Two for the Win
Mike is a U.S. Navy Veteran and Bryan has more than a decade of civil service experience. Together, these blue collar guys dissect the latest sports headlines and events.
Two for the Win
Two For The Win - E36 - Funny Nicknames, Blockbuster Trades & When Fans Cross The Line
The heat of summer brings scorching developments across the sports landscape as we dive deep into what's making headlines across the NBA, MLB, and NFL worlds.
The NBA Finals delivered a dramatic Game 7 showdown between Oklahoma City and Indiana that lived up to every expectation, though Tyrese Haliburton's devastating Achilles tear cast a shadow over the Pacers' valiant effort. We break down why this championship series deserved more recognition and examine the record number of Achilles injuries plaguing the league this season.
Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is quietly making baseball history, surpassing Johnny Bench's record for most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break. With 28 homers already, he's on pace for a staggering 63 this season – potentially challenging Aaron Judge's overall record. Meanwhile, we explore Brewers rookie pitcher Jacob Mizorowski's unprecedented start to his career with 11 no-hit innings.
The conversation turns serious when discussing the Diamondbacks fan who crossed an unforgivable line by mocking Kendall Marte about his deceased mother, resulting in a lifetime MLB ban. This incident opens up needed dialogue about the boundaries of fan behavior and the humanity of athletes.
From Kevin Durant's blockbuster trade to Houston to Aaron Rodgers' curious comments upon joining the Steelers, we cover the most significant player movements reshaping both the NBA and NFL landscapes. Plus, we examine what the NBA's increasingly international draft class signals about basketball's global expansion.
Join us for this comprehensive sports roundup that combines breaking news, thoughtful analysis, and the passion that makes sports worth following through these summer months.
June 26 2025. Welcome back everybody for another episode of sports talk. I'm Brian with an eye and I'm Mike and we are two for the win. We are in our last week of June, one week before Independence Day. Mike, the world's heating up. Sports are heating up. What are's heating up? Sports are heating up. What are we heating up.
Speaker 2:Man sports is heating up, so we got the NBA draft. That just happened. We had a game seven in the NBA finals. That was hot, but not so hot for one of the players. The MLB is going through the dog days of summer, so they're rolling right along getting ready for the All-Star game and NFL still squeaking some news out there, but we're ever closer to the beginning of that season.
Speaker 1:Man. I'll tell you what. I can't wait to jump into some of these subjects here, but real quick, at the top of our episode I want to thank our sponsors and partners. Okay, number one Body by D Gym, located in Yorktown. Another location in Gloucester, virginia, solace Outfitters, who you may be familiar with, came on our show a couple weeks ago and Giving Tree Chiropractic Service, located down there on South Rosemont Road. Justin's very good at what he does. He has a walk-in chiropractic practice. I highly recommend it. It's very affordable for most people. As we move forward into the show, I just want to say our hearts and thoughts go out to Ryan Millett and Gary Philbin. I'll hit on each of these individuals one by one here. Ryan Millett was drafted Mallet. I always heard Millett. Mike says Mallet Mallet iset is something you know, a tool to me, but anyway he shouldn't talk about him like that you're you're very right, I was a little bit light-hearted.
Speaker 1:But uh, you know, mallet spent seven years as an nfl quarterback. He wasn't necessarily household name but I remember when he got drafted, okay, he bounced around New England, houston, texans, baltimore, you know came out of Arkansas, so he had a very good tenure with the NFL. He had a very good reputation and, you know, in 2020, he was offered a job as assistant coach at Mountain Home High in Arkansas and then he became the head coach at Whitehall in 2022. So was starting to become was a little bit of a decorated player and starting to become a decorated coach towards the end of his life. So our thoughts and prayers go out to him and the communities affected by his passing.
Speaker 1:And then Jets Ring of Honor member Gary Philbin passed away at the age of 83. Gary Philbin was leading SACR on the 1968 Jets, unofficially, because you know they didn't tally things like they did, you know they didn't have the stats game like we have it now, but unofficially, tallying 14 QB takedowns over the course of that regular season and their historic upset win over the Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl. Philbin paced a defense that forced the NFL champs into five turnovers, three interceptions by NFL MVP Earl Morrell, one by John Unitas and one fumbled by him as well, and held the then 15-1 Colts to a season-low seven points. So again, another decorated member of the NFL, and our hearts and prayers go out to him and his family and that community as well. So thank you for everything, ryan Mallett and Gary Philbin, that you did and all of the sports entertainment that you brought to our households during the times that you were there. Mike, are you ready to talk about some sports, bro? Yes, I am.
Speaker 1:Let's dive in.
Speaker 2:So recently the Mets and unfortunately by the time we were recording this, the player's been DFA'd. But for a day it was pretty funny because the Mets brought up a player who had his first name is Richard. His last name is Lovelady. Now, given the obvious humor in this, he told the Mets he doesn't want to be called Richard, or by the shortened version of Richard, he said he wants to be called Dickie. So he wanted to be Dickie Lovelady. So there's some humor in that, if you have a good sense of humor. But unfortunately for him he did not have a good outing against the Braves and he was TFA'd the next day, so short-lived. I'm sure he'll bounce back and be on another team or just wind up in the minors and work his way back up. But it started to ask the question do we remember some other really funny names we've had over the years?
Speaker 1:Boy, have we got a list here for you, right? Sounds like, by the way, Dickie Lovelady, if he's not careful, might be in a new line of work. The way, Dickie Lovelady, if he's not careful might be in a new line of work, especially with a name like that.
Speaker 2:All I can say is he's got the best setup for the porn game.
Speaker 1:Yeah and you know, just starting off, we're going to go through all these names, but we'll pick out our favorites, right, we'll go back and forth for a few of them.
Speaker 2:And it's going to be across all sports, it's not just one or the other. Yeah, it's across all sports.
Speaker 1:I'm starting here with number one at the top of my list. Cocoa Crisp Reminds me of one of my favorite childhood cereals.
Speaker 2:So beyond that we'll move over to NASCAR, where a common favorite. When I was growing up, people making fun of Dick Trickle Dick.
Speaker 1:Trickle. Now that's funny. Uh, longer, longer. He is a. Uh, this guy, what this guy do? I think he's a. He's a college basketball uh player well, how about?
Speaker 2:how about trickle? How about this one uh Former baseball player, steve Shartz?
Speaker 1:Steve Shartz yeah, and then we have. Mr Freeze. Andy Freeze Reminds me of Mr Freeze from Batman, one of my favorite all-time villains.
Speaker 2:Well, does anybody remember the baseball player milton bradley? Yeah, I wonder if he has any stake in the board game company and then let's see, here we got.
Speaker 1:Uh, you know, there's some interesting Yinka Dare.
Speaker 2:What about for football? Fair Hooker.
Speaker 1:Are the hookers fair? Fair Hooker.
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 1:And then we have Dick Pohl. Now that's a winner, right there, that's a baseball player. I got to say Dick.
Speaker 2:Or for football, Harry.
Speaker 1:Cullen. Now that's funny because I've heard Harry Johnson, have not heard Harry Cullen. Could you imagine, Mike, for a second, what it would be like having a diagnosis with Harry Cullen? Like, do you imagine a doctor telling you there shouldn't be hair up?
Speaker 2:in there, you're right.
Speaker 1:There shouldn't be hair up in there. Could you imagine saying well, you got a Harry Cullen, sir, so we're going to have to address that.
Speaker 2:Well, I think everybody's heard this one before, but it's the oldie but a goodie. Dick Buttkiss.
Speaker 1:Dick Buttkiss another classic. And then we'll go ahead and get one more, Mike, I'll let you pull it out there.
Speaker 2:What a choice of words there. Yeah, you're right. What about General Booty, general Booty, general Booty, I like that one. Or Johnny Dickshot, johnny Dickshot.
Speaker 1:Clearly a history of funny names, or Chubby Cox, chubby Cox, a lot of them, oddly enough, penis related.
Speaker 2:I know, I know Not too many vagina related ones.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I imagine those might not go over quite as funny or as well, but still funny nonetheless. It's always fun to make fun of them.
Speaker 2:But one thing not to make fun of.
Speaker 1:That's right, I was just about to pull it up.
Speaker 2:You go ahead, sir. That's right. I was just about to pull it up. You go ahead, sir. So if you asked people and you said who has the most home runs in baseball? They might say Judge, they might say Otani, and you know what? They'd be completely wrong.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, and Judge was on that list. Still kind of is.
Speaker 2:So the reason we bring this up? Because we want to give some shine and put a little light on Cal Raleigh. He plays for the Seattle Mariners, one of our buddy Micah's favorite players. He actually has set a record for starting catchers. He passes Johnny Bench for the most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break. He has 28 home runs. He actually in this past series against the Cubs he hit four in that series. So he's having himself a season. He's on pace for 63 home runs this year. If he keeps this up, I'm telling you man.
Speaker 1:Which, by the way, that would shatter the current standing record, which is 48, by the Royals' Salvador Perez. So you're talking about an absolute neck-break speed. He's moving on this record here. By the way, he could also edge out aaron judge's record, which was set in 2022 62.
Speaker 2:Okay, so judge is in the line of fire here as well hey, all I know is when they signed cal raleigh to a big long-term deal, I told my buddy that's a mariners fan. I said that's the best signing y'all have ever done, because you've had players, great players, and they've walked away, but this time you didn't let the one go. That needs to stay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, good job Because he's a great player. Good job on landing one. You guys, you guys are going somewhere.
Speaker 2:Speaking of greatness. We had mentioned this player before. We had talked about this Brewers player. Now, the Brewers player we talked about, we were talking about Mizorowski.
Speaker 1:I'm going to let you do that one. I usually butcher them pretty well.
Speaker 2:Look so Jacob Mizorowski, who is a young pitcher. Look this guy. He's doing stuff that's rarefied there, so this isn't all. In one shot he's had 11 no-hit innings to start his career. Now it's over two different games, so he didn't have a perfect game or anything like that. But this dude, like I'm telling you, this guy's stuff is electric.
Speaker 2:He's going to be, one of the best players. Hopefully, if he keeps this up, he'll be one of the best pitchers in baseball, and recently he just had a matchup against Paul Skeen, so you had him and Paul Skeen on the same field, when both these guys can hit triple digits and locate their fastball like nobody's business.
Speaker 1:Oh, this kid's 23 years old too, so yeah he's. He's rather young, uh, for being in the pros. Uh, so you just a great standout performance? Obviously, hopefully not, but he may slow down a little bit. But 11 innings, was that through? Two games?
Speaker 2:you said it was through two different games that he compiled 11 no-hit innings. Nobody has really done that in baseball, so that's a okay. I want to get this right because he deserves to have this light. So he is the first starting pitcher to begin their career with 11 no-hit innings since 1900. 1900. Nineteen hundred. So we're talking 125 years. Nobody's done this. And think about the names, Think about all the great pitchers we've had come up who have not accomplished this feat.
Speaker 1:I'm thinking of a name right now, and it's from Fierce Bueller's Day Off 19 days in a row. Anyway, sorry, that reminded me of that. Okay, we need to get a cricket sound in here, because the silence is deafening it is.
Speaker 2:It is, but anyway, point being got to check out this picture with the Brewers. I'm sure he's going to start showing everybody who he is Once they finally get a game. That's like a primetime game and everybody gets to see him. He's just going to take off.
Speaker 1:I want to hit on something here real quick. This is a young man trying to come into his professional prime. What do you think is going through his mind right now? How to handle the big stage, how to handle the pressure. What do you think you know he's dealing with behind closed doors with his family, like well, let's dive into this for a second.
Speaker 2:This is where you ever heard the term locker room guy. This is where veteran guys like you'll see a guy that's a veteran. He just kind of sticks around. He seems to be on a bench on every team for a little bit. These guys, a lot of times they're the ones that are helping these younger guys deal with that transition. They're the ones that are trying to make them get out of their headspace, make them laugh, or pulling a prank on them so they lighten up and get into their fun zone and get to the point where they're comfortable so they'll play better.
Speaker 2:Yep, so honestly, I feel like he's going to be okay. He just he has some veterans around him. They can kind of show him the ropes. And there's a few young guys on the Brewers that are good players in their own right that are going to probably say, hey, man, this is what I tried. Or hey, man, make sure you get into this routine, or make sure you do this before you go out there to help you with nerves. Or hey, it's going to be super hot. You may want to take this stuff to help you stay hydrated.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and obviously veteran leadership helps a lot, especially with trying to learn how to calm your nerves and handle the big stage. So obviously, especially with the performance he's had, he's doing well, right, he's obviously handling it well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I mean, I think the real test is when you have a bad game, how do you bounce back from a bad game.
Speaker 1:Exactly, everybody can be great until they're not. It's how you move past that and keep going forward.
Speaker 2:It's kind of like the old Mike Tyson line Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. That's right. So right now he hasn't been punched in the mouth yet, but when that changes, how does he deal with that? And hopefully he can move past it? And talking about moving past some things, look, there are things like in sports. We all know there's trash talk. There's, you know, trying to get in people's heads. You know there's always. There's always a line, though there are lines you do not cross and there are things you do not do. And recently in a Diamondbacks game, kendall Marte, the second baseman for the Diamondbacks. He had a situation in the game and I commend him for having composure and not doing anything about it, because I don't know how many people would have had the same composure. So apparently he's on the field and this heckler is berating him, talking about his mom who passed away in a car crash in the Dominican Republic back in 2017.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Now most people, their mom is their world, Like they love their mom. Their mom is everything to them. And for this guy to feel like it's okay to parade him and joke him and bring up something that is so hurtful about losing your parent suddenly, yeah is a low blow.
Speaker 2:It is a classless dickhead move. Yeah, and I, I am anybody that acts like this, like I've heard. You know New York fans berating pitchers in the bullpen. You know making fun of them because their wife left them and stuff. Y'all are the lowest of the low, classless people.
Speaker 1:No, I honestly, Mike, I agree with you and I think that is also a sign of the times we're living in, and especially as social media kind of desensitizes us to the things that we say to each other Like, look, we should be building each other up Right now, it's okay to, it's fun to heckle okay, well, let's. But you can't be classless, right? So?
Speaker 2:there's a difference between heckling or trying to get in somebody's head, and then there's just being an asshole. This is being an asshole and I'm sorry I'm being so blunt about this, but this just really infuriates me. This guy if I had my way, I would say Kendall Marte is allowed to hit this guy with no repercussions. That's what I would like to see, but that's not what we do in this society. But I will say this Major League Baseball, I am so happy with you and I am 100% thankful for what you did.
Speaker 1:Major League Baseball found out who this fan was and he is permanently banned from all major league stadiums for life yeah, and don't get me wrong, I'm not gonna, you know, I don't want to pile too much onto this particular individual. People make mistakes. But, like I agree is messed up and I think they made the right move. Oh, I do miss the days where you could punch somebody in the face and it would either be a fight or they'd back down and there wouldn't be any repercussions really to it. It was mano-a-mano right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you just get your ass kicked and it's over.
Speaker 1:Now that is something, or you kick their ass. Serious discipline, in my opinion, is missing from today's world, because people now can legitimately I mean they can't say whatever they want, but people do say whatever they want without a thought, and they don't understand or consider how it's going to impact the people they're saying it to, or the people they don't understand how it's going to impact themselves. When you say things, people begin to form an opinion about you as well.
Speaker 2:So if you want a good reference of what good trash talk is for baseball, I have to reference it. Watch Sandlot, when the two teams go against each other and the catcher is just talking trash to every batter. When they come up he's like hey man, is that your sister in the outfield? She want to go out for a date. She into fat guys, stuff like that. Or like you know one thing that I used to do when I was playing, you know I'd sit there and I'd get struck out looking. Sometimes the catcher would be like what are you doing? No, no, I was just window shopping, man, sorry.
Speaker 1:Walk catcher, be like what are you doing? None now. It's just window shopping. Man, sorry, walk off. Yeah, yeah, and some of them are borderline, but you really need to understand that there is a line you don't cross, like you don't talk about people's families and parents and girlfriends, especially when you probably know that they went through a lot, especially if that person has passed away, is no longer with us, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I also want to commend the coach of the Diamondbacks. He came out and consoled his player and so did a couple of the guys in the infield. They kind of gathered around him and showed support because they knew he was hurt and he was crying. He was literally crying, yeah, because of what this guy was saying to him. And now I know, I know people will be like oh, it's fucking soft, yeah, you, you lose a parent suddenly, like that and see how you still feel about it, and but I, I, I also wanted to kick out a couple other things, like some trash talk that used to come out playing before you before you go into that, I want you to hold that thought, because there's the one thing you just hit on struck a nerve with me.
Speaker 1:It's this emotion thing. It's this stereotype that men don't have emotions. Men have a lot of emotions and sometimes those emotions are more powerful than what women show, right? Um, everyone has the right to be emotional and to show that emotion, regardless of whether you know anger. You don't like to see anger, but you like to see people manage their anger well. You like to see people handle it well, but you do have a right to be angry. You have a right to be sad, right? You have a right to express yourself, especially as a a man. So me in particular, I'm getting tired of this. Men don't show emotion, shit. Because men have a lot of emotions and it's, I think it's healthy for them to show more of it than to push it down and pack it down, because that's not healthy either.
Speaker 2:Okay, so, getting back to some of the trash talk, uh, you know there's plenty of it across all sports. Yeah, and it's a part of the game. But, like we said, there's a line. You know one I used to hear sometimes. You know, you'd swing as hard as you could, you'd hit the ball and you'd be like, dang it. You just popped it right up and then the catcher would be like, oh, you got a hold of that one. Let me get it real quick. Ah, you catch it right at home plate, that's right. Or you're sitting there playing basketball and somebody goes to take a shot and you just break Classic. You know, yeah, because you knew it was a break Break. Or you know, yeah, Because you knew it was a brick Brick. Or you know like, oh, bud Air, here he's putting up another air ball.
Speaker 1:Killing the rainbows, bruh you got to connect.
Speaker 2:You know there's just tons of them, tons of them. And you know what? I would encourage our fans or anybody that feels like doing it, go ahead and go to our social media and throw up some of our. You know some of the trash talk you heard, you know, and let's keep it. You know, okay, you know like let's not go too personal, but you know there's some trash talk. That's fun, it's part of it. You know it'd be like the guy who's a wide receiver and the corner's like I'm going to be here all day, you ain't doing nothing, I ain't going to be right in your back pocket. That kind of stuff. There's no way you can sit there and play sports and not have a little trash talk. But let's keep it classy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, put your favorite heckling up there. What's your favorite heckle? If you have, go up there and let us know. Let it rip, you know. But obviously, like we were just saying, be cordial.
Speaker 2:Well, like the fans you know, sometimes they'll say stuff like we need a pitcher, not a belly itcher.
Speaker 1:That's always been a classic one. Or pitcher's got a big butt. Yeah, I like big butts myself. Might be because of that heckle, to be honest with you.
Speaker 2:I don't think you want to walk into the club and be like yo, baby, you a pitcher, you got a big butt. It might not go over. Well, she might just look at you confused like what the hell's wrong with this guy? But let's run down some MLB standings real quick. It might not go over. Well, she might just look at you confused like what the hell is wrong with this guy? Yeah, but let's run down some MLB standings real quick, you know, and get to see who's leading and what. So right now for the AL East, the leader in that division is the New York Yankees. Unfortunately, with their 46-34 record, they're only up half a game on Tampa. Tampa's got a 46-35 record, so they're right on pace and not too far behind them. The Toronto Blue Jays, at 43-37, are only three games out. So that's getting a little tighter there in the East. So, moving on to the AL Central, detroit Tigers, still with the best record in baseball at 51 wins and 31 losses, are up nine games on the Cleveland Indians.
Speaker 1:Nine and a half games. So they're getting pretty comfortable, very comfortable lead here. Yeah, so the big dogs are starting to separate? Yeah, well, I mean it's still.
Speaker 2:we still got a lot a long starting to separate. Yeah Well, I mean we've still got a long way to go.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of baseball left to play, but there's a few of these teams really starting to pull ahead here.
Speaker 2:So right now in the AL West we have the Houston Astros still leading that at a 48-33 record, up six and a half games on the Seattle Mariners. So I guess Cal Raleigh's home runs ain't rallying them to first place. But keep going, they'll. They have just as much of a good chance of getting back up in there as anybody. So the NL East we have the New York Mets leading that division. They finally came back and they actually they're tied to the Phillies. They both have the same record at 47-34.
Speaker 1:I got to give it to the Phillies here for keeping pace, because they were toward the bottom of this division to start the season.
Speaker 2:Well, actually the Braves were at the very bottom because we started 0-7. They're only 9.5 games back and they've been owning the Mets. This year, the Mets have finally won a game against them.
Speaker 1:Yep 47-47,. Not bad going neck and neck there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because the Mets have won two out of their last ten games. So that's not really a good recipe when the Braves have got like six and four over their last ten games. But moving on to the NL Central, the Cubs are leading that with a 48-33 record, with only a three-game lead over those Brewers and only a four-and-a-half game lead over those Cardinals. So that's still a little tight.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:You know, no breathing room really. So, going over to the NL West, the Dodgers still leading that and actually I misspoke earlier. The Dodgers actually have the same record as the Tigers at 51-31. So they're leading the division, but they also are pulling away, because right now the second-place team, the Padres, is six games back. The third-place team is six-and-a-half games back, so they're pulling away in their division.
Speaker 1:Look, the Dodgers are absolutely killing it. They're not going to miss a beat, and now they got Shohei back. They're on a four-game win streak and they've won eight out of their last ten. That might be.
Speaker 2:Well, and here's the thing that is the best so far league-wide. Well, right now Astros also have a four-game win streak, yeah, but they've only won seven last ten.
Speaker 1:So I'm giving the edge to the Dodgers here on that one, but I'm not saying they won't catch up. Like you say, we still have a lot of baseball left to play, but the Dodgers defending champs clearly coming in strong here.
Speaker 2:I think manager Dave Roberts earned some flowers here because he's really been struggling with his team, because they've been having injury after injury when it comes to their starting rotation and he's been just figuring it out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and let's dive into that for a second. Like as a manager, when you're hit and you're hit and you're hit, you got injuries. You may or may not have some locker room issues. Like as a leader, mike, how do you keep them going and playing strong, right? What? What do you think is being said? You know, to overcome these things that they're dealing with?
Speaker 2:Well, it's like in any sport, you have to have that next man up mentality and all of your players need to have the same goal, you know, have that same vision of keep it moving, keep it in the same direction and keep your routine. Most of these players, especially with baseball, these players have a routine. They get in. Maybe their routine is they got to eat something, then they got to go lift, and then maybe go run a little bit, maybe get into the cage, whatever have you?
Speaker 2:All these players have a routine and they like to stay on that routine and it's kind of hard when you have players that are going down and that routine is being disrupted. So like maybe the guy that you're going and you're doing your your short and long tosses with, he's not in. Or the guy you usually go out and start doing stretches with, he's hurt, so he can't go and do stretches with you. You know, I mean they have trainers, they have coaches, but keep in mind there's not as many coaches as there are players. You have 27 players on a diamond, you know, for each team, between the bullpen, the bench and the starters.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, what do?
Speaker 2:you think About what? About the?
Speaker 1:manager's role. No, no, you just named off all of it I'm talking about. I had a thought y'all, I just lost it. That happens sometimes. So you know, words are hard. What do we say? Every episode, right? Words are hard.
Speaker 2:Apparently thinking's hard.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah thinking is also hard. But you know, with that being said, uh, baseball offering not just a lot of good competition but also a lot of good opportunities for growth as well. Okay, uh, personal growth. Let's talk some wmba action here, right, we don't have terribly much on here. I know angel reese has been on fire recently. I don't have the stats in front of me, but I do know one of Kayla Clark's teammates, sophie Cunningham. From that on-court dispute they had from trying to defend Clark, her jersey sales have shot up. I mean, she was, you know, suspended from the game, but you know people love a good fight, especially from the game, but people love a good fight, especially, apparently, when it's between women. So everything for her shot up Social media presence, jersey sales. Even though she got pulled off the court for a little bit, she's seen some success as a result of standing up for her teammate, kaitlyn Clark had a little bit of a rough run here recently, as well as the overall Indiana fever because just sitting at the number eight spot here through this part of the season.
Speaker 1:We'll go ahead and dive into these standings though real quick. Top of the list, minnesota Lynx, 12 wins, two losses and New York Liberty just hot on their tail. New York Liberty and Mercury and Atlanta Dream just hot on their tail. New York Liberty and Mercury and Atlanta Dream just hot on their tail. These teams in the top five are rather tight, okay. And then sitting at number five, seattle Storm with 9-6 record. These guys, or these ladies, are putting on a show here Inaugural season for Golden State Valkyries. They're 500. They're 500. They're 500, 7-7.
Speaker 1:We got four teams here sitting at roughly 7-7, one of them at 7-8. The Vegas Aces at number 7, indiana Fever at 7-7, and the Washington Mystics at 7-8. And then bringing up the back of the pack here, chicago Sky. Even though Angel Reese is having a relatively good last couple weeks, last couple games, they're still sitting at 4-10, followed by Los Angeles Sparks at 4-11. Dallas Wings are 4-12. And then the Connecticut Sun bringing up the Caboose at 2-13. Not a lot of, you know, not a terrible amount of hope for them through the rest of the season. But you know I like the shakeup here. So not bad, and that's what we got for WNBA on that note. But let's dive into some NBA action here. Game 7, right? I?
Speaker 2:want to.
Speaker 1:The final is delivered I want a little bit.
Speaker 2:I want a little bit of acknowledgement. I know I kind of went out on a limb, but I did say I want the Pacers to win, I want to see a game seven in the finals and I got what I wanted. I got my game seven. We did get your game seven.
Speaker 1:I don't know if it was worth it, but we got it.
Speaker 2:Okay. So yeah, from one player's standpoint that might be true, but the point I want to make is it went seven and it was competitive throughout. That's what I wanted to see and, honestly, if anybody tries to say this was not a good finals, I have to question their love of basketball, because this was a great finals. The way it was back and forth, the way that players were picking and choosing who was going to be the guy you know the hot hand like it just seemed like you had somebody show up different for the teams to make them get a win in this game, this finals man, I loved it. I don't know about anybody else. I loved it. I thought it was amazing and I give big kudos to Halliburton for even giving it a go. And I understand, you know we're getting, we're going to get there, but Halliburton really showing some gut and determination to still even go out there knowing that he is hurt and that he has a possibility of getting worse.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like his statement overrate this. Yeah, he did relatively well. I thought he pushed his limits a little bit, but obviously they really needed him. But I have to beg the question right, like if you're that injured, are you really helping your team that much?
Speaker 2:Okay, so my answer to that would be yes, because he was playing great when he was in the game in Game 7. Okay, but the problem is, when he spoke with doctors they said this is a possibility. It doesn't mean it's going to happen. It's not like they said look, if you play, you're going to snap it. It's a possibility and most of you probably already know by this point, but I'm going to go ahead and say it. He has an Achilles tear which is a long-term injury. Like he's probably not playing next year and you know we'll see if and when he comes back and what he looks like when he comes back, because this injury can change players. But I would just point to Kevin Garnett, and when he tore his, kevin Garnett's had a few good seasons after that. It's not like he tore it and then his career was never the same. He's been good after.
Speaker 1:So it is possible. I mean Kobe tore his. I mean I'm not saying he won't come back, I think he will. He's going to be out for at least the majority of the year, maybe even a good chunk, if not all, of next year. He's missing all of next year.
Speaker 2:I guarantee he's missing all of next year. The only player that has come back quick from that kind of injury was Terrell Suggs. He has the record for coming back in like nine months.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, and Adrian Peter. He tore his ACL though. For an ACL tear he came back in what like seven, eight months.
Speaker 2:Yeah, an ACL tear is a quicker recovery than a Okay. So if you really want to get a concept of what it's like when you tear an Achilles, I had a doctor explain this to me. He said, basically, get you two mops right. Everybody's seen a mop. They've seen what those strands on a mop look like. What?
Speaker 1:is a mop Right. Everybody's seen a mop.
Speaker 2:They've seen what those strands on a mop look like. What is a mop Now? He said basically, try to sew each and every one of those mop strings together to create a nice flat even it's called getting mollywhopped.
Speaker 2:Listen, throwing me off. Look, sew those together and make a nice, even straight and with no, you know, horrible tension on it. And that's what it's like having to have that surgery. Do that surgery, they said, it's tedious as hell, and you're trying to ensure that every tendon goes back to the spot where it's supposed to be and make sure that it's not done in a way that it's so tight that it can't heal properly and snap again.
Speaker 1:And that, yeah, and that's obviously that's why their surgeons were not, because I don't know anything about that. But I have to beg the question and don't get me wrong. This was also one of my favorite finals since getting back into basketball. I called OKC to go all the way.
Speaker 2:Well, a lot of people didn't. It's easy when they have the best record.
Speaker 1:Well, and they had a very historical season, a very young squad as well. But you know, I also called the Pacers to potentially be a dark horse, to go all the way, and they both made it. I honestly am not mad at either team winning, but I have to beg the question OKC Thunder's 2025 championship parade was estimated to have around 10,000 attendees. Ok, now, is this a side effect of location or what? Because in 2022, golden State Warriors parade I think they had like it was significantly low. They had around 800,000. And then in 2016, the Cavs had like over like one point something million in attendance. So these championship parades, these are not small cities for basketball, for professional basketball. So the attendance for celebrating these championships, do you think this is a post-COVID thing?
Speaker 2:I think this is a couple of factors that you're not thinking of. One, where those cities are, they have a higher population. Two, also, remember we're in this god-awful heat dome, so it was bloody hot and it's the middle of the work week.
Speaker 1:It wasn't like this was a.
Speaker 2:Saturday this was middle of the work week. People got lives, they got jobs. They can't just say, hey, you know what, they're celebrating the championship. Let me just not go to work and not have money to pay my bills so I can go hang out with these multi-millionaires that just won a championship.
Speaker 1:You're gonna have a hard time convincing people, especially in the middle of the country, to do that now, given post-covid and the inflationary world we live in right now, do you think the team should have? Maybe planned it on a weekend, do you? Do you think it? Was weekend probably would have been better. More people might have came, but here's.
Speaker 2:Here's a here's a thing to think about that not a lot of people have talked about. I've heard a few people bring it up, but do you think they'll repeat?
Speaker 1:I want to say yes, but honestly and we'll get into this in a second looking at what Dallas is putting together down there and not only just them, but a couple of these teams after watching their round one draft and some of these trades go down, after watching their round one draft and some of these trades go down, you know, honestly, I could see them repeating and I could see them being just as competitive.
Speaker 2:But I do not think that they're going to be repeat champions. I don't either, and here's why I say that it's not the first one that's the hardest, it's the second one, because you're coming in with the expectation that you're going to win. But not only that. Let's keep it in context here. What position was the Indiana Pacers? They were what a four seed Fourth or fifth.
Speaker 2:They were kind of middle of the pack toward the end of the pack and they took you seven. Yeah, they took you to game seven. Not only that, but the nuggets took you to a game seven and it took an sga performance to get them out of that game and continue into the playoffs. So you got taken to a game seven twice.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:When you were hands down best record, best team everybody thought you were hands down going to walk away with it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And even before it started, even before it started, people were talking sweep, sweep. You're going to sweep the Pacers and no, they took you seven, and that's what I wanted to see. I wanted to see a competitive game, and I'm not complaining about that. I'm just saying, let's be realistic here. You not only have that problem, but now you have a problem that you have players that are going to start getting into. I want mine, I want my money. Now you've got to figure out what to do to fill holes when guys are like I want mine.
Speaker 1:Yep and uh. You know that's a good point to hit on there, mike, because you look at some of these moves being made. There's been two players just off the top of my head who declined player extensions holding out for contracts. One got the contract, the other is going to test free agency. We'll get to who they are in a minute. Uh, but I the pacers are a lot better than uh people give them credit for, especially around playoff time. They have a history of getting really hot in the playoffs. Now whatever happened with the celtics and the knicks because both those teams were getting hot and they got knocked out kind of in the middle of the playoff run I honestly expected both those teams go a little bit farther, but they didn't. But the Nuggets fired their head coach and then all of a sudden started playing lights out. So that was another factor. Maybe their scheme changed the way they do things. Maybe just a fresh locker room at that point.
Speaker 2:Well, and they also hired their interim coach as the permanent coach, so that does show that they were happy with the results from that.
Speaker 1:So that's good as well. But I think you're right. I don't know what the numbers are for upcoming contracts for OKC this coming season, but I'm sure you're right, they're going to have to have a little bit of a balancing act.
Speaker 2:Well, not just that, I mean the NBA in general has, has they've kind of put in act these harsh, harsh penalties if you go above the luxury tax, like one of the reasons and we'll get into these moves. But one of the reasons that boston is making all these moves here recently is they're trying to save 120 million dollars against the cap because, or 120 million against their penalty, they would be penalized 120 million if they didn't make the moves that they've been making. So in order to keep out of that luxury zone, they're having to make deals because they they were. When we came into the season everybody was saying out of the East Boston, it's going to be Boston, because they just won the championship, they were looking great and again, tatum going down with Achilles' tear as well. Yeah, it was not really something we planned on. I'm sure they didn't plan on it as an organization, but now they've got to figure stuff out.
Speaker 1:By the way, while we're talking about Achilles tears, there were eight Achilles tears through the NBA season this year. That's a record. What do you think gives here? Let's dive into this topic as well.
Speaker 2:Well, okay, so let's understand something. The NBA player of today is not the NBA player from 30 years ago. They are stronger, they're faster, they push off more, they literally run more now than they ever have. I mean, we glorify the 90s for the physicality and how tough it was, but there's a stat out there somewhere I forget where I saw it, but there's a stat out there that this past season had more people hit the ground in an NBA season than ever. Yeah, so like players playing tough and getting knocked to the ground, the games get a little more physical.
Speaker 2:Now there's the other side of this. Maybe there's a lot more flopping going on and a lot more people hitting the ground, so there might be some cell jobs that inflated those numbers. But I will say the numbers support a fact that the game is more physical with these players. I feel like what we're seeing now. The reason we're seeing these injuries is because these players, they go full throttle and they train year-round and so when they finally do rest, it's idle rest, they're not. Like. You know.
Speaker 2:When, like I was saying before, when we were growing up, you rolled from one sport to the next. You would play basketball, you'd play football, you'd play baseball, maybe you ran some track, maybe you played soccer, you would roll from one sport to the next and you kept yourself busy. Now, when the off season comes to basketball, a lot of these guys, they're just idle. Now, when the offseason comes for basketball, a lot of these guys, they're just idle. They ain't doing a whole lot. I mean, some of them still train, but some of them they train and train and train and train and there's no end in sight. So when they finally do get on the court, they're already banged up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's just interesting to me the direction that the game is going, but also the notable decrease in popularity over the years.
Speaker 2:So well, I think that's going to change. I think that's going to change.
Speaker 1:I sure hope so, because basketball is really a good sport bro.
Speaker 2:I see it changing for one reason, and one reason only. Okay, think about the NBA, not the NBA, the NFL draft. When you watch the NFL draft, you've watched a number of these players in college for a number of years, right? So you kind of get to know these players, right, you kind of have a love for these players because maybe you saw him in the national championship game and you're like man, that guy's great, I hope he's on my team. But when you get to draft time and you're watching it, you're like, oh, I remember him, he plays for that team. Oh, I remember him, he does that.
Speaker 2:What are we getting with NIL? Now, with basketball, we're getting players that want to stay in college because they make more money playing in college than they will in the G League. They make more money in NIL than they will if they go overseas and play. They make more money in college, so they're more inclined to stay in college. So what does that mean? That means if your team is good and you're in the March Madness, you're going to see these players over and over again and get to know the players. So now when you watch the NBA draft, you're getting a better idea of who these players are. You're getting to know them. You're getting more of a draw. Think about who just got drafted last night number one overall. No surprise, cooper Flagg.
Speaker 1:No surprise, right the front man.
Speaker 2:Everybody knew who he was Now it wasn't because he stayed long in college. It's because he was hands down like one of the best players in the country and had a following through social media before he ever touched a college court, let alone an NBA court. So but I will point to the next player chosen in the draft.
Speaker 1:Dylan Harper. San Antonio Spurs guard out of Rutgers.
Speaker 2:Rutgers. They played well. They played well in March Madness, and Dylan was a key part of that. Not to mention, he has a famous father, ron Harper. Ron Harper was a mainstay in the NBA. He played for the Bulls, he played for the Lakers, he played for the Cavs. He was the Cavs' best player at one point, and then he went and joined up with the Bulls. He played for the Lakers, he played for the Cavs. He was the Cavs like best player at one point, yeah, and then he went and joined up with the Bulls and won championships with the Bulls and when Michael left he was the one of the best players that was remaining. Then he went and played with the Lakers for a while. So you have a famous father.
Speaker 2:So now it's being handed down. Now it's not to say other players haven't had famous fathers or anything, but the players that were drafted this year. We saw them in March Madness. We got to know these players and some of these players they stayed for a little bit. So the notoriety and not just being who's that guy, france, what guy? Where's he from? I don't know who that is. That doesn't exist anymore. So there's being able to watch the draft and know who these players are and have an idea of how they can contribute to your team. Winning is going to win fans back, because you're going to have more investment from a fan over who's being drafted.
Speaker 1:Now, before we get into this draft and we just talked about it a little bit we're talking about a couple players moving. I don't have all the trades. Nba is very hot when it comes to trades, especially around draft time. What you got, mike.
Speaker 2:Before you get to that, I want to point out one other thing that would help not only the Achilles tear, but it would also help the NBA out drastically in this situation. Drastically, so, not only having these players stay longer in college because of NIL giving them a name basis so when they're drafted you know who they are. The NBA would benefit so much. You can keep the season the same length but less games. The only way you can make that work. You need to have expansion.
Speaker 1:And when they expand.
Speaker 2:You need to bring in teams to areas that don't have teams or had teams. Bring back the Supersonics. Bring them back. The fans in Seattle are begging for that. Yeah boy, bring a team into Nashville Telling you they would love to have a team in Nashville. Bring a team into Virginia. Bring a team into Carolina or South Carolina or get another team in other areas.
Speaker 1:And especially talking about Virginia, especially right here in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads, the closest thing we have to professional is ODU.
Speaker 2:Well, it's college.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the college ball. I mean we get the MEAC tournament every year. Well, we also have NSU. Don't let me discount them as well. Nsu very, very good history in both basketball and football. Odu doesn't have as long a history in football. Don't forget the Pirates up there in Hampton. Well, yeah, the Hampton Pirates. And then down south we have the ECU Pirates. I just wanted to mention that because I like ECU Anyway.
Speaker 2:But the point I'm making is, if they expand the roster of how many teams are in the NBA, you can then have a little more downtime because you can space out the games and you can fill in the games and give people a chance to see multiple teams. Now it would also give the players what they want less back-to-backs, more time in between to recover. It honestly would be a win-win, because then people aren't going to have to play through injury or they're not going to have to decide hey, am I okay to play through this injury?
Speaker 2:They could sit and be like okay, well, I'm only going to miss a handful of games versus. I'm going to miss seven games if I sit out the next two weeks.
Speaker 1:Yep and more games means more players in the game. I don't think that's a bad thing. I think I love expansion.
Speaker 2:You know the owners would love it because they'd make more money.
Speaker 1:They'd make more money. They'd help resurge the image of the NBA as well. Not that it's struggling, but it has fallen off a little bit. Covid was a weird time right. Give Vegas their team they've been wanting. I like to call COVID the great reset. It reset everybody, from businesses to sports teams to just our general everyday jobs. Just life got reset.
Speaker 1:Living in a post-covid era is difficult to compare to pre-covid statistics, because we're just not. There's two different time frames, two different realities, in my opinion, okay. But moving on here, let's talk about a couple moves. I'm not gonna hit all of them, but I got some big ones. Okay, first one. First. I'm going to start now.
Speaker 1:Celtics they're trading Drew Holiday to Portland Trailblazers. Words are hard, bro. Trading Drew Holiday to the Portland Trailblazers. For Anthony Simmons Sorry, I never get anybody's name right. I do like this sport. No, I think you're right, I suck at names. But Anthony Simmons, as well as two second-round picks right below him. We're talking about players declining. Kyrie Irving declined his option but then turned around and signed a $43 million player option worth over three years, $119 million contract with the Mavs. That is a great signing for them. And then the Pelicans and Wizards doing some business trading CJ McCollum, kelly Ulnick and future second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Poole, sadiq Bey and the number 40 pick in this year's draft. Not a bad swap there between those teams. And then you know the deal with Kyrie Irving. Getting back to that deal with the Mavs, that includes a player option in the 27-28 season as well. Now, this is a big one to me right here.
Speaker 1:Okay, uh bro one of my favorite, one of my favorite teams, and this is a great team. Look, by the way, the kd rainbow is officially complete. Okay, kevin durant going to the rockets in a huge blockbuster trade. Okay, uh, waiting for it to load. So I'm going to talk about it, but anyway.
Speaker 2:So the deal is KD is going to the Rockets and the Suns for delivering him to the Rockets they acquired Jalen Green, dylan Brooks, the 10th overall pick, which we will get to what that 10th overall pick is, and five second second round picks. So to me this is amazing for the Rockets because the Rockets get KD a guy that can you know veteran presence, somebody that can you know get his buckets and kind of force the issue at late in games, yeah, but they didn't give up.
Speaker 2:Still a very strong player, Houston, to still be a decent team. Now the five second-round picks, that's kind of a. I know second-round picks a big deal, right, but there's been plenty of players.
Speaker 1:Pay it.
Speaker 2:Pay it. Look, there's been plenty of players picked in the second round that have turned into something, yes. So you can't just be like, oh, second-round pick, so good for them and good for KD, because, honestly, second-round pick, so good for them and good for KD, because this is one of the teams Honestly second-round picks is a very high pick Well this is one of the teams he indicated he wanted to go to and I think it partially has to do with he gets back into Texas where he played college ball.
Speaker 2:But being there in Texas, no state tax.
Speaker 1:And then congratulations to KD. This is actually probably my favorite move of the offseason. But Christoph Porzingis, how do you say his name, christoph Porzingis? Christoph Porzingis, this was a three-team trade, bro. He's traded to the Hawks. The Hawks receive Christoph Porzingis and a future second-round pick, the Celtics receiving Georges Nying and a future second-round pick, the Celtics receiving Georges Nying and a future second-round pick, and the Nets are going to get Terrence Mann and the number 22 overall pick. Just a colossal three-team trade. You don't see multi-team trades like that very often.
Speaker 2:So, getting back to that 10th pick that the Rockets traded to the Suns, that the Rockets traded to the Suns, they got a player out of South Sudan who played for Duke and come on.
Speaker 1:Malaka, malaka.
Speaker 2:Malaka, malaka, anyway Malaka, if you watched any of March Madness and you saw Duke play he was a very, very good player, so the Suns are getting a good player in return. So the Suns might be, while it looks like they haven't won this trade because of losing KD, they might have picked up a player that's going to help them build towards the future.
Speaker 1:I agree with that. And let's just start here at the top of the draft, going back the Mavs taking Cooper Flagg. We all saw it coming. Even LeBron seemed a little envious of this, because Cooper Flagg is coming into a situation where he's got Anthony Davis on one side and Kyrie Irving on the other. Even LeBron himself said I wish I could have came into a situation like that. Himself said I wish I could have came into a situation like that the Mavs are. This could define the Mavericks championship competitive window for a few years to come.
Speaker 2:That's because LeBron came in the league and he was the only thing on the cap.
Speaker 1:He was the only one they had.
Speaker 2:He was dragging teams to the finals by himself.
Speaker 1:I think obviously the Mavs. You know the trade earlier this year, letting what's-his-name go. I can't Off the top of my head. I'm terrible, but anyway.
Speaker 2:Sixers with the number three pick, take Vijay Edgecombe and the number four pick. Did we skip the number two pick? We did, but we already said Dylan.
Speaker 1:Harper went to the.
Speaker 2:Spurs. I thought we were going in order here, bro. Bro, we already talked about it. I want to get down here to Conk Nipple, who has taken number four overall, teammate to Cooper Flagg. And the one thing I found very Hard and forward out of Duke he's a very good player. The one thing I found very Hard and forward out of Duke, the one thing he's a very good player. The one thing I found very interesting when they interviewed him. They interviewed him with his brothers and there's five Knipple brothers and one of them is taller than his brother. So when they're interviewing him, I'm sitting here like why are they taller?
Speaker 1:Wait, yeah, by the way, Khan is 6'7".
Speaker 2:Yeah, so his brother, his brother's taller. His younger brother is taller than him, so it's like well, wait a second. Why didn't y'all draft him?
Speaker 1:And you know I'm eager to see what this Duke squad does in the pros.
Speaker 2:Duke's been turning out pros for a long time.
Speaker 1:Just all over it. Number five Utah Jazz turning out pros for a long time. Uh, just all over it.
Speaker 2:Number five utah jazz who, taking forward ace bailey out of ruckers bailey was an interesting scenario in this draft because he's he straight up told teams to not take him and he didn't show up for for workouts, he didn't? He just basically he was trying to dictate where he went. Yeah, and I don't know that he necessarily wanted to go to the Jazz, but look man.
Speaker 1:Look, you've got to contribute the.
Speaker 2:Utah Jazz. That's a good fan base. They love their basketball, they love their team and it's a beautiful area. Man, I mean, you're not going to be hurting for stuff to do.
Speaker 1:It's just weird that I still think it's weird that it's Utah jazz and not like New Orleans jazz or something like that which I know.
Speaker 2:Sir, sir, sir, that's because it used to be.
Speaker 1:I know, I know what it used to be. It's so weird. Hold on.
Speaker 2:What's more weird? The fact that you have Utah jazz or you have Los Angeles Lakers.
Speaker 1:There are no lakes. There's no lakes. There's no lakes. They should be the Los Angeles.
Speaker 2:Oceans. It was the Minneapolis Lakers, that's right. And then they moved the team to Los. Angeles and they just kept the name. Yeah, it happens all the time.
Speaker 1:It does. And then Newleans stood up, a new team in the pelicans. Uh, you know. And then you know enough history. Lesson number six pick washington wizards taking trey johnson guard out of texas uh, again was another high performer in the march madness you know, south central us coming over to the east coast.
Speaker 1:I like the pick number seven, speaking of the Pelicans taking Jeremiah Fears and this guy better be Fears, he's a guard out of Oklahoma, another solid pick. All of these like we'll only go through the top ten, but they were very good picks. Brooklyn Nets taking Igor Dimon guard and forward BYU this is a Russian player here. We're starting to see a little more of that.
Speaker 2:You know, what's funny is Brooklyn had five picks last night and they used all five picks themselves. They didn't use them to trade up or nothing.
Speaker 1:They're just like we got our five. That's very good honestly on them. They're trying to set up for something in the future Toronto Rappers taking Colin Murray-Boyles forward out of South.
Speaker 2:Carolina man, that guy, he looked so upset when they took him. He was like I got to go to where I got to go to Canada.
Speaker 1:What.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he did not look happy.
Speaker 1:But it's okay because you know, maybe he'll, you know, I think he'll have a good run. Anyway, and bringing us back to the Houston Rockets at number 10.
Speaker 2:I got to talk about a number 11 pick, though I got to talk about this because this was one of the funniest things that night. So the player's name is Cedric Coward Not cowherd, but Cowherd. Remember the funny?
Speaker 1:names.
Speaker 2:So the announcer last night if you're paying attention, the announcer last night said Portland selects at number 11 Colin Cowherd, meaning the sports analyst Colin Cowherd, which is funny because he is from the Northwest, yeah, so a lot of people have been making jokes like hey, colin, you're going back home, but not so fast. They traded that pick to Memphis.
Speaker 1:Yep, and we'll see down here the defending champs. As of last week, the Thunder have taken Thomas Sorber forward center out of Georgetown. That's a good pick for them. That was a rather good pick. And hey, I got an interesting thing here Memphis Grizzlies taking Yang Hunson. He's a center out of Quindango, china. He's Chinese, go ahead.
Speaker 2:So the interesting thing about that pick he did not know if he was going to get picked, so he was literally sitting in the stands waiting, thinking he was a day two pick. But he was still there in his suit ready, just in case, just in case, and they picked him and this works out great for him because, yes, he was drafted by Memphis but he was part of that trade with Portland, so now he's going to be in Portland, closer to home, so he can fly back home easier. Works out in his favor. The Bulls had a head-scratcher of a pick. They picked up a player out of France. Now, he's never played ball in the States, but as far as playing in Germany, which he did, he played professionally over there and he's only 18 years old, so he's kind of a. We're going to see what happens with him. Sanchez, I'm going to let you take a crack at the name.
Speaker 1:Which one are you pointing at here? Noah Esingway, I will buy that for a dollar. Radio Farm.
Speaker 2:Germany. No, that's the team he played for in Germany. Yeah, he's from France.
Speaker 1:I was going to get to that part, damn it. It only took me an hour to curse. We've done pretty well on these episodes, oh I I've well exceeded that, but yeah, you did earlier.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but that was a good pick. But I want to go back real quick to um, what is this where? Where was we talking about here? Which one, yang Hansen, the one we were just talking about? I had an interesting fact about him. He is only the ninth Chinese-born player to be drafted into the NBA, which is a great feat, by the way, to play ball in China and then be drafted into American NBA basketball Ninth Chinese-born native.
Speaker 2:Well, we had a number of players drafted that weren't from the United States. I mean we had players drafted out of China, France, Russia, Sudan, Canada, Israel, Spain. We're hitting everywhere in the world.
Speaker 1:It seems to come every few years. Switzerland. The first one was Songtel in 1987 by the Hawks. Then you had a couple more in 1999 and 1999.
Speaker 2:Don't forget Yao Ming in 2002.
Speaker 1:Yep, Then Yi Jianlin in 07, as well as Sun Yu in 07. But then you have one player, Xiao Kui in 2016, or two players and Wang Zelen in 2016. It's been almost 10 years since a Chinese player was drafted Yang Hanzi and only nine of these guys, so congratulations. I know there's other countries represented here in the NBA, especially in this year's NBA draft, but I really got to give it up for these Chinese players because there's just not a lot of them.
Speaker 2:I also wanted to point out that Florida's guard who was pretty crucial in this last March Madness, walter Clayton Jr. He was drafted by the Wizards and then traded to Utah so he made it into the NBA but he got moved over to Utah instead of staying with them. But I like bringing up those players because you see them in March Madness and sometimes people don't notice what happens to them where they go.
Speaker 1:And again Yang Hansen. He was only the third Chinese player drafted in the first round and the last one was taken in 2007, yingjian Lin Yep, by the Bucs. Very strong, showing Chinese coming up in the basketball game. Okay, shall we talk about some? Well, we don't want to talk about that, because we know who won the playoff, we know who won the championship, so let's see here.
Speaker 2:Which congratulations that we haven't said it already to Oklahoma.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oklahoma Thunder, oklahoma City Thunder. Congratulations on winning the finals through Game 7. Certainly delivered an impressive performance, I think. Between both of these teams it was very competitive finals. This was a very fun playoff bracket in general and very fun playoffs to watch yeah.
Speaker 2:I definitely loved the physicality of the NBA playoffs this year. This was definitely one of the better years, I think, because there was no clear-cut, you know, hands-down winner. I mean, yeah, okc kind of went in as the favorite and they did win, but it wasn't like they swept teams throughout, they had to really work at it and they earned that championship.
Speaker 1:And you know, with that being said, speaking of earning things, Todd Bowles and GM licked the Buccaneers, right? Todd Bowles had his first head coach run with the Jets, right? Oh, switching up to NFL, I see, yeah, we're just going to jump right in, I'm not even going.
Speaker 2:Bowles had his first head coach run with the Jets right Switching up to NFL.
Speaker 1:I see, yeah, we're just going to jump right in. I'm not even going to segue, we're just going to go for it. Bro, talk about perseverance, right, because it was almost a damn near train wreck when Bowles was his first head coach. We can say a lot of first-time head coaches, especially in the NFL.
Speaker 2:It's a learning curve right Going to the Jets, though that place is a meat grinder. They basically take in coaches and spit them out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so I want to talk about perseverance here. Coaches, especially professional coaches, are probably one of the best examples when it comes to perseverance, because you could be kicked, dragged down and out, could be the worst squad of all time, but you get another chance, right, you go to the Bucs. And what'd the Bucs do last year, bro? They had a great show and they have some great personnel, by the way, and Baker Mayfield playing lights out for them. Okay, they signed both these coaches well, coach and GM to a multi-year contract. I think that's a great deal. I think that's a great move. These guys have the Bucs rolling. I expect this coming season to be another strong season for the Bucs.
Speaker 2:What do you think? Well, I believe so, because they brought back a lot of their free agents, so you're basically getting a lot of the same core players, but you've added in players through their draft that hopefully will build on top of what the Bucs have already accomplished. I mean, the Bucs were hit hard, with some injuries and players being out last year, but they did have some bright spots, yep.
Speaker 2:Especially their rookie running back, who just came out of nowhere midway through the season. Yep, I don't know why his name is escaping me right now, but everybody who plays fantasy knows Bucky Irving, yeah, bucky Irving, everybody who plays fantasy that picked him up.
Speaker 1:Knows, oh yeah, that guy won't be my championship. His backup, White, right behind him too. And then you know Cade Otten. You know the tight end another breakout tight end this year, so they got it. Breakout tight end this year, so they got it. Chris Godwin's still in the mix, so their offense is pretty solid. They're playing lights out. They don't really have a bad defense either. No, no, not at all. I like them to keep it rolling and to take a step forward. Actually, I think the whole NFC South might take a step forward, because the Panthers Bryce Young was playing lights out in the last stretch of the season as well, so he was playing like a true pro himself. So I like the NFC South to really take a step forward.
Speaker 1:You know the Saints, Tyler Shue, starting quarterback. Let's talk about this young man for a second. Okay, Just drafted, by the way, Kellen Moore is their new head coach. This is a very good coach, up and coming. I'm excited. I'm eager to see what he does with this team. Taking QB Tyler shoe, he's already stated I think it's show. It might be show. I like to say shoe because I want to throw my shoe at him. But anyway, who throws a shoe? Well, I have an answer for that. That, but I'll find it later.
Speaker 2:But I'm just thinking of austin powers. I'll dig it up later. Thinking of austin powers yeah, the guy threw a shoe at him. He's like who throws a shoe?
Speaker 1:honestly anyway. But this guy has already said he's not going to be phased, he's going to take the ups with the downs. Um, and I like the attitude because you have to be confident, not just playing the game of football, but as an athlete, as a starter, like you can be. You have to be unwavering, you have to be confident and your team wants to see you have the ability to move past these growing pains right. So, honestly, I think, honestly, he might perform slightly better than what people are expecting, especially with Kellen Moore at the helm. So I'm eager to see that. And Kellen Moore had a hand in the Eagles' offense as well in their playoff runs.
Speaker 2:Well, let's remember the Saints last year, even with the spotty performances by Derek Carr and then him finally getting hurt and knocked out. Yeah, like they started out fast, like they were undefeated, I think, for the first three weeks of the season, and then, all of a sudden, they just it's hard to brag about being 3-0 at the beginning of the season. No, but I mean, it's not something that you should be like, it's nothing.
Speaker 1:No, it's something it is.
Speaker 2:Okay, think about this. There were teams that made the playoffs last year that they already had a loss or two going into week three.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So to be a team that was starting out hot, they just couldn't maintain it.
Speaker 1:You've got to stay hot. But yeah, you're right, they dealt with some injuries. They dealt with some personnel issues. It was a rough ride toward the end of the season, but I like what they're doing now. I'm eager to see them come back. Speaking of coming back, Aaron Rodgers is finally with the Steelers. I know it's been a couple weeks now, but according to his bestie, you know Pat McAfee, he went on the show and said this may be his last season. Honestly, I don't know why he's even playing right now.
Speaker 2:To be honest with you, If you're Okay, I'm going to say Mike's rubbing his forehead. I'm going to say exactly what most Steeler fans should and probably are thinking. Most of them are probably thinking what in the fucking hell are we doing? And I need to say it with those words, to put the point across, because think about it.
Speaker 1:Mike, over here with the bloody mouth, it's usually me, it's usually me.
Speaker 2:Listen, listen, it's like a role reversal. What did they do last year? They brought in two quarterbacks Neither one of them they really thought was the guy, and in Russell Wilson they couldn't wait to get him the hell out of there. They lowballed off for the one they wanted to keep, so he went to the Jets, and now they're bringing in a guy who's like eh, Look Mike Tomlin.
Speaker 2:This is my last ride. You know, if it's a good season, that's cool. It's not going to define me. Do you want to hear your quarterback just kind of half in, half out?
Speaker 1:No, you want to hear this guy talking, fire and brimstone being all in. You want to say I'm bringing a Super Bowl to Pittsburgh. That's what you want to hear, bro.
Speaker 2:That's not what you got from Brady when he went down to Tampa. He didn't go down there and go eh no.
Speaker 1:he went down there and said I want to prove that it was me and not Belichick.
Speaker 2:He goes down there and he's not sitting there going. Eh, you know I'll show up, I'll show up. I just have personal matters to take care of. No, he's sitting there trying to hold practice with his receivers Brady In to take care of. No, he's sitting here trying to hold practice with his receivers Brady. In COVID times they were going to a local high school trying to do field drills, just so they could get some practice with one-on-one, and they got in trouble for it.
Speaker 1:Brady came out from the beginning and said I want to prove that I'm not a scheme player, that it wasn't just Bilicek, that I was a much bigger part of that success. And I think he did, because the Patriots took a step back that very season and the Buccaneers took a step forward. They made the play. Actually, they did win the Super Bowl that year, didn't they?
Speaker 2:Let's be fair. Let's be fair. The fact that the Patriots took a step back was not on him. It was on the fact that the team was mostly gutted and there wasn't much there.
Speaker 1:All right, sure, we can make excuses for him.
Speaker 2:No, I'm not making excuses. Look, even with Brady, they barely got into the playoffs and when they did, they got embarrassed by the Titans.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I mean even so, though. But getting back to Aaron Rodgers here, that's not what you want to hear. So this, like I said, Mike Tomlin he's a great motivational coach. He keeps his players playing hard and somehow or another, he always comes out with at least a 500-plus record every season, but he's not very good with quarterbacks.
Speaker 2:He's terrible with quarterbacks. Look, Pittsburgh is a historic franchise.
Speaker 1:I don't see this going well. Look, they're a historic franchise. I don't see this going well.
Speaker 2:Look, they're a franchise that is known for winning championships. So having your team basically go ah, we have a winning record, ah, we have a winning record. Ah, we have a winning record. Hey, we made the playoffs. We got knocked out in the first round. Hey, we made the playoffs, we got knocked out in the first round. Do you think a Steeler fan wants to hear that they?
Speaker 1:haven't had a quarterback worth anything since Roethlisberger. Okay, right, tomlin is just not a quarterback coach.
Speaker 2:I mean, he drafted a quarterback and then traded him out the very next season Because they realized Kenny Pickett is not the guy, but he took him in the first round In a quarterback draft that had nothing. Yeah, they didn't need to do that. Then they drafted him because he was a local guy. They had seen him playing in their stadium in college and they're like you know what let's get the hometown guy.
Speaker 1:It's a good story. They cleaned house. They had like three quarterbacks, sent all of them out and then Russell Wilson experiment. That was not. But I don't see Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin mixing very well. I'm sorry, they're just two different personalities. I do not see this going well, especially when times get hard.
Speaker 2:Bottom line is they have some really great players on their team and they're basically wasting their careers. Yeah, you know, if they were worth anything, they would just start blowing it up now and start getting future aspirations. Like, start looking at. Hey, we need to set ourselves up for the future because TJ Watt ain't getting any younger.
Speaker 1:They had an opportunity to draft a quarterback this year. There were some pretty good quarterbacks on the board.
Speaker 2:That's because they already knew what they were doing and they're probably looking at it as we'll get our quarterback the next year in a better quarterback draft, which is not a bad way to be. But the guy you bring in, you don't want to hear him being lackadaisical about playing for your team and just kind of, eh, I'll show up and I'll show up.
Speaker 1:Aaron Rodgers is not a good team player, okay.
Speaker 2:Clearly.
Speaker 1:I'm just going to come out and say it he wasn't in Green Bay, he wasn't with the Jets. He's just going to come out and say it he wasn't in Green Bay, he wasn't with the Jets. He's not going to be suddenly a great team player, especially if he's already thinking about retirement before the season has even started. Why are you here, bro? What are you doing? Why did you even show up? Like I said, we're in mini camps right now getting ready to go to OTAs. You're just now showing up. You just now signed a contract.
Speaker 2:Well, in fairness, and let's be fair on this one, he was not there because he did get married and they went on a honeymoon and whatnot, but he did get there for the start of a mandatory camp.
Speaker 1:Did they get married in a cave of darkness, because that seems to be his thing.
Speaker 2:No, but I kind of agree where he's like hey, we didn't want paparazzi and all this other BS around. I understand that, so I can understand that.
Speaker 1:I understand the right to privacy but still I think, legitimately, rodgers was holding out for a better opportunity. I think he was really trying to weigh his options, but I think the Steelers are really the only quarterback-needy team and unless he wants to wait until the middle of the season and risk whether or not a QB goes down on a competitive team, I think honestly he was waiting for a playoff competitive team to call him and they just didn't. First of all, his price tag is way too high.
Speaker 2:What are you talking about? He's a bargain at freaking $19 million.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, he's a bargain now, but he settled, you know, after you know, the his contract, you know was the high green bay made him the highest paid player and then they got rid of the very next season.
Speaker 2:That's then like we're talking now the jets ate that contract.
Speaker 1:He didn't do a whole bunch and they even brought in davante ab Adams for him right. It still didn't have terribly much success. But anyway, I digress, we'll see how it plays out. Go ahead and wind up for the evening. I know it didn't get terribly much in the NFL news. It's kind of a slow week with, you know, just getting ready before the preseason here. But once again I'd like to thank our sponsors and partners Body by D Jim Solace, outfitters and the Giving Tree Chiropractic Service. Thank you, guys, for being on our side. We're on your side, certainly, as you know, and I'd like to thank our listeners for once again joining us for another rambling another episode of rambling sports talk.
Speaker 1:I think we had a very good conversation tonight. Can't wait for next week, first episode in July, independence Day. Thank you for joining us once again. I'm Brian with an I and I'm Mike, and we are two for the win.
Speaker 2:Thanks everybody.