Are the Knicks CURSED Now?

Did Trump doom the Knicks by attending the game? YES. Is the UFC fight on the White House lawn illegal? YES but they don't care.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:01

Just trump the black cat, the thorn in the side, the Don's wrath of the New York Knicks. One can only hope. Just say the play.

SPEAKER_06 0:19

Now all of a sudden we're winning.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

If the Knicks lose tonight, I blame Trump. I don't want Trump at the game. I don't want no new people at the game.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

I'm in the game three of the finals, and I don't want them there. It has everything to do with him. Disrupting and contributing at the same time to the chaos. If it causes the New York Knicks to win to lose tonight, I'm blaming him.

SPEAKER_03 0:44

Of course they say that. And then so he goes to the garden, obviously, and then they play the national anthem. And as everyone knows now, this is what's his reception. Move relentlessly. Donald Trump is interviewed, and this is what gives you cost to pause. This is what gives you cost to pause. At least speculate. You know, sound may have been a different sound, may have been pumped into the booth or the area that Trump was sitting in with James Dolan, because then he he is asked this about the response from the New York fans.

SPEAKER_04 1:38

I do it great. I mean, uh I thought it was amazing, actually. I thought it was very good, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:45

So you knew about it?

SPEAKER_04 1:46

It was certainly amazing.

SPEAKER_03 1:47

It was it was amazing, he said.

SPEAKER_04 1:49

I think mostly cheers.

SPEAKER_03 1:51

It was mostly cheers.

SPEAKER_04 1:52

They're loud and it was very enthusiastic.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

Mostly cheers. Did you guys hear many most did you hear most coming from the audience?

SPEAKER_03 2:03

Seriously. Mostly cheers. Uh I would say that the fans were uh none too pleased to say the least, wouldn't you say? Unless, again, sounds were pumped in. You know, I didn't watch first take yesterday, but I can only imagine Stephen throwing a conniption after that loss. He was he was very upset, I I assume. I'm sure he was like, I knew it!

SPEAKER_02 2:32

I knew it! The commanding thief walked into the garden and started prancing around stuff black clap, black cat, the Madison Square Garden, the Mecca of basketball, the Vatican of Hoops. He should be banned from ever coming to the garden ever again. He had the audacity, the temerity, the unmitigated to come to the game and single-handedly cost the Knicks a victory on their home turf. How dare you, sir?

SPEAKER_03 3:13

That's that's the best I can do of Stephen. I know there are people who are better and don't care. So game three. Uh uh the other day, game four is if you're listening, this is uh we're recording on a Wednesday morning because I didn't have time to record yesterday. Game three of the NBA Finals finally arrived at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks were hosting for the first time an NBA Finals game since 1990 in the before times, as some say. Uh New York is buzzing, Spike Lee is courtside, Timothy Chalamet is somewhere just like an assistant coach. I don't know. And naturally, uh President Trump decides to uh raid this historic moment and also needs himself. So he attends the game, and as a guest of Nick's owner, uh James Dolan, becoming the first, by the way, sitting president to attend an NBA finals game. And because nothing says fun night at the garden, like federal security, the streets were shut down. Fans were told to arrive two hours early, and uh the outdoor watch party, as everyone knows, infamously was canceled. Uh even De'Aaron Fox said everybody was getting screened like they were going through TSA, Wimby got screened, hilarious images coming out of that. Uh Secret Service was like scanning all over him like a bunch of mosquitoes. It was hilarious. Uh, and then when Trump obviously appeared on the Jumbaltron during the national anthem, the choir of booze were as New York as New York could be. I'm so proud. I'm so proud. You did your job. Uh, like I said, I imagine they were pumping cheering noises by the response that we just heard from the president. Uh, I imagine they were pumping cheering noises into the uh his area while someone walked up and whispered, they're all cheering for you, sir. They love you so much. And then on top of all that shit, Trump falls asleep. I I kid you not. I don't think people are talking about this enough. Bro, falls asleep. You're for him, New York. Your booze are lullabies to him because he's the definition of unbothered to say the least. Couldn't be bothered to stay awake during an NBA finals game, not just an NBA finals game. Perhaps a finals perhaps more hype than we have ever seen. At least in the last like 10-15 years. You're in the building with Primo tickets to the most exciting NBA finals in history, I think, so far. And a place that hasn't had an NBA finals since 1999. And you fall asleep. That is incredible. Incredible. A feat that I did not think could ever happen. That's definitely worse than Stephen A. Smith playing solitaire or whatever he was doing last year's NBA finals. Much worse, actually. Uh but look, then we had a basketball game. Uh uh maybe Trump, to everyone's point earlier, is cursed because the uh the Knicks in fact lost the game. And it had nothing to do with talent. It had nothing to do with the talent of a seven six seven foot-six basketball monster that hit threes and does standing dunks. Knicks fans, listen. Please listen. Guys, pull up a chair, get close. Don't do this. You're starting to be insufferable. Don't do this. Trust me, as a Cowboys fan, I know. I know. Okay? I know what it means. Call me a conscious, conscientious observer type of a Cowboys fan. Because I don't do that. But I watch from the and I know it when I see it. And all I hear is, oh, the officiating was terrible. Trump made us lose. It's us against the world. We beat ourselves. No, you lost. The Spurs played better than you for once. For one things, someone outplayed you. You won 13 in a row and you act like it's like the end of the world. You know, you act like it's a crisis. Chill. Stop. Get some help. Stop it. Get some help. We'll say uh uh Nick's got away from the script a little bit, I thought. Uh Kat didn't get the ball consistently at the top of the key and try to facilitate too much like one-on-one Brunson dribbling at the top, dribble, dribble, dribble, 10-15 seconds go off the clock, and then they gotta get into an action. Usually ended in a you know, very off, sort of fading um Jalen Brunson shot, which it's amazing, by the way. He he was knocking him down. I think he's unbelievably good, obviously. But you can't continuously do that when you know Josh Hart was hitting threes. Unbelievable game. And uh there was too much of the nonsense at the top with Brunson, I thought they got away from the game. Kat didn't go off. Uh he wasn't really allowed to. Uh, I will say that's in part because the Spurs, you know, they smartly sort of took Wimby off the ball and uh discard Kat at the top when they did do that, and then they moved uh they moved Wimby down to the paint to sort of guard the paint a little bit more, um, which I thought was great. Thought was great, smart move. Um maybe they'll counter it on the on the game Wednesday night tonight. So um in typical fashion, I thought the uh uh the Spurs came out also as they do. They came out and smacked the Knicks in the face. The Knicks seemed a bit timid, a bit nervous at first, but then but the Spurs seem to do that every other game where they'll come out and literally score like go on like a 10-0 or 15-0 run uh right at the beginning of the game. And then the it felt like the Knicks never truly recovered, even though they sort of started getting into it, but it was so you know the Spurs would hit a timely shot every to sort of quell that. Uh, and it never really felt like the the Knicks really took control. Now it's from the jump. So I will say that again, the Knicks felt very timid. It felt weird. The energy was a little off with them at the very beginning of the game. Uh going back home to the garden, playing in front of uh the massive amount of celebrities who paid $200,000 a ticket or whatever they paid to you know watch a game. So I imagine there's a lot of pressure, but um uh I think they'll play a little bit better. I do think I I I am predicting two. Yeah. And that's just probably me channeling my Spurs fandom. I think the Spurs win again tonight. They're very confident, young bunch. I still think they're young, they're learning on the fly. They're learning on the fly. I think they only had like seven turnovers uh last game, which is an easy set line for them because they turn it over in large numbers. Uh and when they keep their turnovers down, they're hard to beat. Real hard to beat. I think they're gonna try to continue that trend. I think Darren Fox is getting healthy. Um so we'll, you know, I uh it's gonna be a tougher game than the than they know. I think that fans who Knicks fans who think that it's an automatic win just because the Knicks have a better, sort of more experienced team at the very least, uh, you know, I think uh I think you are swinging for the fences if you think that they're just gonna the Spurs are just gonna roll away. You know. Uh Young Corps, but again, they're learning on the fly. And I think they got a real chance to win on Wednesday evening, but we will see. We will see. Um hopefully Wimby, Wimby, get your big ass in the paint, man. Every time you did that at the beginning of the game, you know, once you see the shots go through, uh it's easier when you're close. It's easier to see the shots go through when you're further away. Every shooter knows that. Shooter's gonna shoot. If you're off in the beginning, try getting a couple of free throws, get a couple of couple of practice shots, and then start shooting those threes if you if you must. But I wouldn't put your butt in the paint, bro. In the beginning of the game and late in the game, get in the paint. And with the help of President Trump, hopefully he comes to this game too. Hopefully he comes to this game too. I know he's not, but somehow he decides last minute to take air, you know, uh what what's the it's not Air Force One, the helicopter. Marine One takes a last-minute trip on Marine One. Okay, maybe maybe Air Force One. I don't know. Takes a plane, last-minute trip to New York City, gets into the garden to watch the game again as a historic night. And then that black cat, the Don's wrath that is Donald Trump, shows up again and helps facilitate a Spurs win in the garden. It goes back to San Antonio tied 2-2. That's that's that's my heart's desire. That's my heart's desire. Hoping that the Spurs can ruin a perfectly iced beers and celebrity courtside reactions. Camera one, cut the spike. Camera two, Timothy Chalamet looks frustrated. He looks good, although we love his outfit. He's got a nice woman by his side, but he needs to be comforted right now. That's what we want. We want horrified celebrity faces in game two. Game four, sorry, and then it goes back to San Antonio. Tied 2-2. Look, yes, I am a Spurs fan, but I am also a fan of the NBA, and I just think this is a fascinating series. I want it to go seven games, no matter what. Swin it, so be it, in seven. Long as it goes seven, I'm good. I won't be that good if the Spurs lose, but hey, what can I say? We're getting some good, good basketball. No complaints. All right today, but first I quickly wanted to call attention to the UFC Freedom 250 fight that's being uh hosted this uh Sunday, June 14th on the White House lawn. Um on Sunday, it's being hosted on the White House lawn, uh, complete with invited guests, uh, corporate branding, a massive temporary claw arena, uh ways in, you know, they're doing weigh-ins at the Lincoln Memorial. You know, it sounds kind of cool, but I'm not a lawyer. But I've been others have too. How was this legal? Because the White House lawn is not a personal backyard, the Lincoln Memorial is not an event space that you can rent on peer space. Uh, these are public grounds that are uh maintained for public resources, and it is against the law to turn the profit on government land, on public land. That is against the law. And I am really, really shocked and not sure while why the media isn't really paying more attention to it, probably because it's just sort of status quo. The this administration just breaks the law whenever it wants, and you know, it goes to the courts, and then by the time they do it, you know, they just break things and pay for it later. Same old thing this time. But don't take my word for it. Listen to this.

SPEAKER_05 16:36

Park service regulations are being violated. This is use of public lands, government property, uh, for the promotion of not only the UFC, but also Sky Dance Paramount, which is going to be broadcasting this and apparently charging uh nine dollars for every American who wants to see it.

SPEAKER_03 16:58

Yeah, so that was Professor here and now the other day. So as you heard it, Sky Dance Paramount, which is uh also well known to be trying to be in good uh Trump's good graces so they can get this merger in place, is uh is showing the fight, I guess, on Paramount Plus, you need a subscription to watch it. So they too are profiting off of the fight. And then have you seen this? The Trump family is currently promoting a collection of limited edition old medallions tied to the fight for money. So this collection is being marked, uh is being marketed through a licensing collaboration with the UFC and the Trump organization Donald Trump Jr. with some versions of these medallions, coins or whatever you want to call them, costing around $250, while the premium gold versions are being sold for nearly 12 bleeping, beep, beep, beep, bleeping thousand dollars. That's right. The president is hosting a UFC fight for his birthday, claiming this for $250 on the White House grounds, and his family business is licensing his image for commemorative merchandise connected to it. I mean, this coin costs more than most people have in their savings accounts. Happy 250 America. Okay, perspective again, the UFC is a multi-million, multi-billion dollar business producing a major commercial event with some of the most recognizable public on some of the most recognizable po recognizable public property in America on the White House lawn. And it gets the publicity, the broadcast audience, the branding, all the financial benefits from this. UFC is making bank on this. So what exactly are the American people getting out of this arrangement? I ask you. Just came out, inflation went up. Cheaper gas? Nope. War in Iran. Still going on. So thank God I'm not the only person. Thank God I am not the only person asking these questions. Because of uh a federal lawsuit, thank God, is trying to arguing that the administration improperly, I guess, authorized uh private a private sporting spectacle, I'll call it that, a spectacle on public land. You can't do that. That is illegal. But again, you know, what isn't? Sort of shrug their shoulders and go along with it and let it happen. Now the Trump administration is saying that, you know, this is legal because other public events have been held there before. And look, I don't I don't think they're charging for it. On the contrary, I heard uh I heard that they're paying people, they're trying to pay people and veterans, asking them to actually go to the event. Rather, they are actually giving away tickets but not paying people's way to go to DC to see it. You see what I'm saying? So they're trying to fill up the seats, uh uh asking veterans and enlisted members to come actually watch the event. But there's a pretty obvious difference between hosting a public ceremony and turning the seat of the federal government into a promotional backdrop for your friend's birthday party. That's all I'm saying. That's all I'm saying. You know, because once presidents are allowed to hand over America's public spaces to who whichever corporation or billionaire friend that they personally favor, Dana White. Where does it end? Where does it stop? Yeah, you know. Today it's UFC at the White House, tomorrow it's the Rose Garden, sponsored by DraftKings. Pretty soon you're gonna look up an Oval Office, gets renamed the Crypto.com Executive Lounge. Like, where does this end? Or Trump will just follow in his own footsteps and just name everything after himself. You know? Where does it end? Feel it feels corruption-y. It feels corruption-y. Are you gonna watch the fight? I'm not. I'm I'm actually not. I'm not uh you know, if this was like some big boxing thing. You told me uh Pacquiao and Mayweather were gonna suddenly show up despite their age, we're suddenly gonna show up. I might be tempted to overlook, I might be tempted to overlook it. I wouldn't watch, I wouldn't pay for it, wouldn't do it, but I'd be tempted. Not gonna lie, I'd be tempted. But when is it stopped? When are we gonna stop this? I know what I want to stop. I want to stop my electric bill from going up. I want to stop my ground beef from being $12, $15 a pound. That's why we gotta vote. That's why we gotta vote, folks. It's also uh illustrative. This entire thing is illustrative of how sports and politics and pop culture intersect, you know, the perfect plug for our show. It never stops. Look, it's all intertwined, and we all just need to get used to it at this point. So whenever I see here people, oh, keep sports out of politics, this is the epitome of sports and it's literally sports and politics. Sports and politics are happening right now as the World Cup is about to jump off. Have you guys seen this too? The World Cup is about to jump off in in the Washington Post today. World Cup players and officials are being detained or barred from entry into the U.S. By the way, as I told you months ago, what's gonna happen? They're being barred from the U.S. Immigration authorities say the detentions of Somali and two Iraqi national team members were part of a routine vetting. But officials and fans in their homelands want an explanation. The article goes on to say that the Somali referee is not the only one to be questioned or a question on the arrival ahead of the World Cup. CBP often conducts when people entering on visas arrive in the U.S. And its officials can deny entry, even if the individual had previously been vetted and given permission to travel. But in the end, it didn't matter. It didn't even matter because they detained referee, who's been a referee for quite some time, as I understand it from the article, and they sent him home. Imagine being approved and vetted already to come to the United States and be on the biggest stage in all of soccer or football. I'll still say soccer. This is America, Jack. This is America. Imagine, imagine having the a dream job just placed in your lap for all of your hard work, and you're traveling to the U.S. to participate in the World Cup, doing your part to make sure to be a part of this historic event. You are you you have gotten to the finish line, you're getting ready to make it into the arena right off the plane, question you and send your ass home. For no good reason. For no good reason. They didn't even provide one. And so now, according to to this fella, he's devastated. Obviously, to be a referee due to quote due to vetting concerns, unquote. Bro, this is heartbreaking. I don't know him from a can of paint. I wish him well, wish you the best. We haven't even gotten here yet, folks, and this is already happening. Uh again, like I predicted, I said it was gonna happen a few months ago. Even after uh Trump got the World Peace Prize didn't even matter because why? Anyway, World Cup is happening, and stay tuned for more craziness. This isn't this is definitely not over. This is definitely not over. We haven't even started yet, and this is about to be insane controversial World Cup that we have ever had. So stay tuned. And stay tuned to stay to play, because that's all we have for today. Uh listen, uh, we appreciate the support we're growing. People are listening and tuning in and uh uh become asking to become guests, and things are getting exciting. They're they're uh they're escalating quickly for us, and um, we appreciate your support. Please share the podcast, download it, uh, listen to it wherever podcasts are listened to. Um, and we'll stay to play.