WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:01.320 For an entire hour. 2 00:00:01.399 --> 00:00:04.320 My buddy Richard Smith on a Wednesday, Smitty, Happy Wednesday. 3 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:08.160 How are you. Let's turn his mic on. 4 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:12.199 It probably works better for your ratings, is well. 5 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:14.800 I mean, as I often say, my Christmas wish as 6 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:17.239 a radio host is the ability to control microphones in 7 00:00:17.239 --> 00:00:17.719 the studio. 8 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:20.359 But that's probably too much to How are you, How 9 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:20.879 are you, buddy? 10 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:23.719 We're doing great. Yeah, we're doing just a beautiful day outside. 11 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:27.760 And uh, we had a great Thanksgiving weekend last week, 12 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:29.800 as as I know you did back east and with 13 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:32.520 your family, and uh, you know, it's all good. 14 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:36.560 Good to be back east. And for you, you. 15 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:40.399 Spent the holiday vacationing in the happiest place on earth. 16 00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:42.920 This was this was big time spent. It was we 17 00:00:42.920 --> 00:00:46.799 were down. We were down to Disneyland for four glorious days. 18 00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:48.880 And I'll tell you what when you're in the middle 19 00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:50.960 of Disneyland and I did not know this. This is 20 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:54.560 the first time that Linda and I've ever done this 21 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:59.079 with some friends. But they when you're there, you if 22 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:01.240 you did anything else going out in the world, you 23 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:03.759 would make the assumption. Well, I guess in the United 24 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:08.480 States they don't have the traditional family get together around 25 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:12.799 the table at home. Now anymore, everybody just goes to Disneyland, 26 00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:15.439 just jam packs. Oh it was wall to wall people. Yeah, 27 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.280 and it was. But the weather was good and we 28 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:21.400 had a fun time. It was a different experience for us. 29 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:23.480 And yeah, yeah, we had a lot of fun. It 30 00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:23.879 was great. 31 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:26.120 So we'll get to the Jazz in a moment, because 32 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:29.439 my goodness. But I wanted to ask you this today, 33 00:01:29.959 --> 00:01:32.079 and you know, I want to be very clear here. 34 00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:34.079 I don't know what coach Wait is going to do. 35 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:38.200 I just feel like, because there has been no official announcement, 36 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:40.239 it leads me to believe he's coming back. I mean, 37 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:42.519 right now, it's early signing day. They're so busy with 38 00:01:42.599 --> 00:01:46.000 recruiting and transfer portal and such. I think if he 39 00:01:46.359 --> 00:01:49.319 was going to step aside, we would know by now. 40 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:52.400 But I wonder if you could illuminate us a little bit. 41 00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:54.120 What are some of the things you kind of balance 42 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:56.640 out when you know, you saw a lot of coaches 43 00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:00.439 come and go, and when you're in admittedly the late fall, 44 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:02.640 early winter of your career, what are some of the 45 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:05.280 things you balance out when you want to decide whether 46 00:02:05.319 --> 00:02:06.200 or not you want to keep going. 47 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:08.439 Yeah, when you have a year like the youths had 48 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:10.879 this year. I think the most important thing for them 49 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:13.520 is to be able to step back and and and 50 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:17.120 take a deep breath and and get a little perspective. 51 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:17.680 On on what happened. 52 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:19.639 You know, when you were in the middle of that 53 00:02:19.639 --> 00:02:24.400 that tornado that they were in and that downhill slide 54 00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:27.120 in the in October and November. Uh, you know, a 55 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:29.199 lot of things come at you and and you have 56 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:32.719 a lot of different thoughts about any time anything goes wrong, 57 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:38.039 it's it's just exacerbated and and overblown. So when you 58 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:40.439 get to the end of the season, you want to 59 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:43.240 be able to step back and and and step away 60 00:02:43.240 --> 00:02:45.599 from it for a little bit and try and and 61 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:48.439 and get away and just clear your head and kind 62 00:02:48.439 --> 00:02:50.719 of look at it for what it what it really was, 63 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:54.120 without all of that drama that that you were in 64 00:02:54.199 --> 00:02:57.240 the middle of. And I agree, I tend to agree 65 00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:01.000 with you, Spence. I don't know anything about anything regarding 66 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:04.479 UH coach Whittingham and his thoughts and and and the 67 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:08.879 program going forward, but it just feels like if they 68 00:03:08.919 --> 00:03:12.439 were if it was gonna be something around the deal 69 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:15.199 of him leaving, that they probably would have done it 70 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:19.439 already early this week, just to cut it clean and 71 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:22.439 let everybody know, Hey, so don't bother us again. 72 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:24.360 We'll give you some more updates kind of thing. 73 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:27.680 And uh, it just you know, But then again, maybe 74 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:31.000 he's you know, maybe he's off on some uh some 75 00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:33.879 island somewhere for a week, you know, trying to get 76 00:03:33.879 --> 00:03:36.879 his head clear. I'm sure with the with the early 77 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:39.039 signing date and all that, they're probably you know, just 78 00:03:39.080 --> 00:03:41.800 the opposite, with their heads down and in the office 79 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:44.319 trying to get those kinds of things locked down for 80 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:45.080 their program. 81 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:45.960 But but it. 82 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:48.400 Just it feels like to me also that that just 83 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:51.800 as a fan, that that you probably would have heard 84 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:55.439 something else if there was something in that regard going on. 85 00:03:55.560 --> 00:03:58.240 So my my gut also tells me that when the 86 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:01.919 dust settles, there won't be there won't be anything. They'll 87 00:04:01.960 --> 00:04:04.319 just be business as usual and they'll be looking for 88 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:08.240 an offensive coordinator obviously, and then just going on with 89 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:09.919 that would be my guess. 90 00:04:10.199 --> 00:04:12.319 Yeah, and I'm with you there. And Kyle also doesn't 91 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:14.879 strike me as a wishy, washy guy. I mean, he 92 00:04:14.919 --> 00:04:18.439 seems to be a pretty pragmatic person, where like if 93 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:20.399 he knew he was going to leave. I think he 94 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:22.959 just would have told everybody and then moved on right 95 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:26.399 to whatever's next. But you do have some context with 96 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:30.759 college coaches that you know over the years that have 97 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:33.519 just elected to not deal with the new reality of 98 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:36.360 college athletics. And we've seen examples in college football. Nick 99 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:40.199 Saban's the biggest one. Others too, Tony Bennett, who won 100 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:42.600 a national championship right before the year. 101 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:44.680 It's like, yeah, you know what, I don't think I 102 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:45.279 want to deal with this. 103 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:48.199 So while I do believe Kyle's coming back, part of 104 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:50.639 me wouldn't blame him if he's like, you know what, 105 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:53.839 this is a new game. It's not the game that 106 00:04:53.879 --> 00:04:56.399 I signed up to coach. It's not the business that 107 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:59.399 I signed up to lead. Because as a college football coach, 108 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:01.519 you're a CEO. You're not just a coach. There are 109 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:03.360 so many layers, and yes, now a lot of them 110 00:05:03.399 --> 00:05:06.839 have general managers and guys that can help him out 111 00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:10.199 run the program. But the new reality of college athletics 112 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:12.720 seems to have really struck a lot of these old 113 00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:15.160 school coaches in a way where some of them just 114 00:05:15.160 --> 00:05:15.920 don't want to deal with it. 115 00:05:16.040 --> 00:05:19.319 Yeah, well that happened, I know last week with Mac 116 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:22.240 Brown in North Carolina, a longtime coach and won a 117 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:25.160 national championship when he was at Texas. Has had two 118 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:28.639 successful stints at the University of North Carolina as they 119 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:31.519 head football coach, but they they decided to let him 120 00:05:31.560 --> 00:05:35.759 go last week before their their final game with NC State, 121 00:05:35.800 --> 00:05:37.360 and then they had the game with their and they 122 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:41.399 and they lost. And in this postgame press conference, he said, yeah, 123 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:44.040 I'm done, and he goes, this isn't and he made 124 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:46.279 reference to just the whole thing in general, not just 125 00:05:46.360 --> 00:05:49.560 his his situation, but when he said, this isn't. This 126 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:52.439 isn't the game that I signed up for, you know, 127 00:05:52.759 --> 00:05:55.439 way back when this is it's all different now, and 128 00:05:55.519 --> 00:05:59.079 so this is probably a good timing for everybody and 129 00:05:59.160 --> 00:06:01.879 for me to to exit stage left, and and for 130 00:06:01.959 --> 00:06:04.399 them to, you know, to bring in somebody else. And hey, 131 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:07.000 Jay Wright did it last year, right, and he had 132 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:09.519 won two national championships, and we know our good friend 133 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:12.800 up the road, Randy Ray got out a Weaver State 134 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:16.160 a couple of years earlier than he had originally planned 135 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:19.199 in terms of his career plans because he just thought, 136 00:06:19.319 --> 00:06:21.079 you know, he saw this, all this stuff coming and 137 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:22.839 said I don't want to. I don't want to deal 138 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:25.720 with this, and especially at a place like Weaver State, 139 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:27.720 which is a mid major, which you know is gonna 140 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:30.800 have trouble competing with nil kinds of stuff, you know, 141 00:06:30.839 --> 00:06:33.519 with with the biggest programs and and that kind of thing. 142 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:37.800 So I'm surprised that that we don't see more of 143 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:39.600 the coaches. I guess you know, when you're in it, 144 00:06:40.120 --> 00:06:42.879 you you like what you're doing, and it changes and 145 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:45.360 you have to adapt and and Coach Witt said this, 146 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:46.480 I know in one of. 147 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:48.639 His recent press conferences that hey. 148 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:51.079 Whether you like it or not, whether you agree with 149 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:54.199 it or not, whether it works for you or not, 150 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:56.639 you know, the bottom line is if you're in in 151 00:06:56.680 --> 00:07:00.120 the business, then you just have to adapt and figure 152 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:01.120 out how to. 153 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:03.560 Make it work to the best of your your ability. 154 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:07.759 And so that's something that that you know, probably uh 155 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:09.839 would come into play if you were to make some 156 00:07:09.959 --> 00:07:13.959 decision to uh, you know, to get out now, you know, 157 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:16.600 just because all of that has changed, and it seems 158 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:19.839 spence that it's evolving and changing all the time, like 159 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:24.000 there's not a set path that everybody's going down. It's 160 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:27.959 always diverging, it's always going left or right, and uh, 161 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:30.680 different things are happening, and the you know, the transfer portal, 162 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:34.399 and and I heard on the OC's show earlier they're 163 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:37.720 talking about just the and with You with Bill Riley 164 00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:41.079 just in the last segment about the the the early 165 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:43.720 signing day and the fact that it really doesn't carry 166 00:07:43.720 --> 00:07:46.920 as much impetus or weight now as it used to 167 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:50.439 with fans in the media in general, because how much 168 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:53.399 does it matter because the kid, the kid says, yeah, 169 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:56.480 I'm signing with you. Tah, yeah, thanks a lot, okay, okay, 170 00:07:56.519 --> 00:07:58.560 and then a month from now he says, oh, I 171 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:01.480 changed my mind. I'm going to USC instead, you know, 172 00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:04.759 like they can do that, and so it really doesn't matter. 173 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:05.560 And and so. 174 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:09.040 That's the hard part I would think the coaches are 175 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:12.639 dealing with is is how do we get somebody, how 176 00:08:12.680 --> 00:08:15.920 do we then hold on to them? Because there's really 177 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:20.519 not a contractual type situation at this time in college 178 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:24.240 at college athletics where you can get a commitment and 179 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:28.079 then have it be binding and have to have someone 180 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:30.759 have to stay like you do in the professional ranks 181 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:31.920 where you sign contracts. 182 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:34.039 Yeah, and you know, we had a guest on yesterday 183 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:37.159 named Matt Brown, who writes a college football newsletter called 184 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:41.039 Extra Points, and Matt is a very bright guy who 185 00:08:41.559 --> 00:08:45.120 essentially creates content to help people understand the new business 186 00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:48.159 of college football. Like college football issues off the field, 187 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:54.120 and right now, it's it's it's pretty crazy that essentially 188 00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:57.240 the nil contracts or whatever you want to call them, 189 00:08:57.399 --> 00:09:02.360 are created by legal teams from member institutions. There's no uniformity, 190 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:05.919 there's no governing body. So University of I'm not saying 191 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:08.759 they're doing this, but the University of Utah could have 192 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:11.000 their legal team put together a contract for a player 193 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:14.200 to sign and essentially say, hey, there's a stipulation in 194 00:09:14.200 --> 00:09:16.279 this contract that you can't transfer for a couple of 195 00:09:16.360 --> 00:09:19.600 years or whatever. And the player can, you know, give 196 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:21.399 them a double bird and go down and sign a 197 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:26.279 BYU because BYU doesn't have that stipulation. For me, Smitty, 198 00:09:26.919 --> 00:09:31.120 every issue that keeps popping up with collegiate athletics can 199 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:33.320 be solved with one thing, and that is moving into 200 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:37.000 the pro model, allowing the players to unionize collectively bargain 201 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:38.240 with the powers that be. 202 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:40.519 The problem is who are the powers that be? Right now? 203 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:43.759 Like football wants to break away from the NCAA. But 204 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:46.639 the problem is there's so much red tape between here 205 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:49.960 and there in that finish line. University presidents aren't interested 206 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:54.600 in having their athletes be employees because of all those implications. 207 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:57.559 I still believe that's the one solution, though. Do you 208 00:09:57.559 --> 00:10:00.320 think people would have an issue at this point? Doesn't 209 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:01.879 feel like they would have an issue because there's so 210 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:05.720 many problems. But you think the people that consume collegiate 211 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:08.919 athletics would have an issue if they just unapologetically leaned 212 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:09.840 into the pro model. 213 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:11.120 Well, I think that. 214 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:13.120 I don't think the fans are going to have a 215 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:16.960 problem with it as long as your your team gets 216 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:21.399 the guy that they want. I mean, but you know 217 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:25.279 what's interesting is I saw I think a couple weeks ago, 218 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:29.759 uh one of the ESPN broadcasters had done a recent 219 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:35.480 game with Williams and Amherst uh Division three football programs 220 00:10:35.480 --> 00:10:38.639 back in Massachusetts, the you and I are familiar with, 221 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:42.519 and they don't have scholarships, they don't have all this 222 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:44.679 kind of you know, n I L kind of stuff 223 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:47.639 going on at that level. He said, he went, went, 224 00:10:47.879 --> 00:10:49.840 was part invited to the game, went and did the game. 225 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:54.840 UH saw experience that on the small college level. And 226 00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:58.200 then afterwards the you know, the team from from Williams. 227 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:00.679 When they win, they have a in that big ival regame. 228 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:02.960 They have all the whole team marches up the hill 229 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:07.879 that goes through campus, go through town, and and everybody 230 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:09.759 rallies around them. And he said it was such a 231 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:15.759 great old style collegiate experience. And you know, I wonder 232 00:11:15.799 --> 00:11:19.480 if if at some point, you know, fans will go, well, yeah, 233 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:21.360 well I can go to Utah games, I can go 234 00:11:21.399 --> 00:11:24.559 to BYU games. But you know, these guys are just 235 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:26.960 you know, they're they're getting paid like money, and they 236 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:29.879 getting paid more than I work at my job, and 237 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:33.480 their eighteen year old kids playing basketball or playing wide 238 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:36.720 receiver on the football team, whatever it is. And I 239 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:39.120 don't know how much interest I have in that, especially 240 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:41.960 if they keep raising my ticket prices. I'll just go 241 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:46.720 to watch the guys over at Westminster play play basketball, right, 242 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:49.639 Or yeah, I'll go out to Soli Community College and 243 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:53.840 watch the the the women's softball team, which is you know, 244 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:56.320 highly competitive and all that kind of stuff, and and 245 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:58.840 get my fixed that way. It's really it's really going 246 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:03.000 to be interesting. I think, Uh, what's gonna happen. Is 247 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:06.840 when as this continues, UH, with the nil stuff and 248 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:10.919 the money that's involved with with a student athletes, it 249 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:13.799 how it affects your ticket prices and how it affects 250 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:18.120 you actually attending games, UH, is gonna be a big 251 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:20.759 deal because you know, this year, trying to go to 252 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:27.639 Utah football games is was was really really astounding to 253 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:30.720 me the prices that you were looking at to try 254 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:33.279 and go to a game. And that's what one game 255 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:35.039 and and they have a lot of people who are 256 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:39.600 paying season ticket prices and and seat licenses and and 257 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:42.600 UH and that kind of stuff and Crimson Club dues 258 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:45.440 and all those those kind of things. At some point, 259 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:48.600 there's a saturation point where the fan is gonna say 260 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:49.559 that's enough. 261 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:50.519 I'm not I'm out. 262 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:55.039 You know, unless your team runs a table, has a 263 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:58.799 year like b YU had in football, right, Otherwise, if 264 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:03.120 you're middling around, it's really going to be tough to 265 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:05.000 hold on to the fan base that you have. 266 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:08.320 All right, let's move over to some NBA stuff, And 267 00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:12.240 I have a big picture NBA topic before we get 268 00:13:12.279 --> 00:13:14.639 into some jazz stuff. And I'm really interested to get 269 00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:21.519 your take because the highest rated television NBA Finals nineteen 270 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:22.080 ninety eight. 271 00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:24.519 You were there, I was there. 272 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:31.080 Jazz Bowls at its peak, it was essentially thirty five 273 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:34.240 point eight million viewers that Sunday night game, which is 274 00:13:34.279 --> 00:13:37.399 a twenty two point three rating, So thirty five point 275 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:40.600 eight nine million viewers is a massive, massive number. The 276 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:44.519 highest rated NBA Finals game from last year was Game 277 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:47.840 four Celtics MAVs nine excuse me, eleven point four to 278 00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:51.600 three million viewers. That's the highest rated game and we're 279 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:55.080 talking about nineteen million less. And to be fair, the 280 00:13:55.159 --> 00:13:58.879 highest rated NBA Finals, which was Jazz Bowls, Jordan's last dance, 281 00:13:58.919 --> 00:14:03.879 all that stuff. And during the mid to late nineties, 282 00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:07.519 pro basketball never passed the NFL, but it was throwing 283 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:10.320 punches with it. There was a legitimate debate like what's 284 00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:12.440 the most popular sport in America? 285 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:14.360 Is it basketball or football? 286 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:16.720 And while football was the answer, then continues to be 287 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:17.159 the answer. 288 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:23.000 Now the gap is huge. The other night one point 289 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:24.159 nine mil for. 290 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:27.639 The TNT, that was the biggest number TNT pulled the 291 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:30.159 other night one point nine mil. That's down seven percent 292 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:33.080 year over year. Why do you think people are tuning 293 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:35.480 out NBA basketball games? Why do you think the ratings 294 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:36.799 are dipping so hard. 295 00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:37.120 Well. 296 00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:41.639 I think a couple of reasons spens right on the surface. 297 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:45.799 One is that there are so many other options now 298 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:51.240 and the generation now that's younger than we are being 299 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:56.279 brought up with accessibility to anything they want, any time 300 00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:02.399 they want online and streaming services. So getting people to 301 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:06.080 focus in on one thing, you know, like an NBA game, 302 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:09.000 even if you're a basketball fan, you have so many 303 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:12.320 other outlets and so many other options to do. Unless 304 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:16.559 there's something that's really compelling at that moment to attract 305 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:20.679 your attention, You've got all these other things that you 306 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:25.279 can go and spend your time doing. Another reason I 307 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:28.639 think personally is that I don't think the the NBA 308 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:30.879 game is very attractive. 309 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:32.759 Right now to to the average fan. 310 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:35.480 I think it's all, yeah, I'm watching the game last 311 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:39.600 night and I was counting the number of possessions where 312 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:42.840 where both teams were running running a half court offense, 313 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:48.480 and there wasn't one player anywhere near the lane. Everybody 314 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:51.559 was out on the perimeter and it's all drawn kick 315 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:55.759 and it's all you know, long range shooting, and people 316 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:59.399 can't shoot very well. That's why the guys who can shoot, 317 00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:03.600 whether to Kevin Durant, you know, or Ray Allen his day, 318 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:07.279 or guys like that Steph Curry, who are good shooters. 319 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:10.399 That's why they stand out so much, because most guys 320 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:15.759 can't shoot. But what happens Spence, they do shoot all right, 321 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:20.399 because that's what the last night I saw several times. 322 00:16:20.759 --> 00:16:23.159 I was kind of keeping track of my head. How 323 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:26.080 many times I thought that they took a three point 324 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:30.279 shot what we used to phrase by default, meaning that 325 00:16:30.519 --> 00:16:33.039 I was there, I can take this shot, or I 326 00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:35.639 can work for a better shot. There's still nine seconds 327 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:38.960 on the shot clock, but there's a defender near me. 328 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:42.879 But I'm being lazy and it doesn't really matter. So 329 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:47.039 here it goes and just jack it up. And nobody 330 00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:50.840 wants to watch that stuff because it looks lazy, in 331 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:55.480 large part because it is lazy and the players don't 332 00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:58.799 work as hard. That's why the announcers last night, you know, 333 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:02.639 kept harping on the fact that Oklahoma City was playing 334 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:07.759 very well, especially on the defensive end, because there are 335 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:11.920 hard nosed defensive team who sticks to their principles and 336 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:14.880 shows it by the way that they play. 337 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:17.640 They force you to do things. 338 00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:20.839 We talked about this and one of our earliest segments 339 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:24.519 as if you're a good defensive team, you want to 340 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:27.400 try and be the protagonists. In other words, you want 341 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:30.559 to try and dictate to the offense what they're doing. 342 00:17:31.039 --> 00:17:34.480 That's what Oka Se did last night to the Jazz, 343 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:38.680 which resulted in the Jazz having twenty nine turnovers, which 344 00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:42.160 resulted in forty five points off turnovers for okay See. 345 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:45.799 The Jazz actually shot a better percentage than Oka See 346 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:48.640 did for the game from the floor, but the fact 347 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:50.839 was they couldn't hold onto the ball, and they couldn't 348 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:54.720 hold onto the ball because of the pressure of Okac's defense, 349 00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:57.359 coupled with the fact that the Jazz are a sloppy 350 00:17:58.079 --> 00:18:03.599 at sometimes lazy ball handling team, and they called it 351 00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:04.799 they're sometimes. 352 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:05.720 They're their own worst enemy. 353 00:18:05.960 --> 00:18:08.519 How many times last night did they drive into traffic 354 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:11.000 and just stumble around and the ball came out the 355 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:16.720 other way on a fast break for OKC. But I 356 00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:19.640 think to answer your question, the fans of finding other 357 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:22.240 things to do, I think they don't really like the 358 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:25.960 product as much of the NBA that they're seeing nowadays, 359 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:29.519 with dollus five out and none in stuff and people 360 00:18:29.559 --> 00:18:31.519 just jacking up shots and a lot of one on 361 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:35.319 one kinds of stuff, and I think they're finding other 362 00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:36.319 ways to spend their time. 363 00:18:36.440 --> 00:18:40.200 Yeah, the Warriors Calves era, the Lebron versus Steph era, 364 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:44.000 the ratings were pretty healthy, you know, they approached seventeen eighteen, 365 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:47.880 nineteen mil nothing has touched ninety eight when Jordan was 366 00:18:47.880 --> 00:18:49.680 in his last year in John and Carl, and they 367 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:53.400 were so compelling. And I hate to be the old 368 00:18:53.400 --> 00:18:56.920 guy that yells into the microphone, but there was just 369 00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.680 something about that era of basketball. And maybe I'll come 370 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:02.000 out of from a selfish perspective with my background of 371 00:19:02.039 --> 00:19:04.160 the Jazz and the Knicks when both those teams were 372 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:06.720 so fun and compelling in the nineties. I don't know 373 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:09.920 if it's production value, I don't know if it's characters. 374 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:13.599 I don't know if it's protagonists antagonists. There was something 375 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:18.240 so compelling about nineties NBA basketball, and even me as 376 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:21.319 a basketball junkie and somebody who will watch random games 377 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:24.920 on a random Tuesday night, all tune in and it's 378 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:27.880 like I want to take the dog for a walk, 379 00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:30.440 you know, like there's just something about it that is 380 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:32.240 not as compelling as it was when I was growing 381 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:33.000 up in the nineties. 382 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:33.759 Well, and I. 383 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:38.079 Think Spencer again to date ourselves, right, you're talking about 384 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:41.279 games are almost thirty years ago, so you're talking about 385 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:44.160 a different generation, and you're talking about all the things 386 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:48.559 that happened between then and now relative to access of 387 00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:52.519 information through the Internet and laptops and your phone and 388 00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:58.759 all those kinds of things. It's interesting that nowadays, what 389 00:19:59.079 --> 00:20:01.279 does the NBA do? What have they done for a while? 390 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:04.599 They they market the star players and they hope that 391 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:08.039 you will tune in on the Tuesday night to see 392 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:12.519 Kevin Durant, you know, go up against Lebron James. Oh 393 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:14.960 oh they're both out tonight. Oh that's right. Oh they're 394 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:17.319 not playing, you know, for whatever the reasons. And so 395 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:20.839 you know, there goes your hook if you're the NBA. 396 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:24.839 It's it's just that there are a lot of games there. 397 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:27.519 There's a lot of content, and there's a lot of 398 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:30.400 that's successible to the fan. If you're a basketball fan. 399 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:32.920 How many college games were on last night? How many 400 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:36.279 you are on tonight? You know that you think, well, 401 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:38.519