EPISODE 25: The WNBA, All Those NBA Awards, and the NBA Post-season

The WNBA is Getting Ready   This week, final team rosters are being decided in the Women's National Basketball Association (the W). This conversation is devoted to training camps, practices, and contract signings as teams figure out who’s ready to contribute. 

The Road to NBA Honors    Mary Lou and Phyllis take a quick look at NBA award selection highlights so far that include the season’s top performers in various categories - honoring players both on and off the court.  

From Play-ins to Play-offs   The OGs summarize the very intense NBA Play-In Tournament, then shift to the current, equally intense, NBA Playoffs as the battle for the championship continues.           

🏀🏀🏀With Spring in the air and the summer months coming, the OGs will ease-off recording weekly - more like every other week - until we take an official break later in the summer.🏀🏀🏀                                                                         Thanks for listening and we’ll keep you posted.  

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Transcript

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Hi all, welcome back to OG's Talking Ball. This is Mary Lou, and I'm here this today with Phyllis. And uh we haven't uh been live for a couple of weeks, and as we mentioned before, we're going to kind of stick to an every other week schedule for a while. And later in the summer, we will definitely take some time off because we need to come up with a new list of things that we want to talk about. And I've already got some stuff in my head that I think we need to uh broach next year, next season. But there's so much going on right now in the WNBA, and that's our first segment is going to talk about. We're going to talk about that today. Our next little segment will be about the award season coming up, or is it about the NBA in general? It's both of those are going to be about the NBA. And we just talked about this, and I just wrote it awards. Okay, the different uh NBA awards that have already been um granted, and then the ones coming up, and then we'll lead into then segment three with just wow, play-ins and playoffs, craziness and great games. So, Phyllis, WNBA. The season, the preseason starts this week already coming up uh with some games. And I know the first one here in Portland is um May 3rd with the fire, and they're playing the LA Spark or yeah, LA Sparks. So, um, what do we know about camps and stars? And oh, some of the contracts have gotten really nice for these ladies. I'm so excited, so excited. Yeah, with that collective bargaining agreement that was signed, the the salaries went up exponentially. Exponentially, yes, they did. You know, training camp opened on April 19th, and this is the 30th season for the um WNBA, and there are 15 teams now with the addition of Toronto and Portland. Right, right. So they're uh they're training for uh be prepared for the May 8th opening games. Right. Those the beginning of the season. Um I think it's interesting going back to you'd mentioned Toronto and Portland, uh, that each of those teams kind of had a different philosophy going into the draft. And uh Toronto uh was able to get some key names of individuals where it seems like the Portland team took some that were more under the radar. Uh quite a few Europeans are coming our way, uh teams, uh girls, ladies that have played in Spain, and um, you know, we focused more on kind of maybe a long-term or a long range goal, and uh Toronto, I think, in summary, uh focused on versatility and being competitive maybe right from the get-go. Yeah, they got some good players, yes, and some good veterans that will be joining in. You know, I was a little surprised when that draft of current WNBA players was going on for the two new teams that there were a lot of good players still on the board. I remember you texted me that as you were listening to or watching the draft happen. Yeah. Yeah. That was um, well, you know, all we can say is it remains to be seen, I guess, because I don't have I have you know, I don't have a crystal ball, period, but I seem to have less of one with the WNBA than I do. Sometimes I get an inkling with the NBA because I think I watch, I've watched it for so many more years than the WNBA, but I still I I know every day I know less, it seems. Stuff happens. There's just more things that happen. I'm telling you, how did that happen? What the heck? What the heck? Yeah. So, and then you know, we've got uh big stars returning uh to some of the major teams that we always hear about. And um the New York Liberty appears to be one of the very favored teams that are going to uh do it all this year. And they re-signed uh John Quell Jones, Sabrina Ionescu, and uh Brianna Stewart uh for the season. So good for them, you know. And you know you remember the Sabati sisters? Sabali. Sabali. Sabali. Mm-hmm. Sabali sisters. Yeah. They pl they played at the um University of Oregon. Oh, did they? I don't remember them. Yeah, did they transfer out then? Or did they graduate? I mean, did they stay there the whole time? Do you recall? I don't I don't remember because I wasn't following it closely at the as closely, sure. Women's college basketball. But um but but Niara was um drafted by Toronto. Right. And then her older sister was uh brought to traded to the Liberty Liberty then. Like I said, the Liberty is going to be uh high powered, you know, uh very high powered. And same with the Aces, you know, Aja Wilson signed a nice contract deal uh, you know, to have her extended there. And um so did um uh Jewel Lloyd is staying in Vegas, you know, some of the names that we've heard, you know, over the years. Um um Vegas. The Aces um have their whole starting unit from last year. And they they have they're still the favorite team for this year. Are they? Yeah, because um they they've actually won the title in the last three of the four years, haven't they? Yes, yeah. They're pretty strong. Like I said, I love Becky Hammer. Because all their entire starting lineup and they also re-signed some key bench players, so they are going to be the team to beat. Yeah, definitely. And they didn't need a draft at all, any way, shape, or form, whether it be the you know, college draft or any trades or anything there. I think they're happy with what they have, and um again, I think uh Becky Hammond does a really amazing job as a coach, you know. I think she And you know, the the Atlanta Dream um retained their core players, um Ryan Howard and Alicia Gray, and they got Angel Reese from Chicago. That's right. Okay, she you know, she was the leading league rebounder last season. So true, yeah, yeah. They they have some good pieces to do. And Minnesota Lynx is another team. And you know, we can't forget about the fever. You know, Caitlin is well, hopefully she stays uninjured for Indiana, and um yeah, that you know, they just signed Aliyah Boston to a four-year $6.3 million contract. The fever did extend it her. So, I mean, it's kind of exciting stuff here. Yeah, and a big deal that I just learned about, maybe not just, but I saw recently, 216 nationally televised WNBA games will hit the airwaves. Oh my. And I think they're gonna be like USA and Network and also maybe um TNT and TBS, those I mean, peep that most people can access, you know what I mean? It's not some obscure thing that shall remain nameless, right? Some place that can't keep the sound on when the games are going on. I know it's been so frustrating, frustrating. We'll get to the well, we'll probably talk about that again and again. Yeah, but you know, this is the Connecticut Suns last season in Connecticut. Right, right. So they're they're having like a a goodbye season. But um You saw on the QT that there's a little bit of uh back scene anxiety or angst or a little legal going on with the team coming and becoming the Comets in Houston. That that's you know, they're this like you said, this is their last year, but they did pick up Brittany Greiner too this year for the sun. So she's with them now. They they have a young team and they've been working on rebuilding, but they're they are moving to Houston next year, and they are get this rebranded as the comets. Exactly. They're branded in Texas. Good one, Phyllis. Good one. Like I said, there's something going on. I just saw a little tiny bit, and nobody there wasn't a whole lot of written about it or said about it, but um, that'll be interesting to see how how that comes out if they're going to um uh get there without too much anxiety, you know what I mean? That it'll be a free, easy flow into um the trade and not the trade, the uh selling the moving. Thank you. That was the word I was looking for. You know, I I hate teams moving. I know. I know they have traditionally done that. The Lakers didn't start out in LA. No, I know, I know. Um, and you know, but there's still the Lakers. Yeah. Uh the other one, um, I just lost my thought. Oh well, okay. Must not have been. So, you know, in the last month, the WNBA has signed, sealed, and delivered the the collective bargaining agreement. Yes, they've added expansion teams in Toronto and Portland. Yeah, they've had a draft, they had free agency and training camps opened all in the last month. That is a really busy. It really is busy. And you know, for us as basketball fans, I'm almost glad in some ways that college is over because my brain can only do so much, right? So now we know that the NBA season that will be with us probably until about the middle of June through playoffs, but now we can really do some focus and get excited, more excited about uh the WNBA and everything that they're accomplishing. And you know, party on. I I can't wait for the season. It's gonna be a lot of fun and to go see some games in person now that we have that opportunity here in Portland is gonna be pretty exciting. Yes. So all right, Phyllis. I think we've talked that one as much as we want to talk about it, and um, so we'll conclude this segment and move on then to um uh what's gonna happen next with awards and um uh their finalists and stuff in the NBA. So stay uh with us and take a we're taking a break for just a few moments and we'll be back. Okay, Mary Lou, we're gonna talk about awards that are given in the NBA and special honors. You know, that happens throughout the season. They have awards for this and that, but right now we're in the middle of some end of the season big prizes. You know, those prizes don't actually come with any monetary prizes. To the player, not to the player, to the player, but um that recognition puts them center stage, gives them uh often lucrative endorsement deals and large NBA contracts and extensions. Because because these guys don't make enough money. That's yeah. The best players who are pointed out here are you know need more money. So this is the one way of getting it. Well, at least their name in in the big bright lights, so to speak. You know, they you know, because somebody from like the Spurs or a team that maybe people on either coasts don't pay that much attention to. Um, you know, now they probably will get some commercials and we'll know more about them as people, perhaps, or at least recognize their face. So well, I I think there's one player on that team that everybody recognizes. I know, but there was one that got we and I don't want to get too far ahead because this is I don't want to anyway. Okay. So we'll we'll just get off that topic just for briefly. But I wanted to kind of take a look, if we could, to start with, before we start talking about who got what, is how these awards uh came about, you know, and when did they begin and who are they named after? And some of these names are pretty big. I mean, like obviously Michael Jordan trophy for the most valuable player. Now that award has not been given yet, and we know that there's been all kinds of talk about Shay and Jokic and um Wemby Wemby, you know, these guys being kind of the top vote getters from the um writers who're the finalists. Right now, right, from the sportscasters who will be voting on that. So um it was um has been awarded since 1955, 1956. So that's you know, been there for a while, and then it was renamed to honor Michael Jordan um in 2022. And then Defensive Player of the Year is the Hakeem Elijah Wan trophy, you know, and he was a great so some of these it's just like, oh yeah, why not? You know, because these guys were like, of course. Rookie of the year, Will Chamberlain, 1953, my goodness, you know, it just doesn't seem possible that he uh could have played basketball that many years ago, but he did. And then uh sixth man is John Hab Havlichek, and he was a sixth man who came off the bench for the Celtics and did, you know, a phenomenal job for them. And then we've got an MV uh most improved player, uh George Miken, and that was from the 1940s, and he was actually one of the NBA's first superstars, and that award has been named after him. And then there's a clutch player of the year uh made uh uh Jerry West is the trophy in his honor, and you know he um yeah, was passed recently, so the president pays Jerry West. But um you have any other thoughts on any of those fillers? Or do you have anything to add to that little segment? Because I got one more, but maybe I'll wait, I'll save that one till later. So well there's also some um more some interesting developments along they have trophies now for uh social justice and for sportsmanship and citizenship. Right and those those are sort of a different emphasis, right? Aren't they? There they are, but that's nice. Those are those are those are the human, nice people awards. Exactly, exactly. Yeah. Uh you know, with that said, the one I wanted to mention too was the Twyman Stokes Teammate of the Year Award. And I was think trying to remember who Twyman Stokes was, and it's actually two people. It was Jack Twyman and Maurice Stro Stokes, so who played together in 1955 to 1958, and they played for the Rochester Royals that became the Cincinnati Royals. So these are like way, way back when, again, you know, 70 years ago. Uh and uh why the award was named after them is because uh Stokes had a fall kind of reminiscent of what happened with Wemby the other day, and ended up with a severe brain injury. Oh wow and turned into encephalitis and he was uh paralyzed and never able to walk again. And that happened during a game. A game uh in 1958. And you know, this is I don't want to tear up, but I may, so just bear with me. But his teammate, uh Maurice Stokes, became his legal guardian. Oh and had him live with himself and his family uh those last few well he lasted twelve more years. Um Jack did. I mean uh Brian uh Maurice did, I want to call him Brian, Maurice did, and Jack Twyman's family adopt basically adopted him as one of their own and took care of him until he died. So that's the Teammate of the Year Award. That's a pretty huge honor. To me, that would be a huge honor. And some of the guys that had been nominated for that this year, like Desmond Bain for from Orlando, Jalen Brunson of New York, these are guys that kind of we don't know all the ins and outs of probably what they do for their teammates, but when they're nominated for something like this, you know it's got to be a little bit more outstanding than just an attaboy, you know what I mean, or you did a good job. Uh Darren Fox from the Spurs, Jeff Green from the Rockets, Drew Holliday is nominated from the Blazers, DeAndre Jordan from the Pelicans. So it's not just the top-ranked teams, but other everyone, you know, can uh to a nominate. Stephen Curry got won it last year. Yes, he did. So, I mean, that's a pretty like I said, I just think that's a really uh again, we've talked in the past about the NBA doing things outside of themselves and for their communities and for others, and these are just teammates that do things for their teammates, you know, basically to maybe go above and beyond, like like um Jack Twyman did for Maurice Stokes. Yeah, wow. I think that's pretty cool, actually. So what else you got on any awards, Phyllis? Who's who's got who's gotten them so far? You know, that we are a few days before ahead of when this hits the airwaves. So we know a few things, a few of the um awards so far this year. Any surprises to you that Victor Wimbinyama got defensive player of the year? At seven foot five, you just stand there and wave your arms. I'm sorry, no, I know he's very skilled, and I'm not I'm not making light of his skill level and what he brings to the court. But um, yeah, you know, and he and Chet Holmgren and Rudy Gobert were the three finalists in that. Yeah, and uh, you know, uh Chet's on that same team. No, no. Chet's on OKC. Oh, oh, that's right. Yeah, and this Wambies on the Spurs. But you know, again, Chet's seven foot, seven foot two. I mean, it's not uh but yeah. Yeah, he's extremely thin. You wouldn't think he could uh I worry about him every time I watch him. I know I'm looking for some muscle development, his arms or somewhere, you know, that he's gained a couple of pounds. He's obviously not Polish. I'm just gonna say that because Eastern Europeans, you know, what we do is eat and eat well. So um anyway, but that has nothing to do with chat. But it's good for them to at least be nominated and to probably be said in the same sentence as Wemby is a pretty big deal. Yeah. So um Kelton Johnson is a teammate of Wemby. It's a he got sixth man. That's right. And congratulations to them. That's right. And Jaime Hawkes from Miami and Tim Hardaway uh Junior um from Denver were the other two that were nominated, so they were the top three. And then also any surprise that Clutch Player of the Year is Shea Gildris Alexander? Uh I I wasn't surprised. No, no. It's like, okay, we could almost say those out loud before they're said. I mean, again, that crystal ball thing, but a lot of it is not a crystal ball, it's just kind of common sense and who's done what through the course of the season. Yeah, and wasn't it nice that Derek White got Sportsmanship review. The most recent one that we know of, because there will be one announced later that you and I, I know fellas are very curious about, which would be that most improved player um would be um, yes, Derek White. And he was in great company there too with the Derek White Sportsmanship. Right, sportsmanship, right? Okay, and most improved is today that we won't talk about. It's on Friday. It was last Friday. That's right, last Friday, pardon me. Okay, you know, it's just kind of hard when you're not live on on TV. No, it isn't hard at all. It's much better. Trust me, folks, it's much better. And it will never be on TV, Mary Matt. I guess not, Phyllis. I guess not. Never. Okay. You know, MVP, that's most valuable player, and rookie of the year are often announced during the NBA finals. Yeah. So we have to wait to hear about that. Yes. But there's also, you know, the um the honors of being on NBA teams. And that's the all NBA team. Right. Um there are one, two, and three, aren't there three levels? There are three levels for the all NBA team. There are five positionless players on each team. So if you were voted in the number one all NBA team, that means you know what you're one of the best five players this last year. Right, right. And um then they have an all-rookie team that oh yeah. That's two different teams of five players. And again, it's positionless. That is, it doesn't matter. It's the vote getting. It's the number of votes, it's not it has to be two forwards, two guards, and a center or something, you know, to make up what we call a team in our minds anyway. But they could be all guards or ex centers. Exactly. You know, the interesting uh I find it interesting that the rookie teams are voted on by the coaches. Oh, okay. The other the other the all defensive team and the All NBA teams, those are voted on by the sportscasters and broadcasters. And um those teams are also announced during the NBA finals. Okay, so that's a while to come back the the all-defensive teams. And you know, we have players on the Blazers who I think should make the all-defensive. I agree. I agree. But there's only two we gotta see what happens next. That's only ten players. Okay, and we gotta go, Phyllis. It's this this segment, we're done. We're gonna actually let's we can pick up where we left off in the next segment because we are gonna be talking about play-ins and playoffs. So we'll kind of talk about the NBA next. Absolutely. Okay, sounds good. All right, stay with us. We're taking a quick break. All righty, we're back for the third segment, the third of three segments in this particular podcast. And we thought we really needed to um first of all continue with anything else that we still wanted to say or leave us the option to bring those forward again if there's something else that came into our minds, um, but also then lead into the play-ins and the playoffs. And those play-in games were really, really something for the most part. Yes. Yeah, exactly. It's not a series. Right. It's can you beat this game, this team tonight? And then how exciting to be a seventh or eighth place team and then have to face OKC or the Spurs in the West or um Detroit. Detroit, uh Boston in the East. It's like, oh, for heaven's sakes. Okay, but it's you know what? I I think it's a great system. I do like that part of the final part of the NBA season because you just don't know. You gotta play the game to know who's gonna win and who's gonna be hot for a particular game and who isn't. And you know, look what happened with the Orlando Magic beating the uh Charlotte Hornets. It was the biggest crushing defeat in a play-in game, 121 to 90. You know, that was crazy because the Hornets, you know, just a few nights before were just on fire on fire. The Hornets were. Yeah, yeah, that's what I mean. And then boom, they didn't. They weren't. Yeah. But the Hawks. Um we're not talking Hawks. Oh, okay. We're talking Orlando and Hornets right now. Orlando Magic. So just say save that thought just for a moment. I just want to close in on this. But anyway, that um Orlando then took that eighth spot. So that's what happened when they did the Hornets. Yes. So had the opportunity. Anyway, okay, so now you are do we have Hawks? Hawks weren't in the play-ins, they were automatically in the playoffs. Right. Right. So they had the number six spot anyway. Right. But but I was thinking about Orlando, you know, they were they were um they got the eighth spot by working hard. Right. Right. And then the first playoff game was against the number one team. I know. You're your Detroit. Detroit Pistons, they're not mine. Well, but you know, the team that you favored even at the very beginning of when we started doing our podcast. That we knew that they were gonna get our attention. Yep. Yep. Yeah, they won 60 games for heaven's sake. I know. I know. But then, but then they then they played um then they played Orlando, who was eighth place, who barely made it into the playoffs. I know. First game we're talking about. This is the first game. The very first game. Home game for the Pistons, I want to emphasize, right? Yes. And they lost it. Detroit lost it. I know. I was shocked when I saw that game. I was like, really? You're gonna let this happen? And they did. They just got outplayed. I don't think I would love to know, I don't know the shot percentage. It had to been over 60% for Orlando because they couldn't miss, it seemed. No matter where on the floor they took a shot, they made it. It was one of those nights for them. It was stunning. But you know, it the Hawks had won 14 out of 15 of their last games. I know. Well, you're now you're talking Hawks again. You're on a different team, Phyllis. Oh, I'm not. Don't be jumping like. Well, we're gonna go there next. But I have to first have a shout-out in the play-ins for Denny Odvia, who was had a 41-point game against the Phoenix Suns. And going into that game, we went the Blazers went to Phoenix, and they were the odds on not favored to win that game because of Devin Booker and uh Dylan Brooks was playing again. The only one they didn't have was um oh, the kid that was from Duke, uh, that was a really good three-pointer. Oh, I can't think of his name off the top of my head. Anyway, he still was on an injured list, but still, uh, you know, it was really surprising that the Blazers could pull that one out. So that was still, we're talking play-ins just for another minute or two. Yeah. And then um, you know what I'm really surprised about is that the Warriors, actually, I'm not surprised that they beat the Clippers, but then I'm surprised that they didn't make it into the playoffs. Yeah. You know, that was surprising. So that'll be interesting to watch them on the offseason and see what uh changes and and or decisions um that happened in. We don't know what's gonna happen with the coach and their key players, etc. etc. Yeah. Well, and the 76ers were able to overcome Joel M B, that poor guy. Yeah, they have an appendectomy right before the play-ins begin. And you know, uh, but at least uh what's his face? The um VJ VJ was great, of course, and um not Paul George. I get him confused. It's the other one that the um can't think of his name. Anyway, uh was able the one that was on uh the drug thing that had he had to be off. He got sanctioned for anyway. Uh anyway, they were all seemed to pull it together and um were now moving into um the playoffs as a seventh seed. So that happened all in the play-ins. So okay, so that's the play-in stuff. So anything about playoffs that jumps into your head. Well, in the playoffs, the first round, the very first games that were played, Orlando beat Detroit. That was the number one seed, right, which was the big surprise. But the other home team. Yeah, you know, those that was the big game. That was an away game. Right, uh-huh. Right. But the other seven games that were played, the home team won every one of them. Right. And the home team is the the team with the better record. Absolutely. Yeah, yep, yeah. So you think, oh dear, how are these gonna go? But then by the second game, a number of people went one to one. Well, look at the 76ers. Again, we talked about the 76ers, uh huh. 76ers and um Celtics. Yeah, there you go. You know, and they won their and it was a substantial win. It wasn't just a squeaker, you know, it was like substantial. The number one and number two teams in the Eastern Conference lost their second or lost their game. Not denied, but not OK, not OKC though. OKC hasn't lost. That's in the Eastern Conference. That's Western Conference, but you're talking Eastern right now, right? Okay, both you know, Detroit and Boston both lost one of their first two games. Okay, got it. The first two home games. Oh, honestly, people were nervous for Detroit because that was the first game. The second game, you kind of get okay, that second that team, the visiting team has kind of got things figured out. Maybe it was butterflies, maybe it was nerves or whatever. Visiting but the sec the team that would be the visitors to the home team, the you know, the the lower ranked team would be the visiting team. Yeah. Yeah. They would be they figured things out and they were able then to win those second games in a lot of those arenas. Oh yeah, for for um the uh other teams. Yes, a lot of one to one. One each team won one game home and away. Right. But um that wasn't true for the Western Conference. Oh no. Oklahoma won the first two games. Right. And um LA won the first two games. Right, right. Yeah, I don't know. Um worried for Houston. Uh the Suns, I don't I don't know. It's really hard to beat OKC, as everybody knows, but there has to be a way, and they're going home now, so maybe that'll help them a little bit, you know, back to Phoenix. But um the Lakers, you know, the Lakers have kind of are into proving people wrong that they are a lot deeper than just Luca, because Luca and um Reeves have not been able to play, you know, both were injured prior to the playoff starting, and they're still not playing, and the Lakers have kind of skunked Houston. So Houston is looking very dear in the headlights, even with Durant missed the first game, so everyone thought, well, you know, I guess they couldn't pull it together without him. But he played the second game and they still still uh they just look like they've lost their oomph, you know, for lack of a better word. I don't know. Oh dear. You know. Oh dear. But you know, uh you gotta play the game, so we'll see what happens. And um, of course, then poor Wemby, you know, went down that head um hitting the floor. I I don't want to see that video again because it's no, they it's boy, they play it over and over again. I mean, really, I'm surprised he didn't break crack his skull or break his jaw cheekbone or whatever. But um anyway, uh Portland took advantage, or I don't know if they did, they were pretty zoomed into wanting to win that game anyway, but who knows, you know, you just don't know. Um, we're talking about the San Antonio and Portland Trailblazer game. And that um second game of the playoffs, the Portland Trailblazers won that. Right. And um Victor Wembam Yama had an injury during the first quarter. Right. At the end of the first quarter, and um he hit the floor by tripping over his feet and went face first down and got a concussion. Right. So um we don't know how long he'll be out. He could be out the whole first round of the year. He traveled to Portland. We know he's in Portland right now. Yeah. Which surprised me. Me too. But good for him if if he's truly healing that quickly from this jolt. Yeah, but boy was he dazed. He was dizzy and dazed. Yeah, and that was that was rough. It was very rough. Yeah, but we are looking forward to the rest of the playoffs, and that's what we're gonna be doing in May. That's right. And you know the finals are June 3rd. Start the ju start June 3rd, but they end on the 17th or 18th or something. Yeah, they'll well they'll end when they end. Oh, this is true. It could go four, it could go seven. Who knows? Right. Up two, maybe, or could be the final game, could be two weeks later. Depending on as late as that, yeah. And it'll be on ABC. Yeah, there you go. So again, we'll be able to watch it without those interruptions of sound disappearing, okay, and that server or service shall remain nameless. So, Phyllis. Thank you. All right, you know me. Life is better withn't than with basketball in it, and I'm so happy right now because there's so much to watch and to see and to talk about. Well, that makes you ecstatic, doesn't it? It does, it does. So I'm saying goodbye with that. Okay, and be kind to each other out there, people. Amen.