OMG Anunoby!

This week, Tracy Sandler and Nikki Kay jump right into game four of the NBA Finals. From OG Anunoby’s amazing performance and the Knicks’ historic comeback to Taylor Swift, Kylie Jenner’s fits, and what went wrong with the Spurs. Then they celebrate the start of the World Cup, and Nikki breaks down what you need to know going into the first week.

Hosts: Tracy Sandler, Nikki Kay
Producer: Akua Murphy
BZZR.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:06

It is Slander for the San Antonio Spurs and OG Ananobi Slade, or should I say OMG Ananobi. Welcome to Sandler and Slay on Buzzer. I am Tracy Sandler, joined by the fabulous Nikki Kay. Buzzer is the home for true sports fans and creators, of which I think we all are after the game the other night, bringing you smart and lively conversations, great insights, and all the sports without the noise. We have podcasts, shows, live streams, video, just like this podcast here, which is on video and audio. All creators on Buzzer are verified so you know you're getting authentic content and no slots. And with that, let's take out the slop and talk game four of the NBA finals. Still not over it, Nikki. Might never actually be over it, and I'm not even a Knicks fan.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

The Pope's on their side, Saturday night live, Knicks in five. Like OMG. OMG. That was really good. Nine point comeback, the most historic, the biggest comeback in NBA finals history. Like I kind of called it though. I knew. I was like, Knicks are coming back. And I was, you know, we're both in LA. I was around some people who didn't want to see them, see them win. But I it's just like the Spurs, they crumbled. What an epic collapse by them at the end. But I mean, hail, hail to the victor of that game in terms of OG An and Obi just the historic block and then the follow from Jalen Brunson's missed shot.

SPEAKER_02 1:39

My goodness. That was unbelievable. When Jalen Bronson missed the shot, I was like, oh, it's too bad. They came so close. And I was like, wait, no, never mind. Never mind. Here they come. It was that was crazy. I mean, I think I audibly gasped and and maybe screamed. And again, not a Knicks fan, not a Spurs fan. I was thinking if I was either a diehard Knicks or Spurs fan, those last minutes may have like done me in.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

Well, I was considering changing my the spelling of my name to K N I C K I. Because I'm like Taylor Swift did. Yeah. Those shirts, her and the Haym sisters. And then all of a sudden Olivia Benson, Mariska Hargate joining in on the tease too.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

Well, what I was wondering, and I don't know that we'll be able to get confirmation on this, but what I was wondering is, because Mariska Hargate slash Olivia Benson is such a diehard fan that we have talked about on this show before, is and Taylor Swift and Mariska Hargate are really good friends. She was in Taylor's Bad Blood video. So they they've been good friends for a long time. Were she and Haim the band really there to pro to support Mariska? Because once I saw her in the same shirt, I was like, she's there supporting her besties team. This all totally makes sense. Not that she couldn't go to the game, but it was like this all totally makes sense. And those shirts were amazing. If you missed it, Taylor Swift's was Stevie Nicks, spelled K-N-I-C-K-S. I think one of them, Nicole Kidman. Yeah, with an K-N-I-C-O-L-E.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

K-N-I-C-K-O-L-E. Which is when I'm gonna change my the spelling of my name too. A hundred percent. I don't think it's and then Nickelback with a K-N-I-C-K. But I don't know what Mariska's shirt was. It was another Stevie Nicks. It was another Stevie. Oh, okay. But she came in wearing a black shirt. Like there was a picture of her courtside with the black shirt. So people were wondering, and I guess I think Taylor's bodyguard even changed games like in the game too. He left wearing an orange shirt and just vibes were vi-bing, especially all those courtside celebs. I I I mean, first of all, Josh Hart is probably the luckiest man alive that the the win ended up falling in the Knicks' favor because gosh, that and you you hate to see it from a player like him, the blown layup, and and I don't blame him with how much energy he's exerting, you know, on both ends of the floor. But when he blows that layup, Larry David nearly has a heart attack courtside. And then you just watching the reactions and the freeze frames that came from that buzzer beater, the game clincher from OG, it was electric.

SPEAKER_02 4:12

It really was. It it was amazing. And these celebs, I mean, I'm not sure there are that many celebs at the Oscars. The celebs situation was out of, and this I kept thinking that throughout the game as they're going down by 29. I'm like, oh my gosh, first of all, it cost eight gazillion dollars to get into this arena. So you have people that paid, well, most everybody that paid so much money. You have every celebrity on the planet, really, every like big time, culturally relevant, and some irrelevant, but very relevant celebrity like on the planet in Madison Square Garden. And I'm like, are they going to lose this game by 30 points? What a letdown. And then they did not. And there was something that kept saying to me, because I think I texted you, I might turn this off, but I'm gonna give it a beat. And there was something like I was looking at those. I was like, oh my gosh, I'm so glad she didn't turn it off. No, I just I just couldn't. I was like, it's too early. And then I don't know, as it was like, I just I can't do it. I just I can't do it. And I'm glad I didn't because that was bananas.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

It was so fun on so many levels. Just, I mean, it wasn't fun initially because it was such a blowout. The Knicks basically gave up 80 points in the first half, you know, and and the Spurs couldn't miss. Uh, but you you just started getting the makings of a comeback coming in the third quarter as they kept chipping away, chipping away. You know, it what 29 points became like, you know, 22. Then it was 17. And once it was within the teens, I was like, oh, it's on. And I think it was a four-point game with 350 left, and it was just it was madness. Um, did you see Cardi B was sat near the Spurs bench and she was like, she posted throwing a fit about it too? It was that's really funny. We gotta talk about Kylie and Taylor hugging on the court posting. Oh, we sure do.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

We also talk about Kylie's fit because I have so many so many.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

Well, the Knicks just basically healing bringing peace.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

Yeah, it healing nature and celebrity feuds, 100%. I mean, wasn't there, correct me if I'm wrong, because then it was a while ago, there is some sort of Kylie Jordan Woods thing, right? Because Jordan Woods was Kylie's best friend, and then there was some issue, I believe, with Tristan Thompson when he was with Chloe, or am I wrong on that?

SPEAKER_00 6:26

The threads, the threads are knotted on on these uh these feuds. But yeah, and then and then Haley Bieber came too, and I was like, who is she's not friends with Taylor anymore, right? I don't know that she was ever friends with Taylor. Ever, maybe not, maybe not.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

Yeah, I I think well, because of Kim and I think it was Kim and Taylor, and then we know how that all turned out. So that was kind of the issue. But yes, sports and the Knicks are healing. Nature and sports. And that in Madison Square Garden, many a feud was put to rest in the name of an epic game for comeback.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

And I just saw Rihanna, I saw a video of Rihanna shooting hoops outside MSG.

SPEAKER_02 7:08

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

With the fans, with the fans after the game. Like, my gosh, New York, yeah. New York, I can't get enough of the content. And we've we've talked about this, but it's like it's really, really cool to see a city that big show up that big.

SPEAKER_02 7:24

You know, it's funny, New York after the marathon, everyone in the city is like, I'm running a marathon. And I've been there for it. And you do you the marathon ranishes? I ran it. Oh, yes, you did. Okay, we're gonna talk about this in one second. So everybody in the city, though, after the marathon, is like, I'm gonna run the marathon. And I was there when my brother ran it, and I was like, you know what? I am gonna run the marathon. The next day I went to the gym and started a running program. And then, this will make you laugh. I asked my friend who had run the LA Marathon, wait a second, what happens if you have to go to the bathroom? And she said, you have to use the porta potties. And I was like, I'm out. I am no longer going to run the New York Marathon. That was the end of that. But yes, you did. That's there's a buzz in the city marathon day. So I can only imagine the buzz today.

SPEAKER_00 8:10

Right. It is, there is something so unifying about that day in general. And I was told about it from afar, actually covering the Dodgers and the Yankees in the World Series. So my best friend was like, oh, you really just need to stay an extra couple of days. It's marathon day on Sunday. And I was like, no, honey, we got a parade to cover back in LA. But I vowed to myself that Dodgers Yankees World Series that I was like, all right, I'm gonna run the New York City Marathon next year. And I did, and it is, I ran a PR because it's that type of motivational like use running through your running through your veins. But I can only imagine it's that like on 10X during an NBA finals, you know, everyone's wearing Knicks gear, walking around, spreading smiles, spreading love. I heard this city is so pleasant. Like it's just it sounds, it sounds alive. And it's it's gonna be a good summer over on the East Coast.

SPEAKER_02 9:03

Full circle, you ran that marathon the day after game seven of the World Series between the Dodgers and the Blue Jays. And I actually said to my mom last night, I was like, the Spurs, it's a way more epic collapse. But the Blue Jays after Bobachette hit that three-run home run acted like they'd won the entire thing and the game was over. Though I don't think the Spurs were acting like that. I think there was a youth and inexperience where they did kind of they just they didn't stop playing, but I don't know. I think there was a feeling that they had this, and you just can never feel that way in any finals game in any sport, but it kind of made me think of that. So full circle with you running the New York Marathon then.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

I and I have to apologize. I should set the scene of where I am right now. I am outside of a cafe in downtown Los Angeles because the World Cup has arrived, as has been well documented all over North America. But I am on assignment today for a long day of live hits, and you know, it was either in the Coliseum where there's about to be a concert kicking off to celebrate the kickoff of Mexico versus South Africa, or it's outside this cafe. So that should set the scene for some ambient noise, so to speak, in throughout. What was the concert? Because now I'm gonna decide if you made the right decision. Okay. Um so it's really cool. They're doing concerts kind of aligned with each of the teams that are playing, right? So I know in a little bit DJ Mads, who's a South African DJ, she'll be, or should I say South African. Like I met a South African jet gentleman and he said it a very, you know, with a certain intonation. I was like, dang, I gotta, I gotta work on my global pronunciations here. But I know Steve Aoki will be performing ahead of US match on Friday. So no, it's a really cool getup if you are in Southern California and looking for somewhere to watch the games. It's I think $10 a ticket, and then kids are free. So they're very different than the NBA Finals. Seriously, yeah, we're the the epic collapse of the San Antonio Spurs. It's the youth, it's the it's the rite of passage you have to go through. I do think I'm getting a little bit over like I think I'm getting oversaturated with Victor Wembanyama comment content.

SPEAKER_02 11:15

Well, I think it's a little kind of we've talked about this before, and I I I've been thinking about this. I'm glad you brought it up. It's a little of that game one of the Western Conference Finals, Wemby is it, no one can win a game ever again as long as he's playing basketball, yada yada, yada. And I know that we in media do do this, and I I understand it, but yes, he's being crowned. He has not won the crown yet, though, but he is being crowned. And I do think it's interesting. I think it's interesting that he's going into Central Park and doing drawings. I really do, but I think he is being crowned before the crowning has actually taken place. And I almost think in some ways it's a disservice. Not that it's, I don't think it's getting into his head and all that. I just think it is maybe a bit of a disservice. And as long as you bring up Victor Webanyama, you know, he misses those two free throws at the end. And I know he'll blame himself. And but I mean, grant, I would my counter-argument to be that would be like it is a team sport, and you had a 29-point lead. So it was not just those two missed free throws that lost the game by any means, but these are big learning experiences. So I understand what you're saying. I feel like we are getting very oversaturated with it. And in some ways, I think that kind of helped the Knicks come back, to be honest, because it was like we're not, we're gonna keep going, we're gonna keep playing. And they've been there. It we're gonna talk more about this in a minute. I want to talk more about Wemby, but they've been there, oddly for the Spurs. Their guy that has been there has been their weakest link this entire series.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Yeah, he is, I mean, his presence is undeniable, right? And he needs to be, he needs to be dominant. And I think he's probably missing like that signature move that Willie evolved throughout his career. And obviously he's 22 years old and it's the biggest stage, the most minutes he's ever played. And I just, you know what? It's kind of fun to have a villain though. I think like what we're going to see in the arc of his career is kind of how LeBron James became like either you loved him or you were, you know, team LeBron or you just you you rooted against him or you couldn't stand him, right? Not to no fault of his own. It's just how fandom goes. Yeah. I kind of see the splinters starting to come on the Wemby tree, you know, like there's and I I don't know what it is. I'm like, oh my gosh, like, dude, if you're if if everyone's hyping you up to be this guy, if you're gonna sit at the podium and say, you know, down O2, there's no place I'd rather be, which it, you know, what else do you want your your star mom, you know, killer to play say, oh, it sounds like the concert's about to get started. You know, exactly. But um, I think if you are, you know, it you want him to be that killer and you want him to say those things, but I can already tell I'm just like, oh, and that's I to no fault of his own. It's more just like you said, the the overexposure, the saturation, and then the the lack of follow-up with with the bold statements.

SPEAKER_02 14:24

Well, and I think this is a player who was very hyped coming into the league. As you said, he's only 22 years old. The most minutes he's ever played, there's a long way to go in his career. But the more we see of him, and this is not a criticism because they think there's something to be said for being the villain, you can be the villain and be the villain in a great way that is tremendously helpful to your team. But the more we see of him, the more we see of him in these situations, in these types of games, we're seeing sides of Wemby we haven't seen before. And so his character arc, so to speak, is going to go in a number of directions. And I do think he is a little bit turning into the villain. And I don't think it's a bad thing, but he is kind of turning the villain. And I think from his perspective, you want to be that guy people hate for the right reasons. You don't want to be a guy people hate because you're like a dirty player and you're always whatever. But you want to be the guy that people hate. Like you, I my dad told me this when I was a kid. Uh, we were at a dodger game, and the opposing team was playing, and I can't remember who it was, but their best player on the team came up and the whole crowd booed him. And I, of course, this will probably shock nobody. I got very teary and I said to my dad, Do you think that hurts his feelings? Because then I was like, Oh my gosh, Little Trace. I was so sad. I was like, Oh, that would make me so sad. And he said, No, because he's in the opposing stadium and it means he's the he's their best player. So that's what happens when you're really good. Now, if he was in his own stadium and the entire crowd started booing, that might hurt his feelings. But that was an important lesson there. And you kind of want to be the player.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

I mean, people booze shohe. It's I remember that. Well, to that note, uh, my first restaurant job, I was, you know, you're in high school and you're you're making friends with older, older restaurant staff who just have more life perspective. And I'll never forget the advice one man, his name Mark, was he gave to me and he goes, Listen, having haters is a good thing. It means you're doing something right. And I was like, bars, I'm gonna, I'm gonna carry that with me. And uh it's it is it does mean you're doing something that makes people notice and get some topic. 100%.

SPEAKER_02 16:37

But in Wemby's, in Wemby's case, as time goes on, and this is, you know, I don't think this is this series does not define Wemby to me. That them getting to the series is right one of the things that will define Wemby, but it's going to be what happens next time because we're gonna see these Spurs for a while. And and and I don't think he's been, I mean, I know he has not been great, but those two missed free throws, you can't do that. Like when you're Wemby, you can't miss those free throws. It is not his fault they lost the game, but you cannot miss those free throws because if you make them, they win the game.

SPEAKER_00 17:12

My basketball karma radar went off when Josh Hart, I mean, he he procures the steal. I don't know if procures the steal is a defense, is a phrase. I whatever. I like it. I like it. He procures the steal and misses the layup. And then Wemby misses those two free throws. And that to me was like, you know, we've talked before. Uh Dave Roberts has this saying for the Dodgers. He's like, you you honor the game, the game honors you. To me, that for Josh, I was like, you play the game with such you you play basketball the right way, you play it with such heart, so no pun intended. So that those, I was like, you know, a little come see come sa for, you know, miss miss two points here, miss two points there by by both teams. But yeah, that was I mean, when did you believe the Knicks were gonna pull it off? Or did you believe ever?

SPEAKER_02 18:05

I believed when they got it to under double digits, when it was a nine-point lead. I was like, this the momentum was huge. Inevitable. Inevitable. And I actually think, I mean, I could be wrong about this, and maybe it's recency bias. To me, momentum has its biggest play, so to speak, in basketball. I think when you're when you once you get the momentum, it it just seems to be more so than I think in any other sport. Um, because I feel like in baseball you could have the momentum in the next sense, then your pitcher could give up a home run, and now you don't have the momentum, you know. So I um and football has it too, but with basketball, it feels like that. And I just felt like sometimes I feel like in those situations, universally woo-woo we don't come back that far and not win. Like if you're coming back from that big a deficit at home in game four of the NBA finals, you're not gonna lose that game. That's just kind of my feeling on stuff like that. And I and there's no scientific evidence behind it. There's no real research, but it's like a gut thing to me.

SPEAKER_00 19:08

But there is scientific evidence because we've seen the Knicks do it this postseason run. That's exactly no, but you're right. Like it's it's we've seen this team come from behind and not accept any other outcome but a win in time and time and time again, just in this postseason run. So I don't blame you for being like, they're they're not failing the mission. Like they're going to be successful. And yeah, it was it was remarkable. I love did you hear uh OMG Ananobi's press conference when when uh one of the reporters asked him, like, they literally set the table, like, you just had the game, you know, the game, the buzzer beater in an NBA finals game uh to go up 3-1. How are what do you think, or what are you feeling? And he goes, it was cool. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 19:58

And he goes, everyone's excited. I'm excited too. I was like, that's this is amazing. But this is the difference. It's it is funny and it was amazing, but this is the difference between having been there and having the experience and knowing how it can go wrong and being young and inexperienced and your first one. Like, yes, it is amazing. It's cool, but he knows just as well, even though I don't think it's gonna happen, but he knows just as well the Spurs could come out totally pissed on Saturday night and win that game. And then they go back to Madison Square Guard. So he knows it's not over yet. They're super close, but I think that's it was it was funny and it was awesome. But I do think that's kind of being there.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

The guys aren't playing like they've won anything yet. And I've heard through throughout this finals run, like Nick's up to a you know, showing they they they can't extinguish the life in this young Spurs team, but treating every day like business, business, business. They're not celebrating anything yet. And that's a tone set by Jalen Brunson.

SPEAKER_02 21:00

Mm-hmm. I agree 100%. And that's that's why I do think they will ultimately win. I don't think the Spurs can come back from this. They may be able to win a game, but they can't. I don't think they can come back from this and win.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

Do you yeah? Do you think Nixon six or the Catholics?

SPEAKER_02 21:17

I think that's on our side, Nixon five. I mean, they're playing with magic in the Pope. So there's that. I think, I think Nixon five.

SPEAKER_00 21:26

And you know, New York is the city that never sleeps. So this is gonna be a story of like the Knicks win in San Antonio, get on the plane, and are back in MSG with at MSG, and the city's still popping. Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_02 21:40

That and it's Saturday night. I mean, that is gonna be that is gonna be a night. A time will be had in New York City if time will be had Saturday night. It's not gonna be had if they win at all, but if they win Saturday night, a time will be had. You will have people welcoming back them back to town, surrounding the airport. I mean, it's gonna be a whole thing.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

So you're you're thinking it's done. We're recording this. You think it's done sad Saturday?

SPEAKER_02 22:07

Saturday night. I think they went in five.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

Yeah. I could be wrong. I've been wrong before.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

But I think five.

SPEAKER_00 22:14

Did you do your follow-up research? Did Jordan Woods have her bag this game?

SPEAKER_02 22:18

Oh, she surely did. And I'm so glad you brought this up. She sure did have that bag, which by the way, if I am the Knicks, I am in whether she's at the game or not, that but that bag has to be at every game till the end of time. Like that's whether if she's there, she can be the one to bring it. Otherwise, that bag needs a courtside seat and needs to be there till the end of time. But yeah, she got that bag in there, and and it clearly, clearly made magic difference. Do you know who else was back in game four? Who was not there in game three? My girl Kylie Jenner. Yeah, she might be another. Frame her. Frame her too. Fire in the museum. There she was. And I am so proud that the brand is strong, that I had multiple people sending me videos of her entering. There's the fit. There's the fit. There's Kylie Space. Okay, yeah. Break down her fit to me. What did you love? Everything. First of all, okay, first of all, aside from the specific fit, she has found a game day fit that works for her and has just basically tweaked it every time. So it's always a great pair of jeans. Usually the little tank, which you guys know I love because I bought it. Some sort of cute shoe situation, and then a jacket over her shoulders. The only time she really deviated from that was when she did the vintage Nick's shirt with, but everything else was still there with the jeans, and which was also really great. So right off the bat, I think this is a good lesson from us all. You find something that works for you in specific situations, and you just tweak it so it's a little bit different every time. So there's that. Second, she and our king, Timothy Chalamet, and I know that I keep calling him our king. I don't know that you agree with that, but I'm referring to him.

SPEAKER_00 24:04

I do love him. I do love him. I need him out to have a couple more years on the top of the pyramid before he's crowned king, but I love I love King Timmy.

SPEAKER_02 24:12

I and I say King is more of like from a fan perspective. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think he's, but I'm but I'm willing to just crown him anyway. No, both ways, both ways. I'm reading too, I'm being too deep. No, you can be, no, you can be deep. And I feel like from an acting perspective, yes, he probably is my time. But from a fan perspective, I also am slightly concerned he may not make it through these finals. I think the Knicks have to win handling on Saturday night, or we may lose our King Timothy Chalamagans. And I get that. I know that feeling so well that I find it very relatable. But so our king, our prom king and queen. I'm just gonna say it. Our prom king and queen for game four of the NBA finals. Timmy and Kylie come in in matching chrome hearts outfits. So she's got the jeans with the like the orange chrome heart symbol, and he's got blue and orange on his. And one could say, is this so cheesy? They're matching. No, they nailed it. It was just, it was beautiful. It was a thing of beauty. And I want to thank my girl Kylie for not disappointing and for making me think, okay, now my next one, I have to make the tank a little more cropped with the jeans and the jeans a little more, not full boyfriend, because they weren't like super baggy. They were rise, so they were low rise with like a little, I think there was a cuff at the bottom. And then I liked the jacket just over her shoulder, and they weren't afraid to do all denim. And so now I'm not afraid to do all denim because of my prom King and Queen, Kylie and Timmy. So those are my feelings on the fit.

SPEAKER_00 25:41

I love it. I am a Canadian Tucs fan through and through, but yeah, she just she's so effortlessly figured out the I mean, and of course she would, but figured out the white tank jeans combo.

SPEAKER_02 25:59

It's she's nailed it. And she's influenced us all, and we we are all lucky. We are all lucky for it. We see you. We see you, King Kylie. It's actually cute, Kylie. It is, it's really King Kylie. So they're probably the they're the prom kings. Yes. She is King Kylie. And I, you know, I do give Kylie, not to make this a full Kylie Jenner podcast, but I give Kylie a lot of credit. The youngest in that family with everything going on and Christmas all the time. And she has created an incredible company in the Kylie, in Kylie Cosmetics. She's got the clothing brand. She is thriving, and I absolutely love it. And I love, I love her Knicks fandom. And I love it. But Timmy, I I really, when he was at the camera, like his hands on over his face, and like, I understand that. And Riska Hargate, Taylor Swift hugging her at the end, and Miss Riska Hargate looks like she's about to like cry tears that she doesn't even know which tears they are. They're happy, they're anxious. I'm like, I feel you. I totally have been there. This was me in game seven of the World Series last year in full circle again, my hotel room in New York, because the four years are playing the Giants, and so I was there for work. I feel this for them, and I think it's so fun. And then no one wanted to leave, which I also totally get.

SPEAKER_00 27:13

No one wanted to leave. I would, I would be, I would want to soak in that moment forever. It was it was awesome. And it did seem like the players were relishing it and like I know OG was a man of simple words, but it did seem like the players appreciated the moment too.

SPEAKER_02 27:30

Yes. Oh, I think they absolutely did. I think they absolutely did. Appropriately so. I think right.

SPEAKER_00 27:37

Well, because then what is what is the destination, if not for the journey?

SPEAKER_02 27:42

100%. And our guy, OMG Ananobi, who we're fully calling him that going forward, did say we are enjoying this right now. We have to, we have to, you know, look to the next game, obviously, but we can enjoy this right now and enjoy this tonight. And I think you have to, you can't go through all that and not at least take a moment. And I know it's really, I know it's really hard. People ask coaches and players the time, have you had a chance to reflect on kind of everything you've done so far? And you can't do that because you're not done, but I think you can reflect on the moment. And I think the other reason it's kind of important to do that in their case is this is a team that was down 29 points in game four of the NBA finals and came back. And part of the reason you need to reflect on that is because that fortitude and that never quit attitude is something you're going to need for the next game and if there's a next game. So you kind of have to bottle that up a little bit, bottle up that feeling so that you know how to pull from it again.

SPEAKER_00 28:42

So Dylan Brunson said, Yeah, it's it's from belief. And you know, they believed they could and they did. Did you see uh Ernie Johnson, who's one of my favorite hosts? Yes, his picture with Taylor Swift. I know that was just so darling. The guys from the uh the inside the NBA show were kind of like they were teasing him. Yeah, they were teasing him, but yeah, he's Ernie Johnson's gonna be literally the coolest uh grandfather ever.

SPEAKER_02 29:08

Ever. He lit he said, I've just become the coolest grandfather in the entire world. And you know his grandkids were at home like screaming, or maybe somewhere in the arena. Yeah, yeah. Like OMG and a different OMG than our guy OMG. I don't know, we totally different OMG, completely different. It was too good. It was it was so good. It really was. It was just awesome. I'm gonna I'm gonna pose a question that's an annoying question before we move on to the World Cup. I it's clearly the biggest. Well, actually, before that, I have one other question. There's an elephant in the room with the spurs, and I think it's De'Aaron Fox, and I hate to be the person who calls someone out, but we have a podcast about sports, so I'm gonna have to do it. It's interesting that with all this youth on the team who is all they are making mistakes, their biggest Achilles heel seems to be the veteran who has somewhat been there before.

SPEAKER_00 30:00

That's exactly it, Tracy, and that's the discourse, and it's it's just like I mean, I don't know where he goes, but he has it from here. And it's just hard because like Hunter's going off. Wemby is you know, showing flashes. I mean, not flashes, flashes is the wrong word, but yeah, I don't Darren Fox made a bad, bad blunder at the end of that, and like come on in the Radal series. No, I don't know, and his contract, he's being paid a lot of money.

SPEAKER_02 30:30

Yeah, so I don't know if that's uh gonna be more of a probably an off-season discussion, but it is interesting as I was talking with people last night and saying, like, this is where I think the Spurs youth and inexperience, and I do think that that is a big part of it. I do think that that is how you lose a 29-point lead like that. But it's interesting the veteran has been the biggest issue. But this actually does lead me to what I was gonna say before because you look at this game and you look at 28 to 3, and that was a Patriots team that had been there, been there a lot, and knew it was never over against a Falcons team who felt that they'd won the game at 28 to 3 and the game is not over. What they're different sports in different situations, so maybe we can't even compare them, but does one seem like a bigger uh collapse than the other?

SPEAKER_00 31:18

That is such I mean, I I feel like with football, it feels like football is a bigger collapse, especially in this NBA day and age where no lead is safe, and that's kind of proof of proven during the regular season, I'd say. But 28 to 3 in the Super Bowl, and like what that that comes down to all you have to get like is a stop, right? Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 31:47

And I guess that and also I guess the difference with football too is in some ways it this is gonna sound weird, so stay with me for a second, but to score, you don't score one point. I mean, you might have a field goal, but extra, extra not talking about an extra kick that scores one point, but if you score a field goal, you get three, you score a touchdown, you get seven. It's easier, it's a lot easier to come back, which in some ways makes it feel like a bigger epic collapse because 28 to 3 sounds like a lot, but it's it's not that many, it's a lot of points, it's not that many scores, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

Totally, totally it does, and it's just and then also you can literally just have your team has the ball and you can control the clock, right?

SPEAKER_02 32:31

Like, I don't but that's a question, that's another question.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

Also, it's a it's a singular game, right? Like in the course of a of the of the finals, you've got to, you know, one game doesn't determine the whole outcome, right? Right. So I guess I guess that's where my like down 29 in the course of one game where you already have a series lead. It doesn't seem as like catastrophic as 28-3, but I I do think people will be like, hey, don't game four. I mean, yeah, not yeah. They will oh, but I think they will for sure.

SPEAKER_02 33:02

Don't game four. It will be cut, it'll go multiple ways. It'll be don't game before on one side, and it will be, hey guys, the Knicks were down 29 points in game four, the NBA finals, and they came back. We can do this. Like that will be going on. 1000%. 1000%. Kids sports, you know, all the way up. So it was interesting when you say when all you really need was a stop. I also thought it was interesting with the Spurs, and we don't have to get too big in the weeds here, but you have like two and a half minutes left, and they're running down the court, immediately shooting threes. I'm like, what are you doing? As much take as you have the lead right now. Take off as much time as possible. That to me was confusing. I mean, I'm not there, I'm not playing in the game, I'm not coaching. I don't want to shock anybody. I'm not coaching, so I know there's a lot that happens that I'm not seeing, but that just felt kind of odd to me.

SPEAKER_00 33:47

No, the Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson has had some questionable coaching throughout the series as a whole. But yeah, I think you know what I look at that, you know, decision making like that too. You're rushing things, you're not thinking through. That's like you we've said youth and experience, and sometimes I feel that too. Like when I'm frantic about something, I I rush, and you know, I'm uh it's all it's a little manic. I've been told I get manic when I feel uneasy about things. So I guess it's into that. Yeah, yeah, I get I relate to that, but yeah, it's uh they they poor poor execution on a bunch of fronts for San Antonio, and it is a bad collapse. But I think what will be remembered or what should be celebrated is like OG Ananobi first and foremost. I heard Brian Winhorst from ESPN saying, like, he could get two statues outside the arena, outside MSG, one for the block and one for the you know, follow the tippin'. So it and that was not an easy tip. Like the way that ball was arcing off the ranch. I don't even know where he came from.

SPEAKER_02 34:54

I know in real time, now as I rewatch it, but in real time, the shot gets missed, and I'm like so close. And then I was like, where did he come from? Did he come flying in through the air? Right, right. It's amazing. It was remarkable. Yeah. Well, we have a game five coming up in San Antonio Saturday night. I think it's gonna be Nixon five, but time will tell. The Pope's on their side, Nixon Five. I love, and I love the rhymes, the Pope's on their side. I know that that's now like a thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:27

That's when that's when I was getting out with the my bags, Christian Dior, Nixon 4. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 35:33

So the Pope is on our side, Nixon 5. It's very hard also to go against the Pope. The I mean, I I I said, I actually said to my mom, I was like, he can help. If you're really good, he can help you get over the edge. If you're the White Sox, who are exciting this season, so we'll see what happens. But if you're a terrible White Sox team, there's really only so much she can do. But if you're this close, the Pope on your side isn't gonna hurt you. That is spot on, Trace. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, Nikki. All right, Nikki, I would like to switch gears a little bit. Well, actually a lot, to the World Cup. You are you were talking about earlier, you're sitting in downtown LA getting ready for all this excitement that's coming to Los Angeles. I feel like we've been talking about the World Cup just in the ether for so long. And now it's here.

SPEAKER_00 36:24

Right. Totally. I and I wanted to trace what I was thinking was like, you know, I think soccer fandom in the US is not obviously where it is globally. And the US men's national team has not been as dominant as the women's national team. But that being said, this is such an exciting time for us to all bleed red, white, and blue and to cheer on the men's national team as they take the pitch. What we're basically so what I was thinking was I could just give you a little bit of a rundown, the structure of the World Cup. It's the largest field ever. 48 teams, 48 countries, which is all like that's the beautiful thing about this times. Like I'm watching hundreds of Mexico fans trickle into the the stadium in front of me right now. And it's that's gonna be like wherever you are watching games, it you're gonna find people who have all different allegiances from all over the world. It's electric. But little little breakdown here for those, for the girlies and the the folks who don't follow World Cup structure. We begin with group play. USA is in group D. Once you get out of group play, it's the round of 32. And basically, group play is structured like a loss, isn't everything. You you know, you want to advance out of the group with the most points, and you you play to 90 minutes, there's no overtime, there's no or added time, there's no PKs. You just play to 90, and if you tie, you get one point. A win is two, I believe. But so USA is in group D. Also in group D, we've got Australia, Turkey, and Paraguay. Now, USA will be kicking off against Paraguay on Friday, and it's largely thought that the US should be able to win group D. The expectation is it to advance to the round of 32. Anything successful for the US men's national team would be hit making it to the round of 16. Okay. So round of 32 becomes knockout. So, all right, that's that's the picture. And why is it what do you need to know about this men's national team? Well, this is supposed to be like the golden generation because basically it was a group of young guys who, you know, born around the early 2000s, they started playing together when they were teens. This roster started to come together in around 2018, and they were tasked with being the men's national team that would change US soccer forever. No pressure. Light, light responsibility, right? I'd say for the most part, it, I mean, they were young in the last World Cup 2022, which was in Cut Urb. And for the most part, they haven't really been the, you know, breakout team on the global stage in international tournaments. However, there's thought that they could do some damage in this World Cup. And we've got, I want to, I wanna like give you a couple of names. So when you're at the bar with your friends watching, first and foremost, we know about Christian Pulisse, right? He's a he's probably the face of the team, one of the most well-known names. He's great, but you wanna you want to impress people when you're talking about the men's national team? Let me introduce you to Tim Reen. He is the grandfather of this squad because he is 38 years old. He is the team captain, he is a standout center back, he's kind of like the sensei calming presence on the squad, but he has an awesome story because about four years ago, the last World Cup, he was he had pretty much given up. He didn't make the roster, he thought he wasn't going to compete for the U.S. And he got a call from the coach at that time, just weeks before the World Cup, saying we need you. So he played, and now four years later, he's back as the captain. Great leader, right? Great leader for this group. Um, I want to tell you about the goalkeeper, Matt Friese. He went to Harvard. He one time wrote a essay or a research paper, I should say. Essay. A research paper on penalty kicks. So Matt Friese is a self-proclaimed nerd. That's a fun little tidbit from Harvard. What? Like it's hard. Jizar L. Woods. He is our L Woods. Giz are L Woods. Exactly. Another one, Anthony Robinson. He's nicknamed Jedi, like Star Wars, and he does backflips after he scores. So that's already like him. Yeah. And here's another one. The US like leading scorer, he's a striker, Fulleran Belligan. You can call him Flo or Ballow. And he's a really fun electric personality too. He grew up in Brooklyn. He's got a little bit of a British accent, I think. I forget exactly where he's from, but he he is able to play for the US. But I just thought that that would be some good little tidbits. So you have some attachment to this team. I don't think a lot of people follow very closely.

SPEAKER_02 41:27

I think that is true. I have a very important question. Can we? I know there are nicknames for Fuller and Bagelin, but can we add just call him by his full name or does he prefer a nickname?

SPEAKER_00 41:37

No, you can do you can do nicknames. It gets, I had to like kind of watch where the pronunci pronunciations were going. But you know, flow, ballow, like it might be definitely easier to say flow or ballow.

SPEAKER_02 41:50

100%.

SPEAKER_00 41:52

And that's great. And then if you're looking for, okay, let's say the US gets eliminated early. Okay. God forbid, God forbid. France and Spain, two heavy favorites. Okay. So you could kind of bandwagon with them. Obviously, France has Mbappe. That's another fun name to say. Spain has Lamin Yamal, who's probably one of the best young players in the entire tournament. And he could win the golden ball, which who wouldn't want to win the golden ball? Nobody I know. But Spain is really entertaining and a fun team. I think they might be who I'm rooting for after the US. Because I also love going to I love going to Spain. Yeah, well, that's fair.

SPEAKER_02 42:30

That's totally fair. Okay. Oh, thank you. That was very helpful. That was very helpful. Is there more? I feel like there's more. I had one more. I had one more. Do it.

SPEAKER_00 42:38

If you want an underdog, an underdog team. We love an underdog team. Japan. Team Japan is not one of the heavy favorites, but they have shown the propensity to be able to pull off big upsets. They just beat England in March, which was kind of shocking. And they've done it before. So they're a disciplined team. I just like a little, you know, if you want someone to be like, okay, I'm I'm rooting for Japan. I think they they could have a little run here. So there you go.

SPEAKER_02 43:10

Do you know what I took from that, which isn't gonna surprise no one? You said they have shown. Oh and then you said so. If you want to say okay, and then I just put it as shohei, and I'm gonna go to the room. Oh, you were ready. Yeah Team Japan. Basically, not your team Japan. I mean, I'll be I'll be Team USA. But if once if they are eliminated first, then Team Japan. And it's it is the fact that you said those two words, and the first thing that came into my mouth was like, she just basically said Shohei. That just says a lot about me. That says a lot of it. It's like a lot of buzzer, it's it's a buzzer buzzword. Buzz. It is, it's a buzzer, buzz, buzzer, buzzword. And we are here on buzzer. Nikki, I think it's gonna be quite a weekend.

SPEAKER_00 43:54

What a fun sports weekend. Nonstop sports, yay! Got it. You know, it's a great time, a great time for all the single gals and people out there. Go to the bar, meet people, cheer on sports together, form a lifelong bond.

SPEAKER_02 44:10

And take your tidbits on the World Cup from Nikki because they were very, very helpful. We love it. We do love it, you guys. This has been a super fun show, as always. Nikki, where can the people find you on social media? Lil.nikki.k.

SPEAKER_00 44:27

I might be changing that spelling though. Nixon 5.

SPEAKER_02 44:31

Yeah, that's a very, very good point. I am at Tracy Sandler at pretty much everything except X where I'm at Tracy FGSN. You are listening to Slander and Slay on Buzzer. Please make sure to subscribe, download, rate, review, all of the things. We appreciate you guys. Happy World Cup. Happy game five. Happy the Pope is on my side, Nick in five. And we will talk to you guys next week.