Our financial manager Leonard Raskin goes for a long walk down the money trail of golf and how the PGA wound up ruled by the government of Saudi Arabia.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
money, baseball, golf, talk, year, week, sports, good, hit, game, bp, ball, homerun, griffey, nba, throwing, saudis, nhl, wear, ravens
SPEAKERS
Nestor Aparicio, Leonard Raskin
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
wn st Towson, Baltimore. Baltimore positive. We’re positively into summer time, summer time. Look, Joe is going to be in Owings Mills all week long for all things ravens related. They have a legitimate mini camp was one year ago this week that I got thrown out. After asking my final question, Lamar, do you want to be a raven for life? He’s here you’ll be throwing through Odell Beckham Of course. Oriole Park at Camden Yards alive with Al East action this week. Luke will be down there and this guy is back from a long short weekend in Florida. Ready for some more real baseball ready for some PGA live golf in the US Open this week. Ready for the French Open and Roland Garros? We got the Stanley Cup The NBA This is one of the more active weeks of the year Leonard Raskin and you love sports so it’s it’s it’s it’s heavy on the remote control this week. I think right there you
Leonard Raskin 00:53
go. It’s a wear out the thumb. It’s get the carpal tunnel going into thumb this weekend to to or this week to go back and forth the whole thing so we like you said we got the NBA. Final Denver Nuggets. Is that Is that who it is? No. No Denver Nuggets? Right. What is the what is the Denver Nuggets? And then and then you flip over to the NHL and we got the Vegas? Golden Knights. I mean, I guess you could have gotten to Vegas a year ago and bet on this first time first time NBA NHL championship kind of what would it be called? Would that be called a fringe? What do they call that? When you bet something that’s really bizarre.
Nestor Aparicio 01:44
Ah, well, it’s called a future is what it’s called. Now it
Leonard Raskin 01:47
is I mean, rods prop bets or bets exotic wagering patriotic that’s what I was looking for.
Nestor Aparicio 01:54
Exotic to say that I’m gonna take the Vegas knights at 50 to one or whatever they would do,
Leonard Raskin 01:58
but I’m saying what if you could have bet could you have bet Vegas for the NHL? And
Nestor Aparicio 02:04
oh, like it’s like an exact
Leonard Raskin 02:06
exactly. I would
Nestor Aparicio 02:08
like like a pair of pants. Wow. That No, that’s like a parlor parlay. There
Leonard Raskin 02:12
you go and said these two are going to be the champions. Next June. That would have been some better bet. And
Nestor Aparicio 02:20
the bet be right now if you’d like the Orioles to win the World Series and the ravens to win the Super Bowl, and then it would actually happen
Leonard Raskin 02:26
a bit a bit. Those odds are dropping, dropping. But but a look all all things are possible. And boy we are. We’re rockin Camden Yards away. I think the young ones the young ones are taking over. Yeah, I’m just I was waiting and thinking, you know, these guys are getting crazy. Ridiculously stronger. And and over the weekend. I’m thinking to myself, Okay. After we saw it. I always said for the Ravens. And I know I’ve met him. I mean, we’ve had good times together. Good fun. Justin Tucker. Right? He is a if you’ve never met Justin, just look at him. He’s a little guy. I mean, as as football players go, he’s he’s not a big guy. But he swings that leg. And that ball. 65 yards just is like nothing. Well, the other thing we
Nestor Aparicio 03:24
have going now and I did a big golf segment this week with Ed Miller over classic five. You want to pick up golf and you and I were on the golf course last week we were talking about before the live PGA Saudi and all that. But we were just talking at a charity it turned out last week that if you want it to get better at golf, and that’s the one thing any of us can go play that you get a lesson but more than that, the video the simulators. Yeah, they that you can get your swing. Top Golf. Totally. You can do any of that. Right now as a golfer. I mean, baseball we see that sort of with Elias and Britain with pitchers in the science of all of this. Yeah, like for for the same thing with Justin Tucker, for anyone that does a repeatable act. Yep, that can be measured. You can get better at it. And you can get better than you’ve ever been able to get at it because a diet science, a technique
Leonard Raskin 04:18
technology man technology. Exactly. So I’m, I’m watching and, and I’m thinking wow, I went to a game. We talked about this a couple few weeks ago, watched Otani hit a home run that just missed. Just missed the boob, the boots, barbecue sign, the hardest home run I’d seen hit in a long time. And then bam. Gunnar Henderson hits a ball, that on a bounce hits the second story of the warehouse. And I’m thinking to myself, is somebody going to hit that building? Soon And these guys are, like you said they, they got simulators they got batting practice whenever they’re getting stronger. Somebody’s gonna hit that thing. It’s, I’m pretty sure from from what they said over the weekend, this was the longest one, right? Right.
Nestor Aparicio 05:20
Told me hit a home run off of Messina a generation ago. Right? And that was going down. But that’s against, but there was not science there was eyeball and markers and whatever, especially with trajectory, how high the ball went right fast when exit Vilo exit velocity. I mean, these are things that Luke Jones talks about you watching Major League Baseball network, these are tip of the tongue, baseball. It’s part of the
Leonard Raskin 05:46
database, right? And the stats now like we said, you watch the game, and as soon as it struck, and it’s out, they have all of that they have launch angle, they have exit velocity, they have everything about it. With with technology that just tells you everything where it hit how long it was. And you know, I love watching Monday night, ESPN Sports Center with Scott Van Pelt and midnight or whatever when he I don’t know when he’s on anymore. He’s on like once a year now or something.
Nestor Aparicio 06:21
But he let him on whenever the game’s over maybe if they want to. If he wants
Leonard Raskin 06:24
to if he wants to work, but but he and his producer Stanford Steve, though, those show some big homeruns and he always asked Steve give me give me a distance. He says 580 80 feet and then it comes in at like 392 or something in the stats. But they stay shows a monster home runs and gunner crushed that ball. I have I think it was Ken Griffey Jr. Right. He’s the only guy to hit the warehouse. And that was during that was
Nestor Aparicio 06:57
wondering, well, the Home Run Derby let’s talk about the Home Run Derby that was during a game. But let’s talk about the Home Run Derby, shall we? Because I was I was a real media member back then. Not like I am now like a fake media member. But I was a real media member in 93. And, you know, I was really close with the team. Then I traveled with the team was a young reporter in 1993 was 30 years ago, right? Yeah. So during that year, I always I love the game, and I love the coaches and any of the coaches Chuck Cottier from that era, tick. Bosman was the pitching coach of that era. Johnny Oates was the manager who didn’t always understand me, but understood my last name was Aparicio and I cared about baseball, the hitting coach of those team, the 93 teams, a guy named Greg biagini. Beautiful guy, great guy never played in the big leagues, but was any died a very, very tragic death. He was sort of the right hand man for Johnny Oates. But he died of cancer. Oh, man, Greg. Greg left us 20 year over 20 years ago. But Greg was a wonderful guy. He died in the prime of his life and he’s just such a vibrant, wonderful guy. And he would stand behind the cage, right like you’re the old sage. Right? And I and the guys on the team, then are Cheeto Martinez Sandborn. Chris Moyles. Yeah, like this is before the team was even good before and hadn’t even screwed it up. Angeles didn’t even own the team yet. Okay, so this is in June and July of 93. My buddies wanted tickets for the all star game as probably you did. Everybody wanted to go to the game. Remember the big Free Willy sign and
Leonard Raskin 08:31
I had John Crocketts tickets I was I was ready. I had my tickets in hand,
Nestor Aparicio 08:37
Chris Moyles. If anybody sees Chris up in New York, Pennsylvania, Chris got me four tickets at face value that I gave to my buddies. Kevin act, John RAF elitist, Mike fountain, they all got to go to the game. And they sat up at section 388 all the way up on the roof five rows down because of Chris Moyles is generosity. Greg be a genie and I forged a relationship because I was always at the cage. It’s funny chats do throw me out because I didn’t care enough. I was literally the guy at the cage, talking to about the science of hitting with Rick down. And who was the hitting coach after Greg right. Because he came in with with Davey Johnson with that group. Right. So I’m at the cage and Greg vicini and I had a great friendship. And he would, we would sit there and watch BP watch BP. And then the All Star Game happened. And the week before he talked to me a little bit about it. He’s like, I’m gonna he was pitching BP he threw BP in a home run derby. That was Juan Gonzalez, Griffey, all that Maguire they were involved in that home run derby. Be Jeanne said to me when it was all over with, because you remember, Juan Gonzalez hit a couple into the second deck. Yep. Into the club level, which ain’t never been done, right. And so after it’s over with BJ and he sees me week after thing, we get the talk and he’s like, those baseballs were in the oven. Like they literally heated The Baseballs up. He said they were the same baseballs. Right, right. He did the baseballs up so that they pop there and BP. That’s how that warehouse got hit. And BJ and he says, Look, dude, and beachy and he’s very like, and he’s long gone. So he can’t bear food, right? But I’ll never forget the conversation we had. Like, he’s like, he called me nasty, because that’s what he called me write nasty. I’m in BP in this stadium at times a year since that opened a year and a half ago. So I’ve watched BP here 150 times. I’ve never seen anybody, anybody. And I’ve seen Sam horn tried to hit that warehouse, do everything he could do other than hit the baseballs off to hit the warehouse. Good. And he can’t do it. It can’t be done. And he’s like what Griffey did what Gonzalez was doing. I think Cecil fielder was a part of that. That circus that year. You said they came out here for 20 minutes and did stuff that I’ve been watching Brady and all of these really strong men Chris Moyles, tried to do just for fun like hitting a golf ball, right. And he’s like, You can’t it can’t be done. So this Griffey thing that you have in your mind, I want to undo that and reel that back in 30 years later, I’ll tell you, the guy who threw the baseball is the guy that controlled batting practice how to
Leonard Raskin 11:26
wear how to wear mittens, so he didn’t burn his hand
Nestor Aparicio 11:29
told me the baseballs were juiced. So hey, just so you know what Andersen did? I don’t know if that balls juiced if the game whatever they’re playing with.
Leonard Raskin 11:37
surprise me if they’re still doing that because they that homerun Derby night on ESPN is a big thing and those guys crush those balls made it for television. That’s exactly right. It’s a it’s a made for television thing. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re doing something similar today. You know, throwing him What is it a Super Bowl, a super super bowl wrapped in in Canvas.
Nestor Aparicio 12:05
Letter Raskin is here I’m wearing the shirt lettered manages the American Dream manages money and expectation for a lot, a lot of folks, you can find them at a Rascon global as well as the Baltimore positive. We talked about the ads talking about the money and all that. But at heart your sports guy you you’re measuring homerun distances, but the Griffey thing I just I don’t poupee legend. I just want to let people know as I’m a I’m a purveyor of truth here. The truth is that I don’t have insight into rigged knowledge. It was rigged. It was rigged. It was rigged. Well, look,
Leonard Raskin 12:34
I don’t know that. I don’t think they’re rigging balls in the game and think it was 460 some feet. I mean, that ball was and he says when he gets his max rank, you’ll be able to hit it further. Right, right. And I was gonna say what’s he 18
Nestor Aparicio 12:49
Now he’s 21 Pardon, but
Leonard Raskin 12:53
he’s 21 Right? He was actually able to get a drink to celebrate If he drinks you know, after the game he could celebrate
Nestor Aparicio 12:59
with a chotto came up he wasn’t old enough to drink either. Right. Lamar Jackson You famously was 21 now so for you with football and and expectation because I do want to talk a little bit of football out this week and we will talk football for the next six weeks probably not right certainly with the way the baseball teams go in the golf tournament like all these things happen. But for you with football because it’s still everybody’s primary around here. I know the numbers that the managing of expectations for this offseason it’s been a wild offseason in that there was so much turmoil in Lamar Athan that now we’re having a really normal mini camp and everybody’s healthy at least for now and hopefully it’ll have a linebacker wind up with a drug death next week like they did a year ago. But it feels like there’s a calm about the organization that certainly didn’t exist for a good year year and a half during the
Leonard Raskin 13:50
yeah and look not only that like you said he he came to the voluntary OTAs right he showed up he’s he’s there throw it to his guys. You got you got what for their four quarterbacks in camp I think or if not more, you got you got Lamar throwing all over the place guy says he guys say he’s looking good. And I don’t know how they’re managing expectations because everything I see and read says this is on paper the best team in the NFL. So so we’ll find out and I think every team thinks are the best team has time you’re talking about us I’m talking about national national NFL say and this is this is it. This is the team to beat and and I look at my homes and Allen and the bank gals and I’m thinking wow there’s there’s some good teams out there. We got to beat
Nestor Aparicio 14:49
to put putting together a little thing the last couple of weeks. I went to Pittsburgh and I will graves last week just he covers the team. I’m going to Cincinnati next week we’re going to talk to some folks there as well. is in Cleveland, Ohio riders coming on next week. Just talk about the expectations around the division because I think in all places, there’s some reason to be bullish now. I think Steelers fans would say their defense is going to be better and they’re going to win games Will Grayson. They expect to win games 24 to 17 old school, run the ball shorten the game to all play some old school football in a division where slowing down Lamar and slowing down Joe burrow is and eventually slowing down Deshaun Watson has got to be the game for these other three teams.
Leonard Raskin 15:28
Absolutely. Absolutely. And they got a young again another young stud quarterback that’s coming up. I’m gonna get better. He’s gonna get his man strength. Right like it’s a good new line his man strength. When I get my man strength, maybe I can put better but I’m out there putting I’m practicing with the windmill. I’m practicing with the clown’s mouth I’m I’m all good about it. Which beach season right now. You’re ready for almost beach season. I was warming up getting ready for my free game. You gotta get a free game once at least once a year. I gotta get a free game.
Nestor Aparicio 16:04
Well, I want to bring you in on this a political conversation because you and I famously are we vote? Sure we believe differently. Literally. Even though we come together. We literally believe different things. Yeah, right. Yeah. About different things. Sure. In this PGA thing and the the blood money that the Saudis have come in with with, they literally can buy anything they want. And they they’ve targeted Olympics World Cup, they targeted Messi to walk from a billion and a half dollars. Yeah, right. I think there is a different mindset for different humans, right, whether it’s Rory or whether it’s Phil, I’ll take the money, give me the money. Messi says that I’d rather go to Miami and play and I really want Saudi blood money for the PGA and for the lawyers involved in all of this, too. I mean, the PGA has been literally you served. This should be this amazing coming in and saying I want to buy the National Football League can’t do it, because it’s individually owned and whatever. But they they found a loophole that they targeted in the American law, where the PGA lawyers basically said, our laws won’t allow us to fight with the Saudi money. So take the money, don’t be a fool, take the money. Everybody else is taking the money. Take the money. I don’t know what this means for America. I don’t know what it means for golf. I don’t know what it means for the majors. But I do know, the world economy and the the idea of sport. And the idea of we just we just played World Cup in Qatar, everyone in the world knows that. That was the filthiest dirtiest thing ever. And it’s all in the bag, and the Qatari King is dancing with the World Cup and hanging out with messy. I mean, they’re getting everything they want by buying it, which is really an American tradition.
Leonard Raskin 17:49
I was just gonna say it’s a little capitalism and its best. And when you got the best and best and worst when you got it, you can use it. You know what, what’s amazing is the guys that are on the PGA tour that didn’t jump and not just didn’t jump but follow their leadership at the PGA to say this is blood money. This is not fair. This is not golf. This is not good for the game of golf. This is all around terrible for our sport. It’s not, not not and the leadership, put them there. The leadership said this is blood money. This is spitting in the face of the 911 families. This is this is not something that that we want you to do. You’re not going to play on our tour till they got sued. And
Nestor Aparicio 18:39
the Saudis couldn’t come in and buy the XFL and start buying Tom Brady and Lamar Jackson. way the NFL.
Leonard Raskin 18:46
I get it, I get it, but this is my point. And then these guys that didn’t take the big checks, sat on the sidelines and toe the party line. And and I don’t think although I’m not 100% Sure, I don’t think the PGA golfers have a union. But just like Tiger Woods came along and literally transformed both the game of golf and the money of golf. Let’s face it, even when Jack Nicklaus was at his peak and paying 90% income tax to the federal government on dollars that he earned such that he quote said it’s not worth winning the money because I don’t get any of it. But Tiger came in and revolutionized what do you call it in golf the take the the the purse, you know? Yeah, the purse of what these tournaments pay out, and yet these guys all looked like chumps. For not going to live and taking Phil Mickelson Tiger was taking money and go over there
Nestor Aparicio 19:57
and make appearances say Tigers right? Yeah,
Leonard Raskin 20:00
but but but Phil got 200 And like you said Messi I think they offered did they offer Tiger a billion dollars? And he said no, I’m gonna gonna stay here I’m gonna fight with Rory. Is it Rory right Rory is the face of this? Oh yeah, fighting against live. And then their their leadership sold them out said we’re going to take the check. And we’re now going to be the winner we’re going to be the live PGA, the PGA live,
Nestor Aparicio 20:36
you’re gonna work literally at the pleasure of the Saudi King. I mean, like literally that with that way signed up for
Leonard Raskin 20:43
you, you’ve paid and I saw recent just last couple of days. The guys that didn’t take the checks are gonna get like a signing bonus or something. something’s gonna happen. But yeah, they have
Nestor Aparicio 20:58
an unlimited amount of money. You shouldn’t believe me unless you feel bad about taking it
Leonard Raskin 21:02
right. And you can believe it’s dirty money. I get that. Absolutely. We can argue across sports. Not all
Nestor Aparicio 21:10
in America certainly looks at the money he started and who sponsors ya know
Leonard Raskin 21:15
what they say? You know, one of the things they say is if you want to see who controls you learn what you can’t speak. And, and if you look at the NBA, there are guys in the NBA that have spoken out against Chinese labor, and have been shut down by the League hard because they are a fortune, money machine in China. The fan base and the love of
Nestor Aparicio 21:45
the Chinese government’s not really different to Peter Angelos or Steve Bashaud. He they don’t like criticism
Leonard Raskin 21:50
and and they’ll shut you down. And the thing is, they can’t shut you down in the NBA except when a guy comes out and says something about China and he gets fired or blackballed. Or look at
Nestor Aparicio 22:04
the Brittney Griner situation, right, she goes over to Russia, she gets tortured, she comes back now she can’t walk into Dallas airport, because they’re gonna scream at her. You know what I mean? Like, out of the airport, I hate to
Leonard Raskin 22:15
say it with regards to her and we can go back and forth here. The fact that she didn’t feel the national anthem mattered a whole heck of a lot when she was a player, before she was arrested in Russia and lost her freedom, and now recognizes that it’s the greatest country in the world and she couldn’t wait for the President to negotiate her release and get her back on US soil. I don’t find that too appealing about her. I would yell at her in an airport. I think that’s pretty trashy. But I don’t think she deserves necessarily the accolades of of the world because she
Nestor Aparicio 22:46
made the point of this is the Russian government didn’t pick her because she’s a rock star, like Pussy Riot. They didn’t pick her because she’s a politician or a business leader. They bribed her because she’s a six foot 10 African American women’s basketball player, it sports and it creates a new they created a hostage.
Leonard Raskin 23:04
That’s exactly right. That’s exactly right. I get it. I’m with you. 100%. And all I’m saying is regarding her politics, you know, she’s changed her mind about some things and that’s, that’s fine. But, but the Chinese and the NBA are deep in bed. And nobody, nobody is out there criticizing player. Well, some
Nestor Aparicio 23:24
first thing I saw when people are first thing I saw when I landed in Beijing was Yao Ming. 2000 was that era Yeah, Yao Ming was everywhere, everywhere, everywhere in Beijing and anywhere he wasn’t you know, who was there? Tiger Woods. Because they they believe? I mean, the Chinese believe in sport. I mean, no question. He’s never had any interest in sports somehow until they could they can ride it.
Leonard Raskin 23:51
Somehow somebody chose that it was it. Let’s face it. They’re not doing this. It can’t be doing it for the money. It’s just silly. Just pop it on there. Well raise the price of oil $1 A barrel it means nothing. It’s nothing. They’re not doing this for the money. So somebody over there in the kingdom must show love golf, that they’ve made the decision for whatever reason. And I don’t know what it is. I have no background in this. They want into this
Nestor Aparicio 24:18
foot in the western world that they can’t have unless they they buy Taylor Swift
Leonard Raskin 24:22
Well, you know that might be coming who knows? I mean, she’s she’s only made a billion this year with $10,000 ticket seats in her shows that little girl’s father’s despairs a
Nestor Aparicio 24:32
lot of wants to be that said they weren’t gonna play in South Africa or playing Dobby right? Playing you know, I
Leonard Raskin 24:38
get it. These players get it. Hey, it used to be. It used to be you saved up your money. Your kids whole life until they were 1012 years old. And what did you do with all that money? You took them to Disney World. Now you save up all that money for your daughter till she’s 12 or 15 years old and what do you do with that money? Take her under to see Taylor swift right? You get two tickets in the nosebleeds for 6000? No pardon. It’s
Nestor Aparicio 25:04
for for you know, Barbara
Leonard Raskin 25:08
Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift for Taylor Swift tickets. So maybe the Saudis will entice her for a billion dollars to play a Saudi tour. Who knows where maybe
Nestor Aparicio 25:17
my baseball it’s been bad enough, haven’t Angelo’s by baseball here, so I can’t go any worse.
Leonard Raskin 25:22
The Oakland A’s are trying to figure out if they can move to Vegas, I think Vegas, and I was I was talking to my wife Cathy and I were driving and she said, they’re gonna have a baseball team in Las Vegas. She said, gambling and baseball. I said, Honey, you haven’t been paying attention. In the fourth inning. They’re betting on who’s going to hit a home run in the next three batters and people are dialing up on their phone, the odds of who’s hitting a homerun this inning or who’s gonna strike out or is the pitcher gonna strike out more than 10. And what’s the over under on into the time the number of foul balls that
Nestor Aparicio 26:00
run conversation is changing. wagering for sure. And
Leonard Raskin 26:03
there’s Pete Rose going oh, Pete Rose is out there wondering why the heck his jersey is not in Cooper’s but maybe his jersey is, but why he is not in Cooperstown and he looks at this he’s got to be. You know, it’s a good thing. He’s still alive. He’s dead. If he was dead, we’d be saying he’s rolling over in his grave about this. Instead, he he’s P rose would
Nestor Aparicio 26:31
have no problem if the Saudis offered him money to go into the hall. He would take the money they
Leonard Raskin 26:35
bought the hall. If they bought the hall and said 10 million bucks. He’d pay them 10 million bucks and they’d give it back to him as a signing bonus when they own the hall.
Nestor Aparicio 26:47
That’s America letter asking can be found or asking global not just to talk in sports and fun and politics but managing money the right way. Taking your money and your future and the responsibility that seriously check them out or asking global we’ll see you next week. I hope you have a good week. I mean by next week NBA NHL all that golfing, you know, it’ll just be a baseball pennant race. It’d be normal times.
Leonard Raskin 27:09
That’s it. We’re on to the All Star game. Well,
Nestor Aparicio 27:12
that’ll be next week’s argument how many all stars we have your Gunnar Henderson make a little case for himself as well. You can find letter Rascon out in front of Baltimore positive and at Rascon global always there to help you follow your American dream. I follow my American dream this week on the Maryland crab cake tour. We’re gonna beat spirits West next Thursday. given away the Maryland lottery instant lottery scratch offs are friends of window nation, give me the fun floppy hat to wear as well. We are wn st am 1570, Towson Baltimore and we never stop talking Baltimore positive
