The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #87: Philly, Fanatics and Maxey’s Ascension with Blake Wexler

Episode Date: November 15, 2023

Miles and Producer Jabari were pleased to be joined by comedian Blake Wexler for today’s episode. The trio discussed the tremendous starts by the Sixers and Mavericks before transitioning into what the answer might be for the Los Angeles Clippers. Be sure to check out Blake’s comedy special (https://youtu.be/aEnGRBHbyw4?si=Aai5BmrcxZTcHo0n)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry.

Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark vs. Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball.

And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. What's up, y'all? It's Cam Jordan from the New Orleans Saints. Here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast,

Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Catch new episodes every Wednesday and I'll have the biggest NFL stars join me to give a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moment from around the league. So tap in to off

the edge with cam jordan's podcast your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football listen on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts well well and another well the mavs are off to a great start a blinding start some some would say. So are the Timberwolves. And meanwhile, we have the ascension of one Tyrese Maxey of the 76ers. And we'll also talk about some bad business decisions. I almost stumbled over that because some of these decisions were questionable. And we have even more with comedian Blex. What did I just say? I mean, and even more with comedian Blake

Wexler on today's episode leave that in Brian I'm Miles Gray and I'm producer Jabari and this is Miles and Jabari got mad boosties Hello, Blacks Wakeler. Good to have you on. Hi. So good here as Trex Blaster is yeah trials play you i don't know how i blexed that one uh davis you know why it's because i know you well enough that i don't even have to

look at the script and then i can just get tongue-tied uh just with all my excitement for having you on the show blake you have your first hour, your hour comedy special on the YouTube. Daddy Long Legs. People should check into that. I think for people who listen to the other podcasts that Jack and I do, the Daily Zeitgeist, they've seen, they've heard, they know how hilarious you are. But this one is good. And you want people to go check it out. Yeah.

It just came out about a month ago. A bunch of people have watched it. A lot of people from the Zeitgeist family have watched it. And yeah, it is very proud of it. Incredibly proud of it. I stand behind that comedy special. So yeah, yeah.

Check it out. Check it out. You will like it. You will like it or you're wrong. What would make you more proud? That comedy special or a Sixers title this year? Ooh. Oh,

it's a special and it's not even close. It's a thing where I've turned my back in a way and I am a very positive person. So it, to be negative like this is so, it's not like me and it's their fault because I now am like, oh, okay, I'm negative. it's like no

you're not they did this the sixers did this to you they've fundamentally altered your personality for the worse and not not even talking about my my life it's just my what do i have not my personality yeah so yeah it is uh i it's just it makes me sick. And now they're doing the thing. I'm sure we'll get to it. But I know so many people who are saying, Blake, let's go to a Sixers game. Blake, do this. And I go, no, because I'm not stupid.

I'm not dumb. I will only make the same mistake nine years in a row. And I'm done doing it. I'm not doing 10. I'm not doing 10. But how are you? I mean, I know the ad. I'm bad.

Look, we know Sixers fans well. They're part of our lives. We care about them deeply. And this always happens. We're like, I mean, look at where, look at the state of the 76ers currently. Eight straight at the time of this recording. Okay.

We have Tyrese Maxey putting up 50 points. Okay. And B putting up 50 points okay and Bede putting up 37 as a duo they're dynamic what what what could you be upset about who's been playing like this that's his will Chamberlain you're right that's that's his will the dipper uh I think he's one of the biggest dippers I've ever seen by the way people have challenged me on that but i would say as dippers go one of the biggest and if not the biggest so this is the problem with this team is that the torture that i and my sixers family and by that i mean the o'brien family have been through during since the process is they are eight in one and they also have it's a fun in theory it's a fun core and here's the thing with i'm the biggest mb fan i love mb throughout this journey and bead personality wise love him not his fault that he would get hurt but he is complicit in part of

through no fault of his own sometimes and his fault directly a part of the torture where you know he would get sick he got elbowed in the face like there's just been bad luck associated with Embiid even when he won the MVP so now

we have this team Satan won and there's Tyrese Maxey which is so close to drawing me back in because he's a guy so close where we weren't even going to get. So he is the Markel Fultz

that was promised. And he is so good and he's something that the 76ers team has never been, which is pure joy and happiness. And he's young. And the way he plays, he's having fun. He always has a smile on his face.

And his game is so perfectly complimentary to Joel Embiid. And the way that he has grown, where I can't remember, there was this first overall pick that we had who just refused to play and practice with a cell phone in his pocket, went to Brooklyn, and then,

thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. So he did not evolve his game. He didn't learn to shoot. And then you have Maxie, who has worked on improving his game and look how great he's been yeah i'm so close to being drawn back in and we almost didn't get him literally it was like a pick that if oklahoma city had lost the final game of the year that pick would have turned into a second round pick and yet somehow we got that pick for of tyrese Maxey and he fell in the draft um uh after he went to

Kentucky so I'm I'm getting close to being drawn back in but I am proud of myself I'm going I'm not going back in though I do love Tyrese Maxey and I'm cheering for him and Embiid obviously but I I hope the Sixers get moved to Newark right okay so with all of that you just said eight games Tyrese Maxey being literally unlocked being that unshackled, if you will. Tobias Harris playing well. Nick Nurse, the new system. Everything looks great. Embiid, honestly, every bit as good, if not better, than his MVP year.

Yeah. You're not back yet? I don't know if I believe that. I feel like – I know you're back. You don't want to admit you're back because I feel deep down you know you're going to meet your best friend in the second round and then you start the timer all over again i know that's what's going on there's no way i look at this and not be like yes and know that it's it's obviously doing harm to

you but that's just how addiction works sometimes you're like but it's okay let's just do one more ride can i tell you something all of my comedic and wanting to be a good guest sensibilities right now want to yes and you and be like you're right i'm back in i can't even do it i honestly i'm so far out i can't even be a good guest on this it's crazy but for the record you are watching i'm dab i i'm watching because it's just in there so you are exactly that's what i know but it's but you're not back i get it but you are beholding you're beholding the sight the vision i'm not even ducking my head around a corner i'm doing one of those things in a war movie where i have like that mirror that doesn't exist anywhere but these people have for some reason in war where they get like around the

corner and look to see if there's like a person poking out trying to shoot you that's what i'm doing where i don't i don't it's a medusa situation where i'm not watching the sixers straight on i'm watching them through a mirror in my just just to make just to give some distance you're like well this is actually the play happened in the reverse visually of what i actually saw because it's being mirrored exactly exactly and real quick as good as the vibes are right now kelly who's having his best season yeah i just got hit by a car i know that's great just a philadelphia driver hit him hit and run and he's fine thank God. He has a fractured rib, I think. And also, just period. Thank God he's okay.

Full stop. And then also, he should be playing, I think, again, probably in a couple weeks. It's not a season-ending thing, which is great for him. Nick Nurse said that he came to practice as we record this and said he rode the bike and was on his way. So that's good. So it's not too messed up.

But I get it. He flies in the league. Kelly Oubre, first team, all eyes. All eyes. Let's go down the list again. Iris Maxson, great. Joel Embiid, great. Nick Nurse, hey, welcome here. Welcome to the city of brotherly love.

Tobias Harris playing well. 8-1 start. Leading the Eastern Conference. Kelly Oubre having a great year and you know knock on back you know playing well and kelly uber's eyes and we still can't get you to go there yeah it's it's the eyes it's going to be a combination of his eyes and when maxi it maxis the bridge back in and obviously in bead two it's now here's god i i really need it's i'm in therapy so it is like it's a thing that i i hope my therapist doesn't listen to this she's gonna be like oh he doesn't listen to a word i say but yeah if if i do get dragged back in it's obviously gonna be first and foremost maxi i nick nurse it's hard to even acknowledge that there's a coach on this team ever so you know like brett brown when he was

there he didn't deliver really but he was such a likable guy so you watch this guy get tortured by this ridiculous david that you know doc rivers has shortcomings of course i think he's a little under i think doc rivers takes more crap than he deserves but um and now you have nick nurse who seems like he's like uh he plays acoustic guitar and he's interesting i guess and wears cool clothes but yeah it'll be i think maxi will probably end up bringing me back in until he retires mid-season probably for no reason i'm i'm actually i i want good things for you you know because i don't want people to get caught in their cynicism you know unless you know maybe you have the misfortune of liking the

clippers or something but i i don't want somebody to get caught in this cycle of underachieving and frustration i want you to have belief you know because i think it's a beautiful thing and i certainly like watching it's so funny because even though i see it happen every year i'm like oh yeah they're they're cooking let's go yeah and then but it's just so funny i feel like there's more people like maybe all the philly fans are just wheeling it into existence with their negative like yeah wait till the second round uh and then we're right back but hey um it's so funny yeah we'll see they are on paper more fun and we'll see they'll probably add a like a third person where i know a lot of fans sixers fans want like a zach levine yeah you should take him you should take him you should take him

because lakers fans are also saying the same exact thing. They're like, yeah, maybe him. I'm like, let's not get too caught up in the recency bias here. Let's take an expanded view of what we're talking about here. No, it's true. I think it's more that he's gettable for those reasons that you're just saying. I think

you're alluding to. Who knows? We'll see. We'll see. i'm so damaged it's okay it's okay time in on this one are they playing like the best duo in the league right now i recognize it on paper right now you don't have to say they're gonna win you win it all but best duo in the league thank you for handling me with kid gloves yeah no i i do believe they are playing that way and also you know mb does get moody i you can't blame him and it's he's had difficulty in the past connecting with say like a ben simmons and he seemed to get along well enough with harden but it does seem

like there's i think he used the phrase big brother little brother situation with him and maxi and i think if you have a guy that much younger than mb it is and who does um not divert but defer to mb when the time's right and also helps his game spreads the floor it is a really special combo right so yeah i think right now they're incredibly who would you have in that conversation other like jaylen brunson and joshua who else would you put in as that died matter duos i mean you know like the obvious ones are the big names or like brown and yeah yeah yeah jalen brown and dylan brooks clearly or no excuse me um jaylen green and dylan brooks clearly no yeah tatum and uh and and jay in um jaylen brown yeah i threw you a whole bunch of names that have jumbled yeah you're doing great yeah and there's a bunch of them it's like

if we talk about what's the most popular name in the league they've got like seven jaylen's on okc's roster i don't know how that's possible but yeah yeah, AD, Khan, Brook, and KD, Giannis, and Dame. Right now, those names are bigger, but I actually think that that combo is playing the best so far. I think so through the nine games. It felt like, I'm sure, at the end of the season, everybody was pointing at the numbers of

Brook and KD, and like, yeah, that was like, yeah, 100%. And then, I get that the Giannis and dame thing the excitement there but i was just asking jabari before recording i'm like but what is dame actually doing because i remember in the beginning i saw some great moments and i was like okay they're off to something but then i'd like then maybe two weeks ago i was catching a game i'm like okay is he does he like playing defense?

And now I was asking Jabari, I'm like, are the numbers there to support it? Or does he seem a little deflated? I think his three, I've heard that his three point percent, or that he hasn't been shooting threes as well. But I may have seen that on the ESPN bottom line four weeks ago, and now I'm repeating it as if it's fact. But yeah, I think Jabari. Yeah, Jabari, where are we at? It's still facts.

He's shooting in the 20s from deep. He's shooting like 37% from the floor. He's never shot an incredible percentage from the floor because he shot so many threes. Right. But really, what it, you know, and look, this is me from the outside looking in what it appears is is that they're still going to have to figure that roster out around him

whether that means bringing in complimentary players to actually help him out um you know you know what you're going to get um and and and he's and he's he's still been playing incredibly well you know he had a 54 point night the other night um and i do think that dame will eventually settle into his own but part of me does think that it it really is a bigger adjustment than a lot of us you know anticipated in terms of going from being like the big fish in a small pond all of a sudden no you're expected to win a title this year alongside yeah yeah it feels a little bit like i don't know like just the perceived slump in his performance. There's no way the not going to Miami thing isn't affecting him.

It's hard for me to believe that, because that was like me Christmas of 1992 with the Super Nintendo. I was like, I need that! It's like Smeagol with it, you know what I mean? Shout out to my parents for not letting me go full golem and giving me the the console of my choice but yeah i feel like that that there's no way that isn't affecting you as a like your performances i know obviously as a professional you should be able to switch gears and i know there were the rumors were like he will not play if it is not miami and i'm bet obviously some of that is hyperbole to try and further a deal but i'm sure on some level that is rooted in some kind of truth for him personally and i think maybe i don't

know hopefully it's just a matter of time and he can figure it out but yeah i don't know it does seem like it's not quite clicking he is also a 6 to 33 year old you know where it's like he has his game on paper that sounds like an insult for some reason no no no I meant it as an insult but like just in general not even the context of basketball

you're a 6 to 33 year old I don't know why that feels get out of my face I can't look at you yeah Gen Z insults that just cut you to core like wow anyway sorry anyway he's a six foot two 33 year old six foot two 33 year old ed which i would you know tear an arm off to have someone say something like that about me but it's his body has put like he does have kind of some rough mileage on his body carrying

those teams and you know it's i think like in later in this season i'm sure there'll be like a 10 game stretch where he's like i have a sore knee or whatever and then he'll recover and then they'll be like the most dangerous team in the league but you know it is there is also a point to be made like it's it's he's put hard miles on his body and now he's like in a new situation to miles's point he didn't get to go to the team that he wanted to go to and he's not the star anymore right yeah yeah obviously so yeah all right. Let's take a break and we'll come back and we'll talk a little bit more. Maybe some Luca, maybe some Joker. Who knows?

To grab back. We'll be right back. I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil.

I ain't really hear them voice. I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her.

What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke.

All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans Saints here to tell you it's going down on season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it. You know what's going to happen. Can't stop it. That's right. Catch new episodes every Wednesday, all season long. That's what you look for in year 14, to do more. No days off. And I'll have my friends, who happen to be some of the NFL's biggest stars join me on the pod.

We'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it. Ha! Yeah! Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than... Psyche!

You'll have to tune in to find out. So tap in to Off the edge with cam jordan's podcast your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football listen on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts when you think of mexican culture you think of avocado mariachi delicious cuisine and of course, Lucha Libre. It doesn't get more Mexican than this. Lucha Libre is known globally because it is much more than just a sport and much more than just entertainment. Lucha Libre is a type of storytelling. It's a dance.

It's tradition. It's culture. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, the emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Santos! Santos! Santos Escobar. Join me as we learn more about the history behind this spectacular sport from its inception

in the United States to how it became a global symbol of Mexican culture. We'll learn more about some of the most iconic heroes in the ring. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask as part of my Cultura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. And we are back. I said we are. That's not proper English. How about this one? And we are back i said we're are that's uh that's not proper english how about this one and we're back aha got it let's talk a little bit uh luca and the maps they're doing pretty well

i'd say they're doing pretty well although it's funny because a lot of our guests over the like off season they were doing a lot there were a lot of their hot takes were like watch the mavs not even get a whiff of the postseason or like or it's going to be you know early lights out for them in the postseason but and i get obviously it's so early but um they're starting from a decent place i'd say yeah look i was i was on the opposite end of that um and i i'll be honest with you i thought um i might be wrong about this, and I might be going out on a limb, but I felt like they had a great offseason. Obviously, if you've been paying attention to the Mavericks over the last, say, decade

or probably their entire existence, but over the last decade, they hadn't had a lot of productive offseasons. It was always like, oh, they went after this guy, didn't quite get him. They went after the guy, didn't quite get him. But they've solidified the roster. It looks significantly better. Luca may finally be the MVP that a lot of people have been begging for him to be for the last, like, seemingly three, four years. You know, he's only been in the league five, six years.

Yeah. And you know what? The Kyrie thing, while I personally may have had reservations or questions about it, at the very least, right now it's working. So, you know, the things look good for them, especially when, you know, when Luka himself personally plays the Clippers. Yeah. So the Clippers had the misfortune of intersecting with this Mavs team recently. And Luka has a bit of he kind of has their number like he likes to turn up against the Clippers so in that game he had 44 points on 17 from 20 17 to 21 from the floor they went on a 34 35 to 4 run in the second quarter and like what's the

like he's always going like above his average like he's he's over performing right against the Clippers Jabari yeah against them in the regular season he's a 33 9 and 8 guy it gets even worse in the postseason 34 9 and 10 you know he scored 40 or more against them 11 times in a regular season and postseason combined and he even went for 51 last you know last uh last Februarybruary it's one of those things where when this clippers you know uh team was put together and not to take it away from you know not to take it away from luca but when this clippers team was put together they were you know respected journalists and analysts asking questions like who's going to score in this team

who who on the perimeter is going to score it well i'll tell you it might be a few years later but it doesn't matter luca is the answer to that question it is going to score? Well, I'll tell you, it might be a few years later, but it doesn't matter. Luka is the answer to that question. It is interesting, too, where I have this weird bias, this Tim Hardaway bias, where he's stuck in my head as the guy who was a part of that wild Porzingis trade in 2019 as kind of a throw-in. But now there's players like that where they have a lot of hype around them and

they don't meet that hype but then after time you can kind of reset that hype where now they're not being paid in that way anymore and they now like their role changes and become like a complementary player and i think this version of i'm also laughing where you sorry you have luca dodgers is one of the like objectively the most interesting player in the league and i'm also laughing where you sorry you have luca dodgers is one of the like objectively the most interesting player in the league and i'm rambling about tim hardaway jr right now but this is a good complimentary player version of him where he comes off the bench he's giving you like whatever past few years like 14 to 17 points his three-point percentage is like pretty good and obviously kyrie irving he's just such a hard guy

to even acknowledge but he is like you know they still have a kairi irving so um yeah they're an exciting i think like a lot of bias in the offseason was kairi's gonna blow up and then you know luca as amazing as he is hasn't put it all together yet, which is scary because he's still one of the best players in the league. But now they are clicking in a crazy way. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Also, the Clippers.

We saw former 76er James Harden come home to Southern California. pardon come come home you know to southern california um and i think i mean a lot of people were like how what's what's how is this gonna go it seems to be going not good at all and i'm not trying to make jokes because they're literally oh and four with him uh and i'm like i was telling jack before even we recorded i was like man I don't know what's going on. Jack was like, ah, just I feel bad for him. Feel bad for him. I'm curious. How do you what what's your how, you know, from Blake from Blex Wakeler from what's how are you?

How are you looking at what is happening with with Harden and the Clippers right now? They're my new favorite team. No kidding. That's who I cheer for now. No, it's... So I always loved James Harden. I had an Arizona State James Harden jersey. Yo! Yeah. Yeah.

And I also... It was the year... It was him and O.J. Mayo, I think, was like that. I scooped up a bunch of weird college jerseys that year where I had Arizona State, James Harden. I had OJ Mayo, Southern California, and then Michael Beasley, Kansas State. And I really, really blew through my allowance that year but um so with James Harden I was psyched for him to become a sixer because I thought he could become because on paper the guy led the league in assists last year which is I think he had over 11 assists per game um over 22

or over 20 points, whatever he scored. And you're like, oh, this guy seems like on paper the perfect running mate. Or it seems as if he's accepted his role now as an aging guy who can't get off the ground anymore, but still can be a very useful player. But he hasn't accepted that role. He still thinks that he's a top,

at worst, a top four player in the league, and he wants to be paid like it. And that's why he's not in Philadelphia anymore. So now you put him on a team, and I do want him to do well, because I've always cheered for Harden. In his prime, he was one of the most fun players, I think, to watch.

It was also infuriating how he would go foul fishing, but still, I didn't mind that. I would love to see this Clippers team. It's classic this Clippers team where it's all based on potential rather than what is. It was the same thing

with Paul George. He just hasn't been healthy. Then you have James Harden who thinks that he should still be the number one option on any team. And it's not that surprising. It'll even out, but it's been weird to watch, for sure, them be this bad. Yeah. As a fan of a team that started 2-10 last season and then were able to kick themselves out of the gutter i do

i'm with you in terms of it doesn't have to stay this way but part of me and i'm and you know what clippers fans you know like all 12 of you guys out there i'm not i'm not ragging when i say this but what i will say is the only way this changes is if one of either James Harden or Russell Westbrook accepts coming off the bench and accepts a significantly lesser role. And I'm going to be honest with you. I just don't see that taking place. Now, maybe they can have some players meetings and Kawhi can sit there and not say anything. And Paul George can maybe chime in and whatever. But honest to God, James Harden came in and said,

I am not just a player. I am a system. I am the system. That's not a guy that's going to adjust anytime soon. And while I don't have any personal beef with him, part of me will continue to enjoy the sadness that Clippers fans are experiencing. Yeah, I mean, the system-itis. You know, you can can't you saw that

clip that was going on Twitter when they were playing Memphis right oh when he system of brown yeah sir sir this is a family show this is a family show by like when he was snake the way he was the way he was wiping his souls like this was like high school like man watch this because you know the camera's only here to watch me right kind of energy to only get rejected twice because was that an airball or was it blocked i think it was a block he goes and he gets the rebound and he gets blocked again. Then he got blocked again. And you're like, well, that's well, hey, sometimes it's hard. It's hard to acknowledge, you know, kind of the reality of the situation. But, hey, I think I'm sure something will occur.

I've heard the rumor, like the rumors, you know, flying that, like, you know, Kawhi is really not not really not enjoying what's happening. I think to put it lightly, which understandably. So all I know is when Kawhi went, you know, chose to go there rather than accepting the Lakers offer. He said, I don't want the silly, basically I'll paraphrase because like,

I'm just based in space and it's on the eyes that, you know, that he made, but I don't want that nonsense. I don't want the, you know, all of the stuff that comes along with super teams, just to get thrown together yeah that's exactly what he's got now yeah yeah you know my mother always said if you don't have something positive to say on a podcast

go to commercial break and that's what we're gonna do we'll be right back i'm carrie champion and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game.

Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically

black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans Saints here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it. You know what's going to happen. Can't stop it. That's right. Catch new episodes every Wednesday, all season long. That's what you look for in year 14, to do more. No days off!

And I'll have my friends who happen to be some of the NFL's biggest stars join me on the pod. We'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen?

moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it. Ha! Yeah! Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month join me to mix it up a little bit who is it none other than psych you have to tune in to find out so tap in to off the edge with cam jordan's podcast your ultimate playbook for all things

football and not football listen on the iheart radio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. When you think of Mexican culture, you think of avocado, mariachi, delicious cuisine, and of course, lucha libre. It doesn't get more Mexican than this. Lucha libre is known globally because it is much more than just a sport and much more than just entertainment. Lucha libre is a type of storytelling. It's a dance. It's tradition.

It's culture. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, the emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Santos! Santos! Join me as we learn more about the history behind this spectacular sport

from its inception in the United States to how it became a global symbol of Mexican culture. We'll learn more about some of the most iconic heroes in the ring. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask as part of My Cultura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts.

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. And we're back. Oh, boy. Oh, Blex Wakeler, if it isn't my arts nemesis. You have wandered into the podcast hot seat,

the sports podcasting hot seat, the fastest sports question and answering segment in all hot seat, the sports podcasting hot seat, the fastest sports question answering segment in all podcast history, all sports podcasting history, all NBA sponsored podcast history, all NBA iHeart collaborative podcasts that are co-produced together history, to get even more specific. Hosted by someone whose family has a background in basketball coaching and another one who does not

but is blasian that is all we can say we do have that is undisputable here we are it's the fourth quarter round of questioning what flex no you it's you can't poke holes in that statement you just made it is undisputed try it go ahead i can't i won't i'm trying to it's other podcasts there are lawyers trying to come for us and i say did you hear how specific i got i didn't say anything that was untrue okay and if you want to debate those other things like jack or i's family lineage that's a whole other podcast we're doing that's a sponsored one that's a deep dive into our genealogy but anyway that's great you found a sponsor for that yeah yeah yeah it's difficult it's difficult but hey when you get specific they love it now let's get to the fourth quarter rapid round of fire rapid fire round of questioning

we are going to ask you a question don't think about it you just respond don't showboat keep it quick keep it right keep it tight are you ready brian start the clock brian i'm sorry he yelled at you me too brian's okay he's he played in a lot of bands so his his hearing isn't great that's why i do it it's not it's not anger it's a volume thing okay for a rapid round you sure are wading into this slowly wait a second at some point good lord what is happening you You know what? I appreciate that. I respect your game. I was not familiar with your game. I'm sorry about that.

Okay, here we go. Question number the first. Jabari, you go. Actually, Jabari, you go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blake, are you ready? I just want to make sure. I'm ready. Thank you for asking. Brian, you ready? Brian, everybody ready ready let's hold

let's get confirmation are you with us can you just put it in the chat sorry sorry sorry sorry okay blake coming up first i don't know if brian's ready hold on oh my man my bad please keep this okay this is the whole show this has always been the show all right so we're good we're good we're good let's go okay all right like yeah give us your best hot take for this nba season i know it's already started and you can kind of get away with cheating and acting like you made it at the beginning yeah give it to us now fire it off uh the wemby will not win Rookie of the Year. Oh. I like that.

I don't think that body's going to hold up. I think he's going to miss some games. I hope he doesn't. I hope he's healthy the whole season. I just think... Yeah. I think... Who's winning?

It's not going to be Chet. I can't say. Because a lot of people are picking... I guess Chet Holmgren is probably the second most favored but the kid not Bart yeah

yeah I got you is winning okay Blake are you know Philadelphia pretty well don't you I do why I'm from I'm also living here currently Blake, you know Philadelphia pretty well, don't you? I do. Why? I'm also living here currently.

Okay, fine. I guess I'll take that as evidence that you know something about Philadelphia. How about this? One of these gotta go. The Philly cheesesteak, Tasty Cakes, Burrito's water ice. You stuck the landing on the water, too. I want Tasty Cakes out. Oh, wow.

Which guy or just go on? You just don't like the Tasty Cakes? For me, I just think it's just what, they almost killed Bill Clinton, and that's why, and I don't want to elaborate. But I will. I think he would have them flown into uh dc and that's obviously not why i just like the other things a lot more for me it's cheesesteaks rita's and then tasty cakes i was gonna say like i didn't know what else to put to be honest if i

was if i just can be transparent about how i was forming this question i didn't know if to put like a hoagie also. Cause obviously that's a, that's a staple thing or like a, like one of like a roast pork, you know, I know that's another, that's another thing you guys like out there,

but I, okay. I'm glad. Unwarranted aggression. Yeah. If you want, I want it to go or hostility towards the members of your sports teams. One of the,

one of these Philadelphia staples has to go. Okay. Okay. I really appreciate your thorough answer there, but I got to be honest with you. This is the rapid fire. That's right. Yes, you're right. I'm sorry.

It's weird. It's supposed to be fast. It's not Blake's breakdown. I'm sorry. It's not the breakdown, even though that's... You know what? Let's pitch that. That's happening off mic. I'm around.

You can go back in time. You can permit either AI. There's one right answer here, okay? Yeah. You can permit either AI or Philly Chuck to make a run with this particular squad. Which one are you choosing to take that ride? And don't get this wrong.

It has to be AI. It has to be AI. Brianrian cut his mic let's get the hell out of here you're going with barkley i i'm a i'm a barkley stand so that it i look i'm telling you i'm i'm with you blake i'm a barkley stand too it's just i no one can touch ai also bubba chuck is one of AI's many nicknames. So I thought, I'm like, wait, it's Philly Chuck. Do you want to call him Philly Chuck? Oh, no, no, no.

Or AI. I'm specifying Chuck when he was in Philly. The round bound or rebound, if you will. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. And I will. All right. And why AI? Why this?

I believe his name is Alan Iverson. Sure, sure, sure, sure, sure sure he's been in the new to me he has been yeah uh he's now yes the vice president of reebok basketball alan iverson um congratulations to him which that is a cool story i really like that a lot yeah but ai is one of the most i i would say it's hard to find a more interesting athlete, not even just in basketball, than he is. Where what he did bringing to the culture in the NBA and how people hold him on a pedestal. Where I've never seen, when you see him wandering. Yeah, right, right.

Okay, more on that later. We got to really keep this moving Blake so the next question so if you go back in history no I believe the genesis of this was we have to keep this moving because you are you're putting this the lawyers are calling you right now they're like this is not

I don't want to get you in trouble okay next one if an alien came down right up to your door, knock, knock, guess who? You open the door and the alien is like, you need to prove you are a Sixers fan. I don't know how you prove this to me, but prove to me

you are a Sixers fan or I am taking you away in this here spaceship. What do you do or say to show them, prove to them, that you are in fact a philadelphia sixers fan and they go oh okay i shivari's like you flip them off i would open my robe to reveal the fact that i'm wearing an eric snow jersey and then i'd say good day sir and i'd shut the door honestly the alien would say all right yeah you got it yeah i have a trip to go on the way yeah and second thought the philly freezer second thought you want my spaceship i realize i'm not built for any of this anymore

shook to my core it tosses me the keys they have keys yeah it's the Mazda. Wait, what? All right. You can take two players from all of history to create your special edition Mad Boosties NBA Jam team. Which two players are you taking? Beyond Charles Barkley, of course. Beyond Barkley. I'm taking the glove, Gary Payton, because he will get you the ball back the the swipe his ability to get steals the swipe from half court they called him the glove i called him the swipe of i would go iverson and then wait is there an oh i'm sorry i'm sorry i meant i meant

gary paid gary paid and you know what i'm going camp too i'm gonna keep it in the oh i'm sorry i'm sorry i meant i meant gary paid gary and you know what i'm going camp too i'm gonna keep it in the family i'm gonna keep it on the 90s they were so much fun right play with what if i was like a bet left shrimp and dirk novitski i would say oh i see what time what I see what time it is. Rick Smith and Marc Gasol. Yeah. Yes. One of the good ones. Oh, man.

Okay. And last question. Yeah. This is important, man. I want you to look us dead in our eyes when you answer this. Pick one. Jabari or Miles? Go.

Right now. Go. Miles. What does that mean? I'm going Jabari because he books this hey here it is i mean it makes sense to me i don't i don't know jack still catches strays out here look look how replaceable this show is like other people on this show jack you can just have anyone come in you you know, whereas Jabari is permanent. Wow.

Yeah. Anyone. Jabari catches strays. Everybody's catching strays. Yeah. No one's safe when the street sweeper is out here. Miles was just available. Yeah.

You can just open the business. Wow. Oh, my gosh. Well, Blake Wexler, thank you so much for joining us on this edition of Mad Boosties. Where do people find you, see you, follow you, hear you, all that kind of fantastic stuff? Thank you. This was an absolute blast. Thank you for having me. I would love to do it again. It's always good having you. Yeah, it's the best. And my hour special, Blake Wexler, Daddy Long Legs, is streaming on youtube i'm gonna be in asheville

december 1st doing stand-up and i have a new show weekly show in brooklyn new york where uh first one's december 16th at goannas uh in goannas at strong rope brewery so december 16th 8 p.m free the first one so come out nice yeah enjoy some comedy and some suds while you do that and you can find us first of all you can follow the show on at hashtag mad not at hashtag but hashtag thank you so much where you know

you can stay you know abreast with all the findings and developments that we have on the show including new episodes things of that nature and then you can find me on twitter and all that kind of stuff at miles of gray. Why would they find you? I'm at Jabari Davis NBA. Make sure you find Jack at Jack underscore.

All right. All right. And yeah, that'll do it for us this week. We're going to be back next week because so is the NBA. So you can guarantee that. We'll see you then. Take care. Bye.

I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history.

People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry.

Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball. And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. What's up, y'all? It's Cam Jordan from the New Orleans Saints here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan.

Catch new episodes every Wednesday, and I'll have the biggest NFL stars join me to give a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moment from around the league. So tap in to Off the Edge with Cam Jordan podcast, your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.