The Bobby Bones Show - 25W: Celtics and Lakers on the Brink of Being Swept + Cardinals Hall of Famer Jim Edmonds Talks Rivalries, Playing Days and Life After Baseball + Michael Block's Historic Weekend + The Smiles are Back

Episode Date: May 22, 2023

With the Celtics getting blown out on Sunday night, Bobby gives his condolences to Kickoff Kevin, talks about which team has a better chance at completing the comeback, and the Heat's unlikely roster leading the way. Plus, Cardinals Hall of Famer Jim Edmonds sits down with Bobby to discuss the Cardinals-Cubs rivalry from a players perspective, if he ever thought a ball was uncatchable and his life after baseball. The guys also discuss Michael Block making history this weekend at the PGA Championship in Oak Hill. And the smiles are back for Bobby's parlay of the week... sort of.          Download the DraftKings Sportsbook App today: https://dkng.co/bobbysports     If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).   21+ (18+ WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NJ/ NY/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. N/A in NH/OR/ON. New customers only. Valid 1 per new customer. Min. $5 deposit. Min $5 wager. $200 issued as eight (8) $25 free bets. Ends 9/19/22. See http://draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.       Follow the Show: @25Whistles   Follow the Crew: @MrBobbyBones @KickoffKevin @MikeDeestro @ReidYarberrySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. The 2026 NFL draft is here, and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh.

We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the free. Heart Radio app. Open the app, search NFL daily, and listen now. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliver Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's

get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. He's much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far, but I'm John Green, co-host of the podcast The Away End with my old friend Daniel on our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Anybody have a whistle? You do have one? All right, Kevin's running up. You got to get a whistle here. Who can whistle first? What's up, everybody? Brought to you by Draft King Sportsbook and official sports betting partner of the NBA. Download the Draft King's app and use the code. to get back in the action. Hit it, Kevin. In a small room, that is loud. Coming up later, former MLB All-Star,

eight-time Gold Glove winner, Jim Edmonds. Jim's also in the Cardinals Hall of Fame. We talked about what he would do to get out of a slump, if rivalries are for real with players too, his love for country music and a whole bunch more. So Jim Edmonds coming up. You can follow Jim on Instagram at Jim Edmonds 15, but a lot of fun.

Let's start and just get it over with. I don't find joy in this. Kevin? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But what the heck's happening, bro? With the Celtics. I can't believe they lost. I can't believe the loss, what, yesterday?

Mm-hmm. I can't believe the loss that game. I know. It was not even close. Not even that I can't believe they blew it. I was surprised it wasn't more of a game later. Yeah, that's, maybe it's a heat-of-the-moment thing right now, but that's the lowest, as far as embarrassing moment I've had as a Celtics fan in quite some time,

just not even showing up when you're back against a wall. wall and just got smoked. What are you blaming on the coaching? Everything. That's the easy out is the coaching. And I get that because he didn't have them ready to go. They should have been ready to go mentally. Are they professionals, though?

And that's where I come back to that where I'm like, well, you have one of the top five players in the NBA and Jason Tatum, like, that's on him to get them going. Al Horford, he's a veteran, he's been around a long time, been through a lot. That's on him to get them going. So you can blame the coach as much as you want when it comes to getting them ready, X's and O's and all that. And Spolsour, we all know is way better coach, which is fine. But at least show you care.

I mean, don't get blown out from the get-go and loose balls and bad passes. And it just seemed like they wanted to go home. They're ready to go to Cancun, as they say. Do they win game for her? No. I have zero confidence now. Miami's kind of come out of nowhere. Again, playing team.

We can't forget that. Yeah. They had to play in and barely got in. I think that Chicago game was close, right? It feels like 10 years ago, but wasn't the Bulls game close? Yeah. So he rolled past Celtics, 128, 102. They're up 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

That is not good. I don't... There's never been anyone come back. This goes for both series. There's never been anybody come back from 03, ever. There's been 3-1, 1-1-3. There's been in baseball. Your team did it, the Red Sox.

I know. And the funny thing is in game 3 against the Yankees, that season, they were down... I think they lost like 18 to 9 in game 3, and you were like, oh, man, this is ugly. So that's the only thing keeping me a little bit alive here. I'm like, we've seen this before. I also don't feel bad for any sort of Boston sports fan. You're like, oh, it's the lowest in the Eastern Conference finals. We didn't show up for game three.

Try being a Razorback fan or a Cubs fan your whole life. I did see going into the series 14 years in a row, a Boston major four sports team has made into the final four of their sport, whatever it may be, which is pretty good. You know, for you guys, though, it has been kind of rough with the Bruins going down early early after they had the greatest season ever. I don't think about hockey, but even I know that was quite the collapse. Celtics down 03

Listen, they still can No one's ever done it before But I guess they're still in it That's tough Patriots The whole coordinator debacle Yeah It's been pretty rough

But I say pretty rough As then you had the greatest Regalysis of all time And then also you're in the Eastern Conference finals So that's rough Yeah It's the way that they're going about it though I mean

It was embarrassing to watch that team On the court last night I felt bad for us I don't even like to message people when they lose because I don't like to be messaged. I didn't hear anything from anybody. That's respect then. Yeah, which I appreciate that.

That is respect. Nuggets and Lakers. We'll get to the Tittle Taddle on the second, but the Nuggets on the Lakers. Same situation. I just expected the Lakers to win this last game, of any. Back in L.A., I expected to win game three. Yeah.

Thought they may get lucky and win one or two. They didn't, okay, go back home and win game three. Nope. It's ugly. Yeah. It's like, I don't want to say men and boys, but it's like a team that is highly skilled and have gone to practice versus a team that's just really athletic and shows up

and let's just see what happens. And that's not what it is. That's what it looks like to me. Like a team that's really well coached, the players know exactly the scheme they're running. If one of the two teams can do it, though, I think the Lakers can do it over the Celtics. Yeah.

But I only think that because they have LeBron James. That's it. And they've shown somewhat of a fight. Well, and they've done, LeBron's done 3-1 before, come back from that. Yeah, against the greatest team of all time. And I don't think that's going to happen, but I'm very disappointed in the Lakers.

Isn't that why? The Lakers and the Celtics down 03 in the conference finals? The NBA hates that. Oh, I can't stand it. They, the fact that Miami, think about the Lakers and Celtics that they were to play again. All the fun, bird, magic, McHale, all of that through, What the years?

History. Karim. And they get neither team. And they get LeBron of now. Brutal. But man, Denver looks so good. Yeah, they look awesome. Denver has shooters.

Obviously, they have Yokic. It's like they have a piece for every part of the puzzle that you need to have whenever you just are putting together. I'll watch the Redeem team. I'll talk about a second. But they put that team together for a reason. Like, players did certain things. they didn't just go out and grab a bunch of players.

Right. Who are the best players. They got people who did certain things. And it's almost like that's what the Nuggets did. Because whenever you start to look at Aaron Gordon, he ain't going to score a lot of points. But man, he's going to be in the right place at the right time. He's going to play defense.

They didn't ask him to score a lot of points. But he, Aaron Gordon goes the whole game. He's jacked, too. I know. Like he's jacked. It looks like a tight end. KCP, Calwell, Poe. he shoots

elite and when they close it on Yokic okay toss it on out so between him Michael Porter Jr Denver's so much better

than I guess I won't say that we give them credit for but nobody just cared because they've never won they're in a small market they don't have any crazy marketable star

or at least one that's been marketed to us Yonkich looks like somebody's uncle Jamal Murray. Is he elite? He's been playing like it. When they play their two-man game, I don't know how you stop it. Because as soon as they bring in a third guy aggressively

to try to stop if it's a pick and roll up top or they got two shooters. It's crazy. Yeah. They look really, they're very surprising to me. Austin Reeves. Awesome, no. I know.

The fact that they're not giving him the ball more and saying, hey, go do your thing. I think Russell's been pretty bad. lately. DeAngel Russell. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, Austin Reed is going to do pretty well. Yeah. You're going to do pretty well. Well, I hate that for you guys. Yeah, thanks, man. If anything, I have a new appreciation for the Nuggets and Jimmy Butler. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I guess we'll get into it, but I can't hate Jimmy Butler. I've tried.

There's no way to hate Jimmy Butler. He's not done anything, but just be that dude. That's it. Yeah. that game two whenever your boy was talking trash to Butler Grant Williams Yeah When that was happening

Were you like Don't don't wake the giant No I really didn't hate it And I even texted this to my dad And my brother during the time They hated it They were like Shut up Grant blah blah

And I was thinking the same thing And some other people were thinking Where at least he's showing something Because he showed a little fight And I know you wake the bear Quote unquote But guess what We have a bear too

and Jason Tatum. I don't know. The bear sometimes. Jason, you gotta wake up too. I was just glad to see somebody had some fight, some type of anger, some type of emotion because the rest of the team has no emotion. It's bad.

Undrafted players on the Heat roster. The Heat currently have four key contributors that went undrafted. And the reason I had even thought to care about this was Kayla Martin. Yeah. Who has just contributed all playoffs.

A lot of these guys, you're like, guys, Jimmy and the rest. But I mean, these guys are all playing pretty consistent. But Caleb Martin from Nevada has just been there.

And whatever they've needed from him, he's given them. Nothing spectacular, but 10 points here. 6-7 rebounds there. Jimmy Butler, 30th pick from Marquette. Bam out of bio, 13th pick from Kentucky.

This is Miami. Duncan Robinson, undrafted from Michigan. Boy, he made a bunch of money for undrafted. Mm-hmm. Duncan Robb's made a... Doesn't he just get paid big time?

Him or Hero? Maybe both. Look up Duncan Rob's how much money. I know Hero got paid. Yeah, I know Hero got paid after that bubble, I want to say, early year after. Gabe Vincent, undrafted

from... What is that? U.S.D. Berkeley? No. University of California, Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara, got it. God, dang. You don't even know the initials

and they're undrafted? Yes. That's trouble. Max Druss, undrafted from DePaul. Caleb Martin, a draft from Nevada. Count Lowry, 24th pick from Memphis. Kevin Love, fifth pick from UCLA. Kevin Love's old.

He actually isn't, but he's just been around for so long. Lowry's older, well, draft year. Lowry was two years before that. I did not even realize that. Tyler Hero 14th from Kentucky. What do you make, Mike? I still got nothing. I got an internet over here.

You have no internet? No. That's it. Reid, do you have anything over there? I can check. Well, I can check. Everybody failed me. Kevin and I were trying to do a good sports show over here.

Now if your internet's down, Mike. I blame Reed because he had a cell phone. Duncan... Are we down? Duncan Robinson Salary. I don't know if you guys know this. My internet's down.

It just said, do you want to use cellular data? Well, yes, I do. Are you even getting that? Even my cell data is not working. Is it world ending? Yes. Oh, here we go. Let's see.

Duncan Robinson signed a five-year $90 million contract with a heat. including 80 million guaranteed an average salary of almost $20 million. Yeah, yeah, I feel like he even paid undrafted. I mean, that's what Reed's about to happen. He's from Arkansas, too. Didn't play University of Arkansas, wasn't good enough, apparently. Went to Wichita State.

Oh, Austin Reeves, yeah, yeah, yeah, yes. I thought he said Reed for a second. No, Reed. I tried. Reeves, Reed, Reeves. Oh, Reed. Yeah, hey, Reed's tall, though. Yeah, that is.

Maybe. Boston's roster, Jalen Brown, third pick out of cow, Hover for third pick out of Florida. Mark Smart, sixth pick out of Oklahoma State. Tatum, third pick out of Duke. And they got a lot of high. I mean, those four dudes were picked higher than anybody on the Miami team.

Yeah. Crazy. Well, good luck to you. I don't care. I mean, I would like to see Boston win because it's your team, but I don't really have any sort of personal interest there.

Thanks. But I hope you win. Thank you. But that would be tough. Very. All right, let's go to the tittle title. The tittle-tattle with kickoff coming. There's a lot of talk over the weekend with how difficult the course was,

the B.J Championship Oak Hill. What's the toughest course you've ever played? You see the ball going on to the rough? Yeah. I mean, it just was just almost literally disappear. Yeah. It was down. There was a ball that was plugged in the sand. Was a Sheffler?

Nope. It was the guy that finished behind, Hovland. Didn't Hovlin hit one in the sand and it completely. It was gone, right? Yes. Yeah. Now, not the same.

That's just, I think, bad luck, where the rough was so bad or so long purposefully that the ball would get lost there. A lot of lost balls. Yeah. Or a lot of balls hard to find. Hardest course ever played was probably the Blessings course, which is in Arkansas and Fayetteville. For two reasons. One, they had kind of said before we went out there, hey, this is a really hard course, but it's really nice. I think it's the University of Arkansas course, like home course.

Secondly, I'd hurt my shoulder playing basketball in the University of Arkansas. So a basketball arena because they gave it to us for my bachelor party. The whole thing, we played for hours, right? Yeah, it was fun. Turned it all on. It's crazy. We never really got to talk about it. Probably not supposed to do now, but who cares?

They gave me the whole thing. They turned on all this thing. Picture music, had the locker room all filled with food. It's an amazing thing. One of the most special days for my bachelor party. That being said, I hurt my shoulder. And then I went out in the first few halls of a community-swain golf club. So the course seemed hard, and I just couldn't move.

But everybody else was like, that was a really hard course. I wish I could have experienced it. I wish I could have experienced it. That's right. All right, next question. After Michael Block's memorable hole in one on day four, you have a most memorable shot. That shot, by the way,

because he didn't see it go in, and I was watching it, and neither did I, because it went straight dunk. It went right in the hole. Meaning if it did just to the left or right of the hole, a thing but it flew on by.

But it went straight in the hole. Crazy. I've never even seen a hole in one. Never had one. Never seen one. really cool to see him because that shot actually is what got him into next year's

because he finished top 15 and had he not hit that hole in one, he'd have been two shots on the wrong way of it. So for me, most memorable shot, not even on a, like an actual round.

When I went to Pebble Beach last year, we did the Par 3 Celebrity Part 3 championship and everybody was there like 40 people and I was in the round with Aaron Rogers and I don't remember who else was in my, group, but I just not beat Aaron Rogers, but I'm up on the pedestal and it's, you know, 120 or so away.

Everybody's hitting at the par three. Nervous is crap. I could feel it. I was feeling so nervous that I did a whole bit where I changed balls. I only did that so I could calm down because I had a white ball and I was like, I got up to the ball and I was just like, oh, I don't know. I got people everywhere. I ain't that good anyway.

So I reached my pocket and I pulled out a pink ball and I was like, I'm changing balls and I put it down switch balls I just did that to kind of regroup yeah and then I stuck at like 10 feet from the pin and I won my round and I got to the finals I think I finished maybe third overall at 40 because I hit my next round shot was pretty good too but nothing like that first one Jim nance is calling it you hear him he's like I'm not the deep box it I got I kind of blacked out right when I swung and it landed I was like oh my god I wasn't happy that I did it well I was happy I didn't humiliate myself and hit somebody or miss completely. That would be so nerve-wracking for me. It was really nerve-wracking. Yeah. Cudos to you. There's no way. And I don't get nervous for

performing as much, nearly as much as I used to, I mean, I used to be nervous, especially when I started doing stand-up or I started doing music. It's kind of hard to make me nervous now. Even live TV, I wouldn't even call it nervous. It's just kind of like an excited energy more than it's nervous, because I'm not, I've done it enough to know that the worst thing that can happen, I'm still going be okay. So once you've done it in repetition that many times, it doesn't matter what it is, and you're comfortable because you know as bad as it gets, you're still going to be all right. And that's, it's worst. You're fine. You're loose. But I wasn't loose there. I wasn't loose at all. It's a heck of a shot, though. It's on my Instagram if you guys want to

scroll back and see it. But boy, it was a tough one. Boy, it was a tough one. All right, go ahead. There's a lot of hype around Victor Wenbanyama. Hopefully I'm saying that right, going to the Spurs in the upcoming draft. Who's the most hype athlete you remember of any sport. That's easy to probably say LeBron, and I'm a little older than you, so you probably don't remember LeBron being on Sports Illustrated. Oh, I do, yeah. You do? Oh, yeah, I was, what, 12, 13, 11, so yeah, no, I do. I remember the hype was huge for him. Yeah, it was the first high school games, I think that were on ESPN when they would show just those Irish, the green Irish church. But to me, that's not who I'm picking. I'm picking Bryce Harper because I remember him being a high

school kid and then being on Sports Illustrated and how he went to the Woodbat League. instead of, I just remember he lived in Las Vegas. It was Bryce Harper, Bryce Harper, Bryce Harper. And he's one of those rare athletes that did what they were supposed to, maybe more. I mean, think about the hype of LeBron

and what he's been able to do. He met and achieved more than the hype would have led you to believe. And nobody ever reaches their hype level. So I'm going to go Bryce Harper and he did it. And LeBron, and he did it. But look at Tiger Woods too.

Tigers won in every amateur championship for years, college, and he did it. See, I don't remember the tiger hype. Yeah, it was a different kind of hype. It was like this kid just wins everything. Okay. It wasn't like wait until you see what this kid does. He was already doing it at that level and just dominating everybody, even college. So then he went pro and he just kept on.

So it wasn't so much hype as it is, look at how great he is right now, and he's probably just going to keep going. Different kind of hype. It was more like an excitement for this. how good he was going to get. Instead of, we have crazy projections of this guy. Which is crazy, too, because you never hear that with a golfer. Right?

I mean, is there any other golfer that you remember when they were young college coming up that you really hear about, even the speiths or the... It's just not a sport that is consumed by enough people, that enough people are going to care that it's going to develop into something that everybody's whispering about, talking about when bignanhas type stuff, where they're like, he's the greatest possible player in any sports. he's a great of all time. Yeah.

And he may be 7 foot 5. I saw him next to Rudy Gobert. Do you see him standing next to Rudy Gobert? Yeah, he made him look normal. Yeah. Like, not short, but made Rudy Gobert, who's over 7 foot tall, just looked pedestrian. It was crazy. So I'm going to go with Bryce Harper, but I like Bryce.

All right, next. All right, last one here. We talked about Jimmy Butler and how much he's loved. Who's the most liked or loved athlete that you can remember? We talk about Tiger. The weird thing about Tiger is, of all the shady stuff he's been up to and done and the bad ways he's treated people, not even people that he's been having sex with.

People still love him. I love him. I root for him. So I think Tiger, because when you look at all the crap that he's done to himself, to others, and the fact that he's so universally loved, bulletproof.

So I'm going to go Tiger Woods. Michael Jordan. Even kids, they didn't get to see him, play love him, because the brand. But yeah, I'm going to go Tiger. Jordan. I was not a Michael Jordan guy because I didn't like the Bulls because they won all the time and annoyed me.

So I was the rare non-jordan guy. Who do you think it is? I would probably go with Tiger off top of my head. I think Steph's another big one too. Steff's very lovable, yeah. I like Steph a lot. Everyone likes Steph. I've, even last year when they beat the Celtics in the finals, I was like, just Steph Curry. Like, okay, that's cool.

Yeah, he's hard to dislike him. It's just like Jimmy. Yeah, that's the tittle tattle. Thank you. A reminder that 25 whistles brought to you by Draft King Sportsbook. Download the draft king's app. Use the code Bobby Sports. Get in on the action. So here's your parlay. It's going to be Boston.

I have faith in them. You may not, but have faith in them. I'm going Boston plus a point to half, because they're getting a point to half. And then I'm going under 216. Because I think for them to win, they just can't allow Miami to see. This is only a Boston's got a win bet more than like I believe it in my bones. I'm going, this is my bet here. parlay Boston plus point in a half and under

216 I just can't see them losing it again I can't Kevin and the heat there's no way they can say that hot right or that motivated yeah human nature so build the 20 half whistles parlay get in there we built it for you

plus one and a half Boston under 216 go I don't know I'm trying to really give you like some I bet it just because I want them to win like my hype man over here. I know, but the more I talk about it, I'm just like, put a fork in them.

But that's it. I said what I said. Plus one and a half under 216. If you want to take 25 whistles parley, go to Draft King's Sportsbook. New users use the code Bobby Sports when you download the app. 21 and up in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions apply. Gambling problem. Call 1,800 gambler. In New York, call

8778, Hope N. Or text Hope N.Y. 467-369. See show notes for full details. A win is a win. A win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford

and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the free IHeart Radio app.

Open the app. Search NFL Daily and listen now. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars, and now I guess also as the co-host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids.

My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. For us, Soccer. Football.

Is a story we've shared for over 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team. Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, its hope, it's heartbreak, and above all, its beauty. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

I love baseball. I love Jim Edmonds, even though I hated him. It was respect. I hated the Cardinals. Being a Cups fan, you hate the Cardinals. But I just always wish we had Jim Edmonds. He is so good. He'd tracked down any ball.

He's making those over-the-shoulder catches running straight back to center for Willie Mays-style catches. So this is us with former MLB All-Star and Cardinals Hall of Famer Jim Edmonds, which we talk about. My hate for the Cardinals growing up as a Cups fan. how much I rooted against him because he was so good. It was a root against, but it was a respect. He wants to move to Nashville. We talk about that.

Country music. You can follow Jim on Instagram at Jim Edmonds 15. Man, this is cool for me. Here he is, Jim Edmonds. Jim, what's up, man? Hey, how are you? Hey, good. Let me tell you.

I used to hate you, man. I used to hate your guts because I was a massive. I grew up a Cubs fan. I'm going to tell you, watching you track down balls, constant, oh, it would kill me. I knew no ball was safe. It didn't matter. You couldn't gap you.

You couldn't do anything. That was also respect. So it is an honor to talk to you, Jim, because he drove me crazy as a kid. But, man, did you ever think, I just think there wasn't a ball you couldn't catch? Did you feel like that out there? Yeah, sometimes. I really did. I thought that that was, like, kind of my goal or kind of my job.

You know what I mean? Your job is to do whatever you're doing the best to your ability. And I just thought that was my – I took pride. in it just like anything else you know when you were coming up were you kind of think what do you have eight gold gloves if i miss tell me if i'm wrong okay if you when you were coming up through you know minors even playing as a teenager were you that guy as well that could track down balls in the outfield or were you such an athlete you just played wherever they put you i think a little bit of both i uh you know i grew up playing soccer uh grew up playing football a little bit of basketball and baseball

but we practiced a lot and i always thought that um because i practice that um because i us so much on an open field that I used to run around the outfield and chase balls from the other guys that would hit. And so I think that that helped a lot. Was there, when you got to the majors, was there initially some sort of adjustment to speed or were you just naturally there already as, you know, a young 20-year-old? I think the minor leagues, you know, help each level. You know, when I got drafted, I was only 17. So that first year, rookie ball and then A ball and then. an A ball again and then double A and then AAA.

It's, I don't know, it's kind of like, you know, like, I mean, do you think you were ready for doing what you were doing when you were working in Arkansas? You know what I mean? But I still don't think I'm ready to do what I'm doing now, where you could see, you just with our eyeballs crushing it. I completely understand your point. Like, I had a friend Greg Swindell who talked about coming up and, you know, very brief in the majors. His first start, he goes out and he just destroys people.

And he's pitching. he's like, this is easy. Second game, he got lit up hard, and he was like, oh, this is not easy, and I was completely wrong. But that his adjustment was wrong at first. He thought, wow, this is crazy. This is so easy. But then it turns out it was a lot harder than he thought.

I just wonder what that adjustment's like when you get up to pro ball. Wow, when I first, the pro ball is huge because coming from high school, you know, you're basically facing basic pitchers back in those days. It's a little different now. But, you know, a guy would throw a fastball and a curveball, and that was basically it. And when I got to pro ball, I was, I hadn't quite turned 18 yet. I was late for my senior year. And then I was facing guys out of junior college, out of college.

And flyers, velocity. I think I struck out, man, probably 75% of my first 50 at bats. It was tough. It really was. And that was just in the minor, that was just the lowest level of the minor league. So I think after, you know, like I said, year by year and day by day, You just kind of pick it up. And I guess you either do or you don't, you know.

When I think back to some of your plays, just going from memory here, I think what I think about the most is not even a Cubs game. It's NLCS against the Astros. And when you would make plays in the outfield that were, I mean, really, the ones where you would just take off running like Willie May style with your back to the back. Like, that's what I visualize you doing over and over again. But some of those plays, did you ever wonder, do I actually have the ball or not? Because they were just like so extended.

Well, I'll tell you what. it is it's don't let it fall out i mean i think if you were to catch up on maybe the play in kansas city you can see my first reaction was to reach in my glove with my bare hand because i thought man if i run all this way and the ball pops out of my glove i am going to be pissed so uh that was kind of that was kind of the uh the thing you know what you watch you still watch highlights today and guys will dive and the ball bounce out or jump up and knock the ball over the wall so that was my biggest spear. So unless I hit the pocket perfect, I definitely try to throw my other hand in there. Did you ever do the thing where you were winning by 10 runs or losing by 10 runs and you

would go on a pitch a little bit as like the, okay, we don't want to waste anyone that's in the ballpan. Did you ever do that at all? I did it once in the minor leagues. I was a pitcher growing up my whole life and it's all I ever wanted to do was to pitch one game in the big leagues and I never did. I think that when I got to St. Louis, LaRusa knew that I would probably throw my arm out trying too hard. So he wouldn't let me do it. But he wasn't too keen on that as as much as they are nowadays. He was a little bit more like we're going to, you know, we're going to gut this out what we got. And if it's really bad, then we'll just use somebody literally like a reserve infielder that just knows that they won't go out and hurt themselves. But no,

I was always my, it was always my biggest dream. What was coach LaRusa like day to day? I just, you know, from being with Oakland and Konseco, McGuire and all those guys, to then being with the Cardinals, his everyday demeanor from afar seems very stoic. What was he like every single day? Same. Same. It was, it was, I told him one time when he finally retired. I said, you know, you have a pretty good personality. Too bad baseball ruined it for you.

But he was. He was like, hey, how you doing? And he said, I'll let you know after the game, you know, every day. It was just his whole life. about winning that day, that game, learning, being better. It was incredible. It made me such a better person and player and human. He was like a father, even at 29, 30, 31 years old. He was just such a teacher still in a motivator. I thought it was pretty awesome to be around. I, you know, I'm not surprised, but you know your sports. And there's very few guys like that.

that. You know, you can think of the top coaches out there in the world, right? You think you're Belichick's and guys like that. Maybe you're Andy Reeves now in the NFL and you think about there's a couple guys in college and there's not too many guys like that in baseball anymore. And they're just, they get the best out of you think because they have learned from a lot of different people and they really, they really focus in on all the details. And I think that's why some of those coaches are always, you know, the same coaches are always successful year and you're out. When I think about coaches that I've seen from afar

obviously, but it's like Tommy LaSorda in L.A. It's Tony LaRouca, you know, with the Bash brothers in Oakland, obviously those teams and then in St. Louis. It's even Dusty Baker now. What are those guys to you, what do they have in common

that creates this longevity and also this respect or this seeming respect within the team all the time? I think that one thing as a leader I think you can't do is ever waver and I think

the things that those guys do is you know that they don't waver, they always have your back no matter what, that comes first, you know, the players come first, the game comes second. It's like a family and so you respect that and then they

give you feedback that you need and they treat you like a man, you know, and they expect the best out of you, but they all also know that there's going to be days. You're not your best. Would you go and say, hey, I'm not feeling good. Can I take the day off?

162 anythings in a year is a lot. Like, how does that conversation go with one of those guys? You know, it's funny. It usually goes the other way around. They'll say, like, you know, you don't look like you're up to standards last couple of days and give a day off. And you're like, you know, you take pride in playing every day. You know, I would think, like, for you, same thing.

You know, you have big weekends and you've got to wake up on Monday morning. and I'm sure there's days you're just like, oh my gosh, I just got to do this. And then you get there and it's just like, you know, there's a show. Here we go. But yeah, there's no really, back in those days, if you ask for a day off, you might not get another day to play. So I never wanted to come out of the lineup. You know, there was a guy named Wally Pipp.

I'm sure you're very familiar with. It's how Lou Gehrig got so famous. I mean, Wally Pipp got hurt. And all of a sudden, well, let's replace him with this young guy for a little bit. Lou Gehrig who then turns in one of the greatest of all time, Hall of Famer. That story is so legendary, the Wally Pipps story. Was Wally really that good, though, Jim? That's the question I asked.

Couldn't they put him somewhere else if he was so good? That's true, actually. Right nowadays, they would be like, okay, well, we'll put you in right field or left field, but clearly he wasn't as good as the rest of the guys. And I think it makes for a great story, though, doesn't it? I mean, think about it? Yeah, and that story has held up forever because the freaking Iron Horse, like, he's the dude. They made movies about him.

So Wally Pip to me is like the beetle Pete Best. You know, the original drummer. It's, you're like, man, what could have been? Who knows what Pete Best would have done if he did just, you know, if he would have been kicked out of the Beatles before they got famous? Well, there's a lot of that, right? I mean, there's, in your business, in every business, how many band members do you think stepped aside before somebody got big or couldn't do

it anymore because they weren't making enough money to survive and had a family maybe before these guys were, you know, single and having fun. I mean, gosh, you can probably, there's probably millions of stories like that. My manager was a drummer for a, and my manager was 50 now, but he was a drummer for a pretty famous band, and he got out about three months before they hit and signed the record deal because, again, he just wanted to, they were broke, they were poor. And he was like, I can't do it. We have a kid coming.

So he got out. And then like three months later, they hit big. And it's crazy to think that he was like, I just, I can't. But I imagine that that happens with a ballpark. players to some right where you're playing in the minors you're not making much money and you're like i just can't do this anymore and you jump when i don't know maybe you had the potential i don't does that happen with ball players at all yeah you know it's funny you say that um see i was probably 19 and our second round pick was our short stop starting an a ball high a ball right away

and halfway through the season he just quit is this this isn't for me i'm gonna go home and hang out with my girlfriend basically and we're like what like you're a number two pick and then you know like in the second round pick our shortstop has huge obviously um potential and he just said i'm done i'm out he didn't play a full year crazy did they not do what they do now where they basically dive into all the you know mental health reports the love of the game the passion because it seems like you would know that about a player that if they didn't absolutely love it you wouldn't draft them at this point. Yeah, I think you can't measure heart, obviously, right?

And then homesick, I don't know. There's a lot of people out there, never been away from home. Yeah, I was kind of shocked because I don't think he was out of high school. I think he was out of like a JC or something, but really good player. Maybe just didn't have it in him. Maybe he had enough, you know, so. You moved on Nashville. Do you see that?

You're moving to Nashville on your Twitter? Man, I'm trying. We have been looking for a year. You know, the prices have gone crazy. But we were just there this weekend and we found a really nice piece of property. But, you know, I've been struggling with find a place on a golf course or find, or we've been looking for 20, 30, 40, 50 acres. So a lot of friends there.

I love it there. We're there a lot. And so, yeah, we're definitely going to move there. I got a son who's a sophomore. He's got his last week of school. And as soon as he's out of the house, we might be headed that way. How, if not before. What's your handicap?

What's your handicap? Yeah, I feel like you, professional athletes, for example, one of my best friends is Andy Roddick, the tennis player. And he had never played golf. And all of a sudden he starts playing golf. And he goes to like a four in eight months because hand-eye coordination is so freaking good. I just want to kill him. So that's not the case with me. So what about a guy like you that would hit a ball and can run fast for a living?

How good are you at golf? You know, I stopped playing about three or four years ago. But I'm one of those guys that just once I pick something up, I just go and go and go until I get. pretty good and i got down to like an eight or a nine maybe are you're not playing at all anymore i don't play at all no i used to have a house in palm springs uh on the golf course and they used to have a house up in idaho right when i retired and then when we moved back to st louis to you know the kids all get in school and and do all that um i just kind of gave it up it's hard to play um you know it's funny as in missouri here especially it's always raining or it's hot or it's cold

There's like no kind of like, you know, we don't have convertible weather here. I think the weather is a little better at Nashville than it is here. And it just kind of hated going out and one day hitting off mats and the next day it's car path only. And I'm just like, I guess I got spoiled and the golf courses I belong to in the past in California. And so I just kind of wasn't that important, especially because then also with the kids, I'm just kind of like trying to play dad the best I can now that I'm retired. What do you do for fun then? You're not dad, but if you're not playing golf, you're playing pickleball?

at all? Like that's a sport. Yeah. Yeah, I, too many injuries. I've seen too many people already go down in pickleball. And I was, I've been playing it. I was planning about actually about eight or nine years ago when I first started going through our country club. And for fun, really, I don't know, nothing. I mean, just chill,

work out, listen to music, go to concerts. You know, I mean, hang out with my wife. like just chill i mean like i think my fun's over baseball was fun for me man that does seem like it be the most fun like to be like young athletic good looking playing center field for the freaking cardinals other than the cardinals part it sounds like an amazing life i didn't realize you were such a cubs fan yeah i'm a whole life it was a curse until it wasn't anymore though it's funny i think

that i i listen to you a lot and i think i know a lot about listening to what you guys do and stuff. And I don't think I've heard a lot about the Cubs as much as, you know, I hear a lot about Arkansas and all that other stuff that you do. But, yeah, I was surprised. But that makes sense, right? It's been a rough few years, you know. So it's not a lot of talk about.

Also, you know, baseball for us doesn't really do, at least in talk. People don't really like to hear a lot of baseball talk unless it's about superstars. Oh, yeah. And, you know, the Cubs kind of went through a process. process there. We didn't know who was going to be on the team year to year. And our show was on in Chicago for a long time. But yeah, there's not a lot to talk about with the Cubs. I'm I grew up. My grandfather was a Cubs fan. And my stepdad was a Cubs fan. So it was just kind of passed on to me. I would never root. I would never wish that for anyone. But growing up in

Arkansas, we used to go to Bush and play like Legion ball, like championships in Bush Stadium, which was always awesome. And I've, uh, that's cardinal country down there, right? Are you from Hot Springs? I am from central Arkansas. Yeah. down there for a charity event. And man, that's Cardinal country down there. And it's that kind of mix, right? It's like half Cubs, half Cardinals. It's only Cubs if you were watching it on WGN the whole time.

But it's mostly Cardinals because we had the AAA team and then the single A team for the Cardinals forever. And that was like the big trip for me every year. We would go to watch the Arkansas Travelers because, you know, they were the single A team for a long time that fed into the Cardinals and you'd go and you'd get autographs and you'd hope they make it and they never make it. and you just had some random card signed by some dude who was now walking down the street.

So that was kind of the situation there. But, yeah, I respected the Cardinals, but since everybody loved them, I hated them. But I got to play in the stadium. It was pretty cool. I remember getting these balls, Jim, I don't know if you guys ever hit them with batting practice. Because we would go and we get to see all the facilities back then. And the batting practice balls were smaller than normal balls, which made sense because if you hit smaller balls, it makes that bigger ball easier to hit.

Did you ever hit with tiny batting practice? balls? No, not really. There's sometimes they're different because they're practice balls or or also they get the crap beat out of them because they get hit so much and they don't last very long. So that's probably another thing too. They're either brand new all the time or they're smashed in from getting hit. But no, not not purposely did they change the balls out. But probably over time and I'm sure if you have a ball like I have a ball from like the All-Star game in 95 and it looks like it's this big. compared to like this big now. But just in time, they were tighter.

You know, in the 90s, everything was, the balls are rock hard, the bats are rock hard. Everyone was doing steroids. The ball was flying out of the ballpark. So I think they change over time. I really do. They say that they don't, but I can promise you 100% that they're not the same year in and you're out. You have a guitar behind you.

And I feel like you're a country music guy. Am I right on this? What's the guitar for back there? What is that? That's Eric Church. I got that. I got one from Eric. I got one, Jason Aldine over there.

Yeah, I am. You know what? You know how the worlds collide, right? I'm sure you're probably either are friends with a lot of, you said, Andy Rodick and a couple of those guys. I think music and baseball have a huge connection, which I was surprised. So I met Luke through Adam Wainwright. then I met Jason through DJ Silver, which John Purdue, I'm sure you probably know him and his family, and then just kind of took off from there and met, to become friends with Cole Swindell.

He knew Rick A. Kienkeel. Like, it's just random how it's like everyone just kind of like kind of mingled and stayed in touch with a lot of guys. And yeah, I really, I really enjoy it. It's interesting you mentioned Rick Ankeel because Rick was a pitcher when I first knew Rick. like he came up with the system like crazy crazy prospect then whatever happened to him emotionally psychologically i don't know then he ended up being a good outfielder as well but that's what we talk about wally pip like changed positions like they did that with anke for a different reason uh what what because i struggle sometimes if i'm playing golf like i get nervous

i played the pebble beach pro i'm and i was scared to death and i'm not scared to do anything i'm knees were shaking jim nance was calling it i'm i'm don't get nervous, Jim, at all. I can do stand-up front of thousands of people. I can do live TV. I was scared to death, and I couldn't fix it. When Ankeo goes through something like that, like, did you have any of those moments where you were just psychologically not in tune with yourself? No, not like that. You know, I always tease Rick, and this is a crazy credit to his ability, too. He was probably the only guy ever to make it to the big league twice. If you think about that, he came up. He was 19 that year. It was my first year in St. Louis.

Louis. And in the playoffs, he lost it and then lost the field for throwing. And then after a year and a half of trying, he went back and said, I'm going to be an outfielder. Actually, he quit for a couple days. And then I think Larusa talked to him into going back and trying to be an outfielder. And I thought, man, what a miss guy was like, he could have been Randy Johnson, you know. I mean, this guy is electric. They said the best left-handed curve ball in the game. He was 19. He threw 94. It just was wicked. But he knows his upbringing and a lot of things. that he had to deal with. It probably wasn't at the time mentally as strong as he was hoping to be.

And now he's all, I mean, I love him. I still keep in touch with him. I see him a lot. He was working for TV with us for a little bit. Now he's doing some stuff in Florida with boats and fishing and stuff. So, but yeah, what a, what a crazy story, huh? I mean, one day he couldn't throw the ball over the plate. And, you know, a year and a half later, he's starting in center field for the Cardinals.

So crazy. When you would get into a slump, how would you get out of a slump? I would hit a lot. I would hit. There's two things. Either stop hitting completely. Like if you had a chance to take a day off, you probably would. I wouldn't hit the day before the day off.

And then I would just kind of wing it for a day or two. And then another day is when we're at home, I would just hit extra until my hands blood. I mean, there's times when you have energy and you're not doing well. And there's times you're just dead tired. So then just back off and just let your ability take over. So it's all up here, usually in the mind, you know. you get out of out of sync with your body and

out of sync with your mind. Two final questions. Did you like playing an all-star games? You know, now we hear players, they don't like it. They'd rather have the days off. Did you like playing and being around all those other guys? I loved it. I really did. I could see if you play in, you know, 10, 12, 15

of them, it would be a little bit of a nuisance because you're always expected to do so much. But I had a blast. I mean, I think it's your obligation to at least be, unless you're seriously hurt or beat up to go and, you know, represent your team and do that stuff. I thought it was, you know, it's a lot of fun. A lot of camaraderie there, a lot of interesting, you know, it's funny to see the pitchers and the hitters kind of look at each other, you know, like all these

rivalries and guys that you might not like on one side, but then you play with them and you love them. So, yeah, it's a weird scenario, but I thought it was kind of cool. I enjoyed, you know, being around those guys and how do you not you know how do you not be excited about being around the best of the best you know kind of like going to award ceremony right and you're actually now one of those guys like i love that's what i love about you is like you've done everything and you've kind of gone through what you've gone through and all of a sudden look who are you you know look what you have become just because of hard work and now instead of just doing tv and talking to people and radio you're like on the red carpet.

You're presenting your winning awards. Like, you know. Yeah, I still rather catch balls in the outfield, though. I'm going to be honest with the gym. Come on up. I'll get you on the field for batting practice, and we'll see how it goes. Rivalry.

As a pro, do you actually hate the teams you're supposed to hate that we as fans? And for me, it can be college football. It can be the major leagues. Obviously, we as Cups fans really had trouble with the Cardinals. But as a player, is it really real? You know, it's funny. When I first got to St. Louis, I knew there was a rivalry with the Cubs, but I didn't really was like, what is this deal? You know, like, I'm just got here.

I don't know anyone. So I thought it was all media driven. And then I think the media can push it over the edge, you know, if it's all you hear. And then, yeah, you learn to not like a certain team or, you know, especially in the league, not this year, but a couple years ago or in the past, but we were playing everybody in our division 18, 19 times. you get kind of sick of it. And yeah, it gets heated. And yeah, definitely the Cubs Cardinals were a good rivalry for like, you know, I think after my first second or third year, it started to really become real, like 02, 03.

I think at 03 they beat us up pretty good at the end of the year. And then we got in a fight and then 04, same kind of stuff. And then, you know, then you start losing players, right? You start losing pitchers on their team, you know, catcher or Michael Barrett. And then he ended up going somewhere else and all these different guys, right? And all of a sudden, what you had left was like Soto and Zambrano. And, you know, other than Zambrano, there wasn't much of a rivalry left. And so that kind of went downhill for a while.

But I think you feel it because you feel the fans, you feel the energy. And how can you not love playing in that stadium? Especially now. The stadium's amazing. All right. Bonus question. Best concert you've ever been to. Holy cow.

Oh, man. I've been to so many now. it's crazy, but you know, I just saw that I really fell in love with, and it was in a really small venue. It was Randy Houser. He played in like a small, like, pageant type of thing that we just built a new place here in Chesterfield, Missouri, and it's cool. It's like a little venue. It's really small. Chase Rice has played there. I watched a bunch of guys play there right after, kind of got popped there after COVID, because, you know, they weren't selling tickets. And so it was kind of cool.

I'm going to go see Cole Swindell this weekend here. My best story with Cole Swindell, I love it. I got divorced. And you know the song, You ain't worth the whiskey? I do, yeah. So that was like the one to live by after a breakup, right? You think about it.

Like, in your own head. And it's funny stories. So we're sitting in a bar in Nashville with a couple guys, a couple riders, one of his buddies, me, a couple of guys hanging out, and was talking about that story and just how it meant so much. And it was weird. I was not saying, like, hey, I love you because of this. But I had known him for a little bit.

I was telling him about the song. And he's like, I'll be right back. And I was like, right, whatever. So now I'm talking to someone else. And he jumps up on stage and started performing the song. I was like, this is pretty damn cool right here. Yeah, that's awesome. Those guys are so much fun to be around and just so talented.

I think it's really cool. Yeah, the annoying ones are the ones that were great athletes. and then, like, they hurt something and they became a country music. Like Jake Owen, great golfer, collegiate golfer, hurts his shoulder, becomes superstar. Sam Hunt, college football player, becomes superstar. Cole Swindell, I hate those guys because they were so good at everything. And I, like, I'm good at nothing.

And so, and they're so likable as humans that you don't really hate them. You're just really jealous of them. You know who's doing that now is Adam Wainwright. Adam Wainwright's saying the national anthem on opening day, and he told no one. I saw that. And he carries his guitar with him everywhere he goes, And he's friends with Luke, really good friends with Luke, and obviously Jason and those guys.

But yeah, it's funny. I don't know if this story is true. I was talking to Luke one day, and he was at the field. And I said, how did you really get into playing guitar? Because I know you didn't play as a kid. And he said, I got released off or a cut from my high school baseball team or whatever. I just picked up a guitar. So later in life, which I thought was awesome.

And Jason said the same thing. As soon as he stopped playing baseball, he really got like, he's a hardcore baseball. fan talking about a baseball fan wow with the Braves he's insane yeah he was a he loves it good ball player too yeah when i saw playing baseball i just uh well got beat up more and studied i mean that's basically what i did so and here we are well look jim next time you come to town or one of the times i'd love to meet you in person uh you know just been a massive fan for a long time and you know even what you do now you do a great job at it like just like i don't know man i just

get jealous people who are good and good looking i don't know i'm starting to sad again here in the center. Well, I mean, you're not doing so bad. I mean, I'm a beautiful wife too now and things are good for you. So, I mean, we listen to you every day here in St. Louis. Law of averages. That was what that was. Law of averages, pretty much. Jim, huge fan. Thank you so much. Just kept moving, just kept shuffling them around until you found a really good one. Just, well, just trying to, yeah, we'll go with that one because I don't want to hear this. Jim, great to talk to you. Hope you have a great day and I would love to meet you sometime soon. Definitely. I'll come check it out when we come back into town. We're going to be

in town maybe next week sometimes. So we always try to get together. Come meet everybody. We'd love to meet you. Love to meet you guys too. Thank you. Thanks for the time. Jim, appreciate it.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. The 26 NFL Draft is here, and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig, after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday, and then Sunday to recap everything that went down

over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the free IHeart Radio app. Open the app, search NFL Daily, and listen now. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars,

and now I guess also as the co-host of the away end, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football,

all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. For us, soccer, football, is a story we've shared for over 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team. Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, it's hope, it's hard. heartbreak, and above all, it's beauty.

Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auer Kohn and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to Jim Edmonds. That's awesome. Like, that's my day. Like, everybody has a day, like a time where they really thrived and took in every little kernel those days for me. Like when I was 12 through like 32. That's a solid 20 years, right?

That's a solid 20 years where I was like, I knew how many games behind everybody. I mean, it was all I lived. And then baseball just got too long. Games were too long. And now we're starting to get back a little bit. And because the game has fallen out of favor because of our attention spans, there aren't as many marketable stuff. which then that's what sports is, marketable stars.

But I'm rooting for it. Routen for baseball to come back. I love Jim Edmonds. The chase for the NBA title still in full swing while the best in the NBA battle it out. You can get all the playoff action at your fingertips with Draft King Sportsbook and official sports betting partner of the NBA.

New customers can make a $5 bet and score $150 in bonus bets instantly. Plus everyone can score a no sweat, same game parlay every day during the NBA playoffs. Open the Draft King Sportsbook app. Opt in and place the same game parlay on any NBA game. your bet loses will give you a bonus bet back in the amount of your initial bet up to $10. Now look, earlier, Celtics plus one and a half under 2.16 for Tuesday night's game.

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Hope and Y or text Hope and Y 467369. See show notes for full details. Okay, we did Heat and Celtics, go Celtics. We did Lakers and Nuggets. Go Lakers. Probably not going to happen. I'm kind of cool with whomever. I'm going to be honest with you.

It's four pretty likable teams. You don't care? Yeah. At this point? I'm moving for the Celtics as you, but they're pretty likable teams. I like the Lakers because I like LeBron. I like C.D.

I like Cidrelaher one. I like the Nuggets because I think Yokic is awesome, and he doesn't get the respect he deserves, even for me because I don't watch them enough. Yeah. So I like that. I like New Blood, too, like small markets. The heat.

I mean, look at that story. Playing game, Jimmy Butler. The Celtics, you? That's all that matters. I mean, probably they're the least likeable team. Yeah. But because of you, I'm rooting for it. Thanks.

Big softball weekend. If you're a college softball fan, I guess I spend a lot of time talking about it, but in my family it's a big deal. Because Patty Gasso, six championships, Oklahoma. They've won two in a row. I think they're going for number three.

They're number one team in the country. They won easily. Super regionals. her son, my brother-in-law, is the head assistant coach at Utah. Been there three years. The program now for the first time ever is hosting a Super Regional. Wow.

Oh, he's legit. I was wondering why you're posting so much about them. That makes sense now, obviously. Yeah, he's legit. And I talk to him ever, I mean, I call him right after the game. It's the first time they've ever won Super. So in the Arkansas Lost, which sucked in the regional. So that's what's up.

We're probably going to go to Utah this weekend to watch. I mean, that's, that's Caitlin's sister. Yeah. We're very close. So, I don't know, I went to the college, softball championship last year in Oklahoma City, the World Series. How was that? Crazy because Oklahoma won, and I was there, and we went on the field, and it was hard

for me because I wouldn't wear an Oklahoma shirt. I won't. I can't wear an O and a U, but I did have a shirt that said, gasos, the goat. Okay. And that I can do. That I can support. It's family. Do you say boomer sooner or no?

Never. Okay. My lips don't even go in whatever shape it goes to do that. Never would I do that. So that's what's up. So softball, golf, watch a lot of the PGA. What about old Block, huh? Yeah, that was awesome.

You know, Michael Block, he, we talked about the whole one that he hit that actually got him into next years. He cried a lot, but he made me sad when he was crying. People were making fun of him for crying all the time. I'm telling you, that was like real man, emotional, like good for you, way to feel it, way to show it. Let's go. It's great. I think that was like his fourth major he played in.

He never made the cut. Yeah. But isn't that his fourth major? Yeah. Like, everybody's acting like they found him on the streets. Like some guy walking around with the golf club, didn't even know what number it was, showed up to the court.

I mean, he's played him for me. Granted, he finished top 15, in a mate. That's awesome. Most of you ever won was like $75,000, and he had a funny thing at the podium. We're like, what's the most you ever won? And he goes, setting out $1,000 and listed the course and everything.

And they were like, wow, you should do know that? Specific goes, yeah. If you want $700,000, you would know it too. Most of it everyone before that was $5,000. Oh, wow. And he's like, you know, he's a, Golf Pro to public course. It's a very nice public course, but a public course.

So it's pretty cool. I end up betting him to finish top 10, and he didn't. Oh. I know, I know. I bet him to finish top 10, and then the last day, I bet Shephler to come back and win it. I was thinking about doing Shephler. Well, good thing he didn't, because he didn't.

I thought Brooks would blow it at some point. So did I. And I put $100 to win, like, $700, $800, $800. And for a second, I was like, oh, he was. we go, Scottie. He started doing it. And then he didn't do it. No. He didn't do it. But, you know, I don't only like the courses when they grow the freaking

rough that long. Yeah. The first three days were tough to watch, especially Friday and Saturday. I think there was a lot of rain. And I was like, this isn't good golf. The guys are frustrated. It's like the 90s NBA. A lot of defense people running into each other. Like, it wasn't fun. It's like whenever defensive backs could hit wide receivers, all the time anywhere not get past it. No, I like to watch finesse. I like to see points scored. I like to see balls on the green. Not in the rough. No. I don't care if they go on the rough, but, and there should be a slight penalty, not strokes, but it's a rough, it's a little harder to hit. Not the freaking weeds. Did you see Spieth shot out of the sand where he put it over out of bounds and he was

all pissed off and he was like yelling at the judge? Was that what that was? Yeah, it was great. I saw one where he's Like hit a F and iron. Good. Just that one? I sent it to Eddie. So he obviously didn't have a great. Here it is. No, this is from the T-box.

I'm going to play this. You can believe about the F-word, Mike. Yeah, Nance goes, I don't think you like that one. That's great. That's funny. That's great. No, I didn't see the sand thing. Yeah, his caddy, he was in the bunker right off the green, and he smacked it, and it went out of bound.

We don't even know where the ball went. Lost it. Went out of bounds, and so he had to get another one. And the judge was telling him where he had to lie and going over all the rules, and he was just so pissed off. And his cat, he's like, all right, dude, let's go. Like, get it together. Let's go.

And then he hits a great shot. I guess they've been together long enough. He can do that. Yeah. I like Jordan. I played golf with him twice. I hung with him a little bit. Really nice guy.

I'd never seen him like, he had one effing ball. That's hilarious. John Rahm was a little pissed off too. You have mics everywhere now. I think I would still have the, I would like to be able to let it go like that Like that's really cool

It just shows he's human when he plays golf I like it because that's how we all feel There's a clip of Charles Barkley where he's playing golf And he hits and he goes You he messes up He's like you fat mother talking to himself And I'm like I felt that I'm going to see if I can find that

It's so funny But I like it when these world class athletes Suck for a minute I think I found it Damn of you fat Oh my God He's talking to himself. Hilarious!

So, yeah, that's what I'm sorry. I just call myself an idiot every time. Yeah, I'm just so. I just get quiet. I'm just sad. I've been on a struggle bus lately, but I think I got... I'm feeling pretty good about where I am now. I spent a lot of time thinking about it. Late nights.

Yeah, I just think, just grinding teeth because of it. I go through bad ruts playing golf, where I just, like, lose it completely. Where I'm like, which way? in my hands ago, elbow's been in what direction? And then I just can, usually with some help, identify a couple things, and then it's back. And I'm like, oh, but it goes from, it's polar. I'm never like, oh, I played bad.

89, 90. It's like, wow, I played great. 82 or crap, 106. No in between. No in between. A win is a win. A win. A win is a win.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and

entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday.

Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the free IHeart Radio app. Open the app, search NFL Daily and listen now. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars, and now I guess also as the co-host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup.

For us, soccer, football, is a story we've shared for. over 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team. Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, it's hope, it's heartbreak, and above all, it's beauty. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. NCAA 24 is a go. It'll feature actual players for the first time. This is the video game, which is awesome. They have Dynasty mode, which is awesome. Don't think I'm going to be running with the Razorback, hardcore. So college football players, the actual people, not RB8, will be the new EA college football.

There'll be the little guys we play with. It's awesome. Man, that is just some great news. I love it. We play Madden. Got a Madden League. Got an NBA league. I did watch the Redeem team on Netflix.

Do you watch that? Yeah. one that came out last year yeah yeah yeah it's awesome yeah i did not expect it to be that good yeah we had some issues with stanley our bulldog where he had to go the emergency room and i just had to i sat in the emergency room for six hours so i took some earbuds with me and just knew i'd be there a while earbuds and a charger i was ready to go yeah even though he was like convulsing and choking got my earbuds and a charger and we got there and he went in did his thing and i watched it I didn't think I would care too much for it in the way that I did

because I'm like, all right, we didn't play well. We went back and played. We won. Who cares? It was so much better than that. It was a story about all those guys coming together. Nobody really wanted to play. That Kobe stuff, like Kobe's like 5 a.m.

going to the gym and they're all coming in from the club. Yep. And Kobe's like, I'm going to the gym. And they were like, God dang it. So they started going to the gym. It's great. I thought it would be good just because I'm, sports fan. It was great.

The Russia, I didn't even know about the Russia, United States, maybe like 76, 74, I don't know, where they put three seconds back on the clock after the U.S. wins the game. I didn't know that either until I watched that. And Doug Collins makes the free throws to win the game. And then all of a sudden they're like, no, no, bump, even though it's over, put time back on the clock,

they chunk it in the Russia's big man scores and wins the gold medal. Yeah. I had no idea. That was a thing. Same. And it was crooked as crap. That's bull crap. Yeah, yeah. In the U.S., I wouldn't happen. No.

Because we had a cheated. That's right. America. It's really good. I can't say enough about it. I'm never a big Kobe guy. I understood. I appreciated.

But man, after watching Redeme team, like, I really understood and appreciated. And they didn't make them soft. Like, oh, you'd really love Kobe. They were like nobody like Kobe. He's not that kind of guy. But I guess I just saw what my intentions and goals always are.

Just freaking go to work and outwork everybody and eventually it'll shake out. And if it hasn't shaken out yet, I just haven't worked enough and for long enough time. It's great. I recommend it. It was really, really, really great. The Redeemed team on Netflix,

only been out of year, I guess, per Kevin. You mean the one that came out in 2007? Yes, Kevin. I'm just telling you I liked it. Making sure we're talking about the same one here. All right, final thoughts. Let's go. What if say,

Kevin, you go. Okay. This is how I know I'm getting older, right? I was talking to read about this a little bit ago. And I work out five to six days a week, keeping in good shape, do all kinds of different stuff, lifting weights, cardio, whatever. And I'm out at the pool yesterday,

and I'm just laying there getting some sun. And I go to just turn positions, you know, from being on my back to the stomach, and I pulled something in my back. And I think to myself, what? How does something like this happen? I think it's inactivity more than old. What do you mean?

Because when you were younger, you were doing more constantly, physically. I think if you just stayed going the same constant level, you'd still be fine. But obviously, you've slowed down a little bit, even if you work out five or six days a week. I think inactivity more than old, because you're not old. 30. Two. Shoot. I got turds old and you in that toilet over the house.

I just felt like really just. Turning over? This is going to happen? What's going to happen, though, is you're not going to heal as fast. Because I still go extremely hard as well. And when something gets hurt, it pisses me off because I know it's going to be a long time before it's back to normal. And you ain't seen anything yet. And I haven't seen anything yet either. Like, I just know what I'm dealing with now.

In 10 years, I'll be like, man, I wish I had to really appreciate it what I was then. That's the hardest part about being athletic and getting older or still going hard is that when you do, like, tweak something or it just doesn't. go away. It's almost like a birth mark. Like my shoulder that I heard on Dancing with the Stars, it's just basically a birth mark now. I've heard it. I've heard it again and again and again. It will not. I've done therapy. I've done everything. It is what it is. It's like my face.

Might be ugly, but it's mine. Reid, run a video over there. What do you got? Give me a thought. I played 36 holes yesterday and I regret it. My body hurts. I'm chafed in areas that should not be chafed. It was rough. And so I think if I would have started earlier, it would have been okay. But we getting started to like noon so where did you play 36 holes it was uh what was it called 12 stones up in up in goodletsville so a normal course 18 holes normal course yeah it was i mean yeah it was a

long course too there was like four or five par fives and it was a beautiful course though it's like super healy but i'm hurting why i should the chafing or the soreness the chafing the shawerness from working out for the first time and forever. But the chafing. Wait, you worked out other than the golf course? Yeah, I worked out on Saturday. That's probably a big part of it. Yeah, for sure.

And then you go golf. Reed's like, I'm playing 36 holes. I'm so hurt. Okay, I get it. Maybe your sunburn or something. He's like, no, I'm sure of it. What did you do the day before? 700 squads for the first time.

But no, bro. That's what it is. I think it's the chaving, though. Let me end with this. I think this is the most fun I've had watching the NBA playoffs in 10 years. Just with almost every, like Kevin, I know. That makes one of us.

But you have a team involved, right? I don't have a team. I'm talking about just as a casual. Now, more than casual, but not super diehard NBA fan. Like I have NBA Sunday ticket, and I watch that. But this is the most fun of ever how I watch the playoffs. Every team has a storyline. Most of all the series have been really good.

We're at a place now where they're not. They're both 3-0, but you're still invested because it's LeBron and it's Tatum. So shout out NBA. Even, it's the most dramatic I've ever seen the ping pong ball with Wimbayana. Wimbayama. Now you've messed me up on how to say it. I've never messed it up until you said that. So, and one of my buddies, Steve is a huge Spurs fan.

And I was at dinner when they did the ping pong ball. They got it. They did the card. I guess we didn't see the ping pong ball without the card flip. And so I didn't watch it live because I don't care. And then I get a voice text and I hit it. And it's just going, ah! Like yelling.

It was him because he's Dyerd Spurs fan, and it was, like, the greatest for him. So, NBA, you're pretty cool in my book this year. That's it. All right, thank you guys. Thanks again, Draft Kings. Bobby Sports is the code. Follow us on social, please. Because if we get to a thousand, read gets $100.

Oh. We ain't there yet. It shouldn't be that hard read. Come up. You got to post more read. I know. I do need a post more. Like five posts a day, right?

Mike. Yeah. What they say? Doing nude on there, too. Of who, though? We just draw In the wheel, yeah. No chafing, though.

My chafing. All right, thank you guys. Hope you have a great day. See you later on. We're going to do another one this week. We're back like an official capacity this week. And then we're off official capacity until like August, right? Yep.

Let me do the months. January 1, February, March, April, May, June, July. August? Yeah. Yeah. Eight. Oh, we don't even saying that, are we? I think you just announced something.

No, I didn't announce anything. Yeah, I didn't announce anything. We think we could be coming back. We haven't finalized it yet. But we're off for sure. after this. We'll be doing random episodes, but we'll be back again this week. Thank you guys. And for you that listen to this whole thing, we're not going to pull that off the podcast. But we're not even going to address that we said it ever again.

Say what? Exactly. Exactly. All right. Thank you guys. Bye. There it is. Theme song written by Bobby Bones and performed by Brandon Ray. Follow Brandon on socials at Brandon Ray Music. Thanks to our crew, segment producer at Kickoff Kevin, video producer at Reed Yarberry. executive producer at Mike Distro. But most importantly, thank you for listening. I'm Bobby Bones. We'll talk to you next week.

The 26 NFL draft is here, and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft

and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal, on the free IHeart Radio app. Open the app, search NFL daily, and listen now. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard,

but celebrated. Let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. This is much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far. But I'm John Green, co-host of the podcast The Away End with my old friend Daniel.

On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.