WEBVTT - Tom Rathman & Randy Cross stop by the Midday show with Larry Krueger 0:00:04.800 --> 0:00:08.039 As you were listening to V Sports Leader in middays, 0:00:08.680 --> 0:00:10.160 here is Larry Krueger. 0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:15.400 Welcome back, Larry Krueger with you on this Thursday, I'm 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:18.920 the Sports Leader and joining us on the u mcgest line, 0:00:19.320 --> 0:00:24.360 Tom Rathman, Roger Craig is part of the twenty twenty. 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:25.680 Six Hall of Fame class. 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:29.160 He had to wait way too long, but he's going 0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:32.680 in Saturday, and I am so thrilled. And we've got 0:00:32.720 --> 0:00:35.080 Tom Rathman with us on the line to talk a 0:00:35.120 --> 0:00:37.159 little bit about it. Tom, how are you. 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:38.880 I'm doing great. 0:00:38.880 --> 0:00:40.120 How are you doing, Larry. 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:43.559 Oh Man, Tom, I'm doing so great. I was so 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:49.840 excited to hear this. The Niners, for whatever reason, are underrepresented. 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:53.120 The Niner dynasty of the eighties and nineties doesn't have 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:55.880 the Hall of Fame representation that the Steelers of the 0:00:55.920 --> 0:00:59.200 seventies have that the Packers of the sixties have. And 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:01.240 I think it's maybe due to the fact that Walsh 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:04.160 died way too young. I think he would have been 0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:07.200 an advocate for a number of guys, and one of 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:09.440 them is Roger Craig. But he's going in this weekend. 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:12.319 And you guys made an incredible backfield together. How do 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:13.080 you feel about it. 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:16.920 I'm really excited for Roger. I mean it's something that 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:21.160 he's really been looking forward to and has earned, you know, 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:25.720 throughout his years of playing football, not only on the field, 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:29.000 but off the field. You know, I've worked out with 0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:33.679 this guy going back to Nebraska. We were together at 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:38.920 the University of Nebraska back in Lincoln, and a very selfless, 0:01:39.120 --> 0:01:42.400 selfless player is what he is. When I was in 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:47.319 there on my freshman year, his junior year, he was 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:51.360 a starting eyeback and the iback gets all the fame, 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:55.960 gets all the carries. And we had a guy his 0:01:56.160 --> 0:02:01.120 senior year, Rogers senior year, a guy from Cotiville, Kansas, 0:02:01.320 --> 0:02:06.200 a guy named Mike Roseier came in and we had 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:10.200 two great ibacks, and they asked Roger to go and 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:14.040 play fullback, and he played fullback his senior year as 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:17.160 Mike Rosier played the half back position. So that's how 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:20.600 selfless he is as far as a player. But no 0:02:20.800 --> 0:02:25.800 question about it. It well overdue either, no question. And 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:32.080 you know I've kind of questioned the process of picking 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:35.400 players to go in, even coaches. I mean, you talk 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:39.040 about Belichick last year didn't get in. I mean he 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:43.120 was a first ballot guy, but I mean just the process. 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:46.839 I mean, it just has to be questioned. And that's 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:48.240 something that really concerns me. 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:52.400 You know, Rogers, you know, so you know, the humility 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:55.160 of the man. I almost feel like his humility worked 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:58.720 against him here. He was such a humble, easygoing guy. 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:02.919 You know, you guys, there's only one football to go around, 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:05.200 and when you play with the greatest statistical entity of 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:07.880 all time and Jerry Rice, your numbers are going to 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:11.240 be suppressed. And his numbers were suppressed from working with 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:13.760 you know, you know, playing with Jerry. Nothing against Jerry, 0:03:13.800 --> 0:03:18.440 but it just Roger's humble nature. I think, you know, 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:20.119 it's maybe one of the reasons he had to wait 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:20.560 so long. 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:23.840 I mean, at the same time, when you look at that, 0:03:23.919 --> 0:03:26.720 when you talk about throwing the football as opposed to 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:30.800 running the football, Roger was very involved in the passing 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:33.040 game too. He was the first one hundred yes or 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:36.120 one thousand thousand guy, So you have to get him 0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:38.920 credit there. And you know, there's other players that have 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:43.920 accomplished that just recently, but he was one of the 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:46.600 first guys to do it. And to be able to 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:51.920 do that and make that statement as a player, stating 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:56.080 that he's a well rounded football player, had no weaknesses, 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:58.480 could catch the ball, could run the ball, could block 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:04.520 anything needed from a player, he was capable of doing it. 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:07.680 And not only that just doing on the field. He 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:11.800 had great leadership. You know, I kind of followed in 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:16.240 his footsteps, you know, from day one, you know, going 0:04:16.279 --> 0:04:19.960 back to Nebraska when we were together we met each other, 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:23.640 he let me hang out with him, him and Jamie Williams. 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:25.960 They were seniors and they were letting the freshman hang 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:29.920 out with him. So I was really really grateful for that. 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:32.440 And then when I got to the forty nine ers, 0:04:32.680 --> 0:04:34.760 he kind of took me under my wing, under his 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:39.599 wing and taught me the trade of being a pro 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:40.560 football player. 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:42.360 Tom, you're a friend of his. 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:45.560 You know, some guys Drew Pearson openly complained about not 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:48.479 getting in. How do you think Roger feels about the 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:50.960 weight and how do you think he ultimately feels about 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:53.039 getting his day tomorrow or Saturday. 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:56.160 I should say, well, I think the weights off his 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:58.720 shoulders because he did get in this year. I mean, 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:01.479 I think just every year that goes by that you 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:04.880 don't get in when you have the numbers when you 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:08.760 have the value of a player that should be in there. 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:13.080 I mean, that's got a way puns on your shoulders 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:17.160 not being able to get in. But you know, finally 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:19.760 they made it happen, and I know Rogers is going 0:05:19.839 --> 0:05:21.080 to be really grateful for it. 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:23.640 We're talking to Tom Rathman on the Yuma guest Line. 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:26.360 I got to mention this because I think, Tom, you 0:05:26.920 --> 0:05:30.640 are involved in maybe the best, the greatest play, and 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:32.840 maybe the Niners' greatest win of all time. 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:35.479 I view the Niners' greatest win of all time. 0:05:35.640 --> 0:05:38.479 I know they's Super Bowls, but that win in the 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:41.880 NFC Championship game in nineteen eighty eight, and if people 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:45.479 forget how the Niners put that bad boy away. It 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:50.320 was third and thirteen and Walsh ran you off tackle 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:54.120 and you got fourteen in ice the game, Scott, I mean, 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:58.359 where does that play stand in your football career? I 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:01.520 mean that was the run. 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:06.640 Yeah, that game, you know is up there very high 0:06:06.800 --> 0:06:10.720 with the Super Bowls obviously, but you know, we were 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:14.359 going into a hostile environment where it was very cold. 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:18.880 Wind chill was like twenty six twenty seven below zero 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:23.720 wind chill, and people thought that the California team was 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.719 going to have a tough time, you know, adjusting to 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:29.680 the cold weather. But you know, Roger and I played 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:33.520 in at Nebraska together and we were in cold weather 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:35.680 all the time, so it really didn't bother us. And 0:06:36.520 --> 0:06:39.160 you know, we just made sure that all our teammates 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:43.320 understood what we were up against. You know, the cold 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:46.560 weather is nothing, you know what I'm saying. Worry about 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:49.200 your job and do it at a high level. And 0:06:49.560 --> 0:06:51.760 I think that's what everybody did. And that's the one 0:06:51.839 --> 0:06:53.600 reason we beat him. I think we beat him. Twenty 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:57.800 eight to three is a game, and so but what 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:00.880 a great game that was. That was it opportunity to 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:04.320 get to the Super Bowl, my first super Bowl. Obviously 0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:07.440 Roger had been to two other ones and was successful 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:11.640 in him. But it was great being a teammate of Rogers. 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:14.640 Just being able to go and play in two Super 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:18.000 Bowls together and win both of them. It really was 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:19.000 meaningful to me. 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:22.600 Wood he would you ever have believed when you first 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:26.080 met Craig at Nebraska that he was going to have 0:07:26.320 --> 0:07:29.040 this kind of a Hall of Fame NFL career. I mean, 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:32.760 he really worked his way to his This is a 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:37.000 workmanlike Hall of Fame resume that did he put together. 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:43.040 You don't know how hard Roger Craig worked. His whole 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:48.240 process was just amazing. The guy knew how to take 0:07:48.280 --> 0:07:51.040 care of himself. I mean he would get massages twice 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:54.640 a week, he would get chiropractic care two times a week, 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:59.200 took care of his body, did the weight training, did 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:05.120 the offseason work, had no shortcuts, and he should have 0:08:05.160 --> 0:08:08.760 been in way before twenty twenty six. So that's the 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:11.120 thing that's so disappointing to me when you know you 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:14.480 got a player that put in what he put in 0:08:15.280 --> 0:08:19.120 the way he handled himself as a professional athlete. The 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:23.760 trail that he blazed was amazing, and I'm just glad 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:25.640 that I was able to follow in his footsteps. 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:28.920 Man, we're all so proud of this moment. Tom. 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:31.440 Thanks for jumping on KMBR today and talking about your 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:34.959 former teammate. We really appreciate your time and hopefully we'll 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:36.760 catch up with you down the road. We wish you 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:40.120 nothing but success in post career, and thanks again for 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:40.959 jumping on the leader. 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:43.920 All right, Larry, thanks a lot. 0:08:44.640 --> 0:08:47.600 Tom Rathman, one of the most workmen like players in 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:51.319 Niner history, tough as nails, and him and Craig were 0:08:51.320 --> 0:08:54.120 a great tandem. All right, We're not done talking Roger Craig. 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:57.920 We're just getting started. Randy Cross probably belongs in the 0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:01.840 Hall of Fame himself. Randy Cross blocked for Roger Craig. 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:03.840 He's going to join us next on The Sports Leader 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:06.520 a NBR one four. 0:09:06.600 --> 0:09:20.680 Five six eighty The Sports Leader. Now back to The 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:24.600 Sports Leader Middays with your host Larry Krueger. 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:29.400 Hey, we keep things rolling on this Thursday. Larry Kruger 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:32.280 with you on The Sports Leader. And it was great 0:09:32.320 --> 0:09:35.640 to talk a little Roger Craig with Tom Rathman. Roger 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:39.199 Craig going to the Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Class. 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:42.120 Of twenty twenty six, and. 0:09:42.200 --> 0:09:45.560 Man, I cannot be There's almost nobody I'd be happier 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:49.240 for than Roger. Just a first class guy all the 0:09:49.240 --> 0:09:53.120 way through, and really really happy that he's going to 0:09:53.160 --> 0:09:53.800 the Hall of Fame. 0:09:54.240 --> 0:09:55.720 It's long over due. 0:09:56.520 --> 0:09:58.520 And I've said this for a long time that the 0:09:58.559 --> 0:10:02.600 forty nine Ers dynasty is underrepresented. Just go look at 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.600 the numbers. It's all right there for everybody to see. 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:09.680 The forty nine Ers have you know, the number of 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:13.000 guys that they have in the Hall of Fame is 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:18.240 pales compared to the other teams out there. And I'm 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:22.400 not sure exactly why the forty nine Ers are underrepresented 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:26.000 in the Hall of Fame, but they are. I mean, 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:28.920 if you look at the they were the dominant dynasty 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:34.200 of the nineteen eighties. Their dynasty ran into the nineteen nineties, 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:37.679 and you think of all that dominance, and who's in 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:45.920 from the eighties nine Ers, Joe, Jerry, Steve Young, Ronnie Lott, 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:53.319 that's it. And now Roger Craig, go look at how 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:57.000 many Green Bay Packers are in from the sixties packers. 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:00.000 Go look at how many these Pittsburgh Steelers are in 0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:06.840 from the seventies Steelers. The Niners dynasty lasted longer than 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:11.600 the Packer dynasty. Landa definitely lasted longer than the Steeler 0:11:11.679 --> 0:11:16.560 dynasty as far as the super Bowler is concerned. And 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:18.920 I just feel like the Forden Enters, for whatever reason, 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:22.240 are underrepresented. It underrepresented in the Hall of Fame. And 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:25.480 Roger Craig, I really believe if Walsh had not died, 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:28.920 you know, kind of early in life, he had so 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:33.320 much his opinion carried such weight that Roger would have 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:34.840 been in the Hall of Fame. I mean, he's the 0:11:34.840 --> 0:11:37.679 first guy of the first member of the thousand thousand, 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:39.760 thousand yards rushing, thousand yards. 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:41.959 Receiving in a season. It's been done like three times since. 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:45.360 The league's like a total passing league, and yet nobody's 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:51.760 got thousand thousand except for CMC Marshall, Falk, Roger Craig. 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:53.959 I think that's it, right, or is there one more? 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:58.320 Might be one more, but I mean, nobody ever made 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:00.840 the Pro Bowl as both a fallback and a halfback. 0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:04.480 Roger did. It was just a long overdue. 0:12:04.600 --> 0:12:06.640 I mean, if you look at the team of the eighties, 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:09.079 team of the nineties, team of the two thousands, all 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:12.160 the running backs on those all decade teams are in 0:12:12.200 --> 0:12:16.120 the Hall of Fame except Roger Craig, I mean, which 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:16.720 is amazing. 0:12:16.760 --> 0:12:18.480 I mean, he truly changed football. 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:23.720 He revolutionized the position of running back, and not to 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:26.720 mention he was an incredible ambassador for the sport. My 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:31.880 argument has always been that I think the argument is 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:32.840 really the opposite. 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:34.199 The argument people make. 0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:36.320 Is like, oh, well, you know he benefited he played 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:40.080 with Jerry No no, no, no, no, no, he didn't benefit he 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:44.920 actually that actually cost him stats. Jerry Rice is the 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:49.040 greatest statistical entity the NFL's ever seen. I mean, he's 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:53.080 got some records that to this day are unapproached. 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:54.120 And yet it's a. 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:56.720 Passing league more now than ever before. And yet Jerry's 0:12:56.800 --> 0:13:02.160 numbers still stand. Why because Cherry Jerry's numbers are are astronomical. 0:13:02.679 --> 0:13:07.480 I mean, Jerry was motivated partially by insecurity, for fear 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:10.840 of failure and everything. He needed the ball, and Walsh 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:14.240 got it, See forgot it. All the Niner people got it, 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:18.200 and they fed him the ball, where Roger, I think, 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:19.960 was a little bit more like, hey, you know what, 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:22.360 I just want to win, you know, not that he 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:25.040 didn't want the ball. He wanted the ball, but it's 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:27.800 only one ball. Like you go into an NFL locker room. 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:29.720 How many times do you go into an NFL locker 0:13:29.800 --> 0:13:32.400 room after a win and there's a two hundred yard 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:35.280 receiver and one hundred and fifty yard rusher on the 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:36.080 same in the same game. 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:37.199 It doesn't usually doesn't happen. 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:41.120 If somebody goes for two hundred yards receiving, the leading 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:43.760 rusher might go for seventy four yards. It was a 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:47.079 passing game. If somebody runs for two hundred and ten 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:51.320 yards like Rico Doubtell did last year, there's probably not 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:55.000 a receiver that has big, gaudy numbers sitting right there 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:55.720 in the same game. 0:13:56.320 --> 0:13:57.679 There's only one football. 0:13:58.320 --> 0:14:02.280 So the argument that Jerry he made Roger is absolutely 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:03.360 can turn that on its ear. 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:05.480 Jerry cost Roger. 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:12.040 Jerry's awesomeness cost Waters, he costs Brent Jones, he cost 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:12.880 John Taylor. 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:15.360 I mean, there's. 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:17.840 Nothing nefarious going on here, but I'm just saying Jerry's 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:22.600 numbers suppressed. The Hall of Fame resumes of like three 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:25.480 other niners, and those. 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:26.120 Guys should go in. 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:31.080 You know, we're attempting to chase down Randy Cross. 0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:34.080 Randy Cross is in root though to Canton, Ohio. 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:39.000 Randy lives in I believe, Alfaretta, Georgia, but he's flying 0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:41.720 today to Canton to go be there for Roger Craig 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:45.920 in the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies over the weekend. 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:47.600 So way to go, Randy. And if we can catch 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:50.400 up with Randy, awesome. If we can't, I totally get it. 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:53.080 Randy's been on a bunch of times in the past, 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:56.480 but we love Randy. Randy probably has an argument of 0:14:56.520 --> 0:14:58.720 his own for the Hall of Fame. 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:02.720 I mean, you know, Mike Webster's in there. 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:06.040 Randy Cross a three time Pro bowler, He's a three 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:10.160 time Super Bowl champion. You know, this guy was an 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:12.880 amazing football player. He's in the College Football Hall of Fame. 0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:16.520 You could make an argument that Randy Cross belongs in the. 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:16.960 Hall of Fame. 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:20.200 Not to mention, there's lots of niners sense, like, you 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:23.480 know Frank Gore, Heck, the Cowboy was great to see 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.440 Willis get in. I'll give you another one that I 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:28.240 really believe is a Hall of Fame player. 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:30.960 I believe Michael Carter was a Hall of Fame player. 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:35.640 Olympic silver medallists in the eighty four Games, and then 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:39.320 maybe the greatest noseguard of his era. I mean, who's 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:45.160 a better noseguard than Michael Carter. I have a relationship 0:15:45.200 --> 0:15:49.040 a friendship with Tim Krumrae, who was played against Carter 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:52.120 in Super Bowl twenty three. He also was an awesome 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:54.960 nose guard. And when I talked to Krumrie, Crumblise like, 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:56.480 Michael Carter is the greatest. 0:15:56.160 --> 0:15:56.840 Nose guard ever. 0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:01.080 And this is a guy who played the position and 0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:05.840 knew it well, so you know, for whatever reason, you know, 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:11.480 took Craig forever and he had to wait way longer 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:14.880 than he should have. Eventually, Gore is going to get 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:17.320 in because he's the third leading rusher of all time. 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:22.040 But from the eighties Niners to be as underrepresented as 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:26.720 as they are as a franchise, it's just it's just wrong. 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:30.440 I mean, there should be more than just you know, 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:34.960 the guys they have in there, and Roger getting in 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:40.200 is long, long overdue, long overdue. So I'm really thrilled 0:16:40.200 --> 0:16:43.280 for Roger. We're gonna talk more about it with South 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:46.000 pal Antonio, who's going to join us at one o'clock. 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:49.760 But man, Roger Craig, I'm so happy for Roger Craig. 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:54.640 I was doing a Niner pregame show a number of 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:58.400 years ago now with John Lund and Dennis Brown, and 0:16:58.480 --> 0:17:00.600 I said to them, I said, hey, guys, do you 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:03.720 mind if I do kind of like a segment where 0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:07.000 I just do like an ode to Roger and just 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:09.639 make the case for Roger to be a Hall of Famer. 0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:12.960 And of course Dennis, you know, Dennis like absolutely, and 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:16.879 John Lensy absolutely. I want to hear it, So, I mean, 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:21.840 I put together every possible argument point. You know, he's 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:25.040 first AE thousand thousand. You know, he was the on 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:27.800 the All Decade team. He's the only guy in the 0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:30.200 history of the NFL who played in the Pro Bowl 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:33.000 as a running back and as a fallback. You could 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:36.239 argue that the eighty four Niners might have been the 0:17:36.280 --> 0:17:39.480 greatest Niner team of all time. Who was the best 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:42.720 player in the Super Bowl in the eighty four you know, 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:45.200 for the eighty four nine Ers in January of eighty five, Well, 0:17:45.320 --> 0:17:50.280 Joe got the MVP, but it was Roger Craig. Roger 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:52.960 Craig had three touchdowns in that game. Roger Craig, I 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:56.120 think hat over one hundred receiving yards in that game. 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:59.320 Roger Craig was the MVP of Super Bowl nineteen. 0:17:59.359 --> 0:17:59.720 But the game. 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:04.760 And that's all right, you know, nobody's nobody's disappointed that, 0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:07.679 you know, Joe is the MVP, but man, that was 0:18:07.960 --> 0:18:11.440 You could argue that Roger Craig was the best player 0:18:12.000 --> 0:18:16.119 in the best game for the best Niner team, and 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:19.600 he gets left off the Hall of Fame. Really, I mean, 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:22.439 you think about the guys that Andre Reid was in 0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:26.639 the Hall of Fame before Roger Craig. Make that make sense. 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:29.720 Andre Reid lost every Super Bowl he ever played in. 0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:35.240 Andre Reid didn't didn't set thousand, thousand levels that nobody 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:39.200 else reached. Andre Reid is in the Hall of Fame 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:43.600 before Roger Craig. So there's it's been, you know, I'm 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:45.639 not sure why. I'm not sure if it's just because 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:48.320 we're out here on the West coast, if the people 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:50.920 back east, you know, thet a lot of the voters 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:52.040 maybe didn't see that. 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:52.879 I don't know. 0:18:53.320 --> 0:18:56.840 I couldn't tell you why the Niners are underrepresented, but 0:18:56.880 --> 0:19:03.040 they are. There's no doubt they are. Randy Cross probably 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:06.040 belongs in. Roger Craig definitely belongs in. He's going in. 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:08.800 But there's probably a few others in there that you 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:12.080 could make really good arguments for as well. Some really 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:15.320 great football players are being left off. And I just 0:19:15.560 --> 0:19:17.240 look at that Green Bay list, and I'm looking at 0:19:17.240 --> 0:19:20.280 that Pittsburgh list, and yeah, Pittsburgh got some amazing players. 0:19:20.280 --> 0:19:22.800 Don't get me wrong, and I'm not trying. 0:19:22.480 --> 0:19:25.640 To put their players down, but when you really think 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:28.240 about the forty nine Ers won ten games almost every 0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:32.400 single year, between nineteen eighty one and like nineteen ninety nine. 0:19:33.160 --> 0:19:35.800 I mean, think about that, it's almost a twenty year 0:19:35.960 --> 0:19:38.879 run of winning ten plus games. Now, granted they were 0:19:38.920 --> 0:19:42.359 in a lousy division, but that aside. I mean, the 0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:46.919 forty nine Ers dynasty went on and on and on. 0:19:48.080 --> 0:19:48.679 When Joe was. 0:19:48.720 --> 0:19:53.040 Drafted in seventy nine, Steve, you know, was awesome in 0:19:53.160 --> 0:19:57.280 ninety five. I mean, that's a long time. They were 0:19:57.359 --> 0:20:02.919 basically on top that entire time. So I'm so happy 0:20:02.920 --> 0:20:05.720 for Roger Craig. So I did this whole breakdown of 0:20:05.840 --> 0:20:07.320 Roger Craig should be in the Hall of Fame, and 0:20:07.359 --> 0:20:13.879 I laid out every argument, and a guy, you know 0:20:14.080 --> 0:20:18.520 from fort Ninder Webzone, Mark Adams, heard it and said, 0:20:18.520 --> 0:20:20.119 I'm gonna take the ball and run with this. 0:20:20.840 --> 0:20:23.080 And Mark really did. He's going to join us tomorrow 0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:23.520 on the show. 0:20:24.359 --> 0:20:30.120 He put together just an incredible, you know video where 0:20:30.160 --> 0:20:34.320 he interviewed Eddie d and Young and Joe and Ronnie 0:20:34.359 --> 0:20:36.920 and all of Roger's teammates and some of the guys 0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:40.080 who played against Roger, and he put together this incredible 0:20:40.680 --> 0:20:44.160 argument video argument for Roger Craig to the Hall of Fame. 0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:47.640 And then South pal Antonio, Mike Matt Mayoko and. 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:50.840 Others kind of ran with it and pushed Roger across 0:20:50.880 --> 0:20:55.720 the finish line. And I'm just so so happy for Roger. 0:20:55.760 --> 0:20:58.639 Craig so thrilled that he's he's getting in because it 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:02.000 is long overdue. He was one of the greatest running backs. 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:04.280 He's a pioneer. He's a pioneer. He's one of the 0:21:04.280 --> 0:21:07.000 greatest niners of all time. Not to mention, you know, 0:21:07.080 --> 0:21:12.359 his training regimen was legend. I mean truly stuff of legend. 0:21:12.640 --> 0:21:15.080 It's funny too because Jerry Rice when they talked to Jerry, 0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:16.080 they always say, oh, and. 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:18.119 Jerry ran the hills. 0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:21.680 That was Rogers run that Rogers said, hey, Jerry, come 0:21:21.720 --> 0:21:24.760 on out, I bet you can't run this hill. And 0:21:24.800 --> 0:21:26.680 then Jerry's like, yeah, I'm gonna run out. I'm gonna 0:21:26.680 --> 0:21:28.119 go out there and do it. And he did it, 0:21:28.160 --> 0:21:31.440 and then Jerry kept doing it. But Jerry's greatness took 0:21:31.560 --> 0:21:33.119 Rogers Hill away from Roger. 0:21:33.560 --> 0:21:34.480 It's unbelievable. 0:21:35.119 --> 0:21:38.080 And then a lot of people, you know, the for years, 0:21:38.119 --> 0:21:41.520 I kept hearing this, Well, you know, Krug he fumbled 0:21:41.560 --> 0:21:43.480 in the ninety NFC Championship game. 0:21:43.520 --> 0:21:46.240 Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? 0:21:47.400 --> 0:21:49.840 We're gonna take a three time Super Bowl champion, a 0:21:49.880 --> 0:21:52.040 guy was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year, the 0:21:52.080 --> 0:21:54.320 guy who was a first team All Pro and we're 0:21:54.359 --> 0:21:56.680 gonna say he fumbled in the ninety NFC Title Game 0:21:56.720 --> 0:21:59.840 and he can't go to the Hall. That is crazy, crazy, 0:22:01.600 --> 0:22:06.080 Kyle Chung, did you say something in my ear? All right, 0:22:06.119 --> 0:22:07.560 let's do this. We do what We've hooked up with 0:22:07.600 --> 0:22:09.360 Randy Cross. So we'll do this. We'll come back. We'll 0:22:09.359 --> 0:22:12.440 talk a little ball with Randy Cross. Next on Roger 0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:13.560 Craig on The Sports Leader. 0:22:36.320 --> 0:22:37.520 I remember watching you. 0:22:40.280 --> 0:22:43.000 Welcome back, Larry Kruger with you on the Sports Leader 0:22:43.040 --> 0:22:45.639 on a Thursday and joining us on the Yuma guest 0:22:45.680 --> 0:22:47.760 line to talk a little bit about Roger Craig going 0:22:47.760 --> 0:22:49.439 to the Hall of Fame as a guy who probably 0:22:49.480 --> 0:22:52.640 also belongs in the Hall of Fame, and that's Randy Cross, 0:22:52.800 --> 0:22:56.080 former Niner offensive lineman, three time Pro Bowl or, three 0:22:56.119 --> 0:22:59.440 time champion, former U C. L. A. Brewin, and a 0:22:59.560 --> 0:23:02.399 fantastatic announcer post career, and he's with us on the 0:23:02.480 --> 0:23:05.520 Uma guest line. Randy, great to talk to you again. 0:23:05.560 --> 0:23:08.920 How are you I'm doing great. Thank you very much. 0:23:10.040 --> 0:23:12.400 Well, what does this mean for you? I know, it's 0:23:12.440 --> 0:23:14.359 a great day, Freddie d. It's a great day for 0:23:14.440 --> 0:23:17.879 Niner fans. We all have tremendous pride that forty nine 0:23:17.960 --> 0:23:20.480 ers going into the Hall of Fame. It's it's too late, 0:23:20.520 --> 0:23:24.679 it's it's probably years too late for whatever reason. But 0:23:24.880 --> 0:23:27.400 I'm thrilled that he's going in, and I'm sure you 0:23:27.440 --> 0:23:30.800 are as well. As a once great Niner. You're on 0:23:30.840 --> 0:23:33.159 your way to Canton. Man, that's awesome that you're going 0:23:33.200 --> 0:23:34.320 to go support Roger. 0:23:35.720 --> 0:23:40.480 Yeah. Absolutely, I mean, realistically, it's having him go in 0:23:40.520 --> 0:23:43.439 as close as I'm going to get to being in 0:23:43.480 --> 0:23:47.679 the Hall of Fame. He's, you know, one of the 0:23:47.880 --> 0:23:53.119 one of the signature style players besides Joe and Jerry 0:23:53.200 --> 0:23:55.920 and some of the rest that were on those great offenses. 0:23:56.000 --> 0:23:59.679 And you know, being alignman, you sort of live by 0:23:59.800 --> 0:24:04.360 care anyway, You're not you're not into the stats and 0:24:04.119 --> 0:24:07.280 the glory and all that. Offensive linemen are a little 0:24:07.280 --> 0:24:12.679 bit different. But Roger, besides being an amazing player with 0:24:12.800 --> 0:24:17.399 an unbelievable work ethic, I can I can say he 0:24:17.680 --> 0:24:20.720 is the nicest human being. I had the honor of 0:24:20.720 --> 0:24:21.320 playing with. 0:24:22.280 --> 0:24:25.199 Wow, that and that's saying something. You're right though, he's 0:24:25.240 --> 0:24:28.199 assault of the earth, human being. And Randy, I'm so 0:24:28.240 --> 0:24:34.040 glad that we have you here because you predated Walsh 0:24:34.080 --> 0:24:37.480 and Joe and we're part of the forty nine ers 0:24:38.480 --> 0:24:41.360 in the late seventies when it was a when you know, 0:24:41.480 --> 0:24:45.120 tickets were plentiful, and you know, there were an awful 0:24:45.160 --> 0:24:46.520 lot of coaches in that run. 0:24:47.720 --> 0:24:52.040 And I remember watching you, you know, you on the field. 0:24:52.320 --> 0:24:54.720 After I guess maybe it was your third and final 0:24:54.760 --> 0:24:59.440 Super Bowl, and even after eighty one, you know in Pontiac, 0:24:59.480 --> 0:25:03.280 it's like you have true appreciation for where the franchise 0:25:03.320 --> 0:25:07.760 had been and where it was. How much pride do 0:25:07.800 --> 0:25:11.560 you take in being part of you know, seeing that 0:25:11.600 --> 0:25:14.280 thing go from the outhouse to the penthouse. 0:25:15.720 --> 0:25:19.800 Yeah, I mean, besides you know, marrying my wife and 0:25:19.920 --> 0:25:24.040 my kids. It was sort of the the honor of 0:25:24.080 --> 0:25:26.760 my life is getting to be a Niner and getting 0:25:26.800 --> 0:25:29.520 to accomplish some of the things that we did, especially 0:25:29.600 --> 0:25:33.360 in light of how bad we were, you know, back 0:25:33.400 --> 0:25:36.960 to back two and fourteen seasons and everything. You know, 0:25:37.080 --> 0:25:42.280 the empty stadium, you know, everyone always glorified Candlestick and 0:25:42.320 --> 0:25:44.840 it was an amazing place to play when people were there, 0:25:44.880 --> 0:25:47.960 But boy, it was a lonely sucker when it was 0:25:48.200 --> 0:25:51.760 just when it when it was just the faithful that 0:25:51.880 --> 0:25:54.320 I say all the time. You know, we played some 0:25:54.440 --> 0:25:58.479 games in December in those terrible years where there was 0:25:58.520 --> 0:26:01.840 like twenty five thousand people than Candlestick. You know, it 0:26:01.960 --> 0:26:05.600 was basically the Lower Bowl. Those were the faithful that 0:26:05.680 --> 0:26:08.560 showed up in the rain in December to see the 0:26:09.040 --> 0:26:13.439 Niners play. But yeah, to get that good and be 0:26:13.480 --> 0:26:18.600 able to do what we did, it was it was 0:26:18.720 --> 0:26:21.840 just an incredible honor and it gave you such a 0:26:21.880 --> 0:26:27.040 great perspective once the winning started, you know there and 0:26:27.920 --> 0:26:30.640 I bore no grudge to anybody that got there late 0:26:30.680 --> 0:26:34.520 and did nothing but win. But sure it sure did 0:26:35.000 --> 0:26:38.600 go a long way towards making you truly treasure the 0:26:38.720 --> 0:26:41.879 chance to win, get double digits in a season, and 0:26:42.000 --> 0:26:45.159 to go to the playoffs and the win playoff games 0:26:45.200 --> 0:26:47.399 and the win Super Bowls. It was just a little 0:26:47.960 --> 0:26:51.080 a little more special. And you know, I'll be seeing 0:26:51.800 --> 0:26:56.080 mister d later on. He's on his way to Campton, 0:26:56.160 --> 0:26:59.040 and you know that's another guy that I owe the 0:26:59.040 --> 0:27:00.760 world to, you. 0:27:00.720 --> 0:27:02.760 Know, Randy Cross with us on the Yuma guest Line. 0:27:03.359 --> 0:27:06.640 I was talking to a baseball executive about a month 0:27:06.680 --> 0:27:09.159 ago about some great players that he had drafted, and 0:27:09.200 --> 0:27:11.959 he said, you know, the key to great teams is 0:27:12.000 --> 0:27:15.879 not just great players, it's great people. And you know, 0:27:15.920 --> 0:27:20.199 it's really hard sometimes to to find great people. But 0:27:20.320 --> 0:27:23.639 I think that's kind of where Roger comes into the 0:27:23.680 --> 0:27:26.000 focus here. I mean, he was not He's not just 0:27:26.040 --> 0:27:28.400 a great football player, he's a great person. 0:27:28.480 --> 0:27:31.879 And you kind of already hit on it. Where do 0:27:31.960 --> 0:27:32.800 you think character? 0:27:33.680 --> 0:27:36.360 You know, ranks among you know, when you're talking about 0:27:36.440 --> 0:27:40.040 great attributes of Hall of Fame players, they're not all 0:27:40.119 --> 0:27:41.960 choir boys. There's some rough guys that are in the 0:27:41.960 --> 0:27:44.159 Hall of Fame. Heck, there's some rough X niners that 0:27:44.200 --> 0:27:46.760 are in the Hall of Fame. But but character is 0:27:46.800 --> 0:27:49.560 a huge part and accountability is a huge part about 0:27:49.560 --> 0:27:51.040 being a great football player, isn't it. 0:27:52.640 --> 0:27:56.639 Yeah? Yeah, I mean it's it's you're you're you're born 0:27:56.680 --> 0:28:01.160 with the athletic ability, but you know, you're parents give 0:28:01.200 --> 0:28:03.960 you that ability to take advantage of it and the 0:28:04.000 --> 0:28:07.320 way you're raised, and it's not always parents. Sometimes it's 0:28:07.320 --> 0:28:11.639 an an and sometimes it's a grandparent. But you know, 0:28:11.760 --> 0:28:19.440 having that that basis, that stable foundation, I think is invaluable. 0:28:20.040 --> 0:28:23.080 And that's something that Roger had. Roger, Roger had a 0:28:23.800 --> 0:28:29.160 unbelievable work ethic, and you know, he had that ability 0:28:29.200 --> 0:28:32.919 to appreciate every single little thing that he was able 0:28:32.960 --> 0:28:35.280 to do. And you know, you can't say that about 0:28:35.280 --> 0:28:40.959 a lot of players. I think, I think personalities and 0:28:41.120 --> 0:28:45.560 that that type of indescribables, you know, the parts you 0:28:45.600 --> 0:28:49.400 can't quantify, are probably the most important part of evaluation. 0:28:49.800 --> 0:28:52.200 You can anybody can read Staff. Anybody can watch the 0:28:52.280 --> 0:28:55.160 tape and say, look at that guy run or look 0:28:55.160 --> 0:28:58.480 at that guy block. But you know, the character is 0:28:58.520 --> 0:29:02.480 going to make you laugh. Character, the character will get 0:29:02.520 --> 0:29:03.800 you a double digit career. 0:29:06.000 --> 0:29:07.400 That's It's a great point. 0:29:08.320 --> 0:29:14.320 You played guard and center and and we're great at both. Really, Roger, 0:29:14.480 --> 0:29:16.840 I don't know if young Niner fans understand this, but 0:29:17.200 --> 0:29:20.480 Roger played full back when the Niners had Wendell Tyler 0:29:20.720 --> 0:29:24.280 at running back, and then Roger played running back when 0:29:24.320 --> 0:29:26.520 Tom Rathman, who was our guest earlier in the show, 0:29:26.840 --> 0:29:30.520 played full back. He was a Pro Bowl halfback and 0:29:30.600 --> 0:29:34.160 a Pro Bowl full back. I mean that's hard to do. 0:29:34.440 --> 0:29:38.160 I mean, maybe you could speak to to to that 0:29:38.280 --> 0:29:40.680 because I mean it's not like Randy. We we've been 0:29:40.680 --> 0:29:43.680 watching football for decades. We've still to this day. I 0:29:43.760 --> 0:29:46.360 mean maybe the guy who's a Pro bowler at full 0:29:46.360 --> 0:29:48.040 back in half back, it hasn't happened. 0:29:49.480 --> 0:29:52.280 Yeah, no, you just don't say it. And he did 0:29:52.320 --> 0:29:56.160 both at Nebraska. He was the blocking back for Mike 0:29:56.280 --> 0:30:02.040 Rozier when Rosier won the Heisman Trophy. I mean he 0:30:02.200 --> 0:30:06.280 and that was part of the evaluation process that you know, 0:30:06.760 --> 0:30:10.200 and give preditor to John McVay and Bill and everybody 0:30:10.240 --> 0:30:13.320 else associated. Billy Matthews, who was the running back coach, 0:30:14.200 --> 0:30:16.040 saw that guy and saw the fact that he can 0:30:16.160 --> 0:30:19.640 run like that and he could catch like that, and 0:30:20.120 --> 0:30:24.840 that versatility was what made him so special. I mean, 0:30:25.200 --> 0:30:28.600 we didn't have, you know, a fullback and a half 0:30:28.640 --> 0:30:31.280 back when we had Wendell and him, or when we 0:30:31.320 --> 0:30:35.040 had he and Tom, we had two running backs because 0:30:35.080 --> 0:30:38.120 they both caught like crazy. That's what you remember about Rathman. 0:30:38.200 --> 0:30:40.840 He was a halacious blocker, but he was also a 0:30:40.880 --> 0:30:45.000 really good receiver for a fullback. And Roger his ability 0:30:45.040 --> 0:30:47.600 to catch some of those one handed snags that he made. 0:30:49.760 --> 0:30:53.000 You know, that's that's just something that the people that 0:30:53.160 --> 0:30:56.120 go into that evaluation process, they come out if you 0:30:56.160 --> 0:30:58.200 get a guy like a in baseball, I guess you 0:30:58.200 --> 0:31:02.880 would you call it a five tool player. That's that's Roger. 0:31:04.840 --> 0:31:08.720 He his thousand thousand let's talk about that. I think 0:31:08.720 --> 0:31:12.440 it was eighty seven. Is that's unright? Eighty seven thousand thousand. 0:31:15.360 --> 0:31:16.080 Or eighty five? 0:31:16.560 --> 0:31:19.600 He was just yeah, you're right, because eighty five, because 0:31:19.640 --> 0:31:22.080 you guys, I remember at in the playoffs, I felt 0:31:22.080 --> 0:31:24.560 like he didn't have a lot left. What did you 0:31:24.600 --> 0:31:27.280 did you have any takeaways from that thousand thousand season? 0:31:27.520 --> 0:31:30.880 I mean, Randy, your guys, offense, you could flip it 0:31:30.920 --> 0:31:34.120 to Roger in the flat. He would turn that into 0:31:34.200 --> 0:31:37.480 an eighteen to twenty five yard game on the regular. 0:31:37.640 --> 0:31:39.840 I mean, it was an it was it seemed like 0:31:39.880 --> 0:31:42.920 an easy play for Joe to complete, or an easy 0:31:42.960 --> 0:31:46.280 pass for him to complete, but it was always very, 0:31:46.400 --> 0:31:49.440 very profitable for the offense. What was your takeaway from 0:31:49.440 --> 0:31:49.960 watching that? 0:31:52.040 --> 0:31:54.560 Well, you know, that offense spoke to two things in 0:31:54.600 --> 0:31:58.400 my mind, and first and foremost, it was the genius 0:31:58.440 --> 0:32:01.920 of Bill And you know, he's the one that put 0:32:01.960 --> 0:32:05.760 people in those positions, and he was fortunate enough to 0:32:05.880 --> 0:32:10.200 have a facilitator like Joe that could get that ball 0:32:10.320 --> 0:32:14.080 to those various spots. And then when you have a 0:32:14.160 --> 0:32:18.760 running back, you know, like like Tom and Wendell and Roger, 0:32:18.880 --> 0:32:22.000 and then the receivers like Jerry and Dwight and Treddie 0:32:22.120 --> 0:32:26.400 and whatnot, you can be as creative as you want 0:32:26.440 --> 0:32:29.480 because there's no limit to what you can try. I mean, 0:32:29.920 --> 0:32:32.760 whatever your imagination could come up with him. He came 0:32:32.840 --> 0:32:35.480 up with some pretty pretty amazing stuff. Some of it 0:32:35.640 --> 0:32:39.480 was stuck and some of it that didn't. But yeah, 0:32:39.520 --> 0:32:42.959 that's that's what I remember about that time the most. 0:32:43.920 --> 0:32:46.320 What do you remember first about Roger because you were 0:32:46.320 --> 0:32:48.600 there The Niners drafted him in the second round of 0:32:48.640 --> 0:32:52.160 the eighty three draft, and you know, as a rookie, 0:32:52.320 --> 0:32:55.480 he's you know, he's walking into an offense that has 0:32:55.520 --> 0:32:58.800 Bill Walsh, that has Joe Montana. These guys had rings 0:32:58.840 --> 0:33:02.600 at this point. Do you remember your first recollections of Craig. 0:33:05.680 --> 0:33:11.200 What unbelievable condition he was in. You know, every time 0:33:11.640 --> 0:33:14.720 from the first camp I saw him in, he and 0:33:14.840 --> 0:33:17.040 Jerry had one thing in common. Every time they gave 0:33:17.120 --> 0:33:20.000 him the ball they ran to the end zime they did, 0:33:20.360 --> 0:33:22.400 so it almost got to the point where the coaches 0:33:23.080 --> 0:33:26.640 couldn't have an offensive drill on the far half of 0:33:26.680 --> 0:33:29.400 the field because they go eighty yards to touchdown, they 0:33:29.440 --> 0:33:32.880 have to run back. So you had to do your 0:33:32.920 --> 0:33:35.080 drills like a thirty forty yard field if you wanted 0:33:35.120 --> 0:33:36.960 to get more plays in because they were going to 0:33:37.000 --> 0:33:41.040 score with the damn ball. And you know, their offseason 0:33:41.120 --> 0:33:44.880 workedouts and all that were legendary too. So that was 0:33:45.000 --> 0:33:48.160 part of what made him so special. And that was 0:33:48.160 --> 0:33:53.800 from the very jump, the very very beginning, he was 0:33:53.840 --> 0:33:56.760 in such good shape. That's why he could survive. I mean, 0:33:57.320 --> 0:34:01.960 you asked the guys that have done that thousand thousand three, Yeah, 0:34:02.080 --> 0:34:06.440 they'll tell you from a physical standpoint, that could be 0:34:06.480 --> 0:34:09.160 the ultimate challenge is to be able to catch that 0:34:09.239 --> 0:34:12.520 many passes. Why you're running for that many yards. 0:34:13.400 --> 0:34:16.759 Eddie d talks about the Niners as a family, and 0:34:16.840 --> 0:34:19.480 I thought his Hall of Fame speech was maybe the 0:34:19.520 --> 0:34:22.000 best Hall of Fame speech I'd ever heard, because he 0:34:22.640 --> 0:34:25.040 stood up there and he said, you know what we 0:34:25.200 --> 0:34:26.800 need to do better. 0:34:26.520 --> 0:34:27.200 As a league. 0:34:27.680 --> 0:34:30.480 We need to treat these guys, the players as family, 0:34:30.960 --> 0:34:32.920 not when they can do something for us, when they 0:34:32.920 --> 0:34:35.440 can't do something for us. And he created that Golden 0:34:35.440 --> 0:34:37.800 Heart Fund, and I know there's a lot of Niners 0:34:37.960 --> 0:34:41.239 pasted in present that take a lot of pride in 0:34:41.400 --> 0:34:45.000 that Golden Heart Fund, which is basically for people don't know. 0:34:45.000 --> 0:34:47.560 The Niners have established kind of a you know, they. 0:34:47.440 --> 0:34:50.399 Call it a hand up, not a handout, where they're 0:34:50.440 --> 0:34:53.799 going to establish a fund that helps the players that 0:34:53.840 --> 0:34:57.120 played for the Niners post career. And I was talking 0:34:57.120 --> 0:34:59.520 to Keena Turner and Guy McIntyre about it. Last year 0:34:59.560 --> 0:35:02.399 there was a Niner x Niner players house burned down, 0:35:03.000 --> 0:35:05.759 and you know, he's dealing with insurance companies and the 0:35:05.760 --> 0:35:08.320 Golden Heart Fund got him that money that he needed 0:35:08.360 --> 0:35:10.239 to to get through that tragedy. 0:35:10.800 --> 0:35:12.200 And it's all stems from Eddie D. 0:35:12.520 --> 0:35:15.080 And Eddie D talks about that family and it's but 0:35:15.200 --> 0:35:17.600 he actually, you know, put his money where his mouth 0:35:17.719 --> 0:35:18.400 is and. 0:35:18.200 --> 0:35:19.920 He walks the walk, so to speak. 0:35:21.000 --> 0:35:23.120 What do you think about that, Randy, Because this is 0:35:23.160 --> 0:35:25.239 a league that spits you up and chews you up 0:35:25.239 --> 0:35:27.480 and spits you out when you can't help you when 0:35:27.480 --> 0:35:29.400 the you know, when you can't help your team anymore, 0:35:29.560 --> 0:35:32.360 you're of no use to most teams. But the Niners 0:35:32.400 --> 0:35:34.399 have separated themselves with the Golden Heart Fund. 0:35:34.480 --> 0:35:40.120 In my opinion, yeah, I think you're right. It's it's 0:35:40.120 --> 0:35:45.440 incredible and it speaks a to the heart of not 0:35:45.480 --> 0:35:48.719 only Eddie, but you know, even the current the current 0:35:48.840 --> 0:35:52.760 Niner organization that's kept this going. And it also speaks 0:35:52.800 --> 0:35:56.600 to the need, because there's an incredible need. But unfortunately 0:35:56.920 --> 0:36:02.080 it also speaks to the lack of sight on behalf 0:36:02.080 --> 0:36:07.120 of the other team because unfortunately there aren't thirty two 0:36:07.239 --> 0:36:11.560 Golden Herd funds. There should be thirty two because there's 0:36:11.600 --> 0:36:15.719 a huge burning knees for that. But the rest of 0:36:15.760 --> 0:36:18.600 the league looked at it. They can't say they don't 0:36:18.640 --> 0:36:21.439 know that it's good. They just choose not to limit, 0:36:21.800 --> 0:36:23.080 not to emulate. 0:36:22.680 --> 0:36:25.400 It, and to install their own. 0:36:25.400 --> 0:36:29.520 Version in their cities. And you know, it's it's sad. 0:36:29.560 --> 0:36:32.719 I tell you, the owner that along with Eddie that 0:36:32.880 --> 0:36:35.760 was legendary and taking care of his players was across 0:36:35.800 --> 0:36:39.000 the Bay at that time, and Al Davis. Al Davis 0:36:39.040 --> 0:36:43.960 really he was taking care of players back in the seventies, 0:36:44.840 --> 0:36:49.240 in the sixties and the eighties. I mean he was incredible, 0:36:49.440 --> 0:36:51.719 and that's something you know. I'd love to be a 0:36:51.760 --> 0:36:53.799 fly on the wall in some of the conversations he 0:36:53.960 --> 0:36:56.640 had with Eddie, because they had a lot more in 0:36:56.680 --> 0:37:01.720 common than people realize, besides the burning desire to always 0:37:01.719 --> 0:37:02.280 be a winner. 0:37:03.280 --> 0:37:05.280 You know, since we have you here, I almost feel 0:37:05.280 --> 0:37:07.640 abligated to ask you. You played in an era of 0:37:07.760 --> 0:37:10.759 so many great teams, right, I mean, you know, the 0:37:10.800 --> 0:37:14.200 eighty one nine Ers were a great team, you know, 0:37:14.280 --> 0:37:17.480 but the Redskins in the early eighties were damn good. 0:37:17.600 --> 0:37:19.759 And then there was the eighty five Bears, maybe the 0:37:19.800 --> 0:37:22.439 standard bearer for defensive football. Then there was the eighty 0:37:22.480 --> 0:37:25.480 six Giants, Then there was the eighty seven Redskins, and 0:37:25.480 --> 0:37:28.000 then there was the Cowboys of the early nineties. Heck, 0:37:28.040 --> 0:37:32.520 you went up against all these teams. What's the most daunting? 0:37:32.760 --> 0:37:35.760 What was the who was the most intimidating opponent. 0:37:35.840 --> 0:37:37.320 Of your era? 0:37:37.400 --> 0:37:39.640 I mean, which of those teams do you look at 0:37:39.640 --> 0:37:42.160 as like, oh my god, we climbed that mountain, we 0:37:42.239 --> 0:37:43.959 beat that team, we vanquished them. 0:37:45.320 --> 0:37:45.879 There's a lot of. 0:37:45.800 --> 0:37:47.760 Great ones there, Randy. I mean, you could give any answer, 0:37:47.800 --> 0:37:48.759 nobody would question it. 0:37:50.719 --> 0:37:56.840 I think both the Giants and the Bears were opponents 0:37:56.880 --> 0:38:00.960 that God as God as much as they gave, if 0:38:00.960 --> 0:38:06.600 you will, and we got a good bit ourselves. I mean, 0:38:06.640 --> 0:38:09.000 we had some great playoff wins against the Giants, and 0:38:09.040 --> 0:38:12.680 some great playoff wins against the Bears, even in Chicago 0:38:12.719 --> 0:38:14.640 where people said it was bare weather and you couldn't 0:38:14.680 --> 0:38:20.279 win in that situation. But yeah, I mean I would change. 0:38:20.320 --> 0:38:22.680 I challenge people all the time. I said there was 0:38:22.760 --> 0:38:26.480 one period in football the eighty four nine Ers, the 0:38:26.520 --> 0:38:30.839 eighty five Bears, and the eighty six Giants. Those three teams. 0:38:31.000 --> 0:38:34.960 I don't think there has ever been three more dominant 0:38:34.960 --> 0:38:37.040 teams back to back to back in the history of 0:38:37.120 --> 0:38:40.040 this league. I mean, if there is, I'd like to 0:38:40.040 --> 0:38:42.160 hear about it, because I don't think they exist. 0:38:42.920 --> 0:38:44.799 I'm with you. I'm with you on that one. Hey, 0:38:44.880 --> 0:38:47.680 on the way out the door, Randy Roger will be busy. 0:38:47.719 --> 0:38:50.239 There'll be lots of people there to see him. But 0:38:50.320 --> 0:38:54.040 if you get a minute with Roger this weekend, as 0:38:54.040 --> 0:38:57.040 a former teammate, as somebody who probably loves them a lot, 0:38:57.320 --> 0:38:59.520 what do you have you thought about what you want 0:38:59.520 --> 0:39:02.080 to say to Roger face to face. 0:39:04.800 --> 0:39:06.560 I'm gonna give him a big hug and a kiss 0:39:06.560 --> 0:39:10.799 and tell him I love him. He's he's the best. 0:39:10.840 --> 0:39:15.920 I've got a sculpture downstairs at my house that Eddie commissioned, 0:39:16.080 --> 0:39:18.920 and I've got one, and Eddie's got one, and Rogers 0:39:18.920 --> 0:39:22.160 got one. It's called Leading the Way. It's me pulling 0:39:22.160 --> 0:39:24.879 out in front of Roger. We both had to sit 0:39:25.040 --> 0:39:27.000 for it by the artist. It's the same guy does 0:39:27.040 --> 0:39:31.279 all the busts for Canton. But I was looking at 0:39:31.280 --> 0:39:34.239 that this morning before we left and I was That's 0:39:34.280 --> 0:39:37.480 all I could think about, was, you know, he is 0:39:37.560 --> 0:39:41.279 such a great player. But you know I could thank him, 0:39:41.360 --> 0:39:43.440 but he knows that. I mean, I just want to 0:39:43.520 --> 0:39:45.919 let want him to know that I love him. 0:39:46.520 --> 0:39:49.080 Awesome stuff, man, Randy, we want to see you in 0:39:49.120 --> 0:39:51.440 that Hall of Fame. I know you're you're you're You're 0:39:51.480 --> 0:39:54.080 said that you're not gonna make it, and you're probably right, 0:39:54.160 --> 0:39:57.800 But you know what, I think the the Niners are underrepresented. 0:39:58.880 --> 0:40:01.080 You could make a great argument for yourself. I think 0:40:01.120 --> 0:40:03.600 you can make a great argument for Michael Carter and 0:40:03.680 --> 0:40:07.200 probably a couple other guys that time has forgotten. But 0:40:07.840 --> 0:40:09.800 you know, way to go to go out and support 0:40:09.800 --> 0:40:12.440 your teammate in Canton. We love what you do on 0:40:12.560 --> 0:40:17.920 CBS Sports. Keep rolling, keep rocking it, and hopefully we'll 0:40:17.920 --> 0:40:19.040 talk to you again down the road. 0:40:21.120 --> 0:40:22.279 All righty, thank you. 0:40:22.840 --> 0:40:23.080 Yep. 0:40:23.160 --> 0:40:26.359 Randy Cross, former Niner and a three time champion, three 0:40:26.800 --> 0:40:29.279 three time pro bowler, and it was good to do 0:40:29.360 --> 0:40:32.239 some Roger Craig recollection for Randy. Good for Randy getting 0:40:32.280 --> 0:40:35.680 on a bird flying from Georgia to Ohio to support 0:40:35.719 --> 0:40:36.640 his former teammate. 0:40:36.719 --> 0:40:38.480 And you heard it there. I'm going to give him 0:40:38.480 --> 0:40:39.839 a big hug and tell him I love him. 0:40:40.719 --> 0:40:42.719 Awesome stuff. All right, let's do this. Let's take a 0:40:42.760 --> 0:40:45.080 time out. We're going to talk more about Roger Craig 0:40:45.120 --> 0:40:47.640 with a guy who made the case for Roger Craig 0:40:48.320 --> 0:40:51.000 with the Hall of Fame people, and that's Sal Palantonio 0:40:51.040 --> 0:40:54.239 from ESPN who works with Greg Cosel on the Matchup Show. 0:40:54.280 --> 0:40:57.320 Salpal's going to join us at one o'clock. Sergio Romo's 0:40:57.360 --> 0:41:00.560 gonna join us at twelve thirty. In about fifteen to 0:41:00.560 --> 0:41:03.080 twenty minutes from now, we'll talk a little little ball 0:41:03.120 --> 0:41:05.360 with Sergio Romo. We can open up the lines and 0:41:05.400 --> 0:41:08.680 take some of your thoughts and on Mike Cruco, you know, 0:41:08.800 --> 0:41:11.239 big story of the day, Mike Cruco is hanging it 0:41:11.360 --> 0:41:14.760 up as the Giants announcer. This is his final season. 0:41:15.200 --> 0:41:18.960 We only have a couple more months of Kruk and Kaipe. 0:41:19.800 --> 0:41:24.399 I'll you know, VCRs better be rolling because man, those 0:41:24.440 --> 0:41:28.160 guys are just absolutely glorious to listen to, and we've 0:41:28.160 --> 0:41:30.560 been spoiled for a long long time. So if you 0:41:30.600 --> 0:41:33.440 have a thought on Mike Cruco and his decision to 0:41:33.520 --> 0:41:35.839 hang it up and his tenure with the Giants as 0:41:35.840 --> 0:41:37.920 a player or as an announcer or as one of 0:41:37.960 --> 0:41:40.840 the faces of the franchise, eight away Cambr is the 0:41:40.840 --> 0:41:43.320 phone number, you know, Honor Crouk Today with your thoughts 0:41:43.320 --> 0:41:45.160 and comments, we'd love to hear from you at eight 0:41:45.160 --> 0:41:47.960 away Cambr. Serge Romo will stop by bottom of the 0:41:48.000 --> 0:41:50.480 hour and we'll chop it up with him and talk 0:41:50.520 --> 0:41:53.399 some Giants ball later on this show on The Sports Leader. 0:42:06.080 --> 0:42:09.680 Now back to The Sports Leader Middays with your host 0:42:10.080 --> 0:42:14.879 Larry Krueger. Keep this little alive and when you tell 0:42:14.960 --> 0:42:21.280 the story, simply tell him or the Giants or San Francisco. 0:42:22.160 --> 0:42:22.960 US. 0:42:26.000 --> 0:42:28.000 All right, welcome back Larry Krueger with you on this 0:42:28.160 --> 0:42:31.480 Thursday on the Sports Leader and the story of the day. 0:42:31.560 --> 0:42:34.880 Mike Cruco has announced that he is hanging it up 0:42:35.640 --> 0:42:39.280 after this season is done. That will be his final 0:42:39.360 --> 0:42:43.200 in the booth. The man that we just know affectionately 0:42:43.360 --> 0:42:48.640 as Krouk is calling it quits. And man, it's an 0:42:48.640 --> 0:42:51.000 emotional thing. We all kind of knew this day was 0:42:51.040 --> 0:42:55.360 gonna come, but to have it hit today is just, 0:42:56.200 --> 0:42:58.120 you know, it feels like a kick to the gut. 0:42:58.120 --> 0:43:00.480 And obviously it's a tough day here at the Sports 0:43:00.560 --> 0:43:05.120 Leader as we transition from the Gregs to John Lund 0:43:05.120 --> 0:43:08.600 here in this time slot. But man, hearing that Kruk 0:43:08.719 --> 0:43:12.239 is is done at the end of the year is emotional. 0:43:12.400 --> 0:43:16.360 It means he is our conduit to Giants baseball, you 0:43:16.400 --> 0:43:19.359 know he is. He is the guy that you know, 0:43:19.440 --> 0:43:23.000 our portal to Giants baseball goes through Crook and Kype. 0:43:23.640 --> 0:43:27.440 And yes, you know, baseball on the radio is awesome, 0:43:28.000 --> 0:43:30.719 and baseball on the radio has always been awesome and 0:43:30.760 --> 0:43:34.520 it always will be awesome. And you know, Dave and 0:43:34.600 --> 0:43:37.879 John do an amazing job on the radio. But we're 0:43:37.920 --> 0:43:42.560 a TV culture and if you really love the Giants 0:43:42.600 --> 0:43:45.560 and you're at home, are you listening on the radio 0:43:46.400 --> 0:43:49.520 or are you watching it? And most people are watching it. 0:43:49.960 --> 0:43:54.240 So the connection from Giants fans to Kruk and Kuype, 0:43:54.560 --> 0:43:59.400 who have just been as consistent as consistent gets you know, 0:43:59.680 --> 0:44:03.399 it's it's it's it's undescribable, it really is. It's hard 0:44:03.400 --> 0:44:07.000 to describe what kind of impact Mike and Dwayne have 0:44:07.200 --> 0:44:09.360 made on Giants fans lives. 0:44:09.840 --> 0:44:12.560 And it's been an awesome run. It's been an awesome run. 0:44:12.840 --> 0:44:14.080 And you know, we knew it was. 0:44:14.040 --> 0:44:17.160 Going to end at some point, and unfortunately it's going 0:44:17.239 --> 0:44:19.920 to end at the end of this year. Now, I 0:44:19.960 --> 0:44:24.560 haven't heard anything about what Kype's plans are, so we'll 0:44:24.560 --> 0:44:27.040 have to see about that. But you know, I mean, 0:44:27.080 --> 0:44:29.840 it's funny. It's like, you know, buddy, Mind's like, I 0:44:29.880 --> 0:44:32.560 can't believe you know, it's you know, he's he's retiring. 0:44:32.600 --> 0:44:34.120 It's like, what do you mean you can't believe it. 0:44:34.120 --> 0:44:38.000 He's seventy four years old. You know, when you're when 0:44:38.080 --> 0:44:40.880 you you know, you give your life to your job, 0:44:41.680 --> 0:44:44.239 you start doing it for money, then of course you 0:44:44.320 --> 0:44:46.920 got enough money eventually, and I'm sure he's got plenty 0:44:46.960 --> 0:44:47.839 of money at this point. 0:44:47.840 --> 0:44:49.000 He's not doing it for the money. 0:44:49.000 --> 0:44:51.719 He's He's doing it because he enjoys Kype and he 0:44:51.800 --> 0:44:54.120 enjoys what he does. This is who, This is the 0:44:54.200 --> 0:44:57.880 career that he's made for himself, and so it's not 0:44:57.920 --> 0:44:59.279 about the financial part. 0:44:59.480 --> 0:45:00.440 And that's some point. 0:45:00.480 --> 0:45:05.080 Don't you want to give, you know, your time, to 0:45:05.160 --> 0:45:09.200 your children, to your wife, to your grandchildren, you know, 0:45:09.400 --> 0:45:12.640 to you you know, sometimes it's you know, you can 0:45:12.719 --> 0:45:15.880 love your job, but your job doesn't love you back. 0:45:18.400 --> 0:45:20.440 And you know that's not always the case. 0:45:20.560 --> 0:45:24.040 But I just feel like, you know what, if this 0:45:24.280 --> 0:45:26.279 is the time that Mikey thinks it's best for him 0:45:26.280 --> 0:45:29.560 to step away, who are we to judge seventy four 0:45:29.640 --> 0:45:32.759 years of age. You know what, if he wants to 0:45:32.760 --> 0:45:37.560 spend time with Jennifer and his children and his grandchildren 0:45:37.680 --> 0:45:40.840 and his friends, hey, you know what, that he should 0:45:40.840 --> 0:45:44.719 be able to do that. And obviously Mike's had physical 0:45:44.800 --> 0:45:49.200 challenges as as he has aged, as many people do. 0:45:50.800 --> 0:45:54.280 And yet, you know what, I really credit him because 0:45:54.680 --> 0:45:58.799 I'm sure there's days he doesn't feel like Mike. He 0:45:58.840 --> 0:46:02.280 probably doesn't feel as good as he maybe once felt, 0:46:03.239 --> 0:46:06.960 but he never shows us that side. He always sounds happy, 0:46:07.440 --> 0:46:11.320 He always sounds excited, He always sounds engaged. 0:46:11.400 --> 0:46:13.200 He always sounds and we tell. 0:46:13.040 --> 0:46:16.640 You about this three picks pitch mix that this giant 0:46:16.680 --> 0:46:20.160 reliever has. And you know, he's just he loves the 0:46:20.239 --> 0:46:26.360 game and he's been maybe the best ambassador for the 0:46:26.400 --> 0:46:30.320 great game of baseball, and uh, he makes us. 0:46:30.160 --> 0:46:30.920 Love it more. 0:46:31.600 --> 0:46:35.520 And he's brightened our days and brightened our our nights 0:46:35.840 --> 0:46:38.319 and given us so much entertainment. 0:46:39.840 --> 0:46:41.200 Heck, I mean it's funny. 0:46:41.239 --> 0:46:46.000 A Kruk and Kype broadcast is unlike almost any other broadcast. 0:46:46.360 --> 0:46:48.960 And you can tell in the first few minutes, you know, 0:46:49.400 --> 0:46:51.920 because Kruk and Kype, you know, and they're incredcit Jim 0:46:52.000 --> 0:46:56.040 Lynch was their great, great you know, behind the scenes 0:46:56.600 --> 0:46:59.680 as a producer. Maybe I'm giving Jim the wrong title, 0:46:59.760 --> 0:47:03.360 but you know he's worked on those broadcasts and the images, 0:47:04.080 --> 0:47:08.440 the stories, you know, and all the people in the 0:47:08.480 --> 0:47:13.960 stands and the oddities, and you know, they just they've 0:47:14.000 --> 0:47:18.000 had fun, laughing, laughing at themselves, laughing at fun things 0:47:18.640 --> 0:47:20.480 and just reminding us. 0:47:20.360 --> 0:47:22.920 All that, Hey, what is sports at the end of 0:47:22.960 --> 0:47:26.720 the days. It's not life. It ain't life and death. 0:47:27.040 --> 0:47:31.640 It's a diversion from life. Right, we don't want to 0:47:31.640 --> 0:47:37.359 talk about politics race, religion, things that divide us. We 0:47:37.400 --> 0:47:40.920 want to talk about things that unite us, like great 0:47:40.960 --> 0:47:45.000 sports accomplishments. Was it Richard Nixon who once said, I 0:47:45.040 --> 0:47:47.239 always go to the sports section first because it's the 0:47:47.280 --> 0:47:51.000 one one section of the newspaper. And by the way, 0:47:51.000 --> 0:47:53.839 we will explain what newspapers are to you younger kids later. 0:47:54.320 --> 0:47:56.279 So one place in the newspaper you can go to 0:47:56.280 --> 0:48:00.480 read about men's accomplishments and not their failures. And I 0:48:00.520 --> 0:48:04.120 always thought that was kind of an interesting perspective on sports, 0:48:04.760 --> 0:48:07.319 you know, And it's like working in sports for all 0:48:07.360 --> 0:48:09.960 these years. Yeah, in a lot of ways, we're in 0:48:09.960 --> 0:48:14.879 the toy department of life, and so you know, people 0:48:14.920 --> 0:48:17.279 don't want to, you know, nobody wants to hear you 0:48:17.320 --> 0:48:21.400 complain about your your you know, your physical condition, or 0:48:21.440 --> 0:48:24.279 your how you feel or you know anything. When you're 0:48:24.320 --> 0:48:27.040 in the toy department of life. You know, you got 0:48:27.040 --> 0:48:29.600 to toys r Us or Fao Schwartz or you don't 0:48:29.640 --> 0:48:32.680 want some person at the register who's all depressed. It's 0:48:32.680 --> 0:48:35.480 a freaking toy store. You want them to be happy. 0:48:36.160 --> 0:48:38.080 And the same thing with what we do here at 0:48:38.160 --> 0:48:40.520 cambr And and sports media. 0:48:41.160 --> 0:48:42.680 You know, we're people's diversions. 0:48:42.800 --> 0:48:44.840 You know, They've got a stressful life, they got a 0:48:44.880 --> 0:48:49.320 stressful disease, they got a stressful life situation or job 0:48:49.440 --> 0:48:52.600 or whatever, and they just want to peel away from 0:48:52.600 --> 0:48:56.279 that and enjoy five innings of Giants baseball. And yeah, 0:48:56.320 --> 0:48:59.719 guys like me are going to analyze it and be critical, 0:48:59.800 --> 0:49:01.400 but you know how many people are there for the 0:49:01.440 --> 0:49:05.040 criticism and the analysis some but there's a lot of 0:49:05.040 --> 0:49:06.880 people that are just there because, hey, man, I had 0:49:06.880 --> 0:49:08.320 a rough week at work and I just want to 0:49:08.320 --> 0:49:10.719 watch some Giants baseball. I want to fold into the 0:49:10.760 --> 0:49:14.000 couch on this Thursday night and take in some Giants 0:49:14.040 --> 0:49:17.279 and Tigers. And you know, Crook and Kuipe were that's 0:49:17.480 --> 0:49:23.279 super comfortable, you know, Duo, It's like that incredible. It's 0:49:23.280 --> 0:49:27.680 like your favorite slippers, your favorite blankie, you know. I mean, 0:49:27.719 --> 0:49:30.320 it's like it's I know, it sounds kind of corny, 0:49:30.320 --> 0:49:35.239 but it's kind of true. They make you feel comfortable immediately. 0:49:35.239 --> 0:49:38.800 You're comfortable. You're watching the game, but you're kind of laughing. 0:49:39.160 --> 0:49:42.520 You're laughing at the lady in the upper reserves who 0:49:42.560 --> 0:49:46.080 brought her freaking you know, bunny with her her you know, 0:49:46.239 --> 0:49:48.640 because it makes her feel better, and they're showing the 0:49:48.680 --> 0:49:52.600 bunny or the kid that's just devouring the ice cream cone, 0:49:52.640 --> 0:49:56.200 and it's just everywhere. And then you know as a 0:49:56.239 --> 0:49:59.839 parent too, I mean, you know Kruk and Kuiper are 0:50:00.200 --> 0:50:04.400 you know parents and grandparents, so you know they oftentimes 0:50:04.400 --> 0:50:06.840 we'll talk about it, like, you know, that kid'll be 0:50:06.880 --> 0:50:11.520 sleeping before they get out of the parking lot. You know, Oh, 0:50:12.120 --> 0:50:16.399 you know, Jimmy's got a baseball, but Sally didn't get one. 0:50:16.560 --> 0:50:17.880 Uh oh, you know. I mean, it's. 0:50:17.760 --> 0:50:23.680 Just just just all the great moments of baseball and 0:50:23.760 --> 0:50:25.760 why we go and it's just been awesome. 0:50:25.840 --> 0:50:26.960 It's just been an awesome ride. 0:50:27.600 --> 0:50:31.120 So Mike, thank you from the bottom of our hearts 0:50:31.160 --> 0:50:35.239 for all the entertainment, all the analysis. Obviously you are 0:50:35.280 --> 0:50:38.479 a great babbler on the mound. I mean Game four 0:50:38.480 --> 0:50:42.920 of the eighty seven NLCS is your masterpiece, but that 0:50:43.000 --> 0:50:48.200 eighty six season was a masterpiece, and these broadcasts for 0:50:48.320 --> 0:50:53.080 decades have been individual masterpieces. And we're all very thankful. 0:50:53.840 --> 0:50:56.279 We're sad for ourselves that we won't be able to 0:50:56.280 --> 0:50:59.360 hear it, but we're happy for you that you're gonna 0:50:59.360 --> 0:51:02.080 wrap up a an awesome career and get to spend 0:51:02.120 --> 0:51:05.759 your your you know, whatever time you have left on 0:51:05.800 --> 0:51:07.400 the planet, and you get to spend it with the 0:51:07.400 --> 0:51:10.319 people that you love, the people that you that love 0:51:10.400 --> 0:51:13.640 you and that you love, your family, your friends, your grandkids. 0:51:14.120 --> 0:51:17.200 That's the way life should be. So what a picture, 0:51:18.000 --> 0:51:21.799 what a what a career, what a giant And you know, 0:51:21.840 --> 0:51:23.759 I just kind of get the feeling like through the 0:51:23.880 --> 0:51:28.600 championship years that Kruk was like the narrator of Giants Baseball. 0:51:29.239 --> 0:51:32.239 I mean the broadcast team, they're all great. 0:51:32.520 --> 0:51:34.640 I mean, Dave Fleming's the best young broadcaster in the 0:51:34.640 --> 0:51:38.839 country right now. Dwayne Kiper is maybe the smoothest I mean, 0:51:38.840 --> 0:51:41.840 his nickname smooth for a reason. He's probably the smoothest 0:51:41.840 --> 0:51:43.520 sounding ex player ever. 0:51:44.600 --> 0:51:47.520 John Miller is John Miller. He's one of the titans 0:51:47.520 --> 0:51:48.280 of his industry. 0:51:49.960 --> 0:51:53.080 These guys are all It's like, it's not like, oh, 0:51:53.120 --> 0:51:54.719 you got one guy who's an A and the rest 0:51:54.719 --> 0:51:58.480 of the guys are c minuses. They're alays, they're always 0:51:59.440 --> 0:52:02.799 you know, John's an a broadcaster, Dave's an a broadcaster. 0:52:02.960 --> 0:52:07.160 Krouk's an a broadcaster type, you know. So it's awesome, 0:52:07.239 --> 0:52:09.759 it's awesome that we've been able to enjoy it. It's 0:52:09.800 --> 0:52:12.359 awesome that we've been able to, uh, they've been able 0:52:12.400 --> 0:52:15.520 to you know, entertain us through all these years. And 0:52:15.760 --> 0:52:21.040 hopefully Kype continues on if if that's what he chooses. God, 0:52:21.120 --> 0:52:22.839 it would be tough to lose both in the same 0:52:23.280 --> 0:52:25.319 same year. But in some ways I almost feel like 0:52:25.640 --> 0:52:26.839 maybe they're a package deal. 0:52:26.920 --> 0:52:27.960 But who knows. Who knows. 0:52:27.960 --> 0:52:32.040 We haven't heard anything about Dwayne's plans, But you know, 0:52:32.320 --> 0:52:36.880 just really enjoyed Mike through the years, and so many 0:52:36.920 --> 0:52:41.320 of some of his greatest calls, some of the greatest 0:52:41.320 --> 0:52:44.800 moments are When I think of some of the greatest 0:52:44.840 --> 0:52:50.080 calls for Kruk, I think of the the David Bell 0:52:50.480 --> 0:52:55.080 or the Kenny Lofton single off Steve Klein in the 0:52:55.120 --> 0:53:00.240 deciding game of the NLCS against the Cardinals, and as 0:53:00.880 --> 0:53:03.000 David Bell slid across home plate. 0:53:03.320 --> 0:53:06.600 Kruke said, we're going, We're going. 0:53:07.320 --> 0:53:09.560 I mean, it was Kuype's call and Krook just said 0:53:09.719 --> 0:53:14.920 we're going, but that we're going was just awesome. 0:53:15.320 --> 0:53:16.360 I'm just amazing. 0:53:17.480 --> 0:53:21.319 The other one that was not a great memory, but 0:53:21.719 --> 0:53:25.520 it was a great call nonetheless. 0:53:25.160 --> 0:53:28.480 Because it was he said what we were thinking. 0:53:29.480 --> 0:53:34.200 Fly ball to right field two thousand and three playoff 0:53:34.239 --> 0:53:35.359 against the Marlins. 0:53:36.160 --> 0:53:40.160 Jose Cruz Junior was a gold glove right fielder that year. 0:53:40.160 --> 0:53:43.000 He was the best defensive right fielder in all of 0:53:43.040 --> 0:53:43.920 baseball that year. 0:53:43.960 --> 0:53:44.879 He was amazing. 0:53:45.960 --> 0:53:50.000 And he dropped a can of corn and Kuype was 0:53:50.040 --> 0:53:55.080 on the call, and Kruke was like, incredible, incredible. It 0:53:55.120 --> 0:53:58.120 was either amazing or incredible, and it was just so 0:53:58.480 --> 0:54:00.360 was like, oh my god, it was like the pain 0:54:00.520 --> 0:54:05.160 of all of us in that one one word from Kruks. 0:54:05.200 --> 0:54:10.560 So brilliance, true brilliance, broadcasting brilliance. And I'll say this. 0:54:10.640 --> 0:54:12.160 I know we're gonna take a time out here, and 0:54:12.400 --> 0:54:15.239 Sir Jermo's gonna join us in a bit. We'll talk 0:54:15.280 --> 0:54:17.799 some Giants talk, some Kruk talk, some talk, some ball. 0:54:19.600 --> 0:54:22.720 But I mean, how many people get to be great 0:54:22.920 --> 0:54:26.600 at even one thing in life? If you're great at 0:54:26.640 --> 0:54:30.640 one thing, you've you're you've beaten the odds. This guy 0:54:30.760 --> 0:54:33.200 was a great Major leaguer and then became a great 0:54:33.440 --> 0:54:38.400 or great er broadcaster of Giants baseball. He didn't have 0:54:38.480 --> 0:54:40.680 one thing that made him great. He had two things 0:54:40.680 --> 0:54:42.920 that made him great. And you could say the exact 0:54:43.000 --> 0:54:46.439 same thing about Dwayne Kuiper. So we've been blessed, man, 0:54:46.520 --> 0:54:48.920 We've been blessed. That's the only way I can I 0:54:48.960 --> 0:54:51.160 can really come to grips with it is we've been blessed. 0:54:51.760 --> 0:54:55.320 And when something goes away after years of being blessed, 0:54:55.320 --> 0:54:58.520 you lose somebody that you love, maybe a friend, maybe 0:54:58.560 --> 0:55:01.000 it's a family member. You know, you could be sad 0:55:01.120 --> 0:55:03.719 for how it makes you feel, but sometimes it's better 0:55:03.760 --> 0:55:06.640 to just be appreciative for the time that we had 0:55:07.360 --> 0:55:10.440 and what a run it's been for Mike. So congratulations 0:55:10.480 --> 0:55:14.200 Mike Kruco, and congratulations to you, your entire family, your 0:55:14.360 --> 0:55:17.680 entire broadcast team there at NBC Sports Bay Area. Thank 0:55:17.719 --> 0:55:22.960 you for so many years of you being the narrator, 0:55:23.480 --> 0:55:27.400 the best narrator of Giants baseball and Giants tradition. So 0:55:27.520 --> 0:55:29.239 thank you very much. All right, let's do this. Let's 0:55:29.239 --> 0:55:31.480 take a time out. Serge Romo's gonna join us. We're 0:55:31.480 --> 0:55:33.560 gonna talk to South Palantonio. We got a lot more 0:55:33.600 --> 0:55:35.880 to get to. Eight toweight Cambire is the number. If 0:55:35.880 --> 0:55:38.600 you want to chime in on anything today, feel free 0:55:38.600 --> 0:55:39.239 to bang the number. 0:55:39.280 --> 0:55:41.920 Larry Krueger sitting here, I'm the sports Leader 0:55:43.280 --> 0:55:47.000 A NBR one oh four five six eighty, The sports 0:55:47.120 --> 0:55:47.440 Leader