Basketball Is Ruined... NBA "Fixes" Tanking + March Madness Expansion

We’re diving into some MASSIVE changes across sports — and we’ve got plenty to say about them.

The NBA is rolling out a new anti-tanking system with its controversial “3-2-1 lottery,” and we break down why it might completely flip the league on its head (and possibly make contenders even stronger). Then we shift to college hoops, where the NCAA is expanding March Madness to 76 teams — is this great for fans, or just another money grab watering down the tournament?

We also revisit a viral debate from last week about tight ends in the NFL, plus hit a fast-paced no-huddle segment covering everything from Jalen Hurts history to Scottie Scheffler’s dominance, Deshaun Watson’s future, and more.

•  NBA anti-tanking lottery changes explained 
•  Why this could HELP teams like OKC dominate even more 
•  March Madness expansion to 76 teams — good or bad? 
•  Tight end debate reaction from fans 
•  No Huddle: NFL, NBA, Golf & College Football rapid-fire takes 

🎙️ Big Game Energy — we don’t just talk sports… we talk ball.

00:00 Tight End Debate Backlash
 04:15 NBA Anti-Tanking Overhaul + New Lottery Odds Explained
 07:30 Better Fixes? MLB Lottery & Why This Could Backfire
 11:00 Thunder Dynasty Concerns & Lottery “Rigging” Talk
 15:00 March Madness Expansion to 76 Teams (Why It Hurts)
 20:05 No Huddle: Jalen Hurts Trivia & Scheffler’s Historic Pace
 25:10 Deshaun Watson QB1 & Diego Pavia to Ravens
 30:25 SEC vs Big 10, NBA Upset Memories & LIV Golf Fallout

Transcript

Speaker 0:00

Big game energy. April 30th, it is James and Spence hanging out with you. We are going to get into the NBA anti tanking rules that were announced this week. We're also gonna discuss the expanded March Madness Tournament to 76 game or to 76 teams and how much we dislike this. We will end with our know huddle. Quick take segment, but first, previously on Big Game Energy. James, you had a take about,

Speaker 2 0:33

yeah.

Speaker 0:34

The current status of tight ends in the NFL and you caught some heat. I did from the comments on TikTok and YouTube this week. What do you have to say for yourself?

Speaker 2 0:44

Well, one man, Hey, I'm glad.'cause some days it just feels like we don't ever get some of that reaction. It seems like people always agree with us. So that's number one. But number two, man, I'm standing on this rock and dying on this hill now. Okay let's backtrack a little bit. Now when we were talking about the clip, of course we were talking about the Jaguars. Why draft two tight ends?'Cause you mentioned it, you thought, strange did pretty well. You could draft one tight end and do a two tight end set. 12 personnel, 13 personnel, whatever. Fine. Of course my critique was. Like, Hey, it's a one tight end league now. Yes, that did come off as everyone only runs one tight end, which I did agree to that take for a little bit. But I also meant like you only draft one tight end in the draft. Like you don't, this is a position. You don't do two. Like it, it, it's not corners, it's not safety, it is not receivers. Tight is a one. Like you don't draft two quarterbacks. If you're the Browns, you do, but you don't draft two quarterbacks either. You know what I mean? Like you draft one and call it a day. But then I did catch a lot of heat about the, and of course, the number one answer I seen, oh the Rams run in. Oh, okay, great. You got a good example of one team, two teams, three teams. Unless for me, 18, 20 teams run 12 personnel as the number one personnel. For me, it's still a one tight end league. Now, of course, I'm not saying the 1213 personnel is ineffective. I'm just saying, that's why I'm saying it's a one tight end league. Now, of course, if people see what the Rams did in London versus the Jaguars and how they cook them up 12, 13 personnel and it becomes that thing, yeah, it'll be a too tight end league, but it's almost the same way. It is like a basketball analogy, I'd say.

Speaker 2:22

I understood what you were saying in that moment, and that's why I didn't, under, I didn't realize what you had fully actually said until with the clip was made and we started getting the reaction from it. I knew what you meant, and you're right. I agree. I wouldn't draft multiple tight ends in a single draft. I, I think, right. You mentioned some of the positions. I would, I'd be okay. Drafting on multiple offensive linemen, multiple defensive linemen, multiple correct corner back defensive backs, wide receivers, like that's all fine, but multiple tight ends does seem a bit like extra whenever most teams are only gonna carry three, maybe four all year, but. The way it sounded was like, oh no, the best teams run only one tight end, which is not true, is the Seahawks, which true, yeah, not true. The Seahawks, they ran they ran 12, 22 or 13 personnel, more than 50% of their snaps. For what it's worth I know I sent you that graphic. That she, that, that showed that they run was that 41? It was 41% that they're in 12 personnel. Okay. But they also ran a lot of 22 and a lot of 13 personnel as well. Okay. So that's another team. But you're right, I think I still see the essence of what you were saying because we are in a wide receiver driven league. Most teams are wanting three wide receivers out on the field at all times. So you have three wide receivers, a tied in and a running back. That's gonna be your starters. Most of personnel. Yeah. And that's 11 person though, so I think the, it was good for clip. It was good for engagement. Yeah. We, we'll take that engagement all day.

Speaker 2 3:54

Yeah.

Speaker 3:54

Appreciate it. But for those that are calling us non ball knowers, let's relax. Watch the whole episode and see the clip in context.

Speaker 2 4:02

Yeah.

Speaker 4:02

Before you say we're not ball knowers, but

Speaker 2 4:05

yeah. All good. Yeah. Hey, I enjoyed it though. It was great. Like I said, it was great seeing it for me. For the longest it seemed like everyone was on you, Spence. You know what I mean? So it was great to see me like finally get some action. Yep.

Speaker 4:17

I think we might get some action when we talk about this thing that happened this week, James, but the NBA is laying down the hammer on tanking, and what they have done is perhaps a gross overcorrection. Shams Terania reporting The NBA has disclosed to its 30 general managers, a new anti tanking draft reform termed the 3, 2, 1 lottery. That includes expanding the lottery to 16 teams, which include teams that literally made the plan and a relegation zone where the bottom three teams would be penalized with fewer lottery balls for the number one pick, starting in the 2027 draft. So not gonna affect the 26th draft. Mm-hmm. That will still be as is. With the the current lottery format.

Speaker 2 5:06

Be happy Sacramento.

Speaker 5:08

Yes, be happy Sacramento, but I'm pulling it up now. This is the new odds. So previously the three worst records had 14% odds to get the number one overall pick, and then obviously it scaled down as you got lower and lower. And as you had a better record not making the playoffs. And again, this does not include teams that made the playoffs, So now we look at the new odds and you see the worst three records. All have a 5.4% chance, four through 10, 8.1, and 11 through 14, 5.4, and then the seven, eight play in. Losers will get a 2.7% chance at the number one pick. So that means if you end up with the worst record in the NBA, you have the same odds as a team that literally was trying to make the playoffs in the playing tournament.

Speaker 2 6:09

Yeah,

Speaker 6:09

James. When this first came out, I was excited that we're addressing tanking. Correct. But looking at this graphic it is shocking that they think this is the best way to do it.

Speaker 2 6:21

The idea in theory, we have some of these in theories that we like, we're trying to get rid of tanking, and when you hear, okay, one, two, and three. Your odds reduce. Okay, great. That means you can't take purposely to get a better odd, but when you mention teams that are losing in the playing have the same shot as the one, two, and three, and mind you, you could be a team. Remember the year Miami the Miami Heat before LeBron and all them D Wade played got hurt and they went like 10 and 72. It was something like that. Something crazy'cause he got hurt, he couldn't play the rest of year. Imagine like your star players just get hurt. You're not even tanking purposely. It's just kind of how the cards got dealt. And you're telling me the Charlotte Hornets this year could have been, could be getting the number one pick and that's where this is all crazy. You know what this looks like, Spence? On the left side, this looks like our current tax system. On the right it is. If we screw, if we decided, hey, you middle class people are gonna pay more in tax, you lower cap. That's what it looks like. Yeah. It looks like we switched the tax code and now this is insane. What I liked about the rule, and I think they should have kept it, instead of changing the odds was. You can't have the number one pick back to back years.

Speaker 7:34

Yes,

Speaker 2 7:35

you can't. You can't be in the bottom. You can't be in the top five for three years in a row. You could have just stayed with that and kept this, or for example, instead of 14% maybe deducted to maybe 12%, move those percentages. Just a little hairs for all the other teams, because I like it on the left. It's just. Now on the right. This is insane. So that's why we say you're be happy Sacramento.'cause yeah, you get an AJ Deman and you better hope you, god dang. Be the fifth worst team in the league. Now

Speaker 8:08

We talked about this in the past, I am shocked, James, that the NBA didn't just adopt the MLB draft lottery format. Okay. I really like it. So it started in 2023,. It's still relatively new. Mm-hmm. The general draft order in the first round is based on a lottery participated by 18 teams that did not make the postseason in the past season to determine the first six picks of the draft with the three worst clubs, having an equal chance for the top pick sounds pretty normal. Sounds similar to how the NBA was before.

Speaker 3 8:37

Yeah.

Speaker 8:37

The postseason teams are determined by which round they were eliminated in, yada, yada. Of course. Revenue sharing. Recipient teams are limited to receiving lottery picks in two consecutive drafts, and non recipients can get one of the top six selections in a single draft year. Only a lottery in eligible non postseason club can only select 10 overall or lower. Meaning if you are getting the lottery pick over and over again in the MLB. And you just suck perennially the, eventually the MLB is gonna penalize you and not allow you to select higher than 10. That is a great strategy to implement in the NBA because that allows teams, Hey, we'll go in the gutter for a couple years and then we'll be forced out of the gutter. We should get better. We should have amassed some young talent. We should have, correct. Been making trades, signing guys in for agency. We should be respectable after two years in the tank. And I say this as a Rockets fan who watched his team after the James Harden trade, watched his team be the worst team in the NBA three years in a row,

Speaker 2 9:45

right?

Speaker 9:46

I did not get the benefit of a single first overall pick. So to me, tanking already was not really working that well. Especially, we're recording this at the time. Game Five's going on in la. We don't have the score in front of us right now, but this young core that they have amassed has been getting embarrassed by LeBron James and his 41-year-old season Luke Kenard and Marcus Smart. So, is tanking really beneficial for teams? It's hard to say that it is. As a Rockets fan for me.

Speaker 2 10:16

And you even think about the other teams. Think about the 76 ERs, think about the early Lakers and, but it seems like the only team that successfully did tanking was the two years that the Boston Celtics, even though they didn't tank, they got a first round, they got a number one pick out of it because when they got Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum. After that, they've seemed to figure something out.

Speaker 10:36

Yeah. And now it helps being a premier destination for free agency like the Boston Celtics are. And admittedly going back to my rockets to circle back to how they got out of the tank. They eventually did pace him for agents that helped change the culture and hired a new head coach. Tanking wasn't the reason why they turned things around, which to me still makes the point, right? Why are we addressing tanking this much? This seems like a gross overcorrection.'cause here's the deal, the dangers of this new format, do we not realize? James, what team in the NBA owns all of the draft picks for the foreseeable future? For pretty much every team in the NBA.

Speaker 2 11:15

The thunder.

Speaker 11:16

The thunder, the team that is the defending champions. And they probably are gonna repeat in the as champions this season. And now we're looking at a 2027 draft where they're gonna have some selections in the first round. And you mean to tell me that they're going to have the same potential odds? As someone that had the worst record in the league for the first overall pick. Are you kidding me,

Speaker 2 11:41

dude? Yeah, man. I buckle up. The

Speaker 11:44

dynasty is real,

Speaker 2 11:46

very real. You get the refs and the picks. What are we doing?

Speaker 11:50

Yeah.

Speaker 2 11:50

And guess what? They're gonna get more picks when they decide to trade whoever. Yeah. And I know it's not SGA, but if it's Jalen Williams or Chet, they just keep doing it, man. They, it's like dollar cost averaging. They just keep investing, they keep just trading and getting more picks and compound interest. They get more picks. God dang it.

Speaker 12:08

It's just blows my mind. And this is also one of those things. This is all happening and all being discussed while the NBA playoffs are going on. Like we have first round action happening right now. And the state of the NBA where we're at right now under Commissioner Adam Silver. We have gotten to a point, and we've been there for a little bit, and I've said this in the past, but we're at a point now where the things that happen off the court are a lot more interesting, the things that happen on the court. And I say that as someone who just last week was talking about how great the NBA playoffs are gonna be, and they have been a lot of fun. But because Adam Silver is such a doofus and a buffoon and the worst commissioner in all of sports, he is. This is what we're talking about. This is the problem. This is, it's Adam Silver and this is his baby, and this is his brilliant idea. To solve, tanking, to enable teams like the Thunder to have a better chance at the first overall pick. It's insane to me.

Speaker 2 13:07

Very insane. Yeah. And man makes me Ms. David Stern, man. Come on man. Get these guys in suits, man. Sitting on the bench. I'm sick of Katie. Looking like a damn tree branch in that camouflage hoodie.

Speaker 13:18

Yeah. And to wrap it up, I'll say this too, if you thought the draft lotteries were rigged before. When we have flattened odds, huh? They are gonna be shameless when it comes to rigging this thing for wherever they want the first overall pick to go. On a given year, they will shamelessly rig this thing now.'cause now they can fall back on. Well, hey, everyone's got the same odds. Pretty much. Pretty much. We're all talking about differences of six percentage points, whereas in the past we were talking about differences of 12 and 13 percentage points, which is. And it comes to probability. James, you're a math guy. That's massive. That's when it comes to your percentage chances in a probability stake here. Yeah, in a lottery system. I

Speaker 2 13:59

can't wait. I can't wait for the year that like, let's say there are four teams that are tied with the same record and it's like, damn it, I hope I'm the four seed and not the one, two, or three.'cause obviously now the four fourths team has now three more percentage points better than one, two, and three. And it's sad.

Speaker 14:17

But y'all let us know in the comments, what do you think of the anti tanking rules? Do you think they're gonna work? Do you think that we are off base and that they're actually gonna incentivize teams to be better? Or is it just gonna penalize the teams that are genuinely bad and teams like the OKC Thunder that are gonna end up in the four through 10 range? Are gonna get a lot better. Y'all let us know and we'll see how next time what big game energy.

Speaker 2 14:40

All I know is Adam Silver. Probably got his insight from the New York City Governor Manami, that's who he probably got. His,

Speaker 14:48

Probably mom, Donnie. He, I think he's a Knicks fan, so he probably wants the Knicks to have a high draft pick. James. A lot of basketball change is happening.

Speaker 2 14:57

Oh man.

Speaker 14:58

Now we go over to the college side of things where the NCAA. Has announced that they are expanding the tournament. The March Madness tournament just got bigger, but not necessarily better. It was announced this week that the NCAA is expanding the men and women's basketball tournaments. From 68 teams to 76 teams. So teams like this past season, like Auburn, or maybe in 2025, a team like Ohio State, instead of them being on the outside looking in, they would've made the tournament and we would've seen them play on a Tuesday, Wednesday night leading up to the tournament.

Speaker 2 15:38

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 15:39

James, this feels like participation trophies.

Speaker 2 15:42

And you know, one thing, we hate participation trophies because obviously we let's get the elephant outta the room. Yes, we know with more games and more teams, yes. It's more money and they're doing it for that. And that's good for them.

Speaker 15:55

And as fans, we get to watch more basketball,

Speaker 2 15:57

right? Those are all things that are true and good, and that's what we like. But when you look at it from a bigger lens. You're watering down more competition. You're giving, again, participation trophies, and I hate to sound sexist, but the women should have never expanded.'cause we already see games like 90 to 20 in the one versus 16 seed. So who the is playing, who's going to keep up? Like I then this is just me. I think the women should reduce the March madness term just because there's so many. Bad teams that can't keep up with the ones and the twos, like the South Carolinas and the Yukons. But in the men's side, yeah. Is there a little more parody? Yeah, but now again, what college, I hated what college football did with expanding because it feels like now they're going into college basketball. College basketball is now is poo-pooing the tournament. And guess what? There's gonna be teams like maybe like Miami, Ohio. I know we joke, they went 30 whatever and won. And I know they would probably still make the tournament, but you're gonna see a lot of teams, like you mentioned Spence 17 and 15. Imagine freaking a team in the SEC going like two and 13 in conference and going to make the tournament like that. That's just bad. It's just bad for the sport. Again, we get all the logistics and business side of things, and guess what? These games will be on Tubi and freaking Prime and we'll have to switch all the apps and. By the end of the day, man, this is bad, man. They shouldn't they should have never expanded it because now what are we gonna have? And I think what's gonna happen, Spencer, I'm pretty sure you'll agree with me. We'll have more playing games for the 16 seed, the 11 seed, the 10 seeds. So I think that's what they'll do. But then again. You know the teams that are actually pretty good, that actually deserve to make it, let's say a team that maybe went 20 and 10, they're in this playing, turning for the 10 seed with a 17 and 15 team is like, man, why are we getting screwed? 16 seeds? I get it for them because they're not gonna win a game. This is the only time they win a game. I know history's only shown us twice, but they, this is the only time the 16 seed will ever win. So let yeah do 16 seeds. All playing. So at least one 16 can get dubs. Just do 16 fifteens and fourteens call it a day.

Speaker 18:16

So Yahoo put out an interesting article when they were talking about these changes and they had a graphic where they listed if the 2026 tournament had had 76 teams. And they had some of these teams that we, me and you watched this year, and they were just grossly mediocre. I mentioned Auburn, they would've had Auburn in an 11 versus 11 game versus Indiana. Some other notable, if it had been expanded, we would've had NC State versus Texas SMU versus Miami, Ohio, Auburn versus Indiana, New Mexico versus Oklahoma. San Diego State versus Cincinnati and the 12 Seeds, Tulsa versus Seton Hall. 15 Seeds, right? State versus Kennesaw State, Tennessee State versus Idaho. And then four 16 teams. Four 16 seeds as playing games. I, again, you mentioned it I don't need to see four different 16 seed playing games. I don't need to see that. Not at all. And I'll say. I'm glad that this at least is only covering seeds 11 through 16. I'm okay with that. And seeds 13 and 14 are reserved for the mid-majors conference winners. I like that. Don't touch those. And teams that are in the top 10 seeds don't touch them either. They should be able to play immediately on Thursday and Friday. So at least that's only affecting 11 twelves, fifteens, and sixteens. But again I don't need. Eight different teams that didn't win their mid-major conference to get an at large bid and play in the, I don't even know what they're gonna call it anymore. The first four, I don't know what we're gonna call it anymore. The first 14 is what it feels like.

Speaker 2 20:00

Yeah.

Speaker 20:02

Gosh,

Speaker 2 20:02

yeah. Tuesday night, the first, whatever. The first four, second night, the second four. They just keep moving on.

Speaker 20:08

We say all this now, you better believe next year Yeah. When March Madness comes around one of you and i's favorite events. Mm-hmm. We're gonna be tuned into every single game and we're gonna be

Speaker 2 20:18

betting it. I'm

Speaker 20:19

betting absolutely.

Speaker 2 20:20

Guess what? I'll be betting the minus two on whatever, 16 seed Howard versus whoever the fuck. Playing,

Speaker 20:26

but I'm gonna tell you, this is gonna ruin the stat that I was excited to look at for my next year for my bracket next year. And that's the fact that there's always a team that had played in the first four games on Tuesday and Wednesday that ended up making it to the Sweet 16. We have seen that pretty much every year since they expanded from 64 to 68. It happens a lot. It might still happen, but now you're watering it down because there's gonna be way more teams that don't go to the second weekend, that they get blown out in their first game on Thursday because there are trash mediocre teams that shouldn't be in the tournament. And so now it's gonna be harder to find that one team that played on Tuesday and Wednesday that can make it deep into the tournament. I hate it. I will watch it, but I cannot stand it because that Auburn team is the team that I think of when I think of this. Yeah. They did not deserve it. Bruce Pearl can suck balls. He does not deserve to see his team go to the tournament when they were as bad and mediocre as they were this season.

Speaker 2 21:31

Yeah. Talking about, Nepo baby. Yeah. Bringing his son on. Yeah.

Speaker 21:35

Terrible. But y'all let us know in the comments. What do y'all think about the March madness expanding from 68 to 76 teams? Will this lead to better basketball, or are we just giving out participation trophies? Let us know in the comments. Alright, James, let's wrap it up. No huddle time.

Speaker 2 21:54

No huddle. Let's get it going. Jalen Hurtz stat of the day, and of course, only three second round quarterbacks in NFL history have more playoff wins than Jalen Hurts. Can you name those three quarterbacks right

Speaker 3 22:07

now?

Speaker 22:08

Only three quarterbacks have more playoff victories than Jalen Hurtz.

Speaker 2 22:11

In the second round. Cubies.'cause he was draft in the second round.

Speaker 22:14

Oh, okay. Second round court. Oh man. Only, I gotta think who's been a second round pick.

Speaker 2 22:21

Of course. I'll give you this one. Hint. Don't think of anyone from like 2005. Today, think 2005 and later, like old, older quarterback, you know, two quarterbacks at least. Okay. You know, all three technically, but two you we watched growing up and then one way old.

Speaker 22:40

Okay, let me get Drew Brees

Speaker 2 22:42

number one. Drew Brees. There we go.

Speaker 22:45

That's, he's the main one I knew was a second round pick that was successful. Why do I have a feeling that like Jim Kelly was a second round pick?

Speaker 2 22:54

No. He might have been, but he maybe not have more wins than Jalen Hertz. I only got three right now.

Speaker 23:01

Okay. I don't even think he was, honestly,

Speaker 2 23:04

he probably wasn't. He went to Miami. He's probably a top first round pick.

Speaker 23:08

Yeah, he was a first round pick. Okay. Second round picks a little bit older. So we had Drew Brees already. Let's go with Phil Sims. No,

Speaker 2 23:20

ill give you. Dang.

Speaker 23:22

You gotta gimme some hints.

Speaker 2 23:23

Okay, because these

Speaker 23:24

are, some of these are gonna be before my time, but you said I've watched two of'em.

Speaker 2 23:27

You called Drew Brees. You got that one out. The next quarterback, gosh, if I say it, I know you'll get it. Yeah, I'll say this. He's known for wearing the number four.

Speaker 23:37

Oh yeah, he is his second round period. Mr. Brett Fav.

Speaker 2 23:41

Brett fav number two, man. I was worried to say Southern Miss and then you'd be like, oh, Brett.

Speaker 23:45

Oh yeah. That would've been a dead giveaway.

Speaker 2 23:47

Okay, I'll give you this hint. This quarterback's a lot older. He played in the A FC, but he came out of the University of Alabama.

Speaker 23:55

Oh, of course. It's had to be an Alabama guy for you. It wasn't Broadway Drill Namath. Doug Williams?

Speaker 2 24:02

No. Doug Williams did not go to Alabama. He played for the Raiders.

Speaker 24:06

Ken Stabler,

Speaker 2 24:07

Kenny Stabler man. Kenny's a snake, stabler man. They're the three quarterbacks that were second round picks that had more playoff wins than Jalen Hurtz. All right, spin man. Let's turn this thing around. Hey, man. Hey,

Speaker 24:18

shout out Ken Stabler, former Houston Oiler.

Speaker 2 24:21

There you go. For a brief

Speaker 24:22

spell.

Speaker 2 24:23

For a brief. Yeah. Imagine that man. He played a long time. All right, man, let's switch it around. Hey, we love golf. We're going on our golf trip in a couple weeks, so excited for that. Scotty Scheffler is averaging 5.1 birdies per round. He has played 32 rounds this year. No one in PGA tour history has ever had more than five birdies per round for their entire season. Do you think he'll keep this? Up this season. We got a long way and he's at 5.1. Will he keep this going?

Speaker 24:54

I will not bet against Scotty Shuffler in the year 2026. He is the only one that can stand up to the villain that is Rory McElroy. So I will always bet on Scotty. That is my guy, Texas boy. We stand up for him.

Speaker 2 25:09

Yeah.

Speaker 25:10

Go Scotty.

Speaker 2 25:11

Go Scotty. All right, man. Let's switch it around. We're going back to football. We're gonna go to basketball. Don't worry. Hey man, I don't know why this was the headline spin, but I've seen headlines that Cleveland Brown's starting quarterback emerging is gonna be Deshaun Watson. What are your thoughts? Big dog. There should have been a shoe in once he's healthy and not, nevermind. I'm not gonna say it.

Speaker 25:33

I'm actually glad we're talking about this and, we could do an entire video on this maybe, and maybe we will in the couple weeks. We'll, we're about to hit the dog days of summer, but it is no secret that I'm no fan of Deshaun Watson. I'm a Texans fan. Yep. And I feel like he. Is a serial predator. I think he quit on the city of Houston and he is someone who lacks accountability completely. And the last time we saw him play football, it was not pretty. Mm-hmm. He has not shown us like any quality football since he has gotten to Cleveland. But that being said, he's a full year and a half removed from his Achilles injury. He has a very good offensive line in front of him. Mm-hmm. That's improved a lot this year. Correct. He's got some good weapons there. Guy we like a lot, Casey Concepcion and Denzel Boston, both these wide receivers. Both should be a very welcome addition for a bad Cleveland Browns offensive unit that had like zero Playmakers. I think the Browns have a chance. To, I'm not gonna say they're gonna make playoffs or anything like that, but I think the Browns have a chance to be a lot better than people think because Deshaun Watson. Could recover his 2020 form that we saw with the Texans where yes, he went four and 12, but put up just insane, bonkers video game numbers all season long. I still believe he has that in him. I don't want to see him succeed, but I would not be shocked if on the back of that defense. We see the Browns be a lot more competitive this year than they have been in the past three or four years.

Speaker 2 27:08

Are we saying the three seed in the a FC North?

Speaker 27:11

I cannot put them above. Well.

Speaker 2 27:13

We're talking to Steelers,

Speaker 27:14

Steelers. If Aaron Rogers comes back, I will still put them above the Browns.

Speaker 2 27:20

Okay. Fair enough. But

Speaker 27:21

I have to see it first. I'm saying this could happen, but am I a betting man that's gonna put money on the Cleveland Browns? Not to be lying, Deshaun Watson, absolutely not. But it could happen. I'll at least acknowledge that it could happen.

Speaker 2 27:36

Could happen. All right, man. Hey, let's go to another quarterback in the A FC North. This guy didn't get drafted, but damn, he got a three year rookie. Diego Pia to the Ravens. What are your thoughts? Man? He was first invited to mini camp, not full-size camp, and now he is got a three year deal.

Speaker 27:52

I love it. I think Diego Pia is, I think he's a winner more than people like, wanna give him credit for it. Yeah, he didn't do anything huge in college, but dude. Putting Vanderbilt on the map in the SEC that has to count for something, and I know his personality can really rub people the wrong way. He's a bit abrasive, but. Honestly, in today's age, I feel like you need a quarterback that has a little bit of arrogance to'em, because those are the guys that really know how to get, they have that dog in them. And Diego Pave is the definition of a pit bull at the quarterback position. So definitely not gonna be any cur quarterback controversy anytime soon, but. Tyler Huntley. Your days are numbered buddy.

Speaker 2 28:36

Numbered buddy. Man, I wish now the Ravens had hard knocks. That's what I wish.'cause I would love to watch Lamar Jackson and Diego Pavia. Like just, you don't understand a word that's coming outta Lamar's mouth of his English. And then with Diego. Yo, I'm just trying to be Johnny Menzel, but I'm a baller. Yeah, dude, that's funny for me. All right, Spence, turn it around until we wrapped up the NFL draft. Great. Now, Spence, we always talk about who's king in college football, big 10 SEC. We already know Big Ten's won the last couple titles. SEC had the most players drafted, in this draft with 87 20 more than the Big 10. But the Big 10 had the most first round draft picks this year. And Ohio State has the most players drafted in back to back years. Spence, what is your take, man? Big 10 or SEC, man? Ugh.

Speaker 29:23

As much as I want to say that the SEC is dead I'm not convinced that just off the backs of Ohio State and Indiana that the Big 10 deserves the title. It's still the SEC just'cause top to bottom. They are so good. And when you have teams like Oklahoma and Texas joining late. They're like, I'm sorry. The SEC is just too stacked. They're the kings of the, of college football. They have been for a while and I still think they are, but the Big 10 definitely has shortened the gap. It is not a SEC is king type of league anymore, correct? It is Anyone's game. I still just give the edge, the SEC slightly, but I know the comment's gonna hate that one. Oh

Speaker 2 30:09

yeah. They're gonna be like big kids when the last three times.

Speaker 30:11

Exactly. Like I, I get that. And it's three different schools. Wonderful. I think that's amazing. That's amazing. But the talent that has gone to the next level, we'll be SEC heavy for the coming years as well as this year, like you said.

Speaker 2 30:26

Agree. Alright man, let's switch it around. I'm still in college football, but spins, you know how I am. I think Hall of Fames are freaking rigged. Everyone's too soft. I think people shouldn't have their jerseys retired'cause they didn't play long enough. Boise State is doing a little something different now. Of course, the two best players in Boise State history, Ashton Gente and Kellen Moore. Boise State is taking it up another notch. Instead of retiring their jerseys, they are painting the two yard line hash mark and the 11 yard line hash mark. Remembering. Ashton Genty, who wore number two, and Kellen Moore, who wore number 11 as their way of remembering their legacy at Boise State. How we feel about this man? We're painting over the blue turf now.

Speaker 31:07

I hate this. This is wrong only because this is anti defensive players, right? Unless you're a defensive back. This, our defensive linemen that were nineties, they're not gonna have a yard marker. Our linebackers in the fifties, they're not gonna have a yard marker. This is blatantly disrespectful to the guys that actually win you games in the trenches. I'm not even talking about the offensive lineman who already never get recognition as it is. They aren't even gonna get their yard number retired. I think it's cool. I think it'll be interesting to watch the Boise State Games. It already is interesting watching their field with the blue turf and now we gotta see some special hash marks on the two and 11 yard line

Speaker 2 31:49

being sprayed

Speaker 31:49

at all. It's very gimmicky. I like it and I like that they're respectful to, to legends of the school. But come on man, you gotta figure out a way to help out those guys from the defensive side.

Speaker 2 31:59

Oh yeah, man. Definitely. I'm gonna you

Speaker 32:00

on that. That's why not every team can do this, because there's some teams that have some legendary defensive players that they cannot do this'cause there's no 99 yard line.

Speaker 2 32:08

Unless they somehow, you know how they'll finagle a way to do it as they all do. Alright, spend Lastly, man. Hey, we got NBA. Of course. We just saw Pistons won. Hey, it is three, two magic. The one in eight seed pistons are on the Brinks of losing. If the magic win this series, they would be the seventh, eighth seed to beat a number one seed. Now, Spence, we've had some important ones. Back in the day in 1994, you were still sperm, but the nuggets beat the Supersonics. In 99, the Knicks beat the mi the Miami Heat, but the ones we remember, mm-hmm. Oh seven, we believe Warriors beating the Mavericks. 2011 Grizzlies beating the Spurs. 20 12 76 ERs beating the Chicago Bulls. And then in 2023, Jimmy Butler's, Miami Heat beating Giannis and the Bucks. Which one of these number eight Cs have been memorable for you?

Speaker 33:02

The one that you mentioned that just breaks my heart was the bulls, because that was the year Derrick Rose hurt his knee and it will forever be one of those insane what ifs in sports is What if Derrick Rose never hurts his knee?

Speaker 2 33:17

Yeah. Right. And again, always one of the biggest,'cause we saw what he brought. And once the injuries happen. I thought you were gonna go to 94. Man, you were just sperm, but nevermind.

Speaker 33:27

Well, I was actually gonna say I loved the, we believe Warriors Team, Baron Davis, Steven Jackson. Oh gosh. That was a fun group. Oh my gosh. But also, man, screw Dallas. I love to see the Mavs taking fat. Embarrassing. L Oh, I love to see it.

Speaker 2 33:42

Love to see it, man. All right, Spencer, no more. No, no more no huddles, man. We're done for the night.

Speaker 33:47

I got one more as we wrap up. Hey, live golf. RIP We called it a few weeks ago. We didn't even call it. We were, we reported what we were hearing. We had some people in the comments saying, we don't know shit. Well, we don't know shit. Now the PIF, the Saudi PIF is pulling funding and the live golf tour will be ending after this season. We'll see how it works. Getting those golfers back to the PGA, we're gonna see it. It's gonna be an uphill battle, but someone like Bryson I think he'll figure out a way to get back on the tour.

Speaker 2 34:21

Oh yeah. Bryson John Rom. I can't wait for those guys. And, hey, maybe your favorite one of'em all. Phil Mickelson. Find a way to get himself back.

Speaker 34:29

Hey, I love Phil, but I think that, he burnt the bridge. Hardcore. I think that those other guys can come back. I don't think Phil's coming back. I think he's gonna play in the majors and that's gonna be it for Phil Mickelson. He'll ride off into the sunset.

Speaker 2 34:43

Hey. Heck yeah. But yeah, man, we called him man, because don't call us no ball noses, no gu ball nose.

Speaker 34:48

We dimple heads. We pig skin heads. We know all the ball. We are a big game energy. We don't just talk sports. We talk ball

Speaker 2 34:57

ball.

Speaker 34:57

So we'll see y'all next time. We are gonna wrap up some NBA playoffs and we'll talk a little NFL updates on the next episode. Until then, for James, I'm Spencer. Y'all take it easy.