S&P’s Why Not Us?!: Episode #3

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welcome to S&P's Why Not Us, the podcast that knows the correct answer to how long it's been since the Knicks have been in the finals is 32 years and not 26, because lockout years do not count.

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I'm your host Scott Greenhut, and on the other side of the mic, someone who I watched the Charles Smith game with, the Reggie Miller game with, and countless other gens, my good friend Peter Olczyk.

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Thank you for that.

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Hi, everybody.

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Ah, I do hear the fans.

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We have some new ones I've heard from actually over the last couple of weeks.

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Wisconsin, PA, Florida, California, thank you so much.

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I wanted to start today actually we're about a week out from Dunkin's annual Ice Coffee Day- which is for a children's charity they do every year.

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We were talking a little bit about iced coffee a couple weeks ago.

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I asked you an innocent question.

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H-how many iced coffees do you have in a day? And I think I heard something about, there's coffee zero."

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And this was a new term for me.

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I was wondering maybe if you could shed a little bit of light on coffee zero.

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I would be happy to.

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And, I'm glad you've caught up, because this term is used by most of my colleagues at work, my entire family, and soon by virtue of this podcast, exponentially more people.

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So what does it mean? It means that every day of the year, winter, spring, summer, fall, within three minutes of waking up, I'm pouring some pre-made iced coffee into a 24-ounce glass and finishing it pretty quickly.

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It's automatic, it's ritual, and it doesn't count when I'm asked how many coffees I've had that day, you just don't use that number.

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Now, before you use this concept in real life, there are a couple of rules of the road- Okay I would like to lay out.

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Sure.

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You can't use this term unless you drink a lot of iced coffee.

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You haven't earned it.

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It doesn't play.

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My wife has one iced coffee a day.

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She can't say she has zero iced coffees a day.

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It's nonsensical.

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Secondly, for proper effect, you really need to say it like it's a fact.

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So if you're having a late night at work, maybe you say, "Man, it's been a long day.

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I've had six coffees."

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And then if asked the timing of said coffees, you can s- quickly start with coffee zero at 6:30 a.m.

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and coffee one at 8:00 a.m.

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and so on.

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Don't say it like it's funny Say it matter-of-factly.

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Okay.

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So I think my first takeaway there was since I am a two iced coffee a day guy, that doesn't count- Yeah so I won't use the terminology.

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I do owe you a thank you, though.

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You've absolutely helped me shake my Snapple habit Snapple iced tea- which was out there for many years.

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I also did enjoy the real facts inside the pop-up bottle cap.

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Maybe these days I would actually probably check those facts a little bit more closely.

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But yeah, for many years it really did seem like the best stuff on Earth for me, but thank you so much for getting me to see the light with iced coffee, and I am now a two iced coffee a day person- Fantastic religiously.

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And guess what? One other thing.

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Yeah? To all the aficionados, the coffee connoisseurs out there who say that a properly drawn cup of espresso is the only way to go, or appreciate the art in the cortado that the barista made- You know what? Just leave it alone, okay? Iced coffee tastes great.

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It's refreshing.

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It doesn't leave you thirsty.

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Let's give it up for iced coffee.

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All right.

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Let's leave it there.

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Yeah.

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Hail iced coffee.

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Let's get to the sports stuff.

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In today's episode, we'll hand out some MLB team grades versus expectations as we hit the 30% mark of the baseball season, talk a little tennis with the French Open around the corner, but how can we not tip off with the NBA's conference finals? So here we are.

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Conference finals out west, we're set with what we had expected.

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I think what we hoped for, I think what a lot of NBA fans had hoped for, OKC and the Spurs, and we got a game seven that we'll get to tonight in the East.

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So let's start out west.

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How you feeling about OKC versus San Antonio? 8 and 0.

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Yeah.

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That's powerful.

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Sweepin' Phoenix and Lakers.

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Margin of victory nearly 17 points on average.

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Defending champs, have home courts, have o- have home court advantage.

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SGA playing like the best player in basketball.

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I like OKC over Wemby and the Spurs.

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So w- in how many games? Do you have a...

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Do you feel like it's a long series? I f- yeah, I feel like it's a sixer.

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All right.

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So I am certainly rooting for a long series.

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I do, would give, I would give the edge to OKC.

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Of course, so excited about the SGA versus Wemby matchup.

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I will say that I don't buy into kind of the experience versus happy to be here cliché.

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San Antonio is legitimately really good, and I don't think that- They feel that they feel along those lines in any stretch.

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So- No, when Wemby's interviewed, he is a man on a mission.

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Clearly he's not happy with just being there.

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Yeah, and he's so thoughtful whenever he speaks.

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Does the regular season match up count four one Spurs? I don't buy too much into that, but certainly it would give San Antonio some confidence.

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Really looking forward to that entire series.

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And we have a game seven tonight.

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Detroit's at home versus Cleveland.

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I will say, and I'll let you jump in, but I'm pretty excited about hearing Detroit basketball.

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The PA is just amazing, John Mason, and how the crowd gets into it.

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So the game itself but yeah, it's gonna be electric tonight.

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I agree, and I've flip-flopped on this series admittedly many times, and so I- I couldn't tell you.

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I really don't have a good feel.

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In my heart of hearts, I think Detroit will take it at home and James Harden won't do enough for Cleveland, he'll probably do too much in a bad way.

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But we'll see.

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It's been a great series, very entertaining yeah, I will say I I think we spoke a little bit about James Harden last time, and I think it was game four, watching him at his truly best, three possessions in a row.

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Yes.

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Two drives, I think a step back three.

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This was vintage James Harden in control he had a great moment there.

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He doesn't have anything to prove but I it certainly will be interesting to see how things shake out tonight in, in Detroit.

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Now, of course, the winner is gonna face our New York Knicks.

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And let me just get something out there.

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I think last time we mentioned the '73 title was the last time that the Knicks won an NBA title.

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That's correct.

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But let's just be clear.

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For us, that title does not count.

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Nope.

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Our sports fandom really started, I would say, and I did look at some of the references across the sports to confirm this, 1974, 1975 are the players across my teams that I started to experience.

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So just for everyone's understanding, 1973 is not our title.

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We don't have one.

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Couldn't agree more.

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We were early sports fans, as you just mentioned but not that early.

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I don't recall it either.

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All right.

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So do you have a strong preference on Detroit versus Cleveland, or where's your head at as we're a couple of days out now from game one? Yeah.

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I know the popular...

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A a popular narrative out there is that we should wanna play Detroit.

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They're not as deep as Cleveland.

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I'd go the other way.

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I want my home advantage if I can get it.

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The Garden has just been crazy.

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The Knicks have played great- Both ways.

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Yeah Home and the road.

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But the Garden has been absolutely special, and they're playing with just so much confidence.

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Just go down the line.

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I gave Bridges a little bit of grief earlier on.

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The guy's been fantastic.

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Yeah.

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Brunson, epic.

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Cat, epic.

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And then obviously the health of OG is critical because for my money he is having the best playoffs of any player out there.

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100%, and it's good to see that he's gonna be probably at full strength and good minutes for game one.

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I will just say something on Detroit.

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I think I mentioned early on when we started up that we had a Pistons problem this year.

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Four straight.

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They weren't particularly competitive.

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Of course, this Knicks team is not that Knicks team that, that lost those four straight, but there's other things going on.

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You have the fact that we knocked out Detroit last year in a very competitive series.

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You could tell that Detroit was coming on fast.

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And of course, the crowd every time Jalen Brunson touched the basketball really gets into sort of the flopping and it becomes just more of that energy that I was talking about before.

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So it would be interesting to see if that is the matchup, how we navigate all of those things, because Detroit would be fired up to play, to have a rematch against the New York Knickerbockers.

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And it'd just bring back a lot of memories.

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Yeah.

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The history runs deep with those guys.

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Okay.

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Let's turn from the hardwood to the diamond and have a chat about the time of game.

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So baseball made a number of changes a couple years back.

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Yeah.

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Games got super sh- n- relatively speaking, much shorter.

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How's it looking right right around now? Yeah.

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So Tom Verducci who is just the best at his craft, whether he's writing about baseball, talking about baseball did a little something a couple of weeks ago through the first month of the season that nine-inning games were taking six minutes longer, so that's two hours and 43 minutes than last year.

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So we're on pace for the longest average game time in four seasons under the pitch timer.

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And immediately I think it's fair to ask, oh is this an ABS challenge thing? And we've talked about how fantastic the ABS has been.

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Interestingly, so far ABS has only added about 63 seconds per game.

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That's an average of 4.1

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challenges per game.

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So 15 seconds per challenge, and we've seen it work.

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It works extremely well.

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It's very efficient, so there's more to it than that.

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The, Do you wanna touch on a couple of the other things going on there? Yeah, I do.

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The part that, that- I think is fixable but contributing here a lot is the the art of the timeout from the hitter.

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Yeah.

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They have, in the beginning, seemingly were afraid of doing anything, and so they stayed in the box, and now they are, like, stepping out just in time and slowing things down.

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And they get one timeout per per at bat- Yeah and the whole thing resets.

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I'm sure you're gonna get to this, but I'll throw it out there as well.

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Okay.

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What we're seeing in the minor leagues, some adjustments to this and I think almost all of those sound like a good idea to me, and I would love to see them brought up.

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Yeah.

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So on the hitters side a couple of the numbers.

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This is pretty stark.

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7.7

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timeouts per game, both teams, in tw- 2023.

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Fast-forward to this year, we're at 16.9.

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So that's that's just about double in three years, so that's something to keep an eye on.

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And on the other side, on the pitcher side of things, this whole game within the game, pitchers are very smartly, and you can see it if you watch, bleeding the pitch timer more and more.

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There is...

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That is a skill to being able to wait, knowing knowing when you're getting down to a few seconds, making the hitter more fidgety than he normally would be maybe on a particular count.

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But freezing and disrupting of hitters has certainly been part of what's going on here.

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And just the last piece which is something to watch in terms of extra time of game, are pitches being called from the dugout.

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Yes so far all we know tr- that we truly know, is the Marlins and the Rockies.

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There's actually some time that Tom Verducci put to it.

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One more second to to an average time per pitch in Marlins games.

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One and a half seconds more per pitch in Rockies games.

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So actually, in Rockies games, the average game for Rockies games is three minutes and 41 seconds longer than it had been.

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That is not nothing.

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And of course, in terms of the strategy side of all of that, even if other teams aren't truly publicizing this, you know that with all the advanced analytics going on with GMs and their entire ops team, that they might be subtly having an impact with the systems in the dugout and more to come.

175
00:13:49,673.99969482 --> 00:13:50,63.99908447
Yeah.

176
00:13:50,114.00213623 --> 00:13:51,843.99786377
And I'll just add, I don't like it.

177
00:13:54,43.99481201 --> 00:14:02,118.99849319
Look, analytics are a huge part of the game and all this stuff, but let the guys play, play- Baseball.

178
00:14:03,518.99858856 --> 00:14:04,288.99856949
Just let 'em play.

179
00:14:04,658.99845505 --> 00:14:07,798.99832153
Also, this whole, "Oh, but pitch com's not working."

180
00:14:08,98.99851227 --> 00:14:13,868.99801636
is there anything more annoying than just watching these guys walk around with their hat up and they, and it just looks ridiculous.

181
00:14:13,868.99801636 --> 00:14:14,198.99889374
Yeah.

182
00:14:14,248.9981308 --> 00:14:14,858.99874115
Let's get a move on.

183
00:14:15,108.99874115 --> 00:14:15,418.99820709
Yeah.

184
00:14:15,448.99889374 --> 00:14:17,88.99923706
I could couldn't agree more.

185
00:14:17,578.99900818 --> 00:14:22,398.998703
Catchers part of the whole catcher skill set is being able to have a feel for the game.

186
00:14:22,398.998703 --> 00:14:24,768.99763489
We don't really wanna take that away.

187
00:14:24,998.99908447 --> 00:14:25,748.99908447
All right.

188
00:14:25,748.99908447 --> 00:14:30,968.99839783
So let's go from time of game to a little bit of team grades.

189
00:14:31,18.99763489 --> 00:14:31,148.998703
Yeah.

190
00:14:31,148.998703 --> 00:14:35,338.99923706
And we're gonna do these versus expectations entering the season.

191
00:14:36,178.99938965 --> 00:14:42,748.99908447
I think we're each gonna pick a team above expectation, team below.

192
00:14:43,738.99694824 --> 00:14:46,668.99725342
Why don't you get us started with one of the overachievers? Yeah.

193
00:14:46,828.99710083 --> 00:14:51,328.99710083
So this is a solid A for the Tampa Bay Rays.

194
00:14:58,78.99969482 --> 00:14:58,778.99664307
Heading into...

195
00:14:59,138.99725342 --> 00:15:01,478.99740601
This is through Saturday's games.

196
00:15:01,678.99816895 --> 00:15:05,538.9987793
29 and 15 through Saturday, had the best record in baseball.

197
00:15:05,568.99755859 --> 00:15:10,678.99816895
They are back at their home sweet dome, AKA the Trop.

198
00:15:11,458.99694824 --> 00:15:12,788.9987793
This is all very Rays.

199
00:15:13,49.00091553 --> 00:15:16,958.99694824
Second in ERA, strong starting pitching trio.

200
00:15:17,229.0012207 --> 00:15:23,339.00183105
Guys like Drew Ma- Rasmussen who's been a good pitcher, but by no means a star.

201
00:15:23,528.99664307 --> 00:15:28,78.99969482
Shane McClanahan, who's had tons of arm issues, and has been healthy and really strong this year.

202
00:15:28,608.99847412 --> 00:15:34,858.99847412
And Nick Martinez, who's been a hybrid reliever/starter, who has just quietly had a very strong season.

203
00:15:35,468.99908447 --> 00:15:37,288.9987793
Offense, a little bit better than average.

204
00:15:37,339.00183105 --> 00:15:38,729.0012207
Definitely a big three.

205
00:15:39,828.99969482 --> 00:15:51,308.99542236
Yandy Diaz, Junior Caminero, who has some of the highest exit velocities in the game, and truly a breakout slug year from Jonathan Aronda, who's been a very good player, but the the power is new this year.

206
00:15:51,968.99908447 --> 00:16:00,659.00152588
And they're actually also doing an old school sort of speedy table setter, lead off Chandler Simpson, when in these days we're actually seeing lots of lots of slug in the one spot.

207
00:16:00,689.00030518 --> 00:16:01,748.99786377
So A for Tampa.

208
00:16:03,628.99511719 --> 00:16:04,748.99786377
I too add Tampa.

209
00:16:05,178.99816895 --> 00:16:07,339.00183105
I have nothing to add.

210
00:16:08,318.99755859 --> 00:16:09,308.99542236
We love you, Rays.

211
00:16:09,339.00183105 --> 00:16:09,818.99755859
Okay.

212
00:16:09,909.00152588 --> 00:16:12,428.99816895
All right, let's do, let's get to the bad.

213
00:16:14,448.99481201 --> 00:16:17,929.00274658
I got a D+ for the Toronto Blue Jays.

214
00:16:21,389.00030518 --> 00:16:21,809.00029206
Oh, I'm so tired.

215
00:16:21,839.00029325 --> 00:16:28,779.00033855
Oh, 20 and 25, so the record is not too bad, but again, this is versus expectations.

216
00:16:30,9.01132488 --> 00:16:34,918.9997282
The plus really is because this is a team that has been decimated by the injured list.

217
00:16:35,189.00400066 --> 00:16:41,549.004611
Five starting pitchers, including the s- standout from September and October last year, Trey Ya SAV-age.

218
00:16:41,769.0058317 --> 00:16:44,929.0094938
He really didn't debut until the end of April.

219
00:16:45,499.0015593 --> 00:16:54,239.0070524
Three g- three of their sort of normal hitters on offense, Alejandro Kirk, Springer, Addison Barger, who had a huge playoffs last year.

220
00:16:54,819.0088835 --> 00:16:58,519.0058317
And there's also waiting on the slug of Vladi Guerrero Jr.,

221
00:16:58,519.0058317 --> 00:17:00,279.0003386
which I'm sure will come.

222
00:17:00,689.0040007 --> 00:17:04,559.0143766
So you put all that together, and it does speak to that under 500 record.

223
00:17:05,169.0070643 --> 00:17:11,899.0072622
On the good side of things import Kazuma Okamoto has been amazing.

224
00:17:12,489.006938 --> 00:17:15,39.0071287
Much better than was advertised going in.

225
00:17:15,609.0068235 --> 00:17:24,39.0071287
Another one of the Japan sensations this year from Munetaka Murata from Chicago White Sox, who's leading the league in home runs.

226
00:17:24,519.006671 --> 00:17:35,159.0079679
So on the whole Blue Jays side of things, one thing that's working in their favor is that the American League is particularly weak, so you are not going to have to be too many games over 500.

227
00:17:35,159.0079679 --> 00:17:37,129.005374
We'll talk a little bit more about this with the Mets.

228
00:17:37,979.0076628 --> 00:17:45,659.0079679
So I think the arrows can still be pointing up to Toronto, who was just millimeters away from winning the World Series last year.

229
00:17:46,819.0078154 --> 00:17:47,519.0085783
Okay.

230
00:17:47,599.0065947 --> 00:17:49,969.0055265
I have a different underachiever.

231
00:17:49,969.0055265 --> 00:17:50,69.0078154
Yeah.

232
00:17:50,69.0078154 --> 00:17:52,829.0061369
Which is a good thing, I think.

233
00:17:53,269.0085783 --> 00:17:54,599.0065947
Houston Astros.

234
00:17:55,249.0081205 --> 00:18:06,799.0073576
Houston Astros if you know anything about this franchise over the last decade, seeing them so below 500 is just startling.

235
00:18:06,799.0073576 --> 00:18:12,259.0064421
This team hasn't finished below 87 wins since 2016.

236
00:18:12,309.0064421 --> 00:18:24,539.009799
And currently right now, like projections for the rest of the, for the rest of the year, even despite their low start, is for them to finish below 500 from here on out.

237
00:18:24,569.0085783 --> 00:18:24,809.0064421
Yeah.

238
00:18:25,119.0116301 --> 00:18:27,59.0064421
So things aren't really getting better.

239
00:18:27,539.0128508 --> 00:18:32,379.0061369
Offense is doing fine, Alvarez and so on, but, it's the pitching.

240
00:18:32,909.0049162 --> 00:18:33,549.0043058
It's the pitching.

241
00:18:35,519.0067616 --> 00:18:42,599.0074482
Some of these numbers are actually startling,, six ERA, I think, as a team.

242
00:18:42,629.0071812 --> 00:18:44,869.0069523
Yeah, they've really actually had to backfill.

243
00:18:45,299.0072575 --> 00:18:53,459.0071049
Hunter- Yeah Brown, who easily could've been in Cy Young conversation heading into this year, and had a nice start, he's out with a shoulder.

244
00:18:53,519.0065708 --> 00:18:55,249.0080204
Hopefully he's back, but he's not the only one.

245
00:18:55,249.0080204 --> 00:19:01,59.0074863
So they've, I don't know, I think off the top of my head, maybe they've been through eight or so starters at least so far.

246
00:19:01,59.0074863 --> 00:19:01,879.0071812
So yeah.

247
00:19:03,39.0062656 --> 00:19:03,579.0071812
That's right.

248
00:19:03,679.0056553 --> 00:19:15,779.008707
And the thing also about these guys is Altuve, Walker getting older, so, they've been good for so long, but right now the future looks a little more challenging for this team.

249
00:19:15,779.008707 --> 00:19:17,829.0079441
Yeah, it's an age, it's an aging core, for sure.

250
00:19:19,59.0074863 --> 00:19:19,619.0088596
All right.

251
00:19:19,999.0099277 --> 00:19:28,9.0082493
That brings us to what we can't ignore, which is truly the big baseball bobblehead in the room.

252
00:19:28,859.0067234 --> 00:19:32,39.0070286
Do you see the big baseball bobblehead in the room? Look at that, Mr.

253
00:19:32,39.0070286 --> 00:19:32,409.0097752
Met.

254
00:19:32,409.0097752 --> 00:19:32,679.0064182
Mr.

255
00:19:32,679.0064182 --> 00:19:33,419.0080967
Met is here.

256
00:19:33,419.0080967 --> 00:19:35,769.0134373
Our best player, has made an appearance.

257
00:19:35,949.0137424 --> 00:19:37,119.0119114
Please be careful with that.

258
00:19:37,119.0119114 --> 00:19:38,329.0109959
That's a prized possession.

259
00:19:39,339.0131321 --> 00:19:41,599.0076389
So let's talk a little Metsies.

260
00:19:42,524.0106764 --> 00:19:47,554.010767
Why don't you give us your sort of Metsies grade to date? Sure.,

261
00:19:47,664.0106144 --> 00:19:54,14.0109959
You and I just watched, their best comeback of the year- Yeah against their cross-town rivals, New York Yankees.

262
00:19:54,414.0106144 --> 00:19:55,464.0108051
That was inspiring.

263
00:19:56,94.0118732 --> 00:19:58,934.0101185
And therefore, my grade for th- for this team is an F.

264
00:20:00,364.0104237 --> 00:20:03,694.0103474
And it's a solid F, not even teetering on a D.

265
00:20:04,504.0117207 --> 00:20:07,204.0105762
They are absolutely abysmal.

266
00:20:07,644.0111103 --> 00:20:11,474.0129414
The payroll on this team we're gonna talk about the injuries.

267
00:20:11,474.0129414 --> 00:20:15,804.0109577
We're gonna talk about the injuries to star players.

268
00:20:16,224.0129414 --> 00:20:18,244.0095844
I'm really uninterested.

269
00:20:18,384.0127888 --> 00:20:28,834.0089741
The fact that their hitting is so historically awful, they're dead last in OPS in baseball, dead last with that payroll.

270
00:20:29,474.0083637 --> 00:20:32,284.0105
It's absolutely, mind-boggling.

271
00:20:32,964.0108051 --> 00:20:43,844.0118732
If you're looking for rays of light, the bullpen's been okay mcLean's been pretty good from the pitching side..

272
00:20:44,304.0063801 --> 00:20:46,344.0072956
So again, so pitching, fine.

273
00:20:47,414.0069904 --> 00:20:48,244.0088215
That's not the issue.

274
00:20:48,244.0088215 --> 00:20:50,884.0082111
But hitting just historically terrible.

275
00:20:50,924.0091267 --> 00:20:55,974.004549
Interested in your read since sometimes you can look on the brighter side of things.

276
00:20:55,974.004549 --> 00:21:01,134.0082111
So- so help me out here so my grade is a D minus.

277
00:21:01,224.004549 --> 00:21:17,854.0094318
And so I did go to the D range because of the really strong effort across the pitching staff with an offense that has been extremely hard to watch pretty much on a nightly basis since the start of the season.

278
00:21:18,274.0076008 --> 00:21:21,724.004549
And that's that's pretty up and down, that's pretty up and down the lineup.

279
00:21:22,114.0115681 --> 00:21:32,464.0100422
Yes, injuries didn't help, but the ineffectiveness of of players that should be closer to the back of their baseball card has certainly been an issue here.

280
00:21:32,804.0063801 --> 00:21:36,304.0063801
So let's look a little bit going forward with where we're at.

281
00:21:36,304.0063801 --> 00:21:41,354.0094318
Through yesterday, FanGraphs playoff percentage 23%.

282
00:21:41,684.0112629 --> 00:21:47,14.0130939
I think we were probably in the low 80s before the season started, so that's a pretty clear indication of where we're at.

283
00:21:47,614.0039387 --> 00:21:55,134.0082111
Now, going forward, as I mentioned, the NL is absolutely stronger now and is likely gonna stay stronger than the American League.

284
00:21:55,754.0033283 --> 00:22:01,194.0057697
So I'd say something like 87 wins is probably gonna be the wildcard threshold.

285
00:22:01,194.0057697 --> 00:22:06,944.0057697
If you recall last year, they were really only three games over 500 right at the end on that last day, and it it didn't quite work out.

286
00:22:07,354.0094318 --> 00:22:13,724.004549
So basically, that means g- playing about, this is through yesterday, 68 and 49 rest of the season.

287
00:22:13,724.004549 --> 00:22:15,234.0143147
That's a 581 clip.

288
00:22:15,684.0112629 --> 00:22:17,304.0063801
Is that doable? Yeah.

289
00:22:17,544.0118732 --> 00:22:18,624.0137043
Yeah, that is doable.

290
00:22:19,144.002718 --> 00:22:35,344.008173
But they're going to need to show ownership and their general manager, David Stearns, that they are worthy- Of putting a little bit more into this team as we creep towards the trade deadline.

291
00:22:35,584.0084209 --> 00:22:39,714.0080585
So we really do need to see a team that somehow finds its way over 500.

292
00:22:39,714.0080585 --> 00:22:43,684.0083256
I'll also say that I love, of course, the infusion of the young talent.

293
00:22:44,14.0082493 --> 00:22:47,154.0085926
Big jolt or a jolt, if you will, from AJ Ewing.

294
00:22:48,204.0078297 --> 00:22:58,304.0082111
And we very well might see, especially with the the injury to Clay Holmes last night, which was horrific, we may see Zach Thornton, the lefty, or Jack Weninger, the righty.

295
00:22:58,304.0082111 --> 00:23:00,354.0074482
These are two extremely talented pitchers.

296
00:23:01,4.0089741 --> 00:23:05,444.0076008
And the minor system, as we've talked a little bit about, has really been, the arrows have been pointing up there.

297
00:23:05,444.0076008 --> 00:23:09,884.0100422
So those are some shining lights from me in terms of going forward.

298
00:23:11,624.007906 --> 00:23:12,974.0063801
You know what? We'll take it.

299
00:23:13,184.0092793 --> 00:23:14,944.0076008
We'll take some shining lights.

300
00:23:14,974.0063801 --> 00:23:15,994.0076008
And, I agree.

301
00:23:16,184.0054646 --> 00:23:18,784.0047016
Ewing's been ridiculous, but,, small sample set.

302
00:23:18,784.0047016 --> 00:23:20,954.0028706
But w- we love the enthusiasm.

303
00:23:21,4.0028706 --> 00:23:21,374.0027561
All right.

304
00:23:21,374.0027561 --> 00:23:24,164.002718
So let's get into a little bit of the tennis.

305
00:23:24,224.0026608 --> 00:23:28,124.0022793
This coming Sunday is the kickoff to Roland Garros, the French Open.

306
00:23:29,104.0027752 --> 00:23:29,654.0029659
The...

307
00:23:29,654.0029659 --> 00:23:39,574.0020885
A couple of things, on the men's side, Jannik Sinner does feel like this is his tournament versus the field to lose since Alcaraz is out with the wrist.

308
00:23:40,994.0021648 --> 00:23:45,814.0018597
Over the last, since 2016 I took a look, only three men's winners in during that time.

309
00:23:46,634.0034618 --> 00:23:51,974.0017071
Rafael Nadal, seven- 2017 through th- to 2020 and '22.

310
00:23:52,484.0038433 --> 00:23:55,204.0012493
Djokovic three times, most recently '23.

311
00:23:55,584.0023174 --> 00:23:57,744.0021648
And then of course Alcaraz the last couple of years.

312
00:23:58,964.0033855 --> 00:24:07,294.0014019
And then just if we go back, I remember watching a little bit, I don't know if you did, but the 2025 final with Alcaraz and Sinner, five set thriller.

313
00:24:07,374.003233 --> 00:24:07,554.0035381
Yep.

314
00:24:07,994.0021648 --> 00:24:10,164.0041485
Two tiebreakers for the last two sets.

315
00:24:10,894.0036907 --> 00:24:18,874.003233
The three match points that Alcaraz had to save down 5-3 in in the fourth set.

316
00:24:19,454.0012493 --> 00:24:28,334.0023174
And what about the total points? You know what the total points was in that match for both players? I don't, but I get the feeling it's gonna be pretty close.

317
00:24:28,334.0023174 --> 00:24:29,194.0029278
It's pretty close.

318
00:24:29,324.0001812 --> 00:24:33,824.0001812
Jannik Sinner had 193, Carlos Alcaraz had 192.

319
00:24:34,14.0026226 --> 00:24:34,294.0014019
Yeah.

320
00:24:34,294.0014019 --> 00:24:34,944.0029278
It's so good.

321
00:24:35,564.0056744 --> 00:24:36,74.0001812
What a match.

322
00:24:36,74.0001812 --> 00:24:46,943.9962139
Reminds me of Federer's commencement speech that he gave at some university where, and he gave his point percentage Over his career.

323
00:24:47,3.9937725 --> 00:24:47,183.9940777
Yeah.

324
00:24:47,333.9956036 --> 00:24:50,193.9962139
And it was startlingly close to 50.

325
00:24:50,433.9940777 --> 00:24:51,953.9983501
It was ACTUALLY 54%, obviously.

326
00:24:52,373.9965191 --> 00:24:56,203.9983501
But whatever, I can't call it off the top of my head, but it was startlingly close.

327
00:24:56,503.9937725 --> 00:25:02,373.9965191
And it just shows you tennis is a ruthless scoring system, and it's mentally draining.

328
00:25:02,483.9962139 --> 00:25:04,984.0038433
Yeah so that's, yeah- Let me,- all part of the fun.

329
00:25:05,264.0026226 --> 00:25:05,774.0047588
Absolutely.

330
00:25:06,174.0062847 --> 00:25:08,94.0044537
Let me touch on the women for a second.

331
00:25:08,94.0044537 --> 00:25:14,734.0063038
So- Iga Swiatek been the queen of clay for the last few years.

332
00:25:15,44.0062466 --> 00:25:16,424.006361
2020 winner.

333
00:25:16,644.0061512 --> 00:25:18,624.0061703
Won it 2022 through '24.

334
00:25:19,284.0060177 --> 00:25:21,124.0061703
Coco last year got the title.

335
00:25:21,284.0060177 --> 00:25:27,504.0062847
Now interestingly, last year Coco lost the Italian Open final and then went on to win the French.

336
00:25:28,224.0055981 --> 00:25:34,844.0064373
This year Coco lost the Italian Open final as we approach the French, so that's just, that's something.

337
00:25:34,844.0064373 --> 00:25:35,574.0059795
That's out there.

338
00:25:36,24.0067425 --> 00:25:44,724.0075054
And of course, I'm interested in seeing, I don't know if you've read a little bit about this or watched, but she has really worked hard on her serve- service motion with a biomechanics coach.

339
00:25:44,724.0075054 --> 00:25:56,4.0062847
This is Gavin McMillan, I believe is his name, and this is the guy who worked with Sabalenka to completely- help her and her yips and to really just restructure her own serve.

340
00:25:56,4.0062847 --> 00:25:57,494.0079632
So this has been a work in progress.

341
00:25:58,84.0081158 --> 00:26:00,994.0079632
From what I've seen recently, I think the arrows have been pointing up.

342
00:26:00,994.0079632 --> 00:26:06,554.0055218
She feels pretty good heading into the tournament, but that's certainly something to watch as we kick off the, on the women's side.

343
00:26:06,714.0053692 --> 00:26:07,254.0062847
That's great.

344
00:26:07,254.0062847 --> 00:26:12,294.0072002
Should we both do our, our quick, power rankings of the Grand Slam? Okay.

345
00:26:12,294.0072002 --> 00:26:13,104.0047588
Okay, I'll go first.

346
00:26:13,154.0078106 --> 00:26:13,474.0075054
Okay.

347
00:26:13,854.0047588 --> 00:26:18,304.0093365
Wimbledon, US Open, French, Australian.

348
00:26:20,514.0056911 --> 00:26:33,824.0052166
I'm not gonna argue with that, although I will say I have a very soft spot for the French Open, so I could easily make the case that it could be two for me because the the long points, the epic matches.

349
00:26:33,954.005331 --> 00:26:45,344.0056744
Being somebody who was really always more of a baseliner back in the day I do love some of the what the French Open is all about.

350
00:26:45,374.006361 --> 00:26:48,164.0053692
However, the US Open has gotten more rally driven recently.

351
00:26:48,164.0053692 --> 00:26:49,534.0062084
The courts are a bit slower.

352
00:26:49,784.0062084 --> 00:26:53,934.0058269
And even Wimbledon, they worked on the grass so you can actually have some rallying on Wimbledon.

353
00:26:53,964.0046062 --> 00:26:59,94.0056744
But I'm not gonna I'll make that point, but I'm not gonna argue the order.

354
00:26:59,134.0065899 --> 00:27:00,84.0073528
Yeah, I won't argue it either.

355
00:27:00,964.0046062 --> 00:27:06,294.0058079
All right, so it's time for, some lightning.

356
00:27:06,324.0055408 --> 00:27:07,434.0056744
Yeah, let's do a little lightning.

357
00:27:07,434.0056744 --> 00:27:08,764.0055981
We're gonna do a little lightning.

358
00:27:16,441.3388933 --> 00:27:21,691.3388933
So the first lightning is the NFL schedule release was this week.

359
00:27:21,691.3388933 --> 00:27:25,481.3388551
It was hard to miss if you turned on your television set.

360
00:27:25,561.3387788 --> 00:27:26,981.3388551
But, thoughts on that? Yeah.

361
00:27:27,251.3374055 --> 00:27:35,331.3373292
So this is just another example coming out of the draft recently where the NFL just finds a way to always be relevant.

362
00:27:35,651.3389314 --> 00:27:39,291.338321
They've really set the standard on this across the major sports.

363
00:27:39,671.3393892 --> 00:27:41,941.3398469
The schedule release is supposed to be on a Thursday.

364
00:27:42,81.3392366 --> 00:27:43,171.3393892
It was on a Thursday.

365
00:27:43,601.3396943 --> 00:27:53,171.3393892
But on Monday, of course, there's a leak on- Yeah Sun- on Sunday Night Football where your New York Giants were announced to be playing Dallas, which I think is maybe seven of the last eight years, something like that.

366
00:27:53,201.3381685 --> 00:27:53,741.339084
Ah, yeah.

367
00:27:53,891.3367952 --> 00:28:00,61.3387788
And then on Tuesday, another leak, Monday Night Football, Kansas City verse Denver.

368
00:28:00,341.3375581 --> 00:28:01,971.3386262
Enough said on that.

369
00:28:02,361.3380159 --> 00:28:07,321.3371003
And then you finally get to Thursday which I heard a little blurb on, which I thought was interesting.

370
00:28:07,321.3371003 --> 00:28:20,821.3379777
They call it the league's springtime social media- Super Bowl That's right The so all the team videos, everybody tries to stay on brand, and this is just such a good way to fire up your fan base.

371
00:28:20,821.3379777 --> 00:28:23,101.3377107
So again, the NFL setting the standard.

372
00:28:24,101.3374818 --> 00:28:32,751.3371003
I do know people voted on who had the best kind of social media- Yeah Release and yeah, you're right.

373
00:28:33,411.3388551 --> 00:28:37,981.338321
The king of the, American sports landscape for sure, the, the NFL.

374
00:28:38,11.3371003 --> 00:28:43,551.3361085
And God, I would love to check the Giants' record against Cowboys in these last several years.

375
00:28:43,561.3361085 --> 00:28:45,671.3367189
It would be what I would call not good.

376
00:28:46,671.3367189 --> 00:28:51,641.3379396
So finally, maybe we, we change that 'cause Dallas ain't so great and we're getting better.

377
00:28:51,671.3367189 --> 00:28:51,941.3371766
Okay.

378
00:28:52,61.3399232 --> 00:28:52,891.3379396
But we're gonna have- For another time.

379
00:28:52,891.3379396 --> 00:28:56,191.3371766
For another time we're gonna have a lot of time to talk about- Another time that.

380
00:28:56,461.3376344 --> 00:28:57,61.3399232
The...

381
00:28:57,271.3390077 --> 00:28:58,141.3379396
Let's talk a little...

382
00:28:58,141.3379396 --> 00:29:00,171.3367189
Let me tee you up on a little bit of hockey.

383
00:29:00,171.3367189 --> 00:29:06,951.3393129
Let me just say kudos to Buffalo for breaking the 14-year playoff drought.

384
00:29:07,701.3393129 --> 00:29:19,171.3367189
The no longer tied in the four major sports with, of course, my team, the New York Jets, who are 15 and counting, so I am having a soft spot and rooting for Buffalo.

385
00:29:19,171.3367189 --> 00:29:22,341.3391603
But what do you got on the hockey? Let's start with Buffalo.

386
00:29:23,361.3434327 --> 00:29:24,861.3434327
Season on the line.

387
00:29:24,861.3434327 --> 00:29:28,551.3382448
Yeah Heading into Montreal on a Saturday night.

388
00:29:28,691.3406862 --> 00:29:35,561.3434327
If you looked in the stand every single person got their Habs jerseys on.

389
00:29:35,921.3394655 --> 00:29:41,691.3361085
They couldn't be more riveted, and oh, my God, they had to pull their goalie.

390
00:29:41,691.3361085 --> 00:29:43,21.3379396
Things are going terribly.

391
00:29:43,21.3379396 --> 00:29:45,781.3400758
Season's about to end, and they scored seven straight goals.

392
00:29:46,481.3370241 --> 00:29:54,901.3330568
That's absolutely nuts, and it sets up what's going to be, an epic game seven.

393
00:29:55,111.3321412 --> 00:29:57,471.3327516
Cannot miss TV.

394
00:29:57,851.3330568 --> 00:30:02,771.3312257
On the West, you have a couple of the heavyweights from the recent years.

395
00:30:02,771.3312257 --> 00:30:20,821.3266481
You have the Colorado Avalanche, or as I like to refer to them, Team Canada starting lineup against the Vegas Golden Knights, who are a little less storied but have been extremely successful over, over the s- the last several years.

396
00:30:21,701.3315309 --> 00:30:22,891.3339723
So congrats to them.

397
00:30:24,591.3156617 --> 00:30:26,621.314441
I like Colorado not only in-...

398
00:30:26,621.314441 --> 00:30:28,941.3217653
that series, but to win the whole thing.

399
00:30:28,941.3217653 --> 00:30:31,531.3181032
That's been my stance from the beginning.

400
00:30:32,391.3187135 --> 00:30:33,401.3132203
It's not changing.

401
00:30:33,431.3119996 --> 00:30:37,471.3205446
But who knows? Hockey's it's a long postseason.

402
00:30:37,501.3193239 --> 00:30:43,61.3168825
To think that they're really only halfway done is mind-blowing, but that's that's where we're at.

403
00:30:43,971.3205446 --> 00:30:44,441.3217653
All right.

404
00:30:44,441.3217653 --> 00:30:46,811.3168825
Let's get into, let's get into one more.

405
00:30:46,981.3150514 --> 00:30:47,401.3132203
We've...

406
00:30:47,401.3132203 --> 00:30:50,171.3174928
This has been a hot topic in the NBA.

407
00:30:50,201.3162721 --> 00:30:54,841.3156617
There's a proposed new anti-tanking NBA draft rules.

408
00:30:55,261.3138307 --> 00:30:58,1.3193239
The commissioner spoke about it recently.

409
00:30:58,1.3193239 --> 00:31:04,286.3148416
So- The overall gist that's been thrown around is a 3-2-1 proposal.

410
00:31:04,366.3152421 --> 00:31:07,576.3152803
This would be through 2029 or the current CBA.

411
00:31:08,46.3145936 --> 00:31:16,156.315204
So the three are the three ping pong balls, if you will, would be the worst, fourth worst team to the 10th worst team.

412
00:31:16,906.315204 --> 00:31:20,846.315738
The worst three would lose a ping pong ball, so they would be the two.

413
00:31:21,546.3145936 --> 00:31:27,756.3155855
And then the one would be those teams that are just were on the play-in for the playoffs or just out.

414
00:31:28,746.3153566 --> 00:31:29,886.3147462
Maybe not quite official yet.

415
00:31:29,886.3147462 --> 00:31:33,346.3138307
I think the owners meeting is in a few weeks and we'll actually see the details.

416
00:31:33,776.3141359 --> 00:31:56,586.3155092
But certainly when the commissioner spoke the other day, he talked about flat odds, no particular incentive to be bad, and I think this was really driven how all of a sudden this year, based upon the talent coming up in- into the draft, 8 to 10 teams all of a sudden in tank mode with a few sort of pivoting almost around the the All-Star break.

417
00:31:59,76.3133729 --> 00:31:59,306.3167299
Yeah.

418
00:31:59,716.3165773 --> 00:32:04,46.3184083
I like some of the moves that, that the NBA is making.

419
00:32:04,526.3141359 --> 00:32:18,216.3242067
I'm gonna add, one thing the NHL does, which is, I think, an excellent rule, which is you can only have the first round pick, the first pick rather, of the first round a maximum of two times in five years.

420
00:32:18,216.3242067 --> 00:32:18,766.319629
Saw that, yep.

421
00:32:18,766.319629 --> 00:32:27,996.322986
So you can't just be draft hunting and just going after the ping pong balls, or in the days before ping pong balls, just locking in number one.

422
00:32:28,486.3239015 --> 00:32:29,526.324817
So that's one thing.

423
00:32:29,856.3220704 --> 00:32:31,36.3223756
But here's the bigger thing.

424
00:32:31,846.3275636 --> 00:32:37,526.3278688
I think hockey and basketball have this all backwards.

425
00:32:37,906.3251222 --> 00:32:43,626.3263429
If we think about soccer, okay, I could be here all day listing things that I don't like about soccer.

426
00:32:44,286.3223756 --> 00:32:47,906.3251222
We could fill up- Endless whiteboards.

427
00:32:47,906.3251222 --> 00:32:57,196.3260377
I could just keep going down and down, and I'd make a lot of enemies out there because everyone not everyone, but it's probably the world's most popular game.

428
00:32:57,196.3260377 --> 00:33:00,596.3275636
Hey, we're gonna be talking a little World Cup- And they will not In a month or so, so hold on a minute.

429
00:33:00,736.3269533 --> 00:33:01,246.3290895
All that.

430
00:33:01,246.3290895 --> 00:33:03,766.3257325
But let me tell you one thing these guys do correct.

431
00:33:04,716.3266362 --> 00:33:05,866.3265527
That's relegation.

432
00:33:06,136.3265336 --> 00:33:07,706.3267053
This is fantastic.

433
00:33:07,756.3267053 --> 00:33:12,866.326362
Talk about getting punished for tanking and/or just stinking.

434
00:33:13,426.3267816 --> 00:33:13,686.3260568
You...

435
00:33:13,856.3261331 --> 00:33:17,636.3268197
Imagine you're the worst team in the NBA.

436
00:33:17,636.3268197 --> 00:33:19,106.3261331
Great, you're going to the G League.

437
00:33:20,476.3269723 --> 00:33:33,466.3267434
This will motivate some players to all of a sudden not be so injured and not need that rest and give the fans what they've paid for, and I don't have a problem with it whatsoever.

438
00:33:34,596.3278116 --> 00:33:44,736.3272012
And not only that, I, you could even go further and start talking about the best picks go to the ones that were closest to making the playoffs, so really reward the effort.

439
00:33:45,856.3261331 --> 00:33:47,186.3279641
We're not communists here.

440
00:33:47,936.3279641 --> 00:33:48,716.3267434
Let's- let's go.

441
00:33:49,86.3256753 --> 00:33:51,116.3282693
Let- let's- let's toughen these rules up.

442
00:33:51,486.3272012 --> 00:33:57,246.3255227
Let's, let's get rid of the tanking and let's let's just be better than this.

443
00:33:57,926.3258279 --> 00:34:19,276.324302
Before we leave this one, the thing that's fascinating to me, which was just almost a little bit of an aside that I saw the other day, was that it's possible that there could be some authority from the NBA to change the draft order to move teams further back in the lottery based upon just what they're watching, along with losing a pick.

444
00:34:19,676.3258279 --> 00:34:49,656.3246072
Now, this would be based on the league's, quote, unquote, "opinion," which is just absolutely ripe to be, to be gamed- And to have all sorts of unintended consequences, yes if we think David Stern got into trouble for making the the Nick lottery ball cold so that they could get Patrick Ewing, forget all that when it's just unilateral discretion to move things around.

445
00:34:50,186.3264383 --> 00:34:51,736.3218606
That would just be exhausting.

446
00:34:51,736.3218606 --> 00:34:57,276.3227762
So yeah, so more to come on all of this as we head into the summer.

447
00:34:57,846.322471 --> 00:35:02,946.3209451
So with that, let's shift to a little bit of PS.

448
00:35:03,306.3215555 --> 00:35:06,666.3221658
And this week, we're actually gonna do a slight curveball.

449
00:35:06,746.3239969 --> 00:35:10,76.3258279
We're actually gonna stay on the field or court or the ice.

450
00:35:10,546.3270486 --> 00:35:18,836.3203348
Ed, you want to you wanna mention the topic with fandom and our families for this week? sure.

451
00:35:19,366.319114 --> 00:35:20,306.3215555
I'd be happy to.

452
00:35:20,816.3313211 --> 00:35:21,826.3258279
This was my idea.

453
00:35:21,856.3246072 --> 00:35:26,376.3288797
I thought we could just we each have kids, of a similar age.

454
00:35:26,376.3288797 --> 00:35:26,516.3282693
Yeah.

455
00:35:26,516.3282693 --> 00:35:31,956.327659
And, talk about their journey with respect to the sports.

456
00:35:32,676.3288797 --> 00:35:34,856.3215555
Very different I'd say between the two of us.

457
00:35:34,856.3215555 --> 00:35:36,496.3276113
I'm gonna- Let's see.

458
00:35:37,46.3276828 --> 00:35:41,86.3275255
Let me make this as fast as possible, but- but also make it resonate.

459
00:35:41,136.3277162 --> 00:35:42,946.327659
I have an older girl.

460
00:35:43,176.327678 --> 00:35:43,666.327926
So do you.

461
00:35:44,66.3277353 --> 00:35:47,156.3269342
I gave it a puncher's chance with Nicole.

462
00:35:47,196.326896 --> 00:35:48,26.3268197
She was sweet.

463
00:35:48,26.3268197 --> 00:35:49,376.3272012
She would come to all the games.

464
00:35:49,376.3272012 --> 00:35:52,646.327659
She would wear the uniforms that I gave her.

465
00:35:52,956.3271249 --> 00:35:54,396.327659
She'd root for the home team.

466
00:35:54,486.3278116 --> 00:35:58,626.3272012
She'd eat the ice cream, and then she'd go home and forget that it ever happened.

467
00:35:58,686.3266671 --> 00:36:04,956.3271249
I distinctly remember the four of us going to one of these games and my daughter having all sorts of Mets bracelets and paraphernalia, et cetera.

468
00:36:06,6.326362 --> 00:36:09,646.3257516
But can my daughter name a Met right now? No, she cannot.

469
00:36:11,246.3280404 --> 00:36:14,736.3259042
But then it all was riding on the boy.

470
00:36:15,126.3283456 --> 00:36:19,976.3306344
He was the only one remaining and I thought this would be a l- lock.

471
00:36:20,406.3271249 --> 00:36:21,726.3306344
So I did my best.

472
00:36:21,816.330787 --> 00:36:25,126.3283456
I got season tickets to the Giants.

473
00:36:25,566.330787 --> 00:36:30,146.3288034
I took him to Mets games, Knicks all of my teams.

474
00:36:31,286.328193 --> 00:36:36,676.3275827
And you know what I got? I got a lot of questions about the rules.

475
00:36:37,96.3295663 --> 00:36:37,656.3271249
That's what- Okay.

476
00:36:37,836.3274301 --> 00:36:46,926.3313974
And he would be like, "Why?" And I'd give an answer that I thought was satisfactory, and he'd be like, "But what about this? Like, why, what, why? I don't understand that rule.

477
00:36:47,296.3265146 --> 00:36:49,216.3323129
Makes no sense because of X, Y, Z."

478
00:36:49,246.3310922 --> 00:36:53,236.3301767
And over time, I would be pulling out my hair because my team would be losing.

479
00:36:53,296.3265146 --> 00:36:57,176.3313974
He was just very analytical, but not a big fan.

480
00:36:57,176.3313974 --> 00:37:06,706.3301767
And over time he kinda dropped out his famous quote to me was, they don't care about you, so why sh- why should you care about them?" That is pretty analytic.

481
00:37:07,126.3283456 --> 00:37:11,766.3277353
It was, like, so rational, but what about this is supposed to be rational? It's nothing.

482
00:37:12,996.3310922 --> 00:37:14,496.3310922
It's a tough argument to beat.

483
00:37:15,156.3271249 --> 00:37:32,916.3292611
We can fast-forward to- Ooh the punchline here, which is in 10th grade,, a flip, a switch was flipped, rather, and Henry all of a sudden, something deep inside turned on, and he has become a enormous Rangers fan.

484
00:37:32,916.3292611 --> 00:37:35,796.3265146
We watch every game together when he is home.

485
00:37:36,186.3259042 --> 00:37:41,586.3274301
He can't even handle it when they're in the playoffs, overtime playoff games.

486
00:37:42,566.3231576 --> 00:37:43,686.3335336
He's worse than me.

487
00:37:43,726.3268197 --> 00:37:47,276.3420785
He, he's all in, and, I'm really appreciative for that.

488
00:37:47,966.3445199 --> 00:37:48,466.3445199
All right.

489
00:37:48,536.3365854 --> 00:37:49,166.3414682
I get it.

490
00:37:49,166.3414682 --> 00:37:55,486.3335336
Let me let me start with Andrew with a couple of things, and then we'll I'll kinda end with Zoe.

491
00:37:55,486.3335336 --> 00:38:04,776.3420785
So Andrew, big sports kid talented baseball player, so fun being a baseball dad, doing some coaching before I kinda handed him off.

492
00:38:05,771.3402356 --> 00:38:07,531.3402856
Great golfer, all of these things.

493
00:38:08,91.3402284 --> 00:38:11,211.340114
Andrew big Mets Jets guy.

494
00:38:12,381.3401903 --> 00:38:21,941.3410867
When we're at home, the times that we're home, certainly we both have a feel in terms of if things are going in the wrong direction to maybe switch up separate rooms, maybe close a door.

495
00:38:22,991.3403238 --> 00:38:27,721.339866
Sport superstitions for us is definitely part of our sports fandom, I would say.

496
00:38:29,241.3403238 --> 00:38:44,231.3400949
Going to games going to Mets games together is great because there we really can just get into the details of what's going on, the game within the game as somebody who's played it and appreciates it as much as I do.

497
00:38:45,521.3410104 --> 00:38:49,261.3388742
And I will say that Andrew did come around, because I think you know this one.

498
00:38:49,861.341163 --> 00:38:52,151.3420785
And this is a little bit about a parenting moment here.

499
00:38:52,701.3413156 --> 00:39:02,241.3384164
But Andrew had a, in pre-K, he actually went to school in a classroom with a very big Yankees fan, whose name I will leave out.

500
00:39:02,721.3417734 --> 00:39:08,811.3419259
And during that spring coming out of it, he kinda went to the other side and had a Yankees brief phase.

501
00:39:08,811.3419259 --> 00:39:09,941.3429941
I was just thinking that.

502
00:39:09,941.3429941 --> 00:39:17,651.3420785
It w- it, it was like when Darth Vader was there- tempting Luke with all those goodies.

503
00:39:19,241.3384164 --> 00:39:24,991.3384164
So as a parent there, that's a pretty tough moment for me, if I'm being candid.

504
00:39:25,701.3375009 --> 00:39:35,981.3439096
I will say that I did get him a Robinson Cano jersey, who was a Yankee, and then ironically actually came over to the Mets in later years- number 24.

505
00:39:36,641.3399423 --> 00:39:38,11.3426889
I let all that play out.

506
00:39:38,631.3378061 --> 00:39:43,731.3439096
To the best of my recollection, it maybe lasted through that baseball season.

507
00:39:43,731.3439096 --> 00:39:47,671.3387216
I'd say he's about five years old at that point, and then he kinda came back on his own.

508
00:39:48,451.3375009 --> 00:39:54,941.3429941
And I bit my tongue and just supported his playing and watching and things went that way.

509
00:39:55,391.3399423 --> 00:39:57,51.3436044
So there, there is a parenting moment.

510
00:39:57,81.3423837 --> 00:39:59,431.3408578
Y- that, you're a better father than I am.

511
00:39:59,431.3408578 --> 00:40:02,491.3384164
I'm not sure if I could have handled that with such grace and acumen.

512
00:40:02,801.3436044 --> 00:40:06,301.3436044
It's all a little gray, but I'm pretty sure that's how it went down.

513
00:40:06,561.3381112 --> 00:40:10,61.3381112
I'm pretty sure too, because I remember thinking like, "No, come on."

514
00:40:10,61.3381112 --> 00:40:10,101.3390268
The...

515
00:40:10,481.3439096 --> 00:40:13,391.3475717
So let's get to my daughter.

516
00:40:13,541.3414682 --> 00:40:15,171.346351
We talked about going to games together.

517
00:40:15,171.346351 --> 00:40:27,841.3445199
I distinctly remember the four of us when the kids were young just having all sorts of fun just being at the ballpark with the ice cream and with the with the paraphernalia, the artwork, the whole thing..

518
00:40:28,231.3469613 --> 00:40:29,701.348182
Let me jump to something else.

519
00:40:30,321.358558 --> 00:40:38,71.358558
We had a very vivid road trip where Zoe and I, when she was, I'd say about seven, I had to double-check the dates recently.

520
00:40:38,341.3475717 --> 00:40:40,921.3494027
June 12th Camden Yards.

521
00:40:41,121.346351 --> 00:40:44,531.3500131
So I had never actually been to Camden, so excited to go.

522
00:40:45,251.3512624 --> 00:40:47,821.3511957
Left on a Saturday morning, had fun during the day.

523
00:40:47,851.351167 --> 00:40:48,991.3512719
It was a night game.

524
00:40:49,201.3513101 --> 00:40:54,781.3512338
At this point, Zoe's rocking her number seven Jose Reyes jersey, full-on fandom.

525
00:40:55,521.3510049 --> 00:40:57,401.3511194
Jose Reyes leads off the game.

526
00:40:57,401.3511194 --> 00:41:04,111.3511575
We're sitting, I think, on the third base side with other Mets fans in our crew, and what happens? Lead-off home run.

527
00:41:04,481.3519967 --> 00:41:11,951.3513101
That is just the greatest kind of father-daughter moment at that time.

528
00:41:12,1.3505472 --> 00:41:21,561.3500131
And these days Zoe appreciates the Mets from my fandom, but like Nicole is not locked in.

529
00:41:21,561.3500131 --> 00:41:25,461.351539
But that's something that we remember very well and just makes me smile.

530
00:41:25,461.351539 --> 00:41:25,881.3497079
Gotcha.

531
00:41:25,881.3497079 --> 00:41:34,581.3504709
I I thought we were gonna be discussing Running the Bases, but, Oh But no I- You, you hit me with a different one, which is which is great stuff.

532
00:41:35,11.350776 --> 00:41:45,231.3519967
Yeah, no, I definitely remember waiting online lining up maybe seventh, eighth inning for about 45 minutes to, on a Sunday, to Running the Bases, which is also fantastic.

533
00:41:46,271.3529123 --> 00:41:49,811.3492502
Okay, that's actually it for today.

534
00:41:50,291.3526071 --> 00:41:51,481.3474191
Thank you for listening.

535
00:41:52,11.3538278 --> 00:41:54,181.3519967
Until the next time, I'm Peter Olczyk.

536
00:41:55,551.3471139 --> 00:41:56,551.3471139
And I'm Scott Greenhut.

537
00:41:56,901.3532174 --> 00:42:10,80.050638
Make sure to follow S&P's Why Not Us? on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player so you never miss an episode, and until then, we're gonna put this episode in the books.