Ep 192: The Fellas Forgot About Reggie White

Classic 6 piece combo with a wide array of riffs. PLEASE enjoy.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Between the Lines podcast. I am one of your three hosts, creator and founder of the King Report, Harper King. And joining me as always, my two good friends. I think we'll start with Jackson. Jackson, how are you doing on a steamy Tuesday evening here in Minneapolis, Minnesota?

SPEAKER_03 0:39

Doing well. Having you back in the podcast. Yeah, dude, it's steamy out here. Uh you and I were uh sharpening the twigs up for a little rider cup action we got going on this weekend. Um and man, I was I was sweating. Well, I don't even think I really took that big a hacks. I was just uh just cooking out there in the uh in the June heat down here in the in the great city of Minneapolis. But um I I actually don't mind it. I I like to get a little uh a little warm. Um I know JR, you're kind of you you feel a different way about where the comfortable temperatures are. I would say I'm like I'm comfortable outside without a breeze up to about 80. With the breeze, I think I can do like 85. Um, and then that's where I'm like, I I gotta draw the line. But I've been thinking about that recently because it's been warmer here um over the past couple weeks. And I I honestly don't mind like I was playing in a Bags League on Monday night, last Monday, and it was 80 in the sun, no uh no breeze, and I was like, I don't know, dude. This feels good.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

But yeah, I mean it's I think it's nice to break a sweat. Like I've always said about it. Like I just like to be prepared for it, right? Like if I'm going out or like if I'm dressed nice, you have to be dressed properly, exactly. And and then the it ends up the event ends up being kind of a steamy event, then I'm uncomfortable a little bit. But you know, yeah, I got some shorts on, a t-shirt on, I'm outside, I'm running around. It feels good to break a sweat. I agree with you on that. Justin, how are you doing, man?

SPEAKER_02 1:59

I'm doing well. Yeah, it's uh it is warm down here, College World Series in town this weekend. Uh, so it's gonna be I was hope it's a bummer that the days weren't shifted forward one day because Sunday it's back down to like 70. I think Friday is in the 90s. Yeah, uh, but yeah, I uh I will agree with you. I can be out when it's breezy. If it's like if it was 85, I would be fine if I was sitting somewhere. Like if I'm at a ballpark and I'm already seated, it's just the getting there and kind of getting there, being sweaty, walking around, getting to your seat, that type of thing. Um but it is big time year. Obviously, the Bulldogs are coming to town, so I have to show out for that.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Uh your your tar heels beat my Trojans.

SPEAKER_02 2:42

Yeah, I guess the Bulldogs, Georgia Bulldogs, dude. Oh, my bad. Georgia's in it. So that's my I guess when it comes to I always like to let people know I will cheer for UNC if like Georgia were to lose. Uh, but that's more of a strictly basketball fandom, right there. Uh that's just the era of growing up with bandwagon kids watching sports because the gophers were never in good situations.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

No, I get that. I get that for sure. Yeah, college world series. There's a lot of just a lot of stuff going on. I mean, College World Series and the World Cup and NBA finals. In a World Cup year, June is a pretty awesome month.

SPEAKER_03 3:23

Yes, sports-wise.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

I'm I was so thrown off because I mean I've I've gotten into soccer more recently. So obviously the last World Cup that took place happened in the fall because it was in Qatar. So my my World Cup calendar is a little thrown off, but um, no, yeah. I mean, even if sports aren't your thing, I mean, House of the Dragon comes out, I think, next Saturday or next Sunday. Um Love Island is cooking, if you're if that's if that's your fancy. So yeah, a lot of good stuff going on right now. A lot of good viewing.

SPEAKER_03 3:53

Thanks for dropping the House of the Dragon, dude. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

Yeah, yeah. No, I uh I didn't watch uh Knights of a Seven Knights of a Seven Kingdom.

SPEAKER_03 3:59

I know people liked it.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

Dude, you see ants watching it now?

SPEAKER_03 4:02

What you see ants watching it out?

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Oh, I did not know that. I did not see that. Good for him. I'm I'm happy that.

SPEAKER_03 4:06

I don't know if that's real, but I saw a thread about it and it it cracked me up. It was just like egg is my motherfucking dog.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

Yeah, and I was like being like semi-active on threads is kind of funny.

SPEAKER_03 4:15

It is funny. Yeah, it's like a perfect place for him.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

It kind of is. Um no, but uh thanks for joining us. Episode 192 of the Between Lines podcast. I didn't do any research on it. Anybody have a 92 off the top of their head? 92.

SPEAKER_03 4:30

That's an interior D-line number. Isn't uh Harrison what's his name? 92?

SPEAKER_01 4:36

Harrison Phillips?

SPEAKER_03 4:38

No. James Harrison. James Harrison?

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Yeah, he didn't wear 92. Yeah. First epic super that was the first epic Super Bowl. I guess Patriots Giants was an epic Super Bowl because of the upset, but it wasn't necessarily a great Super Bowl. Like obviously my my my football watching wasn't that sharp, but I believe the game was like 17 to 14 or like 14 to 10 or something like that.

SPEAKER_03 5:01

Yeah. James Harrison is where I realized that I just like I didn't know this about myself, I guess, but I just I love watching like freaky strong dudes just like work out. And like because the James Harrison clips started making it around, and then I'm like, dude, I'm kind of into this. So then like then uh since then been adding different follows of like really uh crazy workout posting NFL players. Yep. Just uh he was kind of the LG of that. And as an ode to James Harrison, because dude, it's incredible watching some of those dudes put up weight.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

James Harrison, I looked it up, he was number three on the most famous athletes or the best athletes to wear a 92.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

Okay, he's gotta be a hockey player.

SPEAKER_02 5:38

The other two were both football players, both D-linemen.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

92? I know who it is. Did Dominican Sue wear it one year?

SPEAKER_02 5:46

You should get two. You might not get one. Uh Richard Dent.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Uh Holodi Nata.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

Number one's Reggie White. Oh, Reggie White. So pre-R time. Number two is kind of our time. He was ending during our time. Honestly, a stacked defensive line. Is it a Williams? It is not. Played for the Giants. That should give it away. Oh, Justin Tuck. Not Justin Tuck, the other one. Oh OCO Manuro.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Yeah, you Minura Open.

SPEAKER_02 6:16

Not him either. And this is why I thought their line was stacked. TV host.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 6:23

Well, yeah, because he wore it, he was like the Reggie White kind of guy.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Technically, Strayan did play while I was watching football. I think he retired in technically my after my first year of watching.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

Because he didn't retire after they beat the undefeated Patriots.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

Yeah, so I think that might have been like my first year and a half-ish of watching.

SPEAKER_02 6:40

So but yeah, when I I was that came up last week when I was doing 20 and oh, and I was like, oh shit, this Giants team that like upset the Patriots was pretty good.

SPEAKER_03 6:51

Yeah, they offensive line's crazy. They wrecked shit up front. That's why they won.

SPEAKER_02 6:56

It's like, oh, I think we got kind of mesmerized by yeah, Randy Moss has 24 touchdowns, and Tom Brady has 50 touchdowns thrown, and they're undefeated. But like, yeah, that team was good. It's the NFL, so the team that wins the Super Bowl.

SPEAKER_03 7:09

Turns out getting pressure with four is pretty effective.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

Yeah, yeah. Reminds me of this is like before I knew too much about baseball, but remember the uh Giants took on the uh Rangers in the World Series, I think in like 2010. And that's when I just thought it was all about like hitting and home run power, right? They had like Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz and Michael Young played third base for him. And they kind of got their asses beat. And like that's when I realized I'm like, oh, well, if you just have four dominant starting pitchers, it doesn't matter. Like you can just win, yeah. You can just win the world series. Well, that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_03 7:40

How in like sports there's some of those things that just carry over.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:43

Like in football, like the game continues to change year to year, and like every or I guess every like sets a couple sets of years, like the game kind of changes in how people want to do things. And I think pretty consistently, if you get pressure with four, you're gonna be really good.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Yeah. Were you saying something, Justin? Sorry.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

I was gonna say, is that Tim Linskom and like Barry Zeno?

SPEAKER_01 8:02

Yeah, it was like Tim Linscombe, Barry Zito, Matt Kane, and that's oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:06

Bobby Wilson was in the the closer.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Yeah, no, they're good. Um, well, thank you. Like I said, thanks for joining us. We'll get in. There's a lot to talk about, obviously. I mean, we're finals and and just a ton of stuff going on, but uh Jackson, we'll kick it to you if you want to uh guide the ship on uh your first nugget.

SPEAKER_03 8:25

Sure. Yeah, it was uh since we talked, I Justin, I your uh words that you passed to me about being a little too excited about the Bears um kind of rang true as it was kind of a sad day or a couple sad days that I rode there for Chicago sports with announcements about the Bears um agreeing in principle to a deal to move to Indiana. Seems like that is still not hard and fast, though, as there looks to be an emergency session they're putting together that I saw today. So um until they break dirt in uh in Hammond, Indiana, um I I wouldn't uh I wouldn't uh worry too hard about trying to get your jokes in about the Indiana Bears just just yet. But um seems like uh that that was some sad news, I guess, that uh that broke since we recorded the pod last. But more importantly, I wanted to talk about uh the passing of the late great Stacey King. Um Bull Center for five years, won three championships. Um Wolves legend, too. I realized when I was looking at his uh his basketball reference page, did two uh two years with the uh Minnesota Timberwolves as well. Eight-year NBA career before uh going into the booth, where I think he more of his uh legacy was established. Um he was a legend, man. He was a legend in the booth. Uh great calls like uh Jimmy G Buckets, the G stands for gets a little uh meet me at the rim, don't be late. Um Derek Rose can go upstairs, classic one. Um I don't know, man. The Windows City Assassin calls, like he's just he he was electric. He was electric on the mic, he's one of my favorites. Um honestly, the first thing I thought when I heard that he passed was I was like, man, I should have been watching more Bulls games here down the stretch because they've just been so bad that I haven't really had like because it's kind of hard to watch them out of market. So I haven't tried to tune into the local broadcast to watch games recently, and I was just a little disappointed because I never get to hear him again. So he was he was awesome. He was like a core part of my uh my youth growing up and really sad to uh to see him go. So um pour one out for Stacey King. He's a legend, gone too soon at 59. And yeah, I just I don't think he'll ever truly be replaced, but um, yeah, time waits for nobody.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

Yeah, that truly was the the Jimmy G buckets, the G stands for gets. I remember the day the Jimmy trade went down. Uh Carver, you should remember this when we we were a bunch of us worked at Hogan Brothers, and just we like all the guys there could just not stop saying that over and over. Like that was just like a like and uh in hindsight, I mean it didn't end up how we wanted it to, but it was broke our blood drove that almost made there are times where sports calls can make an athlete seem like so great, and Jimmy is a great basketball player, but it's like that stuff like that is what made him known across the country to basketball fans, not just like the oh, he's really good. Like Scotty Barnes is a really good basketball player, but he doesn't have like I never see clips of announcers talking about him, so I'm like, oh yeah, Scotty Barnes is a good player. But if he had like a Scotty Barnes, like a catchphrase like the G stance for gets, then it's like uh oh, he's a household name now. Um and I mean it is always like I couldn't imagine if uh I'm sad when a Minnesota sports announcer like leaves, like when Dick Bramer left, or uh even Michael Grady's name, the Wolves guy. Michael Grady before Grady, the one Dave Benz, and I was like, oh man. Obviously, I then learned Grady is like a legit sports announcer. Um, but they do it's like you grow up just listening to those guys. Uh, those are the voices you hear if you're not listening on the radio.

SPEAKER_03 12:06

Yeah, he was so good with the nicknames, he's also just like hilarious to listen to, too. I remember there there's this one clip that was really funny of him where he was talking about somebody was going off that like the Bulls were playing, and he was like, I'll never forget the night that uh me and Michael Jordan went for 70. And it was the night Michael Jordan went for 69 and Stacey King went for one.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

No, yeah, I like I mean he was a great uh broadcaster, and when I saw he was dead, obviously it was surprising. I mean, I imagine that he was probably going through maybe some health stuff, probably quietly. Um, so yeah, it's sad. And unfortunately, the Bulls have not really been great since you know those those prime Derek Rose here. So he was kind of stuck calling some mediocre to bad basketball at the end there, but um, definitely a legend. Um, kind of one of those, you know, if you're in the NBA, no, right? There's some names you kind of know, right? Like Mike Breen, right? He calls Knicks games. Um, I mean Grainy calls Wills games, a lot of people know that, but you know, people kind of know Grady. Um well he's a color guy too, though. Yeah, really.

SPEAKER_03 13:06

Yeah, he he's the color guy.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:08

So I think it was Adam Amin for a long time that did the play by play.

SPEAKER_01 13:12

Who's he was a ESPN guy, I think, for a while too. Yep. But um, yeah, just one of those guys where you hear him or Eric Collins down in uh in Charlotte, even you know, when you hear the voice, right? You just kind of associate it with that court, that team. And I think whenever you lose guys like that, it uh it almost it hurts, you know, just as much as you know, losing an you know, a star player at old age or you know, uh an executive that you know built a team that you really like. So yeah, RIP definitely was super surprised by that. Uh and it'll definitely be uh a really hard guy to replace. Um, but maybe it'll awaken you know a new era, you know, a new voice will bring a new era and and the Bulls can maybe find uh some new memories to make.

SPEAKER_03 13:55

Yeah, I'm sure they'll find somebody good. I just yeah, that there's only one Stacey King. So it'll be I there is no replacing him. But no way.

SPEAKER_01 14:04

Justin, we'll kick it to you.

SPEAKER_02 14:07

Yeah, uh, you mentioned it earlier. It is a it is the start of the World Cup this week. I think there's a couple I mean the times are all weird. I it's just because the US is so spread out, different time zones. Um they're trying to kind of make it work with that. But tune in Friday night, 8 central. Uh, US men's national team plays. I think they start with Paraguay. Yeah, um, but I it always something I think about, and I've seen a lot of TikToks about it lately. There's obviously been people complaining about uh how our infrastructure works in the stadiums, and there's a lot of things about Europe I like. I like how you can walk everywhere, all this stuff. But I don't think first off, I think they're starting to realize like, oh, we have cities with three to four major sports teams in it. We can't just have one stadium as the central part of our city, that's not how it works in the country. Um, look like luck luckily, we grew up in Minneapolis. You guys still live there. I hope to I plan on being back um within the next couple of years. But like we got lucky that our stadiums are in the city. A lot of places it's not like that. But within, because I've been watching a lot of those videos, obviously the every four-year debate came up of if the United States athletes took soccer seriously, would the United States be really good at soccer? I love these debates. Um, and I am I never want to take any like I love soccer, I never want to take anything away from the Killian Mbappes of the world and the Ronaldos and the Messies. Those guys, no matter who played soccer, they're going to be all-time greats. Yeah, like Messi is one of those guys, like, even he shouldn't be good even with soccer players. Like, he's 5'6, 140 pounds. Yeah, he just happens to be the greatest soccer player ever.

SPEAKER_03 15:56

Yeah, he's a left foot that was touched by God.

SPEAKER_02 15:58

Exactly. But I still can make the argument like there's no way that LeBron James couldn't be like the best goalie in the world, or Tyreek Hill couldn't find himself as like a left wing just dominating teams.

SPEAKER_01 16:10

Tyreek Hill, I think, would be the guy that Tyreek Hill would break soccer.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

Yeah, I think Dell was one of the best players in the country for his age because his I think his mom played, she was a sprinter and a soccer player.

SPEAKER_03 16:21

Yeah, Dr. DiVincenzo was uh was also an elite soccer player, but he's like, Um, I'm gonna play basketball, dude.

SPEAKER_02 16:28

Yeah, I'm gonna make a lot of money doing this, but I got I kind of wanted to hear your guys' thoughts because I am am of the mindset without taking anything away from those other countries that the United States would dominate soccer, just like we do most sports uh when our athletes take it seriously. 1000%.

SPEAKER_03 16:45

Yeah, I don't even think it's like I don't I don't think that's a hot take. I don't think it's a hot take, even like I I I know worldwide like people like people love to like poo-poo Americans and like say it's a hot take. I'm like, I don't know, look how the Olympics go. No matter what the Olympics is, every single year, like the US just like they just truck, dude. And I I mean if Noah Lyles like played soccer, I don't know, dude. I feel like I feel like it'd be pretty good. Yeah, no one's catching them.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

I think it's more too of like, I don't think like obviously, like we kind of breed football players, right? Like if you are a big kid, like you're gonna talk to a football coach when you're younger and they're gonna tell you to lift weights, or you know, if you're a good basketball player, right? You're gonna you're gonna meet somebody that's gonna tell you you're a good basketball player. And it's also the cool thing to do, right? That's what everybody's doing in the playground. That's what you see on TV, that's what your parents take you to a game of. So I think it's almost more of like kind of an access thing. We're like, okay, so America, like we're really good at hockey, but we're not the best at hockey necessarily because I wouldn't say all of our best athletes have access to play hockey, right? Like if you're from the South, you probably have never had that conversation or been introduced to the sport where soccer is so accessible already. Where I think if it got like that popularity, like just like not even like the investment, just the popularity of a football. Think of how many like kids that you know would never consider playing soccer because you know, they're from Troy, Alabama, or they're from, you know, I you know, where wherever. But they play football, they play basketball. Yeah, I just think I think it's not even just because we we read the best like type of athlete. I just think we have so many people and there would be so much talent unlocked if we actually cared about soccer, if that makes sense. Like on top of the good athletes that we already have.

SPEAKER_02 18:40

Yeah, I think it's it's literally just because there's so many buckets when you're a kid. I know a lot of kids play soccer. I didn't, but I know like 50% of kids do play soccer. It's like soccer and t-ball in your first sports. But it is, I do think it is one of those, like, oh, yeah, when you're here, the best athletes are playing something else. Like, if you're a supreme athlete and you have size, you're probably gonna play basketball um or football, like you said. But it's crazy to think that a like, even someone like think how freakishly fast Miles Garrett is for his size, that he runs like a 4640 and he's just a fast athlete. But when we see him around the guys like Jameer Gibbs, Jameer Gibbs could be a sneaky good, like seven.

SPEAKER_00 19:22

I was like Divine chan too.

SPEAKER_02 19:23

Like I'm gonna sub put Gibbs on when he's got the legs over everyone. Um, but yeah, that's where I'm like our like cream of the crop athletes are not it's like the fifth tier of athletes are the ones playing soccer, and once again, they're way better of an athlete than I will like I can even think of. So I'm not gonna be able to do that.

SPEAKER_03 19:44

I'm not trying to talk down about the the the US men's national soccer team at all.

SPEAKER_02 19:48

But they better like the other countries better stop talking shit because eventually, as soon as all these babies are doctored and there's like no normal kid can play basketball and football anymore, there's gonna be a lot of normal kids who like aren't test tube babies that are like, Well, I'll play soccer now.

SPEAKER_03 20:04

Well, but that's also I'm like if the US has an awesome World Cup performance with it being here, I think that could like help us in future generations to try to like prop up the game. Like, I I just wish there's more awareness for it. Like, I just never like growing up, I never took soccer that seriously because it's just not like it's not on TV, like it's just not like cool. Like, I don't know. Like, I just I I wanted to play other things that were, I don't know, that you watch and have more appreciation for, I guess. And there's just not that level of appreciation for soccer stateside.

SPEAKER_02 20:34

It's like I honestly think it might also like I agree completely with completely with that because it's similar to the reasons. Um, and I know avid listener of the podcast, Hunter Kemp, is not gonna like this. Once I explain, he'll understand. I've never been a huge college baseball guy. The reason being is like I love college football and college basketball because people have to go play there before they go to the pros. When I think of college baseball, and this is wrong because there's a lot of good college players that end up being just as good in the pros, some of the best. But I'm always like, oh, they could just go to the pros if they were that good. So when I watch like growing the MLS isn't popular because we all know, like all we've been told by other countries is yeah, it's not good. Yeah, and I'm like, yeah, I watch European soccer and I just choose not to really watch uh US soccer. But that's one thing that's changed over the last 20 years, especially the last 10 years since Pulisic. All like now for once, all of our starters are playing in Europe, like on real European teams.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

I saw that. I believe the MLS is the fifth highest representative. I know not everybody who plays in the MLS is American, but um I believe the MLS is like the fourth highest league country representation for players. Um, obviously, like behind England and Spain and um, you know, kind of the soccer progress countries. Exactly. But I think. We uh our league, our domestic league at least, is like the fifth highest represented in this World Cup, which I think is a pretty good thing.

SPEAKER_02 22:06

Yeah, and England better stop talking shit. They haven't won since like the 50s or something. Exactly. I mean that was one of those things. We're as much of a powerhouse as they are.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

That was one of those things I did not realize until like the last World Cup when we were playing them. I was like, wow, they haven't won since like it was like 1964.

SPEAKER_03 22:22

Yeah, and like I love the idea that it's coming home. Like, I just love that. It's coming home. Like, dude, it's is is it even home anymore? That's sad.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

Like, that's like you meant most of your national identity. Like, even Canada can still win a gold medal. Not maybe not anymore, but even Canada would win a gold medal in hockey. Jamaica still wins gold medals in sprinting, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 22:42

Like, I mean, God rest his soul. Stacey King's entire life, England didn't win a cup.

unknown 22:46

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 22:47

RIP. R.I.P. It's kind of like when you hear the Knicks haven't won since the 70s. Like, I feel like a casual NBA fan would be like, okay, you know, the New York team has probably won, like, probably picked one up like every decade, kind of like the Lakers. Nah, they haven't won in 50 years.

SPEAKER_02 23:01

That's why the Knicks are like, as much as I I don't hate the Knicks, but as much as I hate Florida football, it's good when they're relevant. Like I think the Knicks being good, it's good. So maybe England being screwed England. They were good.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

I mean, they were technically good the last World Cup.

SPEAKER_02 23:15

Yeah, they got they got good players.

SPEAKER_03 23:17

England's always fucking good. It's just they they they always find a way to choke it. That's that's that's England.

SPEAKER_01 23:22

Yeah. But no, I'm excited for the World Cup. Yep, USA Perry, I believe, on Friday. Um, I'll kick it to myself. Obviously, kind of the big news of today. I can't believe it was remember it was today or yesterday, but Brandon Soresby, quarterback at Texas Tech, gets off of the hook. Uh obviously, if you haven't heard the story, I believe he placed I can't remember the number, but it was like 4,000 bets or like over $40,000 worth of bets, something like that.

SPEAKER_03 23:50

They're all small.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

Yeah, all small. So it might it must have been a ton of bets. The avid gambler. Somebody who used uh had a gambling heyday back in the day. I just imagine he was just, you know, playing on however many games he could every day after school during during the season. Um, but obviously he was at Cincinnati and Indiana, um, was betting on the team while he was on the team there, wasn't really playing for Indiana, but Cincinnati sounds like he was playing in those games. Um, and he was the big money transfer in the Nil to go to Texas Tech, obviously, to have Cody Campbell, the billionaire NIL donor. So he gets a big deal to go to Texas AM or Texas Tech, and then it is exposed, obviously, that he is an avid gambler and gambles on his own games, which growing up was always the kind of biggest no-no I always thought of in sports. Worse than steroids, worse than worse than I would say, you know, sign stealing, which I know some uh Big 12 fans are coming at the Big Ten for being pretentious about potentially not paying playing the Big 12 or Texas AM because of or Texas Tech because of how we let Michigan off the hook, which was really more of a NCAA thing. But um yeah, so he obviously he was suspended uh by the NCAA, um, but then an appellate court in Lubbock County, and if you are unaware, Texas Tech is in the city of Lubbock, Texas. So uh kind of a hometown judge gives him a friendly ruling and he will only miss the first two games of the season. Now, like I as time has gone on, like I I've become less the world is completely on fire about this. Mainly because maybe because I'm with Dutzy on this with the Bears thing, where I I think that the NCAA is going to step in. I think that there is going to be further retribution for this, whether it's Texas Supreme Court or potentially, I don't know. I don't know what the NCAA can do at this point, but I I don't necessarily disagree that potentially schools should refuse to play Texas Tech. Um, but I just think it's sad. You know, people always talk about you know what's going to be the end of college football, right? NIL is going to be the end of college football or you know, conference realignment's gonna be the end of college football.

SPEAKER_03 26:02

Transfer portal is gonna be the end of college football.

SPEAKER_01 26:05

And I've always pushed back on this. I push back on that on the show. And and I'm not necessarily saying that this Brandon Storesby case is going to be the end of college football, but you know, there are cracks. I things always crack, right? No, no, nothing ever, nothing ever breaks overnight. And I think this Brendan Storesby thing has a real chance to really have a lasting impact on how people kind of view college football, right? I don't think people are gonna start tuning out of games right away, but if you delegitimize the sport, kind of like in the same way that, you know, in a similar way to what we're talking about with soccer, how the MLS is kind of delegitimized by other professional leagues, so it becomes of like, okay, well, it's not that important. I do think potentially college football can maybe run into that issue with you know, if they are allowing gambling, or if more cases like this are to come up and there's obviously precedent set, especially in the state of Texas now, um, that this could be uh something that is allowed. Um obviously, this is something I think we are all worried about when professional sports got in bed with um gambling, but so far it has seems like the pro leagues have handled it pretty well. Obviously, the Terry Rozier thing, that's that's like a federal indictment. Um Dante Porter instantly banned from the NBA. And to be fair, it's a little easier, right? With and sometimes these nobodies, but like why though?

SPEAKER_03 27:30

That's my that's my big pushback. I'm like, if there's rules, then just enforce them.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

I agree, and that's what uh it's like what really has what power does the NCAA have? What does the NCAA stand for at this point? I'm not I've never been that pro NCAA, but this is such a weak showing of power where it's like what and also too, not to keep rambling, but there are these ongoing kind of battles of eligibility, and you know, some courts have approved it, some courts haven't. Like, what is even you know, can I go back to college football right now if I wanted to, if a school wanted to be? Like that's what I want to touch on, yeah. So I just think there are a lot of things going on with college football, college basketball, whatever. That's kind of a different conversation in a way, but they have the same issues, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Maybe it's because we're talking about college football, but I just think that you run the risk of kind of watering down the Kool-Aid, right? And then everybody's like, well, the Kool-Aid used to be a lot better five years ago or ten years ago, and everybody's nostalgic, but well, it's always gonna be better, but it's always gonna used to have been better. It's gonna used to be better, but maybe less people start drinking stop drinking the Kool-Aid. And I don't know. I just as somebody who likes the sport and just sports in general, I do genuinely find this pretty concerning. As somebody who is a college football fan, not necessarily college football diehard. If that makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 28:47

Yeah, I think um putting it kind of plainly, I don't I'm pro NIL. Like the players deserve to get paid. Pro-transfer portal, I like I don't think that there's a transfer portal problem. Definitely not. Um, I do think they probably could use more regulations on NIL, but at the same time, like I'd rather have the kids get paid than not get paid. Um, so I I don't think it has an NIL problem. Um, college sports have an eligibility problem. Um what players are deemed to be eligible and what restrictions are put on or placed on eligibility is a serious issue. Um because you touched on college basketball and being okay, and I'm like, dude, they have guys that were drafted into the NBA that are now trying to claim college eligibility again. Like, I think that there needs to be real guidelines put into place about what eligibility looks like because it's gotten so murky. And because the NCA doesn't put down like legitimate rules that can be followed and they continue to be ambiguous because they don't want to take a stand and risk getting sued, then none of their stuff, like none of their rules like hold up in court of law, so people just file lawsuits and then they can get around them because they refuse to put down actual like legislation around what being a college athlete is like what what are the rules to be a college athlete? Like they they refuse to define it, and that's kind of spinning off of it. It's not exactly what the issue is here, but it is kind of similar where they've tried to enforce some rules and they went to a court that said that there's gray area and we don't have to acknowledge, but yeah. I again I I I do agree with you that I think there is an issue here with eligibility, and it could it, I think it definitely will if it continues to go unchecked dilute the product because you can I if you don't regulate what being a college athlete is, then it starts to take away from what like the sport is supposed to be, or whichever the sport is.

SPEAKER_02 30:36

Justin. Yeah, it's I mean, first off, that's when when I played in college carbon, you might have heard the same thing. Like they even told us not to play like fantasy football. They're like, because you play football, you can play the other fantasy sports, but you might not want to play this. And I was like, at a D3 school, I don't think they're investigating us really. Um but yeah, it's like the pros, they're obviously very strict on it, unless you're Shohei Otani. Um, she's a good fall guy. Yeah, you in this somebody went to jail. I want to I want to know who this guy's fall guy is, or if it's just the yeah, he's a kid. They're one of those things.

SPEAKER_03 31:16

I that sounds more what it is, but he but really what he needs is he needs an e-pack.

SPEAKER_02 31:20

He does. Everyone needs a fall guy, but it's like for me, growing up in the era where we've seen, I mean, it was only a a half, but Johnny Football was selling autographs for money to help live, since the schools besides Alabama would get in a ton of trouble for paying their kids, and he got suspended a half for doing that. Like Tyrell Pryor, obviously, a lot of controversy around it. So for these kids to be able to do all this stuff back in the day, like you're paying them now, but who cares if they're gambling, that kind of thing. But I do understand it is weird that he was betting on his own games. Like, has it been confirmed that he is did he ever bet on lose?

SPEAKER_03 31:57

Or I'm not sure. I don't know what the side was, but I I did read that he was betting on games that he was played in.

SPEAKER_02 32:04

Yeah, if you're doing pulling like a Floyd Mayweather and you're betting on yourself, I don't think there's an issue with that. But I mean, that's what I've heard Pete Rose did. I haven't there's no like proof that he was betting against his own team and he was just blackballed by baseball for life. Um so yeah, I think college, like you said, college sports are just in a weird time of like, are we going to if we're gonna pay them like the pros, are they gonna start being punished like the pros? Um when I first saw the story of the suspension, I didn't know. I assumed this was about the kid. I forgot where he went last year or two years ago. I think it was last year though, where he took the money, like the NIL money, and then he's like, I'm transferring after the season, and he didn't play. But I was like, Oh, then I read that and I saw 40,000. I'm like, no, or what however many best Caden Proctor? Is that who it was? But he did take the bag from Iowa and then he left. But wasn't that a lineman from Alabama?

SPEAKER_01 33:01

Yeah, he went to L. He went back, he went from Alabama to Iowa back to Alabama. Um, are you talking about Arizona State maybe schoola? What was his name? Something schooler from uh New Mexico State. The logos played like the first four games and then after the transfer portal. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:22

The funny thing about him is he was bad.

SPEAKER_01 33:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:25

Schooler. Um, but yeah, the it's it's an interesting spot to be in. I'm sure they'll figure it out what they're gonna do going forward. But yeah, it's I will say I would just stick with it if I was a coach, don't be betting.

SPEAKER_01 33:39

I will say stuff. Oh shoot, that's hijacked. Um, I will say stuff like this then does generally make me start to believe more that like teams might just leave the NCAA. Like, yeah, at this point, what's the point? Like, I don't know, shit.

SPEAKER_03 33:55

I mean they're spineless, dude.

SPEAKER_01 33:56

Like, I and all the money is like tied into the conferences now. TV con like if you have the connections, if like you're the conference, let's say you're the Big Ten and you already have you negotiate your big your TV rights, right? Like as a conference, what's stopping you from saying, Hey SEC, hey ACC, like screw the NCAA.

SPEAKER_03 34:15

Let's put our own league of 60 teams. The rest of the sports, I think, is what's stopping them.

SPEAKER_01 34:20

Fair, fair, fair. Well, when it's like we at least you can actually enforce your own rules. Like who if nobody knows the rules, what's the point of being in the league?

SPEAKER_03 34:28

Yeah, I mean, I don't I don't push back against it. I just think that there's too much like the NCAA, like logistically a lot. Well, I think the NCAA like holds like teams and like sports like captive in general at the collegiate level because they own all of them. Um and they like kind of like they are the administrator and operator of like all these sports, so that you can't like break free just in your ones that make money, but because like the ones that make money make money, they don't want to touch it and they want to keep the hands off as much as possible. And I don't it's just at some point they need to actually just step in and make rules. Like they they refuse to make they refuse to make rulings, they refuse to put their like foot down on anything, and that's fundamentally the issue.

SPEAKER_01 35:10

Get teams to sign like a new agreement or something. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 35:13

When when P and it happened around the playoffs when people were upset, me one of them like I get mad around the playoffs sometimes when I think there should be more SEC teams in there, but it was a Big Ten SEC complaining about like, oh, why don't we just make our own conference? And you got Big 12 fans and ACC fans saying, like, oh, go ahead and do it. Like college football is king. And it's like, oh, if the Big Ten and SEC leave, you're about to see and they make their own team of group of 30 teams, you're about to see something that rivals the NFL revenue-wise. I don't think we want that to happen. People are just gonna watch that league. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 35:47

People are gonna watch New Mexico State versus Nevada.

SPEAKER_02 35:50

Imagine if there was a 30 team, it was just the SEC and Big Ten, it would be thought of as like an NFL minor league, and now all these teams are playing each other with like an NFL style schedule. That would be like in a I love college football, so I don't want it to necessarily change unless they took our idea of like European soccer. Need to have tables and they do it. Um if the SEC and Big Ten did that, I would watch every single game. Oh, finally high-level football every week, it'd be insane.

SPEAKER_01 36:21

Yeah, I don't know why this this stuff just isn't being talked about. I it's they made they literally kicked everybody out of division one in like the 70s or like think the early 80s, like when they like kind of they made new rules about like essentially like stadium size and enrollment. That's essentially kind of how we got the current D1, D2, D3 model. Maybe we need a fourth freaking division, right? It's I mean, it's imagine where team spends this much and up on the roster, and then a division where it's like the Marylands, where it's like, yeah, we spend about $10 million on our roster.

SPEAKER_03 36:52

Well, you can't bring up the conferences because that's how the media right deals are established.

SPEAKER_02 36:56

It's not talked about because the schools get all this money, so obviously they want to stick with the status quo for the next 200 years if they can. Like every small change um that comes, like Northwestern doesn't want anything to change. They're like, we'll take the money we get.

SPEAKER_03 37:11

I mean, Maryland, that's why I thought it's like Maryland doesn't want anything to change, dude. They like they kind of tank their actual athletic success to be able to take the check. They're like, Yeah, like we could like maybe contend in the middle of the pack to like if the all the cards fall perfectly, like maybe contend for a championship in the ACC to congrats, you're the doormat of the Big Ten. But you know, you get the check to do it. So Colorado.

SPEAKER_01 37:35

Maybe Colorado. I don't know. It's cool like that, but yeah. I don't know. I don't I don't know what the future is. The future looks like in that regard, but hopefully there's uh some overalls. Yeah uh Jackson.

SPEAKER_03 37:50

Yeah, I'm trying to think where where do we want to go? I had a few nuggets. Um let's go with the finals. Um so I was wrong, it was not uh Spurs and five. And actually the the Knicks won the first two games. Yep. Um so all been the road teams winning. You know, they usually say the series doesn't start until the road team wins a game, but uh seems like the series has started and been going here uh early on as the road team has won every game uh so far. It's interesting because there's been some dialogue about in the past just that home court doesn't really mean as much in the NBA anymore. And I think we're kind of seeing that play out as I mean, both arenas have been rocking, but it just does not really seem to rattle the players at all. Uh if anything, it kind of I felt the Knicks were came out kind of timid because they there was so much energy in the garden that it kind of affected the home team more negatively than it even affected the road team.

SPEAKER_01 38:43

You know, it's sort of flat in the third quarter too, which you would think, you know, coming out of halftime. You'd be in at home, you'd have some momentum.

SPEAKER_03 38:49

Yeah, definitely. Especially with the way they fought back in the second, too. Figured it would carry over, but it did not. Um But I think mainly the story, and not to get it too uh down in the weeds about the road teams and home court advantage or anything like that. I think it's more about who's in attendance because the Knicks won 13 straight games in a row. Um, they'd won what was it? Uh 14. Uh because they've effectively lost two games by like a bucket each. So take away two buckets. They'd won what is that? Um 16 in a row. Like takeaway minus two buckets. So 16 in a row for the Knicks uh in this playoffs. Uh incredible run they've been on. Um, I mean, it's honestly astounding to watch, and it gives me a lot of hope for the Wolves just in general, where it's not necessarily as much about the team. But I mean, it is about the team build, obviously. Chemistry matters, but at the same time, like if you get hot at the right time, it doesn't really like you don't need to have the best team on paper to win a title. You need to be playing the best basketball in late April, May, and June. Play smart to be like which is really what bad like that's what sports should all be about, right? Like you like the team, like the Cinderella teams, the teams that are just playing the best bat, like the best ball at us at the right time of year, winning. Like that, that's what people tune in to watch sports for. Awesome story. So, what the hell happened to the Knicks? Because they're on this incredible run, they're playing the best ball in the league, and I can only think of one thing that changed. They didn't let the fans gather outside.

SPEAKER_00 40:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:25

Um, they they kind of had the the the Knicks district fired up outside of Madison Square Garden, and they took the Nick district down, and the Knicks went down. And there's only one person to blame for that. And that's our Fierous Leader 45-47, Donald Trump. Someone said 46 as well.

SPEAKER_02 40:44

I should say um someone just say 45.

SPEAKER_03 40:46

Yep. But uh also uh 46 and 47, and maybe 48 if we're if we're lucky enough. Um but yeah, I I the question I guess I'm here on this podcast to pose you guys on this lovely Tuesday evening is do the Knicks have a Trump problem?

SPEAKER_01 41:07

I think it's hard to deny that Trump didn't affect it. I mean, he kind of you know, obviously adds to the story. Everything Trump does becomes about him, just the way he likes it. And uh I I you know, I've never obviously, you know, my favorite team, the Wolves, has not made it to the finals. Um, but you know, I we felt that kind of that wolves energy, that that good playoff energy. So I can only imagine if there's like a bigger kind of hampering news story that also prevents you from being in kind of the heart of kind of your team's kind of like your team's heart, right? Your heartbeat, right? Your home stadium and and the area around that. You can't tell me that's not you know a damper, and that's not gonna make things weird and awkward, and you know, the question starts becoming, you know, are they gonna boo the president and all these things like that? I I think it definitely did take away from the Knicks. And I mean, they had the vibes going and they threw the ultimate uh I mean it only takes one. We've all been to a party, we've all been to a dinner, we've all been to uh an outing. Um, and all it takes is one bad apple to uh to draw down the vibe. 100%. And uh I think the Knicks unfortunately ran into that. The power of uh the Knickerbockers couldn't get through the uh dark cloud that uh sometimes is our current president.

SPEAKER_02 42:27

Yeah, I mean, it definitely it's honestly it's the ultimate version of bringing up politics at Thanksgiving, I think is if uh the person that is talked about the most if the president shows up, that's kind of bringing up politics. Um and I would also just so just so we don't seem like a biased podcast, uh, I told Jackson beforehand, if the wolves were in this situation and it was any other president coming and like shutting things down. First off, if I was a fan, the one thing I think when we waited, made it to the conference finals that I thought they could have done a better job at was the block party. It was like very much capped, and it was it was cool to walk through, like walk to the stadium and people be everywhere. But we've said it before last year, once we made the Western Conference Finals the second time, there was no like watch party outside. That is my dream to be at like a finals watch party outdoors with thousands of people. Um and I understand how you have to like you have to do that if the president's coming. Um, because it is. I mean, they were doing basically TSA checks to get into the game. Um, but it was like that was the entire leading up to the game for the last because it was a two-day break. That's what everyone was talking about. This person being there. Um and I think Mitchell Robinson got a little starstrup, probably didn't play as well as he could have. But I did not realize that Mitchell Robinson was uh I I saw those memes, so but yeah, it it definitely I I'd just be pissed if anyone uh like if if the wolves were on a 13. Game win streak, and Jesus himself was like, Should I go to the game? I'd be like, maybe just see how the game goes. Maybe go to the regular season game next year. I'd love to have you that type of thing.

SPEAKER_01 44:08

Governor or the mayor. Like, okay, if you're going to the game, and I know he's they're obviously lower like lower stakes potatoes, right? Lower lower stakes, but I don't want to hear that you're going to the game. Yeah. Post a photo maybe during the game, or you know, maybe they'll put you on the jumbotron during the game. I don't need to hear three days before the game. It was essentially a week before the game.

SPEAKER_02 44:31

The last week.

SPEAKER_01 44:33

The president might go to the game. The president might go to the game. And like, if you just know this president, you just know that's like he just wanted to like cloud chase. Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_03 44:43

And then he falls asleep. He's like, hey, is there some positive news in the US right now? Can I clip my name to it quick? Yeah, that'd be that'd be huge.

SPEAKER_01 44:51

And I will say this too about it, whatever. Without getting too political. Donald Trump and conservatives have been shitting pretty openly on the NBA. It's like one of their tentpole topics, you know, kind of like ESPN, right? If they don't have anything to talk about, they'll talk about the Lakers or the Cowboys. Um, you know, conservative media, you can always kind of shit on the NBA or like, you know, throw some ribs at it. Kind of like California as well. So I get it, Adam Silver. You're trying to be diplomatic, right? You're you're part of this whole America 250 thing, but and I knew he was gonna get asked about it, but you don't have to act like you're so thankful for this guy to come who's been shitting on your league. I mean, I think it does actually, arguably, I think that's literally his job.

SPEAKER_02 45:31

Probably does if he wants those TV deals to see.

SPEAKER_01 45:33

I understand that, but I was just like, damn. And I wasn't saying, like, fucking, you know, walk in with a Black Lives Matter shirt and be like, we don't want him to show he's not welcome here. But it's like, damn, I don't know. You'd be kind of badass. Stick up for the sh stick up for the logo a little bit. Like this he this guy is not a friend of the league, like at all. And we do not accept him in our brotherhood.

SPEAKER_03 45:52

If he would have like uh got up on that, because I mean I know the clip you're talking about where he kind of just like uh did his little song and dance, like praising Trump for like coming and whatever and how they're happy to have him. If he would have done all that in like a Black Lives Matter shirt, that would have been kind of hilarious.

SPEAKER_00 46:04

That would have been, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:05

It's like we're so happy to have the president here, just like with his like uh Kamala Harris sticker.

SPEAKER_01 46:11

I kind of wish that, like I don't know, but yeah, I don't know. Trump's an idiot. What can I say?

SPEAKER_03 46:16

Do you think uh if the Trump administration reaches out to the Knicks and is like, hey, can we like to come back for game six? Do you just say no?

SPEAKER_01 46:26

I think you say no. I think you just say we can't we can't do it. But remember, James Dolan, the owner of the Knicks, likes Trump. So yeah, that was also part of it, I think. But I think you say no just based off the fact it's like, hey man, like I think Knicks guys might have an aneurysm. It's just it's such fan disservice where you kind of have to step up, stand up for your fans. Yeah. And it's like it's not like Trump being at the game does anything for you. You probably lose money. Obviously, your operation fees, your operation costs go up. I mean, you operate out in New York, the majority of your fans don't like Trump.

SPEAKER_02 46:58

Yeah, so people are probably like not leaving their seats for concessions as much, considering there's like a secured secret service checkpoint to get back into your section. Yeah, so you're like, eh, I'm just gonna sit the second time.

SPEAKER_00 47:09

I'm just gonna grind it out. Yep. Yeah, I'm blaming Trump. Sorry.

SPEAKER_02 47:14

Yeah, yeah, it would just be for me. I think if they asked again, I think you'd probably you'd find a good excuse to say no so he doesn't get upset. But you could probably tell him, like, oh, this is how much money we lost. You could make up an ex-I don't know if they're doing outside of the arena concessions, but you could literally make up a lie and be like, Yeah, we lost some money not having like concessions at the watch party. We actually got good money for that or something like that.

SPEAKER_03 47:39

I like the angle, like we can't spare the security detail.

SPEAKER_01 47:41

Yeah, we can't give that much security here again that quick. Um, yeah, that was that was definitely a storyline. Um, but we'll see. I mean, the the the series got interesting after yesterday. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:54

Uh Justin. Yeah, staying on uh Nick Spurs wanted to uh talk a little bit about known around the league good guy, Victor Weminyama. Um who a couple weeks ago, I mean, you thought it he got a little criticism for trying to take someone's head off, and that turned into uh no, everyone, all the talking heads in sports were like, oh, blah blah blah, this, blah, blah, blah. He's a good guy. Uh, and then that's where I stand with Nick Wright on a lot of things. Um, most things actually, I stand with Nick Wright on. And his thing was, how do we know he's a good guy? And we even talked about that.

SPEAKER_00 48:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:31

Like we haven't, he hasn't been around. No, he's been in the league for three years. We don't know if he's a good guy or not. And uh, I think not just talking about Wemby. Obviously, I wanted to bring up him shoving Jalen Brunson to the ground. Uh, and who knows, it could just be a young player the moment getting to him. Um, Ant's never done anything like that during a game. Miss me with that through a chair after the game. Sorry, he shows a little emotion after a loss.

SPEAKER_03 48:56

Yeah, I don't think he was actually throwing the chair at the woman. Sorry to uh sorry all the Nuggets fans out there, but hate to break it to you. We'll we'll break it on the BTL pod. He was not throwing the chair at the woman.

SPEAKER_01 49:04

He ejected the chair, he did not necessarily throw the chair.

SPEAKER_02 49:08

Chair got in his way. I like the terminology. He ejected the chair in the heat of battle, he would never lose his composure like that. Uh, and it seems like Victor uh is having some hard times with his composure.

SPEAKER_03 49:18

That was a nasty shot to the back of the head, dude.

SPEAKER_02 49:21

Yeah, that was that was bad, and he's so much bigger than Jalen Brunson.

SPEAKER_01 49:26

I will terrible because he's always gonna be coming down, right? Like whenever you're striking down, it always looks more intentional because you're in theory, you can see what you're looking at. Like if you're swinging up, right?

SPEAKER_02 49:41

It's kind of more it can be considered like a blind swing, and you got gravity on your side to give you a little extra strength. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 49:48

Like you're coming down on a guy, like yeah, but no, you can go.

SPEAKER_02 49:54

But that I was just gonna say to go further off that that entire game, it was a very it was one of those. I like, do I think pro sports are rigged? No, it's too big to rig, there's too much money involved. Um, but it was officiated in a way where that was the perfect game for the talking heads on Twitter who do like to talk about how sports are rigged, to be like, oh, the NBA obviously wanted the Spurs back in this, they got more calls going their way. And for the most part, I do like another reason. Obviously, there's many reasons. I could talk about how I want the wolves in the finals for hours, every episode till that for the end, till the end of time. Um but one of the reasons is the finals whistle, they let the players play rough, and I think that would benefit us a lot. Um, but that's what kind of threw me off about yesterday is throughout there will be periods in the game where they are playing sometimes, both teams will be playing sloppy, and it might be just because the other teams are so good, but they'll just be running up and down the court just smoking each other, and I like that they let them play, but then once in a while there will be plays where at least last night it seemed like the Spurs were on the better end of a lot of the calls. Um and I hope, I mean, I think the Spurs are a very good team. I think they would have won the game anyways, but there were a lot of calls last night where I was like, uh, it does kind of seem like they want this series to go a little longer.

SPEAKER_01 51:12

Yeah, I wasn't watching with volume on for most of the game yesterday, so I kind of missed the whole foul thing. Watching, I didn't feel like the whole foul disparity was bad. Um, so it's kind of hard for me to comment on. I didn't like how Mike Brown brought it up right away. I just think that in the finals, I don't know. I get it. Like the stakes are higher, so you're a little bit more emotional. I just never liked the excuse of the rest, especially in the championship. Um, and especially in a game that you could have won still. It's not like you were I don't know, you know, it's not like they were down 15 to 20 the whole game and couldn't really get back in the game. Uh they had chances to still win it, but um no, I but I do agree with you in general, and I think that's like where fans and you get the disconnect between like fans and like referees. It's like if you're gonna let it be physical, then you can't like start. It becomes harder to then be like, okay, we're allowing a physical game, but this one team's being more physical by like the nth degree, so we're gonna start calling a bunch more fouls on them. Like, you almost lose your right as a ref to like use your discernment of being who of saying who's more physical when you're allowing physical basketball from the get-go, and that's what's why people get pissed off because it's like, what are we doing now? Um, but I I think the Knicks, I mean, for me, the Spurs won because they just got off to a really hot start right away, and you know, Kat didn't play very well, and Jalen Brunson, who has not really played that great in the series, um has just isn't very efficient. So Spurs are a pretty efficient team when they get rolling. Uh we kind of talked about it, how they just play good basketball. Um, they're not necessarily a great shooting team, they're you know, they can shoot, but like not necessarily a great shooting team, not necessarily a great, I mean, they are a great painting team with Wemby, but they just play really good team basketball, which really kind of puts them above. And I just think last night reminded me, I was like, oh yeah, this is why the Spurs are here. Like the way they started, I'm like, yeah, Castle was cooking, like Wemby caught some lobs. I'm like, yeah, this is why they're probably the best team in the NBA.

SPEAKER_03 53:19

Yeah, I and I agree with you. Like, I don't like when it always comes down. I I don't like when they try to flip the um the purpose for the loss to be like the league is rigged or like the the way that it was officiated, because we all know like keeping the main thing the main thing, the reason why they lost is because Donald Trump was in the talked about it first.

SPEAKER_01 53:38

Yeah, true. We already nipped it in the bud.

SPEAKER_02 53:40

I I mean I do get Mike Brown though. We saw Chris Finch. One thing I do like about him this past season is he has been very about this, and I don't necessarily look at it as an excuse blaming it on the refs. I think it's more of a especially in the finals on a national scale of let me call these guys out so if this happens again, then you're gonna be worried about well, I don't want to make it seem like we're trying to call it for the other team. Um, and of all the sports where you can talk about things being rigged, the NBA is the one sport where it has happened before of referees not necessarily rigging things, but rigging them for their personal benefit, not the league's benefit. But yeah, um, so yeah, I'm I think that's the reason he called it out. But yeah, Kat, I mean, there was at one point in the fourth quarter I remember looking at the box score, and I was like, he's doing what he did in Minnesota sometimes where he just wouldn't take threes anymore. Like, you're the best shooting big the self-proclaimed and most likely the best shooting big man of all time. Shoot some damn threes. Like just get a couple shots up just to get them up. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:42

No, yeah. I think the Knicks kind of ran into ran out of steam. Donald Trump obviously being there didn't help.

SPEAKER_03 54:48

No, yeah, I I I truly do think it was just an issue where the Spurs executed better in the fourth quarter than the Knicks did. Like it was a back and forth game. I think the reason why it was so back and forth and close might have been a little bit because of the officiating, but um the the fourth quarter was not an issue with the officiating, in my opinion. The fourth quarter was the Spurs just executed better.

unknown 55:07

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 55:07

I do agree with you though, Justin, where like, or in YouTube Jackson, where it's like, yeah, I bitch about Mike Brown saying that, but it is politicking, right? Like we've seen this many times where you call the refs out hard. You gotta do it one media availability, and then things will change. Um, I think it's it is part of the game.

SPEAKER_03 55:25

If they didn't have the precedent of actually changing how they were gonna officiate, then I would be like, Can we stop doing this? But they actually do change, yeah. They actually do switch it up. Weird because it's like, okay, like okay, but then you fit.

SPEAKER_01 55:35

To me, that almost submits to blame. I mean, but yeah, it is what it is.

SPEAKER_03 55:40

I I don't mind the accountability though.

SPEAKER_01 55:42

I don't even. Um, okay, I'll kick myself for the final nuggets. And mine's not too much of a nugget, um, but I saw Kyler Murray uh again talking today to the media a little bit about uh their ASEAN kind of the difficulties of you know learning the offense, you know, your cliche kind of camp questions to a new quarterback or a new guy on the offense. And he kind of you know, he answered it mostly cliche, you know, you know, learning, you know, meeting new guys, learning new systems. But he mentioned that splitting reps um is difficult. And if you know anything about the NFL or football in general, pretty much after high school, like the idea of like a 50-50 like rep split um with like your starters and your backups is not a thing anymore. Uh your starters, at least when I was in practice, like if you ran 10 plays in a segment, your starters would take seven, um, and then the second strings would take three, and then you'd you know go to the next set of plays. So I kind of get what he's saying, and obviously he's been in Arizona, he's been the undisputed number one while he's been there. Um, even mostly at his time at Oklahoma, too. Like he was probably not splitting reps. Kid probably hasn't split reps ever. So that's I was gonna say, yeah. Um, so I think it's interesting, and you know, I I another week could be talking about JJ and then Kyler, but it does make me wonder. Obviously, you're probably not gonna determine a starter during this OTA period, but as much as KOC wants to be kind of passive about this, I think early on in Campy is going to need to just come out to the media and declare a starter. I know he is adverse to doing that because he seems like it doesn't really like hurting feelings, which you know knock Zimmer all you want. He was gonna tell you what was going on, you know he's gonna tell you what the depth chart was. Um, but I think you know, eventually, like in camp, he's got to pull the bandit off because I don't want 50-50 reps with JJ and and Kyler. If JJ's the guy, give him the reps and let him be the starter. If Kyler's a guy, give him the reps, let him be the starter so he can be his best. And let's just kind of end this quarterback controversy. I even heard J Mac talking about it on um the herd, how it's the most interesting quarterback battle this offseason, which it is kind of true. There aren't a ton going on, which helps, but you know, we're still kind of an NBA final season, we're still kind of in NHL season, so we're not getting all of those hot reports quite yet, right? That daily kind of camp reporting. So I think we just avoid that controversy as the best we can. And I would just name a starter as soon as you can, if I was Kevin O'Connell. I know it might upset JJ or Kyler if he doesn't win the job. Um, but you know, his job isn't to make sure that Kyler Murray or JJ McCarthy's happy. Uh, his job is to make sure the Vikings are uh competitive in every game that you know that he's the head coach on the sideline. So something that stuck out to me. How long are we gonna entertain this quarterback battle? If it is truly a quarterback battle, that's to me, that means that's good because that means that JJ McCarthy's actually improving. But I have a hard time believing that he's made leaps and bounds since last year. I I do believe he's probably improved, but um yeah, I don't want this whole 50-50 thing dragging on and it becoming the the the B topic on uh the herd and on ESPN as we get into the uh dog days of summer.

SPEAKER_02 59:06

Yeah, I mean it is or just what are we doing a week, two weeks removed from the infamous classroom quote by JJ McCarthy. Uh still blows my mind that he said that. Um, but yeah, it is kind of I like part of me feels as if this is going on one, if this was reversed, if it wasn't Kyler, it's not reversed, but let's say Kyler wasn't here and it was gonna be a camp battle with Carson Wentz or whatever. I think the reason for not announcing a starter would be okay, we know JJ's gonna start, but obviously we need to have him motivated into the season. Um, right now, like I said, I still stand by it, and this is all I've heard out of camp. Kyler Murray is obviously going to be the starting quarterback for the Vikings.

SPEAKER_00 59:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 59:52

I think like part of me realizes this to see if you can like just build up JJ's mental toughness a little bit, or is it do you want to keep his stock as high as you can so you can maybe get a fifth round pick come August if you want to trade him? Can we get a fifth instead of a seventh? That type of thing. Um, and people you you'll have people on there's basketball trades that piss me off. I can't be as pissed because the Lakers pulled off what they did last year. So when I see I saw one recently, I don't know if it was an ant for Austin Reeves, straight up. Saw that. I think I think I saw that today.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:29

Saw that's I saw that today.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:31

I was gonna say it came across my timeline today, and I'm like, this is such bullshit that they can they have a reason to believe this now. Um, because that is basically the equivalent like kind of similar considering AD was old, but when it comes to the NFL, when people are like, oh, JJ McCarthy was a first-round pick, of all the leagues, there's no league that is more as soon as you make that first round pick, that first round pick is now worth like a second round pick. And once once he plays a game, if he's not a stud, now it's worth a third round pick. After a season or two, it's like the NFL of all leagues is like that. So yeah, I'm interested. I don't know if they're trying to get him to compete or if they're just trying to keep his stock high.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:11

No, yeah, I think that's a good angle.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:12

I mean, I think they're just invested in getting him reps. I mean, you have Kyler Murray for a year, so uh, I think the idea is still, I would assume that JJ McCarthy is the quarterback of the future. It's just he might not be the quarterback of this year. Um, but because he's the quarterback of the future, you'd have to still give him reps. So I I don't foresee this being wrapped anytime soon, personally, just because of that. Because I like it unless they can figure like the moment they can get a deal done with Kyler to extend him for a longer period of time, then I think they would be willing to defer to him as the starter. But until that's the case, like it's funny because like I don't I don't think any of us are under the impression till start it'll start week one or any game that Kyler's healthy for that matter. Um, but he's still the franchise guy.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:02

Still the franchise quarterback, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:03

So um I I think until he is no longer the franchise quarterback, they're gonna try to keep getting him reps.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:11

Yeah, I'm interested to see if our new GM, Nolan Teasley, who we got from uh he was the assistant GM with the Seahawks. I'm curious to see if he starts talking more about the roster publicly, you know, and we get crumbs from him and pick up on his thoughts on just you know JJ specifically. I mean, that that's probably gonna be the first question he gets. It's gotta be too early, man. I know. They're probably protecting him for a little bit, but eventually he's gonna have to face the media. Um eventually have to face the media. We'll wrap there. Good, good little episode there. Good to get back into it. Uh, hope you enjoyed BTLPO episode 192. Go share with whoever friends, family, anything. We'll talk about a lot of work, NFL, NBA, a lot of range on this one. Hope you enjoyed it. Share with the coworkers. Uh at Twitter at the 242, Instagram, two lines zero. Subscribe, like the video share, five, back to next tweet, and we have to do that.