Bleck & Abdalla

An all-time classic yesterday in UConn’s comeback win over Duke leads the guys to thanking the Blue Devils. With the NFL’s annual meetings going on, one of the highlights is the coach's breakfast. Bleck and Abdalla ask what NFL coach would you like to have breakfast with? Is the NFL expanding to 18 games a formality at this point? What are the Cleveland Browns doing at quarterback? San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch has spoken on the electrical substation, is it enough to satisfy Abdalla? Who is the the better coach in college sports right now, UConn basketball’s Dan Hurley or Indiana football’s Curt Cignetti? Was yesterday’s game an all-time comeback by UConn, or all-time choke job from Duke? Other than UConn, what’s the best story heading into the Final Four is Michigan, Illinois or Arizona? In their labor dispute with the NFL, do referees deserve full-time pay and benefits? What is the second most popular sport in America right now? Are streaming services pricing out sports fans? Could Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan be headed to Chapel Hill to take over North Carolina? After the first week of the baseball season, we have the first data on the ABS challenge system in baseball. Only on Bleck and Abdalla could we get Zoo News and put together a Westwood One heist team to steal candy bars.

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Bleck and Abdalla start the show by discussing Thursday night’s Sweet 16 results. Has Arizona distanced themselves as the best team in March Madness? Is Iowa making this kind of run the modern Cinderella in March Madness? Are people done hating Duke basketball or are they just as hateable with Jon Scheyer as they were under Coach K? Did Tom Brady try to return to the NFL in the past two seasons while being a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders? Who should North Carolina be targeting as their next Men’s Basketball Coach? Did Curt Cignetti go too far when ripping transfer star wide receiver Nick Marsh for his gold cleats? Who will Ty Simpson get drafted by? Where will Anthony Richardson be playing? Who will win the East region between Duke, St John’s, Michigan State, and UCONN? How many Final Fours will John Calipari reach with Arkansas? Could the College Football season start a week earlier? Westwood One March Madness Studio Host Jason Horowitz joins the guys. Was he shocked to see Arkansas get blown out by Arizona? Is it fair to call Iowa a Cinderella? What are his expectations for Duke vs St Johns? How will the East region play out?

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Bleck and Abdalla start the show by discussing MLB’s Opening Night broadcast on Netflix between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants. Did Netflix lose the plot between the theatrics, scorebug, and missing the league’s first ABS challenge? Is Ty Simpson a legitimate 1st round pick and who should take their shot at him? Can Adam Silver REALLY put an end to tanking in the NBA? Is it okay that the NFL isn’t opening the season with the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks on Thursday because of the Australia game?  The guys look at a few more mock drafts as we are less than a month away from the NFL Draft. Will the Los Angeles Dodgers win over 100 games this season? Will the Los Angeles Lakers make a deep playoff run? Will Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes play a full season? Will Bill Self coach another game for Kansas? Will Jaxon Smith Njigba catch more than 10 touchdowns next season? Was Joe Flacco in the right for calling out NFL teams for not signing him? Westwood One College Basketball Analyst PJ Carlesimo joins the guys. Are the Texas Longhorns a Cinderella story? Can Texas knock off Purdue tonight? What makes Arizona so dangerous? How impressive is the job that Fred Hoiberg has done at Nebraska? How has Rick Pittino been able to do it again?

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Bleck and Abdalla start the show by reacting to the news of Hubert Davis being fired as North Carolina’s Men’s Basketball head coach. Who should UNC consider and should Chicago Bulls Head Coach Billy Donovan be interested in a return to college basketball? The guys are then joined by Russell Dorsey of Yahoo Sports and Apple TV to preview the Major League Baseball season. Is it bad that the Los Angeles Dodgers are once again heavy favorites to win it all? Do we truly appreciate how good Ohtani is? How will the AL East play out this year and how good the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees will be. How he expects the ABS to play out. How long will a potential work stoppage be next season? Can the Los Angeles Lakers be legitimate contenders this season? How concerning is the idea of having replacement referees for the upcoming NFL season? What should we expect from Tua Tagovailoa with the Falcons in 2026? Should the Dallas Cowboys have traded for Maxx Crosby? Josh Graham of Westwood One Sports Night joins the guys to talk college hoops. Is Billy Donovan a legitimate candidate for North Carolina? Why is Tommy Lloyd the best fit for the Tar Heels? Could Bill Self step down as Kansas head coach? Why Arizona vs Arkansas is the most intriguing game of the Sweet 16. Does Michigan State have a chance to reach the Final Four? And who can surprise this weekend.

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Bleck and Abdalla start the show by reacting to the news of Tight End Travis Kelce returning to the Kansas City Chiefs on a 3-year deal and what it means for their Super Bowl outlook in 2026. Can they get back to their own ways and can they tread water with Justin Fields at the start of the season if needed? Can San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama make a late run at the NBA MVP award for this season? Where will Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James play next season with the rumors that he won’t be making $50 million next season? Will Aaron Rodgers return to the Pittsburgh Steelers next season and what will the combination of him and Mike McCarthy look like? Just how popular has the NCAA Tournament been so far this year from a ratings perspective and is College Basketball a better product than the NBA at this point? Who are the best coaches and players left in March Madness? What are the best March Madness moments of all-time? Who has the best and worst college basketball fanbases? Does Golf need Tiger Woods from a viewership standpoint? How will the NFL Draft play out as the guys look at Field Yates’ Mock Draft. What exactly does Tom Brady do with the Las Vegas Raiders and will he have success as a part-owner?

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Bleck and Abdalla recap the first weekend of March Madness. Are Cinderella stories gone forever with the current state of college basketball? The guys then look at how their brackets look in their journey to “Beat the Raj.” Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba becomes the highest paid wide receiver in NFL history and how it will impact Rams wide receiver Pucca Nacua going forward. Did anyone watch the flag football this weekend and should NFL players like Cincinnati Bengals Joe Burrow and Washington Commanders Jayden Daniels be participating? Did Bill Self coach his final game for Kansas? Will North Carolina move on from Hubert Davis? Which coaches will be candidates to replace these two? With the NFL Draft exactly one month away, what will the biggest storylines be as we approach the big day? Will Alabama QB Ty Simpson be the biggest talking point? New York Giants running back Cam Scattebo made some interesting comments about CTE and asthma which he had to apologize for. Is Kevin Durant passing Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list or LeBron James passing Robert Parish on the all-time games played list more impressive? Is it more likely that the Los Angeles Dodgers or the field wins the World Series this year? Would Cameron Boozer or Darius Acuff Jr be the better NBA player? Which is the better Sweet 16 matchup between Duke/St. John’s and Arkansas/Arizona? Will Steph Curry finish his career with the Charlotte Hornets?

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Geoff Schwartz filling in for Abdalla today joining Bleck on day two of March Madness. The guys looked back on yesterday’s big upsets including High Point’s win over Wisconsin. What is the biggest hole for an NFL contender to fill remaining this offseason? The Los Angeles Lakers are on a tear with Luka Dončić scoring 60 points last night, could he sneak past Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to become NBA MVP? What has been the best signing or trade so far during the NFL offseason? Who is the most surprising unsigned free agent in the NFL? After their loss yesterday, should the North Carolina Tar Heels shake things up with major changes? What are the Minnesota Vikings doing at quarterback with Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz and J.J. McCarthy? With the surge of injuries in the NBA this season, was Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr correct that the league needs to play fewer games? Is D.J. Moore the right number one receiver to help Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills finally make it to the Super Bowl? Could you take on the 9-9-9 challenge at a New York Mets game?

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March Madness is here! Bleck and Abdalla make their final tweaks to “Beat the Raj” before being joined by legendary college basketball broadcaster Fran Fraschilla of Westwood One Sports for one final preview before today’s games. Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham will miss extended time with a collapsed lung, where does the NBA MVP race now stand? The Los Angeles Lakers are hot with Luka Dončić and LeBron James finally to starting to play well off each other, could they make a deep playoff run? The Cleveland Browns are proposing a rule that would allow NFL teams to trade draft picks five years out, should the league stop this to protect bad teams from themselves? Is screen time a bigger issue for baby boomers than kids? After Indiana’s Francisco Mendoza, what should we make of this year’s crop of quarterbacks in the NFL Draft? Could a team try to trade up for Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson? What would Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love need to do to justify being selected by the Tennessee Titans with the fourth pick of the draft? Will LeBron James win multiple playoff series’ before his career finishes? With the addition of receiver Jaylen Waddle, can Broncos quarterback Bo Nix finish among the top three passers in the NFL? Has Giannis Antetokounmpo played his last game with the Milwaukee Bucks? The Philadelphia Eagles have traded for quarterback Andy Dalton, what are the chances he sees the field next season? Are the Miami Dolphins really going to keep running back De’Von Achane, and if they do how productive can he be? The Minnesota Vikings are bringing back quarterback Carson Wentz, what will that mean for J.J. McCarthy? Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is trademarking the nickname “Iceman,” cool or lame?

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Team USA lost in the final of the World Baseball Classic and Abdalla isn’t having Mark DeRosa’s explanation for not using Mason Miller. Did the tournament simply mean more to Venezuela than Team USA? We’re halfway through the First Four, and Bleck and Abdalla are uniting to “Beat The Raj” in March Madness. Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby has spoken on the weird circumstances surrounding his cancelled trade to the Baltimore Ravens, does it make Baltimore look even worse? Westwood One Sports Night’s Josh Graham joined the guys to go over their March Madness brackets. What’s been the most impactful trade in the NFL so far this offseason? Of the wide receivers traded, which one will be most impactful with his new team: Jaylen Waddle with the Denver Broncos, D.J. Moore on the Buffalo Bills or Michael Pittman, Jr. with the Pittsburgh Steelers? Are the guys buying the budget receiver signings of Hollywood Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles and Christian Kirk with the San Francisco 49ers? Would the Tennessee Titans be nuts to select Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the 4th pick? Is Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson worth a first round pick? What is the best day to call off work because of sports? Our colleague Jordan Cornette of Westwood One Sports joined the show to talk March Madness.

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The guys open the show with the breaking news that the Denver Broncos are acquiring wide receiver Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins in a trade that sends a first round pick to Miami. With Waddle joining Bo Nix, how do the Broncos now stack up in the AFC against top teams like the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens? The San Francisco 49ers have signed former Houston Texans receiver Christian Kirk, can Kyle Shanahan’s crew finally avoid injuries and get over the hump to win a Super Bowl? The First Four of the NCAA Tournament turns fifteen years old when it starts tonight, while Team USA takes on Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic final. What team has the best roster in the NFL following the big wave of free agency? Our Westwood One Sports colleague Casey Jacobsen joined the show to look ahead to March Madness. Could Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love go in the top five of the NFL Draft? Will Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson be a first round pick? Is versatile Ohio State defender Arvell Reese the best defensive player in the NFL Draft? Could the NBA Play-In Tournament borrow some things from the NCAA Tournament’s First Four? How will fans look back on the LeBron James/Kevin Durant era compared to the current generation of NBA stars?

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