And we know what Aaron Jones has meant in this week for a long time. Looks like neither one of those guys will be back for skull next year in Minnesota. Also hearing reports that they're talking to Kirk cousins who's out there on the market as well. So, Jensen, it's that time of year. And again, numbers are up now for win totals for divisions where you really start to see teams starting to take shape. What they're going to look like, the Vikings are going to look different, maybe even not only running back in defensive tackle, but also quarterback next year. I think that's the headline is we're seeing that they want to move on from JJ McCarthy already getting rumors about some of the veterans they may entertain. Heck, we could have a reunion with Kirk cousins there in Minnesota. So I think that would be something for me. I would never be a win total guy until after the draft. And we're free agency takes roster construction. But that is a big, big part of where Wilhaney kept the Vikings moving forward. Who will be the signal caller? Highly competitive division, as we well know from just the last couple of seasons. So anxious to see where that ultimately ends up.

8:16We're on Thursday, Austin Smotherman went out there, shot nine under. Nico Hacheveria shot eight hunters. We were doing the show Friday morning. We mentioned everybody else. There was a big chasm to four hunters. And we said, you know, maybe you want to hold off on those guys a little bit at least in the Friday round. Well, what we didn't know is Nico Hacheveria. His wife went out and closed on a house on Friday in the Palm Beach area where they were playing the cognizant classic. Then he shot one over part on Friday, hold off on the house. Now you can pay for the house, honey, because it goes out and wins for a third time on the PGA tour with a dramatic comeback. As Shane Lowry falters double bogey on 16 double bogey on 17, he had a three shot lead entering the bear trap ends up losing by two. So Nico, you can probably pay for that house now. Welcome to Florida for the Colombian born golfer who's playing great golf this time of year. Shane Lowry, Jensen, he wanted to win for many different reasons. It's been a minute since we've seen him win individually. Go back to 2019 when he won the British Open there at his home in Port Rush.

9:20His daughter, he wanted to win for his daughter who was there for daddy. Let's hear from Shane in that bitter defeat yesterday. The hardest thing about today is I've never won in front of my four-year-old and she was there waiting for me and yeah, that's what I only wanted for her today. I didn't want to defer it. I don't care about anything else like I wanted to sell by just to see her little ginger head running out in the 80s and green would have been the most special thing in the world. I'm sorry, man. It endears you to people like Shane Lowry, you know, and again, I had a four-to-one ticket on Nico earlier today. So I was happy to see the collapse from a monetary standpoint. But when you hear that, Jensen athletes putting themselves out there, we've talked about it before, kind of the anti-roar McRoy. I hope Rory and Kalamora Kawa said, we don't owe anything to you people after the round. I think they've changed their tune. When I hear a major champion like that, talk about his four-year-old daughter. That's how long it's been since he's won an individual tournament on the PGA Tour for a great golfer.

10:25Let's make no mistake about it, Jensen. Talked about it. He couldn't feel his hands out there after a while. It just got nerfed. He couldn't figure out where it went to. I don't know if you've ever experienced something like that. But when you hear him go up there and face the music, it endears you to a golfer like Shane Lowry. That's part of being a professional. Remember we heard Brooks Keppka also talk about his reinvigorational. A lot of that from his young son, where he's like, that's gotten me back to it. A little found of youth, a little second wind, nothing like it. We saw Rory McRoy how emotional he was, not only for winning the Masters, but with a family and toe as well. So been there, done that as far as when it leaves you. Dave, it's the scariest thing ever because you don't think about breathing. You just do it. You don't think about walking. You just do it. And that as an athlete could not be more frightening and completely sympathize with Shane Lowry. Winning tickets though. Hey, we finally get in the green. Thank you, Nikolai Hoygart. Could you hit all the birdies and then we appreciate your service.

11:26Cash is a top 10 plus money, plus two 10 for me, plus top 20 price two. So back at it, the Arnold Palmer upcoming this week. Can't wait to dive into it on Wednesday with you. Cash my 220 and Brooks Keppka top 20. So Brooksy with a big Sunday run as well. By the way, speaking of those numbers, Nico Etch of Ria going to the bear trap down by three to Shane Lowry was 35 to one in the live vetting market. Shane Lowry was minus 5,000. I say again, minus 5,000 with a three shot lead, three to play. And we all saw how that ended up by the time he got to the ATT. He was 13 to one dog. Wow. Every time you fill up that gas tank, you could be earning real cash back with the free upside app. Just download upside from the App Store or Google play, claim and offer it in nearby station. You can start earning instantly. He's a promo code books going to get an extra 25 cents back per gallon on your first fill up many drivers earning 200 and 300 bucks a year just from the gas they already need. So download the free upside app now. Use promo code books for your 25 cent per gallon bonus offers vary by user and location.

12:30See upside dot com for all of the details. The daily diamond makes its triumphant return. So you're listening to this podcast because you want an edge, but what if I told you you're only halfway there, you've got the mindset. Now it's time to get the toolkit to match it. Here's the thing. Pro betters, they spend thousands of on data and tools. But what they don't know and don't want you to know is that you can get the same edge for a fraction of the cost with Vsyn Pro with Vsyn Pro. You're going to get access to expert picks, public betting data, prop projections, powerful tools, analytics, and so much more. Just tap the link in the description and see why thousands of betters are already using Vsyn Pro to cash more bets. The Toyota Tundra and Tacoma are built to keep going blending rugged muscle with precision engineering all supported by Toyota's time tested legacy of dependability. Step into a Tundra and feel the unyielding capability with the available I force max engine Tundra puts out

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14:31Get me a 25 cents back per gallon on your very first fill up when you go to upside.com for all the details. We have waited and waited and waited. We wait no longer. It is time to bring back for the first time in 2026. Yesterday's edition of the Daily Diamond. There's just something about that organ, the crack of the bat, all of the gents and it's just perfect. Welcome back baseball into our lives on a daily basis here on these and by the books. Well, man, you've done great work. Obviously the betting guide is out now. You and I and Burke put this together on the majority of it here. Beeson.com. Everybody's had access to it. But when we start to break down these teams every day that we're going to do in earnest on the Daily Diamond, how did you start to formulate like let's start off with the giants today and you

15:31look at all their numbers are going to be up there. How do you start breaking down a team? What are you looking for for what they did in the off season? What are they bringing back? How do you begin that process? Yeah, always case by case. And this is going to be one of the unique ones, Dave, because maybe one of the most widely scrutinized, controversial, however you want to look at it. Yes. Hires in the manager seat is Tony Vitello coming straight from the University of Tennessee. No prior professional coaching experience. It was a huge swing by Buster Posey. They're present at baseball operations. You move on from Bob Melvin, veteran guy who knows a lot has been around a lot. And so far, everything I've heard and listening to some of the players talk about it. Life is good so far. Now all that being said, this is spring training. You get into the marathon of the season. That's part of the giant steep dive that will be ongoing for me. Initially, you always have to remember, Dave, the difference of the marathon of a major league

16:36season and dealing with multi millionaires versus the quick three and a half four month sprint of a college season. And yes, NIL is there. It's not as prevalent as what we see in college football and college basketball. So let's kind of take a look at the resume. San Francisco missing the playoffs last year. They were in even 81 and 81 that win total for this year, right at 80 and a half. Now that jumped out to me too, because Dave, understanding what San Francisco brings back. Let's go with the big trade to get Raffi Devers in June of last year, really sent shockwaves through the league. And yes, boss of Red Sox fans, if you're having PTSD of the Mookie Bet's trade, it kind of felt like that at the same time. What are we doing? Well, the giants are well aware of the division they play in, Dave. Everyone's running down the LA Dodgers. You're trying to hang tough. You're trying to make inroads there. We have a term in baseball when you look at a player in a lineup, such a position player that you can build everything around. We call them aircraft

17:40carriers. And the giants were really without one up until that spot. Now they might have two. It's not the Gerald Ford, but I mean, you're looking at Raffi Devers. You're looking at Willie Adamus and Matt Chapman as the middle of your lineup. You're going to do some damage there. And in years past, at least last year was Elliott Ramos. They're real stud left fielder who was hitting lead off. What do they do? They go out and get Luis Arise, one of the great contact players of our generation right now. So the top four to five in that lineup, I feel pretty good about. They got one of the great defensive catchers in Patrick Bailey, who is going to be phenomenal for their staff. You're going to get to know a youngster in Bryce Eldridge, barring something on for scene is going to make that opening day roster. He will probably share time with Raffi Devers going back and forth from being the designated hitter and a first baseman just to get Raffi off of his feet. The offense is much better. The rotation is going to be really good. Logan Webb, I had written in the guide. I think finished

18:41his top three in the Si Young voting. He has been right there for many years as one of the top starting pitchers in the National League. He is going to pitch for team USA, power sinker ball guy, perfect arsenal for that ballpark. His running mate Robbie Ray had a phenomenal year last year, but it's the additions via free agency, Dave, and that's where we'll start our deep dive. Tyler Malley, who was injured with Texas last year, but remember off to a phenomenal start, statistically, then couldn't put it back together. Adrian Hauser had an unbelievable start with Chicago with the White Sox gets traded to Tampa Bay. He was a free agent. He comes over. That lengthens that rotation really well. And one final point, I'll get your thoughts overall on where we stand. This is a bullpen in San Francisco that was top four in bullpen ERA last year. They got a lot of different ways to kind of come at you to close out games. Ryan Walker is going to be their closer after a couple of trades at the deadline last year. I think that they're going

19:43to be a team that can really be much better. And I think they can really shoot over their win total this season. I feel that they're too lengthened in the order not to have a better offensive continuity, and especially in the slug department. And I just don't think they get enough credit for their pitching staff. It's a great pitchers park, especially at night. That marine layer there, the ball's not going to travel. I think the Giants could surprise some people here in 2026. Well, that's what I wanted to get at. I have a lot of questions. First of all, when I look at that because you're going exactly where I was going, I'm looking at that win total of 80 and a half. For a team that won 81 games a year ago and missed the postseason. I'm not looking to play on a team that's going to get by by a half game, right? I'm looking to play on if I'm going to play a win total that I feel like I'm getting I'm getting pretty good value whether I think they're going to clear it by four or five wins. It's not really a sweat. Like we really didn't have to sweat out the reds at the end of last year with 83 wins and a win total. We had at 78 and a half a year ago.

20:45That's what I'm trying to to look at. I feel like I might have that with this team. Like Jensen, this feels like a team that should win. Barring devastating injury to the pitching rotation. 85. I don't know if they're if that's good enough to get to the postseason plus a dollar 90. But it does feel like value. If I can only lay a dollar 10. I feel like that would be in the win total going over 80 and a half. Do you see it the same way? This could be a candidate for an alternate win over total in my mind, Dave. My bold take for them in our visa and MLB betting guide was Logan Webb finishes top three and Sai Young voting in the National League and the Giants win between 87 and 89 games. I do think they're getting discounted very much in not only where their makeup is, but a lot of this predicated on, hey, do they have enough in the back of the bullpen to get some of these wins across the line early? One of their primary leverage relievers, Randy Rodriguez, who was an all star just a year ago, Tommy John surgery last September,

21:45likely lost for the entirety of the season. So that's the main concern for me early. Is it's not the starters? It's how do we get it to Ryan Walker at the end? Can we maintain these leads and hold on? And the offense can can do some heavy lifting early. I think they're going to be much better in those departments in which they really struggled last year. I have two more questions. I don't ask two part questions as I always told my interns. You never asked two and one. So I'll just ask one first. Tony Vitello, you mentioned how this is kind of one of those Bally Hood signings here as a manager. And I think some are going to be critical of it. Others are going to say, hey, no, it's good. We got to change it up, bringing into college guy. Let's see how it's going to work. Is there issues there for you that maybe this win total suppress because they don't know how Vitello is going to do at this level? Yeah, absolutely. And I think that is the great unknown is not only out of the shoot, but because his personality as someone who's covered him with my work on ESPN, doing college baseball, he's super laser focused, super detailed oriented. And that's good for

22:51college kids and a little more truncated timetable. That's not going to be the case in a major league season. And also the added pressures day in and day out, media responsibilities, having to answer questions, eventual losing streaks Davis going to happen. How do you handle it emotionally? Do you allow your locker room to police themselves? Because mostly it's the head coach in college baseball that's coming in and kind of inflicting what needs to happen. And so I think that's the delicate dance to start. How will he manage? Will it be one of those situations where the game speeds up on him or it's a little fast early? Does that affect you in the win total market? And are there games that will look back? We say this every year, right? You look back in August and September, all those games in April and May count the same. Will there be series? We look back on where San Francisco had a chance to win them. But because of Tony Vitello being a new guy, did he mismanage a bullpen? Did he not pinch it in the right spot? You know, those are all going to be things under the microscope as we get started.

23:52All right, very quickly. Now that we've had some time to think about it, who won the trade for Rafael Devers? Was it was smart of Boston to move him to San Francisco? Or as you mentioned, you don't get a lot of aircraft carriers in baseball and they have one now in San Francisco. How would you view that trade months removed? Right now, it's a win-win because it'll loud Boston to open up what they needed for their future in their big-time top prospects. Remember, Boston last year, the year before, one of the top farm systems as far as top echelon prospects, and they had a lot of them. You're seeing now most notably Roman Anthony is in there, Marcelo Meyer. You know, those are guys that they're going to lean on here for years to come. People, if you can't understand why we get so excited about the Daily Diamond, I think, you just laid it out. What a perfect breakdown here to begin the Daily Diamond of the San Francisco giants. And by the way, people, I will be looking, again, don't go over this before the show. When it kind of matches up what you see with IC, that's going to be a win-total. I'm going to play. By the way, sharp plays, our friends over there right now, sharpplays.com, unmatched transparency,

24:56records updated daily, AI betting analysis, real-time global betting information alerts directly from the pros. Check out our friends at sharpplays.com. You're too dim to fleece and buy the books right here on Visa. We are back via Simbot of Books. If you're filling up your tank, anyway, you might as well get paid, do so. It's a pretty upside app. You can earn real cash back every time you buy gas. Just download the app from the App Store or Google Play. Check nearby offers. Start earning immediately. Use promo code Books. Get an extra 25 cents back per gallon on your very first fill-up drivers are earning $200 and $300 a year. Just from normal gas purchases, it's easy to use. It takes just seconds at the pump. You can cash out any time straight to your bank account or e-gift cards like Amazon. Download the free upside app today. Use promo code Books for your 25 cents per gallon bonus. Offers vary by user and location. See upside.com for all of the terms and conditions back

25:58alongside Jensen Lewis. Dave Ross here with you. I wouldn't say how I would use that money that you could save from upside, but maybe futures. You could take like a longer shot, put some of that money towards a good future play. Just looked in the break. Still get the giants out there at 80 and a half right now in that win total after the daily diamond in the last segment. So just food for thought, however you want to use the money, it is your money. Speaking of baseball and the daily diamond, Goldberg is going to join us in the next hour from the Kansas City Royals. You're not waiting to catch up with Joel talking about a team. I know you and I both have big and high hopes for this year. Zach Cohen is going to join us in the next segment, talk about all things NBA and the Great Will Hill. We'll join us in hour number three, the king of Connecticut. But right now let's get to what's going on in the NFL because yes, it's March Madness in college basketball. We're going to talk a lot about it every single day, but it is madness in the NFL for cap reasons for switching around roster. So before you start looking at those win totals and those divisional prices out there, realize what these teams are going to look like. Now it looks like the

26:58dolphins down there with the new green Bay South leadership that they have from head coach and GM coming in from the Packers. That to a 10th of a low year services are no longer required here in South Beach. Dents and nobody's going to take that contract, right? And that's the old regime. That's not these guys that are there. And that's why it's the old regime. They're gone. So when you hear that, it sounds like he's just going to get flat out cut later on this month. When that happens, obviously, he would then be eligible to go somewhere else. Will two of the attractive on the open market once the Albatross of that contract is not around him? Not attracted to me. And especially now that you've got four other more athletic and available guys, it sounds like Calamurri would be in that fold. We already know that Kirk Cousins has been released or will be officially once the calendar begins. So yeah, I would say that there are other guys in the pecking order that far outweigh where two is currently.

27:59Well, see, and I guess that's a question. Is some of these guys like the Calamurri's Geno Smith, by the way, the Vikings interested not only in maybe reacquiring Kirk Cousins is out there, but two of his name has popped up there with KOC as well and Geno and Kyler. Now you mentioned, and we talked about this with JJ McCarthy. I don't know if this signals that it's the end of the time for JJ as the starter or at least real competition from a potential veteran like this. But back to the two of conversation for a second, because without the salary confinements, nobody, he's not going to be attractive to another team in that salary. That's why the dolphins are going to have to cut them. But if you put him with a guy like KOC, would he be the starting quarterback in Minnesota? So like Jensen, I think the conversations change once the money changes around certain individuals. Would that be in KOC? We trust that we go, yeah, two of there would make sense, because again, he's going to be somewhere. Two is going to want to start. And I don't know

29:00that that's realistic, but there are certain spots out there where starting quarterback position at least is still in play. Way all the concussions, all the issues there really would be one that I'd be worried about, especially at the number that it would end up being. If we're just talking out loud and we'll use Minnesota, they're knowing that they want to move on from JJ McCarthy. Would it be ironic if Minnesota would end up getting, you know, maybe a Kyler Murray and then Arizona takes on a Tua. Yeah, like that just how interested to see if there's kind of a flip there. I don't know if Kevin's to Fanski would want to in Atlanta, but you could you could dream a little bit if you're looking at the weaponry, but that's a lot for two to be able to work with. Indianapolis still trying to figure out the cults. You know, what are they going to do? Do they want to commit to Daniel Jones? We know Anthony Richardson has been given the go ahead to look for a trade. Does do we go to a more competitive franchise in the chiefs backup from

30:08the homes? They're not going to probably take on that money. The Packers probably not is a back at the Jordan alone. Just thinking of destinations where does it make sense with the money and already the track record of what's happened? Something we've talked about and talked about a lot during the NFL regular season is the the era of the retread quarterback, right? That we've got multiple examples out there. Gina was actually an example of that when he left the Jets many moons ago went to Seattle, resurrected his career, right? They wrote me off. I didn't write back that famous soundbite from Gina. I wonder if we're looking on the kick the tires. I don't know if we can get a Sam Donald out there a Baker Mayfield out there. It's now a reestablished solid starting quarterback in the league, but out of those names Kyler, Geno, Tua, Kirk. I mean, if we're just going on age, you would think Tua would be the answer to that question. If there's a second act of their NFL career to come as a starting quarterback, maybe it'd be that guy. Could I interest you in a Kyler

31:10Murray? Is there is there another rinches that another team like the Jets look at him and go, yeah, you know what? It didn't work in Arizona. Numerous coaches with Kingsbury was the guy that drafted him. Number one overall pick at Oklahoma, right? This is some deep end first round guy. This is number one overall. Could Kyler be the answer to the question of if there's somebody worth saving in this second act, it would be Kyler Murray. Could you see and wrap your hand around that scenario? Feels like he has the highest potential ceiling. Dave and just with the age, he's still technically in a prime window. Geno's what, 36, Kirk's 38. It's getting up there. So if you're just going on and Tua, by right, hey, he's what, 2029, I think he's a year younger, maybe than Kyler. He's older in my, he's older in my mind because of all the concussions. Like, I mean, that is, that is, it's a big risk. Now, Kyler Murray has the injury risk issues too and motivation issues. I would have to sit down and really understand mentally.

32:16Where's Kyler Murray at for me? And if I need to win a big game, who am I really trusting at that point? Now, we've seen a handful of coaches today where it doesn't matter. Stick the quarterback in there and they're going to win. And so maybe that lends you a bit more to that KOC idea is, hey, you put a guy in there that has been around, you know, J. Jim McCarthy, a rookie kind of the outside looking in here. But a guy has been around a little bit, understands the speed of the NFL, what to do. Maybe KOC unlocks Kyler Murray and speaks to him in a way that finally gets the most of what potentially we've seen in years past. Get him off the PlayStation. Let me have a conversation with him. See where his head's at. And if we know the talents there, not going to grow unfortunately like me. I can't get any taller. This is as tall as he's going to be in the pocket. But if we can figure out those other things, there might be something that I'm not saying, Sam Donald Baker may field, Daniel Jones type comebacks here. But you know, we kind of thought Mac Jones

33:20was done. He goes to Kyle Sheena and now he looks like a viable backup quarterback, maybe a starter again, somewhere down the road. So just some food for thought for some of those changing the of the quarterbacks out there in the NFL. The NFL draft, if you want to make $100 on Fernando Mendoza, be the number one pick, you got to put up 20,000. Just think about that people. So I think we know who's going to go number one in the April draft. Who's going to go number two? And this is where the market gets interesting here. Or Val Reese, you know him very well at Ohio state, very talented, minus our 20 to be the second overall pick David Bailey, plus our 35 guns up in Lubbock. We saw Rubin Bane Jr. Mod goodness Miami get after the quarterback, six to one. Look at all those buckeyes. Caleb Downs, 31 sunny styles is shooting up the draft board at 33 to one for Nana Mendoza. He didn't go one. He would go to 75 to one. I don't know if there's any value there. Jensen, is there any of those Ohio stateers that you say, yeah, that seems to make money, makes sense at that price point. I mean, the RVL Reese one certainly,

34:25but I'm looking at Rubin Bane at six to one, like just a strict value edge rush guy that you're looking at can impact right away. You and I watched enough of the hurricanes through the playoff, where you're like, yeah, yeah, that that guy can change a game for me. And he certainly did. Now RVL Reese, again, I'm a little biased watching the buckeyes here as good and as ridiculous kind of freak that you're going to see testing out not only in the combine, but just what he can do to impact the football game. I guess it comes down to they would you rather have that kind of linebacker or would you have the rush capability off the edge in a division where you've got a mobile quarterback and Drake May, where we'll find out what's going to be the immediate future in Miami. And then, of course, knowing you've got to contain Josh Allen. So I think that is a schematic answer. And one that I don't know if you can go wrong between Reese or Rubin Bane, Jr. Can Sonny Stiles,

35:27can he fall to 12? Is there a possibility of because the draft starts at 12 here, kids with Calbos? We'll find out. I don't know. They initially had to mock that far down. He is moving up that board right now. 33 to one of these second picktakers. All right. What's going to happen here is the second half of the NBA season is certainly back in earnest. We're really in that sprint run right now to the playoffs. Zachary Cohen, our fine senior editor here at the Networks, going to join the program next to break it all down right here on these by the books. The Toyota Tundra and Tacoma are built to keep going, blending rugged muscle with precision engineering, all supported by Toyota's time-tested legacy of dependability. Step into a Tundra and feel the unyielding capability with the available iForce Max engine. Tundra puts out impressive power, torque, and towing performance and the roomy high-tech cabin keeps you connected on the go. Or take

36:28a look at Tacoma made for drivers who push past the path agile, tough and relentless with available features like crawl control, portable JBL speaker, a power lift gate, so gear goes in fast and the adventure keeps moving. The Tacoma and Tundra are engineered to endure season after season, mile after mile. So drive one home today, visit toyota.com or stop by your local Toyota dealer to find out more Toyota. Let's go places. You're getting an extra 25 cents back per gallon on your very first fill-up people. I have done it is that simple. Just go to upside.com for all of the details. He does a great job as our

37:30senior editor here at Vecin.com, host of the Hardwood Handy Capers Podcast. Give him a follow on X, one of the best handles on X, betting on X, the one and only Zachary Cohen joins the program now here on a progressive guest line. And Zach, before we get to the NBA, are you a long-suffering Jets fan? Like, is your whole life pretty much? Yeah, it's been my entire life. My dad is like both New York teams type of guy and I did not go that route. I probably shoot up, but I took the Jets and yeah, it's suffering with them. Okay, wait, he got two picks. Yeah, you get two picks at two and 16, Zach. So we got to know before we get to the Abel Drop GM Zach Cohen, what do you want to see your Jets do? They keep being linked to Reese. I'd be fine with them going Reese at two. He feels like the most talented guy. Like a worthy upside swing, which is something that I think they need to make in a 15. I'd like for them to go receiver. I don't know what it's going to be, but this is a situation where you don't take a quarterback. You continue to put a team around,

38:31you know, whoever the next guy is and you look to the quarterback position next year. All right. A team that is looking for maybe next year might be the Golden State Warriors. I'll be it. Zach, this is a unique spot still in the play internament and Barney's not they're ridiculous. They're going to qualify for it because of all the other Western conference teams that are tanking below that 10 seed line. Big one tonight here, Clippers and Warriors. Let's start there. Just where you come down on the Warriors to wait and for Steph Curry to get back here. Any viability outside the play internament is just kind of where their bread's butter. This is it for them. I think I don't think that Steph is really happy with the situation coming out of the dead light either. I think that if he were, you know, feeling a little bit of better about how things were going, maybe he'd be looking to get out there. But now I think he's in a situation where, you know, he's thinking for himself and looking to wait until he's absolutely 100% to come back. There's no reason for him to rush back. I feel and I do think this Golden State team, they also traded for a player in Porzingia who really never plays. And, you know, Steve

39:33Curry did say that Atlanta said something different about his illness than what was reported in last year and reported in the off season. So who knows what's going on there. But this team is definitely in a bad way right now. And last night, as I was watching the Clippers blow out the pelicans, I put in a pretty big money line play on minus 115 on Los Angeles because I did see, you know, koala, it was only going to play 20 something minutes. It ended up being what, 23 and Jerry is Garland expected to return tonight. I just he's going to be fine in terms of rest. And I think that they are just a much better team on both ends of the floor. But even if you look back to since the deadline, they're five and four with a plus net rating, that's better than what Golden State is. All right, Zach, when I look at the MVP market, I felt like this market was very live. And then SGA comes back high profile game. And he kind of did that really Jones Jr. Y'all must have forgot. And now he's up to 275 betting favorite here to win MVP. Jokers, second, Cade's third, Wembe's back to 25 to one. Jaylin Brown's a long shot of 41. Is this race already

40:34over if he just stays healthy? Yeah, if he stays healthy, it is over. It's really boring. And like, I know we had, we got like two good weeks of being able to talk about this market. But the reality was if he came back, we were going to have to stop talking about it again. And he came back pretty soon after, you know, that conversation. And he did play really well against Deborah, as you said. That really stinks. I was very excited about my 70 to one on Cade Cunningham, at least giving me a flutter into the end of March. But we'll see how it plays out. Speaking of giving flutters here, I think this is such a unique part of being a Cleveland fan. You talk about being a long suffering Jets fan. We don't really get to have nice things in Cleveland either. And just when you thought with James Harden coming over, I started to buy in. I'm listening to you. I'm listening to JVT. I'm like, I don't want to get hurt again. And there's the operative word. How hurt do we believe James Harden is and Kenny, Kenny really be effective with this fracture and we're ultimately Cleveland, not only for the rest of the regular season, Zach, because

41:35it is favorable after this three games stretching as Detroit, Boston, Philly. But what's the viability for you now with this injury to James Harden? I think he's going to be okay. I mean, I watched yesterday his game against the nets. I thought he looked really good. He shot the ball really well. Was making plays as a passer. I think the person of Harden that they acquired was the kind of playmaking version of Harden that we saw with Philly, as opposed to like the 25 point per game score that he was earlier in this season. So I do think that if you're going to be losing him, you know, at least losing some shooting ability at some point, it's now it's fine because I do think that he's just out there to kind of run the offense and then knock down shots when Mitchell has too much attention on him. But I think he has looked okay. And from what I understand, it is not like a long-term injury. And it's one that might end up healing on its own as he plays through it throughout the course of the regular season. And it looks like he's fine with that split. So I think it's going to be completely okay. And that's interesting to me because Jensen, I've talked a lot about it with the big four in the Eastern Conference in the odds market here to win the East. Cleveland's still the betting favor to plus 290. So again,

42:38the Knicks at plus 370, they're the fourth shot. So they're all bunched up within what about 80 cents here that we're looking at in the marketplace. But I guess my question is here with the Harden injury, what about the Celtics at three to one to win the East? And again, we're just waiting and waiting and waiting for Tatum. Can we just trust that when he comes back like, you know, SGA comes back, looks like SGA. I mean, this is a major injury he's coming off of. Is the betting market reflecting too much of the belief that Tatum is going to be okay once he doesn't ever be come back? I think the problem that I have with the Celtics is that backing them now, I think you're betting on a team that is being priced as if they have Jason Tatum already. So I don't really think that there's a lot of value left. I think it does sound like maybe Friday will be the night that he comes back. So looking forward to seeing that if that ends up being the night. But I think he's going to be really solid for them. I think that they're going to have 20 to 25 minutes for him right away. And I think he's going to get the job done on both ends of the floor. I just don't think it's going to look like, you know, 30 to 35 minutes superstar Jason Tatum. I just think he's going to look like, you

43:40know, a very good role player or, you know, very good wingman to Brown. I don't think he's going to take away touches from Jalen Brown. But I think that this team is very good. But I actually still think that the center positions a bit of a weakness. I still think the depth is something that they might be lacking. So I don't think this team is quite there yet. I think that that's a product of, I don't know, this team not believing that they were going to be a title contender this year. This year was supposed to be a little like the pace or season where it was a gap year. And they just ended up completely blowing away expectations. Ending up actually buying at the deadline and now being in a situation where it makes sense to bring Tatum back. But I do think they're going to come up just short of making the NBA finals. All right, Zach, I mean, speaking of the Celtics, and by the way, if you, if people have not seen kind of Sunday night basketball with NBC, it really is starting to build up and boy, all of the lookbacks and stuff. It was hysterical, looking at Vince Carter interviews and things of that nature. Celtics on a back to back tonight. This might be one of the most controversial games from yesterday. I know a handful of our colleagues here at Veecin were backing the bucks. It did not end up well. I was one of the few

44:44people that had the bulls there, but you've got now these two teams back in action tonight. Four game abbreviated slate. I know you're on the Clippers money line to start. Anything that really stands out with the four games also as well. I also had the bucks and I made the mistake of thinking I could stop paying attention. I come back and the score was flipped and I'm like, what the hell just happened? But I do think this is a game where I'd be looking to probably back to Celtics. If anything, having said that, like, I don't want to make the mistake of just being a little too low on the bucks after what we saw last night, this is a bit more of a favorable position for Milwaukee with this being a third game and four nights for both teams and a back to back for both teams, but playing in Milwaukee is definitely a little bit better. So they haven't had to travel since last night, but I do think this is a game where the Celtics really should find a way to win and win comfortably just because I do think the bucks for as much as I like their back court of Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. Now, it's a really weak defensive back court and this Celtics team is number two in the league in adjusted offensive rating. Defensively,

45:46they've moved it to the top 10 in adjusted defensive rating and Milwaukee, I think Ken Stahl out offensively as we saw last night. So I would be a little surprised if Boston loses this game, but I do think Milwaukee's played well enough to be a little bit excited about a potential return of Yannis Abducumbo and definitely well enough to kind of start thinking about maybe this team is one trade away from being able to please him and build something of a contender in Milwaukee. You know, very quickly, you got about 45 seconds to go here. Rockets in the road, massive favorites in DC against the Wizards 15 and a half here. We have a tanking team in Washington against a playoff team and the less. How do you handicap those? Because we've talked about this a lot here, Zach, trying to find those angles will be one of those scenarios that Washington fourth quarter. They're just not going to try to win this game. Yeah, I think the Washington, it's not even going to be the fourth quarter. It's just going to be there's no one there to play for them right now. I mean, Trey Young, Anthony Davis are both out all the other guys that they have in the injury report early Alex are there. It's just a crowded injury report. They're playing a bunch of young

46:47guys that don't really fit well together or know how to win and I do think Houston's going end up blowing them out in this game. It's just a matter of will they do it by 15 or not. That's tough to say, but I do think if you're looking at this game, if you want to back player props for the Rockets, I'd look into some first quarter props and I would also look into maybe the first half spread, which is going to be a little bit less. And I do think there's a chance that Houston's up big in this game just because defensively this team is still great. Washington's offense is overorganized. They do turn the ball over a lot. So I could see this being a game where the Rock gets really step up their throats. Well, we don't like to lay a 15 and a half on the road normally, but I don't know how you back the wizards and that spot's that great stuff as always. And again, look forward to having you on each and every Monday here on Vsyn by the books. We're going to have Joel Goldberg join the program next as we go back to the Daily Diamond. Come on back. It's Vsyn by the other books. The Toyota Tundra and Tacoma are built to keep going blending rugged muscle with

47:49precision engineering all supported by Toyota's time tested legacy of dependability. Step into a Tundra and feel the unyielding capability with the available I force max engine Tundra puts out impressive power torque and towing performance and the roomy high tech cabin keeps you connected on the go or take a look at Tacoma made for drivers who push past the path agile tough and relentless with available features like crawl control, portable JBL speaker, a power lift gate, so gear goes in fast and the adventure keeps moving. The Tacoma and Tundra are engineered to endure season after season mile after mile. So drive one home today visit toyota.com or stop by your local Toyota dealer to find out more Toyota. Let's go places.