WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.759 All right, what's going on? Drivetime Monday afternoon, eleven minutes 2 00:00:03.799 --> 00:00:07.559 past the hour of two o'clock. It is very warm today. 3 00:00:08.039 --> 00:00:08.880 It is very hot. 4 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:12.240 It is about ninety three degrees in sunny. 5 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:14.640 It's a warm day. It's gonna be a very warm week, 6 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:17.199 kind of the dog days of summer. Happy Monday to you. 7 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:19.600 Hope you had a great weekend, and as it is 8 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:21.320 every single day, it's going to have you along for 9 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:23.359 the ride. Spence check, it's back beyond the mic. I 10 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:26.920 was out last Thursday and Friday after a very busy 11 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:30.280 Tuesday and Wednesday in Dallas for Big twelve Media Days. 12 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:33.439 Had a good time down there. That's a heavy lift. 13 00:00:33.799 --> 00:00:36.079 Eight hours of live radio back to back days. 14 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:37.679 But good to have Sean by my side. 15 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:40.920 Sean O'Connell, and I want to remind you that any 16 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:42.799 of the sound you may have missed from Media Days, 17 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:47.079 University of Utah BYU and others, ESPN seven hundred, Sports 18 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:48.920 dot com is where you go if you're pinting for 19 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:50.600 more college football conversation. 20 00:00:50.840 --> 00:00:52.520 After a massive, massive. 21 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:55.119 Couple of days down in Dallas, but it is great 22 00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:57.159 to be back in front of his microphone on this 23 00:00:57.240 --> 00:00:57.960 Monday afternoon. 24 00:00:58.000 --> 00:00:59.960 Hope you had a great weekend. Happy Monday team. 25 00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:04.159 The Vegas Summer League rolls along the Utah Jazz and 26 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:08.480 several other teams have decided to load Management's summer league. 27 00:01:08.680 --> 00:01:11.359 Cooper Flagg has been shut down. We don't know if 28 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:13.560 Dace Bailey is going to play again. He did not 29 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:17.200 play last night. Neither did Wall Clayton Junior. The Jazz 30 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:19.640 are playing the Spurs tonight. We'll see if Dylan Harper goes. 31 00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:22.319 But we have some summer league action, and we are 32 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:24.480 inching closer and closer to fall camp in the world 33 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:27.120 of college football. But we're gonna do a little something 34 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:30.920 different today. Last Wednesday, we lost Frank Layton at the 35 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:34.439 age of ninety three, the legendary Jazz head coach, NBA 36 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:36.480 Executive of the Year, Coach of the Year in nineteen 37 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:40.519 eighty four, and quite frankly, that's like two percent of 38 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:43.719 the measure of the man pillar in our community. Father, husband, 39 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:47.480 friend to many, And the timing of everything was very 40 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:50.840 unfortunate because I was not on air the day after 41 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:54.000 Frank passed, nor was I able to attend the services 42 00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:57.280 over the weekend. My father was there, some family members 43 00:01:57.319 --> 00:01:59.280 were able to attend, but I was officiating a wedding 44 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:02.120 in Los Angeles, actually in Data Point, but I could 45 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:05.879 not tap out of that. So I'm going to dedicate 46 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:08.759 today's show to Frank's memory. So we're kind of throwing 47 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:10.840 out the rundown and we have a great guest list 48 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:13.280 on tap. We're gonna start things off with Phil Johnson 49 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:16.000 coming up at about two thirty. Fill, of course, was 50 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:19.840 Frank's assistant and then went on to become Jerry's assistant. 51 00:02:19.919 --> 00:02:21.800 Phil himself was a head coach and a Coach of 52 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:24.080 the Year winner, a great, great offensive mine. So we're 53 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:26.879 gonna bring in Phil right off the bat. Frank's son, 54 00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:29.479 Scott Layden will join us, and for those of you 55 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:31.599 that know Scott, you know it's a big, massive coup 56 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:32.719 to get him on the show. 57 00:02:32.759 --> 00:02:33.680 So he's gonna stop by. 58 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:36.759 Later on, My father, Dave Jackets will stop by, and 59 00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:39.360 then Ron McBride, former head coach of the University of 60 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:42.800 Utah football team, and then Richard Smith live in the studio, 61 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:44.800 Phil Johnson, Smitty. 62 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:45.560 Scott Laden, Dave. 63 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:47.879 Checkets me, Spence checkets all of you, the great listeners, 64 00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:50.960 Coach Ron McBride, and that young man Porter Larson on 65 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:53.120 a Monday afternoon. Happy Monday, buddy, how are you doing? 66 00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:54.000 Happy Monday to you? 67 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:54.360 Up? 68 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:54.719 What up? 69 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:57.719 How are you? How is your trip? So first of all, 70 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:00.680 you know, maybe we'll do some story time later. I 71 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:04.000 gotta say, you know, I speak for a living and 72 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:07.280 I've done it for twenty years, and I have addressed groups, 73 00:03:07.319 --> 00:03:10.719 and I've MC dinners and I've hosted round tables. I 74 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:14.479 was stunned at how nervous I was to officiate a wedding. 75 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:16.800 It really caught me off guard, Like it's probably a 76 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:20.879 unique pressure. I didn't feel nervous, and I prepared, I 77 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:23.319 wrote my script. I went over the thing like four 78 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:28.199 or five times. In Orange County, there are specific pieces 79 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:30.039 of legal ease you have to intertwine to make sure 80 00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:32.159 you say the right thing at the right time. And 81 00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:34.319 then as the Sarah, you know, I walked out there 82 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:37.080 first because star of the show whatever, no deal. And 83 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:39.240 as I'm standing there, I see some family, see some 84 00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:42.879 friends feeling good. What was your walkout song? Well, I 85 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:45.560 didn't really choose it. It was whatever their wedding song was. 86 00:03:45.639 --> 00:03:48.080 I believe it was, you know, some sort of love song. 87 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:50.719 So I don't even remember. But I'm standing there, wedding 88 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:54.199 party walks up, bride and groom stand there, and then 89 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:57.560 I need to launch into Dearly Beloved. You know we're here, 90 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:00.599 blah blah blah blah, and my hands started cheaking. I 91 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:03.840 didn't like my body had this visceral reaction like fight 92 00:04:03.960 --> 00:04:04.639 or flight. Dude. 93 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:05.120 It was weird. 94 00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:07.400 And you're usually sitting down doing a show. 95 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:09.719 That's fair, and also in a studio with nobody around. 96 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:11.919 Yeah, and to have hundreds of people do a d 97 00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:14.039 I don't know, man, it kind of caught me off guard. 98 00:04:14.039 --> 00:04:14.680 How nervous so was. 99 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:16.720 There's a part of radio where you stop talking to 100 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:18.199 the listener and you just start talking to the mic, 101 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:19.879 and you just start, you know, doing it. You stop 102 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:23.199 thinking about the audience. That's different when they're staring at 103 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:25.319 you and it's the biggest moment of two people's lives. 104 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:26.600 Yeah, I get it. I get it. 105 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:29.800 But as you mentioned earlier, throwing out the rundown, only 106 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:31.800 a few people on the planet I would do that 107 00:04:31.879 --> 00:04:32.839 for Frank. 108 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:35.800 Laydon's absolutely, So today's show is all about the life 109 00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:38.920 and the memory of Frank Laydon Without Frank. Yeah, I 110 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:41.879 don't think it's hyperbolic to say that there is no 111 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:44.600 Utah Jazz. So Phil Johnson will be our first guest 112 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:47.399 via phone, but joining me live in studio, good enough 113 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:50.319 to do this for the next four hours or so. 114 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:53.879 Someone who has a unique perspective on not just Frank 115 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:56.079 but the Leyden family, the legacy and the life of 116 00:04:56.079 --> 00:04:59.000 Frank Leyden. One of, if not the best friends to 117 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:02.240 that family. Rich At Smith live in studio, Smitty, happy 118 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:03.040 money man, how are. 119 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:05.439 You, Spen's good to be with you and excited for 120 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:08.720 this day. This is I'm predicting that this ends up 121 00:05:08.839 --> 00:05:14.600 on your podcast show on the on the the website 122 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:17.839 they just spend seven hundred website in the future as 123 00:05:17.879 --> 00:05:20.600 the best show of the year. I'm predicting that right 124 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:23.800 now because this guest list you have and the stories 125 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:26.439 that I'm going to predict are going to start flowing 126 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:30.560 and coming out. Are is going to be a great 127 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:34.560 moment for ESPN seven hundred. I'm excited that you and 128 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:37.720 Porter decided to do this, and this is a great 129 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:42.480 a great opportunity to uh to to honor, you know, 130 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.199 one of the true legends. 131 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:45.040 In our community. 132 00:05:45.079 --> 00:05:46.839 And I don't have to tell port this, but I'm 133 00:05:46.839 --> 00:05:49.079 going to remind him on air. Our bumps today will 134 00:05:49.079 --> 00:05:51.959 all be Frank Sinatra. I know he's already on that, yep. 135 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:54.319 As we bring all these guests and so Smitty, let's 136 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:57.519 start with as I referenced, Uh, you know, the timing 137 00:05:57.600 --> 00:05:59.000 of course of these things. 138 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:01.680 It's never great, and certainly none of this is about me. 139 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:04.040 But I had an obligation over the weekend that I 140 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:05.720 could not tap out of, so therefore I was not 141 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:09.639 able to attend the services. So we'll get into Frank's life, 142 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:12.720 his legacy story time. But tell us, you know, talk 143 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:14.680 to my father. We're gonna bring him on later. How 144 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:16.439 are the services that kind of take us first? 145 00:06:16.839 --> 00:06:19.839 Yeah, the services were great. It was a quick turnaround. 146 00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:26.560 Frank passed away on Wednesday midday and a decision was 147 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:29.959 made by the family it would be best to do 148 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:33.639 a service as quick as they could try and organize one, 149 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:37.279 which ended up being on Saturday morning at eleven o'clock 150 00:06:37.319 --> 00:06:40.079 at the Cathedral of the Madeline here in downtown Salt 151 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:43.639 Lake City, which, by the way, those who were not 152 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:46.920 able to attend or would be interested in viewing the service, 153 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:51.560 It actually is the whole service video online on YouTube. 154 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:54.480 You could just go to YouTube and just type in 155 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:58.759 funeral service of frank Leyden and it'll pop up and 156 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:02.319 you can watch the whole service. But it was, it 157 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:05.759 was a beautiful, beautiful morning. A lot of people came Spence, 158 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:10.120 you're not You're not the only dignitary who who couldn't 159 00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:13.319 make it on on such short notice. Chris Hill, who 160 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:17.639 wanted to be there, was on a fiftieth anniversary cruise 161 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:22.079 with his wife Kathy, Frank's good friends Chris Lino and 162 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:25.680 Colleen Lindstrom, or or back east at a family gathering 163 00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:29.639 in New York. Dave Friedman, who certainly would have been there, 164 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:32.399 was an early jazz guy from the day one, and 165 00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:35.839 he's he's in a family obligation in southern Illinois and 166 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:39.319 so people are spread all over the place. Ron McBride 167 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:42.680 made it. He was at mac we'll talk about later, 168 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:46.759 but he was at a wedding in Cincinnati on Thursday. 169 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:50.720 On Friday, excuse me, Friday afternoon, got up at four 170 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:55.560 am Saturday morning, six am, flight to Salt Lake, comes 171 00:07:55.600 --> 00:08:01.519 to Frank's services, comes to the celebratory lunch in the afternoon. 172 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:06.399 After that, goes home, takes a quick nap, gets up 173 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:10.800 the next day on Sunday flies to Hawaii to to 174 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:13.519 work at a football camp where he is this week. 175 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:17.720 Uh and and that's that's the dedication that that people 176 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:21.480 have when they when they want to honor somebody like that. 177 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:24.800 And then coach Mack made all that effort just to 178 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:26.879 make sure he was here. And he's the one who 179 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:31.000 texted me earlier to say, hey, Vicky just texted me 180 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:33.679 and said, you guys are doing a show about Frank 181 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:34.519 this afternoon. 182 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:36.679 What time am I on? Oh? 183 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:39.799 I said, I said, okay, Mac, I said, let me 184 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:41.240 check with Spence and I'll get. 185 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:41.720 Right back to you. 186 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:44.159 Yeah, and and uh And that's the kind of friends 187 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:47.000 Frank has and and that's that's the legacy he has, 188 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:50.159 and that's what what hopefully we're able to honor today. 189 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:52.039 And I do have to say thank you, Smitty to 190 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:55.399 you because we have Phil Johnson, Scott Laden, Dave Check, 191 00:08:55.440 --> 00:08:58.120 it's Ron McBride today. But you sent me a list 192 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:00.360 of about twenty names that I forwarded it on to 193 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:04.559 my producer and Dynamite showbooker Porter And so this week 194 00:09:04.600 --> 00:09:07.600 we will intersperse the Dave All reads, the Jay Francis 195 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:10.519 is the Dave Fredmans of the world and you know 196 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:12.720 we'll do that next week as well. So it's not 197 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:14.879 just going to be today, but today is all about Frank. 198 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:19.279 For our listener's context, Smitty, what's the origin story. When 199 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:21.720 did you first meet Frank Layton? When did you first 200 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:24.200 become connected to the family. Let's kind of get some 201 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:27.440 contexts on just how unique the relationship is that you 202 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:29.480 have with Frank and Scott in the entire family. 203 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:32.519 Yeah, well it's my mine's very very different. And then 204 00:09:32.600 --> 00:09:35.480 everybody has a has a different path and a different story. 205 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:35.720 Right. 206 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:41.279 I'm in graduate school in Connecticut. I'm working as a 207 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:46.639 graduate assistant at Central Connecticut from my college coach there. 208 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:50.440 I get a job offer at the University of View Talk. 209 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:54.879 As I'm studying a graduate program in higher education administration. 210 00:09:55.399 --> 00:09:58.080 I've been doing some stuff on the basketball side at 211 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:00.519 the school, and so I go to see my coach, 212 00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:04.559 coach Bill Dietrich, longtime venerable New England coach, to say 213 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:08.320 my goodbyes. I'm moving out west. He says, hey, when 214 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:10.320 you get out there, get settled as you go see 215 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:13.799 my friend Frank Layden. He just got the job as 216 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:16.720 the general manager of the Utah Jazz. And I said 217 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:21.519 oh great. Now this is in May of seventy nine. Well, 218 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:25.279 the Jazz were still in New Orleans. And so at 219 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:28.879 that moment, as I'm speaking to coach Dietrich, I'm trying 220 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:31.080 to figure out a way to tell him that, well, 221 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:34.120 Salt Lake City and New Orleans aren't exactly next door 222 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:37.919 to each other, you know. And then I said something 223 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:40.720 you know to the extent to him and he said, no, no, 224 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:43.240 you don't understand. I just talked to Frank the other 225 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:45.240 day and he told me that they're going to make 226 00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:47.879 an announcement that the team is moving to Salt Lake 227 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:51.600 and then he leaned forward spence for emphasis across his 228 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:56.200 desk and said, don't tell anybody. And so I said, wow, okay, 229 00:10:56.360 --> 00:11:00.240 so that happens, I move out here. I'm I'm not 230 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:01.759 gonna go see Frank because I don't want to bother 231 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:03.840 him because there's a million people after him. The team's 232 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:08.080 moved here, and everybody's quote after a job. And then 233 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:11.519 my coach sends me a handwritten note in October of 234 00:11:11.039 --> 00:11:13.360 that year, Hey, I hope it's. 235 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:14.000 Going well in Utah. 236 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:15.960 Make sure you go see frank leydon and tell him 237 00:11:15.960 --> 00:11:18.639 I sent to Maybe he can give you a job 238 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:20.799 as a part time scout or something on the side. 239 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:23.879 Okay, So I. 240 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:26.639 Reluctantly go to see Frank because I'm thinking I don't 241 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:28.799 want to bother him, but at the same time, I 242 00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:31.639 want to honor my coach who has made a couple 243 00:11:31.639 --> 00:11:34.600 of efforts to connect us. So I go see Frank 244 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:38.960 and we meet and nothing happens of that. But a 245 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:42.120 couple of years later, he takes over his coach. He 246 00:11:42.200 --> 00:11:45.360 hires Scotty, who comes out to help him. Scott and 247 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:47.799 I start running in the same circles up at the 248 00:11:47.879 --> 00:11:52.240 University of Utah, pick up basketball guys, and we start 249 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:56.120 connecting and become friends through that. And then he decided 250 00:11:56.159 --> 00:11:59.159 he wanted to ask me if I would do some 251 00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:02.600 part time stuff for them on the game nights, and 252 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:05.000 then uh, and then doing some video stuff, and then 253 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:08.960 doing some scouting stuff. And then it all started, you know, uh, 254 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:13.039 piling up one, you know, one year after another, another responsibility, 255 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:15.360 another thing, Can you do this, can you do that? 256 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:16.559 And all that kind of stuff. 257 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:20.120 And and I did that for thirteen years on a 258 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:22.480 part time basis, and never thinking it was gonna be 259 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:24.600 anything else. I was just doing it to help out 260 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:27.039 my friends, and the people became my friends who were 261 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:30.120 Frank Layton and Phil Johnson and and uh and of 262 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:33.200 course Jerry Sloan and and uh. And then in ninety 263 00:12:33.240 --> 00:12:35.519 five they they said they wanted to create a new 264 00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:39.279 position as a video coordinator in a college scout and 265 00:12:39.559 --> 00:12:41.200 do you want to come and do that full time? 266 00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:45.360 Wasn't sure I wanted to do it, but my wife 267 00:12:45.480 --> 00:12:47.440 kind of convinced me, Hey, you should try it. And 268 00:12:47.559 --> 00:12:50.320 you know, you can always go back to higher education again, 269 00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:53.440 another job, whatever, but this is probably one one shot 270 00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:56.679 deal to work in the NBA. And I said, you know, 271 00:12:56.840 --> 00:12:59.039 that makes sense, and Scotty was saying the same thing, 272 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:01.720 so so I kind of took that leap of faith 273 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:06.080 and it ended up snowballing into a twenty seven years 274 00:13:06.120 --> 00:13:09.159 and you know, working full time, but over the span 275 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:12.120 of the life of my relationship with the Jazz and 276 00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:16.200 the Leyden family ended up going from eighty two basically 277 00:13:16.279 --> 00:13:19.759 to twenty twenty two with the Jazz and a forty 278 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:24.480 year career working with the Jazz, and of course my 279 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:28.639 relationship with the Leyden's obviously much much further past the 280 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:32.159 relationship with the Jazz once they left and went to 281 00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:35.720 New York and other stops along the way. But Frank 282 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:38.399 just became a good friend because that's who he is. 283 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:41.720 He's just I know how to say it, because. 284 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:43.600 I know it sounds being redundant or like beating a 285 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:47.120 dead horse. But he was a regular guy, and he 286 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:51.559 was just everybody's friend, and everybody was the same to him, 287 00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:55.440 and he was concerned about everybody on the same level 288 00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:57.240 and always asking what he. 289 00:13:57.240 --> 00:13:58.039 Could do for you. 290 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:02.879 And you know, we just became very good friends in 291 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:07.440 recent years, became more meaningful to me as he got older, 292 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:13.320 and our relationship became even stronger. And I'm all the 293 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:14.440 better for that. 294 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:18.840 So Smitty, for context, oftentimes when he would be on 295 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:21.159 his way into the studio to do his hit with me, 296 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:25.039 you would be coming straight from spending some time with Coach. 297 00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:27.600 In his care facilities. 298 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:29.120 So you were good enough to give me updates that 299 00:14:29.159 --> 00:14:32.000 I would share with my family. We will catch a break, 300 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:33.440 but Smithy is going to be along for the ride 301 00:14:33.480 --> 00:14:34.480 during the entire show. 302 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:36.759 Coming up at three o'clock. It'll just be Smitty and I. 303 00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:38.440 But let's catch a break so we can get to 304 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:41.200 Phil Johnson coming up on the other side. So here's 305 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:43.080 the rundown for the show today, it's a little bit different. 306 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:45.919 We are honoring the life of Frank Laydon, who he 307 00:14:45.960 --> 00:14:47.639 lost last week at the age of ninety three. 308 00:14:47.720 --> 00:14:50.600 Last Wednesday we have thrown out of the rundown. 309 00:14:50.679 --> 00:14:53.679 Today we are honoring the life of Frank Laydon, who 310 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:55.799 he lost last week at the age of ninety three. 311 00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:58.320 Scott Layden's going to join us a little bit later, 312 00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:01.440 my father Dave check its McBride. We may even get 313 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:04.279 a random call in from Karl Malone. We're going to 314 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:06.960 see how that work. Smitty is live in studio with me. 315 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:09.960 All show a long which I appreciate. And let's welcome 316 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:12.240 in our first guest of this Monday show, an assistant 317 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:13.919 coach for Frank. One coach of the Year in his 318 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:16.519 own right, and of course went on with a great 319 00:15:16.600 --> 00:15:19.480 run next to Jerry Sloan. The great Phil Johnson good 320 00:15:19.559 --> 00:15:21.480 enough to give us some time on a Monday afternoon. 321 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:22.600 Phil, Happy Monday, sir. 322 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:23.919 How are you well? 323 00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:27.720 Nice? Nice to talk to you, Spance. How's everything going. 324 00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:29.720 Everything's good. I really appreciate your time. 325 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:31.279 So you're one of the first people I've thought of 326 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:34.320 when we were putting this Rundown together. So I just 327 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:38.039 wonder how you articulate your relationship with Frank in kind 328 00:15:38.039 --> 00:15:40.200 of the legacy he leaves behind as he passed away 329 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:40.759 last week. 330 00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:46.279 Well, first of all, I was in I was having 331 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:49.320 trouble getting a job because Jerry and I had both 332 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:52.399 been fired in Chicago, and so I didn't have a 333 00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:56.120 lot of opportunities. But Frank called and I came out 334 00:15:56.159 --> 00:15:59.399 for an interview to be his assistant, and that was 335 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:04.039 the start of are of our relationship. And uh, it 336 00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:06.799 was just amazing to work for him. I had worked 337 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:10.720 I have been in the in the Dick Mota, you know. 338 00:16:10.919 --> 00:16:15.080 And my my, my era of coaching was a lot 339 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:19.240 with his style of coaching, and so Frank brought a 340 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:23.360 different outlook to me of his coaching style. And so 341 00:16:24.039 --> 00:16:26.720 it was it was really important to me in my life. 342 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:29.200 And he was more than just a coach to me. 343 00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:32.200 He was a really good friend. And I could tell 344 00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:35.559 him anything and he could tell me anything. And uh, 345 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:38.759 and we we honored each other and I honored him. 346 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:42.000 Coach this is Toby. 347 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:46.039 Uh, tell our listeners just a little bit about the 348 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:50.399 inner workings when you were with coach Leyden, how how 349 00:16:50.440 --> 00:16:53.720 he empowered those of you who were working around him 350 00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:56.320 in terms of working with the team every day. 351 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:01.000 Well, it's interesting because you know when I first came 352 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:03.000 out here, I moved out here, got the job, came 353 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:06.480 out for an interview, and the press interviewed this and everything. 354 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:06.160 And. 355 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:11.359 I was wondering when we were going to have a meeting. 356 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:14.200 I kept thinking, geez, are we going to have a meeting. 357 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:18.000 I'd go down to the Selp house and Frank wouldn't 358 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:22.279 be there, and so I just kind of waited. Finally, 359 00:17:22.359 --> 00:17:26.720 after I said, well, I'll go to the meeting early 360 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:35.720 Westminster for practice, and so Frank came in and just 361 00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:38.839 before practice and looked in Scott and I were there 362 00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:45.160 and he said, Phil, I really like what you do offensively. 363 00:17:45.640 --> 00:17:48.440 Can you put that in? And that was the start 364 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:50.920 of us. And I said okay, And so that day 365 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:54.119 I started putting the offense in that we used here 366 00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:59.920 for probably thirty years. So that's how much he trusted 367 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:03.039 me as to what I could do for this team, 368 00:18:03.119 --> 00:18:06.880 and so he was very He really listened to me. 369 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:09.920 He wanted to put things in that I wanted to 370 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:14.279 put and I obviously made everything made sure he was agreed. 371 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:17.119 I just didn't put things in without talking to him 372 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:20.160 and so forth. But that's kind of how we worked it. 373 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:24.000 And a lot of times he just turned practice over 374 00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:29.000 to me and I, you know, he might Sam Batistone 375 00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:31.400 might come up to visit and he'd say, Phil, you 376 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:33.519 got practice. I'm going to talk to Sam. And so 377 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:37.279 that's how much trust he had in me. But more 378 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:40.960 than that, it's how I watched him coach the team 379 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:45.759 because he was a really good, tough coach. A lot 380 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:48.960 of people get this idea that he was a jokester 381 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:51.960 and he told jokes and he was funny. Yeah he 382 00:18:52.039 --> 00:18:55.519 did that, but not with his team very much. Once 383 00:18:55.559 --> 00:18:59.440 in a while, but usually he was very strict guys. 384 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:03.119 When guys guy rounded him to start practice, he had 385 00:19:03.160 --> 00:19:07.240 him have their hands behind their back, standard attention. Now, 386 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:09.279 I've never heard of that before, but you know what, 387 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:12.759 the guys did it. So that's kind of how it started, 388 00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:14.319 and that's how much trust he had in me. 389 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:20.480 Well, the nineteen eighty three eighty four team really solidified 390 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:23.640 the presence here in the market, made the playoffs, first 391 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:26.680 playoff appearance since moving to Utah, won the Midwest Division. 392 00:19:27.559 --> 00:19:30.440 Adrian Danley, Ricky green All Stars, Frank coach the All 393 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:32.799 Star Team. He was Coach of the Year Executive of 394 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:34.319 the Year. He was the first to do it at 395 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:38.599 the time. Only pat Riley, Larry Bird and one other 396 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:41.519 Frank has won of four people to have won both 397 00:19:41.559 --> 00:19:44.599 of those awards. But you already referenced the offense that 398 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:48.039 you implemented and the offense that year. You guys averaged 399 00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:50.039 like one hundred and sixteen points per game and one 400 00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:53.279 of the best offensive teams in the NBA. Tell us 401 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:56.279 about that year and tell us about that experience and 402 00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:58.359 what it was like to watch that group come together 403 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:00.960 and really the first playoff appear, Aaron's beating Denver in 404 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:03.240 the first round, solidifying the Jazz here in Salt Lake. 405 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:05.839 Yeah, you got to have heart, you know. 406 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:07.279 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 407 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:11.599 The Denver thing, well, you know what, that the year 408 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:14.839 before we'd kind of established how how are you going 409 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:18.960 to play? And we had they had drafted Mark Eaton 410 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:22.680 before before I got before I even came that year, 411 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:25.519 but that's the same year I came. He came in 412 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:28.440 the same year I came with the team. So we 413 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:33.200 added like Rich Kelly and some important pieces to that. 414 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:36.880 And I'll tell you what that team just came together. 415 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:40.039 You know, Adrian Dantley, for his hike, was one of 416 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:42.920 the greatest players to ever play in the NBA. And 417 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:47.240 so you know, you put John Drew with him. Even 418 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:50.799 though he had some personal problems, he cleaned himself up 419 00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:54.839 for that year. And also he would come in off 420 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:58.880 the bench, and so you had Ricky Green and Jerry's 421 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:01.960 backing him up and Daryl Griffiths and these guys that 422 00:21:02.119 --> 00:21:06.039 could play basketball. And so it was like Daryl Griffiths, 423 00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:08.839 I mean, they shoot threes today, but he was shooting 424 00:21:08.920 --> 00:21:11.400 them down. Not as often as they do today, but 425 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:14.200 he could make threes and that really made us an 426 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:15.039 explosive team. 427 00:21:16.440 --> 00:21:16.720 Coach. 428 00:21:16.759 --> 00:21:19.200 When you tell people, I don't think a lot of 429 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:23.400 our fans know you were at that stint. You you 430 00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:26.079 were with the Jazz for a couple of years and 431 00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:28.680 then you got another opportunity to be a head coach 432 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:34.440 with the with the Sacramento Kings. Uh tell our listeners 433 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:39.200 exactly the how you connected Jerry and how coach Sloan 434 00:21:39.400 --> 00:21:43.160 ended up coming Uh to take over. When when you 435 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:45.759 left the Jazz for that opportunity. 436 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:50.200 Well, we were playing in Portland and I got a 437 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:53.759 call in the morning before the game that night, and 438 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:57.880 Sam Battison said it was Kansas City. At that time 439 00:21:57.920 --> 00:22:01.079 they hadn't moved yet, and he said, Kansas City wants 440 00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:04.400 to talk to you, and I've given them permission to 441 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:06.680 talk to you. And I said, oh, I don't want it. 442 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:09.960 He said, Phil, you need to be a head coach again. 443 00:22:10.799 --> 00:22:12.960 And I said, okay, Well I'll talk to them. And 444 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:17.200 so I interviewed with Kansas City and then they were 445 00:22:17.240 --> 00:22:20.000 going to move the next year to Sacramento. But anyway, 446 00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:24.559 I ended up taking the job, which in retrospective was 447 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:29.200 a mistake, but I took the job and Frank and 448 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:33.119 Frank said, Phil, who do you want to replace? Who 449 00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:35.000 do you think I should hire to replace you? And 450 00:22:35.720 --> 00:22:38.319 I said Jerry Sloan. Now Jerry had done a little 451 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:40.279 bit of scouting for us, not much, a little bit 452 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:43.359 of scouting in the Midwest area, I said Jerry Sloan. 453 00:22:43.400 --> 00:22:46.359 He said, well, Phil, would you call him for me? 454 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:52.319 I called Jerry and asked him if he wanted to 455 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:55.920 replace me. So that's how that happened. He said, yeah, 456 00:22:55.960 --> 00:22:58.160 I'll come out and talk to talk to Frank, and 457 00:22:58.200 --> 00:23:01.559 so that's how that happened. So That's an interesting story, 458 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:01.960 isn't it. 459 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:05.759 Yeah, Well, what's interesting about the coaches is that how 460 00:23:05.960 --> 00:23:09.720 things work that way when when people are going to 461 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:14.000 make a personal recommendation and just someone says, well, if 462 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:16.440 Phil Johnson says that's that's what we should do, then 463 00:23:16.640 --> 00:23:18.799 that's what we should do. And there's not all this, 464 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:22.519 you know, bringing in fifty people to interview and all this. 465 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:23.200 Kind of stuff. 466 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:26.200 And and uh, you know that that relationship that you 467 00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:28.680 and Frank had and the trust he had in you 468 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:31.599 to to to rely on a recommendation like that for 469 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:34.279 someone who he knew Jerry Sloan of course as a 470 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:36.799 player and as a coach with the Chicago Bulls, but 471 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:40.319 of course didn't know him, you know, real well personally. Uh, 472 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:43.480 until until you made that kind of a connection with them. 473 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:47.519 Yeah, And as it worked out, I ended up not 474 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:52.279 lasting very long with Sacramento and U and uh, Jerry 475 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:55.000 got the job and I was I was his first call, 476 00:23:55.119 --> 00:23:58.599 and so I was I got released by Sacramento and 477 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:01.440 I was able to come and be Jerry's assistant. So 478 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:05.200 you know, it was just, uh, it's in this in 479 00:24:05.240 --> 00:24:07.960 this business, you got to you got to get lucky, 480 00:24:08.039 --> 00:24:11.039 which I have been in my in my career of 481 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:14.440 being able to find some work and and then when 482 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:17.240 you get that job, you've got to you've got to perform. 483 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:20.839 And so that's that's the way, you know. I've always 484 00:24:20.839 --> 00:24:22.880 worked as an assistant coach. I try to be as 485 00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:26.359 loyal as possible. I don't do anything with the team 486 00:24:26.519 --> 00:24:30.839 without the head coaches knowing what I'm doing. I'm not 487 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:33.160 going to talk to him on the side and tell 488 00:24:33.200 --> 00:24:36.359 them that they're getting they're not getting enough playing time 489 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:38.680 and this and that. I'm always if I talk to 490 00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:41.559 him on the side, it's always backing whoever is the 491 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:45.039 head coach. And I've been head assistant coach to three 492 00:24:45.079 --> 00:24:49.839 great coaches, Dick Mada, Frank Laden, and Jerry Sloan. And 493 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:53.400 so that's how I've always operated as an assistant coach. 494 00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:57.319 But Frank was such a good basketball coach. I I 495 00:24:57.519 --> 00:25:00.839 just uh, he doesn't get enough recognition and for his 496 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:04.759 coaching ability gets more recognition for his jokester and and 497 00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:09.039 telling telling stories and stuff. He was good at bad obviously, 498 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:10.640 but he was a great coach. 499 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:15.079 Phil Johnson is our guest longtime assistant coach Utah Jazz. 500 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:17.920 Of course, Frank laden and then uh maybe best known 501 00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:20.400 around here for making sure Jerry Sloan was not ejected 502 00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:23.079 night after night, and good enough to give. 503 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:23.680 Us some time on. 504 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:27.839 This Monday afternoon, Phil, take us behind the curtains, and 505 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:30.240 you've already referenced about, you know, how you were brought 506 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:33.119 back to be Jerry's assistant. And Frank would joke later 507 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:35.359 on in life that he knew if he knew coaches 508 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:37.559 in the NBA were about to be paid four or five, six, 509 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:39.720 seven million dollars a year, maybe he would have, you know, 510 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:43.759 reconsidered his decision. But there are very few coaches in 511 00:25:43.799 --> 00:25:47.160 the history of pro basketball that have decided to walk 512 00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:49.119 away from a team that was ready to win at 513 00:25:49.119 --> 00:25:51.039 a high level the way Frank did. And of course 514 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:53.200 he wanted to, as he said, quote enjoy life with 515 00:25:53.240 --> 00:25:54.200 Barbara and his kids. 516 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:55.920 But take us. 517 00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:58.599 Into your understanding of how that decision came down and 518 00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:01.359 your reaction when you heard that, even though he had 519 00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:04.279 put together a good team and already had some real success, 520 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:06.039 he had decided to step away from a job that 521 00:26:06.119 --> 00:26:07.960 a lot of people would really really want. 522 00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:13.039 Well, it's interesting because Frank I had talked to Frank, 523 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:18.680 you know, during during when we saw them earlier in 524 00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:23.000 the year before he retired, and he says, don't make 525 00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:26.480 any moves. Something's going to happen here. That's what he 526 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:30.240 told me. So I was not surprised. He said, don't 527 00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:33.279 you go any place or anything until you find out 528 00:26:33.319 --> 00:26:36.119 what's going on here. And so that's really how he 529 00:26:36.759 --> 00:26:42.240 operated with me. And I knew that. And I'm an 530 00:26:42.359 --> 00:26:46.160 example myself and Jerry Sloan of when it's time and 531 00:26:46.240 --> 00:26:49.000 you feel it in your in your soul that it's 532 00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:52.839 time to get out and leave, that's what you do. 533 00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:55.640 And that's what Jerry and I did. That's what Frank did, 534 00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:58.559 and so that's the that's kind of what happens with that. 535 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:02.240 You just you feel like and you know it's in 536 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:05.119 really good hands with with Jerry Sloan, that's how he 537 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:08.640 felt and so I you know, I I haven't spent 538 00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:11.000 a lot time talking to him about it, but I 539 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:13.240 think that was kind of his thought process. 540 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:17.279 Yeah, I think the coach, the relationship that you guys 541 00:27:17.319 --> 00:27:21.000 built with the players and the way that you coached them. 542 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:24.400 You could always see, you know, the respect they had 543 00:27:24.440 --> 00:27:28.519 for for for how you approached the job every day 544 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:31.279 in practice, and what that meant to you in terms 545 00:27:31.319 --> 00:27:33.000 of getting ready for the games. 546 00:27:33.400 --> 00:27:34.880 Uh, can you talk to us just. 547 00:27:34.839 --> 00:27:38.039 A little bit about you know that that daily practice 548 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:41.200 regimen and and and the kind of approach that that 549 00:27:41.240 --> 00:27:43.640 you and coach Layden had had with the players. 550 00:27:45.079 --> 00:27:48.359 Well, you know, it just was there was no there 551 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:51.160 There was no joking around, There was no there. There 552 00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:55.440 was always serious business when we started practice, and you 553 00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:58.039 know we had and we had a reteam. For instance, 554 00:27:58.119 --> 00:28:01.039 I when when I came with Frank, I worked with 555 00:28:01.079 --> 00:28:03.799 the big guy. We would split up half on each 556 00:28:03.880 --> 00:28:06.440 end and Scott and Frank would work with the smaller 557 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:08.640 the guards on one end and I'd work with the 558 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:11.079 forwards and the centers on the other end of the 559 00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:14.400 and we had drills and something. So we got into 560 00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:17.680 a routine. And that's that's been the story of my life. 561 00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:20.359 That's how I lived my life now is routine. And 562 00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:24.000 if you can get into a routine and let them 563 00:28:24.039 --> 00:28:27.440 know what's going to happen, and you've changed things obviously 564 00:28:27.480 --> 00:28:30.400 along the way, but get into a routine and know 565 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:32.680 that you're going to work on the things that you're 566 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:36.279 going to that's going to benefit them later. And that's 567 00:28:36.440 --> 00:28:41.039 that's really how you build their confidence and their ability 568 00:28:41.079 --> 00:28:44.440 to accept what you're doing, and so they don't have 569 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:47.319 to do a bunch of radical changes every time. Now, 570 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:49.599 once you start the season, you're going to have to 571 00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:52.240 change for each opponent and that type of thing, and 572 00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:54.599 you've got to be ready for that. But that's kind 573 00:28:54.599 --> 00:28:57.400 of how we approached it, and so you know, that 574 00:28:57.960 --> 00:28:59.839 was that's just how we ran things. 575 00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:04.720 That's interesting, Coach that you mentioned about how good a 576 00:29:04.759 --> 00:29:07.240 coach that Frank was and the x's and o's and 577 00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:11.640 how serious he was during during practice sessions and during 578 00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:14.559 the course of games and making adjustments and timeouts and 579 00:29:14.599 --> 00:29:19.279 so forth. I recently saw a documentary done by the 580 00:29:19.319 --> 00:29:24.079 granddaughter of Yogi Bera, who put a documentary together about 581 00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:27.759 his career and his life, basically making the point that 582 00:29:28.200 --> 00:29:31.160 he was one of the best catchers of all time 583 00:29:31.240 --> 00:29:34.319 in baseball, and all the numbers, not just because he 584 00:29:34.400 --> 00:29:38.079 was on championship Yankee teams, but all of his individual 585 00:29:38.200 --> 00:29:41.359 numbers showed that he was one of the best catchers ever. 586 00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:45.359 And yet he never gets quite that due for being 587 00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:49.240 an actual day to day baseball player because of all 588 00:29:49.240 --> 00:29:51.720 the quips and the quotes and the stories he would 589 00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:55.920 tell afterward. Everybody kind of gleaned on that and kind 590 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:59.119 of didn't really pay attention to the hard court stuff 591 00:29:59.160 --> 00:30:01.720 he was doing every day as a ballplayer. And that 592 00:30:01.799 --> 00:30:03.680 kind of alludes a little bit to what you were 593 00:30:03.720 --> 00:30:06.640 saying earlier about about how Frank you know, he'd got 594 00:30:06.640 --> 00:30:09.680 more attention for the stories and the interviews and all 595 00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:12.279 that than really about how good of a coach he 596 00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:13.279 was on the floor. 597 00:30:14.119 --> 00:30:18.319 Yeah, I think that's very relatable. And you know, Frank 598 00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:21.200 during Frink, he had so much trust in me. Is 599 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:24.319 like I said, routine and everything, but he had so 600 00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:27.240 much trust in me that he would come and you know, 601 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:29.720 we'd call it, he'd call a time out and they'd 602 00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:32.079 come and he'd stand up and I would kneel down 603 00:30:32.839 --> 00:30:35.640 in the in the huddle and he would talk. He 604 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:38.319 seldom got on his knees or anything, the way he 605 00:30:38.640 --> 00:30:41.079 would stand up and talk to him and he'd talk 606 00:30:41.160 --> 00:30:43.200 to him about this and that, But what's going on 607 00:30:43.240 --> 00:30:45.599 the score, this and that. They ain't lean over to me, 608 00:30:45.640 --> 00:30:48.160 He says, Phil, what do you want to run? That's 609 00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:51.200 how much trust he had and that's how we ran things. 610 00:30:51.240 --> 00:30:54.319 And then Scott had his input to Scott was great 611 00:30:54.359 --> 00:30:57.920 with his his input as far as you know, he 612 00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:01.039 had knowledge way beyond his years, and so you know, 613 00:31:01.119 --> 00:31:04.880 it was just an effective staff. And you know, you 614 00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:09.160 can't overlook guys like Sparky that was our trainer, that 615 00:31:09.319 --> 00:31:14.000 had tremendous loyalty to the coaches, and you know, it 616 00:31:14.039 --> 00:31:17.160 went down the line. The ownership. Sam Batistone was great 617 00:31:17.440 --> 00:31:20.440 to work for during that time, so things went well, 618 00:31:21.160 --> 00:31:21.359 you know. 619 00:31:21.680 --> 00:31:23.759 And Phil Johnson is with us here on the drive. 620 00:31:23.839 --> 00:31:26.319 We are honoring the life and legacy of Frank Leiden, 621 00:31:26.359 --> 00:31:28.480 who passed last week at the age of ninety three. 622 00:31:29.160 --> 00:31:30.440 And I want to hear from both of you on 623 00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:33.200 this because I've heard both of you say this and 624 00:31:33.240 --> 00:31:37.400 other people as well. Because of Frank's front facing kind 625 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:41.920 of comedic personality, did dazzling dunks and basketball bloopers with 626 00:31:41.960 --> 00:31:45.240 Marv Albert that I've watched ten thousand times as a kid. 627 00:31:46.839 --> 00:31:49.839 The coaching phase of his life is off and overlooked. 628 00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:53.720 But what about the talent evaluation And it's certainly it's 629 00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:56.079 never a decision made by one person, and Frank had 630 00:31:56.119 --> 00:31:59.599 Scott and Scouts. But you can make an argument that 631 00:31:59.640 --> 00:32:02.160 John carl are two of the best draft picks of 632 00:32:02.200 --> 00:32:05.160 all time. And then there's Mark Eaton, then there's Throw Bailey, 633 00:32:05.480 --> 00:32:09.559 then there's Bobby Hanson and trading for Adrian Danley. Later 634 00:32:09.720 --> 00:32:12.839 Jeff Hornsack is brought in. So Phil will start with you, then, Smittye, 635 00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:15.119 I want to hear from you as well. So Frank, 636 00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:18.640 certainly as a basketball coach, had high acumen, but it's 637 00:32:18.640 --> 00:32:22.160 pretty undeniable that he also was an excellent evalu evaluator 638 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:22.680 of talent. 639 00:32:22.759 --> 00:32:26.279 Yeah, well, I don't think there's any question. Uh, you know, 640 00:32:27.079 --> 00:32:29.759 first of all, Scott was really good at that and 641 00:32:29.799 --> 00:32:33.359 now it always has been and uh, and we were 642 00:32:33.839 --> 00:32:38.240 we're in a position where we would Frank really listen 643 00:32:38.359 --> 00:32:40.440 to people. He listened to Scott and he listened to 644 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:43.400 people around him. And then what goes with that is 645 00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:45.799 you got to get a little lucky, you know what 646 00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:50.079 you know, you don't, it's it's we made we made 647 00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:53.720 some choices that weren't particularly good, you know, but you've 648 00:32:53.759 --> 00:32:55.960 got to get a little better lucky for even for 649 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:58.799 that guy to be available. And then once you get 650 00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:01.240 him that he's good as good as you think he's 651 00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:04.039 going to be. You know, we go back you and 652 00:33:04.200 --> 00:33:06.680 take you back to when John Stockton came out. You know, 653 00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:09.160 we'd we'd heard he was a pretty good basketball player, 654 00:33:09.200 --> 00:33:11.680 and we went back to Chicago to the Trout camps 655 00:33:11.680 --> 00:33:14.279 back there, and I saw him play and I said, 656 00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:17.400 and Scott and I were sitting together and I said, Scott, 657 00:33:18.279 --> 00:33:21.160 this guy's pretty darn good. So we kept watching film 658 00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:24.000 and everything, and we kept thinking that that Portland was 659 00:33:24.039 --> 00:33:27.599 going to take him ahead of us. And so when 660 00:33:27.720 --> 00:33:31.519 we when we called the press in to see who 661 00:33:31.559 --> 00:33:36.160 we had on our board as perspective draft picks, we 662 00:33:36.200 --> 00:33:39.000 didn't put John Stockton's name on the board. That's how 663 00:33:39.119 --> 00:33:43.839 how how we were hiding him from the press and 664 00:33:43.920 --> 00:33:47.640 not even using his name. And so when when we 665 00:33:47.680 --> 00:33:50.960 saw that and Portland didn't take him, we were right 666 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:53.119 there and were able to get him. So you have 667 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:55.359 to juggle in there, and then you've got to get 668 00:33:55.440 --> 00:33:59.359 lucky that John Stockton's going to be as harder worker 669 00:33:59.680 --> 00:34:03.519 and a person as he is, and so's and that's 670 00:34:03.559 --> 00:34:06.759 what we tried to look for as character, guys that 671 00:34:06.920 --> 00:34:10.320 had character and were good people and in along with 672 00:34:10.360 --> 00:34:13.440 their talents. So really that's that's kind of how it went. 673 00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:15.840 Yeah, it is, it is interesting coach. 674 00:34:17.360 --> 00:34:21.239 The base of the foundation of the Jazz organization as 675 00:34:21.239 --> 00:34:24.480 it exists today, you know, some fifty years later, was 676 00:34:24.519 --> 00:34:28.920 all set by the tone I think of Frank as 677 00:34:28.920 --> 00:34:31.559 the general manager and then as he was the head coach, 678 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:33.760 and the kind of players he tried to bring in, 679 00:34:34.239 --> 00:34:36.960 I mean, just right off the bat, you know, nineteen 680 00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:42.679 eighty drafting Darryl Griffith, eighty one, trading for Adrian Dantley, 681 00:34:42.719 --> 00:34:47.800 eighty two, drafting Dominic Wilkins, who never came could have 682 00:34:47.880 --> 00:34:50.719 been one of the guys with the group you know that. 683 00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:53.519 Took off in the eighties, but had that thing. 684 00:34:53.800 --> 00:34:56.199 But at that time, you know, we remember that the 685 00:34:56.320 --> 00:34:59.639 Jazz were in trouble financially, and so some of the 686 00:35:00.039 --> 00:35:03.159 the money that they paid to sell Dominic Wilkins' rights 687 00:35:03.159 --> 00:35:06.280 to Atlanta helped to keep the team afloat at that time. 688 00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:09.440 And and you know, something like that enters into the 689 00:35:09.480 --> 00:35:11.960 fray and and Frank just went, you know, just did 690 00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:13.920 what he had to do at that moment in time 691 00:35:14.480 --> 00:35:16.559 to make sure, you know, it worked as best as 692 00:35:16.599 --> 00:35:19.480 you could. And then he drafts you know, Mark Eaton 693 00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:22.960 and Bobby Hansen, and then John Stockton, and then Carl 694 00:35:23.079 --> 00:35:27.400 Malone and and and that basis, but getting the right guys. 695 00:35:27.400 --> 00:35:30.039 And I remember being there. Those are the first two 696 00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:32.760 drafts that I was helping out with in eighty four 697 00:35:32.840 --> 00:35:37.119 eighty five, and you know, getting John at sixteen and 698 00:35:37.159 --> 00:35:40.440 then and then the next year Carl was supposed to 699 00:35:40.519 --> 00:35:41.559 go five, six. 700 00:35:41.480 --> 00:35:43.960 Seven, and he kept falling. 701 00:35:44.079 --> 00:35:46.719 And I remember Frank saying the Scott, what's what are 702 00:35:46.760 --> 00:35:48.920 we gonna do at thirteen? Well, we got to take 703 00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:52.079 Malone if he's there. And Frank, well, I hope there's 704 00:35:52.079 --> 00:35:54.039 nothing wrong with him. I mean, how come everybody else 705 00:35:54.119 --> 00:35:56.400 is passing him? And Scott goes, well, we got to 706 00:35:56.440 --> 00:35:59.280 take him. He's the best player. And that's what it 707 00:35:59.440 --> 00:36:01.480 turned out to be, that he came to us at 708 00:36:01.519 --> 00:36:04.280 thirteen and we take him. And I remember Frank in 709 00:36:04.360 --> 00:36:09.800 the post draft media availability session said well, somebody asked 710 00:36:09.840 --> 00:36:12.599 him you hoping Malone will score a lot of points 711 00:36:12.599 --> 00:36:14.719 for you next year, and he said, well, we got 712 00:36:14.719 --> 00:36:15.519 a lot of scoring. 713 00:36:15.639 --> 00:36:15.840 You know. 714 00:36:15.880 --> 00:36:18.679 We have Adrian Dantley, and we have Drel Griffith, and 715 00:36:18.679 --> 00:36:20.880 we have Ricky Green, and we have John Drew coming 716 00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:23.320 off the bench, and he goes and we got Mark 717 00:36:23.360 --> 00:36:26.039 Eaton developing as a rim protector in the middle, but 718 00:36:26.400 --> 00:36:28.760 we really need some rebounding, so we hope he comes 719 00:36:28.760 --> 00:36:32.039 in and helps us with the rebounding and interior defense. 720 00:36:32.079 --> 00:36:34.840 And then if he scores eight or ten points a game, 721 00:36:34.880 --> 00:36:38.280 that'll be a bonus, you know, and thirty five thousand 722 00:36:38.280 --> 00:36:39.440 points later or whatever. 723 00:36:39.639 --> 00:36:39.880 You know. 724 00:36:39.920 --> 00:36:42.519 It's but like you say, you got to get the 725 00:36:42.679 --> 00:36:45.400 right guys, you got to get a foundation. But then 726 00:36:45.440 --> 00:36:49.280 also there's some measure of luck that where you get 727 00:36:49.320 --> 00:36:52.239 guys like John and Carl who not only end up 728 00:36:52.239 --> 00:36:57.960 being great people, hard workers, great talent, but also they 729 00:36:58.079 --> 00:37:02.519 just happened to play every night, uh, every game for 730 00:37:02.679 --> 00:37:05.440 all these years. You know, they're not taking nights off 731 00:37:05.480 --> 00:37:08.920 and they're not doing load management or whatever. They're just 732 00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:12.199 playing every single night. And that that was a big 733 00:37:12.239 --> 00:37:15.079 thing that you just kind of luck into. 734 00:37:15.960 --> 00:37:18.559 Yeah, that's that's that's part of it, that's for sure. 735 00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:22.239 And uh and that that is the part that comes 736 00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:24.679 along with the luck, you know. But but you also 737 00:37:24.800 --> 00:37:28.239 got to you've got to do your work and and 738 00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:30.960 also plan for anything you can. 739 00:37:31.760 --> 00:37:33.679 Fill last thing and we'll sell you loose, sir, so 740 00:37:33.840 --> 00:37:36.639 much appreciate you joining us today. Uh, of course. 741 00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:37.119 Uh. 742 00:37:37.199 --> 00:37:39.679 I think it's safe to say the majority of our 743 00:37:39.719 --> 00:37:43.199 listeners of a certain age remember you and Jerry on 744 00:37:43.239 --> 00:37:46.199 the sidelines during the incredible run you had together that 745 00:37:46.360 --> 00:37:49.599 led to a couple of NBA Finals appearances, and uh, 746 00:37:49.760 --> 00:37:53.679 the the the golden era of jazz basketball. How much 747 00:37:53.719 --> 00:37:55.519 of that era I do not want to take any 748 00:37:55.559 --> 00:37:57.880 of it away from you and Jerry, But since we're 749 00:37:57.920 --> 00:38:00.559 talking about Frank, how much of that era had Frank's 750 00:38:00.559 --> 00:38:02.079 fingerprints fingerprints on it? 751 00:38:02.840 --> 00:38:04.800 Well, he had them all. It was all over on 752 00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.159 with him because he had set he had set the franchise, 753 00:38:09.239 --> 00:38:12.559 he had saved the franchise bottom line, and uh, he 754 00:38:13.199 --> 00:38:15.920 had we had a basis to work from, and then 755 00:38:16.119 --> 00:38:19.119 we just carried it on, you know. And uh, And 756 00:38:19.199 --> 00:38:22.119 he coached, Jerry coached in his own style. He didn't 757 00:38:22.159 --> 00:38:25.079 coach exactly like Frank or he didn't coach exactly like 758 00:38:25.119 --> 00:38:28.039 any player coach he'd played for. He coached like Jerry 759 00:38:28.079 --> 00:38:31.400 Sloan coaches. And I helped him like I helped coaches. 760 00:38:31.800 --> 00:38:34.280 And I helped him and we had a great relationship. 761 00:38:34.320 --> 00:38:38.079 And and that's really the basis for how we succeeded. 762 00:38:38.119 --> 00:38:41.920 We also were lucky to have really good players and uh, 763 00:38:42.079 --> 00:38:45.840 and then we're able to play games and play a 764 00:38:45.880 --> 00:38:48.840 lot of games and not miss games. I mean, players 765 00:38:48.880 --> 00:38:53.400 today it's it's amazing how how they take games off 766 00:38:53.440 --> 00:38:56.519 and miss games. And our players didn't do that. And 767 00:38:56.559 --> 00:39:00.159 so not only that, later on we had to end 768 00:39:00.239 --> 00:39:02.920 us backing of our players with ownership as far as 769 00:39:03.000 --> 00:39:06.119 Larry Miller was concerned. You had Mark Eaton that back 770 00:39:06.239 --> 00:39:09.880 does tremendously, and we had John Stockton and Karl Malone 771 00:39:10.239 --> 00:39:13.559 that simply wouldn't have allowed. Now, Larry was loyal to 772 00:39:13.639 --> 00:39:16.239 us and everything, but if things got tough, you know, 773 00:39:16.400 --> 00:39:19.480 your players have to back you, and that's what we had, 774 00:39:19.880 --> 00:39:22.679 and we had Frank behind us as well. So that's 775 00:39:22.679 --> 00:39:26.559 how things worked out, and that's that's that's how the 776 00:39:26.599 --> 00:39:27.760 longevity happened. 777 00:39:28.280 --> 00:39:30.840 Bhil Thank you sir for the time. We really appreciate 778 00:39:30.920 --> 00:39:33.719 the context. Hope everything as well with you and if 779 00:39:33.719 --> 00:39:35.440 you ever want to hop on the show, I've got 780 00:39:35.480 --> 00:39:36.079 a space for you. 781 00:39:36.119 --> 00:39:37.840 Hope you know that all right? 782 00:39:38.000 --> 00:39:38.960 Thanks a lot, Hiks. 783 00:39:39.039 --> 00:39:42.320 Coach Phil Johnson long time or excuse me, but yeah, 784 00:39:42.400 --> 00:39:45.280 head coach in college and in the NBA, and then 785 00:39:45.360 --> 00:39:47.719 was Frank's assistant for a few years and came back 786 00:39:47.760 --> 00:39:51.119 to stand alongside Jerry Sloan for an incredible run of 787 00:39:51.199 --> 00:39:54.679 jazz basketball that nearly culminated in maybe one, if not 788 00:39:54.719 --> 00:39:57.760 two championships. If it's not for a guy named Michael Jordan, 789 00:39:58.480 --> 00:40:01.039 we have thrown out the rundown. Today we are honoring 790 00:40:01.039 --> 00:40:03.480 the life and legacy of the great Frank Layden, who 791 00:40:03.480 --> 00:40:05.599 we lost last week at the age of ninety three. 792 00:40:06.360 --> 00:40:08.639 Richard Smith is good enough to join me live in studio, 793 00:40:08.679 --> 00:40:11.440 and really nobody better to be by my side today 794 00:40:11.480 --> 00:40:14.079 as we welcome in these great guests. We just spent 795 00:40:14.159 --> 00:40:15.760 about thirty minutes with Phil Johnson. 796 00:40:15.760 --> 00:40:16.440 It was awesome. 797 00:40:16.960 --> 00:40:20.079 Scott Layden will join us coming up at about twenty 798 00:40:20.119 --> 00:40:22.760 six or seven minutes from right now, we'll bring in 799 00:40:22.840 --> 00:40:26.000 Dave Checketts. Ron McBride will join us live in Hawaii, 800 00:40:26.079 --> 00:40:29.079 the former Utah football coach. He became very close with Frank. 801 00:40:29.679 --> 00:40:31.559 But Smitty, just you and I this segment, and I 802 00:40:31.599 --> 00:40:34.519 wanted to take advantage of this space to talk about 803 00:40:34.920 --> 00:40:40.320 your relationship with Frank following his retirement. We will talk 804 00:40:40.360 --> 00:40:43.199 a lot about the man, the coach, the talent evaluator, 805 00:40:43.199 --> 00:40:46.039 as we have with Phil, but you traveled with Frank 806 00:40:46.079 --> 00:40:46.599 and Barbara. 807 00:40:46.679 --> 00:40:49.079 You spent countless hours. 808 00:40:48.719 --> 00:40:51.800 With the Leyden family on trips, and you would go 809 00:40:51.840 --> 00:40:54.159 see him on a regular basis. You have a unique 810 00:40:54.199 --> 00:40:57.320 prison and perspective on Frank Laydon the man, not just 811 00:40:57.400 --> 00:41:00.519 Frank Laydon the coach or the talent evaluator sort of 812 00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:03.760 inside can you give us based on all the time 813 00:41:03.840 --> 00:41:06.079 that you spent with Frank, Barbara in the entire family. 814 00:41:06.280 --> 00:41:07.719 Yeah, we were very fortunate. 815 00:41:07.960 --> 00:41:10.559 Linda and I spent a lot of time with them, 816 00:41:11.559 --> 00:41:15.440 even going back into the nineties where we would go 817 00:41:15.639 --> 00:41:18.960 on these trips and Linda was asking me this the 818 00:41:19.000 --> 00:41:23.199 other day, and I really couldn't remember the logistics of 819 00:41:23.280 --> 00:41:26.599 how we did it. But we always had a trip 820 00:41:27.119 --> 00:41:31.280 of three or four days down in early July every 821 00:41:31.360 --> 00:41:35.719 summer down to the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City 822 00:41:35.920 --> 00:41:39.920 on the campus of Southern Utah University. And it was 823 00:41:40.360 --> 00:41:43.719 Linda and I, Scott and Marcia and their young family. 824 00:41:44.440 --> 00:41:48.599 Frank and Barbara would come, and Jerry and Rose Weber, 825 00:41:48.639 --> 00:41:51.079 who are good friends of ours, would come with their 826 00:41:51.159 --> 00:41:54.119 young family and we would go down there every year 827 00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.159 most of the nineties, every early July, and Linda was saying, well, 828 00:41:59.159 --> 00:42:01.960 how'd you guys do it when if you had summer league, 829 00:42:02.039 --> 00:42:05.280 or you had the free agent period, which which always 830 00:42:05.320 --> 00:42:09.199 is in early July, and you had the draft, you know, 831 00:42:09.280 --> 00:42:11.920 right near the end of June or whatever. And I said, 832 00:42:12.280 --> 00:42:14.159 you know, I don't I don't remember how. 833 00:42:13.960 --> 00:42:14.519 We did it. 834 00:42:14.920 --> 00:42:17.320 But we did it because because we were all there 835 00:42:17.800 --> 00:42:20.599 for a number of years in a row together, and 836 00:42:20.679 --> 00:42:25.559 this was before the advent of cell phones and really 837 00:42:25.599 --> 00:42:31.000 before you know, the proliferation of email and certainly texting 838 00:42:31.480 --> 00:42:32.719 didn't exist at that time. 839 00:42:32.800 --> 00:42:34.360 So I'm not sure how we did. 840 00:42:34.440 --> 00:42:37.280 Maybe when Scott comes on, he may recall, you know, 841 00:42:37.360 --> 00:42:39.400 how we did it, because because he was the front 842 00:42:39.440 --> 00:42:41.920 man on a lot of that kind of stuff that 843 00:42:41.960 --> 00:42:44.519 would be going on in the summer during that time. 844 00:42:44.599 --> 00:42:48.639 But but we just became close friends. I think it 845 00:42:48.719 --> 00:42:52.000 was maybe part partly because of our East Coast roots. 846 00:42:52.039 --> 00:42:55.360 I grew up in Connecticut, Frank was a Brooklyn guy. Scott, 847 00:42:55.400 --> 00:42:57.960 of course, grew up in New York and a lot 848 00:42:58.000 --> 00:42:59.840 of time up in the Buffalo area when he was 849 00:42:59.840 --> 00:43:04.199 a teenager. And part of us because of our love 850 00:43:04.239 --> 00:43:06.639 for the theater, and that's what took us to the 851 00:43:06.639 --> 00:43:12.119 Shakespeare Festival every summer, partly our our love of baseball. 852 00:43:12.480 --> 00:43:14.719 We would go to a lot of the minor league 853 00:43:14.760 --> 00:43:18.679 baseball games here at that point in time, and then 854 00:43:18.719 --> 00:43:23.039 as Frank retired, he would have more time to do 855 00:43:23.119 --> 00:43:26.119 that and we would we would find time. Linda and 856 00:43:26.159 --> 00:43:29.719 I just became good friends with Frank and Barbara. We 857 00:43:29.800 --> 00:43:34.440 had a lot of mutual interests and we just enjoyed 858 00:43:34.440 --> 00:43:37.239 each other's company to that extent. And then we in 859 00:43:37.320 --> 00:43:43.239 twenty eleven we started this annual summer baseball trip that 860 00:43:42.760 --> 00:43:45.199 was that was grown out of us going to Be's 861 00:43:45.280 --> 00:43:49.599 games with our our friends Chris Leno and Colleen Lindstrom, 862 00:43:49.639 --> 00:43:52.440 and we would sit there and and everybody would talk about, Wow, 863 00:43:52.480 --> 00:43:55.119 someday we should go to a major league game. Someday 864 00:43:55.119 --> 00:43:57.039 we should go to a major league game. And so 865 00:43:57.159 --> 00:43:59.599 one time I just said, hey, I'm tired of hearing 866 00:43:59.639 --> 00:44:02.119 about the Ajor league game. Either let's just go to 867 00:44:02.159 --> 00:44:04.880 a major league game or stop talking about it. And 868 00:44:05.039 --> 00:44:07.360 everybody goes, oh, well, we could we could go to 869 00:44:07.440 --> 00:44:09.719 major league. I said, well, when when are we going 870 00:44:09.800 --> 00:44:12.519 to do it? And so right then, Franco Smith's right, 871 00:44:12.760 --> 00:44:14.760 let's let's k what do we got let's let's get 872 00:44:14.800 --> 00:44:17.760 a day, let's go, And so we hammered something out 873 00:44:17.800 --> 00:44:19.880 for that summer and we ended up going to Colorado 874 00:44:19.960 --> 00:44:24.760 Rockies and that started a fifteen year trek that still 875 00:44:24.760 --> 00:44:27.840 exists today. The last couple of years, Frank and Barbara 876 00:44:27.840 --> 00:44:30.719 haven't been able to travel, uh, but they've always been 877 00:44:30.760 --> 00:44:33.679 in on the discussion of Okay, where are quote we 878 00:44:34.360 --> 00:44:37.119 going this year, And it was always to a ballpark 879 00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:40.280 that that somebody hadn't been to before. So it started 880 00:44:40.280 --> 00:44:44.000 in Colorado, and then it went to San Francisco, Then 881 00:44:44.039 --> 00:44:46.320 I went to Arizona. Then I went to Anaheim, and 882 00:44:46.400 --> 00:44:48.599 then I went to San Diego. Then I went to 883 00:44:48.760 --> 00:44:52.159 La then I went to Minnesota and so forth. 884 00:44:51.920 --> 00:44:54.440 And and uh, and we just we just. 885 00:44:54.400 --> 00:44:57.440 Had a great time planning those events and and spending 886 00:44:57.480 --> 00:45:00.159 time with each other in that regard, and and UH 887 00:45:00.239 --> 00:45:02.079 and a lot of dinners and a lot of uh 888 00:45:02.519 --> 00:45:05.119 hanging out of local restaurants and local theater up and 889 00:45:05.239 --> 00:45:09.880 Pioneer Theater, you know, a lot, and and and going 890 00:45:09.920 --> 00:45:13.840 to two plays or musicals downtown here and just just 891 00:45:13.960 --> 00:45:17.719 kind of you know how friendships evolve, spence, you find 892 00:45:17.760 --> 00:45:21.199 common ground and and you like each other's company and 893 00:45:21.239 --> 00:45:25.360 you enjoy and are comfortable with each other, and and 894 00:45:25.639 --> 00:45:29.880 it just evolves and it just grows naturally, and uh 895 00:45:29.920 --> 00:45:33.840 we were the beneficiaries of that, uh friendship and and 896 00:45:33.960 --> 00:45:37.840 uh that kind of closeness over the years that that 897 00:45:38.119 --> 00:45:40.800 you know, again we're talking about building teams and drafting 898 00:45:40.840 --> 00:45:43.440 players and everything. Some some of it you can plan, 899 00:45:43.559 --> 00:45:45.840 and some of it you can control, and then there's 900 00:45:45.880 --> 00:45:47.800 a certain part of it that's out of your control 901 00:45:48.159 --> 00:45:52.039 that just happens. And you know, our friendship, you know, 902 00:45:52.119 --> 00:45:55.000 started with certain roots, but then it just grew into 903 00:45:55.039 --> 00:45:58.079 something else that just they just took took place and 904 00:45:58.159 --> 00:46:02.920 evolved over the years and and very powerful for Linda 905 00:46:02.960 --> 00:46:05.760 and I to have those kind of friendships with the 906 00:46:05.840 --> 00:46:06.519 Laydon family. 907 00:46:07.159 --> 00:46:10.760 Excuse me, I'll have to go back. Excuse me, I'll 908 00:46:10.760 --> 00:46:13.559 have to go back and try to find this sound. 909 00:46:14.400 --> 00:46:16.239 But I think it was about two years ago and 910 00:46:16.239 --> 00:46:18.960 maybe Porter Canel be out here. And we had Frank 911 00:46:18.960 --> 00:46:20.559 on a lot, so it wasn't like, you know, a 912 00:46:20.559 --> 00:46:24.719 one or two time thing. But his favorite Frank Sinatra 913 00:46:24.800 --> 00:46:26.960 song was I think it's called My Way. I think 914 00:46:27.000 --> 00:46:29.360 that's the name of the song. And so to intro 915 00:46:29.480 --> 00:46:32.480 Frank I played it coming in and I noticed in 916 00:46:32.519 --> 00:46:35.239 the background that he was singing, and so I just 917 00:46:35.320 --> 00:46:38.280 laid back as the host, I just backed away from 918 00:46:38.280 --> 00:46:41.000 the mic and we let that breathe for like a minute, 919 00:46:41.000 --> 00:46:44.079 and he just sang the entire intro and it was 920 00:46:44.199 --> 00:46:45.480 just like the sweetest thing. 921 00:46:45.760 --> 00:46:46.000 You know. 922 00:46:46.280 --> 00:46:49.360 I wonder you already referenced some of the things that 923 00:46:49.440 --> 00:46:52.679 he was interested in outside of basketball. Can you elaborate 924 00:46:52.719 --> 00:46:55.159 on that, whether it's theater or food or music like 925 00:46:56.360 --> 00:46:58.760 jazz fans know Frank laydon as the coach and then 926 00:46:58.800 --> 00:47:01.599 the front facing funny guy, but the man, what was 927 00:47:01.599 --> 00:47:03.079 he interested in outside of sports? 928 00:47:03.079 --> 00:47:03.840 Well, I'll tell you what. 929 00:47:05.599 --> 00:47:08.199 You talk about, you know, joining the song, we would 930 00:47:08.280 --> 00:47:10.079 you know, we would you know, go out for an 931 00:47:10.119 --> 00:47:12.519 evening and uh, you know, have a dinner somewhere. 932 00:47:12.519 --> 00:47:13.199 And it was nothing. 933 00:47:13.599 --> 00:47:16.440 It wasn't like we were, you know, going to these 934 00:47:16.480 --> 00:47:19.800 five star restaurants and three Michelin star places or whatever. 935 00:47:19.960 --> 00:47:20.119 You know. 936 00:47:20.239 --> 00:47:24.039 Frank and Barbera were very mom and poppish and they 937 00:47:24.159 --> 00:47:28.119 just like to support the local, you know, small places. 938 00:47:28.159 --> 00:47:31.960 The other place Greek restaurant where we had the family 939 00:47:32.000 --> 00:47:36.760 celebration the other day after the funeral mass service, and 940 00:47:37.239 --> 00:47:40.639 we would go there frequently, uh for for a bite 941 00:47:40.679 --> 00:47:45.039 to eat, and then Frank would always say, hey, how 942 00:47:45.079 --> 00:47:47.039 about some dessert. How about if we go get an 943 00:47:47.039 --> 00:47:51.280 ice cream at dairy queen Okay Coach and anytime we 944 00:47:51.320 --> 00:47:55.639 would drive by a dairy queen wherever it was, And 945 00:47:55.760 --> 00:47:58.599 Linda has a great story about the three of them. 946 00:47:58.639 --> 00:48:01.280 I wasn't there at the time, down at the Shakespeare 947 00:48:01.360 --> 00:48:05.559 Festival and spending an hour one night driving around Cedar 948 00:48:05.639 --> 00:48:08.559 City looking for a dairy queen because Frank said, no, 949 00:48:08.679 --> 00:48:09.119 that's what we have. 950 00:48:09.239 --> 00:48:11.159 We have to get a dairy queen ice you know. 951 00:48:11.239 --> 00:48:13.719 So anytime we would go buy one wherever we were, 952 00:48:13.840 --> 00:48:16.079 and we'd be out of town somewhere traveling. We'd be 953 00:48:16.119 --> 00:48:18.920 down in Anaheim, we'd be in Phoenix or whatever, and 954 00:48:18.960 --> 00:48:21.119 we're driving by and Frank would go, hey, there's a 955 00:48:21.199 --> 00:48:24.760 dairy queen. How come there aren't more dairy queens, Like, 956 00:48:24.840 --> 00:48:27.079 I don't know understand why they're not on every corner 957 00:48:27.159 --> 00:48:30.039 like McDonald's. They're like the best thing ever. So we 958 00:48:30.079 --> 00:48:32.199 would go up. We would go up there. There was 959 00:48:32.280 --> 00:48:36.000 one that closed recently up in Centerville and had been 960 00:48:36.000 --> 00:48:38.760 there for a long time Alex Jensen and knows it 961 00:48:38.760 --> 00:48:42.840 well growing up in Centerville, and we would go get 962 00:48:43.079 --> 00:48:45.079 a Dairy Queen ice cream and would sit in the 963 00:48:45.119 --> 00:48:48.440 parking lot and there's me and Frank in the front 964 00:48:48.480 --> 00:48:51.239 seats and Linda and Barbara in the back seats. We're 965 00:48:51.239 --> 00:48:54.480 eating it, and I'd turn on Frank Sinatra and whatever 966 00:48:54.679 --> 00:48:56.280 whatever it was, I just put it on onid of 967 00:48:56.320 --> 00:48:59.199 my phone. Hit one of the songs. Boom, Frank and 968 00:48:59.239 --> 00:49:01.239 Barbara just go right into, right into the song. 969 00:49:01.480 --> 00:49:02.360 Its boom boom. 970 00:49:02.440 --> 00:49:04.880 Oh yeah, but it and they're just singing away and 971 00:49:04.960 --> 00:49:06.920 Linda and I and we're looking at each other, and 972 00:49:06.960 --> 00:49:09.159 so Linda would join in and then should be looking 973 00:49:09.159 --> 00:49:11.599 at me like, well, come on, come on, I go. 974 00:49:12.880 --> 00:49:14.920 These guys are like they're they're like killing me. 975 00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:18.079 And you know, they're and they're singing, and they're they're 976 00:49:18.280 --> 00:49:21.239 dancing their shoulders and what we what we all affectionately 977 00:49:21.280 --> 00:49:25.519 called seat dancing, and they'd be seat dancing and and whatever. 978 00:49:25.960 --> 00:49:29.800 And this is when they're in their late eighties. We're 979 00:49:29.880 --> 00:49:33.719 still doing this and they're they're they're singing, and they're 980 00:49:33.800 --> 00:49:37.639 and they're enjoying Dairy Queen ice cream cones sitting in 981 00:49:37.679 --> 00:49:41.280 the car in the parking lot. This is this is like, 982 00:49:41.440 --> 00:49:44.039 you know, this would be like some story of somebody 983 00:49:44.079 --> 00:49:46.679 telling you know, yeah, George Bush, you know you used 984 00:49:46.679 --> 00:49:49.079 to like to hang out at the Taco bell or something, 985 00:49:49.119 --> 00:49:51.360 you know, and then and but this is a real thing, 986 00:49:51.480 --> 00:49:52.920 and this is how they were. 987 00:49:53.039 --> 00:49:55.159 It was just the simplest. 988 00:49:54.719 --> 00:49:58.639 Things and the the things that made them happy and 989 00:49:58.719 --> 00:50:03.559 that were were personal and they were easy. And that's 990 00:50:03.760 --> 00:50:07.360 just kind of the the friendship we had and that 991 00:50:07.360 --> 00:50:10.960 that evolved and it was simple and and we just 992 00:50:11.039 --> 00:50:13.719 knew that there wasn't any pretension to any of the 993 00:50:13.760 --> 00:50:15.239 stuff that we were doing together. 994 00:50:16.440 --> 00:50:19.519 A man who was on a list with pat Riley, 995 00:50:19.559 --> 00:50:22.519 Red Hourback and Larry Bird is just smashing dairy Queen 996 00:50:22.559 --> 00:50:22.960 ice cream? 997 00:50:23.199 --> 00:50:24.599 Was it vanilla? What was his order? 998 00:50:24.800 --> 00:50:25.000 Well? 999 00:50:25.039 --> 00:50:29.920 See, for example, you know, Frank would always get he 1000 00:50:30.039 --> 00:50:32.599 always get, well, spitty, what are you getting, I get 1001 00:50:32.639 --> 00:50:36.599 a medium vanilla con with the chocolate the chocolate dip. Yeah, 1002 00:50:36.599 --> 00:50:39.199 I get that. I'll get that. And Barbara always had 1003 00:50:39.239 --> 00:50:42.679 to has to have chocolate. Chocolate ice cream is her 1004 00:50:42.800 --> 00:50:46.320 favorite ice cream in the world. So we all knew 1005 00:50:46.480 --> 00:50:50.880 Barbara's getting a chocolate Linda's getting a vanilla chocolate twist. 1006 00:50:51.239 --> 00:50:53.800 Frank and Smithy are getting the chocolate dip okay whatever, 1007 00:50:54.400 --> 00:50:59.519 And uh that was that was our regular order going 1008 00:50:59.559 --> 00:51:01.079 through the Every Queen drive through. 1009 00:51:02.639 --> 00:51:02.800 Uh. 1010 00:51:02.920 --> 00:51:07.199 The other thing, Uh, Linda just texted me, Uh, so 1011 00:51:07.280 --> 00:51:09.559 I gott and and and this is a good reminder 1012 00:51:09.880 --> 00:51:13.800 you talk about Frank. Frank was such an avid reader. 1013 00:51:14.320 --> 00:51:18.599 And Scott mentioned this a little bit in his his 1014 00:51:18.840 --> 00:51:21.599 uh comments at the at the service the other day. 1015 00:51:21.960 --> 00:51:28.360 But Frank was always about gaining more knowledge, gaining information 1016 00:51:28.519 --> 00:51:32.960 about whatever. He was an avid reader, and he and Linda, 1017 00:51:33.639 --> 00:51:39.039 my wife, would would always bond over the Sunday New 1018 00:51:39.119 --> 00:51:42.599 York Times book section. So Frank would always get the 1019 00:51:42.639 --> 00:51:46.280 New York Times. He'd read the book section. And then whenever, 1020 00:51:46.559 --> 00:51:48.400 you know, Linda and I happened to come over the 1021 00:51:48.400 --> 00:51:51.760 next time to visit, and he was the first thing 1022 00:51:51.960 --> 00:51:54.239 would walk in the room, and then Barbara and Frank 1023 00:51:54.280 --> 00:51:56.159 would be sitting there and we'd. 1024 00:51:55.960 --> 00:51:58.599 Go, Hey, what's going on? Go Linda, Linda, right here? 1025 00:51:58.639 --> 00:52:00.639 I got the book report right here, and he'd hold 1026 00:52:00.679 --> 00:52:02.159 it up like that was the first thing, you know, 1027 00:52:02.239 --> 00:52:04.400 don't forget, don't forget. I got the book book, the 1028 00:52:04.400 --> 00:52:06.760 book section right here for you, and Linda would take 1029 00:52:06.760 --> 00:52:09.400 it and go over and sit next to Barbara and 1030 00:52:09.440 --> 00:52:11.280 should open up and be, oh, yeah, I already read 1031 00:52:11.280 --> 00:52:11.679 this book. 1032 00:52:11.719 --> 00:52:12.480 I read that book. 1033 00:52:12.519 --> 00:52:14.840 And then they'd be going back and forth about books 1034 00:52:14.840 --> 00:52:17.199 they read that were in common and whatnot. And and 1035 00:52:18.119 --> 00:52:22.159 he was he was always, even even up to his 1036 00:52:22.159 --> 00:52:23.760 his uh last. 1037 00:52:23.519 --> 00:52:25.400 Months, uh, he was. 1038 00:52:25.559 --> 00:52:30.760 He was a voracious reader and accumulator of information. He 1039 00:52:30.880 --> 00:52:33.480 wanted to know what was going on, What's happening in 1040 00:52:33.519 --> 00:52:36.840 the world, What's new? What should I be aware of? 1041 00:52:37.360 --> 00:52:39.599 I would walk in the room, Smitty, what's new? 1042 00:52:39.639 --> 00:52:40.960 Give me? Give me some updates? 1043 00:52:41.000 --> 00:52:43.639 Wow, this and that, this and that, whatever and and 1044 00:52:43.800 --> 00:52:47.840 uh that his mind. Even towards the end, Spence was 1045 00:52:47.880 --> 00:52:52.239 still was still in in uh and uh full speed, 1046 00:52:52.679 --> 00:52:57.239 and was was still curious about the world around him. 1047 00:52:57.440 --> 00:53:01.639 So upon his passing, Smitty Frank and Barbara married sixty 1048 00:53:01.639 --> 00:53:02.119 eight years. 1049 00:53:02.719 --> 00:53:04.719 Let me ask you about that relationship. 1050 00:53:05.880 --> 00:53:09.119 In preparation for the show today, I found a documentary 1051 00:53:09.679 --> 00:53:11.840 that was done on that eighty three, eighty fourteen. I 1052 00:53:11.840 --> 00:53:14.920 think our friends ATKSL put that together. And Frank that 1053 00:53:15.039 --> 00:53:17.400 year had the honor of coaching the All Star team, 1054 00:53:17.880 --> 00:53:19.639 and he was asked by a media member, is this 1055 00:53:19.679 --> 00:53:22.280 the highlight of your life? Is this the most fun 1056 00:53:22.599 --> 00:53:24.199 task that you've ever had? And he said, no, my 1057 00:53:24.239 --> 00:53:27.679 honeymoon was the highlight of my life. And you know, 1058 00:53:27.840 --> 00:53:31.800 there was a humor intertwined into the tapestry of the response, 1059 00:53:31.840 --> 00:53:34.280 but ultimately you could see the light in his eyes. 1060 00:53:34.519 --> 00:53:39.039 And sixty eight years it's a long time. Children, grandchildren. 1061 00:53:39.400 --> 00:53:41.559 Tell me about your experience with Frank and Barber. 1062 00:53:41.400 --> 00:53:44.800 Well, that's going to choke me up a little bit, 1063 00:53:44.840 --> 00:53:50.159 because Frank was such a public figure and wherever we went, 1064 00:53:50.719 --> 00:53:53.960 and somebody mentioned this the other day, Hey, whenever you're 1065 00:53:53.960 --> 00:53:57.400 out to dinner with Frank, and Frank says, hey, I 1066 00:53:57.400 --> 00:53:59.800 got to use the restroom, you know it's going to 1067 00:53:59.800 --> 00:54:03.719 be least a twenty minute process because it takes him 1068 00:54:03.760 --> 00:54:07.840 ten minutes to get to the restroom, because he stops 1069 00:54:07.840 --> 00:54:10.599 at every table along the way with someone going. 1070 00:54:10.400 --> 00:54:12.280 Hey, coach, how you doing, Hey, what do you guys doing? 1071 00:54:12.280 --> 00:54:14.000 What is that you got the lobster tonight? What is 1072 00:54:14.039 --> 00:54:14.840 that you know? Whatever? 1073 00:54:15.239 --> 00:54:18.519 And the same thing coming back. And Barbara was used 1074 00:54:18.559 --> 00:54:22.400 to that when they would be together, walking together, and 1075 00:54:22.480 --> 00:54:26.360 yet Frank Whenever someone might come up and say, oh, coach, 1076 00:54:26.400 --> 00:54:28.280 how you doing. Hey, can I introduce you to my 1077 00:54:29.079 --> 00:54:31.280 to my cousin, he really wants to say hello, yeah, 1078 00:54:31.320 --> 00:54:33.960 of course, you know, whatever, you'd introduce him, and Frank 1079 00:54:34.000 --> 00:54:37.760 would always immediately turn and say, and let me introduce 1080 00:54:37.760 --> 00:54:41.880 you to my wife, Barbara. He would always include Barbara 1081 00:54:42.280 --> 00:54:46.840 in anything that was going on, however small it was, 1082 00:54:47.760 --> 00:54:51.079 or whatever fancy affair he was getting an award at 1083 00:54:51.239 --> 00:54:57.280 or something. He would always mention Barbara as the backbone 1084 00:54:57.400 --> 00:55:00.159 of what he was doing and that she was so 1085 00:55:00.239 --> 00:55:03.800 important to him and his life. And and I'll tell 1086 00:55:03.800 --> 00:55:08.480 you Spence, Uh, even in in in the last few months, 1087 00:55:08.519 --> 00:55:11.800 and and he was he was fighting, you know, in 1088 00:55:11.880 --> 00:55:15.639 the in the hospital, and you know, every time I 1089 00:55:15.639 --> 00:55:17.880 would go there, you know, one of the first. 1090 00:55:17.599 --> 00:55:20.719 Things he would say to me was, you know, uh, 1091 00:55:20.960 --> 00:55:23.519 where's Barbara? Is Barbara coming up today? You know? 1092 00:55:23.880 --> 00:55:28.199 And she would come up, uh, virtually every day, uh 1093 00:55:27.920 --> 00:55:30.960 to visit with him. And she was still living at 1094 00:55:31.000 --> 00:55:34.079 home and and had some some people helping her out there. 1095 00:55:34.280 --> 00:55:38.000 And and but he was always wondering where Barbara was 1096 00:55:38.360 --> 00:55:40.320 or if Barbara was was doing okay. 1097 00:55:41.000 --> 00:55:44.239 And this, you know, this was the life they had. 1098 00:55:44.320 --> 00:55:49.639 They he was always always looking out for her and 1099 00:55:49.840 --> 00:55:53.280 understanding that not only was she just as much a 1100 00:55:53.320 --> 00:55:56.920 part of who he was as a public figure, but 1101 00:55:57.119 --> 00:56:01.199 also that that she should not be left, you know, 1102 00:56:01.400 --> 00:56:05.840 in the background in that regard that she had had 1103 00:56:05.880 --> 00:56:09.719 earned and deserved to be recognized just like he was 1104 00:56:09.760 --> 00:56:13.360 in any kind of of public setting. And Barbara was 1105 00:56:13.440 --> 00:56:18.519 so great at it and was so so accommodating to 1106 00:56:18.679 --> 00:56:23.199 Frank and understood what was going on and and just 1107 00:56:23.239 --> 00:56:27.199 had such a cheerful disposition. The both of them just together, 1108 00:56:27.960 --> 00:56:31.119 they just lit up the room, no matter what the 1109 00:56:31.199 --> 00:56:36.280 circumstance was, and it was such a heart rendering feeling 1110 00:56:36.920 --> 00:56:42.119 and such a it's just a heartwarming experience to see 1111 00:56:42.159 --> 00:56:46.000 them together and to try and learn for yourself that 1112 00:56:46.119 --> 00:56:48.920 this is how I need to be, This is how 1113 00:56:49.000 --> 00:56:52.800 I should be living my life with the people that 1114 00:56:52.840 --> 00:56:55.559 are important to me. Is the way that they are 1115 00:56:56.480 --> 00:57:00.159 every single day, And it's, you know, that was one 1116 00:57:00.199 --> 00:57:04.800 of the powerful parts of his personality that he had. 1117 00:57:04.840 --> 00:57:06.199 Also three children. 1118 00:57:06.239 --> 00:57:08.960 Of course, most people know Scott because he's had his 1119 00:57:09.000 --> 00:57:12.280 own very successful career in basketball. Mike and Kate and 1120 00:57:12.320 --> 00:57:17.039 I believe eleven grandchildren, ten girls, one boy, yes, right, right, 1121 00:57:17.119 --> 00:57:19.519 So so give us some insight on Frank lad and 1122 00:57:19.559 --> 00:57:20.559 the father and the grandfather. 1123 00:57:20.679 --> 00:57:21.840 Well, he's a very. 1124 00:57:21.719 --> 00:57:24.880 Doting grandfather, you know, one of you know, he loves 1125 00:57:24.920 --> 00:57:28.960 all the obviously the grandchildren. He's always you know, the 1126 00:57:29.000 --> 00:57:34.639 Scott's Scott's family with four daughters, are all really into 1127 00:57:34.719 --> 00:57:42.199 reading and education, and they're always exchanging with Frank, conversations, 1128 00:57:42.239 --> 00:57:47.960 phone calls, notes about books, about sending swapping books with 1129 00:57:48.039 --> 00:57:54.440 each other because he was such a voracious reader. Katie's 1130 00:57:54.519 --> 00:58:00.320 daughters we're all avidly involved in athletics growing up. 1131 00:58:00.679 --> 00:58:00.760 Uh. 1132 00:58:00.840 --> 00:58:06.480 Their youngest granddaughter, Riley is is a softball player up 1133 00:58:06.519 --> 00:58:09.320 in the state of Washington and at the collegiate level, 1134 00:58:09.400 --> 00:58:13.079 and and Frank was always going to her games as 1135 00:58:13.119 --> 00:58:15.639 much as he could hear locally, and then always asking 1136 00:58:15.679 --> 00:58:18.079 about how she's doing up there, Does she have a 1137 00:58:18.159 --> 00:58:21.039 game this weekend, what's going on, how she how she 1138 00:58:21.119 --> 00:58:23.559 hitting the ball, how she swinging all all that kind 1139 00:58:23.599 --> 00:58:23.960 of stuff. 1140 00:58:24.079 --> 00:58:27.679 Is just you know, just just very. 1141 00:58:27.440 --> 00:58:32.400 Involved in the whole process of the grand children and 1142 00:58:32.400 --> 00:58:35.360 how they were doing in their respective areas. And again, 1143 00:58:35.679 --> 00:58:38.400 they all have different like all of us, different interests 1144 00:58:38.400 --> 00:58:41.400 and and and different different things that they are involved in. 1145 00:58:41.599 --> 00:58:46.039 But he always made sure that he was actively involved 1146 00:58:46.039 --> 00:58:49.800 in what they were doing and showing interest. Uh, and 1147 00:58:49.800 --> 00:58:52.599 and what they were involved in and uh. You know 1148 00:58:52.760 --> 00:58:56.039 again that's just who he was. It wasn't a fake thing. 1149 00:58:56.159 --> 00:58:59.199 It wasn't something, oh, I have this obligation as a grandfather. 1150 00:58:59.280 --> 00:59:01.360 I was supposed to do this and make a phone 1151 00:59:01.360 --> 00:59:03.960 call about this or whatever. You know, he did it 1152 00:59:04.000 --> 00:59:09.320 out of love and out of true heartfelt feeling for 1153 00:59:09.400 --> 00:59:12.239 the for the family that he had around him. And 1154 00:59:13.400 --> 00:59:15.599 you know, it's just one of one of his great 1155 00:59:15.679 --> 00:59:16.960 personality traits. 1156 00:59:17.280 --> 00:59:20.280 Not to go James Earl Jones Field of Dreams on you, 1157 00:59:20.320 --> 00:59:25.760 but you reference Frank's granddaughter playing softball and Frank love baseball, 1158 00:59:26.199 --> 00:59:28.719 right was some of my favorite stories that Frank would share. 1159 00:59:29.360 --> 00:59:32.960 And you know, as because I've one of the first 1160 00:59:32.960 --> 00:59:34.800 things I thought of when I first got this job 1161 00:59:34.880 --> 00:59:36.880 is like, I'm bringing Frank on to do all the 1162 00:59:36.880 --> 00:59:39.400 Frank things and tell all the Frank stories because it's 1163 00:59:39.400 --> 00:59:43.760 great radio. And oftentimes I wouldn't even ask a question, 1164 00:59:43.880 --> 00:59:48.199 but sometimes his soliloquies would kind of transition over into 1165 00:59:48.199 --> 00:59:50.679 his stories of going to Ebbittsfield growing up watching the 1166 00:59:50.719 --> 00:59:54.039 Brooklyn Dodgers when he was a child back in Brooklyn. 1167 00:59:55.000 --> 00:59:58.079 I believe he played right. Tell me about his love 1168 00:59:58.159 --> 01:00:00.840 of baseball a little bit. As you're handing me a 1169 01:00:00.880 --> 01:00:04.079 picture of a baseball signed by the great Jackie Robinson. 1170 01:00:05.039 --> 01:00:07.800 A life is not important except in the fact it 1171 01:00:08.159 --> 01:00:10.920 excuse me, A life is not important except in the 1172 01:00:10.960 --> 01:00:13.039 impact it has on other lives. 1173 01:00:13.440 --> 01:00:15.559 That's and Frank oftentimes has used that line. 1174 01:00:15.599 --> 01:00:18.440 That's that was his favorite Jackie Robinson quote. 1175 01:00:19.000 --> 01:00:22.840 That's what he always used to use somewhere in any 1176 01:00:22.880 --> 01:00:27.239 major speech he gave, in any kind of awards ceremony, 1177 01:00:27.360 --> 01:00:30.719 or somebody asked him to come speak at some gathering, 1178 01:00:30.800 --> 01:00:34.960 whatever it might be, he would always somewhere in his 1179 01:00:35.159 --> 01:00:40.400 talk mentioned that quote from Jackie Robinson, and uh and 1180 01:00:40.400 --> 01:00:43.000 and say, that's what we we all have to be about. 1181 01:00:43.039 --> 01:00:46.480 We all have to be about, you know, figuring out 1182 01:00:46.599 --> 01:00:50.920 how we can impact other people's lives. What was what 1183 01:00:50.960 --> 01:00:54.679 is going to be important for someone else? And that 1184 01:00:54.760 --> 01:00:57.880 baseball picture I just showed you is a baseball that 1185 01:00:57.960 --> 01:01:03.039 we got from the last Major League game that we 1186 01:01:03.079 --> 01:01:06.719 were at, and we put that inscription on it from 1187 01:01:06.800 --> 01:01:10.960 Jackie Robinson and Scott placed it on the on the 1188 01:01:11.039 --> 01:01:14.159 on the casket at the burial site for Frank in 1189 01:01:14.199 --> 01:01:17.559 honor of his love of baseball and his admiration for 1190 01:01:17.639 --> 01:01:21.760 Jackie Robinson and and what he meant to American culture, 1191 01:01:21.840 --> 01:01:25.119 but also to human relations and what Frank tried to 1192 01:01:25.159 --> 01:01:28.880 live by himself every day was the aspect of how 1193 01:01:29.000 --> 01:01:34.679 can I positively impact someone else's life and whatever that's 1194 01:01:34.760 --> 01:01:38.119 gonna be today, That's what I'm going to try to do. 1195 01:01:38.639 --> 01:01:41.440 And I just gotta tell you this quick story, Spence. 1196 01:01:42.519 --> 01:01:45.480 Frank was in the hospital. This is three weeks ago. 1197 01:01:46.039 --> 01:01:49.000 We're going down to la to see a Dodger game, 1198 01:01:49.159 --> 01:01:53.119 Dodger Weekend series, and Frank knew about it, and he 1199 01:01:53.360 --> 01:01:56.840 had good friends down with the Dodgers, and he was 1200 01:01:56.880 --> 01:01:59.239 trying to tell me that, you know, he wanted me 1201 01:01:59.320 --> 01:02:02.360 to get something from the Dodgers for one of the 1202 01:02:03.199 --> 01:02:07.440 caretakers that was helping him, Omar and Lauren. They're great 1203 01:02:07.800 --> 01:02:11.480 caregivers for the Leaden family. And he's telling me Omar 1204 01:02:11.599 --> 01:02:14.119 is a big Dodger fan. Can you bring something back 1205 01:02:14.639 --> 01:02:15.920 from the Dodgers for him? 1206 01:02:16.199 --> 01:02:18.400 So I do that. I bring it back. It's in 1207 01:02:18.400 --> 01:02:19.880 his hospital room. I go in. 1208 01:02:20.440 --> 01:02:23.159 They're there visiting with him. They said, hey, hey, would 1209 01:02:23.199 --> 01:02:25.199 you get the Dodger stuff for Frank. We go, no, 1210 01:02:25.320 --> 01:02:29.440 listen for Frank, this is for you, and Omar says 1211 01:02:29.639 --> 01:02:31.639 for me. I said, no, no, here, and I give 1212 01:02:31.679 --> 01:02:33.400 him this stuff, a bunch of things, and he goes, 1213 01:02:33.719 --> 01:02:36.000 this is unbelievable. He goes, oh, my dad, it's going 1214 01:02:36.079 --> 01:02:37.679 to be Oh this is great. I said, no, this 1215 01:02:37.760 --> 01:02:41.320 is Frank. I said, I'm just the courier. Frank instructed 1216 01:02:41.360 --> 01:02:43.920 me when I'm in La last the other day to 1217 01:02:44.039 --> 01:02:46.760 go get this stuff for you and bring it back 1218 01:02:46.800 --> 01:02:49.679 for you because he knew it was important to you. 1219 01:02:50.320 --> 01:02:52.960 And it brought tears to our eyes and everything. And 1220 01:02:52.960 --> 01:02:55.960 Frank's laying in his bed and giving a thumbs up 1221 01:02:56.280 --> 01:02:59.679 because he couldn't quite talk, you know, clearly enough at 1222 01:02:59.679 --> 01:03:03.280 that time. But even there, even in that moment of 1223 01:03:03.280 --> 01:03:06.440 his life, he's thinking about what can I do for 1224 01:03:06.559 --> 01:03:09.400 somebody else that will brighten their day and make their 1225 01:03:09.519 --> 01:03:13.119 day better? And you know, that's just such a great 1226 01:03:13.199 --> 01:03:16.679 example for me and for everyone to be able. 1227 01:03:16.480 --> 01:03:17.239 To look at. 1228 01:03:17.440 --> 01:03:19.320 Let me clean up the quote quote A life is 1229 01:03:19.400 --> 01:03:22.079 not important to accept in the impact it has on 1230 01:03:22.239 --> 01:03:24.960 other lives attributed to the great Jackie Robinson. 1231 01:03:25.400 --> 01:03:27.280 We'll catch a break. Scott Layden is going to join 1232 01:03:27.320 --> 01:03:28.000 us coming up next. 1233 01:03:28.000 --> 01:03:29.519 I want to tell you about my friends at Utah 1234 01:03:29.519 --> 01:03:32.760 Elite Services Right now, with summer here, it's the perfect 1235 01:03:32.760 --> 01:03:35.280 time to be introducing our newest partner of the ESPN 1236 01:03:35.320 --> 01:03:38.119 Sports Network, Utah Eleite Service, as a Utah ground asphalt 1237 01:03:38.199 --> 01:03:41.840 maintenance and concrete repair company. We've seen rain, snow, and wind, 1238 01:03:41.840 --> 01:03:43.840 and now we have the heat. Your concrete has been 1239 01:03:43.880 --> 01:03:46.039 through a lot. If you see any cracks or extreme 1240 01:03:46.119 --> 01:03:47.880 damage that need to be fixed, give Utah. 1241 01:03:47.760 --> 01:03:48.719 Lead Services a call. 1242 01:03:48.840 --> 01:03:52.079 Corey's team can take care of crack seiling, coating, stripping, 1243 01:03:52.159 --> 01:03:55.800 asphalt overlays, complete tearouts and replacement of your concrete. Don't 1244 01:03:55.840 --> 01:03:57.960 let the concrete outside of your home, condo, or even 1245 01:03:58.039 --> 01:03:59.360 business be a sore thumb. 1246 01:03:59.440 --> 01:04:01.320 Get it fixed with you Tai Lead Services. 1247 01:04:01.719 --> 01:04:03.440 Give you Tah Lead Service as a call for a 1248 01:04:03.480 --> 01:04:06.639 no cost, no obligation estimate at eight one eight two 1249 01:04:06.760 --> 01:04:09.360 one eight six seven zero. That's eight oh one eight 1250 01:04:09.360 --> 01:04:12.440 two one eight six seven zero. Hi, welcome back in. 1251 01:04:12.559 --> 01:04:15.320 We have thrown out of the rundown today to honor 1252 01:04:15.360 --> 01:04:17.599 the life and legacy of the great Frank Layton, who 1253 01:04:17.599 --> 01:04:19.840 he lost last week at the age of ninety three. 1254 01:04:20.719 --> 01:04:22.960 Joined by Phil Johnson to start the show, I'm gonna 1255 01:04:22.960 --> 01:04:25.920 bring in Dave Checkets. My father Ron McBride will join 1256 01:04:26.000 --> 01:04:28.280 us in the five o'clock hour live in Hawaii. Richard 1257 01:04:28.280 --> 01:04:30.840 Smith is live in studio, and we go live to 1258 01:04:31.000 --> 01:04:34.360 Las Vegas, where Frank's son, Scott Laydon good enough to 1259 01:04:34.599 --> 01:04:36.920 give us some time on a Monday afternoon. 1260 01:04:36.920 --> 01:04:38.039 Scotty, Happy Monday, sir. 1261 01:04:38.079 --> 01:04:38.480 How are you? 1262 01:04:39.880 --> 01:04:44.760 I'm well, thank you? What a lineup? It's an honor, No, 1263 01:04:44.880 --> 01:04:46.519 it is, well, thank. 1264 01:04:46.360 --> 01:04:48.559 You, It's awesome to have you, Scott, and I just 1265 01:04:48.599 --> 01:04:50.679 I'm going to start with a simple question. What was 1266 01:04:50.719 --> 01:04:51.920 it like being Frank's son? 1267 01:04:53.719 --> 01:05:00.199 Well, as you could imagine, it was amazing because so 1268 01:05:00.280 --> 01:05:05.760 many lessons. Uh. He both he and my mom were 1269 01:05:05.800 --> 01:05:10.119 incredible parents. And you know, I'm we were all blessed 1270 01:05:10.440 --> 01:05:15.719 uh with them, and and and also he shared himself 1271 01:05:15.880 --> 01:05:19.480 to so many people, and especially in the Utah community. 1272 01:05:20.960 --> 01:05:26.519 But he he uh, from from early on, Uh, it 1273 01:05:26.719 --> 01:05:29.159 was just a lot of fun being a gym rat 1274 01:05:29.960 --> 01:05:33.159 in his in his world. So and he had he 1275 01:05:33.239 --> 01:05:35.559 had a lot of great friends, A lot of a 1276 01:05:35.559 --> 01:05:38.960 lot of his friends were characters, and so that that 1277 01:05:39.119 --> 01:05:42.159 was one thing I always enjoyed is the opportunity to 1278 01:05:42.159 --> 01:05:45.920 be around him. And and uh you know, he was competitive, 1279 01:05:46.000 --> 01:05:50.800 he was smart, he was a teacher, very very honest 1280 01:05:50.840 --> 01:05:53.639 and kind and and and always did the right thing. 1281 01:05:53.880 --> 01:05:58.719 So uh many lessons to be learned uh from him. 1282 01:05:58.760 --> 01:06:02.079 And and again I I just think our family is 1283 01:06:02.119 --> 01:06:07.639 blessed to have our parents and how they uh they 1284 01:06:07.679 --> 01:06:08.760 were around us. 1285 01:06:09.719 --> 01:06:13.079 You know, Uh Spence, this is uh, you got Scott 1286 01:06:13.159 --> 01:06:14.400 Laydon on on the air. 1287 01:06:14.519 --> 01:06:15.519 You got them on live. 1288 01:06:16.119 --> 01:06:19.400 So this is this is kind of like the Dallas 1289 01:06:19.440 --> 01:06:26.280 Mavericks in the recent draft lottery chance of getting the 1290 01:06:26.320 --> 01:06:29.599 top pick and and the balls fall your way and 1291 01:06:29.639 --> 01:06:31.239 you have Scott Layden on the air. 1292 01:06:31.360 --> 01:06:34.679 This is like this is like over the lottery odds. 1293 01:06:34.960 --> 01:06:37.039 This is this is amazing, Scott. 1294 01:06:37.519 --> 01:06:41.880 How before before you ask the question this is gonna 1295 01:06:41.880 --> 01:06:44.519 devolve is your is. 1296 01:06:44.440 --> 01:06:46.480 Your role today to break my chops? 1297 01:06:47.960 --> 01:06:52.239 This is well apparently apparently that's the that's the position 1298 01:06:52.360 --> 01:06:56.039 I find myself in. So we got we got way. Hey, 1299 01:06:56.480 --> 01:06:58.719 I know I know better than anybody. This is a 1300 01:06:58.800 --> 01:07:02.039 one shot deal. So we we got to get them 1301 01:07:02.039 --> 01:07:04.800 all in on the one on the one shot. 1302 01:07:04.639 --> 01:07:05.159 That we have. 1303 01:07:06.079 --> 01:07:10.119 Hey, hardly, you know what, hardly hardly And you know what, 1304 01:07:10.440 --> 01:07:14.000 uh Spence had had sent me a beautiful note last 1305 01:07:14.000 --> 01:07:16.320 week and and uh, I said, of course. 1306 01:07:16.840 --> 01:07:20.199 And then as if I wasn't gonna go on after 1307 01:07:20.239 --> 01:07:23.440 his dad strong armed me to come on. So there 1308 01:07:23.440 --> 01:07:23.679 you go. 1309 01:07:24.280 --> 01:07:26.519 I tell you gotta say I'm doing it with Smitty, 1310 01:07:26.519 --> 01:07:32.119 I go, well, and I don't have time for that. Hey, 1311 01:07:32.159 --> 01:07:35.000 well tell us tell us a little bit before you 1312 01:07:35.000 --> 01:07:37.440 get into it with your dad. Just what's happening in Vegas? 1313 01:07:37.480 --> 01:07:40.639 Give us the give us the vibe at the Summer League. 1314 01:07:41.360 --> 01:07:45.159 You know, I just got here. I just uh here 1315 01:07:45.639 --> 01:07:49.159 for a couple of meetings and visit some friends. And 1316 01:07:49.199 --> 01:07:52.159 then uh, as you know, I told you Smitty, I'm 1317 01:07:52.199 --> 01:07:55.559 gonna keep heading west so I can we can visit 1318 01:07:55.599 --> 01:07:59.239 some of some more friends. So the the you know, 1319 01:07:59.440 --> 01:08:03.760 because of uh uh the events this past weekend, I've 1320 01:08:03.840 --> 01:08:08.239 had a lot of melancholy thoughts and and but it's 1321 01:08:08.639 --> 01:08:11.280 it's it's certainly rich to see a lot of people here. 1322 01:08:11.360 --> 01:08:14.559 And I can't tell you the outpouring of you know, 1323 01:08:14.599 --> 01:08:19.359 the NBA community, but also uh and and your your 1324 01:08:19.399 --> 01:08:22.159 phone was going crazy too, Smitty because you're such a 1325 01:08:22.199 --> 01:08:26.680 dear friend of mine, my parents. But it was like, 1326 01:08:27.359 --> 01:08:30.039 you know, the jazz community, they were amazing, you know 1327 01:08:30.279 --> 01:08:33.279 with the with the shirts and the signage and the 1328 01:08:33.399 --> 01:08:37.159 you know, the the Utah outpouring was was fantastic. So 1329 01:08:38.159 --> 01:08:42.800 this is an opportunity to visit and and uh uh 1330 01:08:43.119 --> 01:08:45.680 be around some some great folks from the n b A. 1331 01:08:46.159 --> 01:08:50.600 Yeah, how about the Saturday service which is amazing. Uh 1332 01:08:50.720 --> 01:08:53.920 you did such an amazing job there uh at that 1333 01:08:54.159 --> 01:08:58.680 and uh and yet the people who who showed up 1334 01:08:59.520 --> 01:09:03.239 with such a short, short turnaround, so to speak, who 1335 01:09:03.279 --> 01:09:05.439 came from out of town to support you and your 1336 01:09:05.479 --> 01:09:10.520 family at the services, it was just an uh an 1337 01:09:10.560 --> 01:09:14.279 amazing tribute to your dad and what what he meant 1338 01:09:14.319 --> 01:09:14.960 to all of them. 1339 01:09:16.079 --> 01:09:19.000 Yeah. No, I I think I think that we you know, 1340 01:09:19.079 --> 01:09:22.760 we purposely had a quick turnaround and the and the 1341 01:09:23.000 --> 01:09:29.000 uh uh the Cathedral of Madeline was so accommodating. I 1342 01:09:29.000 --> 01:09:32.000 thought they did amazing job with the mass and the 1343 01:09:32.079 --> 01:09:35.199 music and everything. I know my mom really enjoyed that. 1344 01:09:35.399 --> 01:09:37.920 But all the all the people that came out, and 1345 01:09:37.960 --> 01:09:41.439 I know, the Jazz made an incredible effort to have 1346 01:09:41.600 --> 01:09:45.359 their all their people there, whether it was Ryan Smith 1347 01:09:45.520 --> 01:09:49.439 or or or Danny and Austin and Jay Z and 1348 01:09:49.920 --> 01:09:52.159 you know, I'm obviously I'm very good friends with with 1349 01:09:52.640 --> 01:09:58.239 coach Hardy, So it's it's a it was certainly amazing. 1350 01:09:58.319 --> 01:10:02.199 And then other NBA folks came by that were I 1351 01:10:02.960 --> 01:10:07.319 didn't anticipate any of that. And and there was a 1352 01:10:08.039 --> 01:10:12.520 strong Spurs alumni because of of my time there, so 1353 01:10:13.199 --> 01:10:16.800 you know R c And and Dave Tellip and Dennis 1354 01:10:16.880 --> 01:10:23.079 Lindsay of of Spurs and and jazz fame. Of course, Uh, 1355 01:10:23.159 --> 01:10:26.720 Sam Presty made an incredible effort. He probably won the 1356 01:10:26.760 --> 01:10:31.840 award furthest Away right, but you know, it just I 1357 01:10:32.119 --> 01:10:36.079 don't know, they all these folks really appreciated my dad, 1358 01:10:36.119 --> 01:10:38.600 and I think it's it makes you know, it makes 1359 01:10:38.600 --> 01:10:41.800 the family feel special, It makes my mom feel special. 1360 01:10:41.880 --> 01:10:45.800 So that that part of it was was was uh, 1361 01:10:46.319 --> 01:10:49.840 you know, an amazing that you you don't anticipate that. Uh. 1362 01:10:49.920 --> 01:10:54.880 And then of course, uh we had the who's who 1363 01:10:55.680 --> 01:11:03.680 of Paul Bears, John Stock to call him alone, Richard Smith, 1364 01:11:05.439 --> 01:11:11.159 Rich Kelly uh and Thorough Bailey. That was the starting 1365 01:11:11.199 --> 01:11:14.279 lineup and then off the bend was Dave check Its 1366 01:11:14.760 --> 01:11:19.319 and you know it was really uh that to see 1367 01:11:19.319 --> 01:11:21.039 those guys in the front all of you guys in 1368 01:11:21.079 --> 01:11:24.640 the front row was I don't know, it just it 1369 01:11:24.680 --> 01:11:27.520 was it was surreal and uh and you know how 1370 01:11:27.560 --> 01:11:32.720 my dad felt about all those guys. And you know, 1371 01:11:33.199 --> 01:11:39.000 obviously Mark was missed in it. But when you put 1372 01:11:39.039 --> 01:11:42.840 all those guys together, Uh, the I think the the 1373 01:11:42.920 --> 01:11:49.119 common thread is that they all had tremendous character and 1374 01:11:49.119 --> 01:11:53.000 and I think that's why my dad enjoyed being around 1375 01:11:53.039 --> 01:11:56.479 those guys and coaching those guys because of their their 1376 01:11:56.520 --> 01:12:02.000 commitment uh to uh playing harrd and playing the right way. 1377 01:12:02.520 --> 01:12:06.359 You know, my dad had he only had a couple 1378 01:12:06.399 --> 01:12:09.239 of rules and and and and he would you know, 1379 01:12:09.279 --> 01:12:11.880 at the start of the season he would say, look, 1380 01:12:12.119 --> 01:12:16.439 it's this is very simple. I have two rules beyond 1381 01:12:16.479 --> 01:12:21.039 time and play hard. And you know it sounds you know, 1382 01:12:21.319 --> 01:12:25.039 with with where we are today with analytics and you know, 1383 01:12:25.640 --> 01:12:28.800 everything we have going on in the game. But his 1384 01:12:28.960 --> 01:12:34.119 teams were you know, they presented and then they played hard. 1385 01:12:34.199 --> 01:12:38.600 So it and then it carried you know onto obviously 1386 01:12:39.119 --> 01:12:44.560 coach Sloan, which was uh, you know, play hard, play smart, 1387 01:12:44.640 --> 01:12:48.880 and stay together. So very simple. The simplicity of it 1388 01:12:48.920 --> 01:12:53.159 was was was incredible. But we had guys of uh 1389 01:12:53.720 --> 01:12:58.199 uh tremendous character and then we had tough guys. I 1390 01:12:58.600 --> 01:13:00.720 go down the roster and I wanted, I want you 1391 01:13:00.800 --> 01:13:03.039 to tell me and I'm gonna miss some guys smittye, 1392 01:13:03.079 --> 01:13:10.439 but in Larry Miller, Okay, Dave check Its, Frank Laden, 1393 01:13:11.199 --> 01:13:18.560 Jerry Sloan, Phil Johnson, John Stockton, call him alone, thorough Bailey, 1394 01:13:19.199 --> 01:13:21.760 Mark Eaton, and I can keep going. But if you 1395 01:13:21.920 --> 01:13:24.840 just take that crew right there, there was a they 1396 01:13:24.880 --> 01:13:28.119 had a they had a mental toughness about them that 1397 01:13:28.279 --> 01:13:31.840 was it was amazing. And I you know, obviously I'm 1398 01:13:32.119 --> 01:13:35.000 showing up at work every day. I'm looking around, I'm thinking, wow, 1399 01:13:35.600 --> 01:13:38.640 this is this is impressive. And they and they always 1400 01:13:38.680 --> 01:13:44.520 exceeded expectations. They always exceeded uh and got better all 1401 01:13:44.560 --> 01:13:46.960 the time because of the work ethic and the and 1402 01:13:47.039 --> 01:13:50.640 the and the and the mental uh part of it, 1403 01:13:50.800 --> 01:13:52.760 and and all those guys and can go right down 1404 01:13:52.760 --> 01:13:56.880 the list. You know, your dad's fence is is tough minded. 1405 01:13:56.920 --> 01:14:00.760 The guys I know Larry Miller would look, you know, 1406 01:14:01.279 --> 01:14:03.479 we don't. We don't need to go any further than 1407 01:14:03.920 --> 01:14:06.399 you know, third West to see that, you know, his 1408 01:14:06.399 --> 01:14:10.199 his accomplishments. So yeah, it was, it was. It was 1409 01:14:10.560 --> 01:14:13.319 fun to be part of that. And I think in 1410 01:14:13.199 --> 01:14:16.960 these moments you have so many you know, thoughts racing 1411 01:14:17.000 --> 01:14:19.960 through your mind and so I'm I feel blessed for that. 1412 01:14:20.720 --> 01:14:24.479 Well, you know, the the emotional part I had scot 1413 01:14:24.640 --> 01:14:27.920 of many at the at the service on Saturday was 1414 01:14:28.439 --> 01:14:31.960 standing in the in the line with the pall bearers 1415 01:14:32.000 --> 01:14:33.760 getting ready for the beginning. 1416 01:14:33.319 --> 01:14:36.439 Of the of the mass. And uh and there right 1417 01:14:36.479 --> 01:14:39.439 at the front of the line. 1418 01:14:39.920 --> 01:14:45.119 Uh is uh John Stockton and karme Alone, who both 1419 01:14:45.199 --> 01:14:49.600 live out of town and are both notified on I 1420 01:14:49.680 --> 01:14:54.520 assume sometime during the day Thursday, maybe late Thursday, that 1421 01:14:54.520 --> 01:14:59.680 that we're gonna have the service on Saturday morning. And uh, 1422 01:14:59.720 --> 01:15:02.239 and then they are at the front of the line 1423 01:15:02.439 --> 01:15:08.399 and you know, just showing showing what your dad meant 1424 01:15:08.560 --> 01:15:13.079 to them. Uh, not not just as players and employees 1425 01:15:13.239 --> 01:15:15.760 and the team and all that, but just as as 1426 01:15:15.880 --> 01:15:20.000 people and what influence he had on their lives in 1427 01:15:20.039 --> 01:15:23.640 that regard that that they made whatever the arrangements were 1428 01:15:23.720 --> 01:15:26.760 they had to make. H to be there to honor 1429 01:15:26.800 --> 01:15:28.840 your dad in that in that regard. 1430 01:15:29.760 --> 01:15:33.399 Yeah, they you know, I think they they love playing 1431 01:15:33.399 --> 01:15:37.359 for my dad. He loved coaching them, and it's uh 1432 01:15:38.399 --> 01:15:41.079 uh their their effort to come, you know, it just 1433 01:15:41.479 --> 01:15:43.840 it really tickled my mom that that they were able 1434 01:15:43.880 --> 01:15:48.279 to uh be there, and and you know as as 1435 01:15:48.319 --> 01:15:51.479 both John and Carl and you know, Carl especially said 1436 01:15:51.680 --> 01:15:55.560 im misses for the world. So those things are all 1437 01:15:55.800 --> 01:15:58.760 like I think you you remember that forever, you know, 1438 01:15:58.880 --> 01:16:03.640 and I think you know, going back to how my 1439 01:16:03.760 --> 01:16:09.439 dad felt about all those guys, he he always appreciated, uh, 1440 01:16:09.479 --> 01:16:12.760 trying to get players of character. I mean, I can't 1441 01:16:12.800 --> 01:16:16.720 tell you how often he would talk about Cyril Bailey 1442 01:16:16.840 --> 01:16:21.600 and just you know, his character as a person and 1443 01:16:21.640 --> 01:16:25.640 how unflappable he was and how you know he just 1444 01:16:26.119 --> 01:16:29.680 he he was such a team guy. So those those 1445 01:16:29.720 --> 01:16:33.359 guys are just I mean, they're they're there. They were blessing, 1446 01:16:34.000 --> 01:16:36.680 uh when when my dad was coaching, but they're you know, 1447 01:16:36.720 --> 01:16:40.319 they're blessing and a treasure to to U time. 1448 01:16:40.439 --> 01:16:44.000 Now, Hey, Scott, let's let's uh let's settle the uh 1449 01:16:44.159 --> 01:16:48.199 the urban myth that that's been going on for years. Uh, here, 1450 01:16:49.039 --> 01:16:53.800 explain to our listeners, h exactly how it came to 1451 01:16:53.880 --> 01:16:58.600 be that Scott Laden was hired to be an assistant 1452 01:16:58.600 --> 01:17:00.000 coach for the Utah Jazz. 1453 01:17:00.039 --> 01:17:04.560 Yeah. I don't. I don't know if it's a myth, 1454 01:17:04.680 --> 01:17:10.600 but you know, I have I have always been I've 1455 01:17:10.600 --> 01:17:19.319 always been a U a supporter, and I appreciate nepotism, 1456 01:17:20.239 --> 01:17:25.319 so I think, I mean otherwise where you know, how 1457 01:17:25.319 --> 01:17:29.319 am I getting getting a job here? But the thing 1458 01:17:29.560 --> 01:17:32.960 and reflecting a lot, now, the thing that was so 1459 01:17:33.239 --> 01:17:38.239 incredible was working together with my dad in a competitive 1460 01:17:38.359 --> 01:17:42.640 environment and you know that the staff was very small, 1461 01:17:43.399 --> 01:17:46.359 and you know the other guys obviously, whether it was 1462 01:17:48.159 --> 01:17:52.880 UH coach Johnson or and then coach Sloan, it was. 1463 01:17:54.119 --> 01:17:58.199 It was an incredible lie time of of being in 1464 01:17:58.239 --> 01:18:04.079 a in a an intense environment, a very competitive environment, 1465 01:18:04.600 --> 01:18:08.199 but then just you know, always being together. I don't know, 1466 01:18:08.319 --> 01:18:11.880 like you knows, most kids when they graduate from college, 1467 01:18:11.920 --> 01:18:14.560 they're running away from their parents. I ran towards them, 1468 01:18:14.560 --> 01:18:18.560 you know, And I was fortunate that my dad would 1469 01:18:18.680 --> 01:18:23.640 hire me and then we had this incredible relationship and 1470 01:18:23.720 --> 01:18:27.640 it worked very well. And but he, you know, he 1471 01:18:27.720 --> 01:18:31.279 had he had as you guys know, well, he had 1472 01:18:31.359 --> 01:18:35.479 great street sense and he had great basketball since and 1473 01:18:35.800 --> 01:18:39.840 and he knew what it took to to to team build. 1474 01:18:40.079 --> 01:18:42.600 You know, he was ahead of his time. And when 1475 01:18:42.640 --> 01:18:46.479 you look at where when he took over the Jazz 1476 01:18:46.560 --> 01:18:50.239 and one of his big things was, you know, always 1477 01:18:50.319 --> 01:18:53.800 leave a place better than the way you found it. 1478 01:18:53.920 --> 01:18:55.840 So when the team moved to Salt Lake City in 1479 01:18:55.920 --> 01:18:59.920 seventy nine, I mean he he really ramped up the 1480 01:19:00.159 --> 01:19:04.199 the talent on the team and identified, you know, players 1481 01:19:04.239 --> 01:19:08.319 that could help us win. And it was it was 1482 01:19:08.359 --> 01:19:12.720 before and long before we got into the uh Stockton 1483 01:19:12.760 --> 01:19:16.960 to Malone era. And you know, Mark Eaton changed the franchise. 1484 01:19:17.720 --> 01:19:20.760 You go back to that that time. But you know, 1485 01:19:21.000 --> 01:19:26.960 signing Ricky Green, UH, signing Jeff Wilkins, drafting Mark Eaton, 1486 01:19:27.199 --> 01:19:32.199 you know right there. But then obviously uh drafting Darryl Griffith. 1487 01:19:32.760 --> 01:19:35.399 Though all of a sudden the pieces were coming together, 1488 01:19:37.239 --> 01:19:42.239 Adrian Dantley, John Drew on and on, and we were 1489 01:19:42.239 --> 01:19:45.520 we were a competitive team, but we were anchored by uh, 1490 01:19:45.720 --> 01:19:48.000 you know, a guy that didn't get enough credit, but 1491 01:19:48.119 --> 01:19:52.640 certainly talk about character and toughness. Mark Eaton was was 1492 01:19:52.720 --> 01:19:56.159 the I beam that you know, kept us all going 1493 01:19:56.520 --> 01:19:58.920 and uh, it was, it was, yeah, it was. It 1494 01:19:58.960 --> 01:20:02.439 was a fun, fun time, but competitive and wasn't It 1495 01:20:02.520 --> 01:20:06.920 wasn't always like fun and games, but it was. It 1496 01:20:06.960 --> 01:20:10.560 was just in a world where we were, you know, 1497 01:20:10.680 --> 01:20:14.880 fighting to win. And then of course my dad turned 1498 01:20:14.880 --> 01:20:19.640 the team over to my dad and obviously Dave check Its, 1499 01:20:19.680 --> 01:20:23.000 but they turned the team over to Jerry Sloan and 1500 01:20:23.159 --> 01:20:27.399 coach Sloan took everything to the next level, which was 1501 01:20:27.760 --> 01:20:28.800 which was impressive. 1502 01:20:30.720 --> 01:20:33.840 Yeah, Chatty with Scott Layden, excuse me, on the show 1503 01:20:33.880 --> 01:20:36.760 today we have thrown out the rundown to do something special. 1504 01:20:36.800 --> 01:20:39.920 We are honoring the life and legacy of his father, 1505 01:20:40.000 --> 01:20:42.800 Community Pillar frank Leyden, who passed last week at the 1506 01:20:42.840 --> 01:20:46.760 age of ninety three. Scotty, I believe upon your father's passing, 1507 01:20:46.960 --> 01:20:50.720 your parents have been married sixty eight years. I wonder, 1508 01:20:51.279 --> 01:20:53.760 I wonder if you could to the extent that you 1509 01:20:53.800 --> 01:20:58.760 feel comfortable. She had some insight on experiencing that relationship, 1510 01:20:58.800 --> 01:21:01.800 watching those two for your entire life. 1511 01:21:02.079 --> 01:21:07.319 Yeah, it was they they just they got along famously 1512 01:21:07.399 --> 01:21:11.439 and they were they were always together, which was a 1513 01:21:11.479 --> 01:21:16.359 wonderful thing about them. And you know, sixty eight years. 1514 01:21:16.399 --> 01:21:18.239 As you know, it's a pretty good number right now, 1515 01:21:18.279 --> 01:21:25.600 but it it never It always amazed me at how 1516 01:21:25.760 --> 01:21:29.439 well they got along, how well they were both in 1517 01:21:29.479 --> 01:21:32.600 public and in private, and how great a parents they were. 1518 01:21:34.159 --> 01:21:38.439 But my mom always you know, set my dad up 1519 01:21:38.760 --> 01:21:41.920 as as as the straight person to you know, to 1520 01:21:42.760 --> 01:21:46.119 make him shine. But it was an interesting quality. I 1521 01:21:46.159 --> 01:21:49.520 know you guys have seen this. And because he was 1522 01:21:49.560 --> 01:21:52.960 such a public figure and in the public often, he 1523 01:21:53.000 --> 01:21:57.880 would always point out my mother and he would always 1524 01:21:57.960 --> 01:22:01.159 talk about her in a public at him and and 1525 01:22:01.199 --> 01:22:04.239 he would just just heat praise on her. And I 1526 01:22:04.279 --> 01:22:06.279 always remember that. I just said, you know, here's a 1527 01:22:07.279 --> 01:22:10.319 he always had this opportunity, but he always took advantage 1528 01:22:10.319 --> 01:22:14.520 of the opportunity to just tell everyone how amazing she 1529 01:22:14.760 --> 01:22:18.359 was because she, you know, my mom has has an 1530 01:22:18.359 --> 01:22:23.039 incredible resume herself as far as her education and helping people, 1531 01:22:23.359 --> 01:22:26.000 uh you know, who are less fortunate than people that 1532 01:22:26.039 --> 01:22:30.880 have had some addiction issues. So she's always like, uh, 1533 01:22:31.800 --> 01:22:35.880 been behind the scenes, but but had this amazing career. 1534 01:22:36.079 --> 01:22:39.800 And my dad always appreciated that, always recognize that, and 1535 01:22:39.840 --> 01:22:44.279 they were always you know, the couple they I talked 1536 01:22:44.279 --> 01:22:48.000 about this a little bit at the at the at 1537 01:22:48.039 --> 01:22:48.800 the mass but. 1538 01:22:49.399 --> 01:22:51.199 They they. 1539 01:22:52.760 --> 01:22:57.119 Uh, we're like always curious. So they were always reading. 1540 01:22:57.720 --> 01:23:01.399 They were always into whether it was sports, watching TV, 1541 01:23:02.279 --> 01:23:05.520 every sport, it wasn't just basketball. Going to the theater 1542 01:23:06.000 --> 01:23:09.479 and then performing in the theater. You know. They performed 1543 01:23:09.520 --> 01:23:15.000 a famous play that that couples uh perform a love Letters. 1544 01:23:15.039 --> 01:23:21.319 And I just thought that that was an amazing uh 1545 01:23:21.560 --> 01:23:24.359 a thing that they did because it, you know, showed 1546 01:23:24.720 --> 01:23:27.800 their depth and their intelligence and and everything. And and 1547 01:23:28.239 --> 01:23:31.399 when you're listening to the smithy knows his play well, 1548 01:23:32.079 --> 01:23:35.800 but when you're when you're watching love Letters, and it's 1549 01:23:35.840 --> 01:23:40.279 usually performed by famous couples. But and and they probably 1550 01:23:40.279 --> 01:23:44.079 did thirty or so performances. But the the the fiction 1551 01:23:44.239 --> 01:23:49.439 of it was blurred with the reality of of their lives, 1552 01:23:49.479 --> 01:23:52.960 you know. And and it was in the last, the 1553 01:23:53.039 --> 01:23:58.119 last scene of the play, there's a there's a great quote, 1554 01:23:58.159 --> 01:24:03.119 he's uh uh uh, I don't ever think I've loved 1555 01:24:04.399 --> 01:24:08.520 anyone the way I loved her, and I know I 1556 01:24:08.560 --> 01:24:12.000 never will again. She was at the heart of my 1557 01:24:12.119 --> 01:24:17.520 life and I already miss her desperately. I just wanted 1558 01:24:17.560 --> 01:24:21.039 to say that to you and to her. So it 1559 01:24:21.079 --> 01:24:25.960 was like it was really an amazing relationship and a 1560 01:24:26.039 --> 01:24:29.479 loving relationship. And then you know, I don't know if 1561 01:24:29.520 --> 01:24:37.560 you guys knew this, but when when my parents where 1562 01:24:37.560 --> 01:24:41.079 they first met is they met at Missus McGuire's bar, 1563 01:24:42.079 --> 01:24:46.800 which is in Rockaway, Long Island, New York. And Missus 1564 01:24:46.840 --> 01:24:51.760 McGuire was the mother of two Hall of famers. She 1565 01:24:51.880 --> 01:24:54.279 had three boys, but two of them were Hall of famers. 1566 01:24:54.279 --> 01:24:57.760 One was Al McGuire, who, you know, is interesting how 1567 01:24:58.079 --> 01:25:03.640 you know, weaves through coach mcgaris and the whole Brooklyn thing. 1568 01:25:03.720 --> 01:25:07.359 But Al McGuire was not only a great basketball coach, 1569 01:25:07.399 --> 01:25:10.079 won the championship at Marquette, but he also was a 1570 01:25:10.079 --> 01:25:13.560 good player. But his brother, Dick McGuire is in the 1571 01:25:13.600 --> 01:25:16.520 Hall of Fame for like, he was just an incredible 1572 01:25:16.680 --> 01:25:21.199 NBA player and one of the first like real point guards. 1573 01:25:21.279 --> 01:25:24.439 You know, whether it was McGuire cooozy and then you know, 1574 01:25:24.520 --> 01:25:27.720 everybody compared John to those guys because they would pass 1575 01:25:27.840 --> 01:25:31.880 first and they were unselfish and everything. Anyway, they used 1576 01:25:31.880 --> 01:25:37.840 to have basketball courts across the street from Missus McGuire's bar, 1577 01:25:38.560 --> 01:25:40.680 and it was like one hundred and eighth street in 1578 01:25:40.720 --> 01:25:43.640 the Rockaways, which is on the beach, and you know 1579 01:25:43.680 --> 01:25:48.439 it's a short throw the rockaways is we're all firemen 1580 01:25:48.560 --> 01:25:50.600 and cops and everything. But across the street from her 1581 01:25:50.640 --> 01:25:54.119 bar where these basketball courts and guys would go out 1582 01:25:54.119 --> 01:25:58.960 and play pickup games. And my dad, you know, like 1583 01:25:59.039 --> 01:26:03.039 everybody else, was playing ball. Then he just graduated from college. 1584 01:26:03.039 --> 01:26:05.600 He's going in the army. Uh, he was playing ball, 1585 01:26:05.640 --> 01:26:08.079 and he went and I went and had a I 1586 01:26:08.119 --> 01:26:09.960 don't know what you're allowed to say as radio. Maybe 1587 01:26:10.039 --> 01:26:14.760 maybe it's like a diet soda or something. But yeah, 1588 01:26:15.279 --> 01:26:20.079 so he went to the bar and uh met my 1589 01:26:20.159 --> 01:26:22.079 mom and I was it. And then they were you know, 1590 01:26:22.119 --> 01:26:26.800 they were inseparable. So uh it was a time, uh 1591 01:26:26.880 --> 01:26:28.760 you know, and then they of course my dad went 1592 01:26:28.760 --> 01:26:31.760 to the army and uh they they moved out to 1593 01:26:32.079 --> 01:26:35.359 uh Long Island, and my dad started his uh uh 1594 01:26:35.520 --> 01:26:41.439 coaching and uh a career and teaching in high school, 1595 01:26:41.680 --> 01:26:46.439 you know, starting out at Saint Agnes where Billy Donovan's 1596 01:26:46.520 --> 01:26:50.319 father played for my dad, and then eventually we drafted 1597 01:26:50.359 --> 01:26:57.159 Billy Donovan. And so there's so many you know, basketball connections. 1598 01:26:57.399 --> 01:26:59.960 And one of my dad's good friends was was Luke 1599 01:27:00.039 --> 01:27:05.039 on a second who coached Saint John's and you know, 1600 01:27:05.119 --> 01:27:07.800 there there's a great connection there. And there, as I 1601 01:27:07.880 --> 01:27:12.640 was saying earlier, it was always uh characters around that 1602 01:27:12.720 --> 01:27:18.199 I that he knew his friends and would would uh 1603 01:27:19.920 --> 01:27:22.720 they always beat You'd always see them, and you'd always 1604 01:27:22.720 --> 01:27:24.720 go to their camps, and then he would take their 1605 01:27:24.920 --> 01:27:27.560 their children into his camp. And it was really a 1606 01:27:27.600 --> 01:27:29.319 fun time, you. 1607 01:27:29.239 --> 01:27:30.319 Know, Spence. Uh. 1608 01:27:30.800 --> 01:27:34.199 What's what Scott hasn't mentioned is during the time Frank 1609 01:27:34.279 --> 01:27:39.079 and Barbara were dating, Scott's mom was an central figure 1610 01:27:39.159 --> 01:27:44.039 working at the famous twenty one club in Midtown Manhattan. 1611 01:27:44.680 --> 01:27:46.760 And and Frank you used to love to tell the 1612 01:27:46.840 --> 01:27:50.199 story about going to pick up Barbara and guys out 1613 01:27:50.199 --> 01:27:53.079 in front, going hey, I don't know whose jeloppy that is, 1614 01:27:53.119 --> 01:27:55.600 but get it out of here because it doesn't belong here, 1615 01:27:56.119 --> 01:27:59.039 and Barbara going, oh no, no, that's that's Frank's well, 1616 01:27:59.039 --> 01:27:59.840 get them out of here. 1617 01:28:00.000 --> 01:28:01.399 We gotta we gotta get going. 1618 01:28:01.319 --> 01:28:06.079 And you know, and uh, but Barbara, to Scott's point, 1619 01:28:06.520 --> 01:28:11.359 had a great uh life career of her own, not 1620 01:28:11.479 --> 01:28:14.479 only early on, but of course in later years here 1621 01:28:14.520 --> 01:28:18.119 at the University of Utah through the Master's program and 1622 01:28:18.119 --> 01:28:22.520 and helping people involved in in substance abuse issues and 1623 01:28:22.520 --> 01:28:25.199 and uh and stuff like that, helping and counseling and 1624 01:28:25.199 --> 01:28:28.720 and helping people along. And both Frank and Barbara were 1625 01:28:28.720 --> 01:28:33.520 were so intertwined with the idea and the scope and 1626 01:28:33.520 --> 01:28:37.319 and humanity of trying to help other people and trying 1627 01:28:37.359 --> 01:28:41.279 to see where they could uh put themselves into a 1628 01:28:41.319 --> 01:28:44.520 situation to be able to uh uh to help the 1629 01:28:44.560 --> 01:28:47.760 next person uh who who who needed a little lyft 1630 01:28:47.840 --> 01:28:51.279 and and uh both of them were equally adept at 1631 01:28:51.279 --> 01:28:54.399 doing that all all throughout their lives. 1632 01:28:55.760 --> 01:28:58.840 Well said Maddie, Scott, are you able to hang through 1633 01:28:58.880 --> 01:29:00.520 a break to join us for one more segment? 1634 01:29:00.520 --> 01:29:01.760 I'll leave that up to you, sir. 1635 01:29:02.680 --> 01:29:05.000 Of course, I'm here, Okay, Well catch any time. 1636 01:29:05.199 --> 01:29:06.399 We will catch a quick break. 1637 01:29:06.439 --> 01:29:08.920 Scott Layden is with us sun of frank Leyden in 1638 01:29:09.039 --> 01:29:12.159 longtime high level NBA executive Live in Vegas. We are 1639 01:29:12.560 --> 01:29:14.880 honoring the life and legacy on the program today of 1640 01:29:14.920 --> 01:29:17.039 the great frank Leyden who left us last week at 1641 01:29:17.079 --> 01:29:24.199 the age of ninety three. 1642 01:29:26.800 --> 01:29:28.960 For the first time since the turn of the century, 1643 01:29:29.479 --> 01:29:32.520 MLB's All Star Game will be held in Atlanta, the 1644 01:29:32.520 --> 01:29:36.199 first ever at Truest Park, since opening in twenty seventeen. 1645 01:29:36.800 --> 01:29:40.039 All Star festivities begin tonight and culminate in the Midsummer 1646 01:29:40.119 --> 01:29:43.479 Classic July fifteenth, as the National League looks to gain 1647 01:29:43.560 --> 01:29:47.359 its second win since twenty thirteen, while the AL aims 1648 01:29:47.359 --> 01:29:51.279 to extend its dominance. Tonight, it's the home run Derby 1649 01:29:51.600 --> 01:29:55.119 said to compete as the favorite, Cal Raleigh, O'Neil Cruz, 1650 01:29:55.520 --> 01:30:01.359 James wood Byron Buxton, Matt Olsen Junior, Broh Brent Rooker 1651 01:30:01.520 --> 01:30:05.439 and Jazz Chisholm Junior. Tune into ESPN seven hundred at 1652 01:30:05.640 --> 01:30:10.560 ESPN Radio at six pm. Forty seven days until kickoff 1653 01:30:10.600 --> 01:30:13.720 for Utah football is eight face off with UCLA in 1654 01:30:13.760 --> 01:30:17.239 the Rose Bowl August thirtieth. The countdown to kickoff on 1655 01:30:17.319 --> 01:30:19.760 your Home of the Youths drop to you today I 1656 01:30:20.159 --> 01:30:25.720 Outlaw Distillery and Outlawdistillery dot Com with your Sports Center update. 1657 01:30:25.840 --> 01:30:29.039 I Importer Larsen on Utah's number one sports talk. It's 1658 01:30:29.239 --> 01:30:32.640 ESPN seven hundred ninety two point one FM, live on 1659 01:30:32.680 --> 01:30:45.520 YouTube and at ESPN seven hundred sports dot Com. 1660 01:30:45.560 --> 01:30:48.880 All right, welcome back. In it's Monday edition of the Drive. 1661 01:30:48.920 --> 01:30:52.680 It's about ninety three degrees outside Sunday and hot thanks 1662 01:30:52.720 --> 01:30:53.600 for making Thanks for. 1663 01:30:53.479 --> 01:30:54.880 Making us a part of your day. Hope you had 1664 01:30:54.880 --> 01:30:55.680 a great weekend. 1665 01:30:55.720 --> 01:30:58.680 We have thrown out our usual rundown to allocate today's 1666 01:30:58.720 --> 01:31:01.600 time and energy to honoring the life and legacy of 1667 01:31:01.600 --> 01:31:04.520 frank Leydon, who we lost last week at the age 1668 01:31:04.520 --> 01:31:07.600 of ninety three. So we're hoping my own father might 1669 01:31:07.600 --> 01:31:09.760 stand me up on my on my own radio show. 1670 01:31:09.880 --> 01:31:13.039 We're hoping, as Scott Layden is joining us live in Vegas, 1671 01:31:13.119 --> 01:31:16.119 Richard Smith is live in studio. Both of you know this. 1672 01:31:16.399 --> 01:31:19.560 My father currently is stuck on the Van Wick on 1673 01:31:19.680 --> 01:31:22.840 the way to JFK, so we may we may get 1674 01:31:22.880 --> 01:31:24.840 a call from him at some point, Scott, but I 1675 01:31:24.880 --> 01:31:27.560 can't guarantee it. So we're a little fluid this segment, gentlemen, 1676 01:31:27.600 --> 01:31:28.439 Can you guys handle that? 1677 01:31:29.000 --> 01:31:31.840 Hey Scott, Scott, how many times have you used the 1678 01:31:31.920 --> 01:31:34.399 excuse I'm stuck on the Van Wick? 1679 01:31:35.159 --> 01:31:38.359 Yeah, how about that. But it is a great episode 1680 01:31:38.399 --> 01:31:42.479 of Seinfeld when they when they discuss that. And unless you, 1681 01:31:42.479 --> 01:31:44.279 you know, have grown up in New York, it's hard 1682 01:31:44.319 --> 01:31:47.920 to it's hard to imagine, but it is real. It is. 1683 01:31:48.560 --> 01:31:52.119 It is. It can be uh, yeah, it can It 1684 01:31:52.159 --> 01:31:56.119 can really lock you up. I have to tell you it, 1685 01:31:56.159 --> 01:32:01.159 as Spence. I've mentioned this t before, but I think 1686 01:32:02.439 --> 01:32:05.319 the world of day check its. I mean, what he 1687 01:32:05.359 --> 01:32:10.359 did in concert with Larry Miller and my dad, bringing 1688 01:32:10.359 --> 01:32:15.720 the franchise to a level of professionalism that was amazing. 1689 01:32:16.439 --> 01:32:20.119 And you know he would always say first class or 1690 01:32:20.199 --> 01:32:23.720 not at all, and we were first class. And I 1691 01:32:23.720 --> 01:32:26.479 mean he could, he could. He was a dynamo. I 1692 01:32:26.520 --> 01:32:30.000 loved working for him in Utah. I loved working for 1693 01:32:30.079 --> 01:32:32.640 him in New York with that, you know, he had 1694 01:32:32.680 --> 01:32:36.720 that corner office and just what he had on his plate. 1695 01:32:37.359 --> 01:32:41.479 It's it was unbelievable, what what what he had going 1696 01:32:41.520 --> 01:32:45.720 on in New York and uh, you know now what 1697 01:32:45.760 --> 01:32:49.000 I'm what I'm getting at is that I was so 1698 01:32:49.079 --> 01:32:52.640 excited to see him get in the Utah Sports Hall Fame, 1699 01:32:52.680 --> 01:32:55.600 which was well deserved, but but he should also be 1700 01:32:55.640 --> 01:32:59.319 in Springfield. I mean, what what his impact on the 1701 01:32:59.359 --> 01:33:03.399 sport basketball and how good he was and and just 1702 01:33:04.079 --> 01:33:07.520 you know how he managed the teams and the team 1703 01:33:07.520 --> 01:33:11.640 building and you know, getting the right personnel in place. 1704 01:33:11.920 --> 01:33:16.960 It really he's uh, I would think well deserving of 1705 01:33:17.359 --> 01:33:21.279 of uh getting to the Basketball Hall of Fame. 1706 01:33:21.880 --> 01:33:22.239 Scott. 1707 01:33:22.560 --> 01:33:25.159 You spent all these years with with the jazz in 1708 01:33:25.199 --> 01:33:28.720 the eighties and nineties, and then then uh in ninety nine, 1709 01:33:29.119 --> 01:33:31.720 summer of ninety nine, you get a uh, you get 1710 01:33:31.720 --> 01:33:35.920 a phone call from I assume uh from from Dave Check. 1711 01:33:36.000 --> 01:33:40.039 It's about the possibility of of maybe going. 1712 01:33:39.800 --> 01:33:41.880 To work for the New York Knicks. Uh. 1713 01:33:42.399 --> 01:33:45.279 Uh run our listeners through just a little bit where 1714 01:33:45.279 --> 01:33:47.920 you can tell us about how that process actually took 1715 01:33:47.920 --> 01:33:51.680 place and how that how that came about for you. 1716 01:33:51.680 --> 01:33:55.159 No, I mean it was I don't know. We we 1717 01:33:55.239 --> 01:33:58.840 had made a decision as a family to to give 1718 01:33:58.880 --> 01:34:02.159 that a shot. I talked to my friend, uh Rick Majeris, 1719 01:34:02.159 --> 01:34:05.199 who was coaching the youths at the time, and he said, 1720 01:34:05.199 --> 01:34:10.439 you know, uh, most men live in quiet desperation without 1721 01:34:10.439 --> 01:34:14.119 ever taking a chance. And so we had we had 1722 01:34:14.119 --> 01:34:18.279 had so much success, and uh, I think our family, 1723 01:34:18.840 --> 01:34:21.399 you know, because we had our four daughters were in 1724 01:34:21.439 --> 01:34:25.520 grade school, and we we took a shot to go there, 1725 01:34:26.000 --> 01:34:28.840 and you know, we've that's we've called that home ever since, 1726 01:34:28.880 --> 01:34:31.680 even though I've had jobs elsewhere, We've always kept that 1727 01:34:31.760 --> 01:34:34.199 as a home base. And when I was a kid, 1728 01:34:34.880 --> 01:34:38.880 you know, my dad and I were we were Nick fans, 1729 01:34:38.960 --> 01:34:43.079 and uh, it was like a dream come true. And 1730 01:34:43.119 --> 01:34:45.920 then you know, to go back and and work again 1731 01:34:46.039 --> 01:34:49.479 with with day was special. I wish, As I told 1732 01:34:49.560 --> 01:34:51.119 him the other night, I said, I wish, I just 1733 01:34:51.159 --> 01:34:53.920 wish it was a little longer, because I think working 1734 01:34:53.960 --> 01:34:56.399 for him and and and I'm gonna tell you something, 1735 01:34:56.600 --> 01:34:59.880 and Spencer, I think you you've you've you've experienced a 1736 01:35:00.079 --> 01:35:05.560 when people tell you everyone loved working for him because 1737 01:35:05.600 --> 01:35:09.199 it was it was competitive, it was fast paced, it 1738 01:35:09.319 --> 01:35:14.439 was intense. But he he always had a great temperament 1739 01:35:14.840 --> 01:35:20.039 and he had that that mental edge to make the 1740 01:35:20.159 --> 01:35:24.159 place competitive and successful. I mean, and you go right 1741 01:35:24.199 --> 01:35:27.520 down the list now, uh you know Madison Square, Garden, 1742 01:35:27.880 --> 01:35:31.560 the Knicks, Radio City Music called the Rangers in no 1743 01:35:31.680 --> 01:35:34.520 particular order, and then the other thing that and and 1744 01:35:34.880 --> 01:35:37.399 this is like I was in awe of of how 1745 01:35:37.399 --> 01:35:41.239 he managed all these entities. But we also had the Yankees. 1746 01:35:41.880 --> 01:35:46.239 Listen to me, We we the the the the Garden. 1747 01:35:46.880 --> 01:35:50.560 Uh managed the MSG network that had the Yankees on 1748 01:35:50.680 --> 01:35:57.600 there and which which gave uh uh we hired my 1749 01:35:57.720 --> 01:36:02.039 dad as a as a consultant, and and uh we 1750 01:36:02.640 --> 01:36:07.159 the Yankees. Like the few weeks after we hired my dad. 1751 01:36:07.840 --> 01:36:11.760 The Yankees were in the World Series, and uh uh, 1752 01:36:11.800 --> 01:36:14.359 your dad was nice enough to get what we're called 1753 01:36:14.920 --> 01:36:17.359 the seats and they was right. 1754 01:36:17.279 --> 01:36:18.760 Behind I know the seats. 1755 01:36:19.119 --> 01:36:20.960 Yeah, yes, you know the seats. 1756 01:36:21.039 --> 01:36:24.159 Well, Scott us get us, give us the Spike Lee story. 1757 01:36:25.159 --> 01:36:29.359 Yeah so so, but you could you could reach out 1758 01:36:29.720 --> 01:36:32.159 because we were right behind it, the Yankee doug out. 1759 01:36:32.159 --> 01:36:35.239 You could reach out and touch Joe Tory. That's that's 1760 01:36:35.279 --> 01:36:41.000 how good those seats were. And uh so, as you know, 1761 01:36:41.119 --> 01:36:44.520 my dad's a bigger baseball fan, was a bigger baseball 1762 01:36:44.520 --> 01:36:47.920 fan than anything. So it was Marshia and I, my 1763 01:36:48.039 --> 01:36:51.439 mom and dad and about the about in the fourth 1764 01:36:51.479 --> 01:36:55.439 or fifth inning, the first baseman Martinez for the Yankees 1765 01:36:56.159 --> 01:37:00.680 comes off the field and it was one of these 1766 01:37:00.720 --> 01:37:04.079 moments where you like, you're just so excited for your dad. 1767 01:37:04.119 --> 01:37:07.199 You know, it's like you couldn't you couldn't replicate it. 1768 01:37:07.239 --> 01:37:10.479 And Dave I wish he was there to see it. 1769 01:37:10.520 --> 01:37:14.479 But Martinez comes off the field after a put out 1770 01:37:14.720 --> 01:37:17.239 and he's got the ball in his mit and he 1771 01:37:17.479 --> 01:37:22.439 rolls it across the top of the dugout right to 1772 01:37:22.520 --> 01:37:24.880 my dad because he recognized my dad he rolls it 1773 01:37:24.960 --> 01:37:29.119 right to my dad and my dad gets the ball 1774 01:37:29.880 --> 01:37:32.600 and it's the World Series and the ball has a 1775 01:37:32.640 --> 01:37:37.239 World Series marker on it and he's studying it and 1776 01:37:37.279 --> 01:37:39.960 I'm watching him. I'm thinking, oh, it's the coolest thing 1777 01:37:40.000 --> 01:37:43.239 I've ever seen. Here's here's a lifelong baseball fan. Now 1778 01:37:43.279 --> 01:37:46.119 he's got a World Series ball, you know. And I'm thinking, 1779 01:37:46.359 --> 01:37:49.399 what's what's going through his mind? He's studying this ball 1780 01:37:49.479 --> 01:37:55.039 and like the scenes in the logo and everything's I'm 1781 01:37:55.239 --> 01:37:57.760 like tickled, I'm so happy, right And he looks at 1782 01:37:57.800 --> 01:38:00.640 me and he says, you know, it's not I love 1783 01:38:00.760 --> 01:38:07.439 Martinez so and then and then the game goes on. 1784 01:38:08.159 --> 01:38:11.760 Two innings later, Martinez comes off the field again after 1785 01:38:11.760 --> 01:38:15.479 it put out and rolls the ball across the dugout 1786 01:38:15.479 --> 01:38:18.439 to me. So, now I have a World Series ball. 1787 01:38:18.840 --> 01:38:21.439 And I'm not as affected as my dad was because 1788 01:38:21.479 --> 01:38:24.920 I like baseball, but I'm not like you and my dad, Smitty. 1789 01:38:25.439 --> 01:38:30.479 But now I have a ball, and I'm thinking, I 1790 01:38:30.479 --> 01:38:33.479 don't know, I don't know about this. This is like 1791 01:38:33.560 --> 01:38:36.279 I just got the nick job GM the whole thing, 1792 01:38:36.319 --> 01:38:38.720 and I'm thinking, okay, I need to I don't need 1793 01:38:38.760 --> 01:38:43.600 his attention. Anyway, all of a sudden, spike Lee, who's 1794 01:38:43.640 --> 01:38:46.399 sitting does not have he was not in the seats, 1795 01:38:46.399 --> 01:38:47.880 he did not have as good as seat. He had 1796 01:38:48.079 --> 01:38:50.960 pretty good seats. But anyway, he's behind us and he 1797 01:38:51.039 --> 01:38:59.279 starts a chant, one ball per family, I think, and 1798 01:38:59.319 --> 01:39:03.319 now I'm like, I'm panicked. My first, my first public 1799 01:39:03.359 --> 01:39:06.000 appearance in New York, I'm gonna be on a you know, 1800 01:39:07.439 --> 01:39:12.560 back greedy. You know, he needed the ball for himself. 1801 01:39:12.600 --> 01:39:16.479 So I turned around with this with this chant going on, 1802 01:39:17.239 --> 01:39:19.760 and I started, you know, the little kid who was 1803 01:39:19.800 --> 01:39:22.399 with his dad, and I tossed him the ball and 1804 01:39:22.399 --> 01:39:25.960 then everybody was like they were okay. Then I was 1805 01:39:26.000 --> 01:39:30.600 all right. But I'll tell you, you know, you asked me 1806 01:39:30.680 --> 01:39:34.359 before Spence about, you know, growing up around Frank Layton 1807 01:39:34.439 --> 01:39:39.439 and who got the He got the Niagara job when 1808 01:39:39.479 --> 01:39:41.800 I was ten years old, so it was nineteen sixty 1809 01:39:41.840 --> 01:39:45.720 eight and he went to Niagara. So it was like 1810 01:39:45.760 --> 01:39:49.680 a lifetime, you know, all all time opportunity for him 1811 01:39:49.720 --> 01:39:52.880 to go coaches his old school. And he loved Niagara, 1812 01:39:53.159 --> 01:39:57.439 loved Niagara, and Niagara not too long ago named the 1813 01:39:57.560 --> 01:40:01.560 court after he and my mom. So I was ten 1814 01:40:01.640 --> 01:40:05.399 years old, and Syracuse came on to Niagara campus. The 1815 01:40:05.479 --> 01:40:10.399 Niagara Gymnasium held twenty five hundred people, and Syracuse obviously 1816 01:40:10.560 --> 01:40:13.800 was pretty big. East They come on to campus and 1817 01:40:13.920 --> 01:40:20.680 Niagara wins the game. Calvin Murphy, all right, who was 1818 01:40:20.880 --> 01:40:24.399 number three in the country and scoring it was Maravich 1819 01:40:24.520 --> 01:40:29.159 Mount Murphy and average like Calvin average thirty six, Marriviage 1820 01:40:29.199 --> 01:40:36.960 average like forty four. And Murphy gets sixty eight in 1821 01:40:37.039 --> 01:40:41.840 the game, no three point line, sixty eight And I'm 1822 01:40:41.880 --> 01:40:44.560 ten years old and my dad, you know, they win 1823 01:40:44.600 --> 01:40:48.680 the game, and so he and I are driving home 1824 01:40:49.800 --> 01:40:52.840 and he looks over at me and he says, you 1825 01:40:52.880 --> 01:40:55.079 know what's done. This is gonna be a lot of fun. 1826 01:40:57.640 --> 01:41:00.920 And it was. It was like I, you know, you 1827 01:41:00.960 --> 01:41:03.960 see your dad have success. There was nothing like it. 1828 01:41:04.600 --> 01:41:08.079 And to put it in context, the sixty eight points 1829 01:41:08.079 --> 01:41:12.840 one game, no three point line, I scored fifty seven 1830 01:41:14.199 --> 01:41:17.800 at Saint Francis Nice, So that puts it in context. 1831 01:41:17.800 --> 01:41:20.840 You But it took me four years. 1832 01:41:22.279 --> 01:41:26.119 I should have let him fish, you know. Scott, First 1833 01:41:26.119 --> 01:41:28.199 of all, thank you for the kind words about my father, 1834 01:41:28.479 --> 01:41:30.840 and you know, I'll let him come on and unpack 1835 01:41:30.880 --> 01:41:36.560 his thoughts. He loved your father. He loved your. 1836 01:41:36.359 --> 01:41:40.600 Father love I agree, and vice versa. By the way, 1837 01:41:40.760 --> 01:41:41.319 vice versa. 1838 01:41:41.560 --> 01:41:45.079 Yeah, I wonder if you could share some insights in 1839 01:41:45.119 --> 01:41:48.960 that relationship, because you referenced hiring Frank as a consultant 1840 01:41:49.000 --> 01:41:51.520 back in New York, and you know they worked. 1841 01:41:51.319 --> 01:41:53.720 Together when and my dad was a puppy. 1842 01:41:53.800 --> 01:41:56.279 Frank could have very easily looked down on this young 1843 01:41:56.359 --> 01:41:58.760 kid getting this opportunity at the age of twenty seven, 1844 01:41:59.279 --> 01:42:02.239 but Frank alway treated him with respect and always treated 1845 01:42:02.279 --> 01:42:04.359 him with kindos. I wonder if you could shut some 1846 01:42:04.399 --> 01:42:06.000 insight on that working relationship. 1847 01:42:06.920 --> 01:42:11.680 Well, I think I think your dad came in and 1848 01:42:11.840 --> 01:42:18.920 infused a professionalism and a business acumen that that was 1849 01:42:18.960 --> 01:42:22.840 desperately needed. That's something that we didn't you know, we 1850 01:42:22.880 --> 01:42:26.439 really didn't have. I mean, we were run by smart people, 1851 01:42:26.479 --> 01:42:29.800 don't get me wrong. But your dad came in with 1852 01:42:29.840 --> 01:42:36.560 an enthusiasm and just generated and made the jazz, you know, 1853 01:42:37.039 --> 01:42:40.439 world renowned. And I think the other thing is because 1854 01:42:40.479 --> 01:42:45.159 of the mutual respect that my dad and and your 1855 01:42:45.199 --> 01:42:48.960 father had that they it worked well together. They kind 1856 01:42:49.000 --> 01:42:54.399 of like just it blended it and they they complimented 1857 01:42:54.399 --> 01:42:57.119 each other so well, and they had so much respect 1858 01:42:57.119 --> 01:43:01.079 for each other and they were able to have success 1859 01:43:01.159 --> 01:43:05.319 that way. And trust me, these these relationships are not 1860 01:43:05.399 --> 01:43:09.920 always like you know, uh like warm and fuzzy, and 1861 01:43:09.960 --> 01:43:12.119 they're not always like it's not kindergarten. This is a 1862 01:43:12.199 --> 01:43:15.640 competitive world that we were in. But they had so 1863 01:43:15.800 --> 01:43:19.680 much respect that they could debate, they could argue, they 1864 01:43:19.680 --> 01:43:23.000 could disagree. But when that when they all left that room, 1865 01:43:23.319 --> 01:43:26.199 when they when everybody left the room, we were we 1866 01:43:26.199 --> 01:43:31.600 were unified together. And that's the the like I'm looking at, 1867 01:43:31.760 --> 01:43:35.199 I'm looking at And I know your dad appreciates this too, 1868 01:43:35.239 --> 01:43:40.520 because his alignment when when he was involved with franchises 1869 01:43:40.640 --> 01:43:45.560 was was elite. But when you look at the Oklahoma 1870 01:43:45.680 --> 01:43:51.640 City Thunder, so mister Bennett, Sam Presty, uh, coach Dagenhall 1871 01:43:52.399 --> 01:43:58.039 and the players, there's an alignment that is unique, special 1872 01:43:58.520 --> 01:44:02.279 and and and it's and it's real and so I'm 1873 01:44:02.319 --> 01:44:05.680 not surprised that they have success and they and that 1874 01:44:05.800 --> 01:44:09.760 they're able to be patient during that time. Quite frankly, 1875 01:44:10.159 --> 01:44:14.039 when the Jazz were in that that window of you know, 1876 01:44:14.079 --> 01:44:18.520 the competitive years, that twenty years, there was an alignment 1877 01:44:19.119 --> 01:44:22.960 that was unique and was it always easy No, it 1878 01:44:23.000 --> 01:44:25.960 wasn't always easy, but it was you know, Larry Miller, 1879 01:44:26.479 --> 01:44:33.560 it was Dave Checketts, Frank Laden, Jerry Sloan, Stockton, Malone, Eaton, 1880 01:44:33.840 --> 01:44:37.399 and the alignment was was real so that when you 1881 01:44:37.600 --> 01:44:39.800 when we had a you know, we have like a 1882 01:44:41.119 --> 01:44:46.119 crazy one off, bad playoffs series. You know, you're losing 1883 01:44:46.159 --> 01:44:50.399 five games to the Rockets, and you know, that's that 1884 01:44:50.560 --> 01:44:52.880 kind of thing where you had, you know, we're winning 1885 01:44:52.920 --> 01:44:57.000 sixty games every year that they're that you don't you 1886 01:44:57.039 --> 01:44:59.960 don't waiver. And that's not to mean that we didn't 1887 01:45:00.079 --> 01:45:03.159 have tough conversations, that we didn't figure out how to 1888 01:45:03.199 --> 01:45:06.800 get better, but we never wavered on you know, who 1889 01:45:06.840 --> 01:45:10.159 the coach was, who the important players were, and what 1890 01:45:10.640 --> 01:45:13.399 why were we having success? Uh in the in the 1891 01:45:13.439 --> 01:45:16.000 regular season, but also then how do we get better? 1892 01:45:16.319 --> 01:45:19.039 And then eventually we go to the finals twice. But 1893 01:45:19.520 --> 01:45:23.720 that alignment and that you know is so unique and 1894 01:45:23.760 --> 01:45:26.960 it was unique. Uh, and that's why I believe, you know, 1895 01:45:27.000 --> 01:45:29.760 when you look at I was fortunate to go and 1896 01:45:29.760 --> 01:45:33.079 and and work with the Spurs, who have obviously their 1897 01:45:33.119 --> 01:45:35.920 elite at their alignment and and that. But they used 1898 01:45:35.960 --> 01:45:38.800 to talk about all the time, you know, we used 1899 01:45:38.840 --> 01:45:42.520 to study the jazz. We used to study uh, and 1900 01:45:42.560 --> 01:45:45.720 you know where the success was? Why was it successful? 1901 01:45:46.039 --> 01:45:49.800 And then as they would tell you, not me, as 1902 01:45:49.800 --> 01:45:53.600 they would tell you that that they they they had 1903 01:45:53.640 --> 01:45:55.960 the same sort of alignment, and we put put the 1904 01:45:56.039 --> 01:46:03.239 same sort of effort into keeping everything consistent and and 1905 01:46:03.239 --> 01:46:07.239 and having a success day in day out, put year 1906 01:46:07.279 --> 01:46:07.600 to year. 1907 01:46:08.199 --> 01:46:10.640 Let's go out to the phone lines now and bring 1908 01:46:10.680 --> 01:46:12.640 in my father stuck on the van Wick. 1909 01:46:12.960 --> 01:46:13.079 Uh. 1910 01:46:13.119 --> 01:46:15.279 So we have we have Richard smith live in studio. 1911 01:46:15.359 --> 01:46:17.680 We have scott Leyden in Las Vegas, and my father 1912 01:46:17.760 --> 01:46:19.560 Dave check Its joins us from New York. So I'll 1913 01:46:19.600 --> 01:46:22.399 try to play traffic cop best I can. Hello, Dad, 1914 01:46:22.399 --> 01:46:23.000 how are you. 1915 01:46:25.319 --> 01:46:25.560 Hey? 1916 01:46:26.159 --> 01:46:31.039 It's been a great show. I've been listening and happy 1917 01:46:31.079 --> 01:46:35.159 to join and say hello. And I don't know how 1918 01:46:35.199 --> 01:46:39.119 I can add anything to what rich Richard and what 1919 01:46:39.319 --> 01:46:44.479 Smithy and what Scottie said. Scotti gave the talk of 1920 01:46:44.560 --> 01:46:50.000 the century at Frank's funeral. He just he just he 1921 01:46:50.119 --> 01:46:54.560 caught his whole life just beautifully as only a son could. 1922 01:46:55.239 --> 01:46:58.600 It was I was I was sitting with the other 1923 01:46:58.760 --> 01:47:01.439 Paul bears, as you know, and all of us were 1924 01:47:02.399 --> 01:47:07.680 we're grabbing for Kleenex because Scott brought him right right 1925 01:47:07.720 --> 01:47:11.520 to life, so he recapped his life so beautifully. 1926 01:47:11.720 --> 01:47:13.720 I'll ask you the same question to start that I've 1927 01:47:13.720 --> 01:47:16.039 asked all of our guests, that included, of course Smitty 1928 01:47:16.079 --> 01:47:18.319 and Scott. We had Phil Johnson on earlier. We're going 1929 01:47:18.359 --> 01:47:20.119 to bring in Ron McBride coming up in the five 1930 01:47:20.159 --> 01:47:23.520 o'clock hour. But your thoughts on the life and legacy 1931 01:47:23.640 --> 01:47:25.720 of Frank Layton. What did Frank Layton mean to you? 1932 01:47:28.920 --> 01:47:35.600 Well, he met everything to me. When I joined the 1933 01:47:35.680 --> 01:47:41.039 Jazz in nineteen eighty three, twenty seven years old, I 1934 01:47:41.079 --> 01:47:47.760 had never run a lemonade stand, and Sam Battistone, on 1935 01:47:47.880 --> 01:47:52.760 the recommendation of David Stern, brought me in and handed 1936 01:47:52.760 --> 01:47:56.399 the reins to me and said, you know, David told 1937 01:47:56.399 --> 01:47:59.479 me you'd you'd be able to save this franchise and 1938 01:47:59.560 --> 01:48:03.079 keep it here. And David told me to give everything 1939 01:48:03.079 --> 01:48:05.439 to you. And I really. 1940 01:48:05.159 --> 01:48:06.119 Did not know. 1941 01:48:08.520 --> 01:48:10.880 All of the steps that we'd have to take to 1942 01:48:11.039 --> 01:48:16.920 turn into a franchise that wasn't rumored to move, wasn't 1943 01:48:16.960 --> 01:48:20.079 going to leave Salt Lake, wasn't going to go into bankruptcy, 1944 01:48:20.079 --> 01:48:23.359 he wasn't going to merge with the Denver Nuggets. Just 1945 01:48:23.960 --> 01:48:26.880 you can't imagine the time that it was. But the 1946 01:48:26.920 --> 01:48:30.319 first guy I reached out to was the coach and 1947 01:48:30.399 --> 01:48:35.319 general manager, Frank Layden. And I'll never forget how he 1948 01:48:35.319 --> 01:48:37.560 He came to the Salt Palace to meet with me 1949 01:48:37.720 --> 01:48:41.760 on my second day of work, and he came in. 1950 01:48:42.840 --> 01:48:47.119 He was he was driving a car that the franchise 1951 01:48:47.199 --> 01:48:50.159 had given to him to drive. And you know, here 1952 01:48:50.199 --> 01:48:54.239 he is like the head guy, coach, head coach, general manager. 1953 01:48:54.239 --> 01:48:58.199 He's driving this to Yoda wagon that that looked like 1954 01:48:58.319 --> 01:49:04.119 it had been tracked that the dealership of choice had 1955 01:49:04.119 --> 01:49:08.479 given him. But you know what, his his great humility, 1956 01:49:08.640 --> 01:49:14.439 his great dignity, his I came away. I remember coming home, 1957 01:49:15.319 --> 01:49:19.479 Dohn and saying to your mom, this guy is incredible. 1958 01:49:20.039 --> 01:49:23.439 He knows everything about the game, he knows everything about 1959 01:49:23.439 --> 01:49:27.880 his job. He's just never been given the support and 1960 01:49:28.000 --> 01:49:32.800 tools here that he needs to really build something special. 1961 01:49:33.079 --> 01:49:37.760 And that's my job. Give him the money, give him 1962 01:49:37.760 --> 01:49:43.520 the freedom, give him the ability instead of drafting, you know, 1963 01:49:43.920 --> 01:49:49.039 drafting players and having to sell them as they as 1964 01:49:49.079 --> 01:49:54.960 the Jazz had to do famously. You know, I wanted 1965 01:49:54.960 --> 01:49:59.159 to give Frank Layden everything he needed to hire the 1966 01:49:59.159 --> 01:50:04.039 best people, best coaches, to draft the best players, and 1967 01:50:04.159 --> 01:50:06.640 we were going to be about winning. And when I 1968 01:50:06.680 --> 01:50:10.199 said that to him, he said, that is music to 1969 01:50:10.439 --> 01:50:14.119 my ears. But you know, he had never said that publicly. 1970 01:50:14.199 --> 01:50:21.000 He always defended Sam and Sam's willingness to bring the 1971 01:50:21.560 --> 01:50:27.800 team to Salt Lake. But that became my goal and 1972 01:50:27.840 --> 01:50:31.880 we became great partners. In spite of the fact that 1973 01:50:32.560 --> 01:50:35.960 he'd grown up in New York, I grew up in Utah. 1974 01:50:36.479 --> 01:50:39.960 In spite of the fact that that I had I 1975 01:50:40.000 --> 01:50:42.760 had no experience in the NBA and he had all 1976 01:50:42.800 --> 01:50:48.239 this experience. All he showed me my whole life, my 1977 01:50:48.279 --> 01:50:52.439 whole life was nothing but loyalty and dignity. 1978 01:50:52.840 --> 01:50:55.439 He's he's one of. 1979 01:50:55.399 --> 01:50:59.319 The best people I've ever met, by far. I mean 1980 01:50:59.760 --> 01:51:03.760 he he had a character about him that that was 1981 01:51:03.920 --> 01:51:08.800 full of goodness. And could he be tough, Yes, he 1982 01:51:08.840 --> 01:51:11.279 could be tough. And he and I, he and I 1983 01:51:11.319 --> 01:51:14.359 only had one run in the whole time we worked together, 1984 01:51:14.760 --> 01:51:17.439 and it was over something stupid that had been said 1985 01:51:18.159 --> 01:51:20.920 during a game time promotion, and he just let me 1986 01:51:21.039 --> 01:51:23.479 have it. And I went right back at him, and 1987 01:51:23.560 --> 01:51:26.319 I said, Frank book. I know I made a mistake, 1988 01:51:27.079 --> 01:51:31.159 but we have always we've treated each other with great dignity. 1989 01:51:31.600 --> 01:51:32.600 And you know what, he. 1990 01:51:32.720 --> 01:51:37.479 Apologized like immediately, he just said, I'm so sorry that 1991 01:51:37.600 --> 01:51:38.720 there were other things on. 1992 01:51:38.720 --> 01:51:41.720 His mind and all of the rest of the time 1993 01:51:42.359 --> 01:51:46.800 to the most difficult moments, especially Adrian Danley holding out 1994 01:51:46.880 --> 01:51:54.760 on him and not reporting the camp and David Falk 1995 01:51:54.840 --> 01:51:59.880 his agents just disrespecting the team, the franchise and us. 1996 01:52:01.119 --> 01:52:04.640 Frank and I were just arm in arm. We were in. 1997 01:52:04.600 --> 01:52:10.760 Lockstep, lockstep, and I really believe, you know, he turned 1998 01:52:10.800 --> 01:52:14.720 it around because we got into tools he needed to 1999 01:52:14.760 --> 01:52:18.880 do it. But in terms of what he meant to me, 2000 01:52:20.239 --> 01:52:25.199 I can't even I can't even say, I can't even 2001 01:52:25.319 --> 01:52:32.199 say he was He was the most valuable friend and 2002 01:52:32.359 --> 01:52:38.039 mentor I could ever imagine, in not just in basketball, 2003 01:52:38.399 --> 01:52:42.520 but in life, because we talked about life a lot. 2004 01:52:42.760 --> 01:52:46.840 We talked about raising kids, we talked about how to 2005 01:52:46.920 --> 01:52:52.479 treat your wife, we talked about character. He loved people 2006 01:52:52.640 --> 01:52:57.000 of character, and he taught me so very much. And 2007 01:52:57.439 --> 01:52:59.520 one of the other this is the last thing I'll say. 2008 01:53:00.119 --> 01:53:03.439 I don't think there's any way I didn't have a 2009 01:53:03.560 --> 01:53:06.960 choice when when Larry and I decided that we could 2010 01:53:07.000 --> 01:53:09.880 not we could no longer work together. I didn't have 2011 01:53:09.920 --> 01:53:11.319 a choice. I had to leave. 2012 01:53:12.399 --> 01:53:16.119 But I loved the NBA and I got my dream 2013 01:53:16.239 --> 01:53:19.760 job because the Knicks were the team of my childhood 2014 01:53:20.560 --> 01:53:23.479 and Spencer you know this, I never could have gone 2015 01:53:23.520 --> 01:53:28.479 to New York and she sheeted without having first been 2016 01:53:28.600 --> 01:53:32.279 prepared by the all time New Yorker Frank Laden. He 2017 01:53:33.159 --> 01:53:36.319 got me ready for what was a really tough job 2018 01:53:36.399 --> 01:53:40.039 back there. But he just he taught me so many 2019 01:53:40.079 --> 01:53:47.319 principles about winning and championship, culture and character, and I 2020 01:53:47.439 --> 01:53:50.119 took it all in. I was just a sponge with him, 2021 01:53:50.159 --> 01:53:54.039 and it allowed me, I think, for you know, to 2022 01:53:54.079 --> 01:53:58.359 have a decade of success with the Knicks and Madison 2023 01:53:58.399 --> 01:53:59.039 Square Garden. 2024 01:54:00.079 --> 01:54:03.560 You know, Dave, we were we were talking about some 2025 01:54:03.640 --> 01:54:07.520 of those qualities of Coach Layden's UH in earlier segment 2026 01:54:07.560 --> 01:54:11.800 with Coach Johnson, and I made the UH the analogy 2027 01:54:11.920 --> 01:54:14.119 that to me, it was a little bit like the 2028 01:54:14.199 --> 01:54:20.239 recent documentary that came out about Yogi Berra and his 2029 01:54:20.359 --> 01:54:23.560 granddaughter who did this film and researched all the information 2030 01:54:23.760 --> 01:54:27.880 and said that that her her grandfather was known, you 2031 01:54:27.920 --> 01:54:31.439 know as the quote the quote master, and the storyteller 2032 01:54:31.479 --> 01:54:33.960 and all that kind of stuff, But nobody really gave 2033 01:54:34.039 --> 01:54:36.960 him his due for for who he really was as 2034 01:54:37.000 --> 01:54:40.359 a baseball player, you know, game in and game out, 2035 01:54:40.399 --> 01:54:42.640 and his numbers over the years and all of that 2036 01:54:42.720 --> 01:54:45.039 kind of stuff, and when you look at him, you know, 2037 01:54:45.119 --> 01:54:49.760 his numbers far surpassed almost everybody else, uh in baseball 2038 01:54:49.880 --> 01:54:52.560 during that time. And and also as as a catcher 2039 01:54:52.640 --> 01:54:56.640 in the game. And we were saying, how how that somehow, 2040 01:54:56.760 --> 01:55:01.600 you know, sometimes uh uh came over into how Frank 2041 01:55:02.079 --> 01:55:04.680 was viewed by the public because he was a funny 2042 01:55:04.680 --> 01:55:07.560 guy and told stories and did the stuff he did 2043 01:55:07.640 --> 01:55:12.640 in a public facing a way. But behind the scenes, 2044 01:55:12.680 --> 01:55:15.600 a lot of people don't know what kind of X 2045 01:55:15.640 --> 01:55:18.600 and O's tactician he was as a coach, you know, 2046 01:55:18.680 --> 01:55:21.640 how he was in the front office, how he managed people, 2047 01:55:22.039 --> 01:55:26.119 and all the things he did actually run the franchise 2048 01:55:26.159 --> 01:55:29.399 in the early days when it was teetering, and all 2049 01:55:29.439 --> 01:55:31.640 the things he had to do to keep all those, 2050 01:55:32.079 --> 01:55:35.159 if you will, all those plates spinning on top of 2051 01:55:35.199 --> 01:55:38.399 the on top of the sticks in order none of 2052 01:55:38.399 --> 01:55:41.960 them fall off. And what great skill he had in 2053 01:55:42.079 --> 01:55:43.600 doing all of that kind of stuff. 2054 01:55:45.560 --> 01:55:50.640 He was amazing and not only skilled and smart, but 2055 01:55:50.880 --> 01:55:54.880 so caring and so committed. And I'm not sure he 2056 01:55:54.920 --> 01:55:58.479 ever I mean, even though he had those nice accolades 2057 01:55:58.960 --> 01:56:03.680 Coach of the Year, Executive of the Year in eighty 2058 01:56:03.760 --> 01:56:06.520 four when we won the Midwest Division title my first 2059 01:56:06.600 --> 01:56:10.199 year with the team, So I got spoiled quickly because 2060 01:56:10.199 --> 01:56:13.479 that just started a run of when we just made 2061 01:56:13.520 --> 01:56:18.159 the playoffs every year that we were together, Frank and I. 2062 01:56:18.399 --> 01:56:23.279 And it's because of the job that he did not exs, 2063 01:56:23.479 --> 01:56:27.479 not just excess and oose, but his leadership, his support 2064 01:56:27.880 --> 01:56:32.640 is mentoring. I thought of a funny story, Spencer that 2065 01:56:33.560 --> 01:56:39.720 I'll never forget. I was, of course negotiating player contracts 2066 01:56:40.880 --> 01:56:44.680 and trying to get players signed as quickly as I could, 2067 01:56:44.720 --> 01:56:47.600 to always get guys into camp and make sure we 2068 01:56:47.720 --> 01:56:50.960 had the best players on the floor. And I was 2069 01:56:51.039 --> 01:56:54.479 right in the middle of the Dantley holdout, and I'm 2070 01:56:54.600 --> 01:56:57.479 just so angry about all of that. But there was 2071 01:56:57.520 --> 01:57:04.840 a time later on Frank was still coaching where we 2072 01:57:04.840 --> 01:57:09.279 were almost done with a contract extension for Mark Eaton, 2073 01:57:10.159 --> 01:57:16.560 and he Mark Eaton's agent, Keith Glass, just wouldn't give 2074 01:57:16.640 --> 01:57:21.279 up on this one. Stupid incentive he wanted in Mark's contract. 2075 01:57:21.760 --> 01:57:25.840 He wanted an incentive that if Mark led the team 2076 01:57:25.960 --> 01:57:31.880 in rebounding that he got an extra twenty five thousand dollars. 2077 01:57:31.399 --> 01:57:37.520 And I went to coach Laden and I said, okay, Frank, 2078 01:57:37.600 --> 01:57:39.640 this is the last thing we need to do. If 2079 01:57:39.640 --> 01:57:43.239 we do this, he'll sign this new five year extension, 2080 01:57:43.319 --> 01:57:46.000 we'll be done with him and we can carry on. 2081 01:57:47.039 --> 01:57:49.119 And he said, what is it. And I said, he 2082 01:57:49.239 --> 01:57:52.880 wants a twenty five thousand dollars bonus if he leads 2083 01:57:52.960 --> 01:57:57.800 the team in rebounding. And he said, no, no, I'm 2084 01:57:57.800 --> 01:58:01.640 not doing that. We're not doing that because you know, 2085 01:58:01.840 --> 01:58:04.399 that's exactly what we need, is him trying to take 2086 01:58:04.520 --> 01:58:08.079 rebounds away from whoever's on the other side of the 2087 01:58:08.119 --> 01:58:11.520 free throw lane so he can add to his numbers. 2088 01:58:12.079 --> 01:58:15.239 We're just not going to do that. And I said, Frank, 2089 01:58:15.720 --> 01:58:19.760 it's like twenty five thousand dollars in a contract that 2090 01:58:19.920 --> 01:58:23.399 was paying eating probably something like four or five hundred 2091 01:58:23.399 --> 01:58:29.800 thousand dollars at the time. And I said, this is 2092 01:58:29.880 --> 01:58:31.920 all we need to get this done. This thing will 2093 01:58:31.920 --> 01:58:35.560 be behind us. We'll have him for five years. And 2094 01:58:35.600 --> 01:58:39.079 Frank said, Dave, you know what, this is your deal. 2095 01:58:39.760 --> 01:58:42.680 You do what you want. But I say, no, I'm 2096 01:58:42.680 --> 01:58:47.960 against and so I went back. I negotiated for so 2097 01:58:48.119 --> 01:58:51.640 long in this contract that I went back to Keith 2098 01:58:51.720 --> 01:58:54.880 Glass and I said, Keith, if you tell me this 2099 01:58:54.960 --> 01:58:57.920 is the very last deal, I'm doing this against my 2100 01:58:58.079 --> 01:59:02.079 coaches wishes, I'll do it just just just to have 2101 01:59:02.159 --> 01:59:07.000 it behind us. And Keith said, that's the last thing. 2102 01:59:07.520 --> 01:59:08.239 We have a deal. 2103 01:59:08.840 --> 01:59:12.319 So we signed the contract and it was a full 2104 01:59:12.600 --> 01:59:15.880 two years later. It was two years after we signed 2105 01:59:15.880 --> 01:59:19.319 that contract that we're playing in a very tight game 2106 01:59:19.600 --> 01:59:23.199 at home. I think it was against the Mavericks, and 2107 01:59:23.359 --> 01:59:28.159 we're at home and on a certain free throw I 2108 01:59:28.159 --> 01:59:31.079 don't remember. I think it was Rolando Blackman shooting a 2109 01:59:31.159 --> 01:59:34.479 free throw out. It's I can remember the moment like 2110 01:59:34.520 --> 01:59:39.159 it was yesterday. And he makes the first free throw 2111 01:59:39.359 --> 01:59:43.800 and misses the second, and Eaton goes up to grab 2112 01:59:43.880 --> 01:59:47.800 the rebound, just as Malone does as well, and neither 2113 01:59:47.880 --> 01:59:51.159 one of them yielded to the other, and they tipped 2114 01:59:51.199 --> 02:00:00.399 the ball in went in the basket. And Scotty remember 2115 02:00:00.439 --> 02:00:02.760 where I used to sit on the second road, just 2116 02:00:03.119 --> 02:00:10.159 down from Press Road, and I see Frank marching toward me. 2117 02:00:10.760 --> 02:00:14.079 We're in the middle of the game and I'm sitting 2118 02:00:14.119 --> 02:00:17.600 with my I'm sitting with my family, and he comes 2119 02:00:17.720 --> 02:00:23.439 over and stands right in front of me and he says, so, Dave, 2120 02:00:24.279 --> 02:00:28.840 what do you think about your I'll leave out the word, 2121 02:00:29.399 --> 02:00:31.199 what do you think about your incentive? 2122 02:00:31.279 --> 02:00:31.520 Now? 2123 02:00:32.319 --> 02:00:36.560 He inserted a little admitt what do you think about 2124 02:00:36.640 --> 02:00:37.279 your blank? 2125 02:00:37.800 --> 02:00:41.640 You're blank? He's blanking incentive now. 2126 02:00:41.600 --> 02:00:42.800 What do you think about it now? 2127 02:00:43.239 --> 02:00:46.000 And he stands there like I'm just answering, and I 2128 02:00:46.159 --> 02:00:54.159 just am shrugging my shoulders like I'm so sorry. 2129 02:00:52.279 --> 02:00:55.079 Scott and Dad, I want to get you inside in 2130 02:00:55.119 --> 02:00:59.479 this too. You know, Frank did something that really nobody does, 2131 02:01:00.119 --> 02:01:01.720 and he would joke in later years that if he 2132 02:01:01.800 --> 02:01:03.560 knew coaches were going to be paid four or five 2133 02:01:03.600 --> 02:01:05.880 six million dollars a year, maybe he would have stuck around. 2134 02:01:05.920 --> 02:01:10.840 But he retires in nineteen eighty eight, and as the 2135 02:01:10.920 --> 02:01:13.680 legend goes, he had just been ejected from a game 2136 02:01:13.680 --> 02:01:17.199 by Earl Strom after getting into a shouting match with 2137 02:01:17.319 --> 02:01:22.079 Darryl Walker. But he also talked Scott about his desire 2138 02:01:22.199 --> 02:01:25.000 to spend time with Barbara, with your mother and with 2139 02:01:25.079 --> 02:01:27.319 the family, and you know, just kind of live his 2140 02:01:27.359 --> 02:01:29.960 life a little bit, and you know, Jerry of course 2141 02:01:30.000 --> 02:01:31.439 takes over and the rest is history. 2142 02:01:31.479 --> 02:01:33.119 But Scott will start with you, then Dad will go 2143 02:01:33.159 --> 02:01:33.640 to you on this. 2144 02:01:34.199 --> 02:01:38.119 Can you shed some insight onto into exactly what that 2145 02:01:38.319 --> 02:01:40.119 was like for him to walk away from a team 2146 02:01:40.159 --> 02:01:41.800 that he had built it was ready to win at 2147 02:01:41.800 --> 02:01:42.600 a very high level. 2148 02:01:44.239 --> 02:01:48.279 I think I think the probably, I mean, this may 2149 02:01:48.319 --> 02:01:51.640 be an oversimplification, but I think I think it was 2150 02:01:51.680 --> 02:01:56.560 a selfless act at the time. And you know, while 2151 02:01:56.760 --> 02:02:02.640 while I think he had, you know, enjoyed coaching, I 2152 02:02:02.680 --> 02:02:06.199 think he I think he felt good about coaching, he 2153 02:02:06.239 --> 02:02:11.159 felt good about the team, but I also think he 2154 02:02:11.279 --> 02:02:15.319 understood where there was a little bit of a tipping 2155 02:02:15.359 --> 02:02:18.720 point that if we waited too long, we could lose 2156 02:02:19.279 --> 02:02:22.399 you know, a great coach and coach Sloan and his 2157 02:02:22.439 --> 02:02:26.840 selflessness I think allowed him to step away. And the 2158 02:02:26.880 --> 02:02:29.960 other thing is, and and Dave knows this well because 2159 02:02:30.720 --> 02:02:36.560 they were really close, is that he had other, you know, 2160 02:02:36.680 --> 02:02:43.479 other interests. It did like he wasn't he wasn't beholden 2161 02:02:43.560 --> 02:02:47.319 to just basketball. He had so many other things that 2162 02:02:47.399 --> 02:02:49.840 he wanted to do, and he wanted to do with 2163 02:02:49.880 --> 02:02:53.720 my mom and my brother and sister. So it wasn't 2164 02:02:53.840 --> 02:02:57.119 like he needed, you know that that's all he could do. 2165 02:02:57.199 --> 02:03:00.279 He was more of a renaissance man than not. And 2166 02:03:00.319 --> 02:03:05.119 he also loved being out in the community and and 2167 02:03:05.119 --> 02:03:08.279 and travel and and so I think he I think 2168 02:03:08.319 --> 02:03:11.600 he was comfortable with where he was and what he 2169 02:03:11.640 --> 02:03:14.600 had done. And now you know, it was it was 2170 02:03:14.680 --> 02:03:20.399 Jerry's time. And no one was more supportive of Jerry 2171 02:03:20.439 --> 02:03:23.520 Sloane than my dad because if you look at coach 2172 02:03:23.600 --> 02:03:27.239 Johnson and you look at Coach Sloan as as when 2173 02:03:27.279 --> 02:03:29.680 they were assistants, they were. 2174 02:03:29.560 --> 02:03:35.159 Both capable of being head coaches for sure, but both 2175 02:03:35.199 --> 02:03:38.800 of them were so fiercely loyal and I'll tell you 2176 02:03:38.800 --> 02:03:39.920 it was a great quality. 2177 02:03:39.960 --> 02:03:42.399 It was a great lesson for me. They were both 2178 02:03:42.520 --> 02:03:45.960 fiercely loyal to my dad and that's what made those 2179 02:03:46.000 --> 02:03:49.399 relationships work. So when it came time, I think it 2180 02:03:49.479 --> 02:03:51.359 was easy for my dad to say, you know what 2181 02:03:52.199 --> 02:03:56.159 this is, this is Garry's time, so yeah, we'll. 2182 02:03:56.199 --> 02:03:59.399 Go over to you. I wonder, you know, when Frank 2183 02:04:00.119 --> 02:04:02.720 it came to you with that decision, what that was like, 2184 02:04:02.920 --> 02:04:05.720 and how eventually it went from Frank to Jerry. 2185 02:04:08.439 --> 02:04:12.880 It happened over quite a long period of time. Right 2186 02:04:12.920 --> 02:04:17.600 after training camp that season, he started to make noise 2187 02:04:17.800 --> 02:04:20.199 like that. When I would talk to him, he'd say, 2188 02:04:20.279 --> 02:04:23.159 Dave Man, I don't know if I can do this. 2189 02:04:23.880 --> 02:04:26.640 And we had had keep in mind that I think 2190 02:04:26.640 --> 02:04:29.479 our coming out party was nineteen at the end of 2191 02:04:29.520 --> 02:04:35.159 the the seventy or the seventh let's see eighty seven 2192 02:04:35.239 --> 02:04:39.239 eighty eight season, when we played the Lakers in a 2193 02:04:39.479 --> 02:04:42.800 seven game series. They would go on to win the championship, 2194 02:04:43.399 --> 02:04:46.760 but we played them in a very tough seven game series, 2195 02:04:46.800 --> 02:04:51.399 and actually when we came home for Game six, we 2196 02:04:52.000 --> 02:04:55.479 blew them out like one oh six to eighty on 2197 02:04:55.520 --> 02:04:59.680 our floor and set up a big Game seven, which 2198 02:04:59.720 --> 02:05:06.720 we in LA. But I was surprised because he started 2199 02:05:06.760 --> 02:05:10.479 making noise right after training camp about I hate getting 2200 02:05:10.520 --> 02:05:13.560 on airplanes, I hate all the travel, I hate the 2201 02:05:13.640 --> 02:05:16.800 hotel rooms. All of a sudden, he said, it's just 2202 02:05:17.800 --> 02:05:21.199 it's just gotten old for me. And I said, but Frank, 2203 02:05:21.239 --> 02:05:25.199 we finally have a team. We finally have a team 2204 02:05:25.239 --> 02:05:29.239 that can do something really special. I mean really special. 2205 02:05:29.479 --> 02:05:33.119 You saw what we did with the World Champs last year. 2206 02:05:33.199 --> 02:05:37.199 This year could be better. We should be better, and 2207 02:05:37.600 --> 02:05:39.720 don't you want to stick around to enjoy it? But 2208 02:05:39.840 --> 02:05:43.680 he said he would keep saying I just don't have it. 2209 02:05:43.880 --> 02:05:44.960 I just don't. 2210 02:05:46.399 --> 02:05:50.119 I just don't feel it. But all these. 2211 02:05:50.039 --> 02:05:55.920 Years later, I have concluded that there was something else 2212 02:05:56.000 --> 02:06:00.319 to play with him. And you know, he'll never He'll 2213 02:06:00.359 --> 02:06:03.479 never confirm this. He would never acknowledge it, even though 2214 02:06:03.520 --> 02:06:07.439 I pushed him over the years to say, I know what. 2215 02:06:07.560 --> 02:06:10.239 Was up with you then, And what was up was 2216 02:06:10.359 --> 02:06:14.520 he did not want he did not want if he 2217 02:06:14.640 --> 02:06:21.000 stepped down. He wanted Larry and me to have no choice. 2218 02:06:21.640 --> 02:06:25.000 He wanted it to be Jerry Sloan. And the best 2219 02:06:25.000 --> 02:06:27.800 way to do that would be the resign mid season, 2220 02:06:28.640 --> 02:06:31.720 because I mean, we're not going to conduct a search 2221 02:06:32.199 --> 02:06:36.640 then and select somebody else. I wouldn't have anyway, But 2222 02:06:38.479 --> 02:06:43.720 Larry always talked about, you know, if Frank ever steps down, 2223 02:06:43.760 --> 02:06:45.079 we're going to have to do a search. 2224 02:06:45.319 --> 02:06:49.199 And I knew. I think we all knew that Jerry, 2225 02:06:49.279 --> 02:06:52.840 even though he'd been fired in Chicago, we knew he 2226 02:06:52.880 --> 02:06:56.520 was a great, great coach and a person of great character. 2227 02:06:57.279 --> 02:07:02.039 I think Frank did that totally to force our hand. 2228 02:07:02.560 --> 02:07:06.000 I've never said this publicly but I think he did 2229 02:07:06.039 --> 02:07:09.840 it totally to force our hand, to make sure that 2230 02:07:09.920 --> 02:07:12.439 this guy who had been so loyal to him and 2231 02:07:12.600 --> 02:07:15.000 was so ready for the job, got the job. 2232 02:07:15.600 --> 02:07:18.439 And as I remember that, Dave, if I'm my memory 2233 02:07:18.439 --> 02:07:21.399 show as we correct, I think we had a game 2234 02:07:21.600 --> 02:07:24.199 in the in the Salt Palace on a Wednesday night, 2235 02:07:25.880 --> 02:07:30.079 came in Thursday morning, announced to the team that that 2236 02:07:30.199 --> 02:07:33.680 he was stepping down immediately as the head coach, and 2237 02:07:33.760 --> 02:07:37.640 Jerry was running practice that morning, and Jerry ran ran 2238 02:07:37.720 --> 02:07:39.920 the practice, and then the team got on a flight 2239 02:07:40.039 --> 02:07:42.439 that afternoon. I think it was to go to Dallas 2240 02:07:42.479 --> 02:07:45.199 for a game Friday night, and it was just you know, 2241 02:07:45.319 --> 02:07:47.039 just as you say, it was just like, we don't 2242 02:07:47.039 --> 02:07:49.640 have any time to do anything else. This is what 2243 02:07:49.760 --> 02:07:51.279 we have to do. We have to do this thing. 2244 02:07:51.760 --> 02:07:53.079 And because we got a game with. 2245 02:07:53.119 --> 02:07:57.159 One night, yeah, and we had, I mean all of 2246 02:07:57.279 --> 02:07:59.560 us had agreed the night before that that's what we 2247 02:07:59.600 --> 02:08:04.000 would do. And Larry came in too. Larry Miller walked 2248 02:08:04.039 --> 02:08:07.399 into the dressing room well, and we let Frank announce 2249 02:08:07.960 --> 02:08:12.840 that he was stepping aside and that Jerry was was 2250 02:08:12.880 --> 02:08:17.720 going to take over. And then Larry said, I want 2251 02:08:17.760 --> 02:08:21.159 to just say one thing. And he looked at the mailman. 2252 02:08:21.279 --> 02:08:25.960 I remember him giving the mailman at Death's there, and 2253 02:08:26.039 --> 02:08:30.479 he gave him this look and he said, this was 2254 02:08:30.680 --> 02:08:37.399 Frank's decision and only Frank. He was nobody else had 2255 02:08:37.479 --> 02:08:40.600 anything to do with this. This is totally his decision. 2256 02:08:40.640 --> 02:08:44.760 Because he thought Larry thought the players would would think 2257 02:08:44.840 --> 02:08:48.279 that he had he had pushed Frank out. He wanted 2258 02:08:48.439 --> 02:08:49.079 he wanted the. 2259 02:08:49.039 --> 02:08:52.800 Players to know and this was true. It was totally Frank. 2260 02:08:54.119 --> 02:08:57.159 We're chatting with Scott Laden live in Vegas, Dave Checkets 2261 02:08:57.159 --> 02:08:57.800 live in New York. 2262 02:08:57.880 --> 02:08:59.600 Richard Smith live in Salt Lake City. 2263 02:08:59.720 --> 02:09:01.880 I don't both of you have to go, so we'll 2264 02:09:01.920 --> 02:09:04.600 end with this and Scott will start with you, and 2265 02:09:04.640 --> 02:09:07.239 then Dad, we'll go to you. I wonder whether it's 2266 02:09:08.399 --> 02:09:12.359 pearls of wisdom, pieces of advice, funny saints, and I 2267 02:09:12.399 --> 02:09:15.600 know there's a lot there if you could share any 2268 02:09:15.640 --> 02:09:17.840 of the great lessons you learned from Frank. 2269 02:09:18.680 --> 02:09:20.600 Before I said both of you lose. Scott will start 2270 02:09:20.640 --> 02:09:20.840 with you. 2271 02:09:23.399 --> 02:09:29.520 Oh, there were many I haten to do this, but 2272 02:09:29.840 --> 02:09:32.600 I said this the other night or the other day 2273 02:09:33.439 --> 02:09:38.720 at the during the eulogy, he had all these things, 2274 02:09:38.720 --> 02:09:42.359 and they were coming at us constantly. Words of advice. 2275 02:09:43.640 --> 02:09:47.159 Whenever you go in a restaurant, immediately go into bathroom, 2276 02:09:47.840 --> 02:09:53.039 because whoever cleans the bathroom cleans the kitchen. Always leave 2277 02:09:53.039 --> 02:10:00.199 a place better than you found it. Now, clearly Utah, 2278 02:10:00.319 --> 02:10:03.479 Salt Lake City, the jazz were better than he found 2279 02:10:03.520 --> 02:10:08.199 it when he left. Never refuse a breath mint that 2280 02:10:08.439 --> 02:10:13.560 sound advice. And then my favorite, and this is where 2281 02:10:13.960 --> 02:10:17.640 I'm nervous, but I'm gonna say anyway, never trust a 2282 02:10:17.720 --> 02:10:22.319 man with two first names. So I said, I said, Dad, 2283 02:10:23.319 --> 02:10:26.079 what I don't understand what what do you mean by that? 2284 02:10:26.399 --> 02:10:27.600 He said, we'll think about it. 2285 02:10:27.640 --> 02:10:38.399 Son, Mike Lee, Lindsey Graham, Paul Ryan, Oh my god, 2286 02:10:38.479 --> 02:10:40.279 my daughter is my speech writer. 2287 02:10:42.439 --> 02:10:44.680 So he said, he said, you know, I'm not a 2288 02:10:44.680 --> 02:10:47.960 member of any organized political party. I'm a Democrat. And 2289 02:10:49.720 --> 02:10:52.319 today's day and age. In today's day and age, it's 2290 02:10:52.439 --> 02:10:58.439 like it's so poignant. But during the last several months, 2291 02:10:58.800 --> 02:11:01.239 I can't tell you how many nerves came into his room. 2292 02:11:01.239 --> 02:11:05.399 And I said, coach, thank you so much. You're the 2293 02:11:05.439 --> 02:11:10.000 only room in the hospital that has Rachel Maddow an MSNBC. 2294 02:11:14.840 --> 02:11:18.319 I'll leave it there. I'm sorry. 2295 02:11:18.600 --> 02:11:19.640 No, I'll tell you. 2296 02:11:19.720 --> 02:11:24.000 I got to tell you something because I worked with Smitty, 2297 02:11:26.640 --> 02:11:29.640 I worked with Spencer when he was a young man. 2298 02:11:29.680 --> 02:11:35.520 I can't. I just can't get over that Internet that 2299 02:11:35.760 --> 02:11:42.039 worked for me is now this radio. I don't know. 2300 02:11:42.159 --> 02:11:44.279 You're like, you're a dynamo. I just can't get over 2301 02:11:44.479 --> 02:11:46.239 with you. Know. It's so You're like, no, I can't 2302 02:11:46.359 --> 02:11:50.119 believe you're the same person. And then I'm telling you 2303 02:11:50.239 --> 02:11:53.560 I loved and I told him the other night, I 2304 02:11:53.640 --> 02:11:58.920 loved working for Dave check Its because every day was competitive, 2305 02:11:59.079 --> 02:12:03.520 it was intense, and we were focused on winning it all. 2306 02:12:03.760 --> 02:12:07.760 And that's I. I appreciate the opportunity that have worked 2307 02:12:07.760 --> 02:12:09.960 with you guys, and obviously worked with my dad. So 2308 02:12:10.079 --> 02:12:11.199 thank you, thank. 2309 02:12:11.000 --> 02:12:15.520 You for those words, Scott, Dad will win with you. 2310 02:12:15.520 --> 02:12:21.640 Oh Scottie, the opposite is true. You were just a 2311 02:12:21.800 --> 02:12:25.560 joy always to work with and you know, to shure 2312 02:12:25.640 --> 02:12:30.159 you work with your dad everything from the lucky ties, 2313 02:12:30.399 --> 02:12:35.359 you know, to all everything we did to try and win. 2314 02:12:35.960 --> 02:12:40.000 My favorite thoughts from Frank I'll just offer up too. 2315 02:12:41.199 --> 02:12:43.880 I know he said never trust a man with two names, 2316 02:12:44.000 --> 02:12:46.680 but he had those other thing, Scott. He said, never 2317 02:12:46.880 --> 02:12:55.840 trust a man with a beard and he's hiding something, 2318 02:12:56.119 --> 02:13:00.760 and he meant it, absolutely meant it. Never trust the 2319 02:13:00.760 --> 02:13:04.319 man with the beard. But this was one of his 2320 02:13:04.439 --> 02:13:10.840 favorite sayings. And this is why I think he ran 2321 02:13:10.920 --> 02:13:15.479 out of gas with the Jazz. I think this had 2322 02:13:15.520 --> 02:13:18.000 something to do with it, and he resigned too early. 2323 02:13:18.760 --> 02:13:24.039 But he always said, it's better to surprise than disappoint, 2324 02:13:26.079 --> 02:13:28.560 and that was one of his favorite sayings. And you 2325 02:13:28.600 --> 02:13:34.760 know what, the Jazz is under Frank had started surprising 2326 02:13:34.800 --> 02:13:38.000 people in that eighty three eighty four season. And in 2327 02:13:38.039 --> 02:13:40.920 that eighty eight season, we had played the Lakers to 2328 02:13:41.000 --> 02:13:44.319 a stancill. I mean they had to dig deep. We 2329 02:13:44.319 --> 02:13:47.920 were the best team they played that year, and they 2330 02:13:47.960 --> 02:13:50.720 went all the way to winning a title. And Frank 2331 02:13:50.800 --> 02:13:55.439 knew that that young team had come of age and 2332 02:13:55.520 --> 02:13:59.039 he just didn't love being in a situation where there 2333 02:13:59.119 --> 02:14:03.720 was only downside. He loved being in a situation where 2334 02:14:03.760 --> 02:14:07.880 there was only upside because he he knew he could 2335 02:14:07.920 --> 02:14:11.960 surprise people. He knew his team could surprise people. And suddenly, 2336 02:14:12.039 --> 02:14:16.039 instead of the underdog, the lovable underdog, the Jazz had 2337 02:14:16.079 --> 02:14:19.199 become a real force in the NBA. 2338 02:14:20.800 --> 02:14:22.520 Well Daved and Scott. 2339 02:14:23.840 --> 02:14:27.119 Good I was just. 2340 02:14:27.039 --> 02:14:31.319 Gonna I love I love him, I'll miss him and 2341 02:14:31.960 --> 02:14:33.319 love the whole Laden family. 2342 02:14:34.319 --> 02:14:35.920 You know, I was just going to add just a 2343 02:14:35.960 --> 02:14:40.079 little anecdote David Scott. You know, I remember Frank Scott 2344 02:14:40.119 --> 02:14:42.720 when when Scott first got to New York and got 2345 02:14:42.800 --> 02:14:46.439 situated and brought Frank in, and and Frank came home 2346 02:14:46.520 --> 02:14:49.439 from the first visit in New York, and and. 2347 02:14:49.680 --> 02:14:50.600 I'm visiting with him. 2348 02:14:50.600 --> 02:14:52.800 We're out to dinner, and he said, hey, look at this, 2349 02:14:52.920 --> 02:14:55.399 and he takes out his key ring and he shows 2350 02:14:55.439 --> 02:14:58.960 you and and I said, what is that, coach. He goes, 2351 02:14:59.159 --> 02:15:01.960 see this key right here. I go, yeah, He goes, 2352 02:15:03.000 --> 02:15:06.000 that's the key from Adison Square garden. And I said 2353 02:15:07.159 --> 02:15:09.520 for the garden. He goes, yeah, they gave me the 2354 02:15:09.600 --> 02:15:11.760 key to their garden. This opens every door in the garden. 2355 02:15:12.159 --> 02:15:14.359 And and he just had this twinkle in his eye 2356 02:15:14.479 --> 02:15:17.840 like I've gotten right to the top, right at the right, 2357 02:15:17.960 --> 02:15:20.159 now I'm at the pinnacle. This is it. I got 2358 02:15:20.159 --> 02:15:22.600 a key to the garden. I can't get in any 2359 02:15:22.680 --> 02:15:26.079 door I want. And this was he was so proud 2360 02:15:26.119 --> 02:15:28.560 of that and was so so excited to show me 2361 02:15:28.600 --> 02:15:29.439 that he had the key. 2362 02:15:29.640 --> 02:15:32.800 It was funny, Scottie, Dad will set you loose. Uh, 2363 02:15:33.119 --> 02:15:34.880 you can't thank you enough. I know you both have 2364 02:15:35.039 --> 02:15:37.640 things to do. So this has been awesome. Travel safe 2365 02:15:37.640 --> 02:15:38.479 and we'll chat soon. 2366 02:15:38.520 --> 02:15:42.960 Okay, thank you, sir, all right. 2367 02:15:42.960 --> 02:15:44.760 Thanks guys, Scott Lane so much. 2368 02:15:45.640 --> 02:15:46.840 Scott by Dad. 2369 02:15:46.880 --> 02:15:49.720 Scott Laden live in Vegas, Dave Checkets live in New York, 2370 02:15:49.800 --> 02:15:51.880 Richard Smith live in Salt Lake. We still have more 2371 02:15:51.880 --> 02:15:54.359 to do, even though it feels like we've done a lot. 2372 02:15:55.159 --> 02:15:58.159 The former head coach of the Utah football team, Ron McBride, 2373 02:15:58.640 --> 02:16:01.399 uh via Smitty, requested to come on today. And when 2374 02:16:01.479 --> 02:16:03.399 Ron McBride hasked to come on a radio show, you 2375 02:16:03.479 --> 02:16:06.840 come on a radio show. He's in Hawaii conducting a 2376 02:16:06.840 --> 02:16:09.199 football camp, but he and Frank were very close, so 2377 02:16:09.239 --> 02:16:09.960 we'll bring him on. 2378 02:16:10.640 --> 02:16:12.520 We have done something a little unique today. 2379 02:16:12.600 --> 02:16:14.920 Back to kind of our regular schedule programming for the 2380 02:16:14.920 --> 02:16:17.960 rest of the week. I was out Thursday of Friday 2381 02:16:18.279 --> 02:16:20.159 last week, so I was not able to be on air. 2382 02:16:20.199 --> 02:16:23.039 After the passing of frank Leyden last week at the 2383 02:16:23.079 --> 02:16:25.560 age of ninety three, so we are honoring his life 2384 02:16:25.600 --> 02:16:29.159 in legacy. Phil Johnson joined us. Scott Layden live in Vegas, 2385 02:16:29.199 --> 02:16:31.439 Dave Checkets live in New York. Richard Smith is good 2386 02:16:31.520 --> 02:16:33.479 enough to join us in studio live in Salt Lake. 2387 02:16:33.559 --> 02:16:37.760 Now we go across the ocean to the rock where 2388 02:16:37.799 --> 02:16:40.959 the Great Ron McBride is good enough to give us 2389 02:16:41.000 --> 02:16:43.479 some time on a Monday afternoon. Coach Mack, how are you, sir? 2390 02:16:44.600 --> 02:16:44.840 Good? 2391 02:16:44.879 --> 02:16:46.760 How you guys do We're good? 2392 02:16:46.760 --> 02:16:47.159 We're good. 2393 02:16:47.200 --> 02:16:49.360 I'll just ask you the same question I've asked all 2394 02:16:49.399 --> 02:16:52.120 my guests. What was it like to be frank Leyden's friend? 2395 02:16:53.280 --> 02:16:57.799 Oh man, he was special and a number of things 2396 02:16:57.799 --> 02:17:01.040 that in favors he did for me over the last 2397 02:17:01.879 --> 02:17:09.079 thirty years or or just unbelievable because whenever you call 2398 02:17:09.200 --> 02:17:13.799 him for something, he always said, no problem, I got you. 2399 02:17:14.559 --> 02:17:17.120 And even when he started goal out, he still showed up. 2400 02:17:17.159 --> 02:17:20.440 And I think in the last ten years we had 2401 02:17:20.760 --> 02:17:25.600 twenty three events and he showed up for twenty one 2402 02:17:25.639 --> 02:17:27.920 of them, and the only ones he did show up 2403 02:17:28.399 --> 02:17:34.200 was this year because he, unfortunately was on a huge declaim. 2404 02:17:35.799 --> 02:17:38.440 The coach, It's really nice for me to take a 2405 02:17:38.479 --> 02:17:41.319 few minutes to visit with us about about frank today. 2406 02:17:41.319 --> 02:17:45.399 Tell us, tell us about the unique relationship that you 2407 02:17:46.000 --> 02:17:49.920 two had, because I've been fortunate to be around you 2408 02:17:50.000 --> 02:17:55.000 guys in some public settings and also private get togethers, 2409 02:17:55.079 --> 02:17:58.559 and you guys always just seemed to have a unique 2410 02:17:59.360 --> 02:18:03.520 speciald that goes beyond sports, but was was more of 2411 02:18:03.680 --> 02:18:08.760 just a personal thing involving you just how you felt about. 2412 02:18:08.479 --> 02:18:12.360 Each other about it was a personal thing. And and 2413 02:18:12.559 --> 02:18:15.680 we we did a lot together. You know, he had 2414 02:18:15.719 --> 02:18:22.000 dinners together, events together, Uh, games together. You know, I 2415 02:18:22.040 --> 02:18:24.680 can't I can't tell you how many times he spoke 2416 02:18:24.760 --> 02:18:28.639 to to my football teams. And it was an awesome 2417 02:18:29.159 --> 02:18:34.639 pre pregame speaker. And it's funny, you know, and and uh, 2418 02:18:35.239 --> 02:18:40.239 you know, just he he had a way of of 2419 02:18:41.479 --> 02:18:47.239 reaching every every situation. Then, you know, he had a 2420 02:18:47.239 --> 02:18:51.520 way of just okay, what what what's what do you 2421 02:18:51.559 --> 02:18:54.159 got to get get across there? What do you need 2422 02:18:54.200 --> 02:18:57.600 to say? And then I'd say, Frank, if you cover 2423 02:18:57.719 --> 02:19:00.840 this and this and this, and then you whom ideas 2424 02:19:00.959 --> 02:19:04.760 and then he would just take it from there. You know. 2425 02:19:04.920 --> 02:19:09.760 He was he was funny, he was he was passionate, 2426 02:19:10.079 --> 02:19:14.079 He he was you know, he was everything you could 2427 02:19:14.120 --> 02:19:18.120 ask in a person. You know, he just was uh, 2428 02:19:18.239 --> 02:19:22.159 and we had you know, we had a great relationship 2429 02:19:22.159 --> 02:19:24.920 probably from day one. You know, I come over the 2430 02:19:24.920 --> 02:19:27.840 first time when they when the jazz came here, and 2431 02:19:30.840 --> 02:19:33.479 and I said, who's the guy who makes all the decisions? 2432 02:19:34.000 --> 02:19:37.200 They who are getting Frank Layton? I said, well, I 2433 02:19:37.239 --> 02:19:39.559 need to get hold myself. I need to see if 2434 02:19:39.600 --> 02:19:43.280 I can we can buy some tickets for some recruits 2435 02:19:43.280 --> 02:19:48.440 we have coming in and to see whether so I called. 2436 02:19:48.959 --> 02:19:52.239 I said, so, I called him, and he got on 2437 02:19:52.280 --> 02:19:55.639 the phone. They were talking and yucking it up, and 2438 02:19:55.799 --> 02:19:57.799 I said, look, I said, I got these, I got 2439 02:19:57.840 --> 02:20:01.000 a few guys. He said, okay, how many tickets do 2440 02:20:01.040 --> 02:20:04.280 you need? I said, well, you know, we could use around. 2441 02:20:04.079 --> 02:20:07.120 Thirty And he says, what time can you be here? 2442 02:20:10.319 --> 02:20:15.159 I said, And from that time on, you know, I 2443 02:20:15.200 --> 02:20:22.840 mean we became became great friends. And and that spans alone, you. 2444 02:20:22.840 --> 02:20:28.120 Know, a long time. And and he always you know, 2445 02:20:28.200 --> 02:20:31.799 it doesn't matter what the community asked him for, he 2446 02:20:31.879 --> 02:20:35.479 always did. It didn't matter what you know, he was. 2447 02:20:36.319 --> 02:20:39.520 He was great with the with the team, great with 2448 02:20:39.600 --> 02:20:43.840 the players, and he was great with my players. You know, 2449 02:20:43.920 --> 02:20:50.360 you couldn't ask for a better person. And and him 2450 02:20:50.559 --> 02:20:57.360 passing leaves a huge boy in my life because I 2451 02:20:57.559 --> 02:21:04.840 was very dependent on seeing him and and uh, you 2452 02:21:04.920 --> 02:21:08.479 know just uh he was just he's just one of 2453 02:21:08.479 --> 02:21:12.719 those unique people you know that you that you come 2454 02:21:12.760 --> 02:21:15.120 across in your life done well. 2455 02:21:15.120 --> 02:21:18.600 I know, coach, Uh you, you and Vicky were some 2456 02:21:18.639 --> 02:21:21.280 of the last people to be able to visit with him. 2457 02:21:21.319 --> 02:21:24.000 And and uh, I know you guys had such a 2458 02:21:24.319 --> 02:21:27.559 such a close, uh close bond, you know, with the 2459 02:21:27.639 --> 02:21:32.760 Leaden family and uh and it's just so heartwarming to 2460 02:21:32.840 --> 02:21:36.639 see that how you guys always uh interacted with each other. 2461 02:21:39.639 --> 02:21:45.319 I mean, please, so I had I forget what you 2462 02:21:45.719 --> 02:21:49.799 have been in the night he passed away. I had 2463 02:21:49.879 --> 02:21:53.440 been doing something pretty much all day and when I 2464 02:21:53.559 --> 02:21:59.760 when I got home, I said, I said to Vicky Kelly, 2465 02:22:00.440 --> 02:22:02.440 I said, you know, we need to go over to 2466 02:22:02.440 --> 02:22:06.360 see Frank because I don't think he's I don't think 2467 02:22:06.399 --> 02:22:08.200 he's doing well. I don't think I don't know what. 2468 02:22:08.840 --> 02:22:09.399 So we. 2469 02:22:10.760 --> 02:22:13.760 My daughter Kelly said, Okay, you guys, get in the car. 2470 02:22:14.120 --> 02:22:18.000 I'll drive you up. And I could tell that that 2471 02:22:19.040 --> 02:22:22.319 you know that you know he was he was not 2472 02:22:22.360 --> 02:22:25.879 going to make it, you know he was. It was 2473 02:22:26.000 --> 02:22:30.959 just heartbreaking because he fought this for. 2474 02:22:30.879 --> 02:22:31.680 A long time. 2475 02:22:32.200 --> 02:22:35.799 And what you can tell you you know, he was, 2476 02:22:37.280 --> 02:22:42.719 he was satisfied with with with what he did in 2477 02:22:42.760 --> 02:22:43.280 this life. 2478 02:22:45.440 --> 02:22:48.079 Coach. I've been asking people this question all day, and 2479 02:22:48.120 --> 02:22:50.639 of course most people know Frank is a great coach 2480 02:22:50.719 --> 02:22:54.120 and a very funny personality. But upon his passing, he 2481 02:22:54.200 --> 02:22:57.000 and Barbara were married sixty eight years. I wonder what 2482 02:22:57.120 --> 02:22:59.639 sort of insight you have as far as your friendship 2483 02:22:59.680 --> 02:23:01.840 with them as a couple and Frank as a husband. 2484 02:23:03.159 --> 02:23:06.000 Well, we we did a lot of things with them 2485 02:23:06.079 --> 02:23:09.959 as as uh, you know, we got to eat kind 2486 02:23:10.000 --> 02:23:14.479 of and Vicky would have once with Barbara and a 2487 02:23:14.479 --> 02:23:20.000 group of ladies. They usually me, you know, once or 2488 02:23:20.000 --> 02:23:23.840 twice a month, and they Kid and Barbara were real close. 2489 02:23:24.440 --> 02:23:28.159 And and then of course we had the old timers lunch, 2490 02:23:28.200 --> 02:23:32.399 you know that that that he done, that put together, 2491 02:23:32.600 --> 02:23:35.719 and that was and I, you know, I'd always show 2492 02:23:35.799 --> 02:23:39.879 up a little bit late, and I would always stay afterwards, 2493 02:23:39.879 --> 02:23:43.159 and that's when we that's when we'd have our real conversations. 2494 02:23:43.319 --> 02:23:46.360 After once was over and kind of everybody was gone, 2495 02:23:46.440 --> 02:23:50.079 and then Smitty would stay, Frank would be there, I 2496 02:23:50.120 --> 02:23:52.920 would be there, and then we get down to serious, 2497 02:23:53.399 --> 02:23:56.559 serious business of what was going on. 2498 02:23:57.440 --> 02:23:57.680 You know. 2499 02:23:58.159 --> 02:24:01.319 He left to talk baseball. Oh you know he's he's 2500 02:24:01.360 --> 02:24:08.000 a baseball fanatic. Love to talk about his hometown and uh, 2501 02:24:08.360 --> 02:24:12.920 and his his love for Barbara was just uh unique, 2502 02:24:13.000 --> 02:24:16.840 you know, they know, such a great relationship and and 2503 02:24:16.959 --> 02:24:22.000 uh and how much he depended on on on her 2504 02:24:22.680 --> 02:24:26.760 and uh, it just was you know, it's just you know, 2505 02:24:27.680 --> 02:24:30.040 I don't know what to say, except I know that 2506 02:24:30.040 --> 02:24:37.079 that at least a huge void. And he was a 2507 02:24:37.639 --> 02:24:43.799 huge supporter of my foundation for kids and he was 2508 02:24:44.360 --> 02:24:48.799 always always great with that any just anything anything you want, 2509 02:24:49.000 --> 02:24:55.280 you know, And and uh, a very intelligent man, you know, 2510 02:24:55.559 --> 02:24:59.799 just just as far as you know anything about you 2511 02:25:00.079 --> 02:25:05.079 talk anything about sports and uh and politics you know, 2512 02:25:05.239 --> 02:25:08.079 he was he was he was fun to talk to 2513 02:25:08.639 --> 02:25:13.079 about politics. Here and my wife were on the same wavelength, 2514 02:25:13.200 --> 02:25:17.319 you know, and and on politics, so so that that 2515 02:25:17.440 --> 02:25:23.159 was always an interesting conversation between Vicky and Frank about 2516 02:25:23.959 --> 02:25:28.879 you know, the today's today's world, about what was going 2517 02:25:28.920 --> 02:25:33.600 on and uh and uh he had opinions and she 2518 02:25:33.680 --> 02:25:38.680 had opinions. But uh, it was uh, I mean, what 2519 02:25:38.680 --> 02:25:42.000 what can you say? I mean, this guy thought was 2520 02:25:42.959 --> 02:25:47.120 ever day one since since the jazz came here. When 2521 02:25:47.159 --> 02:25:50.239 I got to know him, we were instant. You know, 2522 02:25:50.319 --> 02:25:55.319 we had an instant connection. And uh, if I could 2523 02:25:55.319 --> 02:25:58.840 ever do anything for him or he needed me for something, 2524 02:25:59.159 --> 02:26:04.559 always always glad to do it. But but his his 2525 02:26:04.600 --> 02:26:08.559 favorite saying all the time was you know, in closing 2526 02:26:08.600 --> 02:26:13.280 a phone call or or or when you're getting ready 2527 02:26:13.280 --> 02:26:15.360 of leaving, or what can I do for you? 2528 02:26:15.959 --> 02:26:16.799 You know? That was his. 2529 02:26:17.479 --> 02:26:19.479 He said, well, just let me know what I can 2530 02:26:19.520 --> 02:26:22.120 do for you. And I said, you don't need to 2531 02:26:22.200 --> 02:26:25.280 do anything for me. Well make sure you if you 2532 02:26:25.360 --> 02:26:28.719 need something, just tell me and I'll do it. And 2533 02:26:30.399 --> 02:26:34.360 I can remember Schmittie would bring him to two events 2534 02:26:34.360 --> 02:26:36.399 and he'd say, wow, I don't know how long I 2535 02:26:36.399 --> 02:26:39.719 can stay, but I'll stay until until you say I 2536 02:26:39.760 --> 02:26:43.959 can go. You know, I said, hey, you you go 2537 02:26:44.040 --> 02:26:47.000 wherever you want to go. But he'd hang and he 2538 02:26:47.120 --> 02:26:50.959 hang and hang, and he'd be there just talk. He'd 2539 02:26:51.000 --> 02:26:55.159 greet everybody when they came in, and you know, he 2540 02:26:55.360 --> 02:26:59.479 just uh he gave up his time and uh, he 2541 02:26:59.600 --> 02:27:04.360 loved it talk to people. He was a great, great communicator. Uh, 2542 02:27:04.799 --> 02:27:07.920 you know, had a great belief in the in the 2543 02:27:07.959 --> 02:27:13.399 in the jazz, you know, and obviously they they drafted 2544 02:27:13.479 --> 02:27:16.680 some great players during this time, and and they were 2545 02:27:16.719 --> 02:27:20.319 able to develop these guys and and uh, you know, 2546 02:27:20.440 --> 02:27:24.440 make it a make make us a great, a great product, 2547 02:27:25.200 --> 02:27:29.799 and uh you know, and with the event of John 2548 02:27:29.840 --> 02:27:32.760 and Carl and Jeff and that group and you know 2549 02:27:32.799 --> 02:27:34.799 that was a special group of players. 2550 02:27:34.840 --> 02:27:40.479 Here coach UH shifting gears for just second, we need 2551 02:27:40.520 --> 02:27:45.399 to publicly uh congratulate you on your selection to be 2552 02:27:45.760 --> 02:27:50.120 uh inducted into the Utah Ring of Honor at the 2553 02:27:50.200 --> 02:27:51.639 University of Utah. 2554 02:27:52.159 --> 02:27:54.719 Congratulations. Tell tell us a little bit about. 2555 02:27:54.520 --> 02:27:58.040 That, about your uh, how you got the phone call, 2556 02:27:58.079 --> 02:27:59.239 how you found out about that. 2557 02:28:00.760 --> 02:28:05.120 We were we were at a event, you know for 2558 02:28:05.600 --> 02:28:09.200 and I think it was our you know, our golf 2559 02:28:09.360 --> 02:28:11.680 our golf tournament. Then we had a deal on Funday night. 2560 02:28:11.879 --> 02:28:18.440 So the Mark Crowt had called uh Vicky and said, 2561 02:28:18.600 --> 02:28:21.639 make sure the coach is on time. And I'm thinking, 2562 02:28:22.520 --> 02:28:25.920 why is the athletic director that you don't worried about 2563 02:28:25.959 --> 02:28:30.079 it from out time to the event. And then I 2564 02:28:30.120 --> 02:28:31.879 get on he says, we have to be on time 2565 02:28:31.920 --> 02:28:34.719 to this event. I said, why, said, I have no idea. 2566 02:28:34.760 --> 02:28:37.319 I thought, well, maybe they're going to take my tickets away, 2567 02:28:38.840 --> 02:28:46.920 I know, you know, so so then UH Mark Mark said, Hey, 2568 02:28:46.920 --> 02:28:49.799 I like to make an announcement, you know, on the home. 2569 02:28:49.920 --> 02:28:53.360 I got what's what's this going to be? And he 2570 02:28:53.399 --> 02:28:58.719 says that, you know, coach Max went into the ring 2571 02:28:58.799 --> 02:29:02.760 of honor them and you and the job was just 2572 02:29:03.920 --> 02:29:10.040 so you know this this uh excited about it and 2573 02:29:10.040 --> 02:29:14.760 and appreciate it. And uh uh I appreciate it to 2574 02:29:14.879 --> 02:29:19.280 the particularly to the to the players that played for me, 2575 02:29:19.360 --> 02:29:24.159 and and the and the and the families that that 2576 02:29:24.159 --> 02:29:28.200 that built you know, what's theirted day and the players 2577 02:29:28.319 --> 02:29:32.840 and you know, and so we had a we had 2578 02:29:32.879 --> 02:29:36.280 a vision a long time ago of what this place 2579 02:29:36.360 --> 02:29:42.319 could be and uh and and the vision is still 2580 02:29:42.440 --> 02:29:46.040 right there, you know. And and and Kyle obviously has 2581 02:29:46.719 --> 02:29:50.959 has done a great job and and to take it 2582 02:29:51.000 --> 02:29:54.799 to the next step. And he's hired the right people 2583 02:29:55.000 --> 02:29:58.239 and you got you know, a great you know, most 2584 02:29:58.239 --> 02:30:01.959 of the defensive staff that played at Utah and. 2585 02:30:05.959 --> 02:30:08.280 Then any desire the. 2586 02:30:08.280 --> 02:30:14.200 New offensive coordinator when running back coach Jake Kukus. And 2587 02:30:14.879 --> 02:30:17.200 you know, so they got a lot of people that 2588 02:30:19.239 --> 02:30:21.920 I know quite well that are working for him in 2589 02:30:21.959 --> 02:30:22.319 their home. 2590 02:30:22.840 --> 02:30:26.360 They're all happy and they don't want to go anywhace else. 2591 02:30:26.399 --> 02:30:27.360 And they're committed to. 2592 02:30:29.319 --> 02:30:33.120 What Kyle's vision is at the University of Utah. 2593 02:30:33.200 --> 02:30:35.200 Well, coach Mac, thank you so much for your time 2594 02:30:35.239 --> 02:30:37.280 on this very special day. We will set you loose, 2595 02:30:37.399 --> 02:30:39.520 enjoy Hawaii and safe travel, sir. 2596 02:30:39.559 --> 02:30:41.280 Okay, okay. 2597 02:30:41.319 --> 02:30:44.600 I would like to say then closing that how much 2598 02:30:44.639 --> 02:30:50.079 I love Frank and how much I'm missing And he 2599 02:30:50.280 --> 02:30:55.600 was a real guy, you know, and smid what you 2600 02:30:55.719 --> 02:31:00.000 did for him in the last twelve years, thirteen years 2601 02:31:01.000 --> 02:31:05.520 of taking care of and being his sidekick, being there 2602 02:31:05.600 --> 02:31:10.200 all the time. I can't tell you how much all 2603 02:31:10.280 --> 02:31:14.559 of us appreciate what what what you did for what 2604 02:31:14.600 --> 02:31:19.120 you did for him, especially through the tough times. And 2605 02:31:19.159 --> 02:31:22.879 that's what tells you a lot about people, is what 2606 02:31:23.040 --> 02:31:27.600 you do when somebody can't do something for you and 2607 02:31:28.639 --> 02:31:30.760 it's gonna thank you. Thank you for giving up for 2608 02:31:30.799 --> 02:31:33.680 yourself and caring about front. 2609 02:31:34.840 --> 02:31:36.200 Very kind of your coach. Thank you. 2610 02:31:40.040 --> 02:31:42.319 Okay, have a good have a good day you guys. 2611 02:31:42.920 --> 02:31:44.239 Yeah that I love. 2612 02:31:45.879 --> 02:31:46.799 What's more. 2613 02:31:53.200 --> 02:31:55.760 Way, Yes, I. 2614 02:31:59.440 --> 02:32:04.040 I you know I've been off mold than I could too, 2615 02:32:05.000 --> 02:32:09.239 but through it all and that was out. I ended 2616 02:32:09.319 --> 02:32:14.639 up and spit it out. The record shows I took 2617 02:32:14.680 --> 02:32:17.360 the blows. But did it? 2618 02:32:20.280 --> 02:32:23.200 Bravo, Yeah, we're on air. 2619 02:32:23.520 --> 02:32:24.440 We're on there now. 2620 02:32:25.520 --> 02:32:26.319 Yeah, I'll tell you what. 2621 02:32:26.559 --> 02:32:28.159 Good night, everybody. 2622 02:32:29.000 --> 02:32:30.719 Is the check in the mail, that's just one though. 2623 02:32:30.920 --> 02:32:31.959 The check is in the mail. 2624 02:32:32.280 --> 02:32:34.120 Last time you told me you was sending a watch, 2625 02:32:34.479 --> 02:32:35.559 you couldn't even come in the. 2626 02:32:35.520 --> 02:32:39.559 Time of day, you know, I uh, I wasn't sure 2627 02:32:39.559 --> 02:32:41.239 if we're going to be able to find that. And 2628 02:32:41.280 --> 02:32:43.600 I don't know whether to laugh or cry, to be 2629 02:32:43.639 --> 02:32:44.719 honest with this, Minty. 2630 02:32:45.239 --> 02:32:45.760 That was Porter. 2631 02:32:45.879 --> 02:32:47.360 When was that two years ago? 2632 02:32:47.479 --> 02:32:47.840 Maybe? 2633 02:32:48.079 --> 02:32:50.399 Yeah, I think the spring of twenty twenty three. 2634 02:32:50.639 --> 02:32:53.559 Yeah, So that, of course was the great frank Leyden, 2635 02:32:54.079 --> 02:32:56.680 who was a consistent guest on this program throughout the 2636 02:32:56.719 --> 02:32:59.440 course of this program and others throughout the course of 2637 02:32:59.479 --> 02:33:02.559 my career. Has been so good to me, not just 2638 02:33:03.000 --> 02:33:05.719 in my career, but in my life. And so I 2639 02:33:05.760 --> 02:33:08.879 am sad to say goodbye. I am grateful that he 2640 02:33:08.959 --> 02:33:12.200 is not suffering anymore. And I have so many wonderful 2641 02:33:12.239 --> 02:33:14.520 memories ever since I was just little kids. Smitty, I 2642 02:33:14.520 --> 02:33:17.079 can't imagine what's going through your head right now. So 2643 02:33:17.120 --> 02:33:19.360 as we wrap it up, Penny for your thoughts. As 2644 02:33:19.360 --> 02:33:21.440 you hear frank sing a little Frank Sinatra to wrap 2645 02:33:21.520 --> 02:33:22.120 up the show today. 2646 02:33:22.159 --> 02:33:24.120 Oh that was that was so apropos. And I'll tell 2647 02:33:24.120 --> 02:33:26.680 you what. He wouldn't want you to be shedding a 2648 02:33:26.719 --> 02:33:28.799 tear at all. He'd want you to be laughing or 2649 02:33:29.120 --> 02:33:31.520 you know, make some kind of comment like really are 2650 02:33:31.559 --> 02:33:35.120 you are you really trying to sing on the public 2651 02:33:35.159 --> 02:33:39.200 airwaves and whatever, and you know, but he's uh, he 2652 02:33:39.360 --> 02:33:41.840 was truly, as I've said to many people over the 2653 02:33:41.920 --> 02:33:46.920 last several days, he's truly from my perspective, in my opinion, 2654 02:33:47.280 --> 02:33:49.840 one of a kind. But he was one of a 2655 02:33:49.920 --> 02:33:52.079 kind in the best type of way. 2656 02:33:52.479 --> 02:33:52.719 You know. 2657 02:33:52.959 --> 02:33:55.799 It's you know hard to you know, everybody says, oh, 2658 02:33:55.840 --> 02:33:58.200 there'll be another, never be another one like that, and 2659 02:33:58.280 --> 02:34:00.719 you know in any sport or something thing or whatever. 2660 02:34:00.799 --> 02:34:05.760 But you know, you'll hope that there's many more, uh 2661 02:34:05.799 --> 02:34:09.920 Frank Layton's around somewhere because that just makes makes life 2662 02:34:09.959 --> 02:34:13.200 better for everybody who's who's around people like that. And 2663 02:34:13.520 --> 02:34:16.079 I know that would be a sentiment he would want 2664 02:34:16.120 --> 02:34:20.120 to share, is that, Uh, everybody celebrate and everybody, Uh, 2665 02:34:20.440 --> 02:34:24.200 everybody have fun and enjoy the people around you and 2666 02:34:24.200 --> 02:34:26.879 and and take care of them the best way that 2667 02:34:26.920 --> 02:34:27.440 you can. 2668 02:34:27.719 --> 02:34:30.479 Well, thank you so much. This show today would not 2669 02:34:30.479 --> 02:34:33.120 have happened without you. And as coach Max said earlier, 2670 02:34:33.239 --> 02:34:37.959 you were omnipresence in Frank's life over the past decade plus, 2671 02:34:38.000 --> 02:34:40.360 helping a lot Smidi so a lot of people around him. 2672 02:34:40.399 --> 02:34:41.000 Are you a lot? 2673 02:34:41.159 --> 02:34:43.760 No, just just just trying to be a friend, trying 2674 02:34:43.920 --> 02:34:47.360 to uh, you know, repay whatever you can. Never you know, 2675 02:34:47.760 --> 02:34:50.479 any any anything you do in those kinds of situations, 2676 02:34:50.520 --> 02:34:53.840 I suspense. I I truly believe that you always end 2677 02:34:53.959 --> 02:34:56.920 up getting more than the than you give, you know. 2678 02:34:57.079 --> 02:35:00.479 And Frank gave me so much and and I was honored, 2679 02:35:01.040 --> 02:35:05.079 uh and privileged and humbled to uh to uh be 2680 02:35:05.120 --> 02:35:08.399 able to call him a friend of mine. And uh 2681 02:35:09.120 --> 02:35:12.680 and we'll we'll we sure surely will miss him and 2682 02:35:12.680 --> 02:35:15.639 and uh but we'll try to celebrate him all the 2683 02:35:15.719 --> 02:35:16.559 time whenever we. 2684 02:35:16.520 --> 02:35:19.559 Can, in honor of Frank Laydon. Coming up on the 2685 02:35:19.600 --> 02:35:22.000 other side is the Major League Baseball Home run Derby, 2686 02:35:22.159 --> 02:35:24.680 which Frank would probably want to follow the show porter, 2687 02:35:24.840 --> 02:35:26.840 great job today. Way to put a cherry on top 2688 02:35:26.840 --> 02:35:29.840 of that Sunday with that final bump before we saycond night, 2689 02:35:29.920 --> 02:35:30.959 What comes our way to Tuesday? 2690 02:35:31.079 --> 02:35:32.000 Edition of the show. 2691 02:35:32.079 --> 02:35:34.079 Yeah, man on a on a Tuesday show, a little 2692 02:35:34.159 --> 02:35:38.040 more remembering one frank Leydon Grant Harrison will stop by 2693 02:35:38.040 --> 02:35:40.920 the show. Tim McMahon stops by the show, Bill Riley, 2694 02:35:41.000 --> 02:35:44.799 Dave Fox a loaded Tuesday show, and yeah, just to 2695 02:35:44.840 --> 02:35:47.799 echo your guys sentiments, all of you worked with Frank 2696 02:35:47.959 --> 02:35:51.040 in like a professional setting. You knew him for decades 2697 02:35:51.079 --> 02:35:56.079 and decades, so that feeling is is is very present 2698 02:35:56.239 --> 02:35:56.879 and forward. 2699 02:35:57.239 --> 02:35:57.520 For me. 2700 02:35:58.040 --> 02:36:00.840 I cleaned Frank's golf clubs everyone in a while as 2701 02:36:00.879 --> 02:36:03.600 a he came up to Park City golf courses with 2702 02:36:03.680 --> 02:36:06.399 all his friends, all their New York accents, and they 2703 02:36:06.399 --> 02:36:09.159 all they all gave me, gave me crap all the time. 2704 02:36:09.239 --> 02:36:12.200 They you know, that was that was how they approached life. 2705 02:36:12.200 --> 02:36:15.360 But Frank specifically made me feel like I had been 2706 02:36:15.360 --> 02:36:18.280 his friend for a long time and I never met him, 2707 02:36:18.440 --> 02:36:22.040 and I know that that's how he made like everyone 2708 02:36:22.079 --> 02:36:25.040 he ever met feel. So h just a little more 2709 02:36:25.079 --> 02:36:29.200 perspective that I know, like a thousand fans also shared 2710 02:36:29.680 --> 02:36:30.879 with one Frankly. 2711 02:36:30.760 --> 02:36:32.959 Well said, and we will say good Night's special thank you. 2712 02:36:33.040 --> 02:36:36.719 Phil Johnson, Scott Layden, Dave Checketts, Ron McBride, The incomparable 2713 02:36:36.840 --> 02:36:38.959 Richard Smith. My name is Spence Checkett, saying good night. 2714 02:36:39.440 --> 02:36:42.000 I loved Frank Laydon and I will miss him. Enjoy 2715 02:36:42.000 --> 02:36:44.159 your Monday evening home run Derby's next. We're talking out 2716 02:36:44.159 --> 02:36:45.680 a Tuesday drive as well as you can catch it 2717 02:36:45.760 --> 02:36:48.639 right here on ESPN seven hundred