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Speaker 2: Marcus Thompson of The Athletic covers it all. Obviously does
Speaker 2: a ton of Warriors. He's done that for years and
Speaker 2: years and years, but also focuses on the 49ers who
Speaker 2: are in the news. After Jed York gets arrested for
Speaker 2: a $ 140 solicitation of prostitution and pleads no contest, does
Speaker 2: the whole deal, pays the fines, it's done, it's dusted,
Speaker 2: it's over. The question is what will be the lingering
Speaker 2: effect on the ownership structure, et cetera, et cetera. Plus,
Speaker 2: you know, they got to beat the Rams week one. So, Marcus,
Speaker 2: good morning. Welcome back to Murph and Marcus. How you doing, man?
Speaker 3: What up, Marcus?
Speaker 4: What's going on?
Speaker 3: I only got 120.
Speaker 4: So I guess I'm not doing that great. See, there
Speaker 4: you go. Sorry. My fault.
Speaker 2: I know.
Speaker 4: I know.
Speaker 2: Everybody's got them. Everybody's got them. The 140 seems to
Speaker 2: be a really big focus for people. It really does.
Speaker 4: It does.
Speaker 2: All right, buddy. What does this mean? So Parag Marathe
Speaker 2: left a couple months ago. Nobody really paid attention to it.
Speaker 2: And now this. Now we find out the sad news
Speaker 2: that Jed and Danielle are filed for divorce in May.
Speaker 2: I don't know, is there something there about the 49ers'
Speaker 2: ownership structure or the hierarchy, the top of their executive
Speaker 2: chain being a little unstable?
Speaker 4: I mean, of course it is.
Speaker 3: And especially as we see the constant drama this team
Speaker 3: goes through, there's a lot of self-inflicted wounds that end
Speaker 3: up becoming a cloud over their.
Speaker 4: Training camp and leading into their season. And you've got
Speaker 4: to wonder... If it's.
Speaker 3: Messy up top, it's probably going to be messy trickling down, right?
Speaker 3: It's going to be messy at the bottom. You always
Speaker 3: look to ownership. I mean, this team cannot have a
Speaker 3: peaceful training camp. It's wild. And for this to be
Speaker 3: the latest thing, it really just shows that I'm sure
Speaker 3: they want to. I'm sure they're trying, but it just
Speaker 3: feels like they're incapable of of a peaceful, calm, productive
Speaker 3: training camp. And now the owner is in it. So yeah,
Speaker 3: I think all of this stuff starts from up top.
Speaker 3: That's the first place to go when looking for accountability.
Speaker 5: Marcus, this is an organization that's won five Super Bowls.
Speaker 5: It should be one of the most well-respected organizations, not
Speaker 5: just in the NFL, but across the sports landscape. But
Speaker 5: right now, it doesn't feel like that. With this Jed
Speaker 5: York situation, with the Kyle Shanahan car accident, you throw
Speaker 5: in Brandon Ayuk in the substation, it kind of feels
Speaker 5: like the 49ers are being viewed as a laughingstock right now.
Speaker 5: How bad of a look is this right now for
Speaker 5: this 49ers organization?
Speaker 3: I mean, I think this is the worst look, but
Speaker 3: I do think this matters because.
Speaker 4: They are such a respected franchise.
Speaker 3: I mean, this is one of the the premier franchises
Speaker 3: in the NFL historically. So I think that's why it's
Speaker 3: such a big deal. And this is the worst of
Speaker 3: them all. I mean, the substation, you know, there's a
Speaker 3: lot of like internet cuckoo behavior, right? So it's almost like, Hey,
Speaker 3: what are we supposed to do? Except for the fact
Speaker 3: that they put the, put the, put the stadium there. But,
Speaker 3: but this is, this is, I mean, a car accident happened, right.
Speaker 3: And how that was handled. How they came out about
Speaker 3: it was, you know, a self-inflicted wound and, you know,
Speaker 3: brought about all of this drama. You know, another sign
Speaker 3: that they just really bundled these situations. But this is bad. Like,
Speaker 3: this is where you become the laughingstock, right?
Speaker 4: What is it? Wheat Hill? Wheat? What's the place called?
Speaker 2: Wheat Hill Mobile Park. Wheat Hill Mobile Park.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah. Like, this is the type of stuff that
Speaker 3: ends up, you know, in cartoons and stuff.
Speaker 4: You know, as the joke that doesn't go away.
Speaker 3: Now, we heal this type of stuff that becomes part of, like,
Speaker 3: the zeitgeist, and now people don't ever forget it. And,
Speaker 3: you know, it's a cultural phenomenon. So to make this blunder,
Speaker 3: this type of blunder, in this age, right, in this era,
Speaker 3: it's probably more embarrassing than it is harmful, but these,
Speaker 3: you don't really get away from that easily.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you're right. I mean, with all the car
Speaker 2: accident and Parag and divorce and this, it's tough, and
Speaker 2: it trickles down. It does. It does.
Speaker 3: Man, oh, man.
Speaker 2: I mean, they're going to go out to practice today,
Speaker 2: and they're going to go to Vegas Thursday, and, I mean,
Speaker 2: we'll see. They'll have to push back against this narrative
Speaker 2: for sure. Larry Kruger texted in to say he thinks
Speaker 2: one of the angles is that maybe Kyle and John
Speaker 2: come out with more job security issues Because stability is
Speaker 2: what they need now. I mean, I don't know if
Speaker 2: Kyle and John's jobs were insecure at all.
Speaker 3: I mean, for sure, it would be really hard to
Speaker 3: make a change in that sense. And if you're doing that,
Speaker 3: it's like, yeah, you're completely starting over.
Speaker 4: Right?
Speaker 3: Like, all right, we need a full reset. And that's
Speaker 3: even more risky because what if you mess that up?
Speaker 3: It just feels like, to be honest, John Lynch feels
Speaker 3: like the most stabilizing force in his.
Speaker 4: Relationship with Kyle.
Speaker 3: But you could also talk about how they handle contract
Speaker 3: situations and somehow that's.
Speaker 4: Always a thing.
Speaker 3: Perhaps, I don't even think it's always a bad thing
Speaker 3: to tell a player, hey, you're not getting what you need.
Speaker 3: But when you add all this stuff and you deal
Speaker 3: with the Brandon Ayoub situation, you know, perhaps everybody has
Speaker 3: a place where they can tidy up, but that does
Speaker 3: feel like the most stable part. And probably because it's
Speaker 3: just directly connected to football, but they still haven't done
Speaker 3: the thing that they're there for, which has been the Superbowl.
Speaker 4: So like it, it just feels like.
Speaker 3: A lot and there's always something and it's, they're the,
Speaker 3: they're the franchise that always gives.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 3: So from our perspective, it's great. If they're not winning,
Speaker 3: if they're not acquiring.
Speaker 4: Big names, Right?
Speaker 3: They're, you know, using pocket change to have a little
Speaker 3: fun in East Palestine, Ohio.
Speaker 1: Oh, boy.
Speaker 5: Well, Marcus, I know that the path to potentially winning
Speaker 5: Super Bowl this year starts week one down in Australia,
Speaker 5: and it sounds like the 49ers could have some reinforcements.
Speaker 5: They announced this weekend that George Kittle was activated off
Speaker 5: the PUP list. Now, no guarantees that he plays week one,
Speaker 5: but after hearing that news this weekend, how would you
Speaker 5: handicap his odds for playing week one against the Rams?
Speaker 4: I would still... put them pretty low.
Speaker 3: I mean, that's a long way to travel and they
Speaker 3: are spending a week out there. So that maybe that
Speaker 3: helps some, but then you got to come, you know,
Speaker 3: you got to make this trek.
Speaker 4: Back and we all know flight ain't really good for recovery.
Speaker 3: So it's a good sign, but you know, it's just
Speaker 3: based on their history and how, how critical he is
Speaker 3: and how they seem to be one devastating injury from
Speaker 3: being derailed, I would guess they would choose caution in
Speaker 3: this situation. But it is George Kittle, and, you know,
Speaker 3: to do these violence for breakfast, keeping him off the
Speaker 3: field might be tough. But I'm saying, hey, relax. Welcome back,
Speaker 3: but hold off. And it's not like they don't have
Speaker 3: anything in tight end. Like, you know, Purdy will have
Speaker 3: somebody to throw the ball to who he feels good about.
Speaker 4: It won't be Kittle, but he'll have something. So, to me...
Speaker 4: the smart money is on the rest of them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, could be, could be. We'll see. As Matt Barrows said,
Speaker 2: your colleague at The Athletic, that the ramp up is
Speaker 2: going to have to be steep because they leave a
Speaker 2: week from tomorrow. I mean, that's really soon. And these
Speaker 2: Achilles injuries, Marcus, I mean, you, I don't know, same
Speaker 2: in the, think back to, we've talked about this before,
Speaker 2: I think, but it used to be a career ender
Speaker 2: and now it happened in January and he's talking about
Speaker 2: playing in September. Mike Crabtree even came back faster than
Speaker 2: this and Who was the running back for the Rams?
Speaker 2: Was it Kyron Williams who came back so fast? Cam Akers.
Speaker 2: Cam Akers. I mean, man, is that the same in
Speaker 2: the NBA?
Speaker 4: It's getting there, yeah.
Speaker 3: I mean, Tatum came back pretty fast, Jason Tatum, after
Speaker 3: tearing his. You know, Damian Lillard, he took longer, but
Speaker 3: he was older, right? He was in his late 30s.
Speaker 3: You know, Klay took a little longer. I think the younger..
Speaker 4: The younger players are recovering faster. It's definitely not. Remember
Speaker 4: it used to be you're done.
Speaker 3: And, and the other key part, I think we're seeing like,
Speaker 3: as far as the progress goes is even when you
Speaker 3: came back, you, you lost a lot and it was noticeable.
Speaker 3: I think that's, that's a little bit fading too. I
Speaker 3: think you're seeing athletes come back from Achilles and refinding
Speaker 3: some pop.
Speaker 4: All right. And still, and not losing some explosiveness. So yeah,
Speaker 4: That bodes well.
Speaker 3: You know, NFL players are already machines, right? So if
Speaker 3: anybody can get there, it's them. I remember Jerry Rice
Speaker 3: broke paradigms about ACLs.
Speaker 4: When he came back.
Speaker 3: So NFL players are built a little different, so I'm
Speaker 3: not surprised at all.
Speaker 5: Marcus, you just mentioned a name, clay Thompson, and we
Speaker 5: actually just played sound on our show yesterday of him
Speaker 5: talking about his recovery from that Achilles injury, but also
Speaker 5: his decision to sign with the Miami heat after completing
Speaker 5: the bio with the Dallas Mavericks. How do you think
Speaker 5: clay Thompson's going to fit in, in Miami on and
Speaker 5: off the court, Marcus?
Speaker 3: I was about to say, we were talking, we talked
Speaker 3: about in the arena or I think he's going to
Speaker 3: fit in well in Miami, right? I think, is there
Speaker 3: any player more made for Southeast and clay Thompson? It
Speaker 3: just feels so perfect that Klay is there. If anybody
Speaker 3: knows how to enjoy the chill vibe of Miami and
Speaker 3: South Beach, it's Klay Thompson, right? But also, I do
Speaker 3: think he fits on a basketball court. I think it's
Speaker 3: a great choice by him because he has the thing
Speaker 3: they don't have. Like, they need shooters badly.
Speaker 4: They got Bam. They got Giannis.
Speaker 3: I mean, the paint is congested, right? That's the most
Speaker 3: packed the paint team. Like, everybody will pack the paint,
Speaker 3: and they need people who can shoot. They lost Norm Powell. So,
Speaker 3: you know, Andrew Wiggins is a pretty good shooter. He
Speaker 3: can burn you from three, but he's not somebody who
Speaker 3: terrifies defenses. Clay out there, man. Clay, you still think, hey,
Speaker 3: this dude could just go crazy, and he's going to
Speaker 3: open up the lane for them.
Speaker 4: Like, it was a perfect fit. I think he might
Speaker 4: even end.
Speaker 3: Up starting because the fit is so good, where in Dallas,
Speaker 3: you know, he spent a lot of time coming off
Speaker 3: the bench, and he's trending towards this, all right, off
Speaker 3: the bench, higher gun. I could see him being so
Speaker 3: useful for what they have that they start him. And
Speaker 3: you know Clay want to start, so you know he's still–
Speaker 3: he still feel like he's one of them guys and
Speaker 3: he could probably become that in Miami.
Speaker 2: That's, I mean, just love to see, uh, I can't
Speaker 2: wait for the social media content from, uh, it's going.
Speaker 4: To be lit.
Speaker 3: It's going to be lit. Play, play, deliver the good play.
Speaker 2: Hey, Warriors did make one small transaction. If not small,
Speaker 2: Brandon Williams, six foot one guard out of Arizona scored
Speaker 2: 13 a game in Dallas gets to the rim, gets
Speaker 2: to the line. You like it?
Speaker 4: Absolutely. You know, I.
Speaker 3: Normally like get a little weary about getting guys because
Speaker 3: they hurt you.
Speaker 4: And Brandon Williams is one of them guys.
Speaker 3: They just couldn't guard. And it's like, man, let's go
Speaker 3: get this guy because we can't guard him. But in
Speaker 3: this case, he does the.
Speaker 4: Thing they need.
Speaker 3: He is a put my head down and go get
Speaker 3: a bucket.
Speaker 4: He's tough. He's physical. This to me is a good pick.
Speaker 3: I think they need it. two or three of these,
Speaker 3: these type of players, they're not going to move the needle.
Speaker 3: You're not going to win the press conference, right? You're
Speaker 3: not going to silence social media. But, man, these players
Speaker 3: are pretty good, and they have value, and you've seen them.
Speaker 4: You've played against them. So he's good. He's fast. He's athletic.
Speaker 4: He's young. He can get hot. Like, yeah, no, this is,
Speaker 4: to me, I like this figure. I like this a lot.
Speaker 3: I think this was a sign of what they, this
Speaker 3: is the direction I would have went from the beginning.
Speaker 5: Marcus, one last question for you real quick on the
Speaker 5: Golden State Valkyries, who beat the Minnesota Lynx last night
Speaker 5: for the first time in franchise history. Now I'm seeing
Speaker 5: people on social media saying that it's their biggest regular
Speaker 5: season win ever. Obviously, for those of the audience that
Speaker 5: don't know, the Minnesota Lynx have the best record in
Speaker 5: the WNBA. So how significant do you think that win
Speaker 5: was last night?
Speaker 4: I actually think it was huge.
Speaker 3: Because when you begin bullied by a team, you know, especially,
Speaker 3: and they just got through celebrating, like on your court, right? And,
Speaker 3: you know, Minnesota's a team, they talk. Like, you know,
Speaker 3: Kayla McBride hit the night-night after she hit the big
Speaker 3: three to basically seal it. Like, you got night-nighted on
Speaker 3: your own court. To me, that loss on, you know,
Speaker 3: I think it was Wednesday, put.
Speaker 4: Like a doubt over the Valkyries.
Speaker 3: Probably not in their locker room, but it was like, okay,
Speaker 3: this is a championship team and you can't beat them.
Speaker 3: Maybe you're not a championship team yet. So for them
Speaker 3: to go into Minnesota and beat them and hold them
Speaker 3: to the lowest total they've had off season, and they
Speaker 3: didn't have Courtney Williams, but they had, they had, they
Speaker 3: still had enough. Like that was a, we'll see you
Speaker 3: in the playoffs type of way. Like if it's one, two,
Speaker 3: and it comes down to the finals and.
Speaker 4: It's me against you.
Speaker 3: That win will make them feel a whole lot better
Speaker 3: that they can beat them.
Speaker 4: Because they didn't just beat them. It wasn't luck.
Speaker 3: It wasn't like, oh, it was a fluky win. Man,
Speaker 3: they made Cheryl Reeves pull a plug with three minutes left.
Speaker 4: She sat the starters.
Speaker 3: Like, that was a resounding response by the Valkyries. And
Speaker 3: I'm telling you, I don't know if people are paying attention,
Speaker 3: but Veronica Burton is the most Bay Area point.
Speaker 4: Guard we've ever seen. Like, she..
Speaker 3: I mean, people would love... this woman, man. She does
Speaker 3: everything on the court. And she was a big reason.
Speaker 3: She shut down Olivia Miles for the second time this season.
Speaker 3: Shut down Olivia Miles. And Natalie Nicosia was like, you
Speaker 3: go at Olivia Miles every time. So not only did
Speaker 3: she shut her down, she went after her. And this
Speaker 3: is the type of player that the Bay loves. It's
Speaker 3: tough as all get out and can play. So that
Speaker 3: was a monster win that I think has playoff implications,
Speaker 3: even though it doesn't do much in the standings.
Speaker 2: Interesting. Good stuff. Playoffs don't start until September 27. So
Speaker 2: we've got a month to go, man. With only five games.
Speaker 2: They clinched too early. They're like the Dodgers. They clinched
Speaker 2: too early.
Speaker 4: Well, it's the FIBA World Cup. They've got a FIBA
Speaker 4: World Cup break.
Speaker 2: Hydration break for the next month. But anyway, we'll be
Speaker 2: looking forward to that. And you're right. Who knows? Now
Speaker 2: the Lynx have a little seed of doubt in their heads.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 2: Wide-ranging chat, Marcus and, you know, dude. Stay out of
Speaker 2: the Wheat Hill mobile home community.
Speaker 3: I promise you, I promise you it won't be 140
Speaker 3: for me. It could be 1,000. If I ever go
Speaker 3: that route, which I won't, but if I ever did, uh-uh.
Speaker 2: They're calling it San Francisco 149ers. There you.
Speaker 4: Go, buddy. Oh, boy.
Speaker 3: All right, Marcus.
Speaker 4: Be good. We'll be reading you.
Speaker 3: Thanks, man.
Speaker 4: All right. Peace.
Speaker 2: He's laughing. All right. We'll finish up. We don't have
Speaker 2: to talk about jet all the time. We can talk
Speaker 2: about Turner Hill hitting cleanup or, uh, you guys, uh,
Speaker 2: what you discovered at the ballpark last night or Kinley
Speaker 2: Rasmus is curveball. Talk a little four wing action at
Speaker 2: the ballpark.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Or Padres owners or things like that. Uh, just a
Speaker 2: fun finish to the show coming up. Oh, we got
Speaker 2: tickets to, to sticks and Chicago was Bobby and pleasant
Speaker 2: Hill who won yesterday. Who can win today? You gotta
Speaker 2: hear a Styx or Chicago song, though. Don't be calling
Speaker 2: until you hear a Styx or a Chicago song.