The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 1153 - Shams Charania, Adam Schefter, PK Subban, Mike Grella, Ryan McGee, & AJ Hawk

Episode Date: June 21, 2024

On today’s show, Pat, AJ Hawk, and the boys chat about JJ Redick officially being named the LA Lakers Head Coach after signing a 4 year contract, tonight’s Stanley Cup Finals game 6 in Edmonton, the Boston Celtics having their championship parade today, what’s happening around the NFL and which potential QB deal is going to get done next, and everything else happening in the sports world. They are also joined by several great guests to chat about all the biggest stories in the sports world including Shams Charania to chat about JJ Redick, Adam Schefter breaking down Brandon Aiyuk’s contract situation and if we’re heading towards another Quarterback Club, PK Subban previewing game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Mike Grella to chat about both the Euros and the United States’ upcoming game in the Copa America, and Ryan McGee LIVE from Omaha, Nebraska to preview the finals of the College World Series. Make sure you subscribe to YouTube.com/thepatmcafeeshow to watch the show. Or watch on ESPN (12-2 EDT), ESPN’s Youtube (12-3 EDT), or ESPN+. We appreciate the hell out of all of you. We’ll see you tomorrow. Cheers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello beautiful people and welcome to our humble abode, the Thunderdome, on this Feel Good Friday, June 21st, 2024. This program starts right now! Sports are the greatest of all time and we are incredibly lucky and thankful and grateful to be able to do this job on this glorious Feel Good Friday. Especially with how yesterday's show ended where we lose power out of nowhere. It is an honor to be able to talk to sports every single day, and we enjoy the hell out of it. The Toxic Table is here, that Boston Connor,

and that Ty Schmidt. One after the hammer, done. Cowboys, Tone Diggs is here. All the boys are in the back, and big thanks to Jack Carr yesterday, saving the program.

Yeah. Love you, Jack. Love you, Jack. Big thanks to Kenny Chesney stopping by yesterday and having a chit-chat about his career and the state of music. Yesterday was a nice chance to kind of venture outside of just the sport world

and talk to real-life heroes in Jack Carr, and celebrities in Kenny Chesney. Kenny Chesney's been on the road for 31 years. Got a chance to go see some of his show last night here in Indianapolis. Obviously, very thankful that he invited my wife and I up there. Last minute babysitter situation.

We couldn't stay for the entire program. But boy, Kenny Chesney, when the sun goes down, which is late here in Indianapolis during the summer, the sun goes down tour, he rocked the house. 25,000 people at the amphitheater last night on a Thursday for Kenny Chesney. Tone and his wife, I do believe, were two of the ones that stayed for the entirety of the program. I'm appreciative that we represented. What a show. He's assistant tour manager slash manager slash agent.

I don't know. Bailey is his name. Malachi, I believe. Bailey. Everybody calls him Bailey. Great human. Took care of us. Kenny and I and Gumpy and my wife got to hang out before the program.

Met a couple of his friends and everything. Had a couple drinks. It was awesome last night. So thanks to them for coming by yesterday. Today, packed with sports. Oh, yeah. Packed. Packed with sports.

We got Sham Sharania joining us in about eight minutes. I'm sure he'll be bummed out. Oh, yeah. On this feel- Good Friday for how everything has kind of turned out in the exact way that he kind of said it was going to on May 24th. But that should be a fun convo. Adam Schefter

will be joining us in about 38 minutes. He's fresh off of Adam Schefter Day in Nassau County, New York, which is congrats to him for all of his coverage on the biggest league on Earth. Can't wait to chit-chat with him about what's going on with some of these contract situations. Ayuk, say, you want me here? We know he's got a deep plug in San Francisco.

Oh, yeah. We know he's tied in there. How about T. Higgins there? You know, he signs his franchise tag. He's back on a one-year deal or whatever, a franchise tag deal. What does that mean for the future? Any other outstanding situations taking place around the NFL world that we need to know? Going into this weekend, Sheffield will tell us.

In the second hour, we'll have P.K. Subban joining us. Nice. P.K. Subban obviously joining us to talk about the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Game 6 tonight. The series was 3-0, then it was 3-1. What? Well, tonight in Edmonton, will they be able to even this series and send us to a game seven back in Florida?

Another eight-hour flight potentially possible for this series, or will the Florida Panthers put away and win tonight and earn their first-ever Stanley Cup in the history of their franchise? We shall see. Game starts tonight at 8 o'clock with the puck drop happening on ABC. Obviously, Steve Levy, Moose, and PK will be on an hour before then to get us all zipped up about the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. It'll be awesome tonight. Michael Grella will join us in the second hour to chit-chat about the Euros and also

the United States of America kicking off their Copa America run, which obviously we're going to win. Yeah. Duh. That's how this is going to go. I almost shouldn't even play the whole thing. Yeah, we very much understand that. The last time Grella was on, he told us everything that was going to happen in the Euros. I assume he'll do the same thing for the Copa America and the way he'll say it will be super cultural.

And the Italians. And the Italians. They stink. I can't wait to talk about that. And then we'll have Ryan McGee live from the College World Series. Hell, yeah. At about 2.05 Eastern time because Tennessee is taking on Texas A&M. And I'll tell you what, Omaha is going to be rocking. If these Tennessee volunteers finally get a win,

Ryan McGee might – Vesuvius is playing. Yeah, he's right. There's a chance. We can't wait to chat with him. Obviously, A.J. Hawk will be joining us as well. The big news yesterday, which is why Shams will be joining us, J.J. Redick has signed a four-year, $32 million deal to become the next Lakers head coach.

Now, that's $8 million a year he'll be getting paid. You do some quick math with California taxes. He's getting $4 million. He's signed a four-year, $16 million deal to become the Los Angeles Lakers head coach. With LeBron James, who's obviously his podcast co-host. With how many years does he have left? Two, maybe? Anthony Davis, obviously he's going to be the star of the team.

They have the 17th overall pick in the draft that's coming up. What will this Lakers team look like this upcoming season as J.J. Redick embarks on his first head coaching season. Now, I don't appreciate or like how J.J. Redick has been talked about by a lot of people who have been co-workers of J.J. Redick. And I am not somebody who is tight with J.J. Redick. I am not, you know, like, I don't have J.J. Redick's phone number in my phone. I don't know if he's been on the program, I think, once, one time. I don't really chat with him or catch up with him.

But, like, JJ Redick played 15 years in the NBA. I think he made the playoffs 14 times. Okay, for teams he was on. Was he the star of the teams? Well, I'm sure there's people that are going, like, holy shit, that's JJ Redick because of what he did at Duke. But you're talking about a guy who I believe was considered a leader

on every one of his teams. 14 of them made the playoffs in 15 years. 14 times his teams made the playoffs that he was on. He averaged 13 points. He has a 12,000-point score. Like, everything he accomplished in basketball would lead you to believe, oh, this guy might be a good coach. For sure.

Like, been around a long time, knows a lot of the basketball. He's a basketball savant. He was actually being introduced on a lot of these shows on ESPN as a guy who's, this guy's a basketball genius, he's been around a lot of winning cultures, yada, yada, yada, J.J. Redick. And now that J.J. Redick got the job, or was seemingly going to get the job, a lot of people on TV are acting like he's not the right guy for the job. If an ex-player with 15 years of experience who is a basketball junkie who is able to showcase

his big brain in the Mind the Game podcast with the star of the team who happens to be LeBron James and didn't seem to be nervous, would he not be a guy who is seemingly a good candidate for the job? And wouldn't the people that had that guy on their show want people to believe that their

show had the Los Angeles Lakers head coach on the show? None of it really makes sense about the chatter around J.J. Redick. Is it because potentially they weren't the ones that knew that J.J. Redick was maybe going to be the Los Angeles? Is it that level of pettiness? Or is J.J. Redick going to stink as a head coach? I guess that is what we'll see. That is what is alleged and being alleged seemingly by a lot of his former co-workers now at ESPN and around the sports media world.

But what if this guy is the next one? What if Joe Mazzola and J.J. Redick are the next batch of great young coaches that go on and take over the entire NBA? There's a chance. But that situation in L.A. is not the most desirable Boston corner. No, it's brutal, but they have LeBron and AD like you mentioned. That's awesome, but everything you said about JJ Redick is exactly why you would hire the guy. If they do view him,

especially with the Lakers history with Pat Riley, it is a very similar situation to that. Obviously, Pat Riley has gone on to be one of the greatest front office head coach members, players of all time. But if you're just betting on somebody, wouldn't you want to bet on a guy who's been in locker rooms?

He's played in different eras of the NBA, obviously, because he played for so damn long. And he does have a good relationship with LeBron, which has been the story with the head coaches of the Lakers. Like, hey, LeBron and the head coach aren't seeing eye to eye. That's been a huge reason why they've had to fire coaches over and over again. So it doesn't make any sense.

The 35-year-old Joe Mazzulla just won an NBA championship, so age shouldn't be a thing whatsoever. It's baffling, really. I'm jacked up. Me too. I'm kind of jacked up for J.J. Wright. Did he have to do press conferences? Because he'll get a little... He'll get after it. I'm jacked up. Me too. I'm kind of jacked up for J.J. Wright. Did he have to do press conferences? Bingo.

Because he'll get a little. The backwards hat. He'll get after it. Certainly Cowherd's not going to be talking about that. There's going to be others that aren't going to be thrilled about the, oh, yeah, bro. You know, I mean. Of course.

Owners of teams wear backwards hats. People wear backwards hats. Right. It's 2024. That is. Sure. You know, yeah, she. We aren't in those times anymore.

But J.J.'s got a little. J.J.'s got a little itch. Yeah. You know, you piss him off a little bit. J.J.'s got a little edge. You piss him off a little bit. J.J.'s going to give his thoughts. And if he's in Los Angeles, obviously there's going to be a lot of people that are going to be asking a lot of questions. The expectations are going to be what they're going to be. We're going to get phenomenal press conferences out of J.J. Reddick.

The NBA is going to have great storylines with J.J. How about when he revisits one of his teams that he played for? All the teams that he played for, whether it's down in New Orleans or Orlando or Milwaukee, wherever, he's going to go everywhere. The conversations with the adjustments that he's going to make for these entire things. The things he said on Mind the Game, are they coming to

fruition in real life? In theory, Coach JJ, is it as good as reality? JJ, I mean, let's go. Let's see. And for the Lakers, $70 million was the alleged number that they were going to pay Dan Hurley to be their head coach. Allegedly, all that stuff. $32 million, which is actually $16 million after America. Congratulations, ASA.

That's America. $16 million. Well, California more specifically and federal income tax. They just signed a $16 million deal over the next four years to be a coach. Congrats to Uncle Sam getting that money in there. They didn't pay nearly as much as they thought they were going to have to pay a coach at one point or were alleged to be okay

in there. And JJ seemingly wanted to be a ball coach. So now he gets an opportunity to do it with one of the most famous and successful franchises in the history of sports and obviously in the NBA. Joining us now is a man who maybe has a little bit more information about it all. Senior NBA insider for FanDuel TV and The Athletic,

ladies and gentlemen, Sham Sharani. Yeah, Shammy. Shammy, saw your hair a little messy this morning. Thought we were going to maybe get celebratory Sham Sharani. What are you talking about? What? You know what I'm talking about. You had your model shit going on.

I wake up like this. You don't. Yeah. You actually looked cooler with the way your hair was. Yeah, it was messy. It was like a sloppy spike for Sean Charan. You looked super duper cool. I just want to let you know that we were lucky to see that out of you this morning.

Well, listen, I do tend to wake up like that. No, I don't wake up like that, but maybe in a summer edition, we can bring that back here, but I'm not ready for that yet. Today would have been the day. People could have thought maybe Shamshirani was having some lunch for dinner last night.

We know how much he loves lunch. Maybe he turned it into dinner for a celebratory situation. Maybe he took out his fork and ate his oatmeal and his yogurt and everything with his fork. Last night, you just kind of did it all. You know, had water, a lot more alarms for the water. Right. But just like you said was going to happen on May 24th on this program. I don't know where you said anywhere else.

But J.J. Redick is now the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Four years, $32 million deal. It was in your article that you reported that. It's actually four years, $16 million with Uncle Sam and the California taxes being what they are. So let's just go through this whole thing. Why do you think there is a narrative out there that JJ Redick is maybe not the right coach for the Los Angeles Lakers and how pumped is J.J. Redick to now be a coach in the NBA you can kind of answer that however you want and congrats on calling this about a month ago yeah J.J. Redick is ecstatic to get this job he really wanted to be an NBA head coach and he's been on two different tracks here right we know about his media career we know his role as an analyst,

calling games this season at a high level, calling games in the NBA finals. And as much as he was deep on that and he was really committed to that, there was another lane that he was pursuing and that was being an NBA head coach. He interviewed for the Charlotte Hornets job about a month, month and a half ago.

And that was an important job for him as well. If the Charlotte Hornets had offered him that position, I think that was something he would have taken very seriously. But when the Lakers position opened up and when that became a viable option for him, obviously he had interest. And in my senses, even watching and calling some of these games in the NBA playoffs, that gave JJ Redick an understanding of what he would do if he was an NBA head coach, how he would operate. And everything kind of crystallized really over the last couple weeks. And a big component of that was him going in and spending time with Jeannie Buss, ownership in the Lakers, and sharing his vision. And what the Lakers saw from J.J. Redick as a coach that's flexible, someone that is not going to be stuck on a roster to be able to determine and dictate exactly how he

wants to manage his team offensively and defensively he wants to be flexible and i think he looks at guys like eric spolster around the league that have the ability to essentially mold their team mold their system based on the roster that's going to be very important for him and and the other component is he saw with this team two issues and things that he wants to go in and work on and that's anthony davis and his workload and offensively how anthony davis was being utilized the last couple years he wants to make anthony davis feel more involved especially down the stretch of games and then another thing and this is more important pat and we're going to see how this plays out i'm very interested to see how this plays out but

playing lebron james more off the, that is something that JJ Redick has spoken about over the last couple of weeks in his conversations with the Lakers. We know how dominant LeBron is on the ball. So how can he make this work? Maybe having three ball handlers to really start the offense. So all of this started to crystallize with JJ Redick. He's really been the focus for the Lakers for the last month.'s the guy that they've wanted uh really for the last four weeks of this coaching search and it wasn't a coin i think i said it around that point it was interesting that the the timing just start to align with the nba finals coming to an end and them really gearing into into shape with jj reddick and finally agreeing

to that contract yesterday but yeah jj reddick really started on the job this week he had a conversation with anthony davis i i heard on monday and they had a conversation they spoke about how how you know jj reddick views anthony davis so jj reddick in his mind has really been aiming and pushing on this job since the week began. We're happy for J.J. Congrats, J.J. And this is what J.J. wants. Happy for J.J. I think there was another

place he obviously, you've chatted about in the past, where he could have been a head coach. He is a ball lover, and I think that's the trait that you... Basketball. Yeah, yeah. Pause. Basketball lover. We got you. We got you. He's a junkie. ball lover and i think that's the trait that you basketball yeah yeah pause yep basketball lover we got you we got you he's a junkie he's a fiend when it comes to the game of basketball junk knows ball basketball lover right yeah yeah he lives and breathes this and that's something

lakers can see as well that's what anyone that spends any time with jj reddick they can see how much he loves the game and you know you have to be tireless when it comes to that profession of coaching. There's no day off. There's no night off. There's no second off. And the fact that JJ Redick understands that, he embraces that challenge, and that is one thing that he's going to be very happy about is that this is one position that you can literally only talk about basketball the entire time.

There's not much focus on anything else. But when you're coaching the Lakers, there's going to be other things to talk about basketball the entire time. There's not much focus on anything else. But when you're coaching the Lakers, there's going to be other things to talk about as well. That's what I'm saying. The other stuff that potentially comes with this, if you win for the Lakers and you're J.J. Wright, think about the Duke connections he already has. Duke has a lot of these connections all over the place.

If he wins as a head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, now it's going to be tough. I understand it's going to be very difficult in the NBA. Could the movies – I mean, J.J. becomes one of the most famous pieces of pop culture in Los Angeles with the way they will think about – I mean, he is the perfect candidate for that. Big push. Especially the way he speaks, the way –

He's got the look. He's got the L.A. When you think about the suits, you think about the look, the hair. That's why Pat Riley gets brought up a little bit. The name, Bill Tats. That's why Pat Riley gets brought up a little bit behind the scenes with the Lakers. When you think about a guy that's gone from commentating to then coaching, J.J. Redick, obviously he played. Pat Riley played.

I'm not saying J.J. Redick is going to be like Pat Riley. But obviously, if you're the Lakers, you have to think about the positives and they made those comparisons early and one thing to also point out is coach k was very involved as an informal consultant as part of this coaching search from what i'm told and obviously we know coach k's relationship with jj reddick coach jj reddick and that was someone that the lakers leaned on relied on talked to not only about jj reddick but other candidates, and really getting a feel from Coach K on how to manage how a coach, especially

a first-time guy like J.J. Redick, can come in and establish a culture. They don't want J.J. Redick to only coach LeBron James for the next two years. They want J.J. Redick to be their next coach for the next three to four years. That's why I do think they're going to allow J.J. Redick, to an extent, to coach through some of his mistakes that are going to happen

early on. Three to four years is an eternity in the NBA. Yeah. And head coach especially now, especially with the Lakers, especially with LeBron, especially in the modern NBA seemingly. If he's able to win, what a time for J.J. Redick. It's going to get loud over there. Oh yeah. It's going to get loud. No matter what.

So if you think about what the Lakers did, they bring in Coach K to consult. Then you've obviously got LeBron James who's his podcast co-host. It's almost like the Lakers were hoping. They were hoping J.J. was the guy. And then they watch Mind the Game. They talk to Coach K.

I think they knew J.J. Redick was the guy for the last month, Pat. And I think allowing J.J. Redick to fully focus on what was important for J.J. guy for the last month, Pat. And I think allowing JJ Redick to fully focus on what was important for JJ Redick the last month was commentating, was his job. There's a lot that goes into calling games, right? And I think he for sure

wanted that focus to be on that. I do wish he would have been like, what they need to do is run the set that we're going to run next year for the Lakers. They saw a lot of that on the podcast, though. There was a lot of that on Mind the Game. I think they got a great look at JJ Redick, the coach, on the podcast. Yeah, how about LeBron going, all right, riddle me this.

Guy, two guys, and JJ's like, yeah, give me the dry erase board. I'm doing this, this, this. And then all of us are like, wow, I feel like I just got smarter. And LeBron's like, this motherfucker might be a good coach. That is throughout the entirety of it. The Lakers obviously are going to look to have success. It's not just your stars, though, or your coach. Seemingly, you've got to have a full team.

We learned that, obviously, with Boston and all the teams that failed. Go ahead, Ty. Yeah, Shams, you mentioned the roster, and I think it was Brian Windhorst this morning who basically said, hey, if the Lakers would have traded for Alex Caruso, that would have been a bigger deal than signing J.J. Redick as head coach because their roster has so many question marks. So what are they going to do to kind of try to fill out this team and make them more competitive? Because

they obviously can't just run back what they did last year without tough the Western conferences. That's why the pressure is on the Lakers front office to make major changes on the roster to an extent because like you said this team came up short this past year and when you think about jj reddick and what the principles that he wants to implement defense point of attack defenders versatile players and what we saw with boston like a few years ago with the warriors you saw the warriors kind of changed the game i think the celtics in a way people are going to try to follow their trend when you think about they have five players especially in their starting lineup that can do multiple things neither of them are weak defensively they play

both sides of the ball that is very very important and you can't have holes you can't have a player that might be a negative for you defensively so I think they're going to look at that side of the ball and and they have to be aggressive you know one name that they that they did pursue last season the trade deadline that that i think teams around the league expect to to come up again in trade conversations over the next week or so and make sense for the lakers is dejonte murray with the hawks that's someone that you know you think about over the next week or so what do the hawks do not only with the number one overall pick but they have they potentially have a decision to make with Trae Young, DeJounte Murray,

which player stays, which player goes, and the Lakers have maintained a level of interest in DeJounte Murray over the last several months. We were told Trae's the one leaving, not Murray. And DeJounte Murray's talking to Kawhi Leonard in Paris. Yeah. He put up a picture of his hair.

Yeah. Does Atlanta not know which one's – is that like a – Atlanta is still unsure about which – I mean, a lot of it comes down to value, right? If you can get more value for one player than the other, then you have to look at that. They're still not 100% set on the value that they can attain in the marketplace. And that's why draft is coming up Wednesday, Thursday. There'll be a much better sense come Wednesday, Thursday, as far as which direction Atlanta could go in.

They also, at the same time, they got to figure out that number one overall pick, what they're going to do with that pick. Okay. So why don't you tell the Lakers whenever you have your little discussions and they give you the inside scoop, which we now know, this guy's plugged with the Lakers. Okay.

T.J. McConnell's not available. Okay. It sounds like he would be the perfect player for the Lakers. Just know that he's not available. Never will be. He never will be. He's a pacer for the rest of his life. So you tell Palenka.

The Pacers are working to extend T.J. McConnell. That is someone that they want around for the long haul. Okay, good. Just make sure they know that. Okay, that is certainly something. Last question here about J.J. Redick and the Lakers from Tone. Yeah, Shams, I haven't heard yet. Are they going to continue to do the mind the game pod,

or is that just going to be like the film room with the rest of the guys in the room, or how is that going to work? I have not heard definitively yet, but it would be hard pressed for me to see a regular media podcast from a sitting NBA head coach with its star player. I mean, just imagine losing three or four games or being on a back to back or being in a tough stretch of adversity and doing a podcast. That is not something that people. Well, I'm bummed out. I was learning basketball. Let's pivot away from the Lakers. Let's talk a little bit about other basketball

news that happened yesterday that obviously got buried under the J.J. Redick to the Lakers news. Caruso, traded out of Chicago to Oklahoma City for Giddy. It was just player for player. There's no other picks. Nothing. What is this? Is this Caruso saying, get me out of Chicago? Is this the Bulls saying we need to move on? Caruso, great player, right? For the Bulls. I do know that there's been trade is this Caruso saying get me out of Chicago is this the Bulls saying we need to move on Caruso great player right for the Bulls I do know that there's been like trade conversations

with Caruso for like the last year and a half seemingly now he's let go by the Bulls just for another player no offense to Giddy but like is this expected how should we view this and what does this mean for both teams the Bulls have had offers of one two first round picks on the table over the last couple years for alex crusoe they chose to keep him they wanted to keep him but i think it became apparent around there over the last few weeks that uh an extension was something that alex crusoe wanted and being a part of a situation potentially uh you know contending type situation that was important for him moving forward and it really this trade just depends

on how you view Josh Giddey and some people have their opinions on Josh Giddey the Bulls they love Josh Giddey they really for the last year or so they've looked into Josh Giddey they've scouted him they've looked at him deeply and with Lonzo Ball you not being sure about his future at that position whether he's going to be able to play at a high level again they felt like this was an opportunity getting someone that they can build with for the next four or five years and trading someone who's who's now 30 years old who's trying to win and being being part of a more contending situation so this literally just comes down to the future of josh getty the bulls are very high the bulls are bullish on joshideon and his future. They believe he has potential. Obviously, as

a shooter, that's an area that he has to improve, but from a ball handling perspective, passing, we see right there he can bring that. Just two years ago, he averaged 17, 8, and 7, so this is someone that has shown some potential. Okay, so Caruso, they're going to get a deal

done. He's going to be in Oklahoma City forever. It's Caruso town, and with that Oklahoma City team, they're young. You add Caruso, they're going to get a deal done. He's going to be in Oklahoma City forever. It's Caruso town. Probably. And with that Oklahoma City team, they're young. You add Caruso, they got to, I mean. Perfect. Are we talking about Oklahoma City all of a sudden? I mean, this is.

We've been talking about Oklahoma City as a contender. They have arrived. No, amen. Yeah, in the playoffs run. But, like, we're talking about J.J. Redick and the Lakers. Like, if they win, they go and do the thing. It's like, Oklahoma City just had a phenomenal playoff run. Everybody's talking about SGA and how young they are and how good they are and yada, yada, all that stuff. Like this is not a – but like immediately after they get eliminated –

They're competing for championships. They're competing for championships moving forward. But as soon as they get eliminated, nobody talks about it. It's like Oklahoma City, okay, we still got Denver. How's Denver going to bounce back? And it's like Phoenix. Well, Phoenix is going to figure it out right now because they got a whole new situation brewing down there with the coach. Timberwolves. And then, yeah, Timberwolves, Ant-Man's the next one. J.J. Redick and the Lakers is going to figure it out right now because they've got a whole new situation brewing down there with the coach. T-Wolves.

And then, yeah, Timberwolves, Ant-Man's the next one. J.J. Redick and the Lakers are going to be away. It's like nobody really talks about Oklahoma City. And then they just brought in Caruso, who's a dog. It's like they got legitimately better. One seed, yeah. It's like, holy shit, Oklahoma City might ruin all the fun and games for every NBA conversation that's happening in the West all of a sudden.

They're building, and they still have salary cap space. They have a 30 million range of salary cap space that people expect them to use, either in trades or in free agency. And so their team to continue to monitor, I think you look at that center position, that's still a position that could need one more body. I think they're still going to be active when you think about that center spot whether it's someone coming off the bench to

relieve chet holmgren playing alongside chet holmgren that's going to continue to be a focus for the for the thunder but there this was a move for them that that takes them one step closer to contending one step closer to winning they got a taste of that playoff experience they didn't know exactly what they had they didn't know how these pieces would all align and look come playoff time they won one series obviously they lost in the second round they feel like caruso can make an impact for them they're still trying to get one or two more pieces as well yeah and i assume caruso feels like he can as well i think he's probably going to be pretty excited to join that squad down there and i think that entire team and maybe the entire city should be very pumped that the only reason they didn't win this year is because that fucking commercial yeah that's right next year they're not gonna run that

commercial so it's a whole new that was potentially you know once they let that out into the universe the universe was like not this year this can't happen at the same exact set them free just set them free now bingo that's what it is peruso come we got a time. Just set them free. Just set them free now. Bingo. That's what it is. Caruso, we've got a whole new year. Set them free from that entire thing. I'm excited for next year's Oklahoma City team. Now, are they going to maybe bring a guy back? Connor has a question for you. Shams, yeah, it's been reported now that Paul George might opt in to his option

and then ask for a trade to where he wants to go. What's the status on that? And also, thank you for congratulating me on winning an NBA championship. You don't need any more. I thought we did that the other day. I don't think there's any more. I thought you'd be at the parade, BC. Next one, next year. I'm kind of upset that you're not at the parade. Should have sent you

out there as a correspondent. I should have plugged that in there. Paul George... We have no connection with the Celtics. None. Let's let this be known. We have reached out numerous times. People wonder why we didn't have any Celtics on throughout this entire time.

We've reached out. We're talking ghosted. Just completely, which we respect. Most banners in the history of the NBA. But it's not for a lack of effort. We would like to let that be known on our side in this entire thing. I would think they've been swamped, but, I mean gotta some some celtics got a few weeks yeah it's been a few i mean we've been we've got it but hey paul george boston celtics boston celtics paul george yeah let's get back paul george yep let's get back yeah so

paul george still figuring out his future i think multiple routes can be at play, right? Opting in, getting traded. He's done that before or he's seen that be done before. That's something that Chris Paul has done in the past. We've seen players opt in, trade. That has taken place. Paul George, a few years ago, he's never been a part of real free agency. He's been traded before. He's extended.

He's been traded. But to really, truly experience free agency, I think that's something Paul George seems like he's on that route of doing and experiencing it and being out in a marketplace with teams. But one team that has been mentioned with him is Philadelphia. And you never say never. You never say 100%. But right now, the signal that they're giving teams around the league is they are open for business. They have $40 million in cap space. They have multiple draft picks that they can trade. And they feel like over the next week or so they can be aggressive.

And if there's an option that presents itself, they can move now and not have to wait on Paul George in free agency. And so there's someone to keep an eye on over the next week or so. How do they use that salary cap space? But Paul Georgeorge he'll have multiple options i mean whether it's going back to the clippers uh i mean you there's gonna be multiple suitors for him in the marketplace okay i can't wait to see maybe he comes back to indiana yeah maybe his first wendy yeah oh they need to they need bingo they were saying trey young is maybe going to end up going there but now it's not much trey young might be in atlanta

still which is wild which yeah because we were told he's gone because of keeping Murray. But instead now Murray might be going to the Lakers and Trey might stay in Atlanta. Don't love that. I don't understand what the hell is going on. The NBA is a wild place. Thanks for keeping it all in track for us, Shams. You're the man. And congrats on somebody else getting hired and getting a new deal to another team that you said was going to happen.

May 24th. On PMS. On PMS. Shout out PMS. Shout out the program. Ladies and gentlemen, Sean Sherrod. Yeah, Sean! Because technically, I guess the way it could be phrased is that our show had the news and we were licensed through ESPN.

So, they still could have taken credit. But, still could have taken credit. Oh yeah. But no, no, no. I mean the memes were worth it yesterday anyways. So many Kendrick Lamar concerts

with this is Shams right now in his house or his apartment and everybody knows that Shams isn't going to have a hood over his head like Kendrick Lamar had ever or had because he's got to have that hair. That bucket. And those of you that don't know or haven't got a chance to see Shams without his hair completely done, he looks so cool.

He looks like he's out of a model. I think you might be the only one that's ever seen it. Yeah, we faced him. Well, I made sure everybody could see what it looked like. Shams Chalamet. Yeah, he looks so good. Yeah, true. Okay, so the NBA obviously alive and well. Any other sports happening? Oh, yeah, NHL tonight. Stanley Chalamet. Yeah, he looks so good. Yeah, true. Okay, so the NBA obviously alive and well.

Any other sports happening? Oh yeah, NHL. Tonight, Stanley Cup final game happening in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Bingo. That is a city that loves their hockey, obviously because it's come from Canada, but also that is a city that's barn is notoriously loud. Tonight

should be a spectacle. From 7 o'clock, whenever the point starts, with Lee V. Mess and P.K. Subban, who will join us next hour, through the game, which is going to be electrifying. Connor McDavid has started to turn things up a little bit. He's on track to break a record that Wayne Gretzky has for most points in an entire playoff run.

He's at 42. Gretzky's at 47. He could potentially have six points tonight. That's what this dude does in games. But on the other side, Kachuk, the son of Walt, could lead the Florida Panthers to their first ever Stanley Cup up in Edmonton. And then they fly eight hours with that thing back to South Florida where a celebration will certainly be on the horizon in Sunrise, Florida.

Tonight's an epic one. Very pumped up to watch this thing. Yeah, juiced. And after talking to Jack Johnson, it almost feels like the assumption going into this game is like, okay, Oilers at home. It's going to be an unbelievable atmosphere. Probably very hard to win. But then Jack Johnson kind of laid it out how it's more so for Florida.

These last two games kind of already had this idea of a celebration. The family came out to Edmonton for game four, and then obviously game five at home, they blow it when everyone's in there. This might be a bunker mentality absolute war tonight. I'm jacked up. This is why we watch, boys.

This is why we watch. There's some stats coming out about Stuart Skinner, who's the goalie for the Edmonton Oilers, who's only been getting more in his bag. I don't know if anybody's more in their bag than that guy right there. What you just saw there is out of a movie, magic. You would think that you would have to prepare all those other people saying, all right, you go left, this guy's going to go right,

then we'll put three sticks on his stick and he's still going to go. He is just phenomenal. That's in a Stanley Cup final game, so in a must-win Stanley Cup final game. This dude is special. That team is special. But what this Florida Panthers team has been, even through last year, is a physical dominant team that's been able to answer and respond. This was the

year that they were supposed to win the Stanley Cup after losing the Stanley Cup Finals last year. Now, are they going to trick this thing off? Are they going to let this Edmonton Oilers team get hot? Stuart Skinner, the goalie for the Edmonton Oilers is obviously undefeated in elimination games. They've made it to the Stanley Cup Final, but he's been standing on his head the most in these elimination games.

Whenever the back is against the wall, the mustache goalie for the Edmonton Oilers has been doing everything. And not just doing it. He's been vibing while doing it. Dancing. Making things look easy. Flying around. Glove saves.

And a beauty. Back-to-back nights. SportsCenter Top 10. Da-da-da. Da-da-da. Tonight's a good one. Tonight is going to be a great one. And it's going to be a perfect friday

night yeah connor talks about bunker mentality for florida like i think edmonton too like they had no hope you know a couple days ago and now all of a sudden you wonder like uh mess said you know hey in the playoffs you know you're not really worried about the media you have to be mentally tough obviously all this stuff's coming at you but mcdavid had to hear some of the stuff that people were saying you know people are taking shots at him when he's going out there and playing unbelievable you wonder if the other guys on the team weren't like okay like let's let's kind of hold the rope a little bit here for this guy because he has been absolutely unbelievable game

in game out the i know paul murray said momentum isn't real you kind of have to but the amount of momentum that edmonton has right now like you wonder if they won't be able to to kind of you know move on i don't know on that point jack johnson said a lot of people can uh credit momentum with things sometimes it's just an adjustment that you make in the middle of a series and that adjustment can change everything yes it's like if you find who we should be attacking how we should be attacking maybe something on the goalie hey we've learned that this is seemingly a weak spot. All you need is one or two of those adjustments.

Jack Johnson, he's been in the NHL for 17 years, I think, has been a Stanley Cup champion. He said a lot of people credit things to momentum when in reality, it was just strategy, an adjustment, a change. Have the Edmonton Oilers done that? And if they have figured it out with the amount of speed, talent, and I would say gut sack that that team has,

maybe it is a swing from 3-0 all the way to a Game 7, and maybe tonight the other stretches thing one more game. And I think it was McDavid after either Game 2 or Game 3 when they were down where he was like, hey, I'm excited to see what we're made of, like what this team is all about, which is so sweet because obviously he's your best player, but then he goes out and he has back-to-back games with four points in each game, and him being the finals MVP award favorite is incredible because if this is a situation where they come all the way back and they do win,

obviously he wins MVP, but does he automatically then, even with only one Stanley Cup, yeah, Mount Rushmore, he has the most points ever in a playoff run, and he came back from 3-0, first team ever in a Stanley Cup final. All of a sudden, McDavid is officially one of the greatest. And you can have the conversation. Yes, for sure. You can legitimately have the conversation, as opposed to any time you mention his name to Super Hockey Purist,

he hasn't won a cup. No cup. He has no cup. So let's slow down. He's fast. He's got dangles. For sure. Yeah, he's good.

Seemingly has the perfect mindset, work ethic. He speaks – yeah. He has no cup, so let's not even get ahead of ourselves. Yeah. That is kind of what the thought has been about Connor McDavid. And then if he does win this, it's like all of a sudden Connor McDavid fans, which there are many because of how phenomenal he is at the hockey. They're like, yeah, he's got a cup.

Put a team on his back, a city on his back. All of Canada is on Edmonton right now. And he's got a cup, put a team on his back, a city on his back. All of Canada is on Edmonton right now. And he's their Canadian boy. And if that beard continues to grow into a Bigfoot Sasquatch more look, there's going to be some real merch opportunities here for this guy as soon as he gets on to Mount Rushmore as well. Those consummate odds that were up there just a little bit ago have moved quite a bit too.

Just two days ago, even after game five, he was like minus 175, minus 180. So in two days, they haven't played any games. He's gone to minus 350. So that's probably how much money is coming in on him to win the consmith. But as far as momentum goes, I don't know how the teams feel. If it's in a certain city and it's staying in that city and it's only one day off, momentum sure carries on. But when it's two days off and then you travel eight hours

all the way back to Edmonton, is the momentum still with the Oilers? But is it as much as it would have been if they were in the same city only one day off? Yeah, maybe this is where the eight-hour flight really changes. Maybe it cools them off, but coming home to that

barn is obviously great. And you talk about that minus 350. If the Oilers were going go on to lose this Stanley Cup Finals, he would become like the sixth player in the history of the NHL to win the consummate while losing the Stanley Cup Finals. This is a playoff performance award, is allegedly what it is, through the entire thing, and five times. Four goalies and Leach, I believe. Reggie Leach, 1976.

Yeah, it hasn't happened in forever where a player who loses the Stanley Cup wins the consmite, which was potentially going to happen in the NBA when people were talking about Luka maybe because he was having 30-point triple doubles the first couple games in a losing effort. And then Steven Jackson from all the smoke said, if they pick Luka and they lose the title to be the finals MVP, he said, I will hate basketball. I will bury basketball. If he was to win this and they go on to lose tonight i think people would still be like

yeah it makes sense yeah it should have won yeah it makes sense even though it has only happened five times in the history of hockey four goaltenders uh goalies who have stood on their head i'd assume they lose four games one nothing-0 or 2-1 or something like that. And these goalies win the consmite. And then Leach in 1976. But look at those years. 66, 68, 87. 2003, obviously, is in the 21st century, but 21 years ago. And then 1976. Hasn't happened

in recent history. And if the Florida Panthers win tonight, Connor McDavid's going to win it. It'll be the sixth time, and it's for good reason. And the big difference is that a lot of people don't know is is the consmith is the entire playoffs versus the basketball conference finals with luca that would have been just that finals or whatever but the consmith if he goes out and he's top two top three all time and points all time and they go to game six or game seven and they lose yeah i can see it happen yeah good luck to all the boys out there

chuck's friend of the program, so obviously. Hey, plus 4,000 for Kachuk. He rings in a hat trick. Sure. I mean, I don't know. I don't hate that at all. Maybe. He's been picking it up.

Last game, goal and assist. McDavid had two goals, two assists. I mean, it was like them where they were battling. You're going to have to wake up a little bit more, though, obviously. Football has some stuff going on. The Raging Cajuns of Louisiana. Lafayette. Lafayette.

They have the cheapest beer in any sports park. Two bucks, Natty Lake Cans. Legends. Promoting it, too. Pete Thamel broke the news saying. So if we could get it. Okay, there we go Sources close to the situation tell ESPN That UL students

Can enjoy a natural light can for $2 Live on In the petty college sports Never change I like that Pete Thamel found a good joke in that Because yesterday we learned that Tennessee is charging $13 a beer Which is the most expensive in all of college football

And Louisiana Lafayette comes out And says $2 come get it as you can Tennessee is charging $13 a beer, which is the most expensive in all of college football. And Louisiana Lafayette comes out and says, $2, come get it as you can. Natty like cans. Might be cold, might be warm, whatever the case, it's $2. You do what you got to do. That's got to be the cheapest drink in any stadium, arena, anywhere at this standpoint of it. Yeah, that's why I worry this is going to be a one-week thing. Because that first week.

It's hot down there, too. Hot in that first week. I don't know what they do, because obviously the beer snake's a thing. And that first week i don't know what they do because obviously the beer snakes the thing and with cans i don't know how it works but those raging cage fans are going to drink a million natural lights and they're going to be like i it got too rowdy in here we can't do this anymore let's stay in the college football world lane kiffin and kirby smart are in the middle of a little bit of a battle with their bosses i don't know exactly who the bosses are is that uh athletic directors, is that presidents, is that commissioners, is that we don't know who it is. But at a meeting earlier this week, Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart heard out a potential layout

of eliminating walk-ons from college football teams. And Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart were the leaders, I guess, ringleaders, are saying, if this is a money thing, you can take money out of our contracts to pay for these walk-ons to come on the team never hear anybody at those positions say anything like that and actually mean it and i think source cities have told us that both kirby smart and lane kiffin 100 serious if it's a money issue for walk-ons we would love to be the ones that help foot the bill in this entire thing because of the importance of walk-ons in football obviously Obviously, Kirby Smart played football in college, had a pick on Peyton Manning,

I think two of them in the time in which Georgia played Tennessee. So you're talking about a guy who's been in the locker room, understands the importance of walk-ons, understands what walk-ons mean to college football. Then Lane Kiffin has gone on and told stories about guys who have been walk-ons and then become stars on their team and then making it to the NFL let alone the walk-ons that come in there and do the drills that guys don't want to do just so that they can help and support the team and be a part of the team the fact that there's a thought that we need to eliminate walk-ons from big-time college football is so stupid and it also makes me believe that people making a lot of these decisions

don't know ball. And if we got people who don't know ball making decisions in this transition era of college football, we need to figure that out. We need to cut that out. And we need to preserve this sport and make this sport as great as it possibly can be while transitioning with people that understand what the hell is going on in locker rooms, in sport, in football as a whole. And I stand firmly on the side of Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart.

And I appreciate the fact that two of the most famous coaches in sports now, that Coach Saban's out and everything, Kirby Smart's the next, right? Let's talk about it. Are the ones taking such an issue with this is a good thing, and hopefully we'll be able to change this around. I didn't know this was potentially a thing until earlier this week. What a bunch of bullshit. Why would you even think about... Walk-ons are

football lovers. Oh yeah. I'm sorry, ball lovers. Football lovers. You're talking about D3 offensive linemen. They're cleaning their own pads, cleaning their own uniforms so they can show up and practice every single day. They love ball. They want to continue to play ball.-ons love football walk-ons also are a massive piece of the chemistry and culture in the locker room walk-ons whenever they make it and get scholarship are enjoyable moments for the entire entire team life lessons for the entire team walk-ons can inevitably be the reason why your team wins or your team loses.

And the people that seemingly are making the decision have no idea about that being the case. No, and my only question is, what do walk-ons hurt? Like, you've got to add a few more lockers to your $80 million facility? Like, is that the issue here? That walk-on, you've got to supply a little more food in the cafeteria for the walk-ons? Like, they, nothing, walk-ons do nothing. This is stupid. Wrong.

It's ridiculous. In college football. But I appreciate the fact that lane kiffin and kirby were like this is so dumb and uh yeah we're all going to come together and say this is stupid right as we move forward because we've had to craft a team together put a team together we've been here we've done that these people have never gone have no idea what this means in team building and team chemistry in future and dreams and some people blossom late and have dreams and bet on themselves and end up hitting and going for good whatever the case we need dumb people out of decision-making positions we need smart people to continue to tell us what the hell is going on around these leagues joining us now senior nfl insider for espn michigan man and a dude who had his own day of celebration in nassau county yesterday wow ladies and gentlemen adam schefter

nice to meet you guys how we doing once you get a kid you get a key once you get a day of celebration in Nassau County yesterday. Ladies and gentlemen, Adam Schefter. Yay! Nice to be with you guys. How we doing? What you get? A key? Do you get a key? What you get? A paper? What you get? You know, they gave me this little chip that says that you put this down at any bar in my area and you don't have to pay for any drinks ever.

Now, I don't know if that's true or real, but that's what they gave me. You got like a challenge coin from Nassau County? It's like... Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what they say. Now, I got to test this out. Now, I'm not a big drinker.

There's my daughter. That was honestly the cool part. Oh, there's a guy standing right in the way, obviously. Yeah, you know, get out of the way. Okay, anyway. Bringing my daughter along and just having her sit in the county commissioner's office and listening to him and the judges. You want to hear the great part about this.

He did count the commissioner over my shoulder right there. Right. I didn't know this till afterwards. Somebody came home. We were talking about his family and his second wife and his children. Do you know his first wife? Do you know his first wife is married to? Who?

Paul McCartney. Shut up. Yeah. Well, good for her. Do you know his first wife? Do you know his first wife he's married to? Who? Paul McCartney. Shut up. Yeah. Okay. Well, good for her. Yeah. What a road.

And obviously, Paul McCartney is no stranger to divorce. Let's assume that's not going to happen ever again. But congratulations to both of them seemingly doing great post-divorce. And, you know, sometimes you're just better off away from each other. Sometimes time runs out and then you go and, you know, marry a beetle. That's certainly a story. I'm sure that guy appreciated the conversation if you had it with him. But congrats on this.

You've certainly earned it and deserve it for all of your hard work. Let's talk some NFL news now, okay, shall we? Brandon Ayuk on his own TikTok while he is blogging an entire offseason, I guess, of conversation about contract with the San Francisco 49ers. He literally says, they don't want me back while talking to Jaden Williams, Jaden Daniels, sorry. Jaden Daniels then starts screaming. So now everybody's like, well, he's going to be a commander all of a sudden. Brandon Ayuk is friends with the rookie quarterback that was just drafted because their time at Arizona State. He told them that he's no longer in Niners. Jaden Daniels has a rookie quarterback who hasn't played a game yet, has enough pool to say, hey, we need to go get Iyuk.

Maybe that's the case. What's happening over there? Obviously an incredible ball player. We'd love to have him here in Indianapolis. Obviously the Commanders would love to have him. I'm sure there's like 30 other teams that would love to have him. How does this end up, and how did we get here, Shefty? Well, I think what happened here is, let me state for the record,

that the 49ers absolutely do want Brandon Ayuk back, despite what he says, but they don't want him back, as he thinks, at the price that he's seeking. And so that's where the breakdown occurs at this point in time. They've had contract talks throughout the offseason, and at one point it seemed like they were closing in on a deal only to see the wide receiver market explode. We've seen Jalen Waddell come in with a very strong deal that averages about $28 million guaranteed or $28 million a year with a lot of guaranteed money. Justin Jefferson comes in at 35. And I think once some of these wide receiver deals started getting done, the Eagles did both their receivers. I think the number might have shifted in Brandon Ayuk's mind.

But the Niners have always wanted him back. There have been conversations at various points with other teams where they asked if he were available. The Niners never were serious about trading him. And they want him back. But the problem is they can't get a deal done right now so Brandon Ayuk is interpreting that as they don't want me anymore no they want him here they just don't want him at the number that he wants to be there at with what the wide receivers are going for in this day and age and yes everybody knows he played with Jaden Daniels at Arizona State

at one point prior to the draft the the Commanders, Niners had some discussions that never went anywhere about a potential trade, and the Niners wanted to hold on to him, and they still want to hold on to him, and they're not looking to deal him. Now, could his stance, his public comments, the lack of any contract talks in recent days, weeks, influence their decision later on? Sure, but this is a team that is trying to win a Super Bowl. They're not trying to move on from Brandon Ayuk. And we see what the Bengals are doing with Tee Higgins. He's not going to get a long-term deal done there, but they're going to hold on to him this season and he'll become a free agent after the year. And I think it's a similar situation where the Niners aren't looking to move on from Brandon Ayuk. They do want him there, but there's a

disconnect on the price that he believes and they believe he should be paid for this upcoming season. In T. Higgins' vlog, we saw him basically understand that he's going to be with the Bengals for one year. It was almost like he acknowledged, like, I'm going to be there for one year. This is how the Bengals operate.

This is how the Bengals operate. But I assume Iyuk is thinking to himself, everybody's getting paid around me in San Francisco but me. So I think he has a little different view on like, yeah, this is going to be my last year. I'm going to play out this franchise tag and then I'm going to move on and go somewhere else. It's an interesting... Well, he's not on the franchise tag.

No, no, I'm sorry. Last year on his contract. Sorry. And by the way, they could tag him after this year. And what's the franchise tag? 22. So he's in a little bit of a tougher position here and by the way like if you're the niners if you're the niners you're not just gonna let brandon iuk walk out the door without tagging him and having some say in getting something back for him this is one of those situations where we're all reminded that, like, in a lot of people's minds, the NFL, the NBA,

the NBA definitely, players-driven league, player-driven league, player-driven league. It's like this is one of those situations where it's like, San Francisco 49ers hold all the cards here. They hold all the cards right here. And that sucks for IU, but that's just the reality of the situation. Well, when you've got a year left in your contract, and the team has its franchise tag at its

disposal... Two franchise tags. You go back-to-back. You can't franchise tag somebody three times, but you can franchise tag them two times. That's a Lamar Jackson conversation. So they've got three years of Brandon Iuke right now. Right, and I'd have to add up the franchise tag for two years and what it would be, but I'll bet you

it's less than what they're offering right now. What is it? It's 25% more than what you made the year before, or if the average of the top five at your position has changed enough for it to go up. I think the franchise tag for Tee Higgins this year is, what, 21-8, so you have to figure that's going to go up next year. I'd have to make some calls, and I don't have that information ready.

It's in my fingertips. Chase deal, CD deal. Michael Pittman's up at 27. Everybody's going up. So let's say the franchise tag number is 24, 25 next year. I'm guessing off the top of my head. 26. It's still not going to be the number that he wants it to get to.

And then they'll be able to franchise tag him again the next year. I wonder if Ayuk knows that because I'm just realizing that. He knows it. He knows it. He knows it, but this is his time right now to make noise, to create an issue. I hope he gets a deal done. Get to New England, brother. I hope he gets a deal done.

By the way, at this time a couple of years ago, I do believe Debo Samuel stated that he wanted to be traded and wasn't going to play in San Francisco again. So you can do and say whatever you want at this time of the year. Let's see what happens when everybody's reporting to camp and training camp's underway. That was a FaceTime he was on. Was it him

or was it the other person? I think it was the other person on the FaceTime. But he was certainly associated with it. I think it was A.J.? A.J. Brown was on that FaceTime. Yeah, there's been a lot of noise out of the Niners team. And somehow, when a season gets back together, I mean, even if you've got a quarterback working out on a third field during training camp, somehow, whenever they get on the field,

they still go and play great. Success brings money for everybody, but not necessarily at the team that you're at. Hopefully, they're able to figure out how you can, or if not, come right here to the Indianapolis Colts. Well, hold on. Wait, wait, wait. Before we move on from that,

every team that has any sort of wide receiver question slash need would want Brandon Iyuk. Oh, yes. Every one of them. Yep. Okay. But why would the 49ers, who are vying for a Super Bowl title,

move on from a guy like Brandon Iyuk right now to get a draft pick in 2025 when they can tag him after the year and conceivably trade him at that point and get his services this year at a relatively cap-friendly deal. Like, that doesn't make sense. Yeah, well, we want him at the Colts at a cap-friendly deal. And we let him know, you know, we'll pick up the contract and then we'll pay about $24 million next year.

It'll be a one-year deal. You'll be forced to sign it. And then next year, $28 is pretty good. And then you'll be able to be a free agency. That's literally the world to Iukes, and I hope they figure it out before the season happens. Now, last question here that's kind of all-encompassing, Mr. Schefter. Go ahead, Connor.

Yeah, Schefter. Tom Palacero said on Rich Eisen talking about the possibility of a kind of quarterback cap on their own, and that is very similar to the situation in 1994 with the whole quarterback club thing. With the contracts that are happening and then also the ones that are, you know, coming in soon, allegedly, with Dak, Tua, Jordan Love, some of those guys, is there a way where this does head towards a place

along the salary cap where it is quarterbacks on their own and then everybody else is that something that could happen or what do you hear are you saying that quarterback deals would be capped no they would have their own cap yeah like you would they would be separate from the salary gap it'd be like a max contract okay this is something that i've kind of chatted about since the new cba because the new cBA upped the amount of money, obviously. Money's going up. But all that means is a bigger contract for quarterbacks.

And then kind of the middle tier is kind of getting eliminated because the rookies are $400,000 cheaper on their men versus the vet men, which is like $800,000. So there has to become a time. This was like years ago I said this, where the quarterbacks are just kind of taken out of the salary cap. They have their own thing. Now, how would that get handled? How would that be? And then are we creating a quarterback club all again like it's 1994 when all the big-name quarterbacks kind of had their own agreement? They got their own video game, their own merch, their own deals.

Like, are we eyeing that down? Is there a chance that that takes place with the percentage of the salary cap that these quarterback contracts are becoming? I just think quarterbacks have always been in that category where they're on their own, where they're getting the predominant part of the salary cap. Teams have understood it. They're the most important players in the sport. I can make the argument they're the most important players in any sport. And they've always gotten the lion's share of the salary cap. And they

always will. It's hard to imagine that you branch off and create a separate salary cap for the quarterbacks. But we also are entering a period where there could be a whole lot of change with the NFL pushing and wanting an 18 game regular season season schedule with the expansion of international games so I think there's a lot of things that could come into play but I haven't heard anything about a quarterback salary cap on their own like that that that would be outside the box to me. Now, we'll say this. When the league created the franchise tag, that was done in the early 1990s.

And at that time, I was a newspaper reporter for the Denver Broncos. And one of the people behind that idea was Pat Bowlen. And the franchise tag was created solely to keep players like John Elway in Denver, Dan Marino in Miami. And then over time, it evolved into a weapon for teams that all of a sudden they're using that franchise tag on a player like Tee Higgins or a cornerback or an edge rusher. And that was never, never the original tent of the franchise tag. And now there's franchise tags, transition tags. They use it on other players. The original idea was to keep a franchise player,

a true franchise player, in a city for a long period of time. And it's evolved into a weapon, another weapon, for the owners to use on any player that they don't want to lose. So this also could be introduced into discussions in the next CBA talks if that was something that the PA wanted to address. I was franchise tagged as a punter for the Indianapolis Colts. And that was not supposed to happen. That is against the spirit of what the tag was for.

Second most jersey sales, so you tell me. You tell me. But you're right, though. And then back in the day, they could do it just forever, too. I think Vinatieri got franchise tag like three years straight. And then they put a limit on the new CBA. It's like a tax. If the government introduces a tax and they're getting money, they're never going to turn it off.

If the NFL introduces a way for the owners to have more power and for you to avoid free agency, they're never going to turn it off. I'm excited to see what the franchise tag is in the future. And I'm excited to see how we divvy up the salary cap. And who will be the first quarterback to say, I don't to see what the franchise tag is in the future, and I'm excited to see how we divvy up the salary cap, and who will be the first quarterback to say, I don't need to break the record. Let's go ahead and build a team. We shall see. Schefter, we appreciate the hell out of you. Congrats

on your celebration yesterday. Congratulations on the Celtics to Connor there. Thank you very much, Schefter. Thank you. Finally home. Ladies and gentlemen, Adam Schefter! Yay! Sports! We're lucky to talk about sports every single day. Yesterday, thank God, Jack Carr came through here and saved our life.

He saved our program, saved our show. We had no idea what was happening, but Jack Carr made it all happen. And that's what Jack Carr does. His seventh book in his Terminal List series is available now called Red Sky Morning. Kenny Chesney was stopped by yesterday. He's on tour right now coming to a city near you. You should go check it out.

Obviously, a Kenny Chesney concert is a good time. Even if it's 95 degrees with 100% humidity at 9 p.m. in the evening somehow like it's Indianapolis, Indiana football. Hell yeah, baby. That's how it goes. The Talks Table is here at Boston Corner at Ty Schmidt. Sweet shirt there, Conman. Thank you. Yeah, I just figured, you know, I didn't want to mark out in front of Michael Cole, so I figured, you know, I'll wear this one today.

Very nice one. And also, it's kind of a champion shirt, and because, you know, the parade's today, I figured I'd wear my best. Yeah, congrats to the Boston Celtics and the entire city of Boston, which I believe has shown up. The videos that are coming out of Boston are pretty ridiculous. Yeah, they're saying this is the biggest parade ever just because Friday, of course, and then no school. All public schools

canceled their school today, which was the last day of school either way. So it's kind of like a kickoff to summer. The Celtics are still in school this late in the year? You know how it works now post that thing in 2020. But, again, yeah, because of that, it is the Celtics kind of getting every kid in Massachusetts, probably New England, a free day of summer to go celebrate the boys.

Well, congratulations to the city of Boston. I know it's been five long years. Terrible years. Since you guys have gotten the opportunity to go downtown and just shut it down and celebrate. Are those the duck boats? That looks like garbage. Is that a dumpster? That looks like a garbage truck. Those are some of the duck

boats. You guys probably wouldn't recognize them just because there hasn't been championships in your cities in decades. That looks like a dumpster. We don't ride a dumpster. Yeah, okay. Let's put the Boston Celtics, the new champs, in the back of a dumpster truck. No, I mean, I don't know which one that is. There's a duck boat right there in the front. That one might have been a

dumpster truck. I'm not sure, but I do know that that right there, boom, that is an aquatic vehicle. Yeah, that one, that's a semi. That is not a duck boat. That's a smart idea. You put a stage on the back of that thing and actually start moving that around town and save a company maybe $250,000. Yeah, around there.

There's that aquatic vehicle. That thing is going to enter into to enter oh i can see how that would suck though because the roof you know everybody wants to kind of be staying at the top so the duck boat's kind of not perfect for the parade maybe the dumpsters are the perfect thing for the parade for bat for the nfl i would agree for basketball it's perfect because you put the you put the player the players up top and then like all that area on the bottom family friends all those people they can still ride in said duck boat but yeah yeah but they're like sticking out of a convertible roof in a car right now like in an suv when you're all boozed up or you're like i want to feel the wind and then you stand up on the the middle console and you stand and you're out there and all of a sudden the brakes hit and you're like they're in a kind

of uh that's not necessarily i mean look the front. They're getting jammed in. You guys are getting wedged in there. Yeah, they're packed in. I mean, hey, that's Boston Celtics parade football, baby. You guys are comfortable with parades. I mean, you've done it. You've been there, done that. Who am I to talk about this?

I mean, I thought Pacers were going to bring one here to Indianapolis. Yeah, no, at some point within your lifetime, they will. I mean, the next 10 years looks just like that. You should just probably take a long look at that duck boat because you're going to see that next year. All the green out the top of it. Yeah, all the green. Yeah, but wait until the fever win.

Oh, when the fever wins. Fever about to win this whole thing. This place is going to burn to the ground. Yeah, they figured it out. You're right. We're going to move along. One half of the hammer. Done.

Cowboys. Tone Diggs is here. Tone, whenever you see a city like this celebrating, you can't help but say to yourself, you know what? Sports are the best. They are the best. The entire city is downtown. It is a reason to come together, a reason to gather, a reason to be joyful, a reason to say our town, our place, our area is better than everybody else. We need more of that.

We need more unification of towns in cities and of people and this celebration in boston is obviously a beautiful one and there are no strangers to this obviously and that is quite a bummer but i do see pure joy yeah in every parade yeah my my brain is in a pickle jar and i'm not an octopus so i don't know how to get out of this one because you know i am it makes me celebrate sports you know okay but it's been eight long years since i got to attend one of these parades and jeez nightmares i know it just makes you like eight it kind of pisses me off but also it just makes you want it so much more but yes like when fans of a city get to celebrate something like this especially in the summer

like when the weather's nice like I can't even imagine the day that the Bostonians are having today. So many burnt Irish people downtown in Boston today. If you're aloe vera, you've got to have a tent somewhere because you would move a trillion bottles today. We've got people that are translucently skinned.

Celebrating a parade. Wearing basketball jerseys. In the middle of a heat wave across the country. Let's go ahead and get some lotion up there. They'd sell so many, but again, they don't even care. Boston wants to be sunburned today. I assume there's some people

that are going to be biting curbs just so they can look like Derek White. I hope there's no curbs stomping, obviously, and Derek White got some fresh teeth from what I've been told. He got teeth. I don't know how fresh they are. He has teeth. No, he got a fresh new... Fresh set. I think those might be temporary.

I think he might have to go back into the lab there. Everything's temporary, including our existence, so we need to enjoy the moment that we have, which is exactly what they are doing in Boston. Joining us now is a man who was not a part of a parade, but he was certainly a part of a Super Bowl celebration and a college football celebration after he won the national championship. The former president of Ohio, the all-time leading tackler for the Green Bay Packers, ladies and

gentlemen, A.J. Hawk. We're happy for Boston, aren't we, A.J.? Yeah, super happy for Boston, man. I mean, thank you. Con Man might not be that far off, man. We might be watching this for many times over the next 10 to 12 years. Yeah, our only hope and by hope, I don't want it to happen because it would certainly stink, but for any fans of any other team, seemingly, after what we just watched through that playoff run with

everybody on the court that played returning somehow, we need them to start hating each other. Everything that the sports media was trying to do during this entire playoff run, we need to start taking place. I was here in Indiana whenever the Heetles existed and this Pacers team was on quite a

run. They had Paul George, George Hill, Roy Hibbert, Lance Stevenson. It was a fantastic team to watch. They were selling out. We're making the Eastern Conference Finals. We're making the playoffs. It was good. And something happened and the team just didn't like each other. The team was just not a team anymore

for whatever reason. And all the parts get traded away. Everybody kind of leaves. Larry Bird was around. He's no longer. It was like an entire rebuild of a franchise had to take place because something happened with the team.

And it might have just been they got sick of each other. It might have been success. Who's the blame? Who is the person? It's like that seemingly is the only thing that could break of each other. It might have been success. Who's the blame? Who is the person? It's like that seemingly is the only thing that could break up this Celtics team who have more talent. They have a coach who is a super genius, and he's very young

and under contract for a long, long time. They've got superstars that can keep up with anybody else's superstars. They're marquee. They've got a city that is behind them and knows basketball. It's like the only thing that all these other teams can hope for is that there's division within, that the enemy happens within their own camp. And I think Joe Mazzulla would tap out anybody that tries to make it. So I don't know if that's possible.

And that sucks for everybody, but it's got to be great for freaking Boston Celtics fans. Oh, man, it is so cool. And I'm just now seeing the sign on the duck boat, we print champions. That's incredible. But, yeah, Joe Mazzulla, I mean, that whole Derek White quote, now seeing the sign on the duck boat we print champions that's incredible but yeah joe mazula i mean that whole derrick white quote when he won you know coach of the month or whatever eastern coach of the month whatever the hell it is and he said hey nobody cares like that is the thing with all the players i feel like that that kind of leaks down like if jaylen brown and jason tatum

both have unbelievable months but only one of them wins eastern conference player of the month if your coach doesn't give a shit about that, I assume same thing goes for the players. I mean, we've seen that with the Finals MVP. That is certainly not how it's always been, but you would think and hope that that's how the Celtics are. But the only wish and hope for any other team right now, as we look at it, a team that won 11 straight games through the playoffs.

80 total. Best of seven series. So four, yep. Four, yep. Three. Dominant. Dominant throughout. Well, everybody was injured. Okay, we'll send the West in. Let's see what happens. Send the healthy West in. Let's see what happens here. Boom.

They just beat the shit out of them. Everybody returning. That's not supposed to happen. That is not... And you have a very... Your front office seems to all be in line with each other. They all, like, from the top down, the Celtics kind of have it rolling right now. Everybody's rolling in the same exact direction. Their superstars don't care. They're both rich.

Well, that's, they need to somehow, if they were to stiff Tatum on his next contract. A not-you type thing. Exactly. Exactly. And pay him a little less than Jalen Brown's making, then we might see a little bit of that division. So that might be the only way. Let's see how good of a franchise you have, Brad.

Yeah. Yeah, let's throw a little bit of adversity in there. Let's send Jay Tatum a deal that, you know, like the fifth guy on the bench for a team just signed for $70 million yesterday. Do that to Tatum because, hey, we need the same money. We can't be getting luxury taxes. Let's see how good your team is then. But instead, Tatum's going to sign a record-breaking deal.

Brown already has a record-breaking deal. Derrick White is going to sign a contract as well. Al Horford's somehow getting younger. Yeah, he's staying. Peyton Pritchard's still going to be able to make long shots from the other one. Al's coming back. Yeah, Al's coming back for another year. Drew Holiday's already signed.

Yeah, Drew Holiday as well. That's crazy they can keep them all intact. I asked Shams this. I said, so, like, in your guys' league, it doesn't matter, you just, whatever. And he's like, well, luxury tax is a real thing, and I think, like, $70 million or $50 million, I forget what it was. As long as your owner doesn't care, right? Wasn't it Ishbo came on here,

he's like, the fans don't care how much we're paying in luxury tax, like, they're not going to say, oh, yeah, we stink, but we're not paying any luxury tax, so good for you. Yeah, the only issue with Ishbo is, I don't know if they're going to win. Exactly. The Celtics are winning. They've got a tough road ahead, it feels like, for Ishbia.

Well, and think about where a lot of the money is coming from. All these playoff games, those are bonus home games, let alone the most important bonus home games. Think about the merch that can be sold at these things, the tickets, obviously, can be sold at these things, the concessions that can be sold at these things. Everything business-wise is playoffs heavy in the NBA. And it's like

the Celtics, if they can make it to the finals each year, it's like this thing is just, who cares about a luxury tax? Let's just go ahead and we'll pay the luxury tax with our Eastern Conference final money that we make. Everything else will be a benefit. It's like, everybody should be trying to do that.

But the reason why you can't is because egos get in the way. And this team seemingly has the egos all under control, which doesn't make any sense in 2024. Well, and it's a little bit different, but you see like the Mets in the MLB, they had the highest luxury tax and they weren't winning. So Cohen was like, all right, not doing this again. And he got rid of a bunch of the guys

that he was paying a shitload of money to. So like if you're winning championships, obviously you're okay with doing it, but then you start missing the playoffs or underperforming, then it's like, okay, well, we're going to blow this whole thing up because I'm not just going to piss away money just to piss away money. Yeah, and if you're willing to spend money, your fans appreciate it. And then if you go on, is this the, what's the team name, owners? It's kind of between a bunch of people but i forget

like uka pagliuca pagliuca and then there's a different one and i think their team they own a soccer team as well gump i think that particular family uh the the celtics is there p-a-g-l-i-u-c-a-s i think that is the name the family's yeah pagliuca is definitely one of them grouse back and i think they... Boom. You just barked into the microphone. Bron Breaker, shout out to you. I believe Grousebeck was the guy.

I thought Grousebeck was the guy who was up there talking. That's a Pagliuca? That's one of the... That's a first name? No, no, no. The Google AI is telling me that Grouse Beck is a majority owner. Yeah, there's not just one. They have like a few that have big stakes.

Who's calling the shots? Atalanta is the soccer team in the Serie A in Italy. Is the? Soccer team. From who? That they own. That's the owner. This just sucks.

I'm sick of it. We're moving on. The Percassi family. The who? The Percassi family. That's not the team that we're talking dude. I'm sick of it. We're moving on. The Percossi family. The who? The Percossi family. That's not the team that we're talking about. Those three people we're talking about. We're talking about the Pagliucas.

Yeah, there is. I mean, this is incredible. Really good work on us. Banner 19. Jack Carr shouldn't have shot that thing down. No, he didn't. He should blow this place up. Thanks for doing it there, Jack.

Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, shout out to Jack Carr. That was scary. Scary moment. For me, especially. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, shout out to Jack Carr. That was scary. Scary moment for me especially. I was sitting here. I wasn't in the dark, literally. Didn't know. You have no idea. Yeah.

Yeah. No idea. Jack Carr is the man. Yep. He is. He is. 100% right. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, is a man who is also the man.

Now, he hasn't saved us, but he certainly entertained the shit out of us. Obviously, the longtime NHL vet, a superstar, but a man who is an NHL analyst on ESPN and the whole world has been loving his coverage both on the ice, in the arena, and in the cities in which he's been traveling to for like the last month on the road, alongside Marc Messier and Steve Levy. Ladies and gentlemen, big Jay Tatum fan, P.K. Subban.

Yeah, P.K. Subban. Yeah, P.K. What's up, kids? What's going on? Hey, listen, you've been on the road for like a month now. You're back up in Edmonton. You're down in South Florida. You had a chance to celebrate with Jay Tatum. We saw the tweet.

Oh, yeah. You not alluding to your Jay Tatum stuff or doing that with the trophy. Massive miss. Leads me to believe that it's not you running your social media. Especially with the thousand hashtags that you put on every single tweet that we need to stop immediately. You saw the arm up.

I had the arm up with the trophy. You got a slide. Come on, there's the arm up. I did the Jay Tatum right there. I got the trophy yeah you gotta slide come on there's the arm up i did the jay tater right there oh yeah i got the trophy one hand oh we're happy that you got a chance to celebrate alongside jay tater and obviously you've been promoting that since uh i think the second round of the eastern conference nba playoffs but who does your tweets we need to talk about it. This is a conversation we need to have. I do. I do them all.

There's no way you do those hashtags. Those hashtags are straight out of social media school where some doofus got a degree somehow and is running the up bingo. There it is. Some social media degree having person is like, yeah, the more hashtags you have, the better. Because the more conversations you can get in.

Let's load this son of a bitch up. It's 2014. Hey, I may have someone. I'm not giving them up. I'm not giving them up right now. You need to tell that person. Enough with the hashtags. They're like 10 years late on the platform, but I do appreciate

and love following along with you, because you're one of the most electrifying humans in all of sport, and Messier and Levy caught you sleeping on his flight back to Edmonton. And how could you not pass out or take a little snooze when you're partying with the Celtics all night one day? Then you're partying with the Edmonton Oilers the other day. Then you're a Snoop Dogg on the other day. You're on quite a run right now, PK. Well, I mean, face down, guys.

I mean, like, that's nose in the pillow. Like, how do you sleep like that? I don't even know how you breathe. Like, really. Truly. We know how. Okay, well, yeah, I got through it. I still think that somebody moved me into that situation when I was sleeping

because I was out cold. I'm not 100% sure I did that on my own. But, yes, I actually, I'll give you the full details. After the game, I ended up meeting up with Leaves and Mess, and I got the FaceTime call from my buddy and Jason Tatum at dinner, and I went down to meet him. As soon as I got there, he dropped the trophy, like, right in my hand, literally. Like, I didn't even have a chance to grab a drink,

and the trophy was in my hands, and all I could think about was two people, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan. Kobe's my guy. That's my guy. I had a chance to meet Kobe and get to know him. He's probably single-handedly had the biggest impact on my professional career as an athlete, just because I've idolized him. But Michael Jordan, for me, I mean, watching that last dance and being able to touch that trophy and for Jay to have done this all. You know, he has such a rich resume at such a young age at 26. Nice guy.

Great kid. You know, Wick Grosbeck, great people. I know him very well as well. So I was happy for the whole city of Boston. Got lots of friends and family there. But for Jason Tatum, I mean mean this is just a start to an amazing career that's going to happen for him and a lot of it has to do with how he carries himself the way he treats people so i'm happy for him happy for the kid yeah and happy for jay tatum's

kid deuce who has one of the coolest photos of all time in that with the confetti falling i mean obviously uh that family we've seen grow and develop over the years, and now Tatum is a champion, and he's on a dock boat right now in Boston, where they are all incredibly inebriated, I would assume. Congratulations to Boston on a hell of a day. Let's talk about an NHL parade that could potentially

be taking place. The Florida Panthers can stop all the momentum and all the gas that is headed towards Edmonton's way, where it was 3-0, 3-1. Now it's 3-2. Back in Edmonton in game six. How do you see this one going? And is this going to continue to be the Connor McDavid show

all the way to a game seven back in South Florida? Well, if Leon Dreisaitl, you know, doesn't find that elite level of his game, it's going to have to be because I think the Florida Panthers' best players are going to get a whole lot better in game six. it's going to have to be because i think the florida panthers best players are going to get a whole lot better in game six they're going to have to be this is a must win game for the florida panthers i don't care about home bites everybody says this and says that uh anything can happen in this series it's gone back and forth but listen edmonton wins this game and pushes a game seven it'll be very very difficult to see florida winning that game

florida's got to get it done tonight they've done it on the road all season they've done it all playoff long i think they got to get it done tonight but i i don't i don't know if i see that happening conor mcdavid back-to-back four-point nights back checking you know physical leading the way and then when when we need a little bit of that greatness when we have to see it it's it's been phenomenal to watch the plays that he's been able to i mean that's ridiculous yeah that's absolutely disgusting car guys two minute and 20 seconds like i can't put it in perspective what two minutes and 20 seconds is on the ice whether you're the fastest player the slowest player like he's gassed right now.

He's got nothing in the tank, and he's still able to make that play. And, you know, when everybody says, oh, you've got to dig deep, you've got to dig deep, this is what you train hard for, like that goal is what that's all about. That's all training. That's all heart. That's all will. You know, it's his skill set, but that was all heart and all will for me. For me, watching that live was the best moment of the playoffs by far

and maybe the best moment that I've seen in a Stanley Cup playoff in a very, very long time, if ever. Watch this. Yeah, and he's the one, too. What the hell? I mean, it's perfect for the sport. It's perfect for the McDavid legacy, as would be, obviously, a Stanley Cup title. They've got to win back-to-back games.

One at home tonight in Edmonton at 8 p.m. on ABC with the points starting at 7 p.m. with Levy, Piquet, and Moose. We can't wait to watch that entire thing. But whenever you talk about McDavid's legacy, he's like minus 350 right now to win the consmith. He would be the sixth player in the history of the NHL to do it losing if florida was able to win this series which they're up they win tonight they win stanley cup which seemingly seems so far away but all it is is three periods of florida panther hockey and they're able to hoist it but this has become the connor mcdavid show which i think is good for hockey because even people that don't like hockey can watch this guy and say damn

this is a marvel that we're watching right here. If he was to win a consummate, everybody in the hockey world would be okay with it, even if they lost the Stanley Cup. It's only happened five times in the history of the NHL. You know, I'm very, very traditional. I think that, like, the consummate trophy should go to the winning team and the best player on that team. That's just my opinion. I like 1960s hockey. That's traditional hockey. that the consummate trophy should go to the winning team and the best player on that team. Hell yeah.

That's just my opinion. I like 1960s hockey. That's traditional hockey. You hate it all the time. That's the way I'm wired. But the way that this guy has played, there is nobody, no one on the Florida Panthers that has been more valuable to their team than Connor McDavid has been to the Edmonton Oilers in getting them to this situation right now. Like this guy, what he's

done in the playoffs, he's the best player on the ice every game. Whether he's getting four points or not, he's still the best player on the ice. If guys can finish 90% of the damn chances that he gets, guys got backdoor tappings're missing nets, hitting poles, hitting legs. Like, this guy is a difference maker, and he's the greatest player on the planet right now. I would not argue that. I ain't gonna go on any rant.

I'm not gonna be upset about it if he gets it. But for me, personally, I think that the cons might should go to the winning team's best player. That's just me. that's just me that's just me you're not the only one that feels that way you're not the only one that feels but he has the mbp hey listen he's the mbp of the playoffs you're breaking gretzky's records in the playoffs i mean come on man like he's five points away yeah he's five points i'm gonna argue that tying

gretzky in points throughout an entire playoff series if he gets six obviously he breaks wayne gretzky who's's wrecking. Now, Wayne has 340-plus point performances throughout the playoffs. Dude, so good. He was so good at hockey. So good at hockey, and we're watching McDavid, obviously, dazzle in front of numbers and ratings

that have been the highest that the NHL has seen ever, I think. So this is a beautiful time for hockey, and the world's best player is putting on a show, but that could all end tonight if the Florida Panthers show up go ahead AJ. PK where do you think Bobrovsky's confidence level is right now after kind of the barrage that he's taken these last two games and also how important is it for Florida to get on the board first tonight you don't want to give Edmonton I would imagine any more momentum especially up there we know that place will be going crazy and try to tamp that down early.

That's a big football mindset right there, AJ just said. Hey, we've got to score first and keep this crowd out of it. Do you guys think that way too? Well, Pat, you just said something, football mindset. But the mindset of the Florida Panthers since they started having success as a team, when Matthew Kachuk got there, was we want to be hard to play against it's hard to play that way but we'd rather be playing that way than playing against someone playing our

style i remember him specifically saying that in the playoffs this year well florida where is this difficult defensive style that you guys play i haven't seen it for the past two games you guys play. I haven't seen it for the past two games. You guys went on vacation. Like, we need to bring back this ferocious forecheck. Nobody could skate the puck through the middle. I'm watching the Rangers series. The Rangers, one game, had one game when Lapierre was going tic-tac-toe through the neutral zone, and he scored those two nice goals. Other than that, nobody's had access to the middle of the ice. I said it at the beginning of the series. You cannot allow Conor McDavid or the Edmonton Oilers to get the middle of the ice i said at the beginning of the series you cannot allow conor mcdavid or the edmonton oilers to get the middle of the ice their game is speed their transition game is quick they got guys that can skate and and florida's kind i don't want to

take the credit away from edmonton or conor mcdavid but florida's kind of beating themselves it's like guys manage the puck every the three games, every time they got the red line, they didn't have an odd man rush. Puck went behind their D. They made Edmonton come 200 feet. So in some ways, it's Edmonton playing better, and they've definitely found the confidence in their game. People talk about momentum.

I don't see momentum. I see it as confidence. Edmonton's the more confident team right now. Florida, to find that confidence, they got to get back to their game. Simplify it. Get in on the forecheck. Get in on the body. Clog up the middle of the ice.

Make this a dogfight. Like, you don't want to get into trading chances with Edmonton Oilers and Conor McDavid. You're not going to win. Confidence is a massive piece of momentum. I didn't know that the hockey world was anti-momentum. That's awesome. I didn't know that. It seems like you guys.

Like in a game, in a game it can happen, but I don't think it transfers from game to game. I think hockey, yeah, I don't see that. Paul Maurice didn't believe in momentum. There's been stats people in the football world that say, momentum's not a real thing. Let's tell you what's real. On third and sevens, 62% of the time, this is what happens or whatever. So then when heard paul murray say it and then i believe jack johnson we were talking to him yesterday he was

like some people credit momentum when actually it was just an adjustment that was made that has changed the way a team is playing or whatever so it was like i didn't know if hockey all of hockey hated momentum and didn't think it was real and if that's what you guys have been selling yourself so pat because it is hold on Pat, you guys are wrong completely. You just said one key thing, Pat. The changes, right? Jack Johnson said that. By way of

the Cup champion. 100%. Jack Johnson. Love Jack Johnson. Respect the hell out of him. Stanley Cup champion is right. That's one of Sid's boys, too. That's one of Sid's old homies. I will say this. It's AJ's brother-in-law boys, too. That's one of Sid's old homies. I will say this. It's AJ's brother-in-law.

Paul Maurice. That's AJ's brother-in-law. Yeah. Really? Yeah. Seriously? No. Yeah, seriously.

That's awesome. That's awesome. Oh, my God. So, Paul Maurice hasn't played one card yet. He's going to be playing Barkov and Forsling. I'd be shocked if those guys get off the ice tonight. Like those guys are going to be playing some big minutes tonight. He knows they got to end this thing here tonight. He doesn't want to see it in game seven. Connor McDavid in one game, one game to win the Stanley Cup. That's what you want to leave it to?

You're nuts. I am not leaving it to one game. I'm going to, I's what you want to leave it to? You're nuts. I am not leaving it to one game. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Forsling and Barkov do not leave the ice tonight. Those guys are going to play some real big minutes. And if you notice, he hasn't really been double-shifting them too much. Conor McDavid played 24 minutes. He's going to get on the ice a ton tonight. So you've got to have your best players.

Both teams are riding with their best players tonight. You better believe it. Let's do some triple shifts, boys. Let's do some triple shifts. You want Stanley Cup or do you not? And then back to AJ's question about Bob getting back from the barrage that he's taken over. Is there a – I mean, I know confidence and momentum,

and you guys do it however you want. Is he done? Is Bob going gonna be okay what are we well he's a two-time besna winner um he he has led his team uh in my opinion if they win and someone's gonna win the cons mic from florida it's going to be him uh if there's a goaltender that's left in the playoffs right now that i trust, I'm trusting Sergei Bobrovsky to bounce back and have one of his best games. So he has to. He has to.

I think that the last two games have been tough. He hasn't been bad. He's made some really good saves. I mean, the 8-1 game's not his fault. I mean, no one played any defense in that game, any real defense anyway. So, you know, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. I think he's going to come out and have a great game tonight. If Florida loses tonight, it's not going to be because

Sergei Bobrovsky had a bad game. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. This guy's played phenomenal. I'm confident that he'll show up today and have a really, really good game and make it difficult on the Edmonton Oilers. That's for sure. He's going to give his team a chance to win tonight. No doubt. Perfect. Let's go to the other end. Go ahead, Connor. Yeah, PK, obviously as a Bruins fan, I know what Bob can do. But when we're talking about kind of the greatness under pressure, Stu Skinner, I believe, is 9-0 in games from game 5, 6, and 7

throughout the playoffs. I think his goals against is like 1.5. How important is that for the Oilers? And I believe their coach also said, like, hey, under these high-pressure situations, Stu Skinner is our best player. Obviously, McDavid is McDavid, but how important is it for him to be able to live

up to that moment? And what do you think his mindset is, obviously, because they have had these couple games where he's been hot? I mean, that started out the game for him last game. I hope Stuart Skinner's family and friends are all watching this when I say this. Sergei Bobrovsky was the best player, best goaltender in the first three games of this series. Stuart Skinner, which Conor McDavid has played so well that nobody has really spoken enough about Stuart Skinner

and how he's played the last two games and how he's going to play today. He has been remarkable. He's done more than just give his team a chance to win games. He's giving his team a chance to win a Stanley Cup. And that's the way he's got to be looked upon. No more of this, you know, well, I don't know about Stuart Skinner. This guy's done it. He's dragged, He's helped drag them back to Alberta. He's been just as much, he deserves just as much credit as Conor McDavid does, as anybody does on the Edmonton Oilers. He has been phenomenal.

And it's not just all the all-around saves. That record is reflective of timely saves. He's making big saves at big moments. That one on Aaron Ekblad, that would have changed the whole look of the game. That was early on. That was in the first couple minutes. I remember that. Edmonton couldn't get out of their zone.

Two icings. McDavid hadn't even touched the puck yet, which was a problem for me. Coach Knobloch, get McDavid on the ice within the first couple minutes. He's waiting too long. McDavid wasn't on the ice. Yeah, like get him on the ice within the first couple minutes he's waiting too long yeah like get him on the ice anyway you know uh stewart skinner made that huge save on that blad the other one through the screen the saves that he's made have definitely been elite so he's playing elite hockey right now

but he deserves it i mean i couldn't be happier for that guy with the up and down season and everything in that edmonton but man he's he he's putting all the haters to bed right here in the finals on the biggest stage. Look at that stage. Unbelievable. PK, is there something in hockey that you can just tell when a guy's in the zone? Because I've mentioned this a few times, but I haven't talked to anybody that's actually on the ice.

He made a massive save. I forget which one it was. It was huge the other day. And then they put a picture up of him with his mustache, and I didn't know he looked the way he looked. He looks awesome. He looks exactly how you would hope that this guy looks underneath the mask. And then they, they showed him before a face-off and he was down in his crouch position, you know, like this with his head down. And he was really just like bobbing to the music and like dancing. And I like,

normally whenever you see a goalie, like they're like, just like so locked in or whatever. It was like, oh, this guy is in his zone. And you know that when you're on the other team. And as a teammate of that, you know like, okay, old buddy is seeing the puck pretty good right now. Is that something that everybody on the ice recognizes whenever you see that type of shit?

100%. And when I look at a guy like him, I don't think of momentum. Like, this is not momentum. Momentum doesn't allow you to see the puck like a beach ball, okay? The pucks are coming at him like beach balls right now, and that's because of confidence. So, the

difference is, when you're not confident, that puck, confident, that puck can feel this big, it can feel that, like, it's hard to see, everything is like through a screen, everything's, when it feels, when you're confident, it's like a beach ball, man. You see every puck coming. He's like picking cherries, right?

He's in the right position all the time. He's fluid in his movement. You can see that. He's tracking the puck. He's reading the plays. He knows where to be. So he's on his game. He's sharp.

But that's confidence. That's goaltending. Goaltending is hot and cold. You're seeing a guy like Sergey Bobrovsky who's maybe going through a little bit of ups and downs right now. Some of it may not all be on him. It's the guys around him, but for Stuart Skinner it's all confidence right now and the puck

definitely looks like a beast. Yeah, definitely not momentum. No, not momentum. It's confidence. It's like, hey, I'm not hot. I'm just sweating. Okay. Got it. That makes sense. Basketball players, whenever they hit one and people are like, let's get the okay you know got it yeah that makes that makes sense yeah right because basketball players you know whenever they hit one and people are like let's get the ball back to that guy and then he

hits another one that's not momentum no no no that's just him confident from having success the one before that makes the outcome more likely to be better the next time bingo okay so that wouldn't be the definition no no it's like hey's like, hey, I'm not tired. I'm sleepy. Okay. I didn't know you hockey people hated momentum. I had no idea that that was... That's development. That is a...

Because hockey is a game of runs. The ice is tilted. Of momentum. Especially with goalies. The goalies get like, it is crazy. Okay, so let me give you a quick scenario, right? Please do. Conor McDavid, Conor McDavid.

I'm going to close my eyes. Everybody close your eyes. Let's get this scenario. Let's close our eyes. We would like to take ourselves to this scenario. Right. Conor McDavid gets the puck, goes end-to-end once. Next shift comes out, goes end-to-end two times, right?

Three times. Twice in one shift. Yeah, because it's a two-minute, 20-end once. Next shift comes out, goes end-to-end two times, right? Twice in one shift. Yeah, because it's a two-minute, 20-second shift. Different shift. He keeps doing it over and over again, right? So now Aaron Ekblad gets annoyed, comes on the ice, and Connors got his head down, hammers him, puts him into the middle of next week, right? Connors

feeling the hit. He's a little bit buzzed, but he's fine. Gets up, goes to the bench. The next time Conor McDavid comes to the bench, let me finish. Let me finish. The next time Conor McDavid

picks up that puck in the zone to go into end and he beats that first guy, he's stinking. He's lost a little bit of confidence because he knows he's got to keep his head up. So hockey, as much as there's momentum at times, that momentum changes so quickly into confidence. Guys can lose confidence so quickly in the game because there's a physical component. No, I'm serious.

There's a tactical component. I know for me, if a player I watch is dancing up and down the middle of the ice, I'm thinking, I got to erode at his confidence. Whether I get in his kitchen after whistles, whether I hit him with his head down, whether I can catch him, put a body on him. Players lose confidence

when you impose your physical will on them. So I don't want to hear about momentum. Momentum doesn't exist in our game because it can be stopped by putting somebody in the middle of next week. Well, then I'm not want to hear about momentum. Momentum doesn't exist in our game because it can be stopped by putting somebody in the middle of next week. Well, then momentum would swing in a different direction. So then that would be momentum going the other way. Yeah, you just took momentum.

Yeah, you stopped momentum. Hey, we got to put the fire out. Don't take the power out of my hands, okay? Momentum doesn't exist. It's confidence. I want to eat your heart. I want to rip it out. And that's what I'm going to do. What's confidence then? Let's talk about what confidence is. Let's get into that. What's that? Well, I just told you. You got no

confidence if I rip your heart out. Yeah, but what I have is confidence tangible? Is that something that's tangible? Confidence is knowing that you can do whatever you want to do when you need to do it. Stuart Skinner feels that he can do whatever he needs to do to stop the puck.

Don't tell me that. It's not the same. It is. This is PK's Austin Rivers NBA NFL thing. Yeah, or his Mighty Ducks club. Boom, yeah. Any of the stuff, basically. Have you ever met Austin Rivers?

You guys ever hang out? I know his brother, Jeremiah. I think I may have met Austin once or twice But I don't think we've had a chance to truly kick it You guys should do a podcast Yeah for sure You guys should do a podcast You guys should do a show together

Really? Personally I believe that you two should do a show together I mean we're talking Really? Yeah I love when he comes on He does a great job He jams you guys up pretty good too

I like it Oh shut up Our momentum is always going There ain't no fucking head down in the neutral. Get out of here. Okay? I don't need that. I'm so sick of it.

High fashion on his chest. Oh, yeah. For Balenciaga. Yeah, I've heard of him. Didn't they have a Canadian Tire, kid? Let's go. Yeah, what's their marketing like? Canadian Tire.

I don't know if you've heard of it. Canadian Kids. Yeah, you like Balenciaga, don't you? No, this is, dude, this is, hold on. Do you know what this symbol is? Do you know what this is, pal? Yeah, we can guess, pal. Yeah, it like Balenciaga, don't you? No, this is, dude, this is, hold on. Do you know what this symbol is? Do you know what this is, pal? Yeah, we can guess, pal. Yeah, it seems to be upside down.

Yeah, it's a crappy tire, brother. Yield to Maple Leaf. Canadian Tire Corporation. It's a crappy tire, brother. Okay. Those are tires? Canadian Tire Corporation. It's like a hardware store, automotive store, pretty much sports leisure.

It's nothing like Valley Forge Automotive Center. No, it's not. Get what you need. leisure. Nothing like Valley Forge Automotive Center. No, it's not. Get what you need. It is nothing like Valley Forge Automotive Center. They don't have good years either. I mean, I am so... If you're going to represent a tire company on this particular program, it better be out of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, brother.

Jeez Louise. Those Canadian tires, yeah, right. They don't even work. Yeah, you guys need to put chains around them because all the ice they're not even the tires It's a change rate. I'll clear them out. They're just right here I got all my chains right here all my chains, you know my chains. I like to wear Crappy tire Has been jammed up through with your head down all of a sudden we got yeah, but I'm confident though

You don't wear this shirt without confidence. I'd agree with that. I would agree with that. Tone has a question for you, PK. Yeah, PK. When we were talking to Jack Johnson yesterday, he was talking about how his abs, they were up 3-1. They lost game five at home.

He said there was just a ton going on. All the family was there. The cup was in the building. The celebration was getting planned. It didn't work out. And he said the flight to, they were going to Tampa at that time, was just like the ultimate reset. Like, hey, we're on the road.

We don't have to think about anything. They won the cup that night. Do you think it's a similar situation for the Panthers? Or do you think, because I've heard you say it a couple times, like are their assholes pretty tight because they cannot go back to Florida for Game 7? Well, I think that this is an exciting time and moment for the Florida Panthers. The best player in the world has showed you guys that you're going to have to beat them to win the Stanley Cup. And that's the way it should be.

I don't think they want it any other way. I think when you think about winning the Stanley Cup, you want no stones unturned. You want to know that we gave everything we had. Every story that I hear about the Stanley Cup or somebody winning it, it always ends with them saying that they had to empty the tank. And there were always moments of adversity that they faced either in the finals or along the way somewhere. This is their adversity now. Like you're still up 3 faced either in the finals or along the way somewhere. This is their adversity now. Like, you're still up 3-2 in the series.

You're still in control. You have to block out the noise. And I think that's why it's the hardest trophy to win because it takes the ultimate team to do it. And they're going to be challenged as a team. Their leadership, their confidence, not momentum. Their confidence is going to be challenged. They have to find it. They got to be challenged. They have to find it. They got to find it. They have to find it.

This is not, okay, and I think people have got it wrong since the beginning. This is not a misinformation program. No, never has been. This is not a fake news program. No, we try to do journalism as much as we can. The shit that

you're spewing is dangerous to society on this show. Hey, hold on. So are you telling me that tonight all the momentum is on Edmonton's side? No, we don't know. That's why Edmonton always – If they score first, they'll have it early, I think. Yeah, that's the funny thing about momentum. You never know when that son of a bitch is going to show up.

So let's agree on this then. Momentum can happen, but it starts with confidence, right? For Florida to change the momentum, they have to come into this game and dictate. They can't sit back and continue to do the same things that they've done because the same pattern

is going to happen. Doing the same thing over and over again is what? Insanity, correct? That's redundancy. Redundancy, insanity, it's the same thing. If Coach Knobloch doesn't put McDavid on in the first two or three minutes of the game,

I might jump over the railing. Do that. Please do. Don't stand on that desk you guys are going to have tonight for your show. Would you stop with the desk? I keep hearing about this desk. Do that. Please do. Hey, don't stand on that desk you guys are going to have tonight for your show. We know that. Oh, jeez. Would you stop with the desk? I keep hearing about this desk.

Okay, but confidence and momentum, pal. They go hand in hand. Like, here's a church. Here's a steeple. Look inside. See all the people. That is literally what confidence and momentum are. They go hand in hand, pal. How come, you know, sometimes the hoop looks small,

and then the hoop looks big if you're a basketball player. Well, that's confidence. But then once you have your confidence, is that potentially you also have momentum on your side? Yeah, that is kind of, but neither of those are tangible items. Why do you wake up on your birthday feeling good, but every other day you don't? Well, it's a mental mindset that this day is a special day versus not a special day. So you say, like, my memory's not real, but confidence is. What's that?

Every day is like my birthday. I don't even celebrate my birthday. Every day is like a birthday,'s that? Every day is like my birthday. I don't even celebrate my birthday. Every day is like a birthday, man. That's my approach. That's my approach. Hey, we appreciate the hell out of you, PK. Tonight you're on at 7 p.m. Eastern? Yes, I'm confident it's at 7.

I think it's 7. You guys have had a lot of momentum this year with a lot of good shows. Don't give it up. Don't give it up. Until that tiny desk. Don't give it up. Yeah, the tiny desk was that in the head-down shot to the dome. Through the middle.

And you guys just ate it. And then Connor McDavid threw, and the momentum has continued. Yep. Sounds like Moose is having a time of his life on the road again, like being back a part of a team. Is that what you guys are all kind of doing right now? You know, it's so much fun. I'm just so happy that, you know,

I didn't know Mark Messier before I started this job. So to put it all in perspective of how close the three of us are and just everything, just the camaraderie we have, how much we actually hang out away from the job. I mean, we're together all the time. After this, I'm sure I'm going to see Mess down in the gym. So, you know, we've built something pretty special. We have a lot of fun with it, game in and game out.

And it's another challenge tonight. I mean, this is my first Stanley Cup final, my first ever game six in a final. So I'll be leaning on them heavy to show me the way. Especially a guy like me who's been doing this 30 years. Nah, do your thing. Take your stick out. Take your shots.

You do it. You guys have been fantastic. The chemistry radiates through the screen. Ratings are higher than they've ever been. Keep crushing it. Ms. Copland, everybody else that is obviously on the crew, we appreciate them. Have fun tonight and enjoy yourself in Edmonton, pal.

Love you guys. Thanks, Pat, again. Let's go. Hey, ladies and gentlemen, a man who has outed himself as a momentum denier. P.K. Subban. Way to go. There you go.

Potato. See ya. Yeah, flipping O's up there at the Canadian Tire Company. Alright, see ya. See ya, P.K. Valley Forge Automotive Center sells better tires than they would ever think of a tire. Selling them. For real.

It sounded like a Mickey Mouse farming fleet. Yeah, so the name of the tire company is Balancy and then Auga Tires? How does that work? I don't know what that shirt was. It's called Canadian Tire. Everyone just calls it crappy tire because it stinks. The symbol was of the tire, but I can't wait for us to get sued now. What's the Balenciaga situation? Did he just

make that shirt and then, hey, can you print Balenciaga on this? Yeah, that does feel like a custom PK shirt. Oh, that's like a fashion PK. Gotta have a lot of confidence he said to wear this shirt. PK, everything you do, you gotta have a lot of confidence in. We understand you got a lot of confidence confidence how would him be in a momentum denier

do we expect why like i mean i guess he's kind of like we're arguing the same thing kind of but let's say edmonton goes up there and they get on the board first can you imagine that place and if you're on florida you're like hey we need to we need to shut this down we need to take it back we need to quiet this place now Now, to our kind of detriment, it is wild the way we talk about it. Well, you can lose it at any time. Windsor show up any time. Yeah, it's true. But when you ride it, it's like riding a wave. You've got to make sure you get the

boogie board on. Exactly. And we've got to make sure it's against you. We all know what it's like. Have you ever played in Seattle when you get down or they go up seven with two minutes to go or something like that? That place goes crazy and you're thinking, alright, you can't be looking around waiting for somebody else to make plays. Like you have to go make a play. I mean, just a couple weeks ago down at TST,

we're down to whatever team that was. And then once we scored one, it was like, oh, here we go. They knew it too on the other side. Yeah, it was Supra. We were down 3-1. It was 2-0. We were saying the whole time, well, we just need to get one. If we get one, we're going to win this thing in target time.

And Super knew it, too. As soon as we get one, and then Jeff Cameron tears his MCL while trying to score a goal, knowing he's going to tear his MCL. But we got a chance to feel it. And everybody on the field knew what was happening there. And there's still people that say no to it. Joining us now is a man who wore those Paizison Ones down there in Cary, North Carolina. That's right.

Not only were they gold on the outside, but this man's brain and heart is golden whenever you talk about soccer. Yep. Ladies and gentlemen, in front of the program, a man who told us exactly what was going to happen to Euros this past weekend, hopefully back to do it again. The host of Telefella, Grella, Michael Grella. Yay, Grella! Look how cool you look right now. Geez, you look so cool. Boys,

I love being on here. Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it, man. Just got done playing some golf with old teammate Sasha Kleshin. Okay, obviously we know who Sasha is. Obviously, Sasha knows about the crowds up there in the Pacific Northwest. He can bury those putts.

We heard he's good on the golf course. That's right. Sasha's an absolute guy on the course. No, no. Dude, you guys should know Sasha. He's an ex-national team guy. He was like one of the first players the MLS sold for some coin. So he's like a pretty well-known guy.

Yes, of course we know Sasha. Tell Sasha we thank him for everything. He trailblazed in the American soccer community for us to be to where we are now, and we can't thank him enough for that. How was he on the golf course? Was he great? I just put him in a bear hug, put him over my lap, and spanked him.

Okay, all right. Really good golfer, Michael Grella. Obviously, we'll talk golf at a future time. Let's talk right now about the soccer. You basically told us everything that was going to happen in the Euros in the opening weekend. Everything, even the 16-year-old from Spain had a filthy assist and has become a topic of the conversation. Every name you said, I think, for Germany ended up scoring a goal. It's like you really seem to know this shit.

And obviously, CBS, Galazo, incredible show over there. What do we need to be looking at right now in the soccer world? The Euro is still happening. I think Copa America is kicking off tonight. What do we need to focus on, and how should we be feeling about soccer right now, Grella? Well, very soon there's France-Holland that's going to kick

off. That's probably one of the best games, two top European sides. We saw, you know, I don't want to go back to Gumpy right away, but we're seeing an England side that's fallen short of all the hype and all the metrics. Still top of the group. England States!

England States! England States! Hell yeah. Still top of the group somehow. It's weird. We've been playing like shit. Still top of the group. He's never coming home. Hey, hey, of the group. He's never coming home. Hey, hey, hey, hey, he's never coming home.

Sorry about that, Grell. Go ahead. The Italians suck, too. I don't think it's coming home. And then Copa America kicked off last night. I don't know if you guys caught it, but it was Argentina, the Big Dogs, World Cup champs last time out with, obviously, Lionel Messi, one of your boys that you guys love, and played against Canada,

who was coached by Jesse Marsh, my last coach that I had in the MLS, who was a really important guy for me. He's a good manager and good guy, and he's the coach of Canada now. But it was interesting to see the contrasting difference between the Copa America teams, Argentina and Canada, versus what the European teams do. It was just a much more open game. It was fun to watch.

So that tournament kicks off, so definitely get some eyes on that. And obviously the big topic of conversation that we should be talking about is the U.S. men's national team and what's this tournament going to look like for them. We play tonight, right? I think they play tomorrow, if I'm not mistaken. Oh, boy. I thought it was Sunday against Bolivia.

That's what we're all looking at the graphics thinking. We have no idea. Is it Sunday? Okay, here we go. Graphic, way to go. Howdy, baby Darny. The American plays Sunday. How likely are we to win this thing? We're going to win this, obviously? We're in a difficult

group. There's Bolivia, Panama, and Uruguay. Obviously, Uruguay have won a couple of World Cups themselves back so we're in a difficult group, right? There's Bolivia, Panama, uh, and, and Uruguay, obviously Uruguay had won a couple of world cups themselves back in the day, obviously, but it's a big footballing culture. And, uh,

yeah, yeah. But listen, uh, it's going to be decided so much. The results of this tournament are going to decide what we say about this national team and what we say about this generation and what we say about Greg Berhalter and his job,

because I think we see them play against Columbia where they lose 5-1 and they look terrible. And not only do they look terrible, they look like they're not fighting for the shirt. They look like they had no energy, no ideas. Then they go out three days later, play against Brazil, obviously five World Cups to them and one of the top teams in the world. And they play to a 1-1 draw where they look fantastic they looked energized they looked like they were on the same level as brazil's so what happens in this tournament how far they go in this tournament whether they get out of the group or not we're going to be looking at this and saying we had if they don't do well they haven't made any progress

we've actually gone we've actually regressed over the last 25 years and if they do well we start talking about hey we got something special here can't wait to watch this team going to the world cup bertholdt is the guy for the job but it's so the stark differences of their consistency are unbelievable we don't you don't know which team you're going to get you don't know which performance you're going to get so this tournament is going to be massive measuring stick for us all these games are on fox that you're looking at right now and i hope that we're at the point where we can be obnoxiously arrogant going into the World Cup saying that we're going to be able to win we did that the last time and all that we got was a

bunch of drama about maybe backstabbing and stuff happening between coach and one of our star players now we're at a point where especially with that Brazil outcome if we were to do well in this Copa just like we won the Conqueva Cup of course if we were to do well in this Copa, just like we won the Conqueva Cup. Of course. If we were to do well in this Copa America, especially with the reigning world champion in there in Argentina, boy, we will talk so much shit. Let's talk about Argentina a little bit here, though. Go ahead, Ty. Yeah, Gorilla, after the game, the Argentina manager

and several of the players basically said, like, hey, this pitch was bullshit. It sucked. They rolled grass, natural grass, on top. I think they played at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. They just rolled it on top. Is there any way that they are going to be able to fix this for the upcoming games?

Or how much is this going to impact these games? Should we expect that every pitch is just going to be horseshit for these teams that aren't from the U.S.? It's really difficult. I had the sort of opportunity and played in Yankee stadium against nyc fc was part of that i have to mention every time we were part of that club part of that team that that beat uh we are on red bull obviously we were part of the team that beat

them 7-0 in their home stadium in yankee stadium but what they i gotta mention every time i talk about them but uh listen the they used to in they used to lay sod in the infield part of the field and it was terrible man it was just like it was clunky and it was big and it felt like you slipped around on it i mean i think i think it's dangerous for injuries and stuff like that so to hear mercedes-benz stadium down in atlanta which i've always enjoyed the stadium itself in the atmosphere uh yeah it's tough when they When they roll that new sod in and it hasn't had a chance to settle and it's not really rooted, you can slip around and slide around and it chops up pretty bad.

And it can be frustrating, especially with where the game's going with guys being able to stop on a dime now and they're so athletic and they can take off and go from zero to 100 in two seconds. So the sod not being laid right is frustrating. Well, especially at the World Cup around the corner, right? Especially at the World Cup around the corner. Obviously, all eyes are going to be on us as we end here on ESPN. And we continue on YouTube, ESPN+, and TikTok Live still.

We'll see you on Monday. Have an incredible weekend. Nailed it. Grella absolutely nailed it. So with the World Cup around the corner, is this what they were planning on doing for the World Cup too? Just rolling this shitty ass sod on top of these stadiums? Because this is a big conversation with NFL players.

Because the NFL players watching all these games be played in NFL stadiums and then they put grass in there. NFL players have been asking for grass. But for the soccer players, you'll put grass out. But for us, you won't. And then I think J.J. Watt came out as a fan of soccer and traveling these games. He's like some of these fields on top of these turf fields are shit.

Like, they're absolute crap. It's not like Argentina said that. Is this what's going to happen for the World Cup? And what is the standard? And how does it end up getting passed? And are we going to fuck this up, America, in this entire thing? Yeah, I'm glad we're having this conversation right now because it's something that's important. I think that, you know, everyone said, well, we're not playing on turf.

They know that's a big X, right? So then what they did is they just kind of roll out this turf and they get the heat lamps on it and you've seen them uh and they try to get the pitch ready but obviously if it's not getting rooted it's not having enough time to settle and the thing is chomping up it would almost make the argument that it's worse than turf so yeah we have to find a way definitely before the world cup to make sure that that's right on the pitches that are going to be laid new or on the pitches where you're rolling uh sod over turf uh we got to make sure we get that right because you talk about it in football as well in all the sports it's injury prone it makes for a worse game it makes for a

sloppier game and i mean last night i didn't really notice the pitch chopping up obviously i wasn't there on the pitch but uh it was a it was incredible game of football i mean uh just like end-to-end stuff it was It was a wild result in the end. It could have went either way. Canada could have gotten ahead in that game as well and done something. But it ends up 2-0 Argentina. Karen? Interesting.

Interesting. They complain about the pitch, though. Interesting they complain about the pitch because I think they were in a match where they thought they would probably roll in it and beat an easy Canada side, and they had some difficulty. And we know the soccer, hey, we know you soccer people. Oh, love the drama.

Gotta have the drama. That's why we love them. Okay, so Canada 0-0 at halftime. I thought Canada sucked at soccer. I thought that was just one thing. We got a great coach, Jesse Marsh. Didn't want to coach Team USA, but he coached Canada.

He said, I want to go coach a team that has, what, two months of sun? I mean, how would Canada even be good? You guys are good this year? Good squad. Come on. We'll see. Yeah, they're some good players, Pat. I mean, they got Alphonso Davies.

He's incredible playing at Bayern Munich. He might be going to Real Madrid. They got Astakio. They got Alphonso Davies. He's incredible playing at Bayern Munich. He might be going to Real Madrid. They got Astakio. They got Lahren. They got a lot of good players. They got Jesse. Listen, if you don't know about Jesse Marsh, his whole system is like high press and in your face and rah-rah, high energy, doing the right things on and off the field.

He's a really good guy. But his Canada side looked like they took on one of his bad characteristics, and that's the Swiss cheese defense, man. They were just getting chopped up, and there was huge holes in the back line. They were all over the place. That's Canada football, baby. Number one team in the world.

Top draw. Yeah, I mean, 0-0 at halftime. You guys had a good day. Will we play Canada in this thing, or any of these things before? We'll kill them. When do we beat Canada? Exactly, AJ. It's possible.

You know, there's been like a little – so my two last coaches were Greg Berhalter and Jesse Marsh. And there's been like a little rift between them. It's kind of handbag-ish, but they do go back and forth at each other through media and stuff like that. So if they do get a chance to play each other, Canada and USA, it'll be very interesting. There'll be a lot of stuff in the lead-up to it, I think. They both have to qualify out of their groups. Canada's probably in the hardest group of the tournament, and they had a loss already for their name.

And unlike the Euros, only two teams will qualify. So you've got to get four points or more to really be in a safe spot to qualify and have a pretty good goal difference. So starting off with the loss. We'll see. But Canada will have to get through. USA will have to get through. And then there's a potential that they can meet each other in the knockout stages.

We're getting through, obviously. And if you guys get through. I'd be worried about that Uruguay match. Oh, we're not worried about Uruguay. Nunez and Suarez up top, brother. Suarez is an American. He plays for Miami. He shouldn't even be allowed to play in that game.

Hey, real quick, Grella. I put out a tweet that said, hey, U.S. soccer. I added them so they'd see it. Their social media manager sees it and then runs up a change. Hopefully they talk to Mike Cameraman or whatever the hell the guy's name is. He's been around with the U.S. soccer team forever. He's a PR person. He's the only person who still has a job, I think,

through every candidacy of a coach at that particular place. I like for our country to play in the next Euros. Not only play, I like us to win the next Euros. Not only play, I'd like us to win the next Euros. It seems so cool. All the fans, the environments, how much everybody legitimately cares about winning this. It's a big deal. It's every four years. I would like us to play

in the Euros and go win the Euros and take their trophy right back to our country and say you suck. Now, I got a lot of responses from the soccer community obviously calling me a doofus, calling me an idiot and all you suck. Now, I got a lot of responses from the soccer community obviously calling me a doofus, calling me an idiot and all those things. It's not possible, they'll say. We're in the Copa America though.

And then people are telling me, well, the Copa America is actually more talented than the Euros are. If the United States wins Copa America, you actually will be able to brag over top of the Euros anyways because the World Cup champions there, there's more talent there. Is that real?

Is Copa America like the most talented tournament in the world? And how likely is it that we go win the next Euros four years from now? We're never going to win the Euros. I don't see that happening. Then again, we were not supposed to win the Euros. Oh, fuck you, Grella. Why?

Jeez. So, but Listen, I think Argentina and Brazil made the Copa America level raise really high. But when you look at the European teams, the level is higher. The spaces are more organized. The teams are more organized.

I think aside from Brazil and Argentina, then the level is much lower in Copa America. I mean, USA will have Argentina, then the level is much lower in Copa America. I mean, USA will have an opportunity in the World Cup to beat the European sides and to beat the Asian sides and beat the South American sides. They'll have their opportunity to do that,

and we'll see where they're at. But this tournament's going to be good. Listen, they've got to play Bolivia first, and you guys are worried about the Uruguay match. I think let's get there first because the Bolivia match, if they don't get a result in that one, it's going to be tough slaying the rest of the way, guys are worried about the Uruguay match. I think let's get there first, because the Bolivia match, if they don't get a result in that one, it's going to be tough slaying the rest of the way, playing against Panama and then Uruguay. Panama!

First game, they're going to have to hit the ground running. We're minus 550, Grilla. We know anything about the way these games have been odds and favored and everything. We better win this fucking game. I don't know how many upsets there's been in any of these tournaments, but we, minus 550, we better win this thing over Bolivia.

But I know they've got a goalie that could stand on her head. Yeah, perhaps. Do they have Pulisic? No. They don't have Pulisic. Christian Pulisic, Captain America. Don't we own the Panama Canal? I don't think so. Let me tell you something.

Last time I was 550 in my last game, we went down to El Salvador, played down there, and everyone's like, oh, this should be easy. We scouted them. We're like minus 500, minus 600. And let me tell you something. We're playing up in the mountains. They're altitude. You can't breathe for shit. Five minutes

into the game, I got a tackle. The guy left his mark on me. I think I still have it on my shin, and it's hot, and you can't breathe. And now I got one leg, and I'm like, oof. Minus 550 went to even pretty quick. Okay, yeah. Obviously, the players don't know that anything can happen,

but remember, we're not going to the mountains. We're playing on our shitty grass. Bingo. In the United States of America. We're used to it. That's what we're doing. We're playing in Jerry World. That's going to be fine.

Oh, yeah. Jerry Jones is going to be sitting there. They're going to have 100,000. He's been testifying. I don't know if he knows there's a soccer game happening because he's been in court with Sunday tickets. There's no way he knows. All right, let's get to the Euros.

There's an injury that has taken place on one of the favorites. Go ahead, Con Man. Yeah, Grella, obviously you told Gumpy moments ago that England's not going to bring it home. And then the next favorite is France, and France's best player, Mbappe. He just broke his nose badly. He's wearing that mask. How much is that actually going to affect him in the games going forward?

Just looking at this list here, are France the ones that are going to bring it home, or what do you think here? It's interesting. The odds changed the other day. They only had England and France there, but now they only got France there. I think, look, it's like I said from the first time.

Is that what you were just saying right there? I think people opened up that present and saw that it's not as good as we all thought. Oh, no. Still top of the group. That's fine. It's not good, Gumpy. It's not good.

Yeah, it hasn't been pretty. I can't argue with it there. But, you know, Southgate's a master class, you know, bringing Gallagher on. Fucking. I mean, we got so much talent on that team. It's sitting on the damn bench, dude. It's absurd. They got Palmer on the bench who scored 20-plus goals in the Premier League last season.

He hasn't played a minute yet. He hasn't played a minute yet. That's like leaving the sensation off the Olympic team. Yeah. Why would you do that? A lot of people make bad decisions around here, Grill. I guess it's happening in England, too. This one really bothers me, man.

He's got unbelievable options in the center midfield. You say that Premier League is the best in the world. He's got unbelievable options. Young guys, guys that fit the position. And he's playing a right back, a right defender in their position, trying to overcoat, trying to reinvent the

wheel, and he's looked like garbage. The most chances in the tournament. England stinks! What are we talking about? You guys even know what game you're playing? I thought it was your game. It's coming home. It's coming home. It's coming home.

Luke Littler has distracted the entire country. They don't even know how to play soccer anymore. Sorry about it. That's country. France, though. France could be able to go on a run. And what about this mask here from Bob? Is this normal in the soccer world?

Dude, I saw it the other day. Snapped his nose in half. I watched it live on the first thing. I mean, it was as broken as a nose can be. It was on his cheekbone, basically. He'll be fine, dude. It's not his game. His game is on the run.

His game is on the dribble. His game is with space behind, you know, shooting balls from distance, scoring inside the box. So, it's not going to really affect him too much, I don't think. He looks terrible. What if his confidence is busted just like his nose because he looks like this going on? This is the mask you guys wear? Could we not make

something a little better? Something cooler? For him, bop? Like Embiid's? Apparently, he can't wear that mask because he's got the French flag on it for some whatever reason. The tournament won't let him wear it, so it'll be similar. It'll probably be painted matte black or something. To be clear. Listen, he got, to be fair to to him and a lot of these soccer players.

He got up with his nose sideways and wanted to go back into the game, which I thought was really – Hell, yeah, Bob. Come play for America, Bob. Yeah, I'd be out of there. He needs to come to the MLS. I know he's going to that place that has the hotel rooms for everybody. Yep.

Real. Bartha. Madrid. Yeah, Real. Joe Palm's favorite team, Real. Joe Pompliano loves Real Madrid. Absolutely loves them. Dumpy hates how some people are covering soccer now.

Joe Pompliano, more specifically, Faizan, business guy on the internet, has been covering soccer. Soccer's in a boom right now, though, Grillo. Do you feel that? I feel it. It's in a massive boom, yeah. And then you've got these two tournaments this summer. Next summer, we have the World Cup here in our backyard. See, that's part of

the problem. Too many tournaments. Too many, right? Too many things that are, like, the biggest of all time. Like TST, biggest of all time. Now we've got the Euros, biggest of all time. Yeah, but we always have something to look forward to, though. Like, there's always some soccer happening. That is pretty big. Too many things to look forward to, though. There's always some soccer happening. That is pretty big.

But if you have too many things to look forward to. Pat, you get that TST deal done. You mentioned them a lot. The business side of it must be done by now. No, we have not finished that. That will certainly be something. I am not going to be spending a shit ton of money next year like I did this past year to go down there. But if we can figure that out, we will certainly.

Because it seems like there was quite a time was had by everyone everyone i loved it i loved that it was awesome that awesome was that tournament was sweet down there it was magical man and then we got it rolling and we we almost had an outside chance of doing something it was good i think we'll get better next year so it was a lot of fun for sure yeah we figured out probably not a hotel next year probably an airbnb next year yes we don't have to worry about you know oh oh oh concave uh chance of like three right keep it down yeah who's making the noise who is it and we're actually saying who it is yeah you know by the way this this goal gets better and better every time you look at it like it's unbelievable to To be clear, haven't watched it in a while. Was nice to see it again right there.

Was nice to see that we still had it. You made a good point about me celebrating like it was my goal. I tried to get to you. It was hard. You know what I mean? I tried to get to you out there. I mean, it was filthy, though. And then that is so nasty.

What a goal, girl. It was filthy, man. Like I said, the celebration, I smack you around a bunch at the end. I don't know if you could show that. Yeah, super Italian. Yeah, super Italian face smacking and all this. Yeah, I get it. You got to do what you have to do. Like the fake hold, yeah.

Yeah, hell of a shot, though. We looked so athletic there for a moment in time. Next year, we're training longer. Hell, yeah. Next year, we're actually going for this entire thing. Tone has a question for you, Grillo. Yeah, Grillo, not about the tournaments right now, but back in the early 2000s,

if you were playing FIFA and you were looking for a striker that you wanted to score 50 goals a season with, that was Rude Van Nistelrooy. That was Nistel the Pistol, okay? Now he's rumored to be the new head coach at Burnley. Is that a good hire for our Burnley friends and J.J. Watt? Listen, with a lot of these ex-players that were so, so good, I think you see it a lot.

It happened with Diego Maradona. It happened with a little bit – so many guys, right? I'm not going to mention this one guy that I was thinking about. Smart. Smart to do what you're just doing. They're so good. These guys were so good at football, and their understanding of the game is so complex and so detailed

and comes so easy to them that sometimes they have difficulty explaining it to players that are maybe not on their level. And so sometimes there's a disconnect between them and the players. But if you're going to hire anyone and you're Burnley and you have a chance to hire a guy like Ruben Estroy, you do it and you don't think twice about it just because of what he represents what he represented as a player who he is as a manager I think you know look how smart he looks there and that photo but he's he's a he's a good guy now whether he's going to be a success down at Burnley we'll we'll see you know we're talking about he played some of the top teams in the world with

the top talents in the world um you know you now talking about burnley going down to the championship one of the most difficult leagues to play they're one of the best whoa burnley stinks there you have it they're at top they're at top you think they'll get back hey how about jj man at the end of the TST, man? He was not happy, man. He gave me the saddest high five, man. He didn't even look at me. He just gave me a high five and just took off, man. He was mad. You should have seen him after that.

Yeah. J.J.'s TST experience is certainly something. They're in the middle of trying to find a new head coach. Her head coach just left literally a day before then. Don't know if Burnley FC is going to be back yet. At TST. Yeah, TST. Excuse me. Maybe. I don't know. We'll see. I think he had a blast.

You go down to the championship, it's like going in a black hole, dude. You don't know if you're ever coming back. I'm being serious. It's not easy, man. It's one of the hardest leagues in the world. It's the most physical league in the world. It's like... Where would you rank? My ex-team, Leeds United, is trying to get up for years, and they spent a couple years in the Premier League

and then got knocked back down, and they just got lost in the playoff, in the final of the playoff. It's really difficult to come back up. What's the league called? Champions League. No, it's not the Champions League. Championship. Championship.

Yeah, the championship. We'll see if JJ answers. That league blows, huh, brother? You're just calling a black hole? You don't know if you're ever getting out? Boy, oh boy. Oh, of course JJ's not answering. I wouldn't answer either. My team just went into a black hole.

Yeah, he's destroying his gym right now. Fuck! Let's see you coach them then. Yeah, okay, Grellup. Let's see you. Fucking asshole. All right, man. We appreciate the hell out of you for joining us Thank you for keeping us updated on all the soccer stuff What's a good bet this week

USA over Bolivia Yeah I mean I know you boys are big fans And I know you guys want the US to win But there's not a lot of value there I would say France to get the job over Holland Get the job done over Holland today. If you want to bet a

Copa America game, the Netherlands there. I think you do France there, and I think that's a comfortable bet. I think they only won 1-0 in their first game, but they were good. They were really good. They did a lot of good things, and I still think that they're pretty much odded.

There's still value there if you're betting on France. You're the man, Grillo. We appreciate the shit out of you. Obviously, you can watch Grillo every weekend on CBS Golaza, which I believe is found where? It's on Paramount Plus app at the moment. It's a free streaming service, but you can follow the Euros, the Copa America there.

We cover everything. During the season, we cover the top five leagues. So it's a good place to get your soccer information. I think you should think about just one time on there complimenting the United States team. Please. Just one time. Don't you think?

It would be cool. It would be a fucking prick. Just one time. I know you guys are a big fan. Hey, I'm going to wait. I'm going to wait until after this tournament, and I'll be their number one fan if they get something done here. But I don't know.

Are we going to get the U.S. against Colombia, or are we going to get the U.S. against Colombia, or are we going to get the U.S. against Brazil? I don't know yet. I'm going to wait and see. That's a great question. Are we going to get U.S. versus Canada? If Canada can make it out of their group like that, we'll find out. Ladies and gentlemen, tell the fellow Grella, my Grella, thank you. Yeah, Grella! Boards!

Are the greatest thing. Got it. Man. Still wasn't sure if it was sports or football. I don't know why I keep, I don't know why I'm indecisive on that one. Football on the brain. That's college football national champion. He's Super Bowl champion, A.J. Hawk. Baby, A.J.

Tua Tongvaloa, obviously, massive quarterback contract picture. What was that? Well, this was A.J. Hawk. And then there is Tua Tong of Aloha. Oh, so Hawk and Tua. I see what you're doing. Congrats to that girl. Yeah.

So sorry to her father. Yeah. I mean. I thought it was hilarious. I mean, we've seen a lot of those style of interviews. Absolutely. That's the first one in a good bit that is just kind of. Candidate everybody.

See ya. So I guess she's great content. I assume she'll be figuring out a way to profit off. Yeah. Something good is going to come. Congratulations to all parties. Talks to Tim was here. Did you see how many pictures of your face were on the internet

last night next to two of tonga below his face i've had a few of them sent my way yeah that girl's funny man i mean maybe she's just maybe it's like she's not like saying speaking from experience maybe she's just saying hey that's like what you could know it was no it was her it was she was asked directly yeah personal experience her move She found a way to cross over. I just hope she doesn't have brothers. And then Tua Tongvaloa was right there. Yep. And then the follow-up, too, was a good little ad-lib.

Yeah. Like a sound effect. And then the ha. It was more her pizzazz is what put it over the top. A lot of pizzazz. She knew that she fucking got the right. She killed it. That's the right answer. Yep. And the guy. It was more her pizzazz is what put it over the top. A lot of pizzazz. She knew that she fucking got the right. She killed it.

That's the right answer. Yep. And the guy filming knew. We got it. We can go back. I know my question's with him. Let's go home. We're going to party with everybody else.

All right. We're going to go try to. Go party with that girl. Let's get a hawk to it tonight. Abbas O'Connor, A.I. Schmidt. One half of the hammer. Dad. Cowboys. Hawk to it, Dai Schmidt. One half of the hammer. Done. Cowboys.

Hawk two of digs. Thank you. What a thing. That took over everything. Speaking of taking over everything, ladies and gentlemen, college baseball has been all over TV because it is electrifying. It is the time of year where we are going to crown national champions in Omaha. That means it is time to chit-chat with a man who might be the mayor of Omaha.

Ladies and gentlemen, host of Marty and McGee, front of the program, Ryan McGee. Yeah, McGee! Hey. Hell yeah. What's up, y'all? Four horsemen back home. We'd like to say hello to the other three as well.

McGee, great to see you. How's Omaha, pal? I know you love getting out there every year. It's awesome. I'm not – I don't know if I'm allowed – the NCAA will allow me to do this legally, but this is my current situation Like

Tennessee's taking Batting practice Hold on Tap on the screen Tap on the screen You gotta tap on the screen I'm trying I'm trying

I'm trying No you gotta tap Flip it around Oh it's a zoom He doesn't have a Yeah that's right Oh no Green text

Concede off the sunglasses Yeah yeah Keep it on the sunglasses Get closer to the sunglasses How's that Nope Yeah there it is Am I cool Alright Context. You can see it off the sunglasses. Yeah, yeah. Keep it on the sunglasses. How's that? Nope. Yeah, there it is.

Am I cool? All right. So Tennessee is taking BP now. Texas A&M is waiting to play. What's crazy is I love the history of the College World Series. I was just talking to both of the coaches about this, Jim Schlossengel and Tony Vitello from Tennessee. Neither one of these programs have ever won the college world championship.

And Texas A&M has never been in the finals. And the last time Tennessee was in the finals was 1951. General Nealon threw out the first pitch. That's how long ago it was. So it's cool that, you know, we're going to have a brand-new national champion. But both of these are great baseball programs. I would have lost that bar bet, you know, that neither one of them ever won this thing. That's a very long time for Tennessee. And obviously, Texas A&M never making it to the

finals is a hell of a story. You've got George Strait taking on Kenny Chesney in this entire thing. The Tennessee team... Your boy. He was on the show yesterday. I saw it. It was awesome. I was watching it on the airplane flying out here. He was sitting right here. He was awesome.

It turned into a full, hey, you're a music icon. Let's do a full interview. He didn't then got a chance catch a couple songs last night he still got it he's in that cold tub that he's in oh yeah he's jacked he's shredded you know that bald head he's got has like muscles in his head right i mean he is going to be doing this forever he's not in this out we told him this yesterday you've been doing this for 31 years on the road you're not a nostalgia act you still create new albums that people sing along with on there he's going to be able to go forever it was a lot of fun but with tennessee in texas a&m obviously we got sec representing pretty big is this normal for the college world series is obviously lsu last year paul skeens we learned about sec runs this shit

is that how it goes yeah no 100 and what's crazy is this it wasn't always like this. It's become this in the last 10, 15 years. Now, LSU has been great at baseball since the 80s. When our boy Ben McDonald, our co-worker, was pitching there, they've always been great. But it used to be a West Coast-dominated sport. I mean, USC has won this thing twice as many as any other school, but haven't won it since the 90s. UCLA was here all the time.

Stanford was here all the time. You know, all these Cal whatever schools you here All the time, you know, all these Cal whatever schools you've never heard of Northridge, Riverside, whatever, they've all Been here, and so in the last 15-20 years it's been all, this will Be, we were guaranteed to have the Fifth straight SEC champion this year

And I think it's, this will be Either the 10th or 11th SEC Champion in the last 15 years, so this is just I think it's the fifth time we've had an all-SEC final. This College World Series, it was four ACC schools and four SEC schools, and the ACC

schools are all gone, and now we have Texas A&M and Tennessee, and it's awesome. But what's crazy is how the wealth has spread. It's Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU, and one of these schools. But they've all won the college football series, like most of the conference, and that's just crazy.

Okay, that is crazy. That is awesome. Obviously, warm weather helps with baseball. I think that is something that people would definitely acknowledge and agree with. But is Omaha – are all the people in Omaha now speaking with southern accents? Like, is it just a bunch – it's southerns. How was the party scene with Tennessee and Texas A&M crowds?

Because we knew – wasn't LSU buying out all the alcohol they had? Yeah, they had that drink counter, and they were killing everybody. Yeah, it is. Is everybody in Omaha like, well, how you doing? Like, are they kind of adjusting, cultural appropriating to the south, taking over Omaha in the College World Series? And how have the bars been? Yeah, I've been calling it Oma-Y'all.

Like that's what I've been calling it. But, yeah, so literally right across the street, like I'm pointing, but right across, right down the first baseline, a place called Rocco's. And Rocco's is where they've done this jello shot challenge. And what happened was, it had been around a while, but then Ole Miss won the College World Series a few years ago. And as you all know, in Oxford, they like to drink alcohol. And so they bought, like, thousands of these shots.

And then Mississippi State came in the next year and won the championship, and they took offense to the fact that Ole Miss had set a record. And then LSU showed up last year and was just like, okay, whatever. We're from Louisiana. And they bought – it was like 20-something. Like the guy that owns Raising Cane's, the Chicken Finger place, he by himself one night bought like 6,000 shots. And so the Tennessee people –

And Rocco's is like, yeah, who can take the most? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. But the Tennessee people have, quite frankly, and these are my people. I went to school there. They've been very disappointing in this thing the last several years.

But this year, they have a chance to break LSU's record. In fact, Tony Vitello made a comment. Wouldn't it be nice if Peyton Manning just came in and bought the entire city a Jell-O shot? That would be nice. I'll be over there. Yeah, he has the money. Is he there? I assume he's going to be there for this entire thing.

I assume Peyton doesn't want to do it until a win. If a win happens, okay, the whole city is probably going to be eaten, which is something to think about if you're Texas A&M. Maybe you guys lay the bats down. Maybe let Tennessee win. Let Peyton show. No, Peyton was here. I know he was here at the start of the series, which was a week ago.

And he went home. A lot of the Tennessee fans was here. I know he was here at the start of the series, which was a week ago. And he went home. A lot of the Tennessee fans were here. They hadn't been to game for a couple days, and so they left. And all my college roommates and in-laws and everybody else were calling me wanting tickets. Y'all, I don't get tickets. I have a credential. I'm working. But there's plenty of fine people out here that will be happy to sell you a ticket. AJ has a question for you, McGee. McGee, what makes this college game so special when you're watching in person? Is it the ping of the metal bats, the fan bases?

Like, what do you love about college baseball? It's got personality, man. It's what I always say about, you know, I like my Saturday football versus my Sunday football, which is the NFL, as you guys know, is a business, first and foremost. And everybody wants to win and they work hard. But when you go to an NFL game, you miss the marching bands and you miss the cheers that have been around for 150 years and all that stuff. Well, if you watch college baseball, just watching the dugouts and the benches alone is worth it.

And, you know, the families are here. It feels it is a national championship game. But, like, I'm sitting here watching Tennessee take batting practice, and I got the Outfielders family sitting over here. You know, I got the Star third baseman's family sitting over here. It feels almost like you're in an American Legion game, and there's a national championship on the line. So it's the personality behind it, man.

That's the part I love about it. And you guys know this about me. I love the events that are owned by the city. The Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the Masters at Augusta, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. I like the cities, the Kentucky Derby, the cities that own their events. And Omaha

has owned this event since 1950. And that's what I love about it. And Omaha crushes it seemingly for everybody we've talked to that's been out there. When did you get there? So I'm the jerk. Everybody's been out here for like a week and a half. I'm the jerk that shows up like for the last third of it.

I'm like, hey, let's go out. And they're all like, screw you, McGee, we're tired. But I did get them all to go out last night. But, no, I know where I'm going to put you guys. If you all come, there's a place. I can't tap my screen. There's a place outside the right. It literally looks into the ballpark. It's called

The Blatt. It's a bar named after old Rosenblatt Stadium, and it has a rooftop. If you guys were up there, it would break Omaha. Next year, we'll think about doing that. Yeah, we'll think about doing that for sure next year. I'm certain we'll probably head out there.

I'll mark it down. Yeah, you're ready. I'll mark it down as a reminder. Has there been any country musicians performing outside the hotel? Anybody of any conversation? No one you've ever heard of. Like, you know, you guys just had Kenny Chesney on the phone. I'm pretty sure that Kenny Chesney's third cousin like Timmy Chesney was playing outside

my room last night. So I'll say this. I drank some of Kenny Chesney's rum last night and it was delicious. So thank you, Kenny. Thank you, Kenny. Thank you for doing what you're doing, Kenny. And also your third cousin. Go Vols. I'm telling you. So there was a guy and he's all like a flat. It's one of these

flatbed trailers they bring in like this plug and play. It's already got the speakers. It's already got the flatbed trailers they bring in that just plug and play. It's already got the speakers. It's already got the amps and the drum kit and everything. And they roll in. And they look like a bunch of damn extras from Pirates of the Caribbean. By God, they were playing Friends of Loaf Places at 1 o'clock in the morning last night. Which is fine.

We didn't have a game today. The problem becomes they play Saturday night and Sunday afternoon and then maybe Monday night. I have to go to work So I don't need Benny Chesney out there playing At 1 o'clock in the morning Playing the Amarillo by morning I don't need that at 2 o'clock in the morning I got to be at work the next morning

I think Barth Brooks heard you last year And maybe Benny Benny gets a chance to hear you this year Benny Chesney Yeah I think Barth Brooks Open you last year, and maybe Benny gets a chance to hear you this year. Benny Chesney. Yeah, I think Barth Brooks opened for Benny Chesney in the Omaha Hilton parking lot. I do appreciate that all the dive bar musicians know that, hey, Omaha needs gigs. We've got gigs in Omaha if we can get out there during the World Series,

and they'll put us right outside Ryan McGee's hotel room. Yep. And he'll talk about us. All right. So shameless plug. So tonight on SEC Network, we have a Marty and McGee CMA Fest special. We went to the CMA Fest two weekends ago and interviewed all these guys. Luke Combs, all these guys. And some of them I knew and some of them I didn't.

But there's a one-hour special now on SEC Network aheadhead of the CMA Fest which I think Eric will maybe see This weekend but we would Go out at night and I Used that Barth Brooks Joke a lot because we saw a lot of Barth Brooks on it was like All the stages have Everyone you've ever heard of

And then all of the stages Behind the stages which is where I was andy gives and hangs out with like you know of course uh luke bryant i go and hang out with brian luke whoever the hell that is right because i don't i don't i i have no porn yeah but did it hit every time barth grooks uh benny chesney brian luke did these hit every time though i assume every single time yeah no brian luke no no uh luke bryant enjoyed it when i said brian luke because i actually didn't say that in front of him he's's a good dude, by the way.

He told us a funny ass story. He said he said he was trying to buy some leather, like to put a base in like his gun safe or something. And he went to like Hobby Lobby and he asked the lady there in Hobby Lobby in Oklahoma, Nashville, wherever it was. And he said, I need some leather. She said, we got this fox leather over here. You should use that. That fox leather is great. He said, what the hell is fox leather? It's faux leather. Oh, jeez.

He kept calling it fox leather. So there you go. I'm not going to say it. OK, I'm not going to say it. Southern people are awesome. Yeah. Don't you? What's that? We appreciate that. Southern people are awesome. Yeah. Don't you – Another word. What's that?

We appreciate that. There's another word. Yeah, I mean, that is – think about how pumped that lady was whenever she heard how many – PETA even. Like, we have a letter. This fox leather somehow slips through the cracks for PETA. They're never, ever, ever complaining about this. All right, last question about the College World Series.

7 p.m. on SEC Network. Is that tonight? Yes, tonight. Yeah, that's our special. And then tomorrow night, around that same time on ESPN, will be the game one of the College World Series championship. McGee, Mr. 7

p.m. Let's go, dude. We got Jelly Roll stopping by. Brian Luke. We got Jelly Roll. Yeah, Dasha came in there. That's how far she is. And she was great.

And what was interesting was we had the people that, like, did it old school, right? Like, you know, Thomas Threatt did it old school, moved to Nashville, like, grinded it out on the stages and became a star. And then you had Dasha, who literally went to bed one night, woke up the next morning, and she was like an internet superstar. And so everyone appreciates everyone's story. She wrote a song about wearing boots in Austin and did a dance on TikTok and went to bed.

And the next day, she said, literally by the end of the week, she had a record game. I was like, okay. But it's just. God bless America. God bless America. God bless America. You know Bojangles?

You know Bojangles? I do love Bo. I think I sent you a picture from the Charlotte airport of the Bojangles last week. Did y. You know Bojangles? You know Bojangles? I do love Bojangles. I think I sent you a picture from the Charlotte airport of the Bojangles last week. Did y'all get Bojangles? I heard y'all got free Bojangles. We got free Bojangles. You're welcome. Yeah, thank you.

We know Bojangles. Yeah, we know Bojangles. It made me, I'm going to be honest. I had the spicy chicken biscuit. Yep. So good. So good. That's breakfast. Maybe one of the best tasting things I've ever had. So good. Yeah. So delicious. Best breakfast.

Maybe one of the best tasting things I've ever had. Alright. I did have some wild dumping situations in the afternoon. Poop soup. And I don't know, yeah, exactly. I don't know if it was from that or something else that I had, but there was certainly a little feeling, but as it was going down, it tasted so

good. You have to adjust. Your body has to adjust. The next time, it's like going skiing. The first time you go skiing, it sucks. But you break your leg, but the next time you go skiing, it tasted so good. You have to adjust. Your body has to adjust. The next time, it's like going skiing. The first time you go skiing, it sucks. But you break your leg. But the next time you go skiing, it's easy. So it's just the next time you have Bojangles, your system is now adjusted properly. But I told you all, it's delicious. It was so delicious.

My guts need to build up a Bojangles callus, I think. And if I was able to do that with a Bojangles near me, I would. Connor, what are you talking about? You didn't have the spicy chicken biscuit. You didn't. That near me, I would. Connor, what are you talking about? You didn't have the spicy chicken biscuit. Spicy chicken biscuit was so good. It's exactly what I had, and I can't do this. It just was fucking awful.

Oh, my God. I hated my Bojangles experience. I basically bit into a chicken bone. No, you didn't. Yes, I did. I don't want it to be this way. I love McGee. What McGee says is basically gospel to me, but when it comes to Bojangles, I just can't trust him.

He got a bad piece of chicken. Next time we'll get you some own-the-bone chicken, like a real piece of chicken. Listen, I'm telling you, come to Charlotte, hometown of Bojangles, 1977, and I will take care of you and don't worry about it. Don't worry about him. Don't worry about him.

Everybody else feels differently than he does me. I want him to like it. I want to like it. I was biting into it like I'm going to like it. Mickey, you saw this guy operating at the Celtics' pace. I mean, you know what I mean? Like, this is who we're dealing with. Everyone did.

I'm pretty sure they still have his picture by the door. Like, don't lift this damn guy back in the door. And how did it end up, McGee? What's this? As a world championship, baby. It ended up great. So, full disclosure, I left that game, I think, the start of the fourth quarter because I had to literally get up at 4.30

in the morning and go to work the next day at the 500. And they had an 18-point lead when I left the building. And by the time I got back to my hotel, they'd lost the game. Like, I was like, I know who's enjoying it, and I know everyone's not enjoying him. Spot on. Now I'm over here thinking about, oh, Carter's got to be insufferable. They kind of got out of it.

It was awesome. Yeah. I had no dog in the vein. Y'all breaking bottles, it was hell in there Jack Daniels bottle gets cracked In the back of the, I mean it was wild wasn't it It was a wild evening, I thought I had to get out of there The best thing

Is watching Mrs. McAfee Go into Full like mom mode Guys, guys, guys Guys I watched her shift into another gear, and by God, she got everybody in line. At least for a little bit. I appreciate that.

I appreciate the hell out of Samantha doing that. I think it's the first time I've heard her called Mrs. Backview by somebody else, which is a cool moment here, especially coming out with a southern accent. But yeah, there was a bottle that cracked in the back. Connor almost jumped over the suite. I mean, there was just... It was a wild time. That's NBA playoff basketball. That's the Eastern Conference Finals, baby.

Yeah, well, we're revving it up. And Tim, my favorite part with you guys is watching the dudes who are casually trying to get y'all's attention. Like if they stand a certain way or if they yell a certain thing or if they fold their arms a certain way, maybe the guys will see me and I can be on the show it's the craziest thing it's the psychology of that it's the it's the mcafee effect it's amazing you know the people are very kind to us i mean connor was very rude to them that particular evening but people are very kind to us and we are very very very

thankful for it but there is moments where um i'm potentially signing up for like 15 conversations if I lift my head up. So I've become a laser-focused person where I am like, I'm paying attention to this. And then when we're in here, I got a chance to talk to Ryan McGee. I'm going to do that. It was awesome. It was a great time. I drank all the drinks and I ate all the free food and got me a pom-pom and got the hell out of there. It was a great night.

Smart night. I ate all the free food and got me a pom-pom and got the hell out of there. It was a great night. Smart night. Last thing from the World Series happening in Omaha, College World Series from Tone Diggs. Yeah, McGee, last year we knew it was Skeens and Dylan Cruz, and those were the two guys.

I don't know. Is there big names like that this year in the World Series final, and who is it? Well, watch the Tennessee infield. There's the potential in that Tennessee infield to have three first-round dropouts. And unfortunately, probably the best player on this roster, the guy named Brad Montgomery

for Texas A&M, he's hurt. This would have been his third straight college World Series. He was here with Stanford the last two years. And unfortunately, Braden was hurt. I was just talking to the coach just last night about a minute ago. He's here and he's hurt, but he can't play. A&M's amazing because they keep, guys keep getting

hurt and they keep winning. And meanwhile, Tennessee is still at 100%. And so, but yeah, watch the Tennessee infield and watch the bench for Braden because there's probably, there's at least three first rounders that will be in these dugouts over the next couple of nights,

a potential three, four or five. Well, maybe we'll see him pitching in big leagues next year. Hell yeah. They're playing in the big leagues. Just like Paul Skeens has already taken over and maybe going to make his first all-star team.

He's about to potentially make his first all-star team. It's crazy. We can't thank you enough, McGee. Enjoy the hell out of Omaha, pal. All right. You boys are the of Omaha, pal. All right. You boys are the best.

Love you, mean it. Hey. We love four horsemen out there. Love you, too. Ladies and gentlemen, Ron McGee. Yeah, McGee. Love you, mean it. What a week, boys.

Unreal. Can't wait to watch the College World Series. Yeah. Legitimately. Because tonight, you know, anything can happen in this NHL game. Anything can happen. We could have a storyline about a legacy building that will be talked about forever. That is the first one with Connor McDavid. And then talking about first one, if Florida wins, it's the first one in the franchise's history. After losing in the finals last year, coming back and winning, what a story to tell. We learned from our mistakes one year ago, and now we came back better, stronger. And although we did face a little bit of a flurry from the Edmonton Oilers, knowing this thing could have been over in four games,

we were able to re-find ourselves and play Florida Panther hockey. We won a Stanley Cup in Edmonton in their face. That could happen tonight. Hell yeah. Then this weekend, you've got College World Series taking place. Who's going to be the next national champion? Cool. First time since 1951, Tennessee's been there,

and Texas A&M has never made the finals. Holy shit. Nuts. Think. First time since 1951, Tennessee's been there and Texas A&M has never made the finals. Holy shit. Nuts. Think about if Tennessee wins, I think Peyton Manning is going to buy $7,000 worth of jello shots

from Roccas. He better. Got a great weekend in store. Soccer. Soccer's happening? Mm-hmm. We're beating shit out of Bolivia on Sunday.

Yeah, can't wait. That's awesome, AJ. F1 probably. I'm sure F1's somewhere, right? Fuck that. Who cares? Yeah, we don wait. That's awesome, ain't it? I'm sure F1's somewhere, right? Fuck that, who cares? Yeah, we don't watch that, but I do see, there's probably a NASCAR race, an IndyCar race. Probably. I saw Bryson started the Live event

in Nashville. Did you see how many people were there? Yep. Talk about a big boom for that whole industry for the Live. Are you kidding me? Hopefully they can continue this momentum, something that we feel is real perfect city in nashville perfect city for nashville to be the place because there's a lot of people there and it is a destination city where people can be like you know i could travel there and go experience this a little bit but de chambeau

being the baby face and being the topic of conversation look at this that's a live golf event right there that's on a friday major that's a major right there like a pga major that's a live golf event right there. That's on a Friday. That's a major right there. Like a PGA major. That's a crowd. That's on a Friday right there. That's not the weekend. That's like, this is happening. Congratulations to DeChambeau, obviously, being a needle mover. But to live getting a crowd that looks anywhere near what PGA normally gets.

Because that's been a big knock. Like, okay, there's nobody watching. We got music playing. You got this gimmick shit on the green. I we can't do it you're playing 54 holes it's like this ain't and now we got a crowd so that's going to create an atmosphere all weekend which will hopefully drown out the music a little bit so we don't have to hear you know kesha uh playing on the 18th hole of somebody potentially winning a tournament a golf tournament or whatever but then you think about like bro Brooks is playing great golf.

You got DeChambeau playing great golf. Phil Mickelson's in his bag talking his shit, obviously doing his thing. He was doing some new boot goofing, I think, down there. Yeah, he was. He looked good. Looks happy. Is this Liv? And then now, obviously, the PGA and Liv are maybe merging.

It's like PGA might be getting on at the right time, too. PGA's got a good leaderboard right now and travelers, so. See, this could be, okay, golf could have a massive, what, weekend? And then obviously next month or so, if anything is to get settled so that we can see all the greats playing together.

Once again, even though some of them got paid, you know, life-altering, family tree-altering cash to play golf for a little bit, while the others chose not to and ride along the legacy train that is the PGA. It's exciting times. In sports, we'll cover it all. Hey, let's have a great weekend. We're live. We get to.

You know what I mean? Absolutely. It's beautiful out. We get to have fun. Get outside. Feels great out there. Get out there. I'm excited. Get outside. Let's make sure we're using SPF 30. 50. 50. Maybe 75. Yeah, 50. Hydrate. Get hydrated. Let's make sure we're using SPF 30. 50. Maybe 75. Hydrate. Let's have fun.

Let's enjoy this life. I am so incredibly thankful I get to do this with you boys. You're the absolute best. What a week. Can't wait to see you guys on Monday. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice.