The Kevin Sheehan Show - Heat Square Series + Mini Camp Eve

Episode Date: June 5, 2023

Kevin opened with Miami's Game 2 win in Denver and local Denny McCarthy's playoff loss at The Memorial. Then it was Nicki Jhabvala/Washington Post the rest of the way. They talked Commanders' sale, Mini-Camp, and we found out that Nicki grew up in a household of Redskin fans!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Cheon Show. Here's Kevin. Denver does have a timeout, but they're not using it. Four seconds. Murray, step back, three-pointers.

One goal. It's over. The Miami Heat have tied the NBA finals. Mike Breen on ABC last night with the final call. Jamal Murray's three-point attempt to try to force overtime just missed. And Miami has squared. the NBA finals at a game apiece. Great basketball game last night.

Much more coming up on that in a few minutes. One guest on the show today, Nikki Javala from the Washington Post, will be on with me. We will talk Washington football. Tomorrow is day one of mandatory mini-camp, three days of mini-camp. Today was what they call an in-house media day.

You may have seen some of the social media. Chase Young is there. Curtis Samuels wearing jersey number four this year without Taylor Heineke on the team. You may see later on today, or maybe even you've seen it, as you're listening to this podcast, a couple of interviews with some of the players with Julie Donaldson or London Fletcher, you know, the in-network, the team in-network. broadcast group. And I think maybe one of those interviews will be with Chase Young.

But he is there. So was Leno Jr. So was Montez Sweat. Mini-Camp tomorrow. And that'll be it. Once we get through minicamp this week, it's waiting for training camp to get underway, end of July,

first part of August. So the players will have some time off. But Nikki Javala coming up on the show, a show today that is brought to you by, Window Nation. You can beat the heat and the humidity with Window Nation's summer sale. Save thousands today with no money down, no payments, and no interest for two full years. Plus, Windonation will give you two free windows with every two you buy. No limit. Protect and increase the value of your home today. Call them at 86690 Nation. Go online at windownation.com. Mention my name. You'll get a free estimate.

so there's really nothing to lose, but no interest for two years and half price on the windows because you're getting too free with every two you buy. 86690 Nation or online at window nation.com. I did not hear, by the way, the sonic boom yesterday afternoon here in the D.C. area. for those of you who know what I'm talking about, it was around 3 o'clockish in the afternoon, and there was a loud boom that was heard basically throughout the Washington area. I don't even know what I was doing at that time.

I think I was watching golf. I was watching golf because I was watching Denny McCarthy try to win the memorial. More on that coming up. But apparently there was a plane that was flying into restricted airspace, and they turned the F-16s on this plane that was flying in DC restricted airspace. And as they were chasing down the plane, one of these F-16s hit the speed of sound, you know, Mach 2. and that created the boom. I wish I had heard it, but I did not. I was completely oblivious to it.

Now, unfortunately, that plane, they could not get the attention of the pilot. That flight flew into Southern Virginia and crashed killing four on board. That's what we know about it as of now. There was definitely some information that wasn't totally clear. yesterday afternoon into even last evening, but it does appear as if the sonic boom that was heard was an F-16 chasing down a Cessna that was in restricted airspace and that Cessna with four on board crashed, killing all four. Reminds me, sadly, of that Payne Stewart flight, remember, because you would have to assume that, you know, for whatever reason, something had incapacitated,

incapacitated the pilot and perhaps the other three passengers on board. And it may have been the loss of oxygen because that plane was flying, I think, at 32,000 feet, something like that. But sad that it happened. But anyway, so let's start with Game. two of the NBA finals. What a game that was last night. And I'm so glad Miami won the game. Most of you know at this point, I just want to keep watching basketball. And so midway through the second quarter last night, when Denver had turned an 11-point deficit into a 15-point lead, a 26-point turnaround, it was at that moment, I said, this is going to be a very short series. Miami just hit him with a couple of haymakers to open up game two, and Denver didn't blink,

and they're up 15, and Miami can't guard them. And I thought this is just going to be one of those things where the better team is much better, and I was dead wrong on this being a seven-game series. But I shouldn't have, because Miami's been down double digits in so many games in this postseason, on the road, and they've come back, and they came back, and they won the game. And now I have hoped for what I had predicted, which was a long seven game series. I'm still not sure about that. It's not like I said it super confidently.

I said six or seven, but my actual prediction was Denver and seven. But, man, Miami was impressive last night. They were impressive from the bench to start with. Eric Spolstra is really, really good. And on Friday, we had Chris Miles from NBA TV on the show, and we were talking about sort of what the strategies were. And I think I had talked a little bit about sort of the ideas that I had for Miami prior to having Chris on. And Chris did expect Miami to really come out and give its best effort, even though he liked Denver to win the game last night. I did not bet the game.

The line went off at nine again. I didn't touch it. And Miami won the game. And to me, they won the game first and foremost because of their defense. More than anything else, Miami won last night because of the defense they played against Denver. I know they shot 17 of 35 from behind the arc. And that was a big reason why they won the game. They weren't going to win the game without shooting 17 of 35.

from behind the arc. But it was their defense that was impressive to me all night long. And Eric Spolstra made the adjustment. He made several adjustments, but the one big adjustment, at least lineup-wise, that he made, is he inserted Kevin Love into the starting lineup, allowing Love to guard Aaron Gordon and Jimmy Butler to guard Jamal Murray. And when we talked on Friday, I said, you know,

to me, it's Miami guarding Denver that, you know, it's got to change. I mean, Gordon had attacked a much smaller cover in game one early. They struggled all night to cover Denver in game one, even though Denver didn't shoot it great from behind the arc. It was, you know, it was bigger and stronger and better. Jamal Murray got off, and I said on Friday, Jamal Murray is the one that you got to focus on. And I even threw out, you know, I'd even consider, I know it's kind of high school college-ish, but I'd even consider some sort of box and one on Murray with Butler guarding him and just don't double Yokic and let's see what happens. And you know what? They played so many defenses last night, but it started with love in the starting lineup, Butler guarding Jamal Murray,

and Butler was outstanding on Jamal Murray. Butler has definitely taken a major step backwards in terms of his aggressiveness as a score. I would even suggest he hasn't played well offensively, and the shooting percentages would suggest that. But last night, his defense on Murray was outstanding. Jamal Murray ended up with 18 points on just 15 shot attempts. Second lowest output for him during the postseason. And really the lower output was in a blowout win. And I, you know, he had 26 in game one on 11 of 22 from the floor.

And if that game had been more competitive in the fourth quarter, it's possible he would have, you know, scored another six to eight points. He's, he averaged 32 and a half in the Western Conference Finals. You could have made the case for him as the MVP of the Western Conference Finals. And I just thought that that's the guy that you really have to stop from getting off. Like if he continues to get 26 to 30 something a night and Yokic is getting double digits assists and also getting 28, impossible. It's going to be really hard anyway. And Spolstra, they ran, you know, the new lineup. They covered Murray with their best defender,

Jimmy Butler. And Butler's so strong. He's also longer than you think. And he really disrupted Murray. And it wasn't just Jimmy Butler defensively. They were all great. Bam's been phenomenal in these first two games. He's been their most valuable player. It's amazing what an offensive facilitator, BAM, is. I mean, they've got him out in transition, making decisions early in a possession. And he's making all the right decisions so far in the first two games. But they all really guarded last night, and they did a great job guarding. Kyle Lowry, for 37, 38 years old and his size, man, does he battle defensively?

So I thought it was their defense overall. And then, of course, 17 to 35 doesn't hurt. It was a big part of it. And then I think there was this stretch in the basketball game. There were two of them in particular. When they got down by 15, I really thought this is over. And over the next seven minutes, including the last five or so of the first half, first two to two and a half of the second half,

they turned a 15-point deficit into a tie ball game. And this has been part of the Heat's MO during the postseason. They just don't go away. It doesn't matter how many points you have them down by. And given the altitude in Denver's home record, and I just didn't think this was going to be the night, but they worked their way back into that game, and that was a massive stretch.

end of first half early third quarter. They not only hung in there, they came back and tied the game. But then Denver got some distance and led by eight at the end of the third quarter. And then the second most important part of that game was the beginning of the fourth quarter. And Miami, Duncan Robinson in particular, scored 10 points in like three minutes. I mean, Duncan Robinson, by the way, has been really, really good as a shooter, of course, but I think he's been excellent, you know, off the drive and his decision-making and his playmaking. And he just, that stretch of basketball at the beginning

of the fourth quarter, when they went from down eight to up 12, I mean, that wasn't the beginning of the quarter, but eventually they led by 12. There was a 20-point turnaround in the fourth quarter. But those first four minutes of the fourth quarter, when they went from down 83 to 75 to up like 92 to 87, that was massive. And then Butler came in and Butler kind of closed it out in kind of Jimmy Butler fashion, knocked down a huge three, got an and one three-point play, hit a tough 18-foot pull-up jump shot when all of a sudden Denver had hit back-to-back threes. Gordon made a three. Jamal Murray made a three. And Denver kept coming. They had an opportunity. And then the very end of the game sequence was interesting. You know, Denver's got the ball. They're up by three, 11-108. And with about 12 seconds to go, Jimmy Butler takes a step back three. I actually thought it was going in and I thought it was a good

look for them. And Denver with two timeouts rebounded the ball, about 11 and a half seconds, roughly left. They could have called timeout. They could have advanced the ball into the front court. They would have had a chance to extend the game, perhaps, you know, go for a quick two to get it down to a point and then foul. They would have had another timeout to move the ball. If both free throws were made, they would have still had a chance to shoot a three at the end to tie it. But they didn't. They decided to go without a timeout, and Murray got a look, but he got a look after Butler had knocked the ball out of his hands, back towards half court. He went to retrieve it and then, you know, had to hit a contested step back. Look, he's made that shot a lot. I don't know why Malone

didn't use a time out there. I don't know. It's a small knit to pick because Murray had a pretty good look. And that's, you know, if you are telling, you know, Denver, you're going to get Jamal Murray on a step back three. It's going to be contested, you know, by Butler, but he's going to get, you know, some space to shoot it. You know, you'd take that. But I think you could have extended the game there by using your final two timeouts. He didn't. Malone, by the way, talked about effort after the game. I mean, part of his whole diatribe after the game was that he didn't think his guys gave enough effort. Man, that's tough to question a team that's been on this kind of a role that hasn't lost. at home in the postseason to question their effort. He knows his team.

Now, he's right defensively. They were not dialed in defensively, and they haven't been at times during this postseason. They're not, you know, they're not the most consistent of defensive teams, but man, did they lose shooters? You know, in the other night in game one, and we talked about this on Friday, you know, Miami had the open looks.

They just didn't knock them down. And if they had, you know, it would have been a more competitive finish in game one. Well, they knocked him down and they let Struce get off early. Gabe Vincent was phenomenal. I thought Kyle Lowry played really well again, and here we are, a game apiece. Now it's Denver's turn going to Miami on Wednesday night.

What do they do? Well, I mean, they've got to figure out a way to get Jamal Murray going again, no matter what Miami plays defensively. I think they can use Murray actually on the post. I mean, Butler's a tough, because he's so strong, but Murray's pretty good scoring from just about anywhere. But they were blitzing those pick and rolls, and he just had a tough, tough night. And I also think clearly Denver's got to improve defensively, because these teams typically shoot much better from home than they even do on the road. And so you can't leave off of pick and rolls.

and even the screen's off ball. You can't leave shooters wide open. They ran a curl with Duncan Robinson last night, and I understand the attention. Duncan Robinson should get off of a downscreen. But both defenders went with Robinson, and they left Gabe Vincent wide open for a corner three. And there was just a lot of miscommunication defensively from the Nuggets.

But two, you know, well-coached teams, so much so with Miami. It's really, Spolstra has etched in stone his Hall of Fame status as a coach. And last night was a beauty for him and for that team. I mean, they're just tough.

And remember, you know, about Miami, the one thing we've realized during this postseason, they have shooters. You know, they got a bunch of guys that can really shoot it. You know, from Struis to Vincent to, to

to Duncan Robinson, obviously. Lowry's had some moments. Kevin Love can extend it. Jimmy can shoot the three. It is, you know, the kid Highsmith that's come in. He can shoot it. They've got a lot of shooters. So, Denver, it's, Miami came out and they were the urgent team.

They were the physical team. Denver's going to have to get that way defensively, and they're capable of that, for sure. but we're 1-1 going back to Miami. I don't know what to expect the rest of the way. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy it. I mean, I think it's nuts to bet against the heat anymore, and I didn't.

I had them in game one. They didn't cover. I didn't play the game last night. They're two and a half point dogs at home in game three. I still think Denver is going to prove to be the better team, and they're going to win their first ever NBA championship. man, this Miami team is fun to watch for so many different reasons. Fun to watch for most of the day yesterday was Muirfield Village, the Memorial Jack's course

in Columbus or Dublin, Ohio. And the reason for some of us, especially locally, that it was so much fun to watch was that Denny McCarthy, Georgetown Prep Zone, UVA zone. I know a lot of people in Denny's family coached one of his youngest cousins in basketball. Denny was a very good basketball player at Georgetown Prep. In fact, last week they had a PGA three-point shooting contest with tour players at Ohio State, and Denny won it easily. He can really shoot it.

We've had Denny on the podcast and on the radio show several times over the last few years, and I think he mentioned to me once that Gary Woodlands are really good, basketball player. I think he said Dustin's a good player. There were a couple of others, but Denny's a good all-around athlete. He just, he's a good athlete. And he was in contention to win for the first time on tour. He's been close a couple of times, but not like yesterday and not, you know, at a venue or at a tournament like yesterday. That is, you know, one of the bigger PGA tour events. And it's played on a brutally tough golf course. And Denny had a two-shot lead on the back nine and then had a one-shot lead coming

21-18 over Victor Hovlin. Hovlin made an unbelievable long putt at 17, and that ended up being the difference ultimately. Denny's one of the best putters on tour and some of the putts he hold out on the back nine at 14, 15, 16, 17. We're just so impressive. But the driver got a little bit loose on 18 and he needed par on 18 to win and he pulled the drive left, had to lay up and then had a put to win it and just barely missed it from 23 feet. Then had, by the way, a tough five-footer coming back to force the playoff and drilled that. And then going back to play 18 in the playoff against Victor Hovlin, his driver got a little loose and went far right and was in the rough and he hit, I thought was a really good shot that just barely missed climbing up onto the green. And if you know

anything about that golf course, 18 is straight up the hill is the green. I've actually played that course. Thank you, Jeff Bankston. And it's just, it's a spectacular track. But there are steep, steep, you know, parts of the course. In fact, a lot of the T-boxes are straight up hill. Like, you have to walk straight up a hill to get to the T-boxes. But the 18th green, his shot just barely missed staying on the green. And then it came back and it rolled all the way to the bottom of the hill. He hit a good shot up and had a chance on a par put to force a second playoff hole, but missed it. But look, it was, I sat there and just watched him. this tournament all day long. When he took that lead, you know, after going out and three under

and had it to eight under par, and really the other guys were backing up, I mean, Rory, I mean, God bless Rory McElroy. My God, the putting. It's just a disaster at times. A guy hits it better than anybody on tour, but just can't get up and down and just can't put sometimes. I mean, for Rory, when he's got one of those three to four footers, par and it's a big one. It just seems over the years now. It's like even money he's going to miss it. And so he faded away and Siwu Kim faded away.

And Shephyler was in at 6 under, but I didn't think when Denny had it at 8 the way he was playing, I didn't really think he was going to move back to 6. So it really took Hovlin's put at 17 and Denny's, you know, loose drive on 18 and then again in the playoff to cost him his first chance at a win. Hovlin wins in the playoff. But he is a really tough competitor. He's a grinder, like all of those words, apply to Denny McCarthy. And he plays the tough courses and the super fast greens, which you will see at L.A.

Country Club coming up in two weeks for the U.S. Open. He's going to win on tour. And he's going to be a threat at some of these really tough venues, like U.S. Open venues. Like it would not surprise me if in the next couple years Denny is not only, I mean he's played well in majors but it wouldn't surprise me at all if he becomes a major winner

in the next few years. And starting in two weeks at LA Country Club where he actually talked about it and said that he had played a few times, I'm looking forward to that. Great effort. So many people in this area, proud of him.

And the effort just would have been nice to see him get it done. I know nobody's more pissed about losing it than he is, but at the same time, he played great. And, you know, one of those learning experiences. Look, Hovlin's going to win big too. I mean, Hovlin's going to win majors. I mean, what a ball striker he is. All right, that's a lot of golf for this show. A lot of golf for this show. Two more things before we get to Nikki. Number one is that Buffalo added Leonard Floyd. the pass rusher. So they now got Floyd and Von Miller. They signed Ed Oliver, who were a long contract extension the other day. But Floyd was one of those pass rushers

that are out there. I've mentioned in Gokwe is out there. I think Washington is unsure of what they have off the edge. I love sweat, don't get me wrong. And I don't want to make a huge deal out of this. Chase Young is still, you know, the hope. I don't know if it's the expectation anymore, but it's the hope. And, you know, for all of us that were big fans of his coming out of Ohio State and even after his rookie year, I hope he figures it out. I hope it works out for him. I think it's up to him. But Buffalo, you know, they had Von Miller. They had Ed Oliver. They had the kid from Miami that they drafted in the first round Rousseau from a few years ago. And they understand that they're going for something here. And

they added Leonard Floyd to the mix. I know Washington drafted two defensive ends at the end of the draft. I know they've got Chase Young next year. I know Montez-Swed had a good season last year. I actually had an excellent season overall, but, you know, eight sacks. I just think that there should be maybe some consideration if a guy like In Gokwe doesn't get signed to a real deal and there's an opportunity to add a guy that's got 19 and a half sacks. the last two years for something, you know, resembling an incentive-laden deal or mostly an incentive-laden deal?

It'd be interesting, although I don't think that's what you can get in Gokwe for. I think it'll cost more. But anyway, the bill signed Leonard Floyd. I wanted to mention that. I also wanted to mention, and I don't think I mentioned this on Thursday, did you guys see the stories that were out there about Jalen Hertz and the Eagles? two stories in particular. One was written by Greg Bishop

at Sports Illustrated that said that last off season, Philadelphia wanted to trade for Russell Wilson, but Philadelphia and Washington were the two teams that Russell Wilson nixed with his no trade clause. I think it was Washington, Philadelphia,

New Orleans, maybe Carolina, and then Denver. Those were the teams involved. But there was a report that the Eagles were ready to trade for Russell Wilson. Keep in mind, I understand where we were a year ago. The biggest mystery involving the Philadelphia Eagles was Jalen Hertz and whether or not he was the right guy. But, you know, Howie Roseman maybe got lucky on that one, maybe just a little bit lucky on that one.

The other thing is another report came out that in 2020 in the draft in which they took Jalen Hertz, they actually preferred Jeremy Chin, the safety that's in Charlotte playing for the Panthers. But there were injuries and some questions, and so they went with hurts, but that really their preference was Jeremy Chin. And just two interesting stories, and I just bring them up because Howie Roseman's getting,

you know, bouquets of flowers thrown at him, as if he's the greatest general manager. in the history of the game. He's good. Don't get me wrong. I'm not, you know, suggesting that Howie Roseman hasn't done a great job in Philadelphia. But man, there is some luck involved in all of this. In football in particular, I mean, because what if Russell Wilson had gone to Philadelphia last year started and had the year that he had in Denver? What if they had drafted Jeremy Chin and they were stuck with Carson Wentz for a little bit longer? Anyway, all right, let's get to Nikki Javala talks some Washington football team and more.

We'll do that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. All right. Jumping on with us right now is Nikki J-V-V-V-V-V-L-A from the Washington Post, has been covering this team for a few years. You can follow Nikki, as I do on Twitter, at Nikki J-H-A-B-V-A-L-A. You know, there are things to get into here as we are on the eve of the mandatory minicamp. But before that, I wanted to ask you. So what is this?

Is this year four for you covering this team? Yeah, 20, 21, 22, yeah. Year four. All right. So compared to other teams that you've covered, you covered the Broncos for a few years, and I don't know other teams that you've covered, but is this an easy beat?

Is it a difficult beat, or is it somewhere in between? I wouldn't say it's difficult. I think it's all-consuming. The Broncos were, they were pretty competitive, too. I mean, it's a competitive market, and there was a lot going on with that team, too, with on-field stuff, ownership stuff. The commanders are next level just with everything going on off the field. So it's all consuming.

I don't know that it's more or less difficult. I would say maybe a little bit more if you're used to primarily sports and you're now thrust into multiple federal investigations. Right. But, yeah, there's a lot more going on, for sure. Have you enjoyed it? Yeah, I mean, I love my job. So it's, you know, I don't have a life otherwise, so I don't mind working 24-7.

And I like, this is going to sound so cheesy and cliche, but I like learning new things. So while I don't love the topics I'm covering all the time, I always find it fascinating when I'm learning. new things or I'm challenged in some way, you know, sort of with those investigations and am forced to kind of go outside my little football bubble of it. So yeah, I really do enjoy it. You know, having as one of the few born and raised, Washingtonians, and having lived through all of the years in which this, you know, this city became, well, it fell in love with its football team, the football team was so important to this city. It was the biggest unifier in the city. But you're right. Like, you know, doing what I do, doing what you do, I mean, they're different, but at the same time,

you know, a lot of what drives what you, you know, write about and what I talk about isn't, you know, what we necessarily expected. I've gotten to the point where, honestly, I'm sick of it. Like, and it's been even longer because it was happening long before you got here. Now, it is, it's certainly accelerated with all of the investigations and, you know, all of the stories that came out of your newspaper in July of 2020 and thereafter. But I've gotten to the point where it would just be nice to have kind of a normal functioning football franchise and be able to talk about that primarily. Do you feel the same way? Yes. I mean, that would be amazing. I think the last time I covered a somewhat normal functioning

franchise. I mean, the Broncos were pretty well run. There were ownership issues, but like to cover a winning team with a franchise quarterback was 2015 when they won the Super Bowl. So it's kind of gone downhill from there for me, but yes, I think it would absolutely be nice. I mean, my parents were long time Washington fans. They met in D.C.

They grew up in D.C. They ended up moving to North Carolina and became really mad when they no longer aired Washington games. And the Panthers were kind of the main thing out there. But, you know, I remember my dad driving up just six hours just to watch a game at RFK and absolutely loving it. He had like that fake hogs nose. And I mean, he was really into it. And I would absolutely love to see that spirit, that energy here again.

Well, I, so you're telling me something and maybe a lot of my list. listener is something that we didn't know about you. Did you grow up a Washington fan? By association, a little bit, I was so young at the time. I mean, there are old pictures of me and my brother wearing, like, Riggins jerseys. But my dad was a, I mean, they were diehard fans, diehard fans. And it just kind of faded because of the distance, and they didn't air as many games locally in North Carolina. So by association, yes, I mean, our bigger sports in my family, we were big-time basketball, family.

My brother played college basketball. And my dad is from the Bronx originally, so we're big-time Yankees fans. So it became more basketball and baseball, the football side. I didn't really have, like, a huge team growing up. But, yeah, my parents were back in the day, big-time Washington. Where did your brother play college basketball? Brown. He played it Brown.

Now, were you an athlete? No, I was the least athletic in the family. Apparently my parents gave all those things to my siblings. So writing is the closest I could come. My sister was, she ran track at Penn. I went to state schools to write about sports. So thanks a lot, mom and dad. Wait, so you had your sister went to Yale.

Your brother went to Brown, and where did you? go, did you go to NC State, did you say? Sister went to Penn. Oh, Penn, I'm sorry. Chapel Hill. Oh, you went to Chapel Hill. So were you guys big Carolina basketball fans? When you said, you know, growing, I mean, you grew up on Tobacco Road. I mean, you were, so I'm assuming that, you know, you were either North Carolina, Duke, or NC State or Wake Forest fans. Yeah, my dad went to NC State, undergrad and grad school. So we started as NC State fans.

he's still loyal to NC State. I have no regard for NC State at all. I find it, no, please no. I'm all UNC or anything anti-Duke. That's kind of my... Well, that's what you and I then have in favor, in common, I mean, because as a Maryland person, that's, you know, we both hate Duke.

Did you ever go to Reynolds Coliseum to see a game with your dad? I did. I did. Many times. In fact, I have, like, old pictures. of him with Jim Valvano. We went to, I actually watched a lot of women's basketball games there. I saw a team USA when Don Staley was actually playing.

I was like a huge fan of. Well, Kay Yow, Kay Yow was the coach there for years, right? Yeah, yeah. Her sister was the AD at Maryland for many years, Debbie, yeah. Yeah. Right. So. So, have you, is that what's your, is your favorite, is your favorite sports?

college basketball? I think it's more NBA having lived in New York for six years after college. I mean basketball was always our family sport.

So I just kind of always followed it. I was the MBA editor at SI for about five years. So I've always really love that level the most. I admit I haven't been following it nearly as much lately just because I'm immersed in commanders and NFL stuff, but I still love it.

Did you cover the nuggets when you were living in Denver and covering the Broncos? Did you do anything with the Nuggets? I did not. No, I was all Broncos all the time. Yeah, when I was in New York, that was during the time of LeBron's decision. That was interesting. There was a lockout then. but yeah, I didn't cover the nuggets.

What kind of sports town is Denver? I think that's one of the cities that not everybody on the East Coast is familiar with in terms of what. I know that the Rocky Mountain region, everybody, like Coolly, you know, who I did a show with for years and is a good friend of mine. I mean, he grew up in Wyoming and grew up a huge Denver Broncos fan. But what is like the market, the Denver market like is a sports market? It's a great sports town. It really is. I mean, because you got every pro sports team there, like all the leagues there.

It is still primarily Broncos even now. I think a lot of fans have really gained an interest into the Nuggets as they've gotten good, but the Broncos have always kind of dominated for better or worse. The Rockies have a following, but it's more the casual fan who likes to go for the experience of games because you watch too much of them. I mean, they're just maddening, given their ownership. And the ad, there's a pretty solid following. But, yeah, it's a great sports town.

And Boulder's not too far, Colorado State. I loved it there. I think people think it's more of like a smaller market, but it's not. I mean, on the media side, it's incredibly competitive, and it has such a rich sports media history. I don't know that many people have really thought about it, but you think about some of the great writers and reporters. I mean, Schuster was in Denver for the longest time.

A lot of great meaty people to come out of Denver. So I loved my time there. I still love it there. My parents are all out there. My whole family's out there. So, yeah, it was a good experience. Rank the teams in order of importance. It's Broncos one, right?

Yeah. In terms of importance to the fans, yes. Broncos. And then depending on, And, you know, I'd say it's probably right now. Number two is Nuggets and then Avs and Rockies. But, you know, there are years where still baseball dominates. I think local media, I know my editor, you know, is a big baseball guy,

so they would, you know, probably give the Rockies a little bit more covers than they deserved at times. All right, well, let's talk about the team for a little bit. Although that stuff was interesting. And by the way, you know, like, I wonder for people like you, and all of those people on the beat that end up interacting probably more with other beat reporters and other markets than maybe we do with like radio talk show hosts in other markets. I mean, I know a lot of guys in other markets, but you're typically at events and you run into these people all the time.

What do other people in, you know, your specific business covering teams, what do they say to you about, you know, the job you have covering this team? It's a lot of, I don't know how you do it, I don't know why you do it. You know, it's sort of, I hate to say it, but I mean, this team has kind of been like the punching back of the NFL for the long time. They're just kind of the joke, and nobody, they see all the headlines. They're like, I don't want anything to do with that. It's just too much.

I see the journalistic value. I love it. I kind of, in some ways, I hate to say this. You know, I hope they do become normal and a successful winning franchise, but it's also like, oh, my God, what am I going to do with myself when that happens when they normalize? Like, I don't, like, how do you, you mean there's going to be a Wednesday when there's not, like, massive breaking news? What am I going to do? So, yeah, there's a lot of that.

I find it amusing, like, Green Bay right now, you know, I think there's a lot of, like, you know, massive reaction to Aaron Rogers, which, you know, is warranted, but it's also, like, from a media standpoint, it's like, oh, my God, how am I going to do this? It's going to consume my whole summer. I'm like, if the biggest news here was just that the star quarterback was leaving, like, I mean, that'd be amazing. Like, the franchise altering news is like a daily occurrence here versus, you know, once every five, ten years thing at other franchise.

So what do you think the reaction will be when it's finally over and Josh Harris and company take control of the team? I mean, we've all had these conversations about will everybody come back? You know, Josh Harris's prospectus to his co-investors essentially said the number one reason for buying this team is once we acquire it and Snyder's gone, we'll see an immediate, you know, exponential increase in revenue because people will come back. What do you think happens when, you know, everything is finalized? Yeah, I mean, I think there could be, you know, a spike in interest initially. But I think it'll ultimately come down to whether they win or not, you know, eventually the intrigue over the sale over Dan Snyder leaving is going to wear off. You know, this is the sale is kind of the new shiny toy. But, you know, if they don't win, then it's going to be a...

same old. And they got a lot of work to do to get them there. I think they have a really good roster. But obviously some missing pieces compared to other successful franchises. You know, that's kind of an uphill battle with their stadium right now. I mean, I don't think I'm, you know, reporting anything groundbreaking here and saying that FedEx is kind of a dump. So, you know, getting fans back is one thing, sustaining them as another. and I think that'll be the biggest challenge that the new ownership group faces. Nikki and Mark Maskey wrote over the weekend

that Josh Harris is scheduled to meet with the NFL Finance Committee on Wednesday of this week. We know it's kind of a two-step process. Finance Committee approval, they pass it on to the 32 owners and then they vote to ratify. So will they get finance?

committee approval on Wednesday? Well, so the way of work is the finance committee doesn't necessarily approve or disprove it. They give a recommendation. Usually it's a unanimous recommendation or a, you know, maybe we shouldn't vote on this. And they pass it along to full membership. So will that happen Wednesday? Probably not. I still think they need to do some vetting.

I know there's been a lot made of the LPs and the number of the LPs and a lot. and a lot of that is, you know, how many LPs does Josh in their group believe they have versus the NFL, like Josh counting an entire family as one LP. The NFL probably would not view it the same way. So they got to kind of work through those things, and they've got to bet all these people. And there's a lot of them, and some of them are international folks, and you've got to really be thorough. So I could see them having, you know, maybe a couple more, you know, maybe meetings at a remote, and then they pass it along.

you know, when this could be ratified. I mean, we'll see. I'm always hesitant to put a timetable on it because I feel like, as we've seen throughout this process, a lot can change instantly. Could it be late June? I don't know. I feel super optimistic to me. I could see it maybe more mid-July, late July, early August.

I hope, related than that, but we'll see. Yeah, and I talked about this on the. the radio show this morning and on the podcast on Friday. And I don't, I understand that the normal process is this process and it's not, um, Nikki, you know, a total outlier in terms of the amount of time that it's taking that this, you know, last year it was Denver, you know, proved and then they finally got to voting on it in August. But the sale is different than any other sale they've had. You know, it's, it's a, it's an owner that they desperately wanted out, by the way, by voluntary choice to sell the team, which, you know, wasn't ever a guarantee.

It's a $6 billion sale in which there was one person, just one, willing to step up and meet the price. I guess I've just gotten to the point where I'm a little bit frustrated because it just feels to me like the owners don't want to be inconvenienced. You know, it's June, it's July, and if we get around to voting on it, we won't vote by Zoom, we won't vote by conference call, we kind of all have to be there. Like this, I think, could get wrapped up sooner. If, you know, like if somebody said to them, look, you better get it wrapped up in the next three weeks or two weeks, or you might lose Josh Harris. They would get it wrapped up.

Like, I think it's doable, but it doesn't seem like it's convenient for them to do it right now. Am I right or wrong? I think scheduling probably plays a part. I think also it's a much more complicated deal. I know nobody likes hearing that, but I mean, the Broncos deal, the Panthers deal, those were easy. I mean, you have a super liquid buyer. You know where that money is coming from. You know it's real.

And that still took time. I think on this one, both sides have to make concessions. And I think they will, from what it sounds like, you know, the NFL is running out of the TEPPERS. And if Bezos doesn't buy Seattle, if that comes on the market, and the Walton's where, you know, one person can kind of put the bill for all of this. You're going to need multiple people. You may need to introduce different types of financing, like private equity, as other leagues have done. And I think Josh's group, rightfully, knew they had leverage, used it,

and are trying to push the envelope a bit. The NFL is they're used to having all the power and kind of dictating everything on their, terms. So I think they're going to have to kind of meet in the middle, you know, be it, does that mean giving them a debt waiver so they can take on, you know, additional financing, but still drawing the line at no private equity? We'll see kind of how it shakes out. But I think that's a big part of it is this one is just more complicated. And each side is kind of, at first, anyway, kind of dug in their heels of, you know, these are the policies you can't do this while the other side is like, we're not breaking the rules. This is just,

creative financing, you know, so it's different. But I think, you know, as more teams come on the market, this is going to be the new norm, you know. Not everybody can, there's only so many people who can just give you $6 billion all cash, you know? They're going to have to change their rules. And they can't do it now with this team because ultimately they'd have to reopen it up to the people that could have done it had it been less restrictive, like private equity, you know, foreign money, etc. You did have a quote, you and Mark had a quote in the story where somebody, you know, familiar with the inner workings did say that, you know, they think it's pretty much 90% there. I mean, like, I am long past the point of thinking that there's even a slight chance that this isn't going to happen.

It's going to happen. Do you feel the same way? Okay. Yeah, it's going to happen. By the way, you had something else in the story. And I don't necessarily, actually, I do care. I think it'll be interesting how it plays out. But I don't think it's tied to the sale anymore because Snyder and Harris have already agreed. They have a signed, fully executed purchase agreement.

But it sounds like Snyder is still dealing with the league on this Mary Jo White investigation. Yes. I mean, the report hasn't been released. So, yes. I mean, the league is certainly not going to say. anybody can speculate, but you know, how much of it is tied to the actual sale? I mean, not directly, but is waiting for this to get resolved to release their report? Quite possibly, nobody said that.

You know, they probably won't say that. But that still is a big piece. Now, does it have direct ties to the sale? I mean, only if Dan is still requesting indemnification. When we talk about indemnification, I think it's important to clarify that. There are two sides of this. It's not just, you know, Josh Harris, indemnifying Dan Snyder to a certain point. It's also about indemnification with Dan Snyder and the league.

You know, and we were told initially that Dan Snyder asked the league and other owners to indemnify him, and they're like, heck no, you need to indemnify us, in part because of these investigations that are coming down the pipe. And also, they never do that, and they won't do that. But it sounds like those two parts are close, if not already resolved, which is a huge piece. And it was there. So, I mean, that's kind of the tie-in with the other investigations. But, I mean, that still is kind of hanging around.

Same with the investigation led by the Eastern District of Virginia, the U.S. Attorney's Office there. So there are two things still floating around. Yeah. We've learned a little bit about Nikki. we've learned a little bit more about the ownership and sale situation. Let's talk some football with Nikki, and we will do that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. All right, let's finish up with Nikki Javala from the Washington Post.

We'll talk some football with Nikki. Before we get to that, this segment of the show is brought to you by MyBooky. Go to MyBooky.com or MyBooky.ag. Use my promo code, Kevin D.C., that's Kevin D.C. to secure a first deposit bonus of up to $1,000. My bookie's got everything you need for game three of the NBA finals. They've got all of your NFL week one lines and all of your NFL prop bets for the upcoming 2023 season. Whether you're a diehard or a casual fan, simply put, there's never been a better time to start exploring the world of online sports betting with my bookie.

Use my promo code, Kevin D.C. bet anything anytime anywhere with my bookie. All right. So Chase Young, Nikki. What do Ron Rivera, Jack Del Rio, the coaches on the defensive side of the ball, what do they really think of Chase Young right now? I think they think he's a tremendous talent. They think he still has a ways to go, improving himself,

and that they would like to see them on the field. I mean, I don't think Ron or Jack or any of them really have tried to hide the fact that they wanted them here at OTAs, and yes, it's voluntary. It's up to the players. And I totally understand the ones that are trying to, you know, prevent as much as they can in football, injuries when they're in contract years. I mean, I get it. You've got to preserve your value.

But this has been an every-year thing with Chase. I think they want to see him step up as sort of a leader of the team and really be there. So I think this is, I mean, you don't need me saying this, but it's undoubtedly an important year for him personally. You know, he's in the last year of his deal, but also him as being here, you know. If he has a monster year similar to the way Duran did last year,

I mean, you can't let him go. You got to resign them, right? Yeah. And what that means for the rest of the line, we'll find out. But, you know, this could have huge implications. And it starts really today. I mean, he's there for Media Day, where they take, like, their big family photo, which will be the first family photo, I think, without a Snyder, right?

Yeah, but who? Well, it'll just be the football people, I guess. And Jason. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe I should have asked the question this way, because I kind of sense that, almost like with Sam Howell, like there's hope, you know, they're wishing for the best case. But what are their actual, you know, expectations if there's any way that they could be objective about them? Honestly, I don't know that they have expectations because they, and I hate to say this, I don't mean to disparate chase at all, but, like, they know they can win with them.

without them because they did win without them. And if I were a case, I would view that as, oh, crap. Like, I need to make it so they can't do anything without me. They need to need me there, you know? But I think their feeling is, like, we can win with him. We can also win without him. So until he proves that, you know, he's indispensable, really, we're just going to move forward. Is there any concern about his health anymore?

or is that, you know, is that a past thing? He's seemed fully healthy when he came back and played in the three games at the end of last year. There's no concern about that, is there? No. I mean, last I heard he had multiple checkups with Dr. James Andrews and he checked out, they're fine. So unless something changes between now and tomorrow when we get a chance to talk to them, I mean, everything I've heard is been positive. All right.

Other than the Snyder ownership situation, there's no bigger storyline as we, you know, head towards, you know, mandatory minicamp and then, you know, a month and a half or whatever away from, two months away from training camp, then Sam Howl. So what are your expectations of Sam Howe and what do you think their expectations are? I think expectations. I'd say I'd say they expect to see continued progress, which sounds like total coach speak, I realize, but I think they want to see and expect to see a young player who's going to make mistakes, but learn quickly from those mistakes. I think he should be a better fit for this offense with his mobility

and just with the pieces around him. As far as my expectations for him, I mean, I think I'm going to hold out on giving my expectation until, I feel like training camp is such an overreaction time. You know, a lot of times they're going seven on seven. They're throwing against air. They're not in pads the whole time. You don't really get a good gauge of kind of where he is, you know, in his development.

I think that two training camp practice at Baltimore will be huge for him and the offense. But if he can just kind of stabilize this offense, you know, not, you know, an interception in the end zone on one play and then have a monster play the next play. Like, if there could just be like some stability, I think that'd be huge for them. And that sounds boring when I describe it,

but if it wins games, I mean, great, that's what they need. They need to win. Yeah. They do. I mean, Ron needs to win. And we've talked about this a lot I have with various people. I don't know if I've talked about this with you or not in previous interviews.

But this year's a big year for Ron, but I kind of sense that it's a bigger year for Eric B. Enemy, because I view it, Nikki, is Eric's got a future. Like, he hasn't been a head coach before. Ron is kind of probably approaching the end of his career. He's closer to the end of his career. coaching career than the beginning of his head coaching career, obviously. How do you see it?

I agree 100%. Yeah, and I think they've kind of built the situation where it is, I hate to say, I mean, I hate to say trial because the man has achieved many things and he's earned much more in his career, but with the added responsibilities, the more, you know, the greater say over the schedule and the script and everything, I think they are very much kind of propping him up to be more akin to a head coach than, you know, an offensive coordinator. And obviously he got the assistant head coaching title. But I think this is such a huge year.

And yes, part of it is the ownership situation. There's no certainty for anybody. But especially him for, you know, he's been trying to get a head coaching job for years now. And this is the first time he has full control over his own offense. So I think it's going to be a huge time for him. And as you said, you know, he does have a future. Ron has, after this season, one year left on his deal, you know, whether he stays on as a coach beyond that, I feel like it's up to him.

But, you know, the enemy is kind of the next in line, it feels like. All right. Last one. Thank you, by the way, for giving me this time. You know, last year, and I mentioned, I don't know, Ben or John or somebody last week on the podcast, that last year at this time, they really felt like they had gotten it right with Jahan Dotson, even after OTA days in minicamp. Like there was a buzz coming from that building that Jahan looked like the absolute real deal.

And I think they were right about that. Is there anybody over the last week or two weeks that you're hearing that kind of, buzz about? Yeah, I think they feel the same way about the main and all forbes. But if they didn't feel the same way about their first round pick, I'd have serious concerns. You know, this is the happiest time of year in the NFL. Everybody is

the Super Bowl contender right now. Everybody has an all-star roster. Everybody has the utmost optimism and confidence in their group. And everybody looks great in camp, you know, when they're going, you know, seven-on-seven and 30 against there.

And it's amazing. But, yeah, I think they do have a ton of confidence in Forbes, and he has looked good so far. But like with everybody else, I think we'll really start to see what he can do when the pads come on. And in preseason, and then once games get going. But it does, you know, they do really like the kid. But we'll see. All right. Chapel Hill, Franklin Street, Nikki Javala from the Carolinas.

know that. Had Wiggins jerseys on, went to Reynolds Coliseum, saw Valvano's teams when you were a child. Keep up the good work. Always enjoy the conversation. I'll talk to you soon. Of course. Thanks for having me. All right. We are done for the day. Back tomorrow.