Hour 3: Shorter NBA Season?

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1:00it's probably time. That was nice. Hockey Ron Jay tonight, their home against the Calgary Flames. Our wife was saying, how come when you were in Calgary, Bryce Salvador kept saying Calgary. I said, because that's the way the Canadians say. Calgary. They say Detroit in Calgary. Everybody says Detroit. That's a thing. I don't know if every Canadian, but that's just the way. It's a certain accent. I guess. I don't know. You know, I'd love being Canadian too. So that's on 880 at 630 right after us. The calendars are in St. Louis to take on the blues at 730 and then that's host of pistons at 730. L.I.U. is taking on Mercyhurst and that is in the NEC championship 7 o'clock and you can catch that on ESPN too. That's what Allen's going to be doing. So you're going to make a little flip flop between that and the calendars and the blues. Absolutely. Fins up, baby. They beat the sharks. That was a nice win. Well, it's after losses. So they... The L.I.U.s the sharks. I wasn't paying attention to that.

2:02I'm sorry. What do you mean? They clinched their in the dance. No, I got teams to go. Another nickname was the shark. Does that make me a bad guy? I guess it makes me a bad guy. We shouted it out yesterday. But you said he's up. And I spoke to our friend. No fins up comedies me further. God forbid, though, if I had anything to say about Ramapal dumped, it'd be old. I said, oh, it'd be dumb. I said plenty. Did I say anything negative? Yeah. Him and Michael. I'm not allowed. I can't go. I wasn't paying attention. Oh, sorry. Sorry. We're not on your radar. No, this is how much I paid attention. Big deal. Is that... Be in the tournament. He's an Islander guy. Look at me. At Ramapal, actually doing a read. And it was years ago, I don't know what year it was. Alan was filling in for Michael. The Islanders needed to win like a bunch of games down the stretch to make the playoffs. And Alan said, just like finding an email, just keep swimming. Yeah. Just keep swimming. So that's always been in my head. And I use it sometimes, too. I think it's great. I don't know if it was yours. You stole it. Who knows?

3:04But I give you credit for it. Just keep swimming. Just keep winning. Keep swimming. That's right. So when I'm talking about the Islanders in St. Louis, take on the blues, after they winning it, he says fins up. So I was immediately drawn to... Is that what the Islanders are using now? Like fins up. Not knowing that I'll use the sharks. Totally get it. I wouldn't get it. But now he thinks I was disrespecting the L.I. What's what what is Ramapult? What's there? I think the moose. Blasphima! No, they're the roadrunners. They're not Ramapult roadrunners. You think Ramapult. And just like L.I. there's not a roadrunner to be found on campus. And there's no shark to be found on campus. Well, at least it's an Islander. There are a lot of sharks. That's closer. We have sharks. They're closer to it. Well, I think it's this the R thing. And I don't know. Can you have a roadrunner in New Jersey? Can you look that up? What is a roadrunner? Is a roadrunner real animal? Me, me. Yeah, they're just smaller than the cartoon. That's too bad. I can't. You're saying that the cartoon wasn't based in reality?

4:06Listen. Are you telling me? That's the thing is like... Are you telling me? There isn't a company called Acme. I believe... There is actually. I know, but they sell food. You know there was a company called Acme. But do they make... What was that thing? The Anvil? The Anvil. Is there an Acme Anvil? Is there an Acme Dynamite company? Wow. That poor coyote man. No. Let it work. So let it work. First thing. The coyote or the generals taken on the Harlem Globetrotters. I'll tell you what. It's a great thing to say. The great thing to say. That wild-eat showed... Was inspiration. You call them by his first name. Not a for a long time. Yeah, wild-eat. You don't go by coyote. You know what his nickname was. What he called himself when he ever he went full name. Genius. Yeah. Wild-eat coyote. Super genius. Super genius. Lost a little when he started talking. I like this design. I don't know. I don't know. He ever started talking. No. The silent ones were better. Just the music. I did not know he ever talked to me. And the meep of course. Well, no, meep, meep doesn't count. That was very important.

5:07But the logo of the road runner is not from the cartoon. Hey, there were... Did you see there were dolphins today in the East River? No. Yeah. I saw the... I saw the... How did dolphin... It happens on a K. It's a little early for it to happen. But when the weather starts to warm up. And apparently the river gets a little cleaner when it starts to warm up. So there's like maybe a few less bodies. I guess most people hurl themselves off the bridges on the wintertime. Oh my god. But they were dolphins. Well, that's frozen for a while. Are you telling it's not a thing? Difficult. It is very much a thing when we were in seaport. We saw it. Unfortunately. Regularly. It was... I don't even know if that's for the air. But he told me stories. We were at the seaport. Yeah. I was like... Man. There were some tough times. It was kind of... I mean, not kind of. It was actually very sad. Really? Yeah. When did you guys share this? When he told me the story. Last playoff run. I... They had me on... What was that?

6:07Get up. Right? Or no. I just... I took a tour. No, they weren't going to put me on the... Yeah, no, you came. You came and hung out. No, I came to hang out. Yeah. They put me on the air. Then you know that it's ESPN's last day. ESPN is like CNN. They're out of it. They've got the end of the world video. It says in the thing, put Don on TV and then play the end of the world video. That's it. Right. So no, I tried. I wanted to... I know it shows that I actually do have some belief in myself. Right. That I actually believed into the fantasy. Yeah. That I was at the seaport because I was on get up and then I realized now I was just a guest. They were just showing me around. You had to be somewhere nearby and I said, come hang out. Oh wait, but you didn't actually go on the air. You just went on hang out. Yeah. Uh-oh. That was my big uh, my big meaning, yes, over at the fourth season. Yeah. Big... I had to work out. Well, you guys want to work out? I worked out pretty good for you, didn't it? It did. I mean, it did. It did. Yeah. It was like four to twenty in the time. Yeah.

7:07The emphasis on pretty good. Four to twenty. Yeah, but it worked out. But no, you had me swing by and he told me that swam by and swing. Swim by and swing in. They're, they're, they're, they're, they're taking bodies out of the river. It was... Yeah, it's not correct. You've seen that? Yeah. You've seen them daily? Everything stopped. And that's the Brooklyn Bridge. That is the Brooklyn Bridge. I guess it's still like a thing. A destination for body tossing. Yeah. And sometimes it's against your own will. Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah, I've had a soprano situation. I think so. A few of the boys and blue have suggested that this one was not done personally. Yeah. Well, it was done purposely by someone. Yeah. Well, somebody wanted that result. It was not a, yeah. It was not self-aided. So this happens every once in a while. And it's usually a player. It's usually an analyst. But now we're hearing it again from Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors. Here's what he had to say about the game situation,

8:10which apparently it's a situation now, the schedule in the NBA. I know this will not be a popular opinion in the league office, but I will continue to say it, because it's obvious we need to play fewer games. We need to take 10 games off the schedule. I think it would be great for the league. And I get it. It's revenue, and you'd have to get everybody to agree to take a little less money. And that's a really hard thing to do. But what I know about the league, about coaching, about how hard it is to play the modern game with the pace and the space, I think it would be a more competitive and healthier league if we played fewer games. It's just, but here's the angle I'm going to take. What is the reason that you're, like you, like I understand what he's saying. But I don't know what the real reason is. Don't tell me pace because again, what you're comparing and what really bothers me here is that Steve played in the league.

9:10Like he played, he knows the different, he not only played in the league, now he's coaching for a long time. He knows how different life is. Never mind for the guys in the 70s. The guys in the 90s, and that was him. There is a much different lifestyle that these players enjoy, that those players couldn't even fathom because the technology wasn't where it was. The game was more physical, but it was slower, but it was still very physical. Now it's faster. So there is a lot more the wear and tear on soft tissue, injury situations, a lot more done on the joints because of the way these, the euro step is probably one of the most dangerous things to knees and ankles that you can imagine. A lot of the things that players do today that they never did then. So I understand when you're talking about how it's just a faster game, and that takes a lot more out of the body. But what I keep arguing is, but the body has a lot more

10:14that it can use to repair itself that those players didn't have 30 years ago. How is it not the same? I don't understand. I think Curry's just trying to support his players who are tired. And the thing that bothers me is if they decide to give that money back and reduce it to 72 games, they'll still, oh now you gotta play 55 games in order to be eligible for postseason awards. There'll still be load management because their problem is that they don't want to admit it. And I keep circling back to this. Their regular season doesn't matter. And these players don't want to play 82 games when the most of their games don't matter to them. It doesn't matter to them. You're right. And I think that you're right. Because here's what Steve and I had to say. I'm first take. Here we go. Let me make people very, very uncomfortable with what I'm about to say. I don't hear hockey players talking about playing less games. I don't hear that. I mean, we might talk about and baseball is obviously not nearly as taxing on the physical body.

11:14As basketballers, we understand that. But they also understand it even though they were preferred not to have to play 162 games. They do when they're reminded that that's why the revenue is what it is. They're like, okay. So I'm just simply saying that you can't have your cake and eat it too. If you're Steve Kerr, don't talk about what's good for the game while talking about keeping the money. If you play it or keeping the money, if you coaches, your argument would be far more profound. If Steve Kerr came out and said, you know what, let's give back some of these monies. Let's calculate it. Let's see what the aggregate is. And let's subtract 10 games worth of pay for this. You would have a more substantive argument if you did that. But when you never talk about giving the money back, what you talk about giving some of the workload back, that is more than hypocritical. Now, from the hockey standpoint, because I've seen some of the comments, well, they don't play as many minutes, believe me. The 20 minutes that NHL player plays is way more tax thing than the 35, 40 minutes at NBA players.

12:14There's a lot of times you just kind of stand in there. And by the way, pace, there's never, try to watch, try to watch the two sports from the 90s and now and it's not recognized. And listen, Ovechkin might be standing around. Ovechkin's also 40. Yeah, okay. So most of the guys are gonna be skating up and down. But whatever. But here's the dirty little secret nobody wants to say. 20 of your 30 teams make the postseason and the other 10 are tanking. So a player on a tanking team is like, I'm not gonna sit there and kill myself 82 games. We're not trying to win. We can eat less games. And then you got the other teams, they know they're going to the playoffs. They're locked in. They're not good enough to be a one seed. But they're not bad enough to be out of the playoffs. So they're like, what am I killing myself for? We're gonna be a seven seed, six seed, nine seed, whatever. We don't care. And then the top teams are like, does it really make a difference if I'm one or two or three we've seen teams not really care about finishing

13:15with the best record? Your regular season doesn't matter compared to vice football so popular. Football's popular because every game means something because there's only 17 of them soon to be 18. Mm-hmm. All right. And by the way, didn't we also say that when you get to 18 at some point, some coach is going to decide in the middle of the season when you're playing a bad team? Maybe I don't want to play all my guys. And baseball still of the four major sports, the least amount of teams make the postseason, even though it's starting to grow. Still, you don't want to be a wild card team because you're banning a bus to three. You want to win your division. Like so, those games still mean something. And you can't expect somebody to play all 162. You're not going to get that mad. They may miss a few games here and there, but it's not that big of a deal. All right, day game after night game because you're playing so many games. So you always want to exclude baseball from the conversation. But I understand the die-hards in Allen. I don't mean to rub it in your face because you understand why these games are supposed to matter.

14:16But do you really think it has anything to do with pace? Do you really think that they're exhausted? Are they looking at it and saying, hey, the regular season doesn't matter enough for me to bust my ass for 82 games. I'm taking nights off. Sorry. And they're just too many games. I think it has become part of the culture. And I think it just becomes something that once it starts to happen, it's impossible. What are you guys always just to say? Put the toothpaste back in the tube. Yeah, those are all on the other side of the other side too. Once it starts to happen, then everybody else like, oh, yeah, I think we need that. And now it becomes a thing. Here's a great example. Jason Tatum, as you know, made his return. Jason Tatum, right? OK. During the weekend. And the first words that were said before the game that he played were words that you didn't believe. And the words were, no minutes restriction. Now, how many players do you know that I've come back from an injury?

15:17And they're always like, well, you know, he's under a minute's restriction. We're going to manage it minutes. And then he's not going to play in the next, like you always trying to just be careful because it's called ramp up, right? Ramp him back off. He had no minutes restriction. He has not had a minutes restriction. At least that's what they're saying. So if he's coming back off of an Achilles, generally, like within 10 months of the surgery. So we're not talking about he's been off for a year or a year and a half, what the majority of people have done. He came back relatively early with no minutes restriction. But yet players who, you know, sprained an ankle and they missed a week. Now they're on a minutes restriction. We're going to ramp him back up. I don't understand how that is all the same, right? Like, why are there rules in that case, but not here? Because why is it that a player can just shut it down? And it's fine.

16:18Or minutes restrictions and all the other stuff. I know what they're doing, Mitchell Robinson. They're calling it injury management. You know what they're doing? They're lessening the likelihood that he could injure his ankle again, because he's done it twice. And they know the third time is not good. Well, if he plays less games, it's less likely to happen during a game, plus it's less wear and tear on the body. That's it. And when the playoffs come, guess what? All bets are off. Yeah, of course. Now we're going to go for it. And then if it goes, it goes. But that's what it is. It's hoping it's just lessening the likelihood. It's playing the percentages. That's all it is. And it's not saying, well, because how do you know that he won't just misstep in a game that he is playing it? You don't. But by taking the games away, you're taking away the likelihood. That's all we're doing here. We're just playing this game. This is the best part. Nobody wants to play anymore every night. Here's a great example. So we know McHale Bridges never misses a night, right? So he's up there. There's 66 to 65 games are being played by all the teams so far in the NBA. You know how many players have played 66 or 65 of them?

17:21Only six. Well, and none of them are stars. None of them. How far down the list do I have to go before I find like a superstar name? Somebody that is there. I mean superstar level. I'm still scrolling. I'm still scrolling. Wow. You know, again, some of these are names you know is Cronthony Towns a superstar because he's 30 second on the list of most games to play this season. Star, that's the first name that comes up. That's 36, right? Yeah, 62 games. It's pretty good. All right. Wait, I'm going to keep going to you. Jalen Brunson's at 61. He's 40th on the list. All right. Right. Big time star. I am trying to find no other so far. No other like all NBA level big time star. Big time. We're actually one he's also 40. Where's Jalen Brown? Yeah, Jalen Brunner has to be high. It's still going. He couldn't have taken off many games this year.

18:22Come on. I'm scrawling at 76 now on the list. Players before I'm getting to any of those names that make you go, oh, wait, that's a that's a star star. Donovan Mitchell 57. He's 95th on the list of players. Jalen Brown 57, 95th on the list. He's tied. Even this year, Jalen Brown is almost go 100 players before you get somebody that's even in the MVP conversation. And that's why they have to make these rules guys. That's why they have to say 65. Kade Cunningham's at 56, 115 on the list. Why am I doing this? And because I'm trying to make the point that this is a league where if the best players aren't saying, I am missing a night. I'm playing every night. What are the rest of the players going to say? But yet, now we're fighting. It shouldn't be 65 games. That's not right. Why do we make this number? Why do we make this rule? Because we're saying to you, please, please just play 80% of the games.

19:25Just play 80% of the games. Don't even play a hundred. We're lowering the standard. We continue to with the sport. And the more you do it, the more they're going to take. Clearly 1-800-919-3776. We've got more on this. We also have E and N, which is coming up at six o'clock. And then, of course, we're going to hand it off to the Rangers and the Flames. That's all coming up next. It's Don Hanna-Roseberg. We are hanging out with you until 630. But I need to let you know. They just like the New Jersey Devils protect their home ice. Biking pest control protects your home. And I know, because I use Viking at my own place, as the pest control provider and proud partner of the New Jersey Devils. Viking brings 45 years of trusted experience and expert service to keep ants, cockroaches, stinging insects, rodents, and even mosquitoes out of your zone. They're a local team built a personalized game plan that actually works. And when you bundle pest control and mosquito services, you score big savings.

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23:32All right, let's get back to the busy phones talking about. Shall we? Everything that's going on with the NBA and is the regular season to blame. Not mattering or is there really a difference in the way that they play that expecting these athletes to give it 82 games is too much. With Steve Kerr right, wrong is Stephen A, right, wrong. Alan the Bronx, your on ESPN New York, it's up, buddy. Yeah, hey guys, how you guys doing? Good. I just wanted to talk about that. I feel like we're doing the plays of disservice by talking about low management without giving a context. Alan was making the point while I was on the phone with Anthony and the stars play every night. The stars play every night. I mean, how many of these guys you think don't want to play basketball? I think they want to play. I think the teams are probably keeping them out at certain points. Well, the low management, go ahead. No, I'm sorry. But didn't we just, but Alan did just go through the list in terms of stars, like the, in terms of big superstars, you saw how far we had to go down the list to get to the big stars, right?

24:34So the point that I'm making is that the low management conversation is usually made by people who don't watch the sport every night. You know, the tank and teams, they sit players out because they're trying to tank. That happens and that's terrible. That's terrible. But the guys play every night. Look at the mix. We could only mention one, one time this year with Carl Anthony Towns side out of the game and he was probably healthy. But most of the time with this. It's with legit injuries. Like that's the funny thing is, as I was doing this list, I got up to 146 to find Shay Gilgis Alexander, the MVP. 146 players, right? But among the top 146, the entire Nick starting five is in there. The Nick's are the one team that won't play that game. And I think that I have one more question. Before you ask this question, because I just want to get this part out too. I think the bigger issue that I would have as somebody that consumes the NBA literally every night and I would think that Steve Kerr should know this.

25:35Yeah, answer is absolutely. The problem with the NBA in comparison to the other sports is it feels like NBA players are fine with not playing. And you can think that not playing would drive you crazy. Like what do you mean I'm not playing? I want to play. Like you always want to play. That's the part that I'd feel like the NBA has this casual sense of, yeah, all right, I'm off tonight. I'm good. And that's not the best thing for you. The last question and I'll let you go. And I'll get all is Alan and Don. They live around NBA players, they're around and the Joe players all the time. How do the NBA players look walking after your career as an over? Walking around. But you know what though, it's the older era guys. Right. The newer era guys are still playing. It's hard because there's somehow

26:36harder the game is on the body. We'll find out 20 years if they're right. But I a lot of times we find that Don, you probably see this a lot with the NHL players who take care of themselves after their careers. They're all right. The players are going to let it go. Like it's like anybody in life. Right. You know, look football. I'm sorry. Every single one of those guys, the physically, it's just that gives that takes a lot of the ball. It's completely different. But for the most part, if I see the guys that take care of themselves after their careers are over and don't let it go, I kind of, it's supposed a little harder to discuss there because the general physical size of these men lead to a lot of, if you are six, typical, yes, if you're six, eight, and you never play in the NBA in your sixties, you might have a couple of things going on from where and tearing your body. Yeah. However, NBA players are not risking their lives when they play the sport. When you're an NFL athlete, you are risking your life.

27:36That is, you are saying, I may not make it to be an old man. I may have brain damage. I may have CTE, but I'm risking it for this game and the money and the things it can bring for my family. Absolutely. That's not basketball. We can't confuse those conversations. He brings up a really interesting point. Like if a basketball player were to say to you, listen, I look at the old time guys, man, and then they're 50 years old and they're still relatively young, man, and they've got bad backs and they've got bad knees and they can't lift their kids and they have trouble going off the side. I don't want that to be me. I want to be able to have a life after basketball. I want to be able to grow old and not have arthritis and not walk with a limp. As much as I understand that, do you think any of the people that follow the sport want to hear that you're saving yourself for retirement with the money that you're making and the money that I pay to consume the product? I want a guy that's out there sacrificing himself and as much as it sounds ridiculous to hear Ray Lucas say he would do it all over again with all the damage he's done to his neck and his brain and all that.

28:38As a fan, you're like, yeah, I love that guy. And it sounds barbaric, but it's true. It's like, I don't want to hear that that guy did load management or didn't play X amount of minutes or didn't die for that loose ball because he's thinking about 20 years from now that he doesn't want to have to limp or have trouble getting out of the car. It makes sense, but for the fan, you're like, no, man, I want to hear about how you care so much that you want to win and you want to entertain it. Like I see both sides of it, but I talk to a guy like Ken Danico who's really fit. I can't he still works out, but you could see he comes up those stairs to the booth and he's disnayser. How are you doing coming up here? I'm not doing well. I'm just, but the point is is that if Danico tells you, he would do it all over again. Oh, it's worth everything. Because he break his face to block a shot of him and his team winning the game. We love people like that. As much as it makes sense, guys, do you really want to hear a player say, I get a dough for that ball, but you know what? I don't, I got life after basketball, man.

29:40No, you don't want to hear that. No, you don't, but look, you want to cut the season down because it's better on the body. Would it be better for the sport, the NBA? Of course it would because guess what we don't do anymore. Well, it's a long season. It doesn't matter, right? Like when you have those shortened seasons we had with lockouts, 99 and 2011, the shortened season puts more urgency into the games. So of course, what Curry's saying, not don't give me the player health excuse, but if you want to talk about the health of the game, give me games like to do in Europe. Team plays on Thursday and Saturday or Friday and Sunday. And that's it. And then every and Monday through, you are getting your bodies right, you're practicing. So the teams are fundamentally better. The game would be better. That's the problem is you'd have to have a 52 game season or a 62 game season and no one wants that because what does the revenue,

30:40but you know what's interesting? It would be better for the sport. I thought about that. Like the NHL's, NHL's actually going to an 84 game schedule next year because of the new teams they brought in. They want everybody to be able to play. Yeah. And it seems silly that the Rangers devils only playing three times. They want to get back to four games in the division. So they're adding two more games. And I thought to myself, the reason football is so popular is it's once a week, all the games are important. Urgent. Can you imagine if you had like a 50 game schedule on the NHL, how important those games would be? They'd be spread out more often. We talked about it last week with the devils having a seven game homestand. Like you tax the fans. Like you got three games in four nights at home. It's like, dude, I don't know, man, I can go to the one game. And I don't know if I can go to all the games. And so there's less sense of urgency. Maybe not for the devils because they're struggling to get into the playoffs. But it's like sometimes the games pile up too much. Like the ratings suffer. The ratings would go up. The attendance would go up if there were less games. If they took that angle and didn't even bring up, it's too hard for the players. But if they came over the angle, how much better it would be, then maybe he'd gain some traction.

31:41You wouldn't need an NBA cup. You wouldn't. You could have it. You can still have your all-star break. Think about this, the NBA season, regular season. Same as the NHL is maybe the NHL is a little bit longer as far as duration, but it's the same amount of games. Right. Weekends, if we just did weekends, it's 26 weekends. So as I said, if you only had games from Thursday to Sunday, you'd have a 52-ish, right? 52 game season. So you'll lose in 30 games with the players be healthy. Physically, right? Would the game be better because you'd have more time to work on fundamentals, work on team structure, defense, all that stuff? There'd be no back-to-backs. Every game, every weekend, are you kidding me? Every game would be like life or death because... Theoretically. Well, think about it. But things do, you don't know that it's going to end up being that way, but that's in theory, what could happen from it? Well, that's what you would expect. That's what you'd hope. That's what you'd hope. Well, when the standard changes, Don, and all of a sudden it's become something else, does it inherently just keep swinging?

32:44And you go, well, now that it's less game, and now we have more time off, I still need to get a few games here. I hear what you're saying, in theory, that would be ideal. First of all, I would say, you can't win a postseason of war. If you have a 50-year game season where you only play on weekend, you couldn't miss more than five games. And how? How could you win a realistic war? 52. What is it now? 65? 65 out of 82. It's 20%. You can get 20% off. I always say that. Yeah, so 52. So 52, you're right. It's around that. It's around that, right? No. No. 10 is 20%. It's 10. So in theory, 42 games. Really wouldn't want to go 42. But in essence, you're looking at, if you're really keeping it to the same standard, but why would you do 20%? Should be 10%. Yeah, it should be lower even the numbers level. Because you look at all the extra time you have. There's no need for load management. You've got, once you're done Sunday, if you play Sunday, you don't play again until Thursday or Friday. Are you kidding? I used to have fight. That's the only way that would work. A buddy of mine from Sportsphone,

33:45we used to have this fight about baseball and football. And he gave me a theory that blew my mind at the time and I want to run it by you guys. Oh, go ahead. Oh, I like it. It's coming up next. Stop. You guys are pro. Save money and get a better view of the road when you replace your worn-out wiper blades at O'Reilly Auto Parks. Right now, save $10 on a pair of Raynex latitude wiper blades. They feature beam blade technology to improve windshield contact for maximum visibility. The professional parts people will even install your new wiper blades for free. Choose Raynex Latitude Wiper Blades at your local O'Reilly Auto Park store or online at oReillyauto.com. Evan Cohen here. Gain Day brings the excitement. Your stay should feel just as memorable. With Marriott Bonvoy, official hotel partner of the NCAA and US soccer, you're connected to a portfolio of brands designed for how you travel. Some offer complimentary breakfast. Others give you room to spread out, space to stay productive or extended stay comforts. So whether you're a traveling fan or part of the team,

34:47Marriott Bonvoy celebrates the moments that live on before and after the game. Marriott Bonvoy, where game day checks in. Quick time out, some breakfast until you want to know about. Codiac frozen power waffles and flap jacks are built for busy mornings. Heat it, eat it, and you're out the door. No long prep, no complicated game plan. They're packed with 12 to 14 grams of protein per serving a good source of fiber and crafted with 100% whole grains, not refined white flour. So you're getting something that actually fuels you. And there's depth on the roster. Buttermilk and vanilla, blueberry, chocolate chip, even gluten free options. Breakfast that delivers, snack that delivers, find Codiac frozen waffles and flap jacks in the frozen aisle at your local grocery store. They're the ones with the bear on the box. Thanks for listening to a Don Han and Rosenberg podcast. I didn't listen to anything you just said. Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us whenever you get your podcasts.

35:51ESPN New York is teaming up with Kalandra's bakery to go away a pair of tickets to see the New York Knicks take on Charlotte on Sunday, April 12th. It's easy to enter to stop by Kalandra's bakery at 234 Bloomfield Avenue in Coldwell, New Jersey before April 7th to enter in person, brought to you by Kalandra's bakery in Coldwell home of fresh bread, classic Italian pastries, and traditions, baked daily. And if you go there, make reservations to be at the event coming up on Wednesday, next Wednesday, and we're gonna be there for the Ranger Devil Watch party, which is not nothing. So I'm looking forward to that. All right, honoring its ease. Yes, please. So Bill McNulty played for Seton Hall, and he was from Connecticut, worked at sports phone with me, and a big basketball guy, a big baseball guy. Love the cubs in the bears, even though he was from New York. And we'd always battle like what's better baseball or football, and this is going back like 30 years ago. And he brought up a great point. He's like, it's football's all about the games. There's only six at the time, 16 of them.

36:54He goes, so I'll update it for now. He says, imagine baseball had a 16 game schedule, and you're starting, pitcher, like within Yankees, is Garrett Cole. He would be like the quarterback of every game. They would all play every game. He says, can you imagine how big that game would be if there were only 16 of them? And think about it, like if every Sunday during the summer time, well, you only hate it because of what you're used to, and like records wouldn't matter anymore, right? Because obviously you never get... I like the point because it does point out that how now everything suddenly becomes more urgent. The emphasis on one game, right? If you are on the salable, but because it's not a physically taxing sport, you'd sit there going, can't we just do another one this weekend? Like, what? They used to play two in one day, okay? You know, like you would think that, but it does give the great example of the urgency

37:55and why football is what it is because this is the only game. So we all better be ready for it. It's the only game. So all my chores and other crap I have to do around the house, I better get this done on Saturday because I need Sunday at one o'clock. Like it does put an urgency and make it an event, but I still think you can do it NBA-wise. And NHL-wise, if you picked, now would you go up against the NFL, which, see, does it make sense for the season, which some people argue should be in the summer, but would you be against playing the NBA games early in the week, like during the week, on Monday through Thursday, and then have the weekend off? Because you don't want to go up against the NFL. It's become that big of a monster. That's an interesting point. I just think this. I weekends seems a bit overly reduced. And while 162, that number has meaning,

38:56and I love sort of the casualness of baseball, there is something about it just being a part of your nightly life that makes it fun. It would mean, if they could come up with some middle ground, I don't know what that number would be. Baseball? Baseball could be 82, and you wouldn't notice it. Baseball could be 82. Cut it in half, you wouldn't know. If you played every other day in baseball, then you'd get half the games. Again, the records would all, and people would freak out, because there is a component to the numbers. The religion. Well, the problem is it throws off the whole concept of a series, though. You know, because you're playing two, two game series every day. I feel like four games. And then of course, we have to get away games. So that's gotta be played in the afternoon. And what if it rains? It's like, yeah, that's the thing. There is this feeling that back in the, you know, in 1930, when there was nothing to do ever, like we need a game every day, because we need something to do. Like now it feels like, I'm gonna ask you every night,

39:58every single night. That's what the same thing I think would have been. The series. And then had a couple of nights off, then you played another series. Couple of nights off. You'd get more out of your store. You would get 20 game winners again. You could only do this. You could only do this if you make sure you have domed stadiums and everything, because you really would mess things up. Listen, we're just used to it, because you're right. It's less taxing, and they've always, they started out, but I always had 54, and then 162, and there's revenue. And let's face it, you've got these regional television networks that are hemorrhaging money. They don't want to hear about less games, right? They don't want to hear, if you're, they actually do need less games, because it's less for them to have to deal with. That's also, it's less of a lift for them to actually help them. Now, also, can we just wipe out mid week day games? Wipe them all out, get them all off the schedule, because when you win, when you get away, the fly away day, now there's no longer that travel day, because you have a day off, you can keep them all night games.

40:59The idea that, in the middle of the spring or fall, you're playing on a Wednesday afternoon at one o'clock, it's ludicrous. You're doing as you're literally throwing that game away, it's like, we don't care about ratings, we don't care about attendance, but we have to have a day game, because we gotta fly across the country and play tomorrow, so we gotta have a day game. Whether it's sport, do you see that happen? You get rid of those, if you just got rid of enough, you get, you added a, it's just the travel days, you get the number down to like, one 15, something, these are wasted games, I'm sorry, who's watching these? And I also, I know we don't care about the West Coast, but I remember having a conversation with Randy Hahn, who's the play-by-play voice of the San Jose Charter team. Alan's cousin, yeah, sure. And I think, and they were like on an East Code, they were gonna play, they were on a trip, five games East, and I'm like, that's gotta kill your network, because now you've got five games

42:00that have a 330 pre-game, four o'clock face-off. Yeah. And they're in a week. Yeah. So you're talking about a hockey game on a Tuesday, and people are at work, you know, getting home in the games like at the end of the second period, and never have thought about that. It's crazy. For all the time I spend thinking about West Coast tips, and West Coast football, I've never thought about when your West Coast basketball or baseball team is on an East Coast front of their playing at 430. So imagine the Dodgers here to take on the Yankees, big series, right? And for some reason that's during the week. So out in LA, you're gonna have four o'clock starts, and possibly a one o'clock start here, which would be, you know, a 10 o'clock start out there. That's why they never, yeah, that's the, LA is always here in New York, but, no weekend. But angels, mariners, I think it's those teams. And I think about how that must affect your ratings, when I was talking about it, when Brandon Tierney was out in San Francisco, and he worked as, he was crazy, like, his afternoon show in San Francisco

43:03would not be on the air when the Giants, because they had the Oakland A's on his radio stage, came out East, because then it was show it started to be a pregame. It's great, that's why, again, if I'm president, central time zone across the country, the other way around. I'm waiting to see, because a lot of people talk about Stephen A. running, not enough people have talked about whether Don LaGrecca will run in 2020. I would, that's a ticket that I would support. Stephen A and Don Juan, well, that, forget it. That's a, that's a juggernaut. I don't even think it's fair. There might be rules against it. Yeah, that, that, yeah, that's how, it would be rigged. I mean, who you taking out? That's a good, who are you taking out? That would be, no, no, right? It would be, it would be, it would be, it's Logan Smith and LaGrecca, who you taking out? Where's Don Juan LaGrecca when I'm looking for him? And the answer is, we're taking out everyone. That's right. Anyone who gets in their way, you kidding me? Big sighted. You get the central time zone. They win, right? Let's say, they win the nomination. Balloons coming down, grabs the mic. Just starts riffing, just starts singing, top of his lungs.

44:04Yeah, oh, performing. Couldn't you say it? And the mic breaks. Don't stop believing in some song. Y'all look at this garbage, look at this garbage. What a speed. How about the debate? The debate alone. Forget it. Well, if they, if they, if they did a, you know, so Don's the VP, so he's in the VP. He feels VP, doesn't he? He gives VP. Yeah, no, he's given VP. And then I give Vance vibes, is that what you're saying? No, I was thinking more, like just the, my man from Minnesota, who's the name I'm forgetting right now? Oh, well, no, I, yeah. Why am I forgetting my man's name? I don't know. I don't know what you talking about. What about Dan Kuala? Kamala's running me in the last one. Yeah, I get picture of him, but I can't think of his name. Oh, Tim Tim, Tim, Tim, what's his name? Not Tim Cain. Tim Walls. Tim Walls. You know, you give Tim Walls energy football coach vibes. You know what I mean? You're kickboxer Don. Kuala vibes. No. Why are you going Kuala? Why are you going Kuala Vance? I'm not going Kuala Vance. Kuala Vance. No, you're not giving Kuala. Come by the way, Kuala. What a moment of time. Yeah. If you missed Dan Kuala. You're no John Kennedy. If you missed Dan Kuala, you're like, who is that? You wouldn't, it would be a trivia for young people.

45:05See, but that's when politics was fun. But he, that's, that's just fun. Dan Kuala was just fun. That was fun. Potato. Yeah. Who needs to know how to spell potato? God, I, I got asked my parents. I somehow got an autographed picture of Dan Kuala. Nice. And I don't know why. Why not? I don't know what the riff was though. I don't know what, I, I don't know what letter I sent. Handsome guy. That led to me getting the picture. Because it wasn't Dan Kuala. No, because it wasn't because my family voted for him. So, so I'm trying to figure out why that happened. This is a Ballard for Sean Gary Cards of Jace. Oh my god. No, no. By the way, I'll trade you my Dan Kuala sign photo. For Ballard for Sean Gary. Oh, peachy premiere rookie card. Peachy. I know a peachy did photo. Yeah, combine, combine worth six cents. Anyway, I vote for you. That's right. I really appreciate that. See us live from the Irish exit at Moynihan. We dare you. We dare you. Friday. It's this Friday, March 13th. Friday. Before the semi-final round of the Big East Tournament, stop by before heading to the garden or before your commute home.

46:05Don on a Rosa Berg. Live from the Irish exit at Moynihan train station starting at 3 p.m. Friday. March 13th. Just steps away from Addison Square Garden and Penn station. Brought to you by Schwebs above the rim refreshment. Feel the madness and refresh your game with a Schwebs Celtser or Celtser Gingerail Sam Adams. And Suncruiser Vodka IST available at Aventia. And the Rutherford must be 21 or older to purchase. Please drink responsibly. E-N-N is next after Peter talks to you about an app. Well, yeah, I'm going to it's fandled on. And right now new fandled customers get up to $300 back in bonus bets every day. For 10 days, if your bet loses, your sell works. You place a tournament bet using the token. If it doesn't win, you get up to $300 back in bonus bets every single day for 10 straight days. That's 10 chances to play all tourney long. From game props and money lines to spreads totals, futures and more, you can even mix things up with same game parlays for a shot at bigger payouts. However, you want to fill out your bracket. Fandool makes it easy to stay in the action day after day.

47:05Visit fandool.com slash local to sign up today. Fandool. It's time to dance 21 or over. Physically present in New York must apply select token each day. Bonus bets are not what's all about. Expire 70s after seat tokens are received in increments of one per day. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fandle.com. For help with the gambling problem, call 870 and hope in wiretacks. Open Y467-369. Thanks for listening to about Don Han and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know how the sausage is made, but I just want to know what's good. Here more of Don, Alan and Peter. Weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 880 ESPN. The ESPN New York app and your smart speakers. Two teams. One cup. The prime time stage is set for the TGL presented by SoFi finals. Los Angeles Golf Club versus Tiger's Jupiter links. Keep up. It's playoffs. Tune in Monday, March 23rd, 9 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2 and Tuesday, March 24th, 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN and on the ESPN app.