Speaker 1: Live on the iHeartRadio app.
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Speaker 2: to one seventy nine hundred. So, uh, we've been all
Speaker 2: over the place in the first hour Monday night, raw
Speaker 2: his in town tonight, and uh, I think, and I'm
Speaker 2: glad somebody sent this on the text line.
Speaker 1: And I remember I.
Speaker 2: Knew there was some type of a of a of
Speaker 2: a drought where we did not here in Kentucky get
Speaker 2: events from the WWF, which then became WWE, And somebody
Speaker 2: sent in an old link that uh. And this makes
Speaker 2: total sense, by the way, because in the state of
Speaker 2: Kentucky there is a Commission for boxing and wrestling to
Speaker 2: where you if you're going to operate really any of
Speaker 2: those two things in any way, you have to have
Speaker 2: a license as a wrestler, a boxer promoter, probably even
Speaker 2: like Mma fighter too, I would think. But the commission
Speaker 2: is there to regulate it and to really from an
Speaker 2: I understand, keep it from you know, it protects the
Speaker 2: state from having the the reputation of a bunch of
Speaker 2: backyard brawls where people don't you know, they're not doing
Speaker 2: it safe. Not everybody's had a physical you know. I
Speaker 2: mean there was this happened actually within the last five
Speaker 2: six years.
Speaker 1: I believe there was a.
Speaker 2: Promotion because Indiana does not have a commission to where
Speaker 2: you don't have to have a license, you don't have
Speaker 2: to pay the commission a specific fee anytime you have
Speaker 2: an event, and that's that's what you have to do
Speaker 2: in Kentucky, and there's good reason for it because it
Speaker 2: kind of keeps the riff raf out.
Speaker 1: But across the across the river.
Speaker 2: In southern Indiana, there was an event where they had
Speaker 2: like what are they I'm making a fool of myself here.
Speaker 2: It's not called like a backyard match, But like.
Speaker 1: I on sanction match, No, am I crazy? Do they
Speaker 1: call it a death match?
Speaker 3: Probably? Yeah?
Speaker 2: Okay, but like you know yes yes yeah, light tubes yes,
Speaker 2: led and thumb tacks yes. So like I was thinking
Speaker 2: death match. But I'm like, surely they don't call it
Speaker 2: a death match, and turns out they actually do. But anyways,
Speaker 2: there was one of those that took place. It's somewhere
Speaker 2: in southern Indiana, and they had to, like the Health
Speaker 2: Department had to like send out a press release to
Speaker 2: the to the news stations around here in Kentucky and
Speaker 2: that like if you were there and you were near
Speaker 2: where this match happened, like one of the participants has
Speaker 2: like HEPSI or something, so like you have to go
Speaker 2: get like checked like it's but but again there's no
Speaker 2: it's a complete free for all in Kentucky. There's regulations
Speaker 2: and you have to you know, there's certain things you like,
Speaker 2: if you put it this way, if you end up
Speaker 2: having a match where there is actually it's either it's
Speaker 2: real or fake blood, you have to let the state
Speaker 2: know a certain amount of time before it takes place.
Speaker 1: They've got to be away of it.
Speaker 2: And if you don't and they find out that you
Speaker 2: did have a you know, you did have it without
Speaker 2: letting them know. I mean, they can go as far
Speaker 2: as shutting you down, but I think what they would
Speaker 2: do is probably find you or maybe.
Speaker 1: Limit the amount of events you can do.
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't think they're like I mean, I
Speaker 2: don't know if they're strict compared to like other states
Speaker 2: where this takes place, but you kind of have to be,
Speaker 2: I guess strict because if not, like it's the type
Speaker 2: of it's the type of thing that people could really
Speaker 2: you know, like again we're talking about matches that they
Speaker 2: call death matches where you know, you can have people
Speaker 2: legitimately cut open and.
Speaker 1: It's just I mean it's dangerous and whatnot.
Speaker 2: So like this may not like anybody who is working
Speaker 2: production for WWE tonight, and they'll be more of them
Speaker 2: than wrestlers probably, right, I mean, like it's a full
Speaker 2: on production. I mean, I think I haven't seen the
Speaker 2: live product, but I would be willing to bet that
Speaker 2: the Netflix production of ww munten net Raw, which they
Speaker 2: recently just obtained the exclusive rights to to broadcast it,
Speaker 2: it's probably comparable to anything you'll see in any other
Speaker 2: sport NFL, I mean, NBA, Major League Baseball, College football Playoff,
Speaker 2: Like it's as good as it gets when it comes
Speaker 2: to that. So every single person that's going to be
Speaker 2: working in that capacity, they also have to have a license. Yeah,
Speaker 2: so logistically, and this makes total sense. Logistically, it became
Speaker 2: just maybe it just became a lot more work than
Speaker 2: maybe they typically have to do when they go elsewhere
Speaker 2: meeting the ww I found that again, thank you who
Speaker 2: ever sent this in. This is an old article that's
Speaker 2: got a quote from former WWEC Olena McMahon, who now
Speaker 2: works for our president, which is just crazy to think about,
Speaker 2: to be honest with you, but she was quoted in
Speaker 2: the early two thousands expressing frustrations with Kentucky's regulations, saying
Speaker 2: they were quote holding wrestling to a standard that didn't
Speaker 2: fit the genre, so they tried to And I think
Speaker 2: there was also some bad blood around that time because
Speaker 2: of the decision to move their farm system. Essentially their
Speaker 2: development center used to be OVW here in Louisville, and
Speaker 2: then of course they moved it to Florida, and then
Speaker 2: they ended up kind of starting their own thing years later.
Speaker 2: But yeah, there was a This does not include the
Speaker 2: exact dates as far as that the state of Kentucky
Speaker 2: went without having any live events, but it was for
Speaker 2: it was for multiple years. But yeah, it looks like
Speaker 2: this was in two thousand and two thousand, in May
Speaker 2: of twenty sixteen, there was a Courier Journal article that
Speaker 2: was talking about some changes made to the Kentucky back
Speaker 2: Boxing and Wrestling Commission that I guess made some adjustments
Speaker 2: to make it a little bit more doable for the
Speaker 2: WWE to show up and have events. Yeah, this is
Speaker 2: twenty sixteen. It is under the existing rules in the
Speaker 2: state of Kentucky, ww's unable to produce are televised entertained. Yeah,
Speaker 2: this is I'm sorry. This is a statement from WWE
Speaker 2: in twenty sixteen as they were I guess working through
Speaker 2: to get some changes done, but it says that we
Speaker 2: were not We're unable to produce our televised entertainment events
Speaker 2: in a manner that is consistent with other states. Working
Speaker 2: with the new commission, we hope we can return to
Speaker 2: Kentucky with live WWE televised events including Monday Night Raw, SmackDown,
Speaker 2: and pay per view. So yeah, they made a change
Speaker 2: around then, and since then, I guess it's been coming
Speaker 2: back pretty consistently, which is a good thing because you know,
Speaker 2: even if you're not into wrestling. Look, I totally get it,
Speaker 2: everybody's got their own things they're interested in.
Speaker 1: But having the WWE.
Speaker 2: Here, whether it be for SmackDown for Raw, for a
Speaker 2: pay per view, or for really any event, like it's
Speaker 2: good for our city. And they probably realized meeting the
Speaker 2: Commission here Austin, they probably realized, we'll do whatever you
Speaker 2: guys need us to do, because that's a big payday.
Speaker 1: Because what happens there's a cut.
Speaker 2: I don't know if it's like the one appearance that
Speaker 2: they might make in Kentucky, which they're making more. You
Speaker 2: said they're coming for SmackDown before too long, but like
Speaker 2: that's how that commission is able to even fund itself
Speaker 2: just from those those events, So.
Speaker 3: It would be hoove them of course bringing more rassling.
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's do it.
Speaker 2: I'm down there and it did go. Yeah, And this
Speaker 2: is this is the change they made. And I'm not
Speaker 2: sure how many people are inserted in this, but I'm sorry,
Speaker 2: I'm kind of nerd out on it. But this, the
Speaker 2: change they made was a blood stoppage. So there was
Speaker 2: something implemented that basically just the wwe said, we can't,
Speaker 2: like it's not worth us to go through all this
Speaker 2: trouble and maybe even change how we want to do
Speaker 2: our content, our stories based off your restrictions, but they
Speaker 2: did make that change in twenty sixteen. It says regarding
Speaker 2: blood stoppage, the current rule reads, quote, if a person
Speaker 2: accidentally bleeds while participating in an exhibition show or appearance,
Speaker 2: the individual bleeding shall cease participation in the match and
Speaker 2: made rejoin the match once the bleeding has stopped. Yet,
Speaker 2: that's insanely not realistic in any way, right, I mean,
Speaker 2: you know better than me. Like, imagine somebody accidentally coming
Speaker 2: up bloody and having to you know, like.
Speaker 3: Right, they got to stop it, patch it up like
Speaker 3: usc fighter, going back to the corner.
Speaker 1: Exactly.
Speaker 4: So, despite how anybody out there feels about Matt Bevin,
Speaker 4: remember he had a big part in changing dude.
Speaker 2: He did the whole thing he put He put Chad
Speaker 2: Miller in place of the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Commission,
Speaker 2: and that is that is legitimately how this all changed.
Speaker 2: And there it hasn't actually happened yet. But the training
Speaker 2: academy for OVW where you can still technically go and
Speaker 2: you know, train to be a wrestler rather it be
Speaker 2: in the ring, or maybe you want to do some
Speaker 2: behind the scenes stuff, But again it's not currently set
Speaker 2: up that way to my knowledge, but there is something
Speaker 2: that Bevin pushed to where it can actually be considered
Speaker 2: a trade school. Think about how crazy that is to
Speaker 2: where like Austin, you can go work at ups and
Speaker 2: have them pay your tuition and it's not for you
Speaker 2: going to u of L or JCC. They're paying your
Speaker 2: tuition to learn how to wrestle, which gains amazing. It's
Speaker 2: just yeah, it's just interesting and there's nobody else that
Speaker 2: could they could offer that. So anyway, shout out to
Speaker 2: wrestling as we've got WWE right in town to night.
Speaker 1: All right.
Speaker 2: So, Chucky Hepburn was in the NBA G League Combine
Speaker 2: over the weekend, which it's it's for those who are
Speaker 2: just on I guess, like the borderline list of being
Speaker 2: able to you know, to actually participate in the NBA
Speaker 2: Draft Combine, which is taking place I believe this week.
Speaker 2: So Chucky, I didn't see any stats. I did see
Speaker 2: that he had a game winning three point shot, and
Speaker 2: actually I believe I'm double check here. I think in
Speaker 2: that game he actually did have a pretty impressive stat line. However,
Speaker 2: he didn't get the call up to actually participate in
Speaker 2: the in the real NBA draft combine, which I guess
Speaker 2: doesn't necessarily mean he won't get drafted, but I would
Speaker 2: say right now he's not projected to get drafted and
Speaker 2: probably won't. But Chucky Hepburn to me like he's the
Speaker 2: he's the perfect example of a guy that it's just
Speaker 2: about timing an opportunity. Like there are so many guards
Speaker 2: and I don't want to act like Chucky Hepburns just
Speaker 2: grow on trees because he's a pretty special talent. But
Speaker 2: there's so many guards that are like him, meaning they
Speaker 2: can run your team as a point guard. They can
Speaker 2: play off the ball and still be effective for you,
Speaker 2: and they can, I mean, you can shoot it consistent enough,
Speaker 2: good defensively and smart. Like there's so many of those
Speaker 2: guys that are playing in Italy and Greece, in Turkey,
Speaker 2: in China, and I think the NBA meaning like the
Speaker 2: NBA personnel, like they're well aware that they got a
Speaker 2: guy on contract right now, But there's twenty of those
Speaker 2: guys in other countries that are really you know, they're
Speaker 2: they're just as good and just as capable, but you
Speaker 2: know you don't have you don't have root for twenty
Speaker 2: of them in the NBA. So you know with Chucky
Speaker 2: like this is the this is the player comp that
Speaker 2: I think Chucky Hepburn I mean again, I hate I
Speaker 2: don't know. This has been a saying for a long time,
Speaker 2: but I always hesitate to do it because I don't
Speaker 2: think there's a way to say it without without it
Speaker 2: sounding like an insult. Like if I told if somebody
Speaker 2: told me, hey, you're a poor man's Austa Montgomery in
Speaker 2: a way, I would be like, Wow, Austa Montgomery's a
Speaker 2: pretty big deal. Love that guy. That's a compliment, but
Speaker 2: also like poor man's like you know, but so I
Speaker 2: guess I'll you know, I don't want to insult Chucky.
Speaker 2: Loved Chucky, But to me, Chucky Hepburn could be a
Speaker 2: poor man's Fred van Vliet. And I'm thinking to myself,
Speaker 2: what can Fred van Vliet bring to an NBA team
Speaker 2: that Chucky can And instantly I'm thinking size. But you know,
Speaker 2: Chucky six to one hundred and ninety pounds, I believe,
Speaker 2: take a guess how much you think Chucky Hepburn weighs
Speaker 2: Austin I'm gonna look it up.
Speaker 3: I mean, he seems kind of stocky, but not over
Speaker 3: two hundred pounds.
Speaker 2: So they listen him at six two one ninety and
Speaker 2: you know, I mean he's not beef.
Speaker 3: Sounds sounds about right.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Van Vliet looks stocky, right, Van Vliet looks like a
Speaker 2: little running back out there, does he not? I mean,
Speaker 2: to me, he's a he's what they call And I
Speaker 2: love this nickname. By the way, it's it's so it's
Speaker 2: it's not super creative, but it's just clever enough to
Speaker 2: be perfect. They called Baron Davis this the bodyguard because
Speaker 2: Baron Davis was built, you know, I mean, he got
Speaker 2: a big body, so like to me, when I think
Speaker 2: of Fred Van Vliet, I kind of think a little
Speaker 2: bit of Baron Davis to where, yeah, not not tall,
Speaker 2: but certainly strong enough, but also athletic and quick. So again,
Speaker 2: I'm not acting like Chucky. Hepburn's gonna be Baron Davis
Speaker 2: or Fred Van Vliet. But I just you know what again,
Speaker 2: what what do what does Van Vliet bring that Chucky
Speaker 2: couldn't do. Chucky's a good shooter, by the way, he
Speaker 2: didn't shoot it great at Wisconsin, I believe in the
Speaker 2: last year he was there before coming to Louisville. But
Speaker 2: we saw last year I mean, he could get hot
Speaker 2: and light it up, and he's physical, you know, you know,
Speaker 2: six two one nineties not tiny, But I mean there
Speaker 2: were times where he knew, Okay, I'm gonna back you down,
Speaker 2: like I'm gonna post you up because I have I'm
Speaker 2: strong enough to do it, and you're probably gonna be
Speaker 2: taken aback by it. So I hope it works out
Speaker 2: for Chucky. But you know, Van Vleet is listed at
Speaker 2: let's see, six foot even, one hundred and ninety seven pounds,
Speaker 2: so you know, shorter and probably you know, I don't
Speaker 2: follow the NBA close enough to know just how good
Speaker 2: or bad Van Vliet is at certain things. But you know,
Speaker 2: like Chucky's an elite defenders, He's I think, maybe not elite,
Speaker 2: but to me, he's a really good distributor, right Like,
Speaker 2: He's a guy who has good vision, can get guys involved,
Speaker 2: and can score if you leave him open. So I
Speaker 2: don't know Chucky to me, And this is clearly coming
Speaker 2: from a Louisville fan perspective, because I love Chucky and
Speaker 2: I want I want him to do well in the NBA,
Speaker 2: But I'm alst like like Russ Smith, never making it
Speaker 2: in the NBA, it's not because he wasn't good enough.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's just because like there were I mean,
Speaker 2: there are countless amounts of guards that are six foot
Speaker 2: one that probably aren't maybe as gifted at Russ at
Speaker 2: certain things. But like it's just timing an opportunity in
Speaker 2: the NBA for those kind of roles. And you know,
Speaker 2: there's way more players that are capable of filling the
Speaker 2: role than there are those roles available within the National
Speaker 2: Basketball Association. But anyways, with Chucky, I mean I think
Speaker 2: that's he's a good enough player to where if he
Speaker 2: did get an opportunity, he could play a long time.
Speaker 2: But again, those opportunities that's the hardest thing to actually
Speaker 2: actually have come your way. I used to say this
Speaker 2: about Russ Smith because I remember even when Russ was
Speaker 2: crushing it at Louisville in his last two seasons here,
Speaker 2: where he really you know, was was it all means
Speaker 2: he's one of the best players's ever played here is
Speaker 2: the reason his numbers were tired. But Russ, I mean,
Speaker 2: I would look at it at that time, one of
Speaker 2: the guys who played I think a lot of minutes
Speaker 2: off the bench for at the time, I think the
Speaker 2: best team in the NBA. Remember Norris Cole who played
Speaker 2: for the Heat when, of course, when Lebron was winning
Speaker 2: titles with Miami, I would watch and think, if Norris
Speaker 2: Cole can play in the NBA, My goodness, Russ Smith
Speaker 2: can play in the NBA. Look, you could even say
Speaker 2: the same thing about Mario Chalmers, who actually had a
Speaker 2: lengthy career.
Speaker 1: But like, again, let me give you an example, he
Speaker 1: was real cheap.
Speaker 2: Norri's Cole was undrafted, I believe, or maybe you know,
Speaker 2: second round guy out of Cleveland State State. So you know,
Speaker 2: Lebron James one of the biggest things that like I
Speaker 2: always paid attention to when he was really, you know,
Speaker 2: in his prime. And I sound foolish saying now, because
Speaker 2: you could make the case Lebron's really never left his prime.
Speaker 2: When it comes to just on any given night, he
Speaker 2: can show you that he's one of the best and
Speaker 2: most talented athletes of all time. But there were dudes
Speaker 2: that would would latch on two teams Lebron play for
Speaker 2: and when they didn't have a Lebron James is the
Speaker 2: guy that you know is running the team and they're
Speaker 2: just out there as a complimentary piece or you know, guys,
Speaker 2: you just don't even realize they're out there because Lebron's
Speaker 2: doing everything. When they're not on a Lebron James team anymore,
Speaker 2: they don't last in the NBA. Same thing with north
Speaker 2: Cole once he no longer was playing that. You know,
Speaker 2: they put all the money into Wade, into Bosh and Lebron,
Speaker 2: so then they just had a bunch of supporting cast
Speaker 2: characters that were cheap, and once they no longer play
Speaker 2: alongside those three, specifically Lebron, they never played in the
Speaker 2: NBA anymore. I mean Booby Gibson in Cleveland, remember that guy, Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean West.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Like they're dudes who you know, they owe their career
Speaker 2: to playing alongside Lebron, to be honest with you, So
Speaker 2: but again, it's all about opportunity. Had had Russ come
Speaker 2: out of had Russ come out of college and the
Speaker 2: Heat drafted him at that time in like the second round,
Speaker 2: I bet he to you know, I don't know, hard
Speaker 2: for me to just hard for me to think in
Speaker 2: any way Russ having such a secondary role because the
Speaker 2: only thing I can envision is Russ doing everything because
Speaker 2: that's what he does, you know.
Speaker 1: But maybe he would have been able to make it work.
Speaker 2: I always defend guys who get clowned for, you know,
Speaker 2: have fun in Venezuela, have fun and you know overseas,
Speaker 2: and I mean, I'm sure they would love to be
Speaker 2: in the NBA experiencing what.
Speaker 1: That is like.
Speaker 2: But like the lack of self awareness when you make
Speaker 2: fun of somebody making a living playing a sport, like
Speaker 2: what I mean, I just I mean, think about how
Speaker 2: many people can claim that in their lifetime, you know,
Speaker 2: the job that they're doing in order to you know,
Speaker 2: make a living and probably make a good living and
Speaker 2: live a good lifestyle is because of the sport that
Speaker 2: they put everything into. So there's so many guys that
Speaker 2: are good enough to play in the NBA. There's just
Speaker 2: not enough roles and opportunities and jobs, right, Like, there's
Speaker 2: not enough jobs in the NBA. And I don't act
Speaker 2: like every player is NBA caliber, but there's so like
Speaker 2: outside of the top six or seven, maybe eight guys
Speaker 2: on an NBA team, most of them at least they're
Speaker 2: role players. The vast majority of the league is role players,
Speaker 2: and there's many guys that can can play that role.
Speaker 2: It's just an opportunity kind of thing, and that's hard
Speaker 2: to come by. All right, quick break, We'll come back
Speaker 2: on the other side.
Speaker 1: Keep it rolling along.
Speaker 2: We certainly got to talk about Michael Jordan coming back
Speaker 2: to basketball, not to play, but to be an announcer.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm excited as can be when it comes
Speaker 2: to that. So it will certainly get into it. And
Speaker 2: this may be fake news, but sounds as far as
Speaker 2: what I read that like, it's not I mean it's
Speaker 2: not made up. But UCLA, Yes, Ucla the Bruins. They've
Speaker 2: got scientists on campus that have reportedly come close to
Speaker 2: solving baldness, meaning like they believe they've got something that
Speaker 2: can cure baldness.
Speaker 1: Which talk about a come up for the boys.
Speaker 2: I mean, shout out to you if you're balding, and
Speaker 2: UCLA is the is the school with the scientists that
Speaker 2: fix it. I think you have to be a Bruin
Speaker 2: fan to some extent, right, I have to. You got
Speaker 2: to stick around right here on Sports Talk seven.
Speaker 5: Ninety Now back to coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's
Speaker 5: on Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: If you ever want a real reminder, not that anybody
Speaker 2: ever really needs it, but the NFL moves the needle
Speaker 2: really is the needle. I mean, the NFL in this
Speaker 2: country when it comes to interest and viewers. I mean,
Speaker 2: no league, pro college, whatever, should ever try to hold
Speaker 2: themselves to the standard of the NFL. And I think
Speaker 2: the real reminder of that for me is always just
Speaker 2: the lead up to the NFL schedule release, because it's here.
Speaker 2: Schedule week is upon us, and we'll get it this
Speaker 2: week Wednesday, I believe it is at eight o'clock, and
Speaker 2: just the like how much this has been just a
Speaker 2: talking point with you know, those who have a platform
Speaker 2: covering sports in any way like this will get more
Speaker 2: attention than the NBA playoffs as they're currently ongoing. I mean,
Speaker 2: maybe that's an exaggeration, or you know, maybe there's just
Speaker 2: no way to actually to compare the two, but yeah,
Speaker 2: it'll be here soon. And we found out earlier today
Speaker 2: that it'll be the Cowboys in the Eagles that officially
Speaker 2: kick off the NFL season on that Thursday night, So
Speaker 2: not a surprise those two big brands. Obviously, the Cowboys
Speaker 2: no accomplishments really in a long long time, but they're
Speaker 2: still the Cowboys, and then obviously the Philadelphia Eagles they
Speaker 2: are You're you're defending Super Bowl champs. So I guess
Speaker 2: that was announced on the Today Show with Mike Tarico
Speaker 2: earlier today on NBC. And let's see the So there's
Speaker 2: so many different broadcast partners now with the NFL. I
Speaker 2: mean you've got Fox of course, Prime Video, ESPN, CBS, Netflix, now,
Speaker 2: I mean you've got I mean, this has to be
Speaker 2: a record as far as how many different networks have
Speaker 2: had at least some what of a piece of the
Speaker 2: pie when it comes to broadcasting live, live NFL games.
Speaker 2: But yeah, the schedule will be here soon and there's
Speaker 2: two regular season games that will take place in London,
Speaker 2: and one game is going to be in Berlin, Germany,
Speaker 2: and that's the Cults are actually going to be part
Speaker 2: of that. They're also playing a game in Madrid, Spain.
Speaker 2: I don't think I realized that, And the Dolphins are
Speaker 2: going to be part of that too, and then there's
Speaker 2: going to be a regular season game in Dublin, Ira
Speaker 2: in the Pittsburgh Steelers will be a part of that one,
Speaker 2: and then they'll play in Brazil. That'll be uh, the Chargers,
Speaker 2: and then of course the Jags. They're gonna return to
Speaker 2: Wimbley Stadium. In London because they've they you know, they're
Speaker 2: kind of they've I'm not sure that the United Kingdom
Speaker 2: asked for them Austin, but like that's who they got
Speaker 2: stuck with, the Jags, and they clearly have some real
Speaker 2: uh you know, some some some representation over there, some fans.
Speaker 2: But when you see all these games being scheduled in
Speaker 2: different countries, like, I'd be shocked if this isn't a
Speaker 2: continued thing, meaning.
Speaker 1: More, they're not.
Speaker 2: They're not going to scale this back at any point.
Speaker 2: If anything, they'll just add more probably.
Speaker 4: Yeah, And they're they're now doing things I think it
Speaker 4: may have been either in the last year, last two
Speaker 4: years or like last year the Jags stayed for two
Speaker 4: weeks over there, so doing like two straight weeks of
Speaker 4: over in Europe, and they're doing like Germany, and like
Speaker 4: you said, they're they used to do like Mexico and
Speaker 4: stuff one opening night.
Speaker 3: So no, they're not scaling it back at all. Yeah.
Speaker 2: And look, I mean it's it's a business, right, I mean,
Speaker 2: it may to be world Yeah, and I just I mean,
Speaker 2: has the NFL, I mean they rarely get it wrong.
Speaker 1: I mean, and I'm not sure.
Speaker 2: Like if it's if it's all, uh, you know, Goodell,
Speaker 2: because he's just a great commissioner. But like the NFL
Speaker 2: product is just it's it's awesome.
Speaker 1: It is awesome.
Speaker 2: So uh yes, the schedule release will will get me excited,
Speaker 2: and then I'll remember, oh yeah, we still got many
Speaker 2: many months before we get there, but uh yeah, it'll just.
Speaker 3: Think four months from now, we'll be able to watch
Speaker 3: Sunday night football.
Speaker 2: And am I the only one who is aware that,
Speaker 2: you know, it really hasn't been that long since we
Speaker 2: had an NFL game, But the Super Bowl for me
Speaker 2: seems like it was two years ago. I don't know
Speaker 2: why it seems like so much time has passed, but
Speaker 2: uh yeah, it's because I you know, when football season's
Speaker 2: not here, I think a lot of us miss it.
Speaker 1: But it'll be back. It'll be back at some point,
Speaker 1: all right.
Speaker 2: So speaking of coming back, Michael Jordan, he is going
Speaker 2: to be back in basketball in a way that I
Speaker 2: guess he never really has. I was going to say
Speaker 2: back in basketball. He's he's been an owner of an
Speaker 2: NBA team for a long long time, but he's in
Speaker 2: the background. I think that's the best way to describe
Speaker 2: Michael Jordan because there's no scenario that he's ever going
Speaker 2: to be like irrelevant or you know, somebody you forget about.
Speaker 2: He's Michael freakin' Jordan, but he's he has publicly stayed
Speaker 2: in the background really for the vast majority of his
Speaker 2: life since leaving the NBA, and now he'll be on
Speaker 2: TV because NBC, I mean, they they they had to
Speaker 2: know like they were gonna really surprise a lot of
Speaker 2: people and get a lot of love for this announcement,
Speaker 2: because it didn't you know, for someone like myself who
Speaker 2: does like to nerd out a little bit on media
Speaker 2: leaks that kind of thing.
Speaker 1: You know, as far as like who who got the
Speaker 1: like who had this? Nobody?
Speaker 2: NBC just announced it and apparently nobody. There wasn't anybody
Speaker 2: who had any kind of scoop that Jordan was considering
Speaker 2: because you just would never expect it or think it
Speaker 2: because he's been gone for so long as far as
Speaker 2: away from playing the game, and is never, to my knowledge,
Speaker 2: ever expressed any interest in being any.
Speaker 1: Way a part of media.
Speaker 2: So I'm curious what Jordan gets out of this, because
Speaker 2: he certainly doesn't need it as far as money. He
Speaker 2: doesn't need it as far as attention. He still is
Speaker 2: able to get his fixed when it comes to basketball,
Speaker 2: I would assume, because you know, he happens to own
Speaker 2: the Charlotte Hornets. But I'm not complaining. I'm happy that
Speaker 2: he's decided to do it. So the NBA on NBC
Speaker 2: man that logo is nostalgic. The theme song, of course,
Speaker 2: is iconic. But they made it official today with their
Speaker 2: entire team. They've got Mike Turico and Noah Eagle will
Speaker 2: be doing play by play. They've got Carmelo Anthony on
Speaker 2: board to be a studio analyst, and then the game
Speaker 2: analysts are going to be Reggie Miller, my Idol, and
Speaker 2: then also Jamal Crawford, who's off to a really good
Speaker 2: start in his media career, former player who I feel
Speaker 2: like play for every team in the NBA for twenty years.
Speaker 2: And then special contributor Michael Jordan. And here was how
Speaker 2: they announced it earlier today. Kids will never never understand
Speaker 2: what they missed out on with Jordan in the nineties.
Speaker 2: I mean it was it was something special. And I
Speaker 2: don't just mean because he was great and probably the
Speaker 2: best player that will ever play this game, but just
Speaker 2: like he had a star factor to him that you
Speaker 2: just I mean, I don't know anybody i'd compare it to,
Speaker 2: to be honest with you. And I don't mean just
Speaker 2: like with accomplishments, because obviously there's some other great athletes
Speaker 2: in their respective sports that have done something that puts
Speaker 2: them in a category, like Michael is in basketball, but
Speaker 2: like Jordan, I mean, it's Michael Jordan. I mean that alone.
Speaker 1: Like that, that's all you really need to say.
Speaker 2: And if you're young and you don't remember it because
Speaker 2: you were not alive or you know, just too young,
Speaker 2: I'm sure I'm not doing a good job of really
Speaker 2: letting you know why it was so special, But man,
Speaker 2: it was just it was something.
Speaker 1: So this uh, this was posted earlier today.
Speaker 2: This is back NBC when they were announcing that he
Speaker 2: was that he was coming back to.
Speaker 1: To play after leaving the Bulls for a little while.
Speaker 1: This is uh.
Speaker 2: And again, when I think of I mean when I
Speaker 2: think of of NBA as a kid, I think of
Speaker 2: NBC and that theme song and uh, what's the name
Speaker 2: of the guy Costas? Like Costas, Bob Costas, that's the voice.
Speaker 2: Like I don't hear him really on anything anymore. I
Speaker 2: don't know if he calls any I have no clue
Speaker 2: what Bob Costas does anymore. I'm sure, yeah, I don't
Speaker 2: even know if he does that anytime I hear his
Speaker 2: voice in any way, I just think back to this
Speaker 2: era of the NBA on NBC.
Speaker 5: We're retired, means you can do anything you want from
Speaker 5: this day on.
Speaker 4: So if I desire to come back and play a game,
Speaker 4: maybe that's what I want to do.
Speaker 5: Maybe that's the challenge it I may need some day
Speaker 5: down the.
Speaker 1: Road, And that day has arrived.
Speaker 6: Michael Jordan warming up at Market Square Arena more than
Speaker 6: three hours before today's schedule tip off. Its twenty one
Speaker 6: months have passed since Michael Jordan last played competitive basketball.
Speaker 6: For twenty one months, the NBA was without it's supreme artist.
Speaker 6: There may be many interesting peripheral aspects to both his
Speaker 6: departure and return, but at the heart of it is
Speaker 6: simply this.
Speaker 1: The best in the world is back, and in a.
Speaker 6: Sports world darkened by constant talk of money, strikes and lockouts,
Speaker 6: here's a shining reminder of why we're drawn.
Speaker 1: To sports in the first place.
Speaker 6: The drama, the anticipation, the sheer beauty of the moment.
Speaker 6: Today an artist returns to his true canvas, the hardboard
Speaker 6: courts of the NBA.
Speaker 1: Michael Jordan is back.
Speaker 5: Is the NBA on NBC today.
Speaker 6: It's the Chicago Bulls versus the Indianfacer.
Speaker 2: I mean that the hair on my neck, my arms
Speaker 2: is standing straight up.
Speaker 3: Everything was the only one.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, everything about that was was amazing. The
Speaker 2: artist returns back to his canvas. Yes it uh and yeah,
Speaker 2: I just mentioned how the NFL has so many different partners,
Speaker 2: same thing. That's just the new that's just the media
Speaker 2: landscape right now to where the NBA has the same
Speaker 2: situation going on, right I mean, there's a huge deal
Speaker 2: that TNT no longer has NBA games. I mean, that's
Speaker 2: that's I mean, there's still, I guess technically in some
Speaker 2: way partnered with the NBA, but nothing like what it's
Speaker 2: been for.
Speaker 1: A long long time.
Speaker 2: And you know, I'm sure they are although the ESPN
Speaker 2: for being the dominant leader in sports right their NBA
Speaker 2: coverage should be.
Speaker 1: Way better and it's just not.
Speaker 2: TNT's killing them, which is why T and T is
Speaker 2: gonna lease their crew to ESPN to utilize because they
Speaker 2: you know, they know they can't hang. But like I
Speaker 2: just I love how competitive it is now with these networks,
Speaker 2: you know, ESPN, Amazon, Peacock. I mean, like just you know,
Speaker 2: TN T like they're they're all trying to get a
Speaker 2: piece of the pie the NBA and put together the
Speaker 2: best broadcast team they can to obviously, you know, make
Speaker 2: it to where you feel like your NBA watching experience
Speaker 2: is that it's best on their network.
Speaker 1: It's super competitive, which is really.
Speaker 2: Good for the industry, to be honest, I mean, that's
Speaker 2: that's good for every industry when there's a good, healthy
Speaker 2: competition because everybody's knowing they got to keep continuously trying
Speaker 2: to improve and not get stagnant.
Speaker 1: But you know, as.
Speaker 2: Competitive as it is, NBC pulls out Jordan, like, you know,
Speaker 2: like okay, well yeah we got nothing, we got we
Speaker 2: got nothing the top that we can't match you. You
Speaker 2: pulled out Jordan, and now we we you know, we'll
Speaker 2: all collectively compete for second best. And man, nostalgia it
Speaker 2: can it can.
Speaker 1: It can die.
Speaker 2: Pretty quickly, and it probably will once you know, it
Speaker 2: becomes the new normal we watch it. But early on,
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't think anybody at the time knew
Speaker 2: that when they were growing up or you know, somewhere
Speaker 2: around my age range that like the NBC aspect of
Speaker 2: your NBA viewing experience as a youngster in the nineties,
Speaker 2: when it felt like it was super competitive, and you know,
Speaker 2: you had guys like Michael Jordan, I mean like it
Speaker 2: their their coverage, meaning their imprint on it, and how
Speaker 2: they presented the NBA to us, like it was a
Speaker 2: big factor in it. Obviously again the players themselves and
Speaker 2: the storylines and the drama and all that. Obviously that's
Speaker 2: a big factor too. But like I don't think any
Speaker 2: of us knew we'd miss then we'd miss NBC when
Speaker 2: it comes to the NBA, and then we didn't have
Speaker 2: it forever and now it's back and it's it's gonna
Speaker 2: be great, So good stuff.
Speaker 1: A right. Sticking with the NBA.
Speaker 2: On the other side, I want to talk about the
Speaker 2: NBA Draft Lottery because it takes place tonight and we're
Speaker 2: gonna find out where Cooper flat is going to start
Speaker 2: his NBA career. And I mean, if it's the Jazz,
Speaker 2: I mean, come on, come on, like they can't let
Speaker 2: that happen. Sorry, Utah Jazz fans, but like this guy,
Speaker 2: he's I don't know how marketable he is as far
Speaker 2: as like his you know, he doesn't seem to have
Speaker 2: a whole lot of range when it comes to like personality,
Speaker 2: which that doesn't matter. If he can ball, he can ball.
Speaker 2: But I think Wimby being as good as he is
Speaker 2: and so many people not really realizing it because he
Speaker 2: plays in San Antonio, like the NBA can't do anything
Speaker 2: about it. But like I'm starting to now understand and
Speaker 2: maybe believe the conspiracy about the Knicks rigging the lottery
Speaker 2: years ago so they could get Patrick Ewing. Because look,
Speaker 2: playing in a market that you know is not Salt
Speaker 2: Lake City or even like New Orleans or San Antonio,
Speaker 2: that matters.
Speaker 1: It does.
Speaker 2: So we talk about that in a lot more. We
Speaker 2: got plenty of time left, so stick around right here.
Speaker 2: It's Coffee and Company. Feel about Thornton's on Sports Talk
Speaker 2: seven ninety.
Speaker 5: Now back to Coffee and Company fueled by Thornton on
Speaker 5: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: There are two people that can claim to be the
Speaker 2: ass man men. I should say one of them is
Speaker 2: the badass Billy Gunn, but the other has got to
Speaker 2: be Kramer from Seinfeld.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I people know the reference, but that's
Speaker 1: one of my favorite. I mean it's not.
Speaker 2: I mean all of the Seinfeld references are my favorite
Speaker 2: because I love Seinfeld, but yeah, shout out to Badass
Speaker 2: Billy Gunn. Did you just go by Billy Gunn at
Speaker 2: that point? Na, he was there had to be an
Speaker 2: ass in there somewhere because mister ass for the longest time. Yeah,
Speaker 2: so then he went to Badass after he joined d X.
Speaker 2: The reason we are playing wrestling intros as we intro
Speaker 2: each segment today is because WWE Monday Night Raw is
Speaker 2: going to be taking place tonight just down the street
Speaker 2: here from us at the YOUM Center, which is certainly exciting.
Speaker 2: But real quick, let's get to uh, let's get to
Speaker 2: the We have a whole lot of time left, but
Speaker 2: I want to make sure and save as much time
Speaker 2: as we can to have a strong five o'clock hour.
Speaker 2: But tonight we will have the NBA Draft Combine, which
Speaker 2: means we're gonna find out who gets to draft Cooper Flag.
Speaker 2: I believe that he has easily been the most no
Speaker 2: brainer number one pick. And I'm not saying like no
Speaker 2: brainer because he'll be the best player of all time.
Speaker 1: He might be.
Speaker 2: I'm just saying that anybody trying to act like he
Speaker 2: wouldn't be the first player taken in this draft, Like
Speaker 2: it's just nonsense. Same thing was said about Zion, but
Speaker 2: maybe Flag it's even more so a cause, I mean,
Speaker 2: I couldn't even tell you if there is like a consensus.
Speaker 1: Right after Flag, here's who you take.
Speaker 2: And that may not mean that it's a weak draft,
Speaker 2: but like I just think, you know, he's he's just
Speaker 2: clearly the most talked about prospecting this draft, and it's
Speaker 2: and it's and it's you know, it's not even close.
Speaker 2: I mean, who do you think And you may know Austin,
Speaker 2: but like I can't even tell. I know, the Bailey
Speaker 2: kid from Rutgers has still be viewed as a guy
Speaker 2: that's like a top three pick, but I don't, you know,
Speaker 2: I don't know if he's somebody that is believed to
Speaker 2: be like, you know, I got.
Speaker 3: An other guy too, right, is it? Dylan Harper?
Speaker 5: Is?
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's there's there's Harper, and there's Bailey.
Speaker 2: And then after that, like I really got to be
Speaker 2: honest with you, I really don't, I really don't know.
Speaker 2: I mean the first mock draft I pulled up here
Speaker 2: has Cooper Flag, and then Dylan Harper going second, vj
Speaker 2: Edgecombe going fourth, Ace Bailey number four, I'm sorry, Edgecomb three,
Speaker 2: Bailey four, and then Jeremiah Fears at number five.
Speaker 1: Who I forgot all about.
Speaker 2: He was the freshman who really kind of out of
Speaker 2: nowhere became like a I mean, he was really good
Speaker 2: at Oklahoma, but he wasn't necessarily expected to be one
Speaker 2: of the better freshmen. So then you got Trey Johnson,
Speaker 2: who had a great freshman season at Texas. And then
Speaker 2: from there, I'll admit it, there's guys I've never even
Speaker 2: heard of, maybe because some of them, you know, didn't
Speaker 2: play in college. But you got Nolan Treilray. He's he
Speaker 2: did not play in college. He's he's from France. I
Speaker 2: do remember that name. And then you've got Thomas Sober,
Speaker 2: another guy who I'm not super familiar with, but he
Speaker 2: played one season as a freshman at Georgetown. And then
Speaker 2: kan Kin Nipple, Cooper Flag's teammate at Duke. And then
Speaker 2: Derreck Queen, who of course had a really good, uh
Speaker 2: really good rookie freshman season at Maryland. So I don't
Speaker 2: even know if this draft is viewed as being loaded,
Speaker 2: really weak or whatever, because Cooper flag has just been
Speaker 2: the only thing I've heard about when it comes to
Speaker 2: this draft. And it's not because there's any kind of
Speaker 2: you know, anticipation of is he going to be number one?
Speaker 2: We know he's gonna be number one, But tonight as
Speaker 2: when we find out who's gonna get to pick him?
Speaker 2: And right now, the teams with the best you know,
Speaker 2: the the the odds of having the number one pick.
Speaker 2: You've got three teams with a fourteen percent chance of
Speaker 2: getting it. That's the Jazz, the Wizards, and the Hornets.
Speaker 2: If you were just considering what is best for the
Speaker 2: NBA of those teams, to me, it's a no brainer
Speaker 2: that the Wizards because of the DC market. But even
Speaker 2: but even that franchise, I mean, it would take somebody
Speaker 2: like Cooper Flagg being one of the best young players
Speaker 2: that we've seen in a long, long, long time for
Speaker 2: them do I think be relevant because you know, they've
Speaker 2: kind of always stunk. Like what is the moment of
Speaker 2: the Wizard Slash Bullets franchise in the NBA where you're like, wow,
Speaker 2: they had a great run. Then, like I'm thinking Gilbert Arenas,
Speaker 2: I mean, that's that's what I'm thinking.
Speaker 3: Of about all the stuff that came along with the hate.
Speaker 2: And like even times when they made the playoffs, you know,
Speaker 2: when it wasn't that era, like they weren't, I mean
Speaker 2: they were six seven, eight seed probably, which you know,
Speaker 2: you could at one point you could have a losing
Speaker 2: record and still make the playoffs in the East. So
Speaker 2: outside of those three, you then have the Pelicans, who've
Speaker 2: got a twelve and a half percent chance, which gives
Speaker 2: them the fourth best odds, and then the Sixers at
Speaker 2: ten and a half percent. The Nets are the sixth
Speaker 2: best bet as far as you know the percentage chances
Speaker 2: of that ping pong ball doing what it needs to
Speaker 2: do for them, and you know, get the team with
Speaker 2: the worst percentage chance of getting him is the Spurs,
Speaker 2: followed by the Kings and then the Bulls. I mean, look,
Speaker 2: of all the teams eligible to get this pick, what
Speaker 2: would be best for the NBA, I believe is probably.
Speaker 1: Probably him going to the Bulls, which again very unlikely.
Speaker 1: Or dare I say.
Speaker 2: The Mavericks, But didn't the Mavericks give up that pick?
Speaker 2: I mean it could be wrong, but anyways, I it's
Speaker 2: not just about all right, which team could he end
Speaker 2: up on to where he would have a decent cast
Speaker 2: to work with, to where if he is really good
Speaker 2: as a rookie, they could be relevant. Because I think
Speaker 2: there are some teams within this mix that, like you
Speaker 2: could easily see, like the Sixers if they get him.
Speaker 2: Like the Sixers, they were a mess this year, but
Speaker 2: they've got good pieces. I mean, like, I think they
Speaker 2: probably need to cons I mean, I'm sure they already
Speaker 2: are considering life without Embeid, but they've got really good
Speaker 2: young pieces. I mean, Tyrese Maxi's a superstar in this league.
Speaker 2: Jared McCain was killing it before he got hurt. You know,
Speaker 2: the Sixers and the Sixers I think, have you know
Speaker 2: they're a big NBA brand to an extent. I mean
Speaker 2: they're not the Lakers, They're not the Knicks anything like.
Speaker 2: That's the Celtics for that matter.
Speaker 1: But I don't know.
Speaker 2: Zion going to the to the Pelicans was such a
Speaker 2: bummer for me. And it wasn't because like I wanted
Speaker 2: him to go to like my team. I just and look, Zion,
Speaker 2: he's got to you know, he's got to take some
Speaker 2: accountability here too. I Mean, he hasn't been healthy, which
Speaker 2: maybe that's not necessarily his fault, but obviously talks like
Speaker 2: there's been plenty of talk over the years that he
Speaker 2: hasn't always done the best of staying in shape.
Speaker 1: So when you have a guy that is this.
Speaker 2: Seemingly impactful, and you know it's such a foregone conclusion
Speaker 2: that he's going to be the number one pick, he's
Speaker 2: been a celebrity within the sports world for two and
Speaker 2: a half three years now. I mean, the NBA wants
Speaker 2: him to end up somewhere that you know, would be
Speaker 2: beneficial for the league, but doesn't look like there's a
Speaker 2: lot of great opportunities for that to happen. So we
Speaker 2: shall see real quick. Another thing I just mentioned the
Speaker 2: Rutgers freshman Ace Bailey, who is alongside Harper. They're both
Speaker 2: looked to be top five draft prospects. This is this
Speaker 2: came up last week on one of the NBA accounts
Speaker 2: that I follow, that there's belief that there was always
Speaker 2: some line going on about how tall he actually was,
Speaker 2: which that can happen like sometimes you can, you know.
Speaker 2: I now, just if I see somebody listed at six eleven,
Speaker 2: I'm going to assume they're probably closer to six nine
Speaker 2: or six ten, And then of course you have the
Speaker 2: okay measure with shoes without shoes, which a good point
Speaker 2: has always been made by a lot of people when
Speaker 2: this conversation comes up, why would you measure any NBA
Speaker 2: player without shoes? Whenever they don't play without, they're going
Speaker 2: to always be playing with shoes. Now, I guess the
Speaker 2: answer would be, well, because maybe they got something underneath,
Speaker 2: Maybe they got something in their shoes that makes them
Speaker 2: appear taller, because that's you know, that's a real thing.
Speaker 2: But anyways, the measurements are going on today at the
Speaker 2: NBA Draft Combine and Ace Bailey is listed at six
Speaker 2: foot ten. They measured him today, he's six'. Seven i'm,
Speaker 2: sorry as AN nba draft, prospect that's A i'm not
Speaker 2: just talking about three, inches it's. Huge i'm talking ABOUT i, mean,
Speaker 2: Hell i've been trying to say that for. Years three
Speaker 2: inches is not something. Small let's be let's be real
Speaker 2: with ourselves. Here but, nonetheless like if you're viewed as he,
Speaker 2: is as this wing kind of like hybrid guy that
Speaker 2: you know is versatile and skilled but also big.
Speaker 1: Six seven and six.
Speaker 2: Ten as far as how, you play world of a
Speaker 2: Difference so i'm not saying this guy is gonna be
Speaker 2: a BUS but i mean he's he's legitimately a lot
Speaker 2: shorter than what they listed, him at WHICH again i
Speaker 2: guess the reports of that. Were correct, all right with
Speaker 2: five o'clock hour actually is starting, right now but we
Speaker 2: got to take a. Quick break we'll, come back we'll
Speaker 2: finish strong and get you set For for Monday night
Speaker 2: raw here tonight At The. Yump, center exciting, exciting stuff,
Speaker 2: no doubt and there's a lot of things as always On.
Speaker 1: A monday i want to make.
Speaker 2: Sure we get to before we get out. Of here
Speaker 2: so let's get out, of here come back and give
Speaker 2: you one. MORE, HOURS cof i.
Speaker 1: DON'T know i don't want to. Say that it's like
Speaker 1: such a redneck one, more hour.
Speaker 2: Go home we got one more ir when you Hear
Speaker 2: On sports talk Seven ninety wrestling