The Best of The Dan Patrick Show

0:00This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human Security usually means extra steps and complications. But with Apple Pay, secure payments are simple. Your transactions are authenticated with Face ID, Touch ID or Passcode. So security is built in when you check out. Plus, your name isn't shared with merchants, and they don't see your actual card number. Whether you're shopping in-store, online, or in-app, protecting your money should be simple. Pay the Apple Pay. Terms apply. It's only natural. You see these golfers mistaken the true green lawns for actual golf course. Have you noticed that? Come on. No, no, I'm serious. They're the official lawn care treatment provider, the PJ Tour. So they know what it takes to get golf course quality lawns. So you're saying we could host a tournament up back? Yeah, I guess we can. Get your own golf course quality lawn at TrueGreen.com. TrueGreen.com.

1:00Let the pros handle the lawn. Just don't be surprised when golfers show up. Baseball is finally back. And this year, the season opens with a historic first. One single spotlight game to launch it all. Live on Netflix. On Wednesday, March 25th, the New York Yankees head west. A seven-time all-star and three-time MVP Aaron Judge returns to his Northern California Roots. To take on three-time all-star Rafael Devers and the San Francisco Giants. Fans have waited all off season for baseball's return. And Netflix is kicking things off with a brand new live viewing experience. Watch MLB opening night. The New York Yankees versus the San Francisco Giants live on Netflix. Wednesday, March 25th at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific. I can't tell you how many times I spill something on my shirt right before walking out the door. And it's always while I'm wearing a white shirt too. And somehow, that's the exact moment I realize I'm out of staying removed. And I don't have another clean shirt to change into. Unpredictable moments like that are part of everyday life.

2:01Luckily, Amazon helps to make it easier to manage life's curveballs. From unexpected needs to everyday essentials, Amazon offers everything in one place. With reliable value and great prices. So when a small mess turns into a last-minute problem, Amazon makes it easier by saving the everyday. You are listening to the Dan Patrick show on Fox Sports Radio. You know, the college football, college basketball, the whole conference that they had at the White House on Friday. And the president there, you had 50 esteemed individuals who were there representing different entities. You know, you have former coaches, you have TV executives. I wanted to know why not have a current coach and or current player or players. Because you are talking about them, Ross Deltinger covering a event on Friday, who sports senior college football reporter. What was your biggest takeaway from this on Friday, Ross?

3:04Dan, I noticed that you let out an exhaustive sigh as you started to talk. Before you started talking about this event, and I would say that plenty of people in attendance probably had a similar sigh after it wrapped up. You know, I think the goal of this event, Dan, was to bring attention to the issue by gathering all these important people, these dignitaries at the White House in front of the president. But I think there was a goal of number one, bringing attention to the issue. And number two, by way of bringing attention to it, maybe you put pressure on congressional lawmakers to push something through a college sports bill through the Congress, which is with the president once, the city once. And I think actually it accomplished goal one. It certainly got people talking and had the attention brought to it. Whether we'll get a college sports bill from it, I'm not sure.

4:07There's a fight in the Senate over a bill and a fight in the House right now. And there's a bill that probably could get to the floor of the House to govern college athletics as soon as next week. But I don't know that it'll pass. There's confidence. It'll pass the House. There's not confidence as we learned during the roundtable on Friday at the White House that it will pass the Senate. So still a lot of hurdles. And of course, one of the things we found out that was a little bit of a surprise, Dan, was the president saying he'll issue another executive order to govern college athletics. Not sure what will be in that, but he already issued one back in the summer. And it didn't change much about anything. So I'm not sure how this one will. Yeah. And if I'm wrong, tell me, but an executive order can't make a law, provide antitrust exemptions or override state laws or policies in the executive order. They can be challenged in court. So I don't know what's going to come out of this if anything.

5:10But where there are any ideas, any initiatives that were actually brought up in this roundtable? Not anything novel or groundbreaking. There was a good amount of time spent discussing the SCORE Act, the college sports bill that's in the House that has twice failed to get to the floor because they didn't have the votes. And again, that I think next week or maybe for the following week, we will see that finally move. There's a lot of talk about the SCORE Act. And then there was a lot of talk from the president specifically about the judicial system, which you could tell he has sort of a vendetta against because of rulings that have come against him the last few months or so. So he sort of blamed college sports is current situation on judges and on their on their rulings. So no, they get back to your question, not a whole lot of novel concepts that that we learned just college sports folks sitting around with the president complaining about judges and hoping for something to happen in Congress.

6:24Why not a current coach or current players? Yeah, well, I mean, I think a group of small group of media, we got a few questions and at the very end and someone did ask the president why there wasn't a current college athlete on the panel. And he turned to Randy Levine, who's the Yankees president, who actually put together sort of put together the roundtable and said that while there's no current athlete now around this specific roundtable that in the future as this group continues, there will be athlete voices sort of joining. And in the apparently the group will continue, maybe not as big. They're going to break off into sort of like a smaller subgroup, I don't know, 35, 10 people to continue working with the legislature. This is the that's the thing, Dan, that you read all that's accurate about the president in an executive order. He can't do a whole lot. There's not a whole lot of power there. You need, you need congressional action. So this small subgroup of the roundtable will work with lawmakers to try to shape a college sports legislation that, you know, grants conferences in the NCAA, the power to enforce their rules, preempts these state in IEL laws.

7:44Indieem's athletes is not employees. That's sort of the three main things they want to happen now for the casual fan Dan. Part of what they want in an antitrust exemption to enforce their rules around transfers in the cap, the salary cap that we have now and in college college athletics. In the movement, just the movement of people transferring and eligibility standards. So that's how the casual fan might eventually see a bill come to fruition is so much pressure from all these eligibility cases that we've seen in the movement of transfers in college athletics. What role does Nick Saban play? Well, I think he's got a pretty big voice number one and for whatever reason, the president wants him to play a very big role. He was, you know, this commission or this roundtable that was put together with something blast burning almost a year ago that kind of got out publicly.

8:51And the president wanted Nick Saban to cheer it and Nick actually didn't really didn't want to be involved. And so somehow you got talked into being involved now at this at this roundtable. He certainly got a big voice and the president wants to be once he's involved. And you know, if you listen to Nick Saban, you know, he's got a lot of good ideas. I think he's he's got other ideas that some athlete rights folks may disagree with as far as the restrictions imposed on athletes. And that's the real argument here again. And that's why Congress can't get a bill through is because you have most Republicans that are leaning toward the NCAA sort of side in more restrictions on athletes and more control for the NCAA. And a democratic side wants more control and freedom for athletes. But right now that control and freedom is as the college administrators might say out of control.

9:54Right. And so they want some kind of rules and regulation. So you have this fight going on between Republican Democrats that I don't see getting resolved anytime soon. College football in better shape now or 10 years ago. Since the athletes are getting some kind of compensation right now from the multi billion dollar business that is college football. You have to say it's in a better situation. But I think the unregulation in the intense movement that we're seeing among transfers and things like that in the situation with the inconsistent eligibility standard that it's it's not in a place it's not in the greatest place right that it could be. There's just the balance has to be struck on how many how much rule and regulation how much restriction do you put on athletes because they you know 10 years ago, Dan they had virtually none.

11:01Right. They had they had no hardly any freedoms. And now maybe the argument is they have too many freedoms. And so we don't have any rule of regulation. There's got to be sort of a balance there and usually you get to that balance by with the NFL and all the pro leagues have done, Dan, which is collective bargaining. But it's not that eating college and it has been a big topic of discussion. But it's not like you can push a button and get there, but many administrators want to try to start taking steps, Dan down down toward a collective bargaining agreement of some sort with major college football basketball players. Thank you, Ross. Yep, get it on Ross Dellinger Yahoo sports senior college football reporter be sure to catch the live edition of the Dan Patrick show weekdays at 9 a.m. Eastern 6 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio in the I heart radio app. I have a podcast empire. It continues to grow and I have brought it here to Iowa.

12:03I'm also doing a live radio show from 3 to 5 p.m. Eastern because my wife wanted to kick me out of the house. It's called Stagotsie Company Live, which is available on podcast form right when the show finishes every single day. Some of the biggest names in sports. A lot of phone calls. I love you guys this show. It's one of my favorites. A lot of interaction. Guys not taking themselves too seriously. Those are just some of the things that you can expect from Stagotsie Company and Stagotsie Company Live. So listen to Stagotsie Company Live and our original podcast. Please subscribe, rate and review. Stagotsie Company and God bless football. Tellers livelihood depends on it. Do it today. And you can check all of those out on the I heart radio app Apple podcast for wherever you get your podcast. Baseball fans the weight is almost over and MLB is starting the season in a completely new way live on Netflix.

13:05This year begins with one single opening night matchup on Wednesday, March 25th at 8 p.m. Eastern 5 p.m. Pacific. The New York Yankees head to the Bay area to face the San Francisco Giants in a season opening showdown. Seven-time All-Star, three-time American League MVP and Northern California native Aaron Judge returns home to lead the Yankees into a new year. Across the diamond, All-Star Rafael Devers and the Giants are ready to defend their home field and set the tone for the season ahead. Fans have waited months to feel the excitement and the first crack of the bat and Netflix is bringing it live with a viewing experience built for today's audience. Opening night has never looked like this. Watch MLB opening night, the New York Yankees versus the San Francisco Giants live on Netflix Wednesday, March 25th at 8 p.m. Eastern 5 p.m. Pacific. Security usually means extra steps and complications, but with Apple Pay, secure payments are simple. Your transactions are authenticated with Face ID, Touch ID, or Passcode, so security is built in when you check out.

14:11Plus, your name isn't shared with merchants and they don't see your actual card number. Whether you're shopping in-store, online, or in-app, protecting your money should be simple. Pay the Apple Way. Terms apply. Alright, guys, two words for you, prostate exam. Yeah, you just clenched up a little bit. Are you imagining the finger right now? Yeah. Relax, prostate cancer screening starts with a simple finger-free blood test. Around one and eight men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. But that's no reason to re-clench. When caught early, at localized or even regional stages, prostate cancer can have over a 99% 5-year relative survival rate. Did your tight end just relax? Good. If you're over 40, 40 or older, and have a prostate visit Relax, it's a bloodtest.com.

15:11You'll find out if a PSA blood test is right for you. The PSA blood test can be the first step in screening. Talk to your doctor to evaluate your risk, determine when to get tested, and discuss screening, options, and the next steps. Sponsored by Novartis. It's only natural. You see these golfers mistaken the true green lawns for natural golf course. Have you noticed that? Come on. No, I'm serious. Happens all the time. And, you know, they're the official lawn care treatment provider, the PJ Tour. So they know what it takes to get golf course quality lawns. So you're saying we could host a tournament up back? No. I mean, we could make, well, yeah, I guess we can. If true greenstone all the work, no one makes it easier. They handle the treatments, the timing, everything. I feel like you see them everywhere. Yeah. Beautiful lawns. And you know it's true green. America's number one lawn care company and chances are they're already in your neighborhood. I play, but I'm not mowing. I didn't think you were your wife will or your son.

16:12Get your own golf course quality lawn at true green dot com true green dot com. Let the pros handle the lawn. Just don't be surprised when golfers show up. Lot of NFL news free agency starting and Mike Tannenbaum at the center of all of it. He works for the mother ship NFL front office insider. You can see him on get up sports center NFL live. Mike, thanks for joining us. Why not if you're the dolphins, keep two on the roster if you're paying him. Great question. I think Dan they're resetting things. It's year one. Let's take the cap charges. Let's eat a lot of the money this year. Some of it's going to go to next year and start fresh. I'm sending a message about culture and more about the future then. Hey, if we win six or seven games or eight games this year, that doesn't matter. So I understand why they were doing year one with a new head coach year one with new GM. Are the dolphins going to be tanking?

17:14I don't know if they're going to be tanking, but I think what's going to be really interesting. Dan, if you and I are having this conversation October and November, there'll be a number of teams that are probably more interested in fishing closer to the top of the draft than to making the playoffs. And I don't know if they're going to have a tanking problem the way the NBA does. But without question next year's draft is loaded with quarterbacks. And there's going to be a number of teams that may be out of it in the middle of the season. It'll be interesting to see how they can port themselves when we get there. But to if he signs with the team, he still gets his money from Miami. That's correct. There's three there's three quarterbacks right now. Kyla Murray, Gino Smith and two that all have massive guarantees from their previous team. All three of those quarterbacks will sign for about $1.3 million this year. So it's not necessarily comparing apples to apples when you talk about Daniel Jones or Kirk Cousins or Maliquilis with those other three. Because a team is going to see one of those three players as tremendous value.

18:16If you ran the dolphins, what are you going to do at quarterback position? I'm probably looking for a bridge quarterback and then looking at next year's draft because it could be historically great. Look, the seas hasn't been played yet. We'll see how it goes. But you know, there's a chance for it to be really good. So not not just necessarily Miami Dan, but if I felt like I was a year away or just trying to establish myself, there's over 10 new head coaches, I'm sure a lot of teams are going to have a very similar mindset. Max Crosby, Raiders getting two first round picks from the Ravens. Let me start with the Ravens because I wondered about this last week. Why aren't more teams taking the approach the Rams take? Like Buffalo getting DJ more. I mean, I got to be all in because we know that window of opportunity doesn't stay open very long. And the Rams, it feels like for the last decade, have been all in. We don't need our draft picks. We're going to get people who can help us win or at least compete for another Super Bowl.

19:18The Ravens went all in with Max Crosby, Buffalo with DJ more. The Rams, you know, getting McDuffing. Why don't more teams follow that blueprint? Yeah, I think it's very sound. And in particular, you were asking about Crosby. You know, there's a couple of really interesting things. First of all, he's only 29. He's incredibly productive and he's exactly what you want for your locker room. He's a force multiplier. He's going to make everybody in that program better. The interesting thing then that no one's really talked about is Jesse Mentor won from this nice young ascending coach that will have, you know, a reasonable breaking period to like, there is no funny mood. Like the expectations for a rookie head coach have never been higher. If Lamar is healthy, he's a two-time MVP. You have one of the two or three best pass rosters in the league. You have Derek Henry, Rukwan Smith, Kyle Hamilton amongst others. Like, this guy's funny moons about 10 minutes. If you ran the Raiders, what do you do?

20:18You got more cap space than anybody. You got two first round picks. We know what you're doing with one of them. What would you be leaning towards if you were running the team? Three things. Offensive line, offensive line, offensive line. I am, Dan, I am drafting Mendoza, but I am not playing him. I would have kept Geno Smith. And here's why. If you go back last year, they gave up more stats than any team. You could look at it from a few different metrics. Don't ruin Fernando Mendoza before he's ready. I think he has a chance on the upside-down to be Matt Ryan, a taller guy, a good arm, a good athlete, not a great athlete. He's going to need a firm pocket. That's something that the Raiders have really struggled with. So why are we going to rush to play him? I would go out and get somebody else to start at least half the year and make sure that your offense line is settled before you do anything with Mendoza. Because you don't want to ruin his career before they have a chance to be good. Yeah, I'm right there with you. I've been using the Andrew Luck analogy that you had this future Hall of Fame quarterback.

21:20You just didn't have a very good offensive line. And it eventually caught up to both the cold and Andrew Luck. Can you quietly shop to the number one pick if you're the Raiders? Yeah, I'm also sure they have it. Just from teams, be it Arizona or the Jets could just say, hey, run into them at the combine, say, look, we're not negotiating. Tell me what the bill is. Tell me what the price is. Is it three ones? Is it four ones? Chances are teams are going to do that because I'm sure they're looking at it at a multi-year sort of view of what we had talked about. We can think about Dante more next year, Archman and LaNora Sellers. Like on and on and on, they'll probably be I think five or six first round quarterbacks. If they play, you know, reasonably well this year. So I think part of what's going to hurt the Raiders from a leverage standpoint is teams are going to look at next year and say, we'll pay a premium, but we're not going to be unreasonable. Who had a better week or 10 days, bills, Ravens, Rams? I go with the Rams. If you and I were running the chiefs

22:22and we were just drafting the players on the chiefs, clearly Patrick Mahomes is the best player. I'm not so sure that Trent McDuffie isn't two or three of their best players. He can blitz, he can tackle, he could play man, he could play zone, he could play slot, he could play outside. He's very competitive. There's nothing he doesn't do exceptionally well. And if we look at the Rams and say, like, what was outcome determinative, I would tell you, like, they're a lack of play at corner. You know, Darius Williams, Emmanuel Forbes, they didn't get the high level play. And we're going to have to, at some point, cover Jackson Smith and Jidba, man to man, you know, we're going to have to be able to get off the field on third down. They could do that today, they can do that a week ago. And I was surprised, look, I know we've seen Kansas State trade, the Jerry Sneed. We've seen him trade, Tyree Kill. I put McDuffie in a different category. I think he's a great young player. And I was surprised that they traded him. He's Mike Tannenbaum, ESPN NFL front office insider. What do you expect the rest of this week?

23:24I think the quarterbacks are going to be fascinating because I think you put that bucket of three in one group. Again, that's two of Kyler Murray and Geno Smith. Those are guys are all one year deals at a million three. So like, that's one bucket. I don't think anybody goes after Daniel Jones because of the durability issue. But let's face it, Dan, like the colds are a little bit exposed. They took a six million dollar risk. The transition tag was six million less than the franchise tag, understandably. But now, let's see what happens with him. And then the other one's going to be Malik Willis. Malik Willis was somebody that hasn't played a lot, but got a lot better with Green Bay. And it's going to be fascinating to see where he signs. What about the colds going after Kyler Murray? You know, that's interesting, Dan. They like Riley Leonard. They still have an Anthony Richardson. Obviously, they like Daniel Jones. That's why they transition him. Look, if you and I were running a team, I would say for $1.3 million. Let's go get Kyler Murray. His ceiling is really high.

24:26He's only 29 years old. He's played good football, not consistently. But he's put it on tape. And I'm always for in a cap and constraint system when you could take calculated risks and get a player that has a ability for incredibly, on a $300 million cap, you're essentially paying him nothing at $1.3 million. There's very, very little downside. Aaron Rodgers only going to have the Steelers as a potential landing spot. Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think this soda, if things that work out with Murray, I mean, that's the only other team. But, you know, let's face it, Dan. He's going to be 43 in December. He's an all-time great one of the best I've ever played, but it's close to the end. And what you worry about there, and I've been around testimony at the end, far bit the end. I work with Dan Marino, like, talking to him. It's not their arm, Dan. It's their legs and their inability to protect themselves. And, you know, he's going to be 43. Father time's undefeated. And if I'm Aaron Rodgers, I got to take a long, honest and sober view of, do I really need to do this one more year?

25:29Yeah, I just wonder about landing spots. Even Kirk Cousins, does he look at TV? And maybe commit to CBS, but with the caveat or the asterisk of if somebody calls, I might be leaving. Although I don't know if CBS would do that. I think he had a pretty good debut as an analyst here, but if you're going to replace Matt Ryan, you kind of want to know that that guy's going to be there on Sunday when you're doing your broadcast. Yeah, if I'm Kirk Cousins, like, I got to be close to the end as well. Like, you know, he's a great dad by all accounts. You know, CBS seems like a pretty good opportunity. You know, we'll see, you know, sometimes these guys are so competitive, though. It's hard for them to leave. And by the way, a quarterback is going to look at Minnesota and say, I can be coached by Kevin O'Connell. I have Justin Jefferson, arguably the best receiver in the game. Jordy Madison, T.J. Hawkinson. That's a pretty good place to be. How did Minnesota miss on J.J. McCarthy?

26:30Like, it feels like we haven't said the quiet thing out loud yet, but it certainly feels like they realized they made a mistake. Yeah, I'm not ready to go there yet. He started 10 games. I think we got to give him a great, have been complete. He's incredibly young. I saw him craft his probably six times at Michigan. He has after but you should can't see. He's a natural leader. He has poised about him. And I think there's too much upside to give up on him. Now, with that said, if we could go get Kyle and Murray or Kurt Cousins, I'm going to have a competition. But, you know, we've seen too many guys from Darnell, Gina Smith, Baker Mayfield, you know, go to their third and fourth team until, you know, quote, unquote, the light went on. And to me, we got to remember this, like worst case scenario is not J.J. McCarthy not working out. It's him working out someplace else. Yeah, yeah, that's true. But it feels like you're either good, really good with your team, or you know that you're going to get, you're going to be a backup quarterback and then you're going to get your chance again.

27:31It feels like there's two buckets of quarterbacks. It's, that guy's going to bounce around and be Sam Darnell, or Baker Mayfield, or Gina Smith, or you are going to get that quarterback who is going to be with your franchise from start to finish. Hey, how about this? Like, I just tweeted this a couple of minutes ago. This is a remarkable statistic. Kyler Murray is the seventh consecutive quarterback drafted first overall that wasn't on the team that drafted him by the age of 30. The last quarterback to be drafted first overall and still be on his team at 30 was Matt Stafford in. He was drafted going back to 2009. So it's really remarkable how hard it is to develop a quarterback. Now, Andrew Luck retired. But yes, seven quarterbacks in a row didn't make it to age of 30. You ever get into shouting match with an agent? Yeah. More times than I would care to admit. Can you give me one? You don't have to give names.

28:31But yeah, what? How allowed did it getting? Oh, it got loud. There was one. It was so bad that I actually not only did I call him to apologize. I want to hire his son as an intern because they felt so bad. Oh, we'll be watching. Thank you, Mike. Great to talk to you again. All right. Appreciate you having me. Thanks, Dan. Mike Tannenbaum. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at FoxSportsRadio.com. And within the IHARDS radio app search FSR to listen live. Baseball fans, the weight is almost over. An MLB is starting the season in a completely new way. Live on Netflix. This year begins with one single opening night matchup on Wednesday, March 25th at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific. The New York Yankees head to the Bay Area to face the San Francisco Giants in a season opening showdown. Seven-time All-Star, three-time American League MVP at Northern California native Aaron Judge,

29:36returns home to lead the Yankees into a new year. Across the diamond, All-Star Rafael Devers and the Giants are ready to defend their home field and set the tone for the season ahead. Fans have waited months to feel the excitement at the first crack of the bat. And Netflix is bringing it live with a viewing experience built for today's audience. Opening night has never looked like this. Watch MLB opening night. The New York Yankees versus the San Francisco Giants. Live on Netflix. Wednesday, March 25th at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific. Pay around the corner and around the globe. Apple Pay is accepted at millions of places worldwide. Wherever you see the contactless symbol in stores or the Apple Pay button online and in apps. Whether you're checking out on iPhone or Apple Watch, just double-click, pay, and be on your way. Add your debit or credit card to wallet and you're good to go. Pay the Apple Way. Terms Apply.

30:39Alright, guys, two words for you, prostate exam. Yeah, you just clenched up a little bit. Are you imagining the finger right now? Yeah. Relax, prostate cancer screening starts with a simple finger-free blood test. Around one and eight men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. But that's no reason to re-clench. When caught early at localized or even regional stages, prostate cancer can have over a 99% 5-year relative survival rate. Did your tight end just relax? Good. If you're over 40, 40 or older, and have a prostate visit Relax. It's a blood test.com. You'll find out if a PSA blood test is right for you. The PSA blood test can be the first step in screening. It's your doctor to evaluate your risk, determine when to get tested, and discuss screening options and the next steps. Sponsored by Novartis.

31:39It's only natural. You see these golfers mistaken the true green lawns for a natural golf course. Have you noticed that? Come on. No, I'm serious. Happens all the time. And, you know, they're the official lawn care treatment provider of the PJ Tour. So they know what it takes to get golf course quality lawns. So you're saying we could host a tournament out back? No. I mean, we could make, yeah, I guess we can. If true greenstone all the work, no one makes it easier. They handle the treatments, the timing, everything. I feel like you see them everywhere. Yeah. Beautiful lawns. And you know it's true green. America's number one lawn care company and chances are they're already in your neighborhood. I play, but I'm not mowing. I didn't think you were. Your wife will. Or your son. Get your own golf course quality lawn at true green dot com. True green dot com. Let the pros handle the lawn. Just don't be surprised when golfers show up. He was on the call for the rockets and the spurs last night on NBC and Peacock.

32:39Reggie Miller back with us also. Coast to coast on Tuesday stays in San Antonio, the Celtics and the spurs. Eight Eastern also on NBC and Peacock. Wembee. Wembee again. Wembee both ends of the floor inside and out. He shoots over 80% from the free throw line. I'm trying to figure out what he doesn't do at the ripe old age of 22. I think he's starting to figure it out. And I think what I've been most impressed with, especially this year. He is embracing how teams are playing him because the knock, especially the first year, the physical was up. Get a bum drum, kind of move him around. And I think because of last year, his season was shortened because of the blood clots. We didn't get a huge sample size of games. But I think he went back to the lab this off season. We saw all his travels with the monks and different places trying to figure out the meaning of life and the game of basketball to him.

33:46And he's come back with a sense of purpose of matching other teams physicality. Again, he's still not the biggest guys, but he's embracing how these teams are playing him. And if you just case and point the last three games, he went against the Detroit Pistons, a very physical team. The LA Clippers who have a number of players who like to play physical. And even last night with the Houston Rockets, they have a starting lineup of 6667, 6969, and 7 feet with Kevin Durant. And they try to get a bum drum. They try to be physical with him. He embraces that now and almost uses it against them. And you're right. I was trying to think, and I was trying to put myself in the shoes of fans of players that it is an experience. When you watch them play, Dan, and I'm thinking like MJ was like that because you didn't know what you were going to see with MJ on the court.

34:48I put Steph and Curry in that because of his ability to shoot the basketball. To me, Whitney is a must-see experience because you truly do not know what you are going to see. And what you do see and witness, it's like, I don't think I've seen a human being do that. But what I'm also seeing is somebody who cares. If you saw him in the All-Star game, you saw him in the Olympics, even the comeback game against the Clippers where he got emotional. He truly cares about the outcome of the game. And I find that really rare. And certainly at the age of, you know, I brought up 22. Isn't it refreshing? All right. I mean, we get so jaded nowadays because of some of these big contracts and load management guys not wanting to play. Here's a guy who, again, he'll listen to the trainers and the doctors for this verse.

35:51But he wants to be out there every minute and he wants to be out there competing. And I just wonder if our American-born players and some of the elite players are getting tired of the talk that Victor Wimbenyama saved the All-Star game, which he did. He set the tone in that first game. How hard he came out and played. And I wonder if our American-born players are looking at this saying, you know what? That should be us. That's how we should be playing. And you have this Frenchman setting the tone. And I'm not the only one saying that he saved the All-Star game. But a lot of people are saying that because of how he approached it. And it's just refreshing to see that he competes so hard in just his third season. And he just sets a precedence. I'll give you anybody in the league for the next five years.

36:51Who you taking? Oh, I would take him because of what he does at both ends of the floor. Anybody close? Kate Cunningham would be in there. I think Cooper Flag will have his moments. Again, Cooper is only what? 1920. But for the next five years, right now he's the face. And he's a very humble kid. But yet, how he approaches the game is very thoughtful. He's very methodical in terms of prep for a game, prep for his body. The only thing that will be a not going forward will be the injury part. And right now, he's with the perfect organization because they basically avoided load management. Back to the great pop of bitch and Tim Duncan, monon, you know, the Tony Parker days. So he's with the perfect organization in terms of saving his body going forward. And for, you know what, protecting him for himself.

37:52Because he again, he wants to be out there every minute competing at a high level. Speaking of being out there, Jason Tatum comes back. It's not like they eased him into the lineup. He was in the lineup. And I love watching this team. And now Tatum back, I think they're the team to beat in the east. I agree with him. And especially with the recent slide of the Detroit Pistons. I think they have lost their last three. I still think Detroit will win the east, but I think Boston is in the perfect situation. Because now you have a long runway for Jason Tatum to get into basketball shape almost a month until the season is over. And then the first, first and second rounds, that's another two to three weeks. So it almost has two months, two full months to get in basketball shape. This past game on Saturday in Cleveland, he played 27 minutes. This is a guy that's been off for 10 months within Achilles injury Achilles tear.

38:55And he comes back and he played 27 minutes on the road. I thought they were going to play him in even smaller increments. But it just lets me know that he was he's been back for a while. Because for him to come back and play at this level and play those minutes, impactful minutes, it means he's been practicing and lifting and whatever else he's been doing, it's been absolutely remarkable. And it's going to be a fun game tomorrow because two great defensive teams, Boston and the Spurs. And it'll be interesting because he will be tested. Him, Brown, Pritchard, they will all be tested on the wings because the Spurs play a very physical style as well defensively. This should be a very fun and entertaining game. Michael Jordan says he doesn't get involved in the goat debate. The latest interview that Mike Trico did with him. You talked about it on the broadcast. Why would Mike get involved in the goat debate?

39:55Because we're his minions. That's our jobs to serve the king. Yeah, but he doesn't have to say anything. He doesn't have to say a word. He just goes scoreboard. That's our job. Our job. Look at the scoreboard and go like this. All he needs to do is hold up this. And that's it. This six finals, MVPs. Look, it's. I have. I didn't play against everyone. That's ever played. I never played like he said against Oscar, Jerry West, and all that. But I do know what it does feel like to go against him. Kobe. LeBron from one season. And I love all those guys. It's hard to. He will never win if he interjects himself, puts himself in that place. Again, that's our place. That's our job. Yours and eyes. Because from you, your eye test. You've been around a long time. You've seen a lot of basketball. I played against a lot of great players. The magic, the Larrys, the Michaels.

40:56I played against them all. So I kind of get it. But again, that's not our job to do that. It's. And that's not his job to do that. Yeah, you know, it's weird when I get asked this question. Because look, you can build up a resume for LeBron. And you go, what he did to do it for over 20 years. And, you know, consistency. But you see Kobe. And it's. And it's weird how I think Kobe got kind of. Oh, I think we lost you, Reg. Oh, yeah, start bringing up Jordan. Here we go. Yeah. Todd will see if he can get Reg back on there. I'm just glad that Mike Toreco, you know, Mike hadn't been that busy the last, you know, six weeks. I'm glad that he got to do something where all Reg is back. We got to. All of us guys. Yeah, got to sit down with Jordan again for another interview. But, you know, Kobe's the one that like if I'm you and you say, okay, you got a face LeBron, Mike, Kobe.

42:03Like Kobe is Mike. I mean, it's. LeBron's a different, different animal out there. But like style wise, Kobe is, is Mike. Because he. He patterned himself after. I think I think we get caught up when we talk about the goat situation in the goat debate. To me, the best player of the three is MJ. Kobe is a clone in a better version. Like he's Mike on steroids, better jump shooter. To me, the fundamentals were better because he perfected them to be like. The master, MJ. If you're talking about careers, the best career out of all three of those in my opinion is LeBron. Because of the longevity and what he has done, eight straight finals. But you, you put emphasis on career and rightfully so career versus as a player.

43:04Yeah. There's a difference. So, I mean, LeBron has had the best career out of anyone for him to continue to play like this at this level. All this late in his career. But if we're going stack for stack, player to me, MJ. Kobe and then LeBron. Oh, in that order. To me, in that order, just because. Look, I only had one year versus LeBron. My last year, his rookie year. I got tattooed by MJ. I got tattooed by Kobe at a high level. I, you know, I'm facing Kobe in the finals. So, there's a body of work, which we Kobe and I that I can, you know, I have a sample size against. It's interesting when I watch defenders on guys who are supposed to score. And how you don't let it affect you.

44:04But I don't know how you don't. Like, if you're guarding Kobe on the wing and everybody's watching. Yeah. And all of a sudden, he blows by you and, you know, dunks. Like, how do you not take that personally? Well, you never wanted to show emotions when you were playing those two guys. And I tried as much as possible, not to. Because I tried to put pressure on them at the other end as well. Because I'm blowing by them as well. You know, I, I tried to put as much pressure and make them work as hard as they possibly were making me work to try to tire them out. Both of those players, Kobe, Mike, they were superior athletes in fantastic shape, which is very difficult to do. So, you know, I heard you earlier talking about the LA marathon and, you know, right in the 26 miles all that. I tried to make it a marathon versus those guys and make it a track meet and constantly keep them in motion to try and tire them down. Some games, it worked.

45:04Other games that didn't, but that's what I tried to do versus those two players. Talking to Reggie Miller, he was on the call for rocket spurs last night. He'll be staying in San Antonio, Celtic Spurs. That's tomorrow night, eight Eastern on MDC and Peacock. What do you make of this LA marathon? If you run 18 miles, you get the same medal as those who completed the nearest or the... What's the deal with the participation trophies? Come on now. They talked about the heat. They talked about the heat, but I can't give you the same medal. The same exact medal. Is it the exact same medal? Yes. Come on. They can't happen. Really, the marathon was 18 miles and that's 26, correct? They were 18. Yeah. Can't do that. We're giving out participation medals. We're just going 18 miles. No.

46:04Yeah, but you got kids. They probably get participation trophies. And it drives me. Absolutely mad, Fedor. I mean, it does. Because what are we teaching these kids? That's not how life works, right? In the business world, it just doesn't work. You do not get a participation trophy for coming in second or third. We're hard. Go back to the lab. Get in the gym. Go outside and start shooting. Hey, get on the field. It's not working on your fielding. Learn how to catch the football. Did you get anything for finishing runner-up in the NBA finals? Yeah. You know what I got? That's not about you. That's it. Yeah. That's all we got. Like Kobe gave you a pat on the back and said, yeah, I'm a champ. Why are you torturing me right now? I didn't know who gave you the pat on the back.

47:06Did you give yourself a pat? Yeah. Chat gave you a pat on the back. You gave me a pat on the back. Yeah. You guys played hard. It's right now. You couldn't go to big diesel. That was the problem. I was like, OK, you're right, big fella. You're right, big fella. If you had to pick that you're going to get bounced in the second round of the postseason or you're going to lose in the NBA finals. I'll always take the finals because anything can happen once you get there. Trust me, it's beating much more. It's beating so much more because you say to yourself, can I win four games? When you get to the finals, that's what you say. I've got two win four games. And then when we went down to a going back home and we won game three, we're like, you're saying three wins. You would do anything to win three games.

48:09And yes, that's how desperate you get. And that's the thinking you have to have. And I know people ought to be politically correct. But you are counting down to 16 wins once you get to the NBA playoffs. And once you get to the finals, you just say, how can I win four games before that other team? Would you give up part of your pinky finger on your left hand? Friendship? Yeah. Do you understand? Yes. Oh, my left hand? Yeah. Oh, I still contributing. Yeah. I can hold the ball. Yeah, give me the ball. Give me the ball. Nine and a half fingers, Miller. Yeah, just give me the ball. Yes, yes, I would. It wouldn't seem to me the reason why I feel this way, people,

49:10if I had never been so close for so many years, so many conference finals versus the mix, when you're that close, when it's eight down to four, and then losing to the Lakers and the finals, needing four wins, when you're that close and you can taste it and see the finish line, but you can't get to the finish line. That's why I feel this way. If I had been like first second round and always going out, it was never close to the finish line, so who cares? But when you're close and you can see the finish, I felt like that Kenyan runner. That was in first place. And the American runner was right. That's how you feel when you get to the semi-finals. Can I get to that finish line first? Marvin, last week said, if he was the Buffalo Bills, he'd rather not get to the Super Bowl and lose. He'd rather lose earlier in the playoffs. I want to be on the biggest stage, Marvin,

50:13because you want the world seen you. You want to compete at the highest level against the best players. And if that's the World Series, the Super Bowl, the NBA finals, the Stanley Cup, the Olympics, or some of these runners and track athletes, you want to compete against the best. And that year we went to the finals with Larry Legend as our coach. We felt we were the best team in the East. We knew the Lakers were the best team in the West. We wanted that smoke. And we knew it was going to be an uphill battle. But they hadn't won in a long time. So both of us were coming in. We knew they had a pedigree. They were the Lakers. But the Lakers hadn't won yet. That was their first championship. They had never won. So we felt we were on equal footing. So that's why we felt we had a shot. And I like that Kobe stole your move, your step back jump shot.

51:13We had filmed a real, real world episode. He and I, we check on the real world cast in a game of two on eight. And before we started filming, before the other crew showed up, we played one on one, Kobe and I. And hey, show me this. Show me this move. You know, he was like picking my brain. I love how you do this. You know, I saw you do this against MJ. And I was like, being a big brother. Hey, yeah. Yeah, this is what I did. You do the step back. Be sure you create space. And when he, when he closes, one more dribble, and then you're like, it's like, okay, I got it. That fool was writing it down. And using those moves against me in the finals. I'm like, ain't this something. Ain't this something smart. Dude, smart Kobe rest. God rest. I know you were looking down on this interview right now. Smiling.

52:13Yeah, I read. I got you. Thank you, red. Have fun. He's the Seedoor, much love to my dad and Smarvin. Next year you and I let's sign up for the L.A. marathon baby. And let's go 18 miles so we can get our part in South Asian battle. I'm in. Let's go. Red G Miller. He'll be on the call. Coast to Coast Tuesday, San Antonio Celtics, and the Spurs at a Eastern. This is an ad for the Active Cash credit card from Wells Fargo. That's a mouthful, but that's because it packs a lot in. earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases with it big or small so whether it's buying tickets to the game or grabbing a morning coffee it earns unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases now everybody say it with me the active cash credit card from Wells Fargo be a 2% learn more at Wells Fargo dot com forward slash active cash terms apply imagine never having to buy gas again it's true

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