Transcript of Hour 1: So Long, Tua (feat. Undisputed Champion Alycia Baumgardner)

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Mike, you know I have one rule to live by, right?

Don't place parlays on multiple long shots. Don't say a game is one when it hasn't hit triple zero.

Always drink your Jägermeister ice cold. That's the rule. Everything else is merely a suggestion.

Everything else?

Everything else.

Wearing clean underwear every day?

Well, that's just a personal decision.

Brushing your teeth?

Obviously smart, but not a rule.

Never PP on an electric fence.

Okay, maybe there are two rules, but the one that is 100% that I insist on completely, Jägermeister must be drunk ice cold. Or don't drink it at all.

Damn, that's cold.

Exactly. You're finally starting to get it.

Drink responsibly. Jägermeister L'Core, 35% alcohol by volume, imported by Mass Jägermeister US, White Plains, New York.

This is the Dan Levatore Show with the Stugats podcast.

Welcome to another episode of Insights to Mediocrity. I'm Jeremy Tasche, here with our expert, our superstar, Tony Kaladeut.

Good to be here, Jeremy.

How does 10-day Tony know when he's in the zone?

It's something that I can't explain. It's something that I can't teach. It's something that I I like to test when I'm in the zone by taking further and further shots. If I hit a corner three, okay, I'm supposed to do that. But if I'm on a transition on a three on two, and I've got two guys jetting in from the sides, and I'm running point up top, I may pull up from maybe a little close to half court just to see where we're at. If I hit that, the next step, I shoot lefty. I guarantee people that watch this, that will watch this at some point, that have played basketball with me in these know that I can pull up lefty from anywhere and still stroke. It's crazy. I'm not joking. This is not a lie. I know I'm in the zone. Either we're down by a lot and I can shoot lefty or we're up by a lot and I can shoot lefty, but I shoot lefty and I make a good percentage of my shots. I've made three in a row from three lefty.

I mean, if you can make three in a row from three lefty, it might as well find your way to the league 10 day time.

Again, that's what I think we're here for, right?

What What are your views on today's defensive schemes in the NBA?

You know what the best defense is?

What's that?

A great offense. I score, you try to stop me, you can't, I win. That's my defensive situation.

That's pretty simple math.

Have I been criticized for maybe not going after a loose ball or two? Sure. That's fair. Have I been criticized for maybe not stepping in and help defense when there's a guy that could possibly dunk? Yeah.

How does that make you any different than James Harding?

All What I'm saying is, yeah, he's going to get the dunk. I'm not going to be there when he does it, but when he does get it, I'm going to get that ball out of the hoop. We're pushing. We're playing fast pace. I'm going to get out to the shooters. I'm going to be a shooter. We're going to get three to your two. So defense, yeah, is it a part of the game? Sure. Okay, you got me. It is. But my defense is a great offense.

I said shorter. These need to be shorter. The two of them, you put them in a room, they think everything longer is better.

Yeah, it's not a situation which they didn't get the note. I know they received the note. They just looked at the note and decided, Well, go to hell.

How is Insights of Mediocrity longer than Insights of Excellence? That's right. Michael Jordan was faster.

He got the funny device. Have him say something stupid. Go to end credits. That's it.

Just one joke.

Thirty seconds. One joke, get out.

Two sentences. Tony believes his own bullshit. Yes.

Don't actually make it mediocre.

You guys were yelling at each other.

Dan, we have breaking news from the NFL. Courtesy of Adam Schefter, a major move in Miami. The dolphins are benching quarterback Tua Tungabayaloa and turning to Quin Ewers as their new starting quarterback, Prush Horsch.

Nice.

So what does that mean? Is that the end? Yeah. Is that the official announcement of the end before it to the end because they've still got him under contract next year, and they're not playing for anything. You don't have to see anything from him. You don't want him to get hurt. You sure as shit don't need him concussed. This doesn't mean he's not playing next year for them, correct?

I think it leans in that direction. I'm with Dan. There's no coming back from this.

No, you can start him next year. You're done for the playoffs. You see what you have with Quin yours. I'm not saying... I think it could go either way, but he could start next season for them.

If Quin yours shows any competence, it's over. It's over. Any competence. You can't come back from this. You bench Tua. He's been in the league six years. He's the number five overall pick. He's making $55 million a year. You bet. It's over.

You have to keep in mind, Mike McDaniel is coaching for his job. He's not talking to a GM in-house who's forcing him to evaluate Quinn Ewer. Part of this decision is Mike McDaniel wants to save his job, and he's looking at that locker room. Maybe he's had some big macro conversation with Steven Ross. That's what I think. Saying, We're bringing you and let's see what we have in the kid. But on the surface, it feels like Mike McDaniel just made the choice that Quinn Ewer gives his team a better chance to win.

I think this is Mike McDaniel saying, I have job security.

That's what it looks like to me. So do I. I think Mike McDaniels knows whether he's coming back or not. Now, that could change. Somebody can become available, but I think he knows. I think once they made the decision over Greer, they're like, Okay, are you going to be the quarterback whisper? Can you do that with anybody? You did it with Tua, and everyone... You got Tua paid. Can you it with anybody? Because I don't believe what we saw from yours in the preseason would tell us anything. I don't think... I mean, he was good enough to stave off Archmanning at Texas, and then he played in the preseason and didn't show you much of anything. But if you believe, you guys were arguing that Kevin O'Neill was a quarterback whisper. We know that Kyle Shanaher is the one guy in the league. I mean, I guess maybe McVay? I don't know. But in terms of this person can make a quarterback out of somebody, Kyle Shanaher proven that. Mike McDaniel has three games. Mike's got this right. Mike McDaniel, I don't think he's got right about the job security stuff, but I think Mike McDaniel absolutely wants to show the fan base and everybody something these last three games so next season doesn't feel as hopeless as it did a game ago.

It could be both. I've heard that Mike McDaniel, because of that run, did solidify that he's coming back next year. Now, maybe things fall off the rails, and that is all subject to change. But I also think he saw the film of Tua, and every time that guy drops back, he's not giving me a shot.

I think Mike McDaniel comes out a winner either way in this situation, because he's telling you, I can't coach a winning team with this guy as my quarterback anymore. Also, if Quin Ewers comes out and shows any type of competence, he's also telling you, Yeah, the thing I did with Tua, I can coach quarterbacks.

It would be a greater value that you would have from, If you give me one thing that a coach can do, I want that. Okay. I thought he could do that when they had the number one passing offense in the league. They've been able to run the football with whoever it is has been playing quarterback, mostly. Mostly, I'll say, because they were better with Tua than they were with anyone else. I just don't know if this is over. If you had to bet right now, Zaz has been reactionary with this team all year. He spits poison. He's emotional about all of these things. Hasn't been wrong necessarily either. If you had to bet money, is Tua their starting quarterback, yes or no, next year?

Yes. If you're Mike McDaniel, the quintessential players' coach, and you have that much money committed to Tua, and you know that he is one concussion away from being done, and the season is done for sure.

Why would you have him out there and risk somebody that now you have all this dead money, and at least now there's a hope that Tua can figure things out in the offseason. This feels like news, but it's just a team has been eliminated from the playoffs and has to play the other guys.

The games don't mean anything. I'm sure you can find recent example, but whether it be a vet like Kirk Cousins or a younger guy like Daniel Jones, when a team makes this decision, unless there's an injury, they don't go back.

Yeah, that's why I think it's news. I think this is the end. I don't think there's turning. I don't think you can go back to two and out. This is the end.

You don't think that they would explain in the locker room, we're going to give a bunch of other people chances the next three games because we can't get him concussed again?

What's the example of the quarterback coming back from that?

But what's the example that's a quarterback that's a concussion away publicly to everyone from retirement? There's only one quarterback in the history of the league where you're afraid if you play in the last three games, now the money's dead, dead.

I think you and I are speaking the same language. I think it's done here in Miami.

So you're saying, though, because the concussion, They're saving him from these final three games and possibly getting Gus again because you want to make sure he's healthy and ready to go for next year?

No, he's just got maybe protecting value. There's no value there. Wait a minute. No value.

There's no value. It's a black hole of a contract. Guys, they're not going to have a quarterback next year that makes them compete with Josh Allen and the Patriots. That quarterback does not exist as available to them. It, to it, is the best of what they'll do. If they're keeping the coach stable, the best quarterback they're going to do is to it, whether you like it or not.

Yeah, it's not a great quarterback draft class, but I'm sure you can talk yourself into somebody. It's a holiday season and the 50th anniversary of Miller Lite. The holiday is all about spending time with friends and family. Why don't you sit back and toast a few Miller Lites? Make your holiday time Tiz Miller Miller Time. And with the 50th anniversary of Miller Lite, you get to remember and reflect on all the good times that you had with your trusty buddy by your side, Miller Light. Brewed for flavor with simple ingredients like malted barley, rich balanced toffee notes, and that iconic golden color. And at 96 calories and 3. 2 carbs per 12 ounces, it lets you enjoy the season without weighing you down. The original light beer since 1975 and still hit in different 50 years later. The best holiday beers are the ones you don't expect. Miller Light. Great taste, 96 calories. Go to go to millerlite. Com/dan to find delivery options near you, or you can pick up some Miller Light pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Tis Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3. 2 carbs per 12 ounces.

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This is the Dan Levatard show with the Stugatz.

We have to wrap. Okay, you mentioned that because we've got the bomb in the other room, and we've made her wait way too long. She has won all of the Super Featherweight titles. She's co-headliner on this Anthony, Joshua, Jake Paul fight. That's a co-headliner situation. Last time she fought, she fought in front of six million people on Netflix. Netflix is doing a monster thing. Jake Paul is doing a monster thing across the street. We have been disrespectful by making this woman wait and endure our tua talk. I'm very sorry about that, Alicia, the bomb. I really got Mike excited when I told them her nickname. They did not know that she was The Bomb.

Was it a tough nickname to come up with?

Not really. I think it actually fit since Bumgarner is just so bold within itself, The Bomb just made sense.

But to have a name like the Bottler, you have to punch really hard, right?

You do. You have to punch hard and make a statement.

I wouldn't be able to be called the Bomb.

How do nicknames work? Does someone give it to you in boxing, or can you throw up some nominees of your own?

It's really up to you. Some people may give you some ideas, but I think ultimately, when you're the one stepping into the ring, you want to come up with your own ring name, and the bomb just fit.

I got to be honest here. I'm distracted. Boxing has never smelled this good. What? No, I've been around boxers. I've been around boxers. I I love covering boxing. Look, boxing is my favorite sport to write about because people who do this as a way of earning money, I admire them, and I wonder what happened to them that made them choose this as a life path. You come from a family of fighters, right? Everybody in the family is a fighter?

That's right, yes. Family are all fighters. The hometown that I grew up in Ohio, Fremont, we had a small boxing gym. My dad's like, Hey, do you want to box? I had wrestled first before I started boxing. You have to be eight years old to start. I'm like, Yeah, I'll box. Not even knowing what I'm getting myself into, but I did have the mentality, the work ethic to say, Yes, let's do it.

You have to be a little crazy, though, to choose it as a living, right? I'm going to earn money this way as a career.

You do got to be a little crazy, yes.

What was happening in that household that made everybody a fighter?

I come from a big family. I was once in a household of 15 people. We're all trying to scram and get into the bathroom and things like that. But as a unit, we were just go getters. We had that hustle mentality just to go get it because it wasn't going to be given to us.

Were there a lot of fights in the house?

I was always fighting with my brother. I have four sisters, but it was always me and my brother always fighting.

You haven't had any remorse about your career choice, right? Because I would imagine it's been a grind. No boxer has an easy story.

No, I have no second chances on what I chose to do, and I love it. I love the grit. I love the challenge, the competitiveness that I have, and I love to showcase that. The fight is the fun part.

Canelo smells very good. Yeah?

No, I'll agree with you. I sat next to him and he got Not this good.

This is mind games.

This is not what boxing has ever smelled like in my life.

He smelled amazing in Tahoe.

You're obviously very confident. You have to be. I'd imagine every fighter is very confident. But right before the fight, what are you thinking of yourself? You're walking down to it because you know it's like, okay, I think I'm going to win. I've trained really hard, but you can't get hurt. Yeah.

It goes through my mind, but ultimately, I take my time. I envision everything, the walk out when I'm stepping into the ring, once the bell rings, and it's go time. And you have to have that confidence. And I'm talking it's overfilling at this point. I can even feel my adrenaline pumping up right now just talking about it because I've waited so long. And again, the fight is where the fun happens.

Because you're ready, right? Because you feel... Because I'm ready. Can you take us through how it is that you arrive at ready? Because this was postponed for a month. I don't know how that changes your training regimen.

Yeah. I was in camp already for eight weeks, and then the fight got canceled. It got moved. I did a total of camp for almost 11 weeks. So the mentality is, Hey, this gets repetitive, and you understand what's ahead of you. So stay consistent. Still show up to the gym, still put in the work, because, again, these are the times it's going to really showcase who you are as a fighter, as an athlete, as a woman. When things come at you, how are you going to pivot? Everything is about pivoting and boxing, and it's about having balance and making sure that when the time has come, you are ready, you are prepared.

6 million people, though. You're walking to the ring and it's the same mindset. You don't even have to still your mind. It's, No, I'm ready for this.

I've been working for this my entire life. I'm ready. At that moment, I'm taking in all the energy and what is given at that given moment, because once it's gone, it's gone. I live in the moment. I take a hold, and I thrive through it.

A lot of people talk about standing on business, but you vacated your WBC belt in order for this fight to be fought under men's Championship rules. Why was that so important for you?

It was important because it was offered as a challenge. And one thing about me, I love to take a challenge. And when we think about equality, women and men are greatness. That's a standard, right? When given the same pathway for a woman to be on the same runway as a Jake Paul, you're able to see as a whole. And we always take advantage of it. And that's why I am fighting on the combing to show the world why boxing is what it is.

You're very proudly carrying the banner for women's boxing, but you have a wrestling base. Have you had to turn away overtures from mixed martial arts companies to see if you want to try your hand at that?

They have asked. I never turned down an offer. Like I said, I love to fight. I love to be a competitor, and I just love it, you all. I'm a born athlete, so it's just one of those things that's in me, not on me.

Yes, this world got crazy. There's a bunch of stuff going on everywhere.

How is How important is it for a woman of faith like yourself and myself, you feel me, to keep the Lord God first in all of those situations?

Like you say, vacating the belt. How important is keeping him involved in those decisions?

Yeah, It's important to be faith-driven. Maybe sometimes we don't have nothing, but you have faith as a mustard seed. I will plant that, and I will water that, and I will believe in it because I believe in myself. I believe in what the Lord has already told me. You You have to understand that life is hard, but life is also what you give it, and there is no give up in me. Maybe I may fall 10 times, but I'm going to get up 12.

There's so much bravado in this sport. You have to, I suppose, have it. But how do you do with fear? Because it doesn't sound like you're articulating any of that. And courage isn't the absence of fear. It's just the ability to overcome it. So I've heard... One of the reasons I love covering boxing is because oftentimes boxers will just talk about their vulnerabilities, because once you're in the ring and it's just you and your talent, you either believe in yourself or you don't.

Yeah, it's either you believe in yourself or you don't. And to be honest, I'm faced with doubt every day. There's doubt and there's success right next to each other. What are we going to choose today? How are we going to show up today? Are we going to give 50 %? We're going to give 100. We're going to give 100 because anybody would want the platform that you have. Take advantage of the moment. Take advantage of the opportunities. I just know when I look back, I can't say I could have did that, I should have did that. I did it, and I loved Your dreams didn't look like this, though, right?

Like, whatever the top of the mountain was, it wasn't fighting on a co-headline Netflix event where there are going to be... I mean, if you did 6 million last time, I can't even imagine what the projections are for this one.

Right. I always dream high, and I know that there's no ceiling for me. There's no box that I could be put in. So it's surreal when you think about it.

But you can dream high and not have the... What did the dream look like? Whenever it is, not at four or at six or at eight, But as you got closer to building something, you're still struggling, you're still doubting. There's not any money in this at the beginning. And so your wildest dreams looked like what? It looked like I'm going to co-headline a main event on Netflix.

Listen, and yes, that's true, but that's just the stepping point of what's more to come. There's so much more to come, but you have to take the steps through it. And so even though I may not have seen this, I knew it was coming. But as long as I'm putting in the to be ready for the opportunity, it's going to show up. And here we are.

What do you do when you're not boxing?

What do I do when I'm not boxing? I'm hanging out. I'm outside girly, so I love to fish. I love to be outside. I love my dog.

See, when you said outside, I That's how I was thinking of something else. Outside, you're talking about outdoors.

Outdoors, yeah. Oh, wow. Yeah. The nature is where I get my Zen space at. I love the beach. I love that. I'm even in Miami just to get that solitude, that time with me and the Lord and just speaking things into existence. 26 is around the corner. How are we pivoting? This year has been a very trying year, but I always persevere through. So 26 is becoming, and that's what I'm looking forward to.

I like watching TV.

Watching TV? Yeah. I like a lot of documentaries here and there. But when I think about the substance that I need in order for my mind to be in a good place, I want to feel it with substance, something that's going to keep me going.

I imagine also to be as as you are, though, that you have to be consumed, obsessive with, or it wouldn't be much other than boxing in faith. There's not a lot of room for anything else because you've got everyone else wanting what you now have.

That's true. I also find my balance, though, within it. Just to be a woman and sit in my femininity and to be with my girls and to go shopping. It's also important to know that my identity isn't just boxing, that Alicia goes to bed at night and A. B, the fighter, comes to war.

Do you ever Why would she feel bad? You look at the screen right here, you're punning.

Why would she feel bad? That's what she's chosen to do. She's got to be proud of that.

Yeah, but look at that girl's face.

You ever say sorry after? No. Yeah.

You ever feel bad?

Really?

Really? Listen, it's actually funny because there's a slight... Because I'm a loving, caring person at heart. Sometimes I do slightly feel a little bad, but at the same time, I know what I was called to do and what I'm doing. It comes with the game.

I don't I think you're happy. You're like, Hell, yeah.

I mean, in the fight, like, yeah. Come on. Yeah. There it is. Yeah, eat that. Eat that to the face. There you go.

That renders insincere everything you said before. That eat that is not the same as I'm sorry.

It's only after the fight. Thanks, girl. But no, in the fight, eat that. Yeah, I'm trying to demolish it.

Do you have time to think in the middle of it? Oh, that was awesome.

Oh, yeah, you're thinking, you're planning. It's chestnaring. It's moving fast. But yes, I do.

Where does this rank in terms of challenges? I don't know what the trash talking is in your sport. Do you sell your fights by doing any trash talk?

I'm selling my fight, yes. We're given hooks, and we're given looks, and we're given a lot of talking, but one thing about it, you got to back it up. A lot of people, when they see women fighters, they only look at them one way. But baby, I am the rainbow, so I'm covering a lot of things.

When you say your servant hooks and looks and you're staring down your opponent, what are you channeling?

Honestly, I'm just looking in their soul. I'm not even kidding. I'm literally staring in your eyes, and I'm envision me punching you when it comes to fight night. And I want them to feel the energy. Energy is felt when you walk into a room. And so when I'm looking at you- Don't do that to me. I'm coming for you.

He soft.

What documentaries are we watching? If you catch Age of Disclosure, they're aliens.

I have not. But I did just watch, what was it? House of David on Amazon Prime, the story of David and Goliath. Wow. Great series.

What's the worst part of the life?

Worst part of the life? What do you mean?

He's doing an inside joke at my expense. I ended an interview with somebody by asking the question of the grind and the life you've chosen, what's the worst part of it? But when he offers no context there, he's just amusing himself and of the audience at my expense.

Ryan Blaine, he had no idea what hit him.

At my expense. But he's asking you, Now I'm going to translate your shit question. Excuse me. What is the worst part of the life?

What is the worst part of the life?

Good translation. Why is it this interview?

I'm crying. Not the interview.

Thank you for being on with us. We're going to watch this.

We didn't even ask about Jake Paul.

Jake got a chance. Jake got a chance here?

No, he doesn't have a chance.

He doesn't have any chance. Jake does have a chance. When we think about boxing, listen, you all, when we think about boxing, it could be Amy fighters night. We've seen many upsets in boxing. I'm not saying it's this one. I'm just saying Jake has a punching chance, and so does AJ.

How much have you gotten to know him? What do you make of all the discourse around him.

Yeah. Listen, Jake, he believes in himself. He believes in the brand that he's been able to build for himself from the beginning of his YouTube days into who he is today as a fighter. You have to be serious about what you do, especially when comes to boxing. I've seen him in the gym. I've seen the trainers that he's training with. He is very serious about it because you have to be. This is a combat sport. It could be your night and you can get very hurt. I think he takes it very serious, and I think he's ready.

Your sign to Jake Paul's most valuable promotions. You had to say that. You have to say that. Dan?

Dan, be careful before she looks into your soul. Yeah, I was scared.

But first, I do want to mention, it was Dan's birthday yesterday, so happy birthday. Thank you. Wow. Thank you.

Thank you.

That's how birthdays are important. Celebrate those wins in life.

How old do you think he is?

I'll give him a good 40.

You are nice.

That's how you play the game right there.

It's not about how you feel inside.

174. That's how I feel inside.

Seriously, though, there are aliens out there. Marco Rubio talks on it. It's wild. You should check it out. Age of disclosure.

She's the bomb, and she is fighting on Friday night on Netflix. Co-headlining. The Coal Head. Good luck. She is a better fighter than Jake Paul.

That's T.

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The World Cup is coming back to North America for the first time since 1994. 48 teams, these giant stadiums, the whole continent turning into one massive party I cannot wait. But actually getting tickets to any of this? Yeah, that part? Brutal. That's why the GameTime app has been a total lifesaver. It gives the advantage back to us, the fans. You can track price drops in real-time. Get alerts when seats opened up. Grab tickets the second they hit the app all back by the game time guarantee. I'm on the app looking at World Cup matches in Miami because you know I am not missing that. I'm scrolling through every section in the building, behind the goal, midfield, lower bowl, upper bowl, and the deals are good. I had great seats locked in within minutes. The experience is so simple and intuitive. Two tabs and I'm done. And the price, no surprises. Fees are included. The seat views are my favorite feature, and you'll get a full panoramic look before you buy. Take the guesswork out of buying soccer tickets with game time. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code Dan for $20 off your first purchase.

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Mike, you know I have one rule to live by, right?

Don't place parlays on multiple long shots. Don't say a game is one when it hasn't hit triple zero.

Always drink your Jägermeister ice cold. That's the rule. Everything else is merely a suggestion.

Everything else?

Everything else.

Wearing clean underwear every day?

Well, that's just a personal decision.

Brushing your teeth?

Obviously smart, but not a rule.

Never PP on an electric fence.

Okay, maybe there are two rules, but the one that is 100% that I insist on completely Jägermeister must be drink ice cold. Or don't drink it at all.

Damn, that's cold.

Exactly. You're finally starting to get it.

Drink responsibly. Jägermeister L'Core, 35% alcohol by volume, imported by Mass Jägermeister US, White Plains, New York.

Dan Levatard. What is the worst part of the life? Stugatz. The worst part of the life of what?

This is the Dan Levatard show with the Stugatz.

I feel Amine's enthusiasm rooting for the NBA, rooting for the enthusiasm of what was a cup that a lot of people who aren't watching are making fun of. But if you are watching and you're like, Oh, Dwyane Wade and Stan are great, framing all of what that was. And yeah, it probably would have been different if Wembenyama played. The minutes restriction, combined with how he looked in that first quarter, he doesn't quite look like what he's looked like before.

So Saturday's game, it was the first time in three years, I said, Oh, shit, he could be the best player who's ever played. Because it was so undeniable. When he stepped on the court, the impact was immediate. Last night, not as much, but he still had a decent game. It was the end. He didn't have a good ending to the game. I think that's part of his growth, learning how to find his spots, especially when things are slipping away the way where they were. But then, when you talk about the enthusiasm about the NBA Cup, it's one of those things. I've made this analogy the other day. It's a defensive player of the year. We would consider that to be an important, prestigious award, yes? Yeah. Every player or most players, they want Deepoy. That'd be a big deal for them, right? Dupoy is 42 years old. It's not something that's existed since Bill Russell. It happened in the '80s. And so I tell people, imagine if Dupoy was an award we created now, what would we say? Oh, that's just the shit they get to the guys who got no bag. That's what they would say.

It would be such a dismissal. That's dumb. Oh, because guys can't score, now we have to make them feel good. We would have all these ridiculous counterarguments. The reality is, if you institute something and just have some amount of consistency. This is something we do every year and we care about it, people will eventually care. When Juju said, 20 years from now, there's going to be a kid, man, I think it's 10 years. It's a 10-year-old now who's watching and saw the Knicks celebrating, called Anthony Towns go crazy, and Jalen Brunson went MVP. I was like, I want to do that when I get to the lead. They're going to have to sort out, though.

I mean, all of the condensed scheduling in the beginning of the season, you've got John Hollinger getting called out individually by the NBA because he's saying, Yo, there's a lot of injuries happening, and I think it has to do with the Cup.

So that's something that I think a lot of big J journalists are feeling is a threat to the Cup's longevity. So The commissioner addressed this again last night, and it's one of those things actually in the break I was talking with Jeremy.

Did he say there was nothing he could do about it?

Jeremy and Zaz. It's out of my hands.

It's unprecedented. You guys were yelling at each other. Jeremy was off today, and I saw him pop up out of nowhere. I don't even know where he was.

He came in.

You, Zaz and Amin, were yelling at each other for five minutes here before the bomb came in here.

At the risk of really ruining the flow of the show to something I know is catnip for Dan, this is a great journalism conversation about press conference, logistics, and politics, and whatsoever. All on. So, Trista, to your question, the problem with that is they like to seize on the thing that they can attack, and not necessarily the overall point. Overall point, John Hodgkins is saying is like, Hey, injuries are up. Soft The issue injuries are up. But the problem is he opens the door by saying this condensed schedule. The league is like, We got it. Here's 10 years of data that shows that our schedule is not more condensed than it has been over the last 10 years. It's basically within the same range, which I believe is accurate. The games aren't more condensed. Except for they're more impactful because players are trying harder. Playing harder, trying harder, et cetera. But again, when you use the terminology condensed, it means too many within a small amount of time. They're like, Oh, we have a counter for that. It avoids the soft tissue injury conversation. It avoids maybe the games are more impactful, more meaningful. The thing we're going to talk about with Zaz and Jeremy was the Tim Reynolds question to the Commissioner about this Miami heat thing.

And I said, The problem is, what the question should have been is, why can't they trade Terry Rozier's contract?

That was my problem. I didn't care about the draft pick. I understand not establishing that precedent. Some dude tears his ACL. You'd be like, We want the pick back. It's the same thing. It's not the same thing. I didn't even think about the pick. The pick is stupid, whatever. To me, it's moving the contract. Being able to trade the contract because that has value. I'd argue it has more value Then the first-round pick because it's an expiring deal and you need contracts to match up.

That's the big one. But Adam Silver is like, What do you do?

I don't know. That's a spot-on impression of Adam Silver. I feel like he's right here with us. But to the point that Mike is making, if Tim Reynolds makes his question about that, now we box the commissioner in. But he gives the commissioner an out because Adam Silver is really smart.

How should it have been framed?

Don't talk about the pick. Talk about their ability to move the contract. Because the moment he starts saying, Pick, maybe it's 27, maybe it's 28, what relief can you offer the heat? Adam Silver is like, Boom. He asked me the thing that's, Oh, this one's easy. So I'm going to focus my answer around the pick rather than around the part that really has some wiggle room to it.

I understand why it is that you guys would get caught up in gambling investigation, draft pick, transaction, Commissioner handling it wrong. But there was basketball last night, and around that enthusiasm of the I really do believe Knicks fans, given what they've made of that tournament, will remember the Ogie Ananobi game. They're going to remember that even though Wemby-Yama didn't play, Ananobi went for 20 in the first half and was somebody who helped them win that game. I'm not joking when I say that Knicks fans don't have a lot of moments like that. A whole generation of Nicks fans don't have a lot like that.

Dan, you're seeing the Oji Ananobi game. I'm telling you, these are the people whose praises were being sung after the game. Number one, Tyler Kholik. That guy became someone now in New York. When he goes back, he's not paying for drinks anymore. He's Tyler Kholik. Number two, Jordan Clarkson. Jordan Clarkson was really big coming off the bench. Offensive smart. He had some big threes. He flexed, he roared, all those things. Number three, Ariel Huckporty. He only played a couple of minutes or whatever, but Mike Brown shot him out on the press conference.

Do you guys not think it's weird, though? Honestly, do you not think it's weird that someone like Greg Cody who says, Stop talking to me about this made-up cup. How it is that with very little information and not feeling the enthusiasm around it, he would say, Really? I have to pay him $500,000 to care? To create the enthusiasm around a game I've got to incentivize in the middle of the season. I'm going to give each player $500,000 and watch how he cares if he wins this game.

Isn't that also because they're playing an 83rd game? The players do need to be paid for an 83rd game, right?

Yeah. Last night's game does not count towards statistics or records or anything like that. It was just a championship. So yeah, there is a compensation element. But again, no one's lying about themselves like, Oh, it's because we're making them play more. It's like, no, this was an incentive to make them treat this as something special and different from a regular season game?

It does feel in year three, it's finding its footing a little bit more. Players are grasping the concept and trying more. Amin's point was interesting in that anytime When you trot out something new, cynicism and social media just makes everything so lame at the start. I really can't remember so many things. I think the Four Nations was refreshing in that. They just invented this thing, the players were bought in, and the viewers and media were like, This thing is awesome. Buy-in is hugely important.

I also don't want to move too far away from Dwyane Wade and Stan. We're great together.

Are we being homers there? No.

No.

I'm not a huge fan of Dwyane's broadcasting. I like him, but I don't think he's a great broadcaster. Just he's learning, and I don't mean this as any insult, but with Stan, I saw more of him.

Bam. Exactly, I should say. I should say Bam because that means something different around here. When I saw Dwayne doing the Olympics with Noah Eagle, I thought he was awful because everything just became a story about him. And instead of talking about the action. But with all of these I know this because I've been in this position in the studio show, with all these guys, if you have the right facilitator, someone who knows how to bring that stuff out, then they turn into a different person. I'm like you, Dan. I went back and I watched him stuff, and I'm like, Whoa, hold on. He's really good when he's got someone to be a little bit more of a governor as opposed to just letting him, Hey, it's Dwyane Wade, he's one of the greatest players? Let him say whatever he wants.

It's always interesting to me because so many of these guys have gone from championships to trying to develop a second career where they were as competitive as they were at the first. I imagine Dwyane has been very frustrated by not being able to find the right partner without even understanding that he needs one. How would you explain the content game in a way that fast forward Dwayne? It's got to be someone you like and respect, someone who knows some of the structure, someone who will give you the room. You don't have to do it all yourself with producers who are afraid to tell you anything in the way of critique. When you actually want coaching and they don't understand that you want critique, they're afraid because you're Dwayne Wade.

Yeah.

As a woman of faith, it jumped off to me on the screen last night.

That's what I feel like me and Trista have discovered over at the Alley-oop. I thought that was awesome. I thought I could do anything.

But you bring in Trista, someone who knows what she's talking about and has been doing this.

Amen. Alley-oop. That's a good plug. Hakeem Jeffrey is next.