Nothing Personal with David Samson

Today’s word of the day is ’position’ as in Steve Cohen is in position as in 3-5 year plan is here as in MLB and its Economic Reform Committee has been started. What does all of this mean? Do the other owners dislike Steve Cohen? Is the spending going to continue forever? (12:30) Let’s move to the Bronx and talk about the New York Yankees. Is Gerrit Cole going to give up 33 homers again? Is Carlos Rodon going to be the secondary star they’ve needed? What about Aaron Judge and 9/$360M deal? Can the Yankees get it done? (18:40) Meyers Leonard is back in the NBA. Let’s do a refresher on why he’s been out of the league. Should we be okay with this 2nd chance? Is this the “right” way to do things? (28:30) Review: All That Breathes. (34:55) NPPOD. (35:55) What is going on with John Henry and Liverpool? The team was for sale. Now it isn’t for sale. Can it be for sale? Is anyone selling anything? (42:30) Let’s finish the day off talking about Ted Lasso. 

Being sick stinks! I wish it on no one! This section has basically become my diary. Thanks for reading!

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Today’s word of the day is ’Spring microphone’ as in Spring Training is here as in MLB owners are back and they cannot wait to talk! What are we referring to? The Red Sox. The Phillies. The Orioles. The Padres. These owners couldn’t wait to talk about money! Let’s start with the Philadelphia Phillies. What did John Middleton have to say? He talked money… this will be a common theme! (7:00) What did Red Sox owner John Henry have to say? Are Red Sox fans going to be happy about this? (17:00) Of course, Orioles owner John Angelos had to say something. Why? He couldn’t help himself! (22:00) So what is MLB going to do? Can the league spending be fixed? Bring in the Economic Reform Committee! (30:30) Review: Stolen Youth. (34:50) The NBA All Star Weekend needs a makeover. What is going on here!? The Skills Challenge stinks. The Dunk Contest is below average. And the All-Star game itself is a disaster to watch! (42:40) NPPOD. (43:40) Manny Machado told the Padres that he is opting out of his deal. Can San Diego afford to keep him or afford to let him go?

Shoutout to the people working hard today! We see you! And a special Happy Birthday to my best mate Pasquale!

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It's time for another Samson Sit-Down! Evan Drellich - Senior Writer, The Athletic. Author of "Winning Fixes Everything” joins the show! Evan broke the story about the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. So let’s get into it!

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Today’s word of the day is ’feelings’ as in getting the feeling back again as in Corbin Burnes said he had his feelings hurt by the Brewers. Why was that? What happened in the arbitration room that Burnes is mad about? What gets said? (14:10) What is going on in Houston? Are the Astros changing their philosophy? Since when do the Astros keep players? (18:35) So You Wanna Talk to Samson!? Someone asked me about split squads and spring training and all the fun that goes into the games no player cares about. (29:00) Review: Somebody I Used to Know. (31:50) What in the world is going on at Barcelona? The team has been accused of overpaying a referees company to try and sway the rest of the officials calling La Liga games. What? There’s no way? (39:40) NPPOD. (42:55) We need to talk about bullying going on right now with teens. This problem has been around forever, but now that it’s being filmed we see it more and more and more. What is being done to stop this?

Have a great weekend party people! What are we going to watch? The NBA All Star Game? ehhhhhhh

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Today’s word of the day is ’injuries and distractions’ as in those were the 2 rules we said yesterday to avoid in Spring Training. And guess what? Yesterday, that’s all it was. Let’s start with Jacob deGrom… you’re not going to believe it. (7:10) Stephen Strasburg had another setback. Oh boy. (8:10) The Boston Red Sox are in a tough spot. Trevor Story said he’s likely out the season. Chris Sale is supposed to be coming back. (14:35) The Los Angeles Angels will do everything in their power to keep Shohei Ohtani. How will they do it? Mike Trout has some ideas. (19:10) What about distractions in Pittsburgh? Plenty of them! The biggest is Bryan Reynolds and his trade requests. Oh boy. (22:55) So what’s going on in Cincinnati? Well, Rob Manfred had some things to say about Phil Castellini. (26:50) What about the Yankees? Another injury. Frankie Montas is likely out for the year. What else can go wrong? (30:30) Review: Your Place or Mine. (35:40) NPPOD. (37:00) What is going on with Bally’s? Are you going to be able to see your baseball games? Are there more or less MLB blackouts? What is going on!?

I heard someone say: it's thursday, but if you stand on your toes you can see friday! -- well get on those toes people!

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Today’s word of the day is ’overhaul’ as in change as in drastically change as in the NBA is at war with itself. Load management has been plague. Stars sitting out of big TV games. Stars resting. Now the NBA and NBPA will discuss tying awards to games played. Will that change anything? Do players care? Will teams use this against players? (17:10) Zion Williamson is still out hurt… again. What are the Pelicans going to do? He just signed a huge deal and he’s still been a liability. (21:35) MLB continues to release new enforcement rules. New bases. New pitch clock. New balk calls. New everything. (34:30) Review: Narvik. (36:50) New Mexico State has fired its head coach. Go listen to yesterday’s show. (37:50) NPPOD. (40:00) Can the Brooklyn Nets save Ben Simmons career? He has gone through it. Now he’s just another player in the league. Before he was one fo the top young talents in the league. (46:50) Get rid of distractions. That’s one of the main goals of Spring Training. And the White Sox are failing at that.

Very sorry if there's an audio issue today! It was a platform recording problem! NOT ME!

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Today’s word of the day is ’Ted Lerner’ as in the principal owner of the Washington Nationals. Ted Lerner died yesterday at the age of 97. Let me take a few minutes to speak on Ted, our friendship, and his life. (6:40) MLB made rule changes because of covid and they’re here to stay. You hate the ghost runner? TOO BAD! There will now be a runner on 2nd in extra innings for good. (20:35) The World Baseball Classic is almost here and every front office is scared. Nestor Cortes has a hamstring issue and he’s out. Questionable for the season opener now. This is why the front office hates the World Baseball Classic! Injuries! (28:00) Review: True Spirit. (34:30) So You Wanna Talk to Samson!? Someone asked me about what’s going on at New Mexico State right now. The basketball team canceled its season. There’s been a player involved in a shooting. There’s been players involved in hazing. Coaches suspended. Absolute mess. 

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. We know today's show ended a little dark, but it's necessary to speak on these issues.

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Today’s word of the day is ’champions’ as in the Kansas City Chiefs are the Super Bowl champions! Let’s break down some of the biggest storylines from the day, starting with: don’t do something for the first time during the Super Bowl! Pizza and grass. That’s not what you think. Burnt pizza. Golf grass. (14:40) Let’s talk about THAT flag. Was it a penalty? (22:20) How did Patrick Mahomes walk in the 2nd half? He is greatness. He couldn’t feel his foot. (24:00) Time to rank the Super Bowl commercials. (33:45) Review: Empire of Light. (34:50) The Indianapolis Colts are about to name Eagles OC Shane Steichen as the team’s next head coach. What happened to Jeff Saturday? 3 rounds of interviews and Jim Irsay found his man. (36:30) NPPOD. (39:55) The Golden State Warriors are accusing the Portland Trail Blazers of withholding medical information about Gary Payton. What happened here? Does this ever happen?

What a game! It was for sure a fun one for neutral fans. Love high scoring games! Keep the defenses at home!

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Today’s word of the day is ’Super Bowl’ as in the Super Bowl is here as in Chiefs as in Eagles as in Mahomes as in Hurts as in FOOTBALL! But what is happening before the game? It’s only Friday! How are teams preparing for this? How do you keep players out of trouble? What if a player is sick? (11:50) Steve Cohen is paying $1M for a Super Bowl ad. Is this going to work for the Mets? (20:30) Can the Los Angeles Angels afford to pay or lose Shohei Ohtani? Arte Moreno was going to sell the team and now he’s not. He wants tot keep Ohtani, but can he? (31:20) Review: The Elephant Whisperers. (35:55) NBA Buyout market is out of control. There’s no way the NBA can be happy about this. (43:10) Super Bowl Prop bets!!!!

We made it to another Friday! let's go!!!!!! It's Super Bowl weekend party people! I'm doing a contest for NPDS fans: Winning Team + final score (not combined score) so Chiefs 31-28 or Eagles 31-28 --- DM me on Twitter @matthewcocacbcs -- closest to the final score wins $50! Price is right rules so over and you're out! You have till Sunday morning!

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Today’s word of the day is ’the sun’ as in Phoenix is the center of the universe as in Kevin Durant to the Suns as in the Super Bowl as in the Waste Management tourney as in the Suns got a new owner. Holy moly. Let’s break down this trade for KD. The Brooklyn Nets have hit the full reset button. See ya KD, see ya Kyrie! (17:30) Draymond Green had some comments about Joe Tsai and the Kyrie Irving trade. He called Joe Tsai ‘billionaire petty’. How true is this? (23:20) Russell Westbrook has been traded! Can you believe it didn’t work out? (32:00) Review: Arctic. (34:50) Roger Goodell had some things to say about diversity and officiating. It went horribly. (43:20) NPPOD.

It's thursday already! Time has been flying. Have an incredible day and get ready for the weekend!

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