PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - St. Patrick's Day Arizona Sports Mailbag Special

Episode Date: March 18, 2022

Luck o' the Irish be with you! It's time for another mailbag special! Makayla Perkins is joined by Chierstin Susel, Petey and Owain Evans to answer all your burning questions about the Suns, Coyotes, Cardinals, Dbacks and MORE! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome into the Phoenix Sports Podcast presented by Drop King Sportsbook America's top-rated sportsbook app. I'm your host, Michaela Perkins, and joining me today for a very special St. Patrick's Day episode of the Phoenix Sports Podcast is Pearson Thucel, Steve Peters, and making his debut is Owen. Burr-pur-pur-pur-per. I feel if I'm supposed to say something in response to that. I don't have any idea what to say. No, nothing. It's your debut, Owen. Are you excited?

It's good to be here. Yeah, a lot earlier than normal I'm used to getting here and it's starting to get dark and it's actually light today, which is nice. Yes, the office is nice and light. You're not here at 5 p.m. at night, which is really great. It's great to have you on the show. It's the St. Patrick's Day episode. And we're all wearing green except for Cherson. Cherson missed the memo.

I didn't miss the memo. I forgot the memo. The thing is, but my hat too. My laptop, my hat. The green is my favorite color. So I was able to come here with green somewhere on me, thankfully, because I always wear it. But I miss my opportunity to really showcase my favorite color. I am super sad.

How do you feel about St. Patrick's Day? Are we fans of St. Patrick's Day? Do you celebrate it? Honest to God, I don't know what it is. This is my favorite question because if you guys don't know, Owen is from Wales. And I just grew up. No. No.

No. No, no. No, no. St. Patrick's holiday or something. No, it's not. It's not. It's not. It's not.

It's a good holiday. But I like to group the entire UK together and just stereotype the entire region. I warned you about this. We've dumped Ireland in with the UK now. This is going downhill already. Actually, Owen is giving me a bit of a history lesson. Every country in the UK has their own version of St. Patrick's Day. So in Wales, it's St. David's Day, which they celebrate at the beginning of March.

And England is St. Andrew's Day, right? No. No, the way around. It's in George's Day. Oh, okay. Scotland is St. Andrew's Day. Okay, so yeah, so every country in the UK has their own saint day. But what is it?

So it's like each each of us has like a patron saint, and it's just on that saint's feast day. Feast day? Yeah, like every saint has a feast day. What's a feast day? St. Patrick died on this date in around 400 AD, and they celebrate that to celebrate the culture of Ireland. So it was a feast day the day that they died?

That's a question. Do you celebrate that saint? on that day to respect the culture of that area. Okay. Okay, cool. Isn't that kind of cool? I had no idea. No idea. I didn't either. That's not what we do in the States though. Like I said a word it. Let's get drunk. Yeah. St. Patrick's Day is just an excuse for Americans to get drunk. And watch basketball. And watch basketball. Yes, because March Madness has started, which is great. We love March Fadness here. But I don't really understand the point of St. Patrick's Day. I guess like it's just

a point of reason to drink because nobody here in America is Irish at this point. Celebrating their but you all like to say that you are. Kiss, Marim Irish, right? We drink the green beer for the Irish. Yeah, we're all in. Sure, yeah. States, we're in.

We love drinking. I have never, I celebrated it one time of my life. Senior year of high school, I skipped school, went to downtown Cleveland for the parade, hung out with some friends, went home. That is the only time I have ever done anything ever for St. Patrick's Day. But you've never done the green beer?

Like, that's a, no. Really? No. Like intentionally just order to agreement, never happened. No. Wow. I don't understand it. Quick reminder if you're watching this on Twitter, head over to YouTube,

join us in our chat. If you're in YouTube, say hello, drop us a message in the chat. We'll include you in our show. That's always my favorite part of the Phoenix Sports podcast, is including you in our discussions. And usually I would do the temperature check, but today I'm feeling a little off the cuff, I guess. And I just kind of want to get into questions,

which is the whole point of the show. actually have a lot of them. So let's get right into Max Mailbag on the Phoenix Sports podcast. I asked you guys to send in some questions on Twitter and in our members-only Discord. And we got a ton of questions. Thank you to everybody who sent them in. There's a lot of good ones to get through. So let's just jump right into it with our first question. An honor St. Patrick's Day, Mac Huff on Twitter at Mac at Hackmuff. Ask Green Veer or Guinness and Why. This one's really easy for me because I hate Guinness.

I think it's gross. It's so dark. Have you ever had a black and blue? No. I've had an Irish car bomb though, which I don't know. Black and blue, I believe, is half Guinness, half Blue Moon. And it's really good. Ew.

I don't think I would like that. There's a lot of black and tan, black and brown, black and blues, a lot of things with. That is correct. Yes. It's great. You have to try it. I don't know how I feel about that. I just think Guinness is too dark.

You feel like I'm chewing on it. I definitely agree to be a person. just because we'll take like a like a what is the like an English or like a like a pale ale or just like a light beer and just make it green that's perfect for me I don't need a dark Guinness beer Irish car bombs are really good though I mean they do say that Guinness is a meal that's true what about you guys are you guys in Guinness all day long really yeah the like when I was younger yeah I'm the old man of the group when I was younger I thought Guinness too heavy too harsh can't drink it just wait because the old older you get, it's crisper and cleaner than you think, goes down really smooth. And the best thing about it when you travel a lot is incredibly consistent throughout North America. So if you can go to Winnipeg, Manitoba, get a Guinness, and go to L.A. and get a Guinness. And you know you're getting the same thing. I love Guinness. It's like celebrating with Guinness. I've got colons in my fridge.

It's going to be basketball in Guinness when I get home. I love it. You love it that much? Yeah, I'm, I used to be a Guinness girl. Get out of here. That was a thing. I used to promote, but I did it for a lot of beer companies, but I remember going, what they would mostly have us go to is in college, like, um, like rosies. You guys know of rosies? I'm like, just like Irish bars, you know, yeah, Jacob, producer knows, rosies. And I would have to wear, um, I don't even know what it's called, but like some dress and have like lace up thing here. It was like a, like a garb thing that I had to wear and I would pass out free Guinness and like promote Guinness. And that's how I know the black and blue because I tried because I don't really I don't particularly like it either but like

I had to promote it so I would drink be like oh you don't like it you should try the black and blue that was like part of the spiel oh okay interesting see I love um it when it comes in an Irish carbon form otherwise no but the green beer thing though like what I get the green and the celebrating the Irish heritage yeah but really do we need to drink green beer only in that well it goes with the holiday but what happens the next day like it it's got a commodity all that green dye has got to come out. It's disturbing. I don't think it comes out green.

It's just, I mean, well, it depends how much people have been drinking that night is the weather is coming out green in a certain way. To me,

green is like dying the Chicago River green. Why? I've been in Chicago on St. Patrick's Day, watching basketball with a day off. Those poor fish.

Phenomenal day. They probably died green for the rest of their lives. But it was worth it for us to celebrate. I don't really think that die is purely harmless, so I'm with you on that. I think it's like such a,

like it's so much time and energy to die an entire river green. I don't know. It's not my thing, but I'm definitely pro green beer. I'll take green beer any day. All right, let's get on to our second question. What do we got? What are the chances Arizona wins March Madness. Speaking of March Madness, I feel like they actually have a really good chance. We are doing a company March Madness Brackett challenge. And even though I went to Arizona State, I have Arizona winning the championship this year. I got to cover them at the Pact 12 tournament and that team looks incredible. Their depth is insane. Their height is insane. They just look really, really solid and they just, they're firing on all cylinders. And I think Tommy Lloyd is the perfect coach for that team.

So I think that they have a chance to win it all this year. What do you guys think? Yeah, a lot of basketball people here. So I'll jump in. I know nothing about the sport. I know they're winning and they were on fire in the pack 12. I saw our ASU and you of a crew in Vegas did a fantastic job by the way. Teams playing really well at the right time. And when you do that in a tournament setting, you can do a lot of good things. I think they're a good basketball team, but, man, it's hard to get through this March Madness. Even his number one seats, it's hard to get through them. You've got Kansas, got Gonzaga. There's some really good teams. I along with you, though, I did pick U of A to win in our bracket challenge. I love that for us.

Look, I'm going to, I want to play the dumb foreigner here because that gives me like, look, if I win the bracket challenge, like I can, you know, rub that in everyone's faces. If I lose, it's like, well, it doesn't matter. I don't know anything anyway. Look, you have got a really good team, but I think that South region is also quite good. And when you are dealing with one and done, you know, being the best team is not necessarily enough. It's being the best team that shows up on the night when you're facing other teams that also. we're going to claim to be the best team. It's just hard to really say at this point, isn't it?

Because it only ever takes one call to go against you and the whole thing falls apart. It's true. Also, my, like, my question is, has Tommy Lloyd created a strong enough culture to be able to make a championship run when everything seems to sort of change in the postseason when it comes to, like, anything can happen and you're switching locate, I mean, it's just a whole different season. Yeah. And so having success in the regular season is one thing. But as a first year head coach and the team that they have now, like, are they built, like,

mentally, culturally, you know, outside of their skill for, to make a championship run? I have for sure my final four, I think in our bracket, I made two. I feel like that's cheating, not in our bracket, but like I have two different, two different challenges that I'm doing. And one I had Gonzaga, the other one I had U of A, and I think U of A is the one that that we have. But at my final four are Gonzaga, Kentucky, Arizona, and Auburn. Okay.

And I felt a little better about that than I did about picking an all. all around winter. Yeah. I mean, it is really hard. March Madness is called Madness for a reason. There's upsets that happen all the time. You see, you know, the second seed getting upset by, you know, like a lower seat. And it's crazy, which is why it's called March Madness. But I don't know. I just have a feeling for Arizona. And Tommy Lloyd has already accomplished so much in such a short time. I think he's one of three first year head coaches to lead their team to a tournament title and like the history of basketball is like a first year head coach. So that's a huge. So that's a huge. huge, huge accomplishment. And obviously it doesn't happen very often if it's one in, you know, he's

one of three to ever do it. So, um, I just, I don't know. I have a feeling about them. They, they're super impressive and, um, they really do play for each other. They remind me a lot of the sons. Like there's not a lot of egos in the room. They play for each other. They're humble. They take accountability for the mistakes that they make. Um, they're definitely need to figure out their slow starts because they are definitely a second half team. So I think if they're going to, you know, make some noise in the tournament, they're going to have to start faster than they have this season, but I just have a good feeling about it. I don't know. And I'm saying that as an ASU person. So my opinion is not, is not jaded. I feel like I told you this at some point. And I don't remember

what the conversation was, but at some point, I was like, Michaela, just like give it a few more years, like, covering sports teams and cover other sports teams like a little closer. And you'll begin to realize that what was like, you of a, spend some time and like get to know the guys and you'll be like okay like I guess I can like cheer for you even though a couple years ago when I was in school that would have been like the an absolute like that's never going to happen they're the worst school ever so true like and then you got the chance to be there in Vegas and kind of be around the guys and be around the team and you're like okay you're you're humans I kind of like you guys okay final roof for you what am I doing it was the weirdest experience

ever I feel like I was having an out of body moment um but in the comments. Hi, fam. Hi, Chris. So glad that you joined us. We love you. So we're glad you're here. All right. Let's get on to our third question from the mailbag. Which conference team is the biggest threat to the sons in the playoffs, which Western conference team? Tirston, what do you think? Or Pee. At Golden State Warriors. If they're healthy. If they're healthy. I wanted to see what the Grizzlies record was right now, because right? right now they're second best, but I still don't think they even compared to the Warriors

when they're healthy. Or can we see the question again? Because I get the, the, the Western. Who is? Which Western Conference team is the biggest threat to the sons of the playoffs? The sons themselves. I was about to say that. Yeah.

They're their own worst. Can they stay healthy? Can they repeat the path that they had through the playoffs last year? I think the only team that can beat the sons is the sun. Okay. That's actually a great point. I didn't think about it like that. because I mean I guess like now that you brought that up I guess I agree with you because you know golden state is hurt it stuff is hurt so that definitely does not help anything but even when they got clay black they didn't look great it took them a while to kind of figure out their team chemistry and you know even though they had clay and stuff for a while there they're still they were still six and a half games back from the sun so you know when it comes to the west I don't really know if I'm intimidated by anybody like that if Steph Curry doesn't return for the playoffs then I would say that

it totally is the sons against themselves. Yeah. Like if he is back and they make it back to like full strength and are like playing their best basketball of the season, then I'm a little bit afraid of the Golden State Warriors. If not. It's a team that can shoot threes. They've won before. They've got experienced.

And that's what you're afraid of during the playoffs for sure. But one that puzzles me and I don't follow basketball as close as I do hockey, clearly. but what I'm wondering about is the Lakers coming out, and I don't know which players said it or which management members said it, that they want to face the sons. They'd rather face the sons than the warriors in the playoffs. Are they out of their freaking mind? Out of their minds.

Did they see the game that they played last weekend against the suns where they literally dominated it from beginning to end without CP3, without Cam Johnson? I know AD was missing in L.A. The sons are just better. Yeah. So I wonder if that's if it's a psychological, just getting it out there in the universe that, hey, we think we can beat you, but I don't know if I

poked the bear. I'm not sure that that Sun's Lakers match up at 1-8. Yeah, give it to me. I'm in. Oh, yeah, for sure, especially after AD decided to run his mouth and say that the Sons wouldn't have won. Trash team right now. Trash.

They're so washed. When you're in a position like that, shouldn't you be more focused on actually getting in yourselves than being going to play? That's what I would say. That's not even locked in. they may not make it. So maybe focus on that and not. Yeah, but also we say that, like, sports wouldn't be fun if people didn't say, like,

things that you could like point you'd be like, you're a dude. It's LA. Like, beat LA is our mantra for the entire city. Like, let's hold makes Lakers sons. Yeah. And let's hope they roll them in four, like blow them out. Let's hope so. Yeah.

It'd be a great way to start the playoffs for the time. Yeah, team, I don't know. Like, I don't know if anyone else felt this way, but as soon as Russell Westbrook, like that deal was announced, I was like, this isn't going to work. Like, are you kidding me? This is this is not going to work. And this is exactly how I saw this season going for them. They just, they don't have any like, I want to say, cohesiveness.

And I don't know if that's the right word. Yeah, it's camaraderie. It's building a team instead of throwing a bunch of good players together. And that's all it is. Yes. Totally agree. There's only one basketball and there's only one person that can hold the ball. Like you've got to be able to share it amongst.

to each other and the sons can do that. Whether somebody else always steps up for the suns, and that's something the Lakers don't have. And that's why I'd be terrified to play the sons in the playoffs. Yeah, I'd be terrified too. Who's up next? Yeah. I honestly don't think I'm scared of anybody in the West.

I can't think of a single team. I mean, I was a little worried about Golden State when they had Steph and Clay together, but now that they don't, and it's a question mark if Steph is going to be back for the playoffs, I'm really not scared of anybody in the West. I can hear Denver Nuggets fans in my ear screaming, we're getting Jamal back. We're getting Jamal back. I don't care.

I'm sorry. Like I really don't even think with Jamal Murray, MPJ, and Nicola Yokic that the nuggets are going to be able to defeat the suns. I really don't. Last year or so. I know. Yeah. So I don't think I'm scared of anybody to the West. And PD's answer is straight on.

It's the sons against themselves. So as long as the sons don't beat themselves, I think they have a really good shot at going back to the finals this year. Mack have in our comments. We read your question already. Mack, you missed it. going back to the U of A thing said U of A was head and shoulders above the pack 12. Super impressive. It's like they're just getting to their real competition, also an ASU guy.

Hey, I'm glad I'm not alone. L.A. Shadows saying U of A. So lots of U of A fans in the comments. Love that for us. Phoenix Sun 20s do you say the Bucks scare me in the East. Yeah, when it comes to the East, I think the East is a little bit of a different story. I think there are some teams in the East that I'm a little worried about.

the Bucks definitely being one of them. Also the heat. I don't know what happened, but the heat just kind of came out of nowhere and the heat looked like they're really good. I know my intern, my social intern, Mallory, who's from Miami is screaming right now because she's so excited.

I admitted that. But the East is a little bit, definitely a little bit of a different story. I'm a little scared of a couple teens in the East. I don't know how you guys feel about the Eastern Conference when it comes to playoff time. I just feel like right now the sons are, I like, I'm taking a capoom.

different position when you first asked the question. I was like, okay, let me like think about this and analyze it. It took me PD saying sons against themselves to be to snap out of it and be like, wait a second. There is no real competition. I feel that way about the East as well. Like I just feel like the suns are light years ahead of everybody else that like nobody else really scares me. Now, anything can happen when it comes to playoff time and, you know, injuries and whatever. But, um, uh, if they make it to the finals, I'm not. Yeah. But I mean, it's true. Like when when we lost CP3, everyone was freaking out. They're like, oh my gosh, like the sun's, like, it's going to be so hard for them to win.

They can't do it without CP3. And I think they've won five of their last six without CP3. So, I mean, obviously, is CP3 you want him on the court. You'd rather have him than not. But to me, it seems like the sons have so much depth. Devin Booker is an incredible player. I just think, I think they're going to be okay. I mean, if you want to talk about the bucks, you know,

the way that the sun's hung in there against the bucks when they played him recently, despite the number of absences they were. They led for long periods in that game and didn't lose by a whole lot in the end. You know, more players available if they do meet in the finals. Yeah. You've got to feel good about their chances.

It's true. That's a great point. Owen, you know what? You guys have talked me into it. I'm not scared of anybody. So it's against the world, you know? Not even worried about it. I'm here.

Hi, Mom. My mom is here. Ramon saying bucks and nets if Kyrie can play. Yeah, nets are kind of scary too if you get Kyrie back. that is a great point they're not though they're not like they're not a

team that I feel like is even going to be able to put it all together to even reach the finals like I just I don't the Nets have talent no doubt I don't see them making the finals the bucks I could see it being a repeat

yeah oh my God yeah because you can imagine Philly in the East and there's some teams that have good players but they don't have good teams yeah and the sun getting to the finals last year and going through the adversity that they had to go through last season in the finals, I think made them a better basketball team this year. Yeah. I think that this is their year, even if it is, the Bucks again, because I think overall, depth-wise, I think the suns are deeper and better overall.

Because they literally, they didn't, they, the crew that they had last year was made better by what they went through, but then they actually made their roster better. So, yeah. All right. I'm in. Suns against everybody. sons aren't losing. Speaking of basketball, college basketball fans, join in on the action on the court

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because there's so much to bet on. It's a frenzy. And it's good that we're here, so I'm not on my phone. Right. Yeah, I just constantly checking. I'm looking at the scores now and I'm going, yeah, I could probably do that. I love it. Love Rock Kings.

No, I'm good. We'll get so distracted. It's on the TV. Who's playing right now, PD? I'm watching the Iowa-Richmond game right now, two points. Wow. Okay, there we go. All right, let's get into our next question from the mailbag.

Question for St. Patrick's Day, who's the biggest lightweight in the office and who can really hold their alcohol? I'm so excited for this question. Do you guys want to go? I have an idea. There's a lot of professionals here. You think so? There's a lot of, I've been to the staff party. Yeah, Thanksgiving.

Buddy. Yeah. There's some veterans there. I'm going to go to the boss. I think I take Saul as the winner. As the one who can hold their alcohol the most? I'm going to give it to Saul. I'm going to say, oh, hold it.

Like you can't tell. They can go. Oh, is that the question now who can drink the most? Because that might be two different people. Yeah, I might go to like Shane for drinking the most. I think Frank can hold them as alcohol. Oh, yeah. Frank.

Frank. Frank. Frank will sit here with a camera. With a cup of henny. Just blast it and you'll have no idea. Hands down. Honestly, it's not even fair. That's meant against boys' discussion.

Yeah. He's in a different league. Yeah, totally. Like the MLS, as it were. It's a different league. Like he's body weight difference, experience difference, frank wins. Light weights? Lights weights?

I think it's a tie between Johnny and Anthony Totry. Wow. They're going to get so mad at me for saying that. I'll back to the Toxry one. I'll back the. You back tootry, yeah. You agree? Okay.

All I know about Johnny is he likes Pena Coladas and gave us that awesome chugging mishap photo at the beginning of our launch. And so. Okay. Johnny can't jug a beer. He likes Pita Coladas and he's also a dad. So I don't feel like he's hitting the town very often. So I feel like Johnny is definitely the biggest lightweight, right? Yeah, I'm going to go Johnny.

Yeah. I don't have a problem with that. I feel bad. I feel bad throwing Johnny under the bus. Ramon's saying Owen is top two and he's not too. For lightweight? For which one? Look at Ramon. I mean, can drink the most.

On the podcast tonight, I think. Can drink the most or the least. That's aggressive. Is there a- And they're both up at the same time. Like these guys aren't used to being Ramon and Owen being awake in the daylight. Yeah, I know. It's weird.

They're like a little vampires. Is there a Welsh alcohol that you like, Welsh whiskey? Well, we've got the Welsh whiskey out there. That's true. We've got to St. David's Day. That's just kind of sitting here and occasionally gets touched when we've got shows in the night. But I guess there's no real, like, specific Welsh thing. It'll be more like beer specifically.

Okay. What's that? Local beers. So we have, like, look, it's not necessarily a specific type, but, like, you know, I drink a lot of brains, rury beer. Okay. Yeah. Gotcha. Okay.

Very cool. He also brought Owen brought in Welsh cakes for St. David's Day. never had a Welsh cake before. What is that? Um, it's like, it's hard to describe. It's like a crossover between like a biscuit and a cookie kind of. Kind of. Yeah. Um, it has raisins in it. There's cakes. There's raisins in it. Yeah. There's different spices in there. And you, you kind of like cook them on the like on a griddle. Yeah. It was so good. Love it. Um, but yeah. Okay. So I think Frank is the heavy weight and Johnny is the lightweight. I'm sorry Johnny. Please don't get mad of me. Um, all right. Matt Cubs saying the best advice

I ever got was not to try to keep up with my 6-4-250-pound cousin yeah good luck buddy All right let's get into our next question What are your thoughts on the DH for both leagues? Pee-D why don't you take this one because I know you love baseball. And I'm a baseball fan first and I grew up my dad was a Cubs fan

so I grew up understanding the intricate parts of pulling a picture and when to pull a picture in the national league I get it. I want to say, see some monster get up the plate and hit a home run. I don't want to see some pitcher go up who hits once every three weeks, strikes out on four pitches, swinging like he hasn't done it before. Give me the home run hitters.

Like where baseball is at with the fan base right now, they need to do something to make it more exciting. Runs are more exciting. D.HM. Bulls fleaks, it's time. And then that way I can keep Clayton Kirsch, I can keep him in for seven innings. I don't have to change him after three. I feel like that's a hot take.

And I actually agree with you. And most people, yeah, and most people are like, they want to see the pitchers up at the plate. And, you know, there's only, there's only like so many Shohay Otanis in the world. Other than that, it's like, I would, don't want to see it. I don't really care. But then you watch those matchups. Seriously, when you go to game, you like, you want to see the premier pitcher and they're going to take him out of the game because he's up in the next inning. Like, no, let some other guy hit.

Yeah. And then let's see. I'm for it. Let's see the pitcher again. I want to see the pitch. I want to see the hitters hit. Oh, Totri, you missed us calling you a lightweight. Totry joined us in the chat.

Nice to see you, Totry. I'm so anti-DH, and Chris is booing you in the comments, Pidi. She is not pro-D-H either. I love watching a gigantic pitcher, like Bartolo Colon, go up in the Paris box, and try to swing out of pitch. And it's just, it's pure entertainment. I'm sorry. I love it. And then you also get those instances where pitchers,

actually can contribute on offense. And it's so great to see pitchers who can rake. It's probably one of my favorite things ever. It's one of my favorite hashtags on baseball Twitter. And I'm so disappointed that I won't be able to use it anymore. I'm actually really salty about it because I love watching pitchers try to hit or like not hit. Like Taiwan Walker when he was on the Mets last year, he would get in the box and he would just stand there.

He wouldn't even swing. He would just take a strikeout. It just wouldn't even try. If there was a little less of that going on, I do agree. like Ramon says they saw Randy Johnson hit a home run as a kid and it was the greatest thing ever. I agree that like some really great moments can come from as you mentioned, pitchers who can rake. Yeah.

But there's too much of, you know, the aspect of what PD mentioned or just pitchers who just won't even just won't even swing or whatever the case is. Like if it was a little more competitive for pitchers at the plate, then I would agree with that. I understand wanting to see more offense. It totally makes sense. Like the sport is having a hard time. I'm like keeping people entertained. And so if we're going to have a DH, obviously that's going to help generate more offense.

So hopefully people will get that excitement that they want. Our guy, go ahead. I was just going to say real quick, it almost reminds me not to a lesser degree of like position players pitching just to save just to come in. And it's like, okay, it was funny like the first time. It was like entertaining. It's like, oh my God, he's pitching. And then it was just like, oh, my God, he's pitching.

Okay. I jump up when Grinky gets a hit. Oh my God, he got a hit. They're major league freaking baseball players. Yes, they should be getting a hit. Yeah. Let's see Grinky throw. I want to see him pitch.

I want him to stay till the seventh, eighth inning. Stay in there. He can't do that if we're taking them out to hit, to pinch hit somebody. I just think it's better for baseball. And right now, honestly, it's on life support for fans and people that watch on TV. If there's anything to introduce this game to new people, let's do it. Because it's a wonderful sport. We all love the sport.

Yeah. Let's get it. More fans to watch it. And if it's more home runs that do that versus strikeouts. First spring great game today. Yeah. The twins were on. I had to come here.

The twins are playing the Boston Red Sox down four to one when I left. Oh, sorry, PD. Just traded Donaldson. We'll talk about that. This is the first podcast that we've had since baseball has officially come back. And I am so freaking excited. Today is the first day of spring training games, which is amazing. Thank God they figured out their shit because I was just dying without it.

They should be selling green beer at those games today. They should. Ooh. I bet they are. They're all wearing green uniforms if you've seen it on TV. Espo in the comment saying, why would I want to watch a guy who can't do half of his job well? I can do that any day hanging out with Jacob. She's dogged on Jacob.

So let me just give you some backstory. Espo was the one that really wanted this studio changed. Yes, who was conveniently not here to do any of the work when we changed this entire studio around. Espo? Espo. Yeah. So Espo just throwing you under the best there a little bit. Jacob is actually a baseball guy.

Jacob, how do you feel about the universal D.H? What are your thoughts? Yeah, I'm not in your boat. Your pro-university D-H? Yeah, don't get me wrong.

I like watching guys like Madison, Bumgarner take hacks, but I could do without some of the guys that don't do anything in the box. You guys are killing me. Espo saying, that's called management, Jacob. I'm a manager, too.

Max saying, as a moderator of the Reddit baseball, we will take any baseball we can get. Same, same, same. So happy that it's back. Love to see that. All right. What is our next question, Jacob? From the mailbag.

Which PHNX colleagues would be fun to watch on reality TV? And which show would they go on? I think Shane and Sean would be an amazing race team and that would be incredible. Ooh, that's such a good question. I love reality TV. I'm obsessed with it. Can you like throw out a couple reality shows? Because I don't.

Yeah. Okay. So The Bachelor. or The Bachelorette Dancing with the Stars, Survivor, Big Brother. I don't know what Big Brother is.

Big Brother is like Survivor, but in a house. Okay. You lock them in a house and they like compete and vote people out. Like hopscotch in the house? Like what? No, a lot more of psychological and or physical challenge. It's much more difficult.

A lot of conniving and sneaky stuff. Puzzles. Yeah. So I've heard. That is my absolute fucking nightmare. There's nothing. I hate more than a puzzle. Puzzle.

Oh, Temptor, not Temptation Island, love Island, which is like huge in the UK. I love Love Island. I would go on that show in a heartbeat. I don't know. What do you guys think? I, the Shane, Sean, Amazing Race, I'm all about that. You would watch it?

Oh, hell yeah. Yeah, that was funny. Because I don't know if you've seen the coyote show, but Sean is a fast runner or so he tells us that he's really fast. No, it would be great. Mack, I think you could bring some drama to some shows too. Like, I'd watch you on The Bachelor slash Bachelorette. Yeah, but I don't know if she's like desperate enough to do some of the things that is required to be on that show.

I would definitely be like the girl that just like makes fun of everybody for being like sat like desperate, crying. Like I would just laugh at everyone. I think that would be. It would be fun. Yeah. I'd watch that too. I feel like I could do a good job on reality TV. I'm obsessed with reality TV.

It's like all I watch in my free time. I think you would do really good on Survivor. I could see you crush it. Survivor. Yeah, I don't know. I don't, I don't like being cold. So it's in the, it's in the, it's in the hot. Oh, it is? Yeah. The Survivor is the, the, usually, an island. Yeah, it's not like amazing race. That would be not good. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I'm, none of them for me. No. You wouldn't go on a reality TV show? Well, where the hell would I have? Any of that be good for me. Nowhere. Like, not eating on Survivor. No, no thanks.

Big brother, no, I don't want to, I don't want to work that hard. What about you, Owen? Would you go on a show? No,

no, definitely not. I don't even... Yeah, like the prize money? Yeah, but you've got a, what, a low chance of actually

getting that prize money. Do you really want to go through all that stuff just to get a chance? Oh, and think about the Instagram followers you would get. It's so just the Instagram followers.

Time me up. Anthony's saying, to see Sol on wipeout. I would pay money to watch that. That would be incredible. I absolutely think that Saul should go on wipeout. Ramon saying we should do PHNX Big Brother or the challenge. I think Big Brother for all of us would be super interesting. Although I don't know how I feel about locked in the house with all of you guys for like 60 days. I don't know if I could do that. Can you imagine? Petey can you dance? Petey would be very. I would. Apparently I'm doing a TikTok if we ever get to 3,000. It's true. Honestly, I might retitue. I might retit.

before that happens. Like, let's get going. I would love to see you on dancing with the stars, trying to do some ballroom dancing. Yeah. I feel like you're light on your feet. I feel like I could do dancing with the stars. I think I don't dance,

but like I feel like that. That would be more of your sporting competitive show than some of the other ones. I could see that. Yeah. I think I still think you can. Where does Derek go? Where's the mayor go?

Oh, God. We have to think of a place for Derek. The mayor would have to be somewhere. I could see Derek, Chris saying Derek on Grillmaster. I think Derek would do good on Big Brother too. I think he would be such a personality. He'd befriend everybody. Yes.

Yeah. Nobody would want to vote him out because he's so nice. And he's also very strategic. He's a sneaky strategic person like I am. He's got that wrestling background too. So it's kind of sneaky and potentially could be mean. Yeah. I feel like.

Yeah, I could see Derek doing that. Oh man. Derek gone deadliest catch. I don't think Derek would enjoy that. What's that like deep sea fishing? Yeah. It's like a. I think I've seen the.

Oh, my God. Those are these I know just from like commercials. Do you not watch reality TV? Not really. Oh, I mean, I used to watch like the Kardashians. Is that reality TV? Oh my gosh. We should do a Kardashians version of the PhDs employees.

I call being Kim. Derek on making the team Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Yes. Oh, my God. I love that show also. Super embarrassing. That's actually probably my guilty pleasure show. For whatever reason, I love watching that TV show.

It's so interesting. interesting to me because I know that I can never do it. So I'm just like, oh my gosh, these girls like, yeah. Is it drama or is it like, like, actually like athletic competition that you like? Drama. Okay. Yeah. I love the drama.

Technically speaking sports are reality TV. I guess especially the NBA. Oh my gosh. The NBA is like the Kardashians 2.0 just with sports. But I always felt that that's one of the reasons I watch sports. And when you become attached to a team and the people that are part of that team, it becomes your soap opera. Who's hurt? Who's in?

Who's out? Where are they going this week? Who said, what about who? Yes. It becomes our, and I think that's why we do what we do here because that is our, we're into it. This guy was dating Kendall Jenner. Now another NBA player is dating him. Obviously, Jenna Booker.

Exactly. Yeah. I definitely think the NBA, if I had to pick a league, that was the most like reality TV, it would definitely be the NBA. I think that, to me, is the most drama-filled. This sounds like people who have never encountered lower league soccer ever. Really? There was a team in Division 3 here, which is Nisa.

And their owner just took over their Twitter account and went on an absolute mad one and was sending people free pizza if they DM'd DMed him their address. Here? What? Not here. But he did send, actually no, he did send a rising fan pizza. Really? Yeah.

That happened? Yeah, that happened like a couple of months ago. Oh my God. I had no idea. That is dramatic. Holy cow. All right, let's get on to our next question. This is my official edition for The Bachelor, by the way.

If there's a Bachelor producer watching, please put me on the show. Okay, this is from Unlikable Coyote in our members-only Discord. As a reminder, you can get access to this member's only Discord. If you sign up to be a member at go-PhNX.com, you can get your first month for only 50 cents. Or if you sign up to be an annual member, you'll get a free t-shirt, which we have a ton of really cool t-shirts. A new one is on the way. So definitely keep an eye out for that and sign up to be a member and become a part of our PHNX family. And if you don't want to wear the T-shirts, you can put them into a frame and hang them on your wall.

Hang them up. Yeah, we have beautiful shirts. This is our sunset drive shirt. We got the Cardinal Football shirt, the Diamondbacks baseball shirts. So, you know, lots of great options. Whose idea was that? We're like Vanna White. They did this at DNVR.

It's really cool. And so we just, like, copy them. And we're like, hey, can you box shirts? Yeah, it's cute, right? They're cool designs. You could, you could, like, print them out as, posters, I feel like, because they're so cool. All right.

What was our next question? Sorry, I got so sidetracked. With the coyotes going full Kachina, can the Diamondbacks ever go for full copper, black, purple, and teal again? I hope so. I hate the dive. I've been on record by saying how much I absolutely hate the Diamondbacks uniforms. I think they're atrocious.

I don't think that at all. I really like the gray ones. With the brick red? I like the great ones too. Like they're great with the teal in it. No. I think they're so bad. I like them right now.

I think they're good But to your point Can baseball do whatever the hell they want to They have 30 freaking jerseys They wear the vest jerseys They got the stripes They got the whites, grayes red Serpiente

Yeah like they have so many different sweaters Like hockey team has two They got black They got white It's simple So many combos Yes the answer is yes They should do stroll back

They absolutely should I hate their combos now They've got white What did again I don't know what's wrong I think they're so ugly And like tacky Do you like them on?

I mean It's, I think going back to the teal stuff is just, it makes you actually a bit more original, almost, within that sphere, rather than just being yet another Arizona sports team that plays in red. I don't know, but they do wear those. But like once in a blue moon. It's like. You think they should go back with coyotes went Kachina. Yes. Full time.

You think they think they think they don't know if this is real or not in Jacob. You couldn't help me with this. Is it true that they had to get rid of the purple because the Rockies were purple and they didn't want two purple teams in the National League? West? I've never heard that. Okay. Part of it, it might have been something that Rocky's fans said to console themselves. Right. But I mean, the overarching theme is that Diamondbacks fans really want the teal and the purple to come back because every team in Arizona is red.

They switched because of that. They wanted to match the Arizona aesthetic per se. But, you know, everybody wants the purple and teal. I think they should bring it back full time. I think the purple black teal copper combo is way better. and whatever they have going on now. Guess how many years it's been since they got rid of the purple? How many?

Guess. 2009. 16 years. 2006 would have been my guess. Good job. Whoa. 2006? Yeah.

They got rid of it in 2006? I vaguely remember Connor Jackson being the guy that came out dressed in red and Sedona, sand and gray. It's a very weird recollection that I have, but I'm pretty sure it was like Connor Jackson, Chris Young, Justin Upton. Huh. Or actually, it would have been Justin.

It wouldn't have been Justin Upton. But that group of guys were kind of the wave of colors. So it's been how many years then? 16. Ew. Yeah, no, it's time to go back to purple and teal. Whatever you have got you, whatever you guys got going on now, not a fan. It's not it.

Sorry. All right. Next question. Is this the most well-rounded Phoenix Rising team to date? Owen, what are your thoughts on that? Yeah, I knew that. was going to be tossed straight. I mean,

okay. As a team, when you break them down, you know, Babukar Jai is a great improvement over last season at left back and he works really well

with Dan El King over on the right. The midfield trio is just incredible, right? They are, if not the best midfield trio that rising, they've had probably one of the best

that the league has seen in the last five years at least. And especially when you got guys like Artura Rodriguez are contributing both ways now, you see a lot more defensive effort out of him as well as the fact that he's just got a lot more purpose in what he's doing.

Is Marcus Epps an improvement over Solomon Asante? I mean, maybe. I love to Solomon Asante. But the thing is that we're talking about peak Solomon Asante there. That's not what we saw last year with the hamstring injuries or anything like that. Now, Marcus Epps isn't the same guy goal scoring wise, but as a playmaker, he is very good.

You've got Santee Moa that just, you know, he was MVP candidate last. year and justifiably so. And then there are all those different options up top. Look, even depth-wise, you know, there's a lot of depth options in terms of guys like Carlos Anguiano, I'm excited to see him play. I mean, there are three legitimate centre forwards this year. But on the one hand, then I'm saying, you know, this is a great team.

There's a lot of things there in terms of is it the most well-rounded team that Rising has ever had? This is a team that the last four years has either been the top seed in the Western Conference or has made it to the playoff final. you're splitting his at that point, right? Like, this is a team that has dominated in USL championship. And I mean, there are great teams in the past. I know, Jason, you'll remember the 2019 when they won 20 games in a row.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Like that, which is, I believe, the record for North America, for the professional game. Like, no. Wow. You have to bear in mind, right?

It sounds like, you say 20 and it's, you think, oh, it's a lot, but is it that much? But we don't, you know, there doesn't have to be a winner. game can end in a draw. So when you consider that, it's not like the game keeps going until someone wins. There are three possible outcomes each game. So crazy.

Look, there have been some great teams over the years. It's hard to pick between them. Well, I know the Rising, sorry, Rising just got there. Season started last week, right? Mm-hmm. Do you think this is finally the year

that Rising wins a championship? Oh, I hate playoffs. That's the thing. I hate playoffs. especially when they get to the end of the season. And it's, you know, you have one bad game. It goes to penalties. I mean, look, they were knocked out on penalties last year against RGV.

And are RGV a better team than rising? No, nowhere near. And now Rising have stolen one of their better players. But, you know, it comes down to penalties. That's anyone at that point. It's a coin toss. Yeah. I mean, it is a coin toss to a degree.

You win the coin toss. You go first. I think you win about. 60% of them. Okay. Oh, really? There you have it. All right, let's hit our next question.

Oh, Jacob, you're doing so good. Well, speaking of the Rising, they actually slid into my mentions and asked a question. So the shout to the Rising. Thanks for participating in Max Mailbag. Thanks, rising. They said, what would you rather have time travel or the ability to stop time? I would rather time travel, for sure. Time travel.

I'm such a history nerd. I want to go back and, like, experience history. I'm going with stop time simply because I think that if sci-fi movies have taught us nothing else. It's that if you go back in time, you can really, really screw something up. That is really risky. Whereas if you can stop time, you know, that takes away the biggest stress, which is if you have to do things by a deadline, you just stop time. That's true. And then get it done.

Ooh, now you have me questioning myself because I am constantly stressed out because of things are. for me it's easy and it's time travel because the older you get you have these memories that are so fond and so important to your life but you don't really remember them or feel them and taste them and touch them and when you're living those moments especially when you're 15 18 20 25 you don't realize how important or pivotal those moments are so if you can go back and look at those through a different lens now I think that would you'd be able to cherish those times much much better and make them more poignant because you'd be able to understand from your future self what the importance of that moment was that is very philosophical I just wanted to like hang out in like Egyptian like pyramids yeah I just wanted to do some cool shit with my friends um no I'd also look to go to the future though and see what like my life is like in the future because um if you don't know me I am a constant ball of anxiety and not having a plan just really bothers me and so like not knowing how my life is going to play out, like freaks me out and it causes me stress on like a daily basis.

You can just go to therapy, okay? I could just go to therapy. That would probably help a lot of things. No. But I would let's go in the future too and see like what happens in the future like, you know, a thousand years from now. Like if you have flying cars or if I don't know, everybody's in like seats that like flow like they do in Wally, you know what I'm talking about?

Like everybody sits down. I mean, it's because they're all fat. But like it'd be a cool. I don't remember Wally. Yeah, the cartoon thing. I don't remember that one. Maybe I was all in the watch. No, I was older.

Okay. Well, yeah, I would love to go to the future and see what happens because I like to know. I hate, I'm the type of person that reads the end of a book first and then we'll start the book after I've already read the end. I would do that stuff too. But a book doesn't change. If you read the end of the book and go back to the start, then there's like no change there. But if you go to the future and then come back, wouldn't you try and change the future? And at which point have you really time traveled?

That's a good point. Oh, my God. You just looked at a possible future. Just blowing my mind over there. I imagine you go to the future and you see something and like, I hate it. I don't want that to be me. And then I come back here and I'm just like actively work against that happening. Isn't that like back to the future?

Isn't that what like goes on in that movie? I have never seen that movie. I'm the worst of pop culture references. I'm so sorry. That's such a good point because now if I go to the future I don't like what I see, I'm going to stress myself out in the present trying to change the future. Oh my God. You can't change the future.

What if it, what's going to be is going to be regardless. So you can time travel, you can experience it. See it and experience it. change. But is that really time travel then, though, I guess. It depends how you define time travel, because you're either there as an observer or you're there as an actual person. You've actually traveled in time. Wow. I don't know. This just blew my mind. Way beyond the school. All right. We only got a few questions left. Let's look at our next one. What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen at a live sporting event? I'm so excited for

this question because I've seen some really, really bizarre things, including naked. kid people. I can talk. I don't know if I had just left it on that. I saw a streaker. Somebody was lovely enough to streak at a Diamondbacks game. Just like a random like Wednesday like day game. It was very strange.

And then also the Diamondbacks were playing Dodgers, which and if you don't know, Dodgers fans are the worst ever in the entire world. One of the Dodgers fans ran into the team shop, stole a mannequin and was running around the concourse with the mannequin from the team shop. Which is just bizarre. I had no idea what he intended for that mannequin, but the mannequin was missing, and it was with the Dodgers fan

who was running around the concourse with it. I can't. Oh my gosh, Matt Cuff was the other day that Randy hit the bird with the ball. That is a great story. The weirdest thing of that story is that the person who was batting, have you guys heard this?

You know who was hitting while the bird got hit? Wasn't it Caterbury's uncle? He's dad. No. Wasn't his uncle? I think it was his uncle. I'm pretty sure it was his dad. He has a lot of his dad.

He is related to Kyler Murray though, which is wild. Maybe it's his uncle. I think Cherston's looking. Are you looking? Yeah. That's a great story, though. That is an iconic moment. An iconic moment in sports to be present for. I'm really jealous of you. That is a great answer too.

I would use that as my fun fact. Like, what's a fun fact about you? I was there the day that Randy Johnson murdered a bird. Calvin Murray. Wild. How crazy is that? I like need a second. Yeah, and I try to think too.

I mean, I wish I had some really... No, like, I need a second to let that soak in because I didn't how did I not know that? Oh, that. How did I not know that? That's a thing. Like that would be a thing that you think you would, if you'd heard it, you would remember it for sure.

Yeah. Never heard that before. Yeah. I didn't know that until this year, though. So it took me until I was 25 years old to figure that out. Chircine's going to go on a deep dive. I know. I think you should have, you should do a story on it.

I know. I like, I might really have to go back into that story. That sounds like an episode of the story. Yeah. With Chirsten. Yeah. That would be amazing. For those of you that don't know,

Justin is about to launch an incredible project that we're really excited about, which I think you should definitely talk about on your pod. I might, yeah. I would love to talk to Randy again, but he doesn't like to talk about that anymore. So maybe I'll just get Calvin Murray's perspective. It's a little sensitive topic.

Do you feel bad for killing the bird or just that it's like such an iconic thing? PETA came after him. Oh, did that? Yeah, it was like a whole thing. I think he got like a lot of hate for it and it was like it's not his fault. But then also it's just been talking.

about like imagine if like one fluky thing happened in your life and for decades after like anytime you saw somebody people brought that up and you'd be like oh my god I cannot answer any more questions about this that's true I probably get yeah I get tired of it too what about you PD what's the weirdest you know nothing I have one but it's not like oh my gosh this is going to make the cover sports illustrate it's not that exciting spring training I was in like the third I had really good seats and all of a sudden you saw some bees starting to come to one of the polls where the speaker was so they must have liked the vibrations

and then a few more and then a few more and by about the second inning and now it's a massive ball of bees and balls would hit the fence and behind the catcher and then we'd shake the bees and the bees would start to spread. They had to call the game off,

move three sections of people until a bee keeper came in the suit with the sprayer so they paused the game for about a half hour. A bee delay. story. That's a great story. And I did try to find pictures of that. Yeah.

I took pictures at the time because the players got away from the dugout because it's bees. Yeah. And couldn't find the pictures. But it did happen. That's a good one. What about you? At the old angel stadium. I'm going to have to stay on Brandon.

And I bring out some in USL. Yeah. I feel like you probably see some crazy things at USL games. Las Vegas, right? And it's going to be added to this weekend. So Las Vegas Lights are a bizarre club. Very bizarre. They have live llamas or, well, there's only one now left as like a mascot and they bring it out on the field before the game at the team.

Yeah, but once they had a game like delayed because one of the llamas decided to relieve itself on the pitch. Oh, that's not his. But for Wama. Is this, PD? Yes, it's at the Angels. Yeah, that's why I was there. It was Kansas City and the Angels. Oh my gosh.

Wow, that's scary. I hate these. But like that team does so much weird. Cheers and you're so good at that internet thing. That team does so much weird. stuff. Like they have had kiddie pools on the side of the pitch throughout the games. They've had mattresses on the side of the pitch.

So you could literally like have a mattress as you see. You can drive in. So they play in an old like minor league baseball stadium called Cashman Field in Vegas, right? And obviously the pitch is a gap out in the outfield, right? It doesn't fit perfectly in that space. Oh, so last year they were just like, yeah, if you've got a Toyota, because we're sponsored by Toyota. You can come and literally park your car on the grass and watch the game from there.

Huh. Like this Saturday, they have got a giant inflatable colon there. Colon? Like the organ? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Why? Something about cancer.

I don't know. But yeah, they've got a giant. I believe it's called Colleen. Colleen the colon. And they've got this giant inflatable there. Las Vegas Lights. It's... Wow.

What a bunch of weirdos. Okay, that's not what I was expecting at all. Here's the picture of the bees that PD was referencing. That's kind of scary. I don't like that. It grew larger than that. They like the vibration. It's by the microphone.

So there's something about the sound. Why doesn't that happen all the time then, though? I don't know. I don't like that. Bees scared the, I hate bees. I'm just glad that's not my story. Yeah.

I want to see, like, where are they doing Colleen the colon? Here? No, no. Up in Vegas. Okay. If it was a rising thing, I expect to see that.

on the posting show. There's a picture of this as well. I'm sure on the posting show. Collin the Colin, that is a out of context quote. I'm going to have to find it now. Okay. Well, while you take a picture and send it to Jacob so people can see Colleen the colon, as you guys can tell, we're all wearing green because the St. Patrick's Day, but you know what else is green? Athletic Greens is green. Our next partner, they have a product that I use actually every single day. I started taking athletic greens because I noticed that my energy levels were super low, but then I

also read that athletic greens can help with your gut health, which is something that was a big concern of mine. So I started taking athletic greens in the morning. I wake up every day. I roll out of bed. I go to my kitchen. I get my athletic greens out of the fridge. I take just one scoop. I put in my water bottle. Shake it up and I chug it because it tastes really good, but it also helps with my energy levels throughout the day. So I feel like I can finally make it through the day without needing a nap or having to chuck my coffee. I can actually drink coffee and enjoy it now, which is also one of my favorite things about drinking athletic greens. But it's also helped with my gut problems. I'm way less bloated than I was way back.

But before I started taking athletic greens, like I said, with one delicious scoop of it, you're absorbing 75 high-quality vitamins, minerals, whole food, sourced superfoods, probiotics, adaptogens, and it all helps you start your day right. Athletic Greens, it's really just a no-brainer. It supports better sleep quality and recovery. Athletic Greens has over 7,000 five-star reviews, and it costs you less than $3 a day, plus you're investing in your health. To make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a free one-year supply of immune-supporting vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is go to Athletic Greens.com slash TPSP. Again, that's athletic greens.com slash TPSP, which chance for the Phoenix Sports Podcast.

Again, that's athletic greens.com slash TPSP. I know, Cherson, you drink Athletic Greens, and you also really like it too, right? Yeah, I drink it in the morning, and then it makes me feel full enough and energized enough without even coffee to just drink that and go straight to the gym. Yeah, it's great. Here's Colleen the colon segue for you. I don't like what I'm looking at. It kind of freaks me out.

Yeah, I mean, it's, I know there's another picture now where you will actually see. the mascot day, which is like this weird like Elvis kind of thing. That's the lights mascot? Yeah, yeah. Inside the colon. Yeah, inside the colon. So yeah, they're going to have fans arrive at the stadium and get to walk through

that, which is I mean, there's a there's an argument to be made that they just describe their own stadium as an asshole, but it's like, no comment. Given the quality, given, well, given the quality that they put on the field for that team.

Wow. I'll leave that to your imagination. You just dunked on them so hard. I love that. They make it so easy though. Yeah, they do. Matt Cuff saying hard nope on the colon, also not a fan. All right, I think we have, you know, let's just, let's end it on that one.

I don't think it can get better than Colin McClellan. Are they describing their fans as crap? That's Espos words not mine. Owen doesn't want to get in trouble. I don't blame you. Oh, and that, yeah, that's just weird. I genuinely don't know how I feel about that. Are we just going to end it on a really awkward no?

Okay, no, okay. We'll do one more question. Please get this feeling that I'm feeling just away from me right now. With the Phoenix Rising regular season success, do you think the lack of winning the championship in the postseason is keeping the team from being talked about more in the Valley, or is it something else? Cherson, you covered the Rising.

How do you feel about the Rising not being talked about a lot? Well, it's difficult because you're in a market where like not every USL market has other things. Like I also covered a USL team in Colorado Springs. And they're not far from Denver. So they do have Denver sports. But in the springs, it's like there aren't any other professional sports, right? Phoenix is a market where you've got everything. And soccer isn't the most popular sport that exists.

So when you've got the coyotes, the Cardinals, the Diamondbacks, the Sons, and, oh, by the way, all the college sports, then you've got events that are here as well. I just don't think that they're in a position necessarily to be one of the top sports teams here with where they're at now. Now, you do have your hardcore soccer fan base. They're definitely all in on Rising, and Rising has a phenomenal fan base. Yeah, their fans are incredible. But in terms of competing for popularity with an NFL or an NBA team, that's going to be really difficult. Yeah, for sure. Owen, what are your thoughts on that?

I like how you left the NHL off there because, of course, as of next season, we know that Rising will probably be averaging higher attendance. Yeah, the Rising will have more attendance for coyotes. Biggest stadium, they do. The stadium holds 10,000, and they typically get, what, 7 to 8, so bigger than 5,000 at least. Yeah. I think the idea that the championship would have been what tipped it is not. I think, you know, if they'd have won in Louisville in 2018, that would have made no difference, right? No one would be talking about this team more as a result of that.

I think the biggest thing more than anything is the awkwardness of the fact that they are a lower league team. Yeah. And that that idea of lower leagues doesn't really translate to the US. you guys have minor leagues here. Rising aren't a minor league team. They don't fit into those definitions very well. And the idea that you have a team here that are not playing for development reasons, they're playing to win things,

and yet they're not in the top league in the country is strange. And it means that a lot of people look at them and say, oh, it's a minor league team. And even though they're not, they get treated like it sometimes. And I know what you're saying as well with the, The sport isn't the most popular here. It is growing a lot. And I think that ultimately in our lifetimes probably there is going to be a real shakeup of that,

given the trajectory that everything's on. But it's just an awkward one. And I think that it's going to take time. It's going to take a lot of time. And it's possibly going to take the continued growth of USL or rising to make a move towards MLS. Yeah, I was going to say that's. But even even some MLS. teams get absolutely stiffed in their markets.

Yeah, well, that's true. But go to the, we'll take that a step further with the coyotes too. Like, you could go through local media markets here in Arizona, and you can go a week without hearing a coyote score. It's not a big deal. I think they're much more similar to where the rising are, where they have a smaller fan base that is very passionate about their team. But when it comes to local Arizona broadcast, it's sons and cardinals.

And their first and second all the time. and ASU might be third, and then maybe you'll get a diamond back story once in a while. Unless the coyotes are in a playoff chase, you don't hear about them ever. Or when they don't have a building, or when there's a problem with the owner, or or all the problems that the coyotes had,

that's when you hear about the coyotes. Unless you are a PHNX subscriber and you listen to our daily Phoenix Ph.NX Coyotes podcast. I hear about it every single day. Because you can hear about the coyotes every single day. Same with the Rising on Tuesday. and Thursdays and post-game coverage. So, you know, if you're looking for coverage of your teams

that you can't find anywhere else in the Valley, that is why we exist. We're here to provide it for you, provide you with more insight, provide you with more analysis, and on a daily basis, and we also care about all the teams in the Valley, not just two of them.

So that's why we're here. I do want to get this one question really quick in the comments. Joe Fisher's asking PD about the NHL trade deadline. Do you think some big moves are going to be happening Saturday and Sunday? I think there'll be big moves, but they won't be here. Okay. I think the Arizona Coyotes are going to be, for the most part, pretty quiet. The big name is Jacob Chikrin.

I don't think he's going to go at the trade deadline. He's injured right now. So I don't think teams are going to pay the asking price for Jacob Chikrin. I see that being a deal over the summer at the draft. Phil Kessel probably will go, but not for anything dramatic coming back the other way. It's going to be a pretty uneventful trade deadline for the Arizona Coyotes. All right. There you have it.

Well, thank you guys so much for tuning in to our St. Patrick's Day episode of the Phoenix Sports Podcast. Thank you to everybody who's sending questions. I genuinely appreciate all of you guys as well as to everyone in the comments now who watched along with us. You guys are the absolute best and make the show what it is. Like I said before, we exist because we care about all the sports here in the Valley. So if you're interested in that coverage, make sure you go over to go phtonx.com and sign up to be a member. You get your first month for only 50 cents or if you become an annual member, you get a free t-shirt from the PHNX locker and we've got tons of great designs for you to choose from.

With a membership, you also get access to our members-only Discord, which is where a lot of people ask questions from. and a lot of other great access to our written content and exclusive things like that. Thank you again so much for watching. Thank you guys for joining me on St. Patrick's Day. I appreciate your time. Hopefully now you can go drink some green beer and a single spring training game.

I know I'm in. All right, let's do it. We're going to go drink some green beer. You guys are the best. We'll see you next week.