State of Play
State of Play is a unique sports show that brings prominent political figures into conversations about today's sports and pop culture. Each episode offers an unfiltered, authentic look at how the games we love shape our society, and how today's leaders connect with the sports that moves America. From courtside memories to flaming hot takes, this is where the political meets the personal, revealing the human side of public figures through the universal language of sports.
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The Musing on Michigan March Madness Mayhem episode
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Dem Strategist Ahbi Rahman talks about his absurd obsession with all things Michigan and the Florida AG hates giving Black coaches a shot.
Oh joy, you get a twofer. I wasn't done speaking. It's state of play. Hi, welcome to State of Play. Look, you already had one episode this week, but I didn't get to say everything I needed to say. There's a lot going on in the sports world. And uh this episode, we're gonna talk about um the Final Four. Today we're gonna have on Abi Rahman. He's a Democratic strategist, an avid Michigan Wolverine fan, so we're gonna talk shit about the game. Um, but I wanted to go over a couple of other topics in a rapid fire fashion, um, discussing some things that happened over the last week or two that we didn't really get to. That being said, check this out.
SPEAKER_01That's why you got Steph Curry, and he he not even surrendered, and y'all believe he's a Christian. Y'all believe he's a Christian because he wrote Philippians 4 13. Y'all think he's a Christian. But he's cursing just like the world. Friendship with the world is imity with God. He's friendship with the world.
SPEAKER_04He don't know Jesus. That was spokesperson for Jesus and now teamless. Jaden Ivey. Uh, once Detroit Piston, traded to the Chicago Bulls. Now uh in search of another home. Maybe not an NBA home or anything basketball home, maybe a heavenly home. Who knows? The only home that he should be looking for right now, quite frankly, is a home in the asylum. Because he has been on quite a bender, quite a bender lately, bruh. I I don't know who gave him the green light to start policing people's humanity, people's Christianity. But one thing is clear, and I'm not gonna do the whole big hate thing. He he is this is not rage. People are just sort of like making clips of him and sort of like displaying their outrage. This man clearly needs help. This is on the Kanye West train, you know? It's on the Kanye West train. You can sort of look in his eyes and see it. And I say this as a person who grew up in the church, bona fide believer in all things Christ. I'm a preacher's kid. Sunday, Wednesday, revivals every day of the week. You can go listen to my other podcast, Heaven Help Us, if you if you don't know about that. If you don't know, you better ask somebody. Okay, this is somebody who knows. What he said about the LGBT community, LGBTQ community, not Christ-like at all, calling out Steph Curry, as you can see. First of all, when it comes to Stephan Wardale Curry, you watch your mouth, sir. He is one of the biggest outspoken ambassadors for the faith that the basketball scene has ever seen. Documented proof. The Bible says that you will know them by their fruit, not how lar how how loud you get in front of a camera on Instagram. Not whether or not you say a dirty word every now and again. By all accounts, Steph Curry lives his faith loud and proud and very human. What Jaden Ivey has, this is a little insider Bible talk for some of you, is what's called zeal without knowledge, without the requisite knowledge and foundation to proselytize in the way that he is doing. By calling others out publicly about their faith. He has shown that that's the case. And you know, let's just call it what it is. You out of pocket, bro. I don't honestly, to me, I don't care about your mental state right there. You don't get to use your faith as a cover for your mental illness. So go get some help, go get some pie, whatever it takes. Cause uh, nah, bro. What Jaden Ivey is displaying is what happens when you mix someone who is in deep need of counseling, of therapy, maybe some drugs. I don't know. Mixing that with someone who has been entrenched in uh uh some sort of weird theocratic church background. Um, but what he displayed was the most unchristian behavior I have seen from an athlete in a while, ironically, from someone who's claiming to be Christian. And again, how did how did Steph get even dragged into this? Because he heard Steph say a cuss word every now and again. Okay. Nah, that's where like that's where you lost me, bro. Steph lives his faith, he lives it quietly, he lives it consistently, he lives it out loud. And you don't have to agree with how he positions himself within the church, within Christianity, but calling out his Christianity when you were the furthest thing from his mind is wild. So we got to stop confusing being loud with being righteous. He is uh clearly in need of help of help, and I pray that he goes and gets it. All the best to you, bro.
SPEAKER_00Next. You know, black players make up well over half of NFL rosters, but of the teams of the 32 teams in the league, only three of them right now employ a black head coach. It's why the league has something in place for years called the Rooney rule, and it requires teams to interview diverse candidates for the biggest jobs. Now the state of Florida wants the NFL to get rid of that rule.
SPEAKER_02The NFL's use of the Rooney rule violates Florida law by requiring race-based considerations in hiring. Florida law is clear. Hiring decisions cannot be based on race. NFL teams and their fans don't care about the race of the coaching staff. They want a merit-based system that gives their team the best chance to win.
SPEAKER_03Hi, my name is Florida Man, and I'm an answer in search of a problem.
SPEAKER_04Come on. In typical GOP Florida Man fashion, it's a solution in search of a problem. Once again, once again, we know their MO, bro. We know their MO. It's a solution in search of a problem. What is the problem? Bro, straight face looked into a camera and said, you know what? The real problem with the NFL is there's too many blacks looking for jobs.
SPEAKER_03We are victimizing too many of these qualified, what? Candidates who need good coaching jobs. These innocent, very successful, very good golf playing, innocent coaches, white coaches are the ones who are needing these jobs and they're not getting them.
SPEAKER_04They're just not getting them. So we here in Florida, we're gonna stop that. That's what he said. When the rule isn't let's hire more black coaches, which is what you should do, not forcing you. But we are what we are saying is let's interview black coaches. Never said we gotta hire 'em. Never said that it was a mandate that we have to have a quota. Where's the quota? Is there a quota that exists? The quota is to hire, I mean to to interview black coaches. Not to necessarily hire them, but you gotta interview them. So what are we mad at? Hmm? Are you sounds like he's bored with his job? Sounds like maybe you should have gone after the real problem, the real predators out there. But you're not doing that. You're not doing that. Instead, you're bored and you're going out and you're trying to make a a point. Maybe you're trying to what's your real MO? Is the AG trying to run for office or something? Is he trying to run for higher office? Like, what's your real MO? Because let's talk numbers real quick, right? Out of 32 NFL teams, how many black coaches, how many black head coaches have we got? Pop quiz time. Anybody know? Five, six on a good day? Black players make up sixty to seventy percent of the league, but black coaches of those 32 teams are not getting 60% or 70% of the coaching jobs. Does that sound fair or like a problem to you? What you're saying is, or what he's trying to say is you can run in the system as a runner, but you can't lead it.
SPEAKER_07It's a pattern. Right?
SPEAKER_04And Bro even mentioned merit-based as if Pete Hickseth doesn't exist. No experience, no education, not the right amount of credentials, got hired for the job, fired all the black people and women who were way more qualified than him, and then had the had the audacity. I'm doing a Stephen A.
SPEAKER_03Smith, the audacity, the unmitigated gall.
SPEAKER_04He had he had the audacity, the unmitigated gall to say that we're only gonna hire on merit. And now you have the AG in Florida who is trying to say the same thing. And it's patently absurd. Patently absurd, sir. Not sure what the NFL's gonna do about it, but maybe players say, hey, we're not gonna go play in your state, if somehow this becomes a reality. We're not gonna go play in Florida. We're not gonna go to Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami. We're not gonna play in those stadiums. What about that? What would happen if the player stood up and said, if you're going to say that we can't do the Rooney role, how about we don't play in your state or for your teams? How about that? And I I would get my popcorn to watch it all burn. Talk about appointment television. How hilarious would that be? How poetic would that be? Like Chef's kiss. The bottom line is where are these white coaches airing grievances calling you en masse in Florida? Or anywhere in the country? How many head coaches have contacted the Florida Attorney General and said, you know what? I'm not, I haven't been able to get a job because all these all these black black people are taking their jobs away from them. They're taking their jobs. They're taking their jobs. How many? Again, it's a solution in search of a problem. You're just making the shit up. You're making the shit up. And I would like to know why. Why? Perhaps we need a Rooney rule for attorney generals in Florida. Oh no. A terrible joke. Didn't land at all. But you see my point. Right. So, Mr. Attorney General in Florida, Mr. James Uthmeyer, I invite you to kick rocks and church socks, and I hope you eat raw cabbage for the rest of your life. Raw. Alright, look, I was uh I was gonna talk about Jelly Rolls tragedy of a song for the World Cup, but I'm just gonna skip over that. It's uh it's obvious, uh it's obviously not the vibe, I'd say. Not the vibe I'm looking for when it comes to World Cup energy. But for the sake of time, I'm gonna just gonna bypass that. Yeah, skip past that shit because it's shit. But speaking of shit, while we're on the topic, the World Cup, uh, I don't I don't know who okay this. They're trying to rob everybody at this point. Up like gas prices, up like inflation. Have you guys seen this? The the the final for the final the World Cup final, it's going to cost if you want the the good tickets, a good seat, it's going to cost you eleven thousand dollars. That you remember Dave Chappelle, that'd be eleven thousand dollars for a haircut. You know what kind of vacation I can do for eleven thousand dollars? You know where I can go? Meanwhile, just in comparison, cotter, cutter, the world cup that was held there, the most expensive ticket was sixteen hundred dollars. The cheapest ticket in the US, the cheapest now, listen to this five bands, five bands, five thousand dollars just to sit at the top in the nosebleed section, bro. At this point, is the World Cup even for fans? World soccer is a poor people sport. This is a bunch of CEOs. This is for CEOs and people who say the words stummering. We're going summering in the countries where the people are coming from. Soccer is the people's game, it's a people's sport. That's why I find it so relatable between soccer and basketball because all you need is a ball and a hoop with basketball. All you need is the ground and a ball with soccer. You can figure out what the nets are later. You figure out the goals later. That's how we did it as kids. That's how the kids who are extremely good at it grow up to be the best in the world at it. They came out the mud, and these soccer prices for the World Cup finale is anything but that. It is for the disgustingly rich, it is for the billionaire class. What are we doing? Next year, you know, or whenever the next World Cup is, it's it's going to be embarrassing. We're gonna look back at the US, I guarantee, with all this going on in the world, but that not only with Iran and and all the other stuff going on, compiled with this junk supposition with the war and the World Cup. It is we're gonna look back on this moment, this this part of history, and realize that it is a uniquely stupid time. We live in the dumbest times. And this this World Cup price is just more of a symptom of it. Insane. Insane. I tried to go to the uh here in uh here in the nation's capital. I tried to go to one the the uh not the final four, but but the elite eight. And the tickets were also stupid. It was just to sit at the very, very top. It was $700, and nowhere near $11,000. $11,000. Wasn't nowhere near that, but it was it was offensively expensive. It was offensively expensive to me. So I I I can I can imagine being a World Cup fan. Waiting some of you who are kids, some of the kids, right? And adults who waited their entire lives for it to be here in the United States, only to find out, bro, you're not going, man. You're not going. You're just gonna have to get comfortable watching it on the largest screen possible in your living room. Drinking Died Dr. Pepper. I don't endorse soda, but or or a corona for you for you fans. What do soccer fans drink? Shit, I don't know. What do you what do y'all drink, bro? We're drinking coronas, whatever. Just imagine that's what it is. That's what you're gonna have to enjoy instead of paying $11,000 to go or a bare minimum $5k, five bands, bro, to go sit in the and by the way, in New Jersey of all places, not in LA, not in somewhere cool and exotic. New Jersey $11,000. You have got to be kidding me. Come on. All right, I've rambled enough. Let's talk some hoops, shall we? Let's talk some basketball. Final four. Up next, we have Abi Rahman, Democratic strategist, uh, to talk all things Michigan basketball and then some. We'll be right back. All right, ladies and gentlemen. Uh, today we have on a very special guest, my friend uh and compatriot Abi Rahman, dim strategist uh that's worked for the DNC, the DLCC, Bettos, Stacey Abrams. He's a he's a he's a serial name dropper, what can I say? Too much of it, too much of it. Yeah. Yeah. Uh all right, man. Let's get right to it. We have you on because you're an avid uh uh a Michigan fan. Be real. How how annoying? How annoying have you been since Michigan made the Final Four? Have you been as insufferable as I imagine?
SPEAKER_06I was gonna say, like, I've been probably equally as as insufferable as uh in 2023 when they made it to the the when they won the national championship in football, actually. Yeah, yeah. But um it's been awesome watching uh watching probably the most talented Michigan team of all time. Uh, you know, it's it's a true team. Whoa! Better than the Fab Five. That's for sure.
SPEAKER_04You were right. Whoa! Were you even alive? During the Fab Five Years!
SPEAKER_06I was a baby for the record, for the record. Uh but uh you know, it's it's crazy watching those guys. Uh, you know, they got the size, they got the skill, they got the shots, uh, you know, the shooting ability. It's it's been it's been an amazing run for them. Um what's also crazy is uh Big Ten, best basketball conference in the country, right? Uh it is.
SPEAKER_04How many teams were in the in the tournament this year? It's like it was like eight or something like that. I couldn't even believe it.
SPEAKER_06It was a crazy amount. Um, the thing that is even more crazy is uh Michigan win won more games by double digits uh than they won by single digits in the Big Ten season. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Well, the Big Ten has been, yes, to be fair, the Big Ten has been absolutely great. It has the best players in IL Money can buy. So I'm like we know more. Yeah, the Big Ten is great. Um, and and now you have what two teams in the final four from the Big Ten. Yeah, um Michigan and Illinois. In insane um year for the Big Ten. I the Big Ten has taken over both football and basketball for as far as and I hate saying that he's the SEC guy. Like I'm an SEC guy. Ah man. Although I will say last year, I think the SEC was insanely good in basketball. They were Bama, uh uh Kentucky, Arkansas. They were all really, really, really, really good. Yeah. This time country. The fly over country no more. So I hate saying it. I gotta go wash my mouth.
SPEAKER_06That was it's it's not even just that, right? Football, you got uh the last three national champions, big ten. Uh we don't acknowledge 2024 though, we don't acknowledge the city.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah, exactly. We'll we'll go into that in a little bit, but like are we uh are you just are you like texting people like we bet well like what you how hard I mean I I've been in conversation with you. You're you're not a very humble Michigan.
SPEAKER_06Oh no, no, it's the leaders in the best, right? The uh the all time winning is football program. Uh basketball is a secondary program, we're still winning, right? Like we are, you know, uh like when
SPEAKER_04think about the combination there's a best football basketball programs nothing beats Michigan now like not Florida no not not not Alabama I'd agree yeah I can't I can't disagree I think you know Michigan has returned to its sort of like its roots when it comes to when I was playing you know and coming up and being in Michigan and being a fan of just college sports in general it wasn't just um like the sports it transcended like it was like it was leaking into the culture yeah where a hundred percent everyone just had on Michigan gear you know I was big into the Fat Five at the time I was really really the black socks uh black socks are in the black socks yeah bro I started playing in nothing but black socks after that and I didn't realize I did realize but I think about it now and I'm like you know what culturally culturally important uh uh teams like or or you or colleges Michigan is is like right up there at the top oh yeah like it is weaved into sports culture more than definitely more than Ohio State yes 100% more state uh the only team that saddens me that's probably up there is uh is Notre Dame right like that's pretty like we've woven into uh over there you got Woody right uh you got the 1980s uh you know you got Catholics just loving uh loving loving Notre Dame so I guess Miami maybe too uh definitely Miami definitely my Miami I mean back in the day back in the day it was Michigan it was Miami it was Florida state um those probably three sometimes Nebraska would sort of break into that yeah it's interesting um at the at the time at the time I mean they're their program is basically dead so there it is dead oh it's coming back it's coming back it's coming back um it's coming back um but uh I mean you're one the top yeah I mean Michigan has had some down years I I I will say that uh both in basketball and uh you know we we all remember the Brady Hoke Rich Rodriguez uh the those were not good football years um but you know and the Juan Howard in basketball that that that was also a mess but oh of course of course so oh we should tell the audience like you're a Michigan man obviously we've been and and you're like more than just a sort of like guy on the sideline type of fan you're just not you and you're not a bandwagon guy. No.
SPEAKER_06What what's behind the fandom why are you why are you a big Michigan fan yeah it it's actually funny because I didn't even go to Michigan like which is uh what people like don't know uh so when I was yeah no I I I uh I went to school in Colorado because I didn't want to leave home so uh it it's it's uh it's funny in that sense because um you know I did my bachelor in Arbor uh you know I uh I I wait sorry sorry say that again what did you do I did my bachelor coming in Arbor uh you know so so I'm I I'm a real fan like I go to games all the time but uh why yeah so so when I was a kid uh my favorite animal was a lion um so I go I ask my parents uh what are like are there any teams with lions in them they say the Detroit Lions uh I immediately become obsessed with the Detroit Lions still am have the Detroit Lions in my background actually in my phone um and then I started liking the Detroit Tigers the Detroit Pistons Detroit Red Wings and the Michigan Wolverines so it it it has been an obsession since I was probably like four years old.
SPEAKER_04So what the hell is going on? So wait wait you grew up in Colorado I did yes what what part of Colorado? Uh Highlands Ranch uh Highland I have no idea where the hell that is the suburb of Denver it's it's uh it's like the safest area you'll ever ever go to so so you eventually migrated because of a Michigan mindset yeah of being wait wait you started off as a what fan uh Detroit Lions fan actually so you're a lions fan and then you eventually just migrated and matriculated over to to Michigan I mean your fandom is hardcore bro I know it's it's it's I I don't understand not not uh University of Colorado or no the Broncos no no it's it's it's all Michigan it's all it's all Michigan yeah it's it's all Detroit teams so have you ever lived in Michigan no i i i what that what the i know i know i know i i uh yeah bro yeah it's it's gonna be i i i can tell you this though nobody is a bigger fan of all the nobody is more loyal to than i am for all of the you need to be listen to me you need therapy yeah you need to be studied i i've never yeah i've never heard of this before yeah i i can tell you too what like the uh you know it's been painful like i remember uh when my dad told me that the detroit lions were the only nfl team that has never made it to the super bowl the only original one never i cried yeah i cried i i cried myself to sleep that night so yeah that's funny i know i know it's it's it's it's it's a true thing like it you know definitely not a bandwagon thing so when the lions win the super bowl i will be there just like i was there when michigan won the national championship in 2023 oh you went to the game i did yeah yeah and to watch the game yeah whole i i flew down to houston bought a ticket did all of it so i am in disbelief i'm i'm in dismay i have no i had no idea about yeah yeah yeah it's that is did you when you cried yourself to sleep did you like say oh well i'm gonna get revenge i'm gonna go play i'm gonna go like train and be a player and go to detroit did you ever like I wanted to you know I I unfortunately uh the the the whole the whole the whole genetics thing uh it was not in my favor there so like you know being a five foot nothing uh brown guy is is is not uh you know not quite there I I wanted to be a coach for a little bit though like that that that was oh that's yeah yeah but uh I can see that yeah but yeah yeah needed the competitiveness somehow that's how I got into politics right so right now man so I was what I was gonna ask you is like a little earlier was like are you because you love Michigan all things Michigan you love football obviously and you love the basketball team yes are you I was gonna ask you are if if you were is this this sort of like lean into the basketball team was like legit or is this mainly because you know the football team is absolutely cheap the football team is gonna be okay uh I will say that next year you know we have a real coach now we have uh you know not somebody who's more uh concerned with like chasing uh you know like like DMing yeah dming into RAM models or whatever he was doing man yeah yeah dming only from but like yeah like Raiders or whatever like now we got a real coach uh we got some we basically got the Mormon Jim Harbaugh so that's gonna be good.
SPEAKER_06Um but no like Michigan basketball has always been up there. I remember Trey Burke 2013 uh oh man yeah yeah such a good player like he he is still the best one I've ever seen in a Michigan uniform and that includes the fat five too so he came to DC one time and just was and randomly showed up in a gym and he I I was I happened to walk in was in the middle of the day yeah and he was training by himself um bro his levels yeah yeah levels boy should have challenged him to pick up game no she oh no i didn't want to buy i talked I was like I was I was like no he was training i I didn't want to I didn't want to go at him he would have dog walked me like and I'm I'm real real good at basketball real like college good day one college good yeah definitely yeah I'm six foot four yeah um plate guard um but he man the way he moved he was doing like what he was working on was back and forth three point shots he was just running back and forth hitting shooting threes and he was just not missing at all and he was like he had he did the exact same move it was repetitive over and over and over it was like bro this is perfecting your craft right ridiculous yeah it's ridiculous yeah it's kind of funny the um the the coolest experience I had in like a pickup game was uh when I lived in Colorado and I was growing up uh birdman came in uh to to like a rec center right like he decides to play a pickup game with us like he all all he does is jack up threes yeah like he he was just uh he was jacking up threes he was he was just like just having the time of his life uh yeah he was making a lot of them too which is funny because you don't think of him as a three-point shooter but uh yeah like he it it was so funny just watching him do that and he would just like if he ever got serious he would just go just drive through the lane and just dunk it on everybody but uh of course yeah yeah but yeah yeah yeah of course they all do they all do that I've any NBA player any tall NBA player I've played any pickup with it's the same they just get the rebound off the rim go full court yeah full court yeah you can exactly can't stop yeah yeah Colorado License uh exactly yeah uh uh what was I gonna oh yeah so back yeah we veered off but I want to go back to the game uh real quick so Michigan's played like really really really great yeah so far obviously uh I mean they better again with that NIL roster they got um uh not to go hate the player hate the game right uh yeah yeah hate the player hate the game I mean I'm proud Yaxel turned down big money yeah yeah to go to Michigan yeah to go to Michigan pretty much all of them did like Kentucky money Michigan pretty much all of them basketball NIL and like a lot of them take discounts to play for Dusty May and to uh to to better their stock uh to win a championship then go to the NBA and I think uh at this year at least I think three of them will so oh yeah definitely I mean um I I got Yaxel I got Yaxel in my top ten yeah easy he should be probably going eight yeah probably going seven eight maybe even nine yeah um he's that good I would argue that his stock maybe should rise a little bit more yeah but you got like real real talent yeah like real talent um yeah so like you know but now you know you played who'd you you you played um a couple of cupcakes honestly to get to get to the final four maybe the easiest path um I would say uh so so so the Tennessee was definitely easy right like that was not uh you know they shouldn't have been but yeah they they beat Iowa State which uh could have been kind of a challenge hard game yeah should have been a harder game yeah yeah uh Alabama that was actually kind of tricky just because uh forgetting the point guard's name but he was he was hitting everything uh like filly in I think or something or yeah he was hitting everything but you also gotta remember I don't know if you remember but they lost uh holiday yeah could have been a lot of who was yeah yeah an amazing player um uh McDonald all American yeah uh he was I think if anyone remembers him he was in the um he was in the Bronny James yeah uh McDonald all American game and played his ass off yeah so I knew he was gonna be really good and then you have him doing the drug thing which is yeah where that can I I I don't really understand it but you know more power to him I guess uh you know or or less seriously decriminalize we deschedule marijuana players um that's the only political thing I'm gonna say he should not be in this much trouble so yeah he should not be in this much trouble okay all right so anyway he's out it's Alabama he's out right now uh and now you have to play Alabama they for for lack of a I mean they put up a pretty good fight in the first half I and then it was I was screaming at the TV that first half like I I was like what is this like you know the this team is way better than uh than than the way they were playing but second half they got it down they they they they locked it down it it went from basically a tight game to Michigan up 17 in like the blink of an eye so like a blink of an eye like the blink of an eye so now in the first I am disappointed in this uh in the final four the first round of the final four you have Arizona who I would argue is the the probably the best it's Michigan and Arizona the real national championship is tomorrow night so the real national championship is tomorrow night yeah Michigan Arizona whoever wins that game is gonna win it all so I do not I don't doubt that I just think um I just think some Illinois will annoy me in I I love Illinois team I love Keaton Wagler but somehow they will like pull some some shit off like I know you have no idea why they are in this game suddenly they win that offense is good you know so the offense is good but they also held Houston to nothing yeah uh seven you know 17 0 run or something like that yeah and then uh so so you have the first game uh arizona I'd argue um like the ride again has been pretty easy so far again yeah but this one other than the the Duke game that you lost should have won you should lost that game you should have won we we should have won that game yes but uh yeah uh fell apart then there but you know is what it is every two times you have to lose to win right so it's sometimes you have to lose to win yeah that's right so Duke was this is not do this is the this is a a bigger test yeah we'll we'll see like Arizona like that like they like that Arizona's gonna be the best team like we play all year right so yeah we'll see what happens like if Michigan is able to uh to control the tempo like pound it inside we got Mara we got uh moreson right like those guys have a good game but they should be okay they match up yeah they match up inside perfectly with um Michigan though yeah we have uh I don't even know their names forgive me I don't know the big guy he's like what seventh right right yeah something like that for uh for uh Arizona I mean he matches up well with uh the center you guys got yeah Ben Mar who I think is an exceptional player he's he's NBA good yeah like he's yeah he's really good his passing and his vision he's he's he's the American joke is so easy yeah I mean no don't let's slow down slow down let's break here we're getting yeah we're getting ahead of our skis here here you go again I love the pass keep the passion up there we go slow it down yeah just a little bit yeah I'm excited to see uh Jax Linderberg go against Coa Pete though yeah that I'm excited to see that you're talking about guys same physical sort of archetype you know like those guys are gonna really like go at it this to me again this is the game to watch I wish this was the final it should be like this they should reseed the final four like the I think so yeah I mean they should have just hey pure matchup there you go yeah but you know they gotta be fair yeah that wouldn't be fair yeah I think uh Dan Hurley would he would make a a a really public stink about having you see him uh staring down that ref uh what the hell was that you you you guys just hit the biggest shot in the last five years and then this is what you want and he looked like he was on a rat beef like what's going on I was very confused about that but you know that's just him I guess so yeah yeah yeah weird um but you know again again I think Yaxel and Coop I think like you know both maybe stars in the making I think Yaxel and his whole journey is yeah is very it's such a great story but you know seeing one of the in the tournament my to my eyes yeah he was probably legit the best the absolute best player from end to end so far I've seen um so yeah seeing him go against again co-opete and the rest of the Arizona team I think is gonna be freaking can be good to watch television I think the thing about Yatsel too is like there is another level he hasn't reached yet like he you know he he is very deferential to other players on Michigan like he wants to to play the team game uh I want to see him take over a game right like I I want to see use everything that he can to uh to win this game and I I you know I know Dusty May is is is is preaching that too like this game will be won or lost by Axel.
SPEAKER_04So maybe in this game I don't know man this team different it's gonna take everybody the thing that gets me is like the rest of the team from Michigan has to make shots. I've seen them yeah we we need like wet the bed shooting I know I know like just completely inexplicably miss everything. Yeah yeah yeah like there there are some games where we're uh you know when when Trey McKinney like people like that are hitting uh then there are games where they just completely shit the bed and and like yeah yeah yeah can't hit one shot so yeah we'll see speaking of yeah speaking of the axle uh yeah uh it just came to my mind like you know your your boy we gotta talk like he said uh what did he say after they won the the sweet 16 game he said uh I'm paraphrasing he said um we might be the best Michigan team ever yeah yeah ever yes yeah you said it I know yeah yeah yeah it's a talented team win it all yeah well you think about it too only one Michigan team has won a national championship that's uh 1989 Glenn Rice who I thought was so yeah yeah I but I thought I mean he scored like the most points in the tournament to that maybe even ever still but he scored 180 something points in the tournament scored 28 in the semifinal scored 30 plus in the final game we need from Yaks we need him to go you gotta have if he does that hey yeah you know I'll give it to you but Jalen Rose you know he came through and just like you were just saying in typical unk fashion not you but Jalen Rose he said you know that hey young buck like you know win something versus to the axis credit he said if we win it all he said if we win it all we're the best team but you know yeah yeah so you think that they're better than the Fab five I think that uh they have won games at a at a much bigger margin than the Fab five I think it remains to be seen uh you know what happens I guess these next two games they beat Arizona though best Michigan team ever so without a doubt that is that is fair and and they're doing it in a in a D1 college atmosphere where the talent level and I listen the parody yeah I'm uh I am a Jordan purist yeah I am the best player ever even LeBron second yeah the skill level on these guys late these last year year two years has been insane level good here's my Jordan LeBron take Jordan is the best winner ever like can't can't argue with that LeBron is the best all around player ever like that he can score inside he can score outside he can uh you know there is no weakness to LeBron's game like Jordan yes like he won he won in a weak era though so and he's a better win LeBron so yeah I stand by that I I'm not gonna get in this argument with you bro you don't know about that bro who is more two player like Clyde Drexler right like you know I I I can't even think of it like Carl Malone the the the postman uh first of all Carl Malone's jump shot was legit yes he could not miss I'll give you that I'll give you that yeah a mid a mid-range jumper um my personal second favorite player of that era who I think is legit the second best player of that entire era is Hakeem I that's respectable obviously and I'm talking about post magic and yeah like prime magic and prime Larry Bird right um and he and Jordan never never really beat prime Larry Bird never right never never beat he beat the Pistons but they were banged up yeah yeah Jordan had to get strong so I I do get the argument I think that um the level of training and skill that these players have now is so insane yeah um it's hard to compare errors yeah um I agree with that I do but the disrespect to not you not you but I hear a lot of people saying it like let's be real Shay SGA plays Michael Jordan's game without the free throw bait yeah like Michael Jordan doesn't free throw bait yeah Shay just free throw baits gets to the line he everyone was like oh he scored 47 points and I'm not a hater I'm not a hater at Shay I love him a little bit but he scored 47 points a little bit yes yeah he scored 47 points he had 25 free throws yeah 25 bro I know And he does it every single game. Now you now Jordan was doing the whole pump fake, the whole slide through, the whole, you know, the whole step back, the whole fadeaway, the whole, you know, he's in and pushed off a little bit. He did. He did. Obviously.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Obviously, everyone knows the infamous uh Brian Russell, the whole push off. They they had that shit from the highlights now. They don't even show the push-off part. They only show the jump and the winning shots.
SPEAKER_06Like, no, no, no, no, no. You pushed off. You pushed off. I will say this. Uh Jordan is the greatest competitor of all time. Like, I I would argue in basketball. Like, in basketball, yes. In football, I would say probably Tom Brady, another Michigan man, by the way. Um God. Um, yeah. I walk right into that.
SPEAKER_04I walk right into that. Oh my god. I can't I can't debate you on it. I know. The goat. He's he's the he's the goat competitor. I'll I'll I'll put it at that. I, you know, obviously I'm I am as far as thrower of the football, who puts spin, intensity, speed, accuracy. Yeah. I think he's up there. I think um, like talent-wise. Talent wise, uh Aaron Aaron Rodgers is you think oh my god, yes, yeah, yes, don't be don't be as a lions fan.
SPEAKER_06I and and and as a human being, I can't stand Aaron Rodgers.
SPEAKER_04But uh I understand that, yeah, yeah. He has a lot to answer for. Yeah. And the good lord will but yeah, but you gotta, I'm telling you, he's a weird guy, but he can he can fling that football. Yeah, you got Dan Marino and you got um John L. John LA, yeah. Yeah. They could really spin the ball. I mean, really throw that bad boy. Like pure, it looked like there were no wobbles, never ever. Like it was just yeah, pure spin accuracy. Um, but so but you know, you're Michigan. I'll let you have it.
SPEAKER_06I'm not gonna I have nothing bad to be able to do that. As a Lions fan, uh the the best pure football thrower I've ever seen is Matt Stafford. Like Matt Stafford can throw the ball, like you know, he would make you know terrible decisions, uh, including asking out of Detroit is my you know, should the best. But uh, you know, he he he the man can throw the football.
SPEAKER_04So man, yeah, that's a good one. Yeah, uh you you you lost out on him.
SPEAKER_06I know, I know he won a Super Bowl the year after.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, the year after, and uh and you had some golden years. You uh you I guess you were like really there with Calvin, was it? Yeah, you were like big into Calvin. He ate Calvin Johnson was my fantasy football guy. Yeah, like I draft him every year no matter what, and it was just yeah, heaven on earth. Yeah, heaven on earth.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, yeah. He uh it's funny because uh he would get triple teamed, right? And we would still just uh just throw the ball up to him, he'd find a way to get it down.
SPEAKER_04So yeah, oh yeah, definitely. He is probably I at this point it's low key. He's definitely in my top probably five receivers.
SPEAKER_06Oh, yeah, yeah. Without a doubt. Definitely in my top five. He's the most physical receiver that you know, like just his bit his speed, his size. Uh, you know, he didn't win anything, but that's more of a function of uh Detroit's dysfunction.
SPEAKER_04So it's just Detroit. Yeah, but everyone everyone knows that like some of the most elite players have come from Detroit.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, Barry Sanders, you know.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, Barry Sanders, uh uh and end of list.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, no, Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson, pretty much it. Yeah, um yeah, and Matthew Gibbs though was also gonna be just the the the man as a stud.
SPEAKER_04So first of all, I'm I'm a Bama guy. Yeah. So I I once once he went to Detroit, I became instantly uh uh partially a Detroit fan. I'm a Cowboys fan for life. Yeah, yeah. That is rough. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's been rough. It's been it's been rough.
SPEAKER_06I tell you, uh, I went to uh the Cowboys game against the Chiefs on uh Thanksgiving. It was in a box and everything. So oh wow, yeah, yeah. Fire.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so my first time in uh Jerry World. Oh, it was a spice in Jerry World. Yeah, you know, I have never been. I need to go. Yeah, I need to, I'm I keep telling myself my problem is is I keep finding myself in in keeping them at arm's length, yeah, and they're in boycott range. Like at like at any time I can be like, I'm out. Yeah, uh, I'm out. Like the stuff you're gonna do.
SPEAKER_06Giving uh Michael Parsons away to uh to the pop.
SPEAKER_04Giving Michael Parsons away was an absolute crazy what the F. Like why I I mean sickened, saddened. Yeah. Uh this was like in the realm, but again, you know, his back was bad, he ends up tearing his ACL. Who knows what would have happened if if if Dallas had ended up paying him?
SPEAKER_07Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04That's fair. So it was it was rough. It was rough for a minute. I mean, I I was definitely in the like, this is an unforgivable, this has crossed the line. I'm now I was telling all my guys, I'm like, hey, uh, I'm now a Houston, Texas fan. So I have I have no idea what you're talking about when you when you bring Dallas to me. I'm sorry who Dallas? Yep, yep, you know, yeah. That's where I was for a while. Yeah, so I'm not like a ride or die. I am a rider die, but I'm not like a you bring ride or die to like another scale. Yes. And I still don't get it. Yeah. I mean, have your has your like has your have your parents or your siblings or friends or fans, have they ever been like, hey man, like what's wrong with you? Or they just been so uh I think they always wonder, especially my wife, too.
SPEAKER_06Like I'm I'm I'm sure she's always uh I I don't think she necessarily understands the uh the Michigan obsession either. Because I because I bring her to stuff too. I I kind of uh make her come along with stuff.
SPEAKER_04So I love it. Is she is she um is she from Michigan? No, I don't know. She's from Michigan, she's from Michigan. This is a new logo.
SPEAKER_06She's from the Philly area, so ah okay, okay.
SPEAKER_04Well, that's at least it's not Michigan. Yeah, I was about to really call the cops on if that would happen if she was from Michigan. I know. Bro, you you really need help. You're a sick. Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Well, it's it's the leaders in the best.
SPEAKER_04So uh uh and it wasn't Michigan State, which I w why didn't you go to Michigan? Why why Michigan and not Michigan State? Yeah, no, uh hate Sparty.
SPEAKER_06Uh I I I don't know, but uh always have just always hated Sparty, as it was Michigan for me. So yeah, I I I can't really explain it. It's just uh it's like when you know you know, right? So yeah, I get it.
SPEAKER_04When you you know when you have the one, when you meet the when you meet the sports team, you're gonna be obsessed about.
SPEAKER_06Uh you you just kind of do it.
SPEAKER_04So all right. All right, let's wrap it up. Let's uh let's let's let's make some predictions. Cool. I think I think it's gonna be one-sided, but what do you think?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I'm gonna go uh so tomorrow night, Michigan. I'm gonna say 87, Arizona, 83. Both teams can score. So I'm predicting high score in there. Then uh and then Michigan's gonna cut down the nets. It'll be Michigan and Illinois. Michigan cuts down the nets on Monday.
SPEAKER_04Ah, how do you I think if that happens, I think Michigan absolutely destroys Illinois.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. I I um I've seen so many Yukon games, like they're so one-dimensional most of the time. Like it's just throw it into terrace read, let him you know do his thing. Uh this year. Yeah, yeah. So so to me, it's like I I think Illinois beats uh Yukon. I think it's Michigan, Illinois. Michigan wins it all.
SPEAKER_04If if that freshman for Yukon has a good game, Mullins, who I think is also gonna be a sleeper in the NBA, um, Mullins, not Mullins, Mullins, the one who hit the game on the shot. Well, I've I've been tracking him all year. I thought he was gonna be a little bit better. Yeah. Um interesting. Uh still young.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, he's raw, yeah, young and raw, I think. Um, but people have him going in the draft in the first round for sure. Um especially after that shot, I bet. So oh yeah, uh one shot. Um, I mean, he shot it like he meant it. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06He shot it like he knew it went in. Yeah, yeah. Um to not panic, like make sure he got like a good look, right? Like he passed it off, got the ball back, took the shot. So oh yeah, yeah. It was poetic.
SPEAKER_04It was poetic watching Duke lose like that. And I I don't hate Duke. I just I just uh I think we all kind of hate Duke deep down in some in a way, I think we all hate in a way, yeah. Yeah, you want you want to see them sort of like their suffer, you know. You want to see them suffer their pride and elite attitudes about everything. Some people say about Michigan, but uh that not the case. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Uh no, let's be clear. Ohio State has the worst fans. Oh, yeah, 100% college schools.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_04They're the worst.
SPEAKER_05Yes, yes. We can definitely agree on that.
SPEAKER_04Sufferable.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_04They cry and whine about literally everything. Yep. Everything's a problem in football. Yeah. Basketball, for some reason, it's a great say for basketball, but for some reason they don't keep or attract the best talent. Yeah. Um, for whatever reason. But in football, nothing's ever good enough. Right. You could win like a hundred to zero, and then the coach will be fired the next day. Yeah. Like it's ready to be, and they're on their soapboxes, and nothing like I've been in, I'll be in a completely different space, having a completely different conversation, and in walks Ohio State fan, and they're just like they they just suck the gravity out of the room to to like malaise about all the bullshit in Ohio State. And it and and it can be like the best thing ever. Yeah. Like they could be, they could they except for the fact that they always lose to Michigan. Yeah, almost, almost always. Um, but it is like, man, the melodramatic ridiculousness of some of those guys, bro.
SPEAKER_06Because not nothing else happened in Ohio.
SPEAKER_04So nothing, yeah. Except for skippity toilets, eating cats and dogs, eating the cats. Like that's the only thing ever happened. Yeah. It's the only thing ever happening, right? So I I would I guess I would be. I guess you have a point. I guess if they that's all they ever have, then yeah, yeah. That's all that's that's it. I'd be whining about it too.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, so also produced that's probably the worst vice president of all time, right?
SPEAKER_04So uh easily, yeah. All right, bro, man. It's really good to have you on. Really good to catch up with you and shoot the shit. Uh uh. Uh I we we didn't need to finish. Oh, yeah, I didn't need to finish. I um oh man, this is tough. This is a real tough one. There's a right and a wrong answer here. I I know there's a right and a wrong one, and I'm gonna say the right. I think Arizona pulls it off. I think Arizona Nope. I know. I think Arizona gets it. I think Arizona's uh I think their defense wins the day here. I think the matchups are too uh they're too. I don't think uh I don't think you have a guard that can guard Burris that's fair um for Arizona. Yeah, I think he's gonna go off uh all things else be equal.
SPEAKER_06Like they they do a better guard play than we do.
SPEAKER_04So oh absolutely that's the worst. So uh if you're if the center, who I never can pronounce his name, uh if he I think he he is no, I think if Yaxel has a great game, then I think you can win. But he has to get 30. Oh yeah. He gotta go off. Yeah, he gotta go off because uh it's to me. I just don't trust the guards for Michigan. I just don't trust them. Yeah, and if they're shooting and missing missing shit, trying to do this hero nonsense, like all guards doing the final four. I don't know. Yeah, but I think Arizona's team is so complete. Although Michigan's is too. Yeah, it's gonna be hard to call. It's a hard call. It is somehow. I think UConn gets to the final. I hate UConn.
SPEAKER_05I hate UConn.
SPEAKER_04Um, they're gonna get to the final. It's gonna be a boring ass game no matter who wins. I mean, if they win. If Michigan wins or if Arizona wins, the final it's I'm not interested. Yeah, I mean I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm interested, but I'm not interested, right? I would have loved Illinois against either of those teams. I feel like we're all winning. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06I agree with that. Um it's interesting you're picking the two opposite teams that I am. So uh so we'll see who's right here, or if we split them.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah, we'll see.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, we'll see, man. Awesome.
SPEAKER_04So yeah, man, good to talk to you. I know you gotta run. Um, but let's let's uh let's do this again. Yeah, definitely. Let's do it again. It's great. Um, all right, cool. Awesome. Good to talk to you. That was a great conversation. Uh I want to thank Abby for uh coming on the show. Bro, I had always assumed that he was from Michigan. Um any correspondence I've had with Abby over the last couple of years, everything has been all about Michigan. I just assumed that he went there and graduated from there. Now that I know that he didn't, I feel somewhat uh betrayed. Not betrayed, I just feel blindsided. I feel I feel like my world has been shaken to a to a degree. But, you know, it is what it is. Um love is love, right? We don't we don't choose who we love. And he has fallen in love with the Michigan Wolverines who will lose to the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday. I'm kidding, I'm kidding, but I'm not kidding. I mean, I chose them, so yeah. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the show. It was a great conversation. And as usual, this is the part where I tell you to uh go and tell all your friends about stay to play. Uh go and download stay to play wherever podcasts are downloaded, and we'll see you next week.