0:01

We're driven by the search for better, but when

0:03

it comes to hiring, the best way to search

0:05

for a candidate isn't to search at all. Don't

0:08

search match with Indeed. Indeed

0:10

is your matching and hiring platform with over 350

0:14

million global monthly visitors, according to Indeed

0:16

data, and a matching engine that helps

0:18

you find quality candidates fast. Ditch the

0:21

busy work. Use Indeed for scheduling, screening,

0:23

and messaging so you can connect with

0:25

candidates faster. Converging over

0:27

140 million qualifications and preferences

0:30

every day, Indeed's matching engine

0:32

is constantly learning from your preferences,

0:34

so the more you use Indeed,

0:36

the better it gets. Join

0:38

more than 3.5 million businesses

0:40

worldwide that use Indeed to hire

0:42

great, talent fast. And listeners of

0:44

this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To

0:48

get your jobs more visibility,

0:51

head to indeed.com/BlueWire. Just

0:53

go to indeed.com/BlueWire right now and

0:55

support our show by saying that

0:57

you heard about Indeed on this

1:00

podcast. That's indeed.com/BlueWire.

1:03

Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire?

1:06

You need Indeed. You

1:10

don't want it. You

1:13

don't need it, but

1:15

you're going to get it anyway. The

1:18

Kevin Sheehan Show. Here's Kevin. My

1:21

good friend Scott Van Pelt will be on

1:23

the show with me today. That's coming up

1:25

in the next segment, a show presented as

1:28

always by Wind Donation. Call

1:30

them at 866-90 Nation or

1:32

go to winddonation.com. Mention my

1:35

name for a free no

1:37

obligation in home estimate.

1:40

This email from Wit to

1:42

open up the show, you

1:44

can email me through the

1:47

show's website at kevinsheehanshow.com or

1:49

the kevinsheehanshow.com. You can tweet

1:51

me at KevinSheehanDC. Wit

1:53

writes, Kevin, I know how much you love

1:56

Jaden Daniels, but the best thing

1:58

that could happen to him is to

2:00

sit and learn behind

2:02

a player in

2:05

Mariota who had similar talent coming

2:07

out of college. Patrick

2:09

Mahomes, Jordan Love are perfect

2:11

examples of patience is a

2:13

virtue and a huge benefit

2:15

for rookie QBs. So

2:18

I'm going to answer this very quickly

2:20

and bluntly. If Jayden

2:22

Daniels doesn't start week one

2:24

for this football team, I

2:27

will be very concerned. Now

2:30

there's context that would make me less concerned.

2:32

You know, he gets banged up. He's not

2:35

100% or he's injured. But

2:39

Jayden Daniels isn't a

2:41

quarterback drafted by a team with

2:43

an entrenched starter and a team

2:46

by the way that's good. Like

2:49

Patrick Mahomes was. Alex

2:51

Smith was the starter. The Chiefs

2:53

were good. Aaron Rodgers, Hall of

2:55

Famer, the Packers were good. No

2:58

one expected Jordan Love to come in

3:00

and play with Aaron Rodgers there. Patrick

3:02

Mahomes at the time, believe it or

3:05

not, nobody expected him to come in

3:07

and start right away. Alex Smith was

3:09

coming off a decent year. By the

3:11

way, they got off to a great

3:13

start to that season. Look,

3:16

I did this several years

3:18

ago when Dwayne Haskins was

3:20

drafted. And I don't have all of

3:22

the data in front of me right now, but

3:25

I remember very clearly that

3:27

if you were drafted in the top

3:30

half of the first round and

3:32

you didn't start in the first four weeks

3:34

of the season, I think it was, then

3:38

pretty much you were a bust. Now

3:41

there were exceptions to the rule and

3:43

Mahomes was an exception to

3:45

the rule and there were a couple of other exceptions

3:48

to the rule. But for the most part, if

3:51

you were drafted really high,

3:54

you were being drafted more likely than not to

3:56

a team that wasn't very good. And

3:58

if you weren't ready to play. Yea, right

4:00

away it turned out that

4:03

you. Basically. We're

4:05

Christian Ponder or Jake

4:07

Locker or you know,

4:09

Brandon Weeden or I'm

4:11

You know the names

4:13

are gameplay mortals or

4:15

you know, guys like

4:18

that. Are you just

4:20

work. Do. Turned out

4:22

to not be worthy of

4:24

where you got kicked. Jaden.

4:27

Daniels is not coming in here behind

4:30

a guide. It's been here for a

4:32

while and is good. Marcus Mario to

4:34

was signed to be the back for

4:36

Jaden Daniels. By the way, you know

4:38

Dan Queens never had as a head

4:41

coach a rookie quarterback. ah I'm You

4:43

know whether you know it was in

4:45

Atlanta or anywhere Reese had any kind

4:47

of decision making ability. I'm in Seattle

4:50

Brought in Russell Wilson when remember they

4:52

had signed Matt Flynn but it wasn't.

4:55

He was the defensive coordinator. Are

4:57

put any weight. And I was going

4:59

to mention Cliff Kingsbury. We put Kingsbury

5:01

was the head coach in Arizona in

5:04

a drastic Tyler Murray. You know what

5:06

Tyler Murray did Week one start. His.

5:08

First two seasons, he started thirty

5:10

two out of the thirty two

5:13

games. By the way, his first

5:15

game, as in Arizona Cardinals through

5:17

for over three hundred yards and

5:19

again, that ended up in a

5:21

high twenty seven to twenty seven.

5:23

Ah, but. Ah, Tyler

5:25

Murray. I would actually suggest

5:28

if we're looking at Cliff

5:30

Kingsbury is potentially part of

5:32

the decision making group as

5:34

it relates to Jaden Daniels.

5:37

Tyler Murray was not as

5:39

advanced as a passer as

5:41

Jaden Daniels's. If

5:44

there were reasons like you know,

5:46

this is square peg round hole

5:48

right now, but he's so talented

5:50

and will figure out a way

5:52

to get him on the field

5:54

sooner rather than later. Rg Three

5:56

kind of fit into that category

5:58

of not being ready. Be

6:00

an Nfl pocket passer but

6:02

for him fortunately he had

6:05

coaches that we're ready to

6:07

create around what he did

6:09

do Well right at it

6:11

again. Ah, I'd be very,

6:14

very surprised and I would

6:16

be disappointed if Jaden Daniels

6:18

isn't ready to start on

6:20

this football team. Week.

6:23

One. Marcus. Mario To, by

6:25

the way wit who you would

6:27

like to see start and have

6:29

Jaden Daniel sit behind and learn

6:32

from and you mention that they

6:34

had similar talents coming out of

6:36

college, which by the way is

6:38

somewhat true. They certainly had similar

6:41

resumes are just outrageous production in

6:43

college Heisman Trophy winners and this

6:45

the number two pick are in

6:47

the Nfl draft. both of them

6:49

Mario To went right after James

6:52

Winston in the Twenty Fifteen draft.

6:54

Are Mario to start it right from

6:57

the jump at Tennessee. his the number

6:59

to pick in. played pretty well his

7:01

rookie season. At times he missed some

7:04

games I think he was banged up

7:06

after the fifth game in years. but

7:08

I went back and looked in his

7:11

first two games. Ah for tennis see

7:13

six touchdowns, no pics. Ah was thirty

7:15

four of fifty two for four hundred

7:18

and sixty six yards in his first

7:20

two games. He actually did not run

7:22

the ball much early. Ah, in

7:24

those starts air in Tennessee.

7:27

He did have a couple

7:29

of games later in the

7:31

year, including a game where

7:33

he rushed for over a

7:35

hundred yards against Jacksonville. but

7:37

now I just disagree with

7:39

you or wit, I think

7:41

the Jaden Daniels ease far

7:43

enough along. In

7:46

in coming out of in

7:48

a more professional style off

7:50

and said unless you playing

7:52

a lot of football I'm.

7:54

Alice, You and before that at Arizona

7:56

State and I think ready in so

7:58

many different ways. I don't

8:01

think this coaching staff who by the

8:03

way have never used words like rebuild.

8:05

They. Have used recalibrate.

8:08

Ah, And recalibrate

8:10

means. You. Know they

8:12

want to put out a good

8:14

products. And they want to

8:16

get this guy going if she's not

8:19

ready to start week one. I think

8:21

it's indicative of something that they didn't

8:23

see coming. With. Him. That.

8:25

Would be my guest sit a again.

8:27

Some context could change the way I

8:30

feel but. I. Think Jaden

8:32

Daniels week one or

8:34

I'll be concerned. Ah,

8:36

Adam Peters spoke today.

8:39

He spoke on Big One Hundred

8:41

that is the flagship station or

8:44

that carries all of the Washington

8:46

Commanders games and ah see did

8:48

he's interview with them post draft

8:51

interview with them to day and

8:53

there was an answer that he

8:56

gave that was interesting. He was

8:58

asked about whether or not there

9:00

were any opportunities to look to

9:03

trade back. This is what he

9:05

said. That it can be

9:07

surprised. really? In terms

9:10

of the offers we got you

9:12

know really one solid offer and

9:14

if you know I didn't move

9:16

the needle. amenable to take Adam

9:18

of mountain together Father Jean and

9:20

I'm in early move the needle

9:22

in a weird i december really

9:24

comfortable with were at and I'm

9:26

mad at I've ever taken alive

9:28

our out again but it was

9:30

given up on what was the

9:32

taken to or to get assaulted

9:34

in. The. What offer had

9:36

to be from Minnesota, right? Minnesota

9:38

had a Levin. They had twenty

9:40

three in the first round. in

9:43

vegas raiders the denver broncos they didn't

9:45

have the draft capital to move up

9:47

to to the one offer came from

9:49

minnesota it's certainly didn't come from the

9:52

giants washington and new york not going

9:54

to do a deal that high up

9:56

in the draft you're not going to

9:58

give new york a free swinging the

10:00

number two quarterback in the draft.

10:03

So I'm guessing that the one

10:05

offer that wasn't even

10:07

close but the one

10:09

offer came from Minnesota. By the

10:11

way in that interview on Big

10:13

100 Adam Peters emphasized

10:16

once again that Jayden Daniels

10:18

was the number one player

10:20

on their entire board. So

10:23

that means if they had had number one

10:25

they would not have taken Caleb Williams they

10:27

would have taken Jayden Daniels. If you trust

10:29

what he is saying. I

10:32

want to tell you real quickly about

10:34

PrizePix. It's an app that is as

10:37

fun as you get in daily fantasy sports.

10:39

I've talked about it previously I'm going to

10:41

give you actually a more

10:44

than less than play for

10:46

tonight's NBA playoffs

10:48

but PrizePix is the largest

10:50

daily fantasy sports platform in

10:53

North America. It's just you against

10:55

the numbers instead of you battling

10:58

thousands of other players. You

11:00

pick more than or less than on

11:02

between two and six players

11:05

and their stat projections with

11:07

odds. Like tonight in

11:10

the NBA in the biggest game of

11:12

the NBA playoffs so far game six

11:14

tonight in Philadelphia 76ers down 3-2 against

11:16

the Knicks.

11:20

Jaylen Brunson who has gone for

11:22

47 and 40 in the last

11:24

two games. His more than less

11:26

than numbers 33 points. I'm

11:28

gonna go less than 33 for Brunson and

11:32

I'm gonna go more than 30 and

11:34

a half points for Embiid who

11:36

did not have a good game in game

11:39

five even though his team won the game

11:41

but he was a warrior man. He had

11:43

a migraine he's got a knee injury he's

11:45

got bells palsy and he's out there 48

11:48

minutes. He didn't play great at

11:50

times but he did have a triple double

11:52

and he came up with some big plays

11:54

in overtime. I'm gonna go more than and

11:57

expect Embiid to have a big night tonight

11:59

and I'm I'm going to go less than

12:01

with Brunson. So less than 33 with

12:03

Brunson, more than 30 and a half

12:06

with Embiid. It

12:08

pays three to one. So 20 gives

12:10

you 60 back, 30 gives you 90 back. You

12:12

can do the math. 200 gives you 600 back. PrizePix,

12:17

download the app today. You

12:19

can actually win up to 100 times

12:22

your money on PrizePix with

12:24

as little as four correct

12:26

picks. Download the

12:28

PrizePix app today. Use my code SHEEN

12:30

for a first deposit match of up

12:32

to $100. That's

12:35

the PrizePix app. Download

12:37

that app today. Use my

12:39

code SHEEN, S-H-E-E-H-A-N, for a

12:41

first deposit match of up

12:43

to $100. Speaking

12:47

of the NBA, I got this from Xander.

12:50

Xander sent me a tweet that I

12:52

read right before the radio show this

12:54

morning. Thanks for wasting my

12:57

time, Kevin. I decided to take your advice

12:59

and watch the NBA playoffs last night.

13:02

Two games, two blowouts, no drama at

13:04

all. I know it's just one night,

13:06

but I'd like to have those five

13:08

hours back. Thank you. Yeah,

13:11

Xander, you're right. Last night was not

13:13

the night to push everybody to watch

13:15

the NBA playoffs. I should have known

13:17

that, but I was excited about the

13:19

Nick 76ers game the night before. Excited

13:23

about two nights previous, the

13:25

Nuggets Lakers game. But

13:27

I should have known. The Heat had

13:29

no chance against Boston without Jimmy Butler.

13:32

They just didn't have any prayer. I

13:34

did think the second game last night would

13:37

be interesting between the Clippers and the Mavericks.

13:40

James Harden, who in game four had 33

13:43

for LA and carried them in the fourth quarter

13:45

in a game that evened up the series on

13:47

the road. Last night it

13:49

looked like he had never played basketball before. And

13:52

that's kind of been the story of James Harden's

13:54

career to a certain extent, right? In

13:56

the postseason, he has a big game.

14:00

and then it looks like he's never

14:02

played before in the two games that

14:04

follow. Harden had seven points

14:06

on two of 12 shooting and

14:08

he was fumbling and bumbling the ball around like

14:10

he was just learning how to dribble for the

14:13

first time. It was embarrassing.

14:16

I don't think the Clippers can win just

14:18

like the Heat had no shot without Jimmy

14:20

Butler. I just don't think the Clippers can

14:22

win four out of seven against

14:25

almost anybody without Kawhi Leonard.

14:27

I just don't think that'll

14:29

happen. But Xander, my fault,

14:31

my apologies. There

14:34

is a game tonight that I would

14:36

suggest you keep an eye on. 76ers,

14:38

Knicks, Game 6 in Philly. By the

14:40

way, Josh Harris, who owns the 76ers,

14:43

he and the Fnatic CEO who

14:45

is a shareholder in

14:47

the 76ers and the other

14:49

76ers owners including David Blitzer.

14:51

They purchased 2,000 tickets

14:55

to tonight's game to keep Knicks

14:57

fans from buying up buying the

14:59

tickets up. Knicks fans took over

15:01

the arena in Philly for games

15:03

three and four and

15:06

Harris bought up 2,000 tickets

15:08

and is giving them out to

15:11

first responders, health care professionals, and

15:13

others 76ers fans but

15:15

to keep Knicks fans out of

15:17

the arena. That story

15:19

prompted several people to reach out to

15:21

me to say, do you think Josh

15:23

Harris will do that with his football

15:25

team next year to keep Eagles fans out

15:27

of the stadium, to keep Cowboys fans out

15:30

of the stadium? No, I don't.

15:32

And I don't think we should ask. I

15:34

think $6 billion

15:36

to take Dan Snyder out.

15:40

We should just say thank you over

15:42

and over again. You know what he

15:44

should focus on is winning. Winning

15:48

will change the crowd

15:50

dynamic in Landover.

15:53

Speaking of Landover

15:55

and football stadiums,

15:58

RFK Stadium is

16:01

now available to be demolished.

16:03

The National Park Service evaluated

16:06

the potential effects on the

16:08

natural cultural and human environment

16:10

related to the demolition of

16:13

Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium and

16:15

they've determined or

16:17

it has determined that the

16:20

stadium can be demolished. I

16:22

know it's an eyesore and it's been

16:25

you know vacant and maybe even unsafe

16:28

for five years but when

16:30

they do demolish that stadium we're gonna

16:32

do a whole show around the memories

16:34

of that old barn. For

16:37

most of us, many of you me, our

16:40

greatest sports rooting memories are

16:43

from that spot but

16:46

can't build a new stadium on

16:48

that land unless you demolish the

16:50

old one so perhaps some

16:53

good news there. One

16:55

more thing, the Nats had a really good

16:57

win last night, won nothing. Trevor Williams and

16:59

then four relievers shutting out

17:02

the Rangers to get back to

17:04

500. They've actually been really impressive

17:06

through the first 30 games. Well

17:08

they just lost the getaway game

17:10

this afternoon in Texas, 6 to

17:12

nothing to fall, a game under

17:15

500 but still last

17:17

night really impressive Trevor Williams, three

17:20

bases loaded no out

17:23

jams he got out of. Scott

17:26

Van Pelt next right after these words

17:28

from a few of our sponsors. If

17:33

you're a basketball junkie then you know

17:35

there's no better time of year than

17:37

the NBA playoffs. Twice a week JJ

17:40

Redick is cooking on his podcast The

17:42

Old Man and the Three. He has

17:44

guys come on in all stages of

17:46

their careers to talk about the league

17:48

and share stories you won't hear anywhere

17:51

else including Devin Booker on why he

17:53

talks so much trash, Ray Allen's epic

17:55

free throw competitions with LeBron in Miami

17:57

and the moment Tyrese Halliburton new Pascal

17:59

Siaka would be a good fit in

18:02

indie. In addition to player interviews, every

18:04

Monday JJ breaks down the top 3

18:06

things happening around the NBA with unmatched

18:08

analysis, not outlandish takes, and is often

18:10

joined by masterminds of the game like

18:13

Tim Lightler to dive deep on rookie

18:15

reports, trade breakdowns, and why is mean

18:17

mugging now attack? You won't find another

18:19

outlet that covers the game as comprehensively

18:21

and with such insight as JJ does

18:24

it on The Old Man and the

18:26

Three. Make this your companion podcast during

18:28

the playoffs. Listen to The Old Man

18:30

and the Three ad free on Wondery Plus

18:32

or wherever you get your podcasts. We're

18:37

driven by the search for better, but when

18:40

it comes to hiring, the best way to

18:42

search for a candidate isn't to search at

18:44

all. Don't search match with Indeed. Indeed

18:47

is your matching and hiring platform with over

18:49

350 million global monthly

18:51

visitors according to Indeed data and

18:53

a matching engine that helps you

18:55

find quality candidates fast. Ditch the

18:57

busy work. Use Indeed for scheduling,

18:59

screening, and messaging so you can

19:01

connect with candidates faster. Leveraging over

19:03

140 million qualifications

19:05

and preferences every day, Indeed's

19:08

matching engine is constantly learning from

19:10

your preferences, so the more you

19:12

use Indeed, the better it gets.

19:14

Join more than 3.5 million

19:17

businesses worldwide that use Indeed to

19:19

hire great talent fast. And listeners

19:21

of this show will get a

19:23

$75 sponsored job credit to get

19:25

your jobs more visibility at indeed.com

19:28

slash blue wire. Just go to

19:30

indeed.com/blue wire right now and support

19:33

our show by saying that you

19:35

heard about Indeed on this podcast.

19:37

That's indeed.com slash blue wire

19:39

terms and conditions apply. Need to

19:42

hire? You need Indeed. Windows

20:00

along with no interest for five

20:02

years. Plus, if you schedule

20:04

a consult today, an appointment today,

20:07

you'll get bonus savings on

20:09

top of the 50% off

20:12

all windows and no interest for five

20:14

years. If you've got older windows, if

20:16

they leak, if they get foggy when

20:18

it's damp out or they get hot

20:20

to the touch on a

20:22

really hot day, your air conditioning bills

20:24

are too high, your heating bills in

20:26

the winter are too high. You're just

20:28

paying bills, utility bills

20:30

that are higher than they should be.

20:32

By the way, your home probably doesn't

20:35

look as good as it

20:37

should. Right now, window

20:39

nation semi-annual sale is giving you an

20:41

opportunity to change all of that. Replace

20:44

your windows and you

20:46

can do it by first scheduling

20:48

a no obligation in home estimate.

20:51

Call them at 866-90 Nation, head

20:53

to windownation.com, mention my name and

20:55

you'll get a free window estimate.

20:57

So you've got nothing to lose.

21:00

That free estimate will result in something that

21:03

you can shop if you want to shop

21:05

the deal. I don't think

21:07

you'll find a better company with a better product

21:09

or a better deal. If you've been thinking about

21:11

new windows, give window nation a

21:13

shot. I promise you it will work

21:15

out. 866-90

21:18

Nation, windownation.com. We

21:21

are joined right now by

21:24

my very good friend Scott

21:26

Van Pelt from ESPN, the

21:28

Scott Van Pelt Sports Center, every

21:30

night with Stanford. I want

21:32

to talk draft with you to start here,

21:34

but I want to ask you a question

21:36

about just being at ESPN all of these

21:39

years and being

21:41

a part of this

21:43

massive entity which is draft coverage

21:46

on ESPN. We're down

21:48

here now, the show originates from DC, but

21:51

still your show follows up draft night, you've

21:59

been around it. what's it like it's

22:02

such a big deal and i have such

22:04

an appreciation for the

22:06

down the amount of work that goes into

22:09

it for the production site it's

22:12

it there have been a four hundred sixty

22:14

some odd cut up of of video

22:17

they do still may take some guard

22:19

from concordia date or whatever here come

22:22

you know louis riddick or belkite bird

22:25

junior or make a better per perp

22:27

shooter whomever is ready to just

22:29

dive in and talk about incredible uh... and

22:31

so you you you sent the

22:33

scale of it all when you see the

22:35

hundreds of thousands of people and then you

22:38

see the ratings that that uh... they come

22:40

out after the fact yet

22:42

another reminder as if it's necessary that single

22:45

greatest attention-getter in the country

22:47

is that i felt the ball yet

22:50

it's crazy uh... you mentioned

22:52

uh... saben uh... he

22:54

was on the broadcast with the college

22:57

guys with the race bill belicich was

22:59

on with matt pat but with pat

23:01

mackenzie what do you think

23:03

it does what do you think of those

23:05

two next year's analysts will

23:08

be great i i i know both of

23:10

them uh... a bit away from sort

23:12

of coverage of sports

23:14

right i've had time to be around them

23:17

in settings where you get to see the

23:20

very different men

23:23

they are uh... when they're

23:25

not you know where the court is that being

23:27

asked questions about why do you

23:29

put up a third quarter like that the

23:31

football iq is that is as

23:34

you would get just incredible but then there

23:36

is what what the thing about

23:38

belicich the both people's minds if you could

23:40

keep it shortening you know guy with

23:43

a smile at the place we talking to people that

23:45

he signed up to talk with

23:47

and is interested in the content it they um...

23:50

it'll be phenomenal on mac and p guarantee and

23:52

it will be great michael be great on game

23:54

day i think he showed it he showed a

23:56

willingness to be it'll be critical that

23:59

the with the hard thing like Are

24:01

you willing to be critical of teams

24:03

and coaches and players? I

24:05

don't think that Nick did it. It

24:08

was one guy, it was like Mims, wasn't it

24:10

the guy from Georgia who didn't play a bunch

24:12

in the game we played

24:14

against in the SEC title game or whatever. He

24:17

just made the point, he didn't play. He

24:19

tapped out at some point, don't know why. Don't

24:22

both be great. Is Belichick just

24:24

set for McAfee or are we going to

24:26

get him on a

24:28

Sunday set or even in the

24:30

booth? I'm not sure, I don't

24:33

know what Belichick's role is going to be next year. Do

24:36

you? Nor do I. And

24:38

I don't know for certain what he'll be doing

24:40

with Pat other than what they kind of alluded

24:43

to on draft night that it sounds like maybe

24:46

on Mondays you'll see him there. I

24:50

don't know. I'm sure everyone's

24:53

interested in having

24:55

him in whatever role he's interested

24:58

in and that's just a matter of

25:00

what the appetite is for

25:02

signing up to do it. I

25:05

think we're just going to learn so much from

25:08

the two of them, especially in this

25:10

first year where they really still know

25:12

all of the players, all of the

25:14

coaches, etc. I'm actually looking

25:16

forward to it. I totally agree. What

25:18

did you think of Washington settling in

25:20

on Jaden Daniels? You

25:25

can't see me, I'm just sort of shrugging. I

25:27

hope it's right. I

25:31

talked about this with Steve on

25:33

our podcast the other night about maybe just having

25:36

some PTSD about

25:38

trusting any quarterback that gets picked when you

25:40

look at the 19 draft. The

25:43

only one that's still with the team that picked him

25:45

is Trevor Lawrence and these are guys that came out

25:47

of big time programs. Fields was at Ohio State and

25:53

Jones was from Alabama. Obviously

25:56

Lawrence was at Clemson. They played in playoff games. They

25:59

played in big time. college football atmosphere is a lot

26:01

of them and you know it just doesn't work and

26:04

in many cases so I

26:06

hope it works I all the

26:08

all the commentary about the whole pop

26:11

golf and who's like whatever it's just

26:13

it's just the fodder that the fuel for what

26:15

we all do I mean ultimately

26:17

he's either gonna be able to do it

26:20

or he can't I hope he can but

26:22

I think anyone that says definitively that he

26:24

or any of these these quarterbacks that were

26:27

taken it's gonna work in here is why

26:29

well you're guessing you're guessing and

26:32

I I'm just guessing if I say

26:34

what I think will happen so I just don't know

26:36

I'm saying I hope that he's the

26:38

guy yeah I'm with you

26:41

on that but did you have a preference prior

26:43

to the draft for Washington at two

26:46

yeah I I think I

26:50

think of once it was clear

26:52

that the Williams wasn't gonna be available

26:55

then of the two that that I

26:57

like that better but if

27:00

I mean if I'm picking that's what I'd have

27:02

done but then you talk to people that are

27:04

in the sport and they're like May is gonna

27:06

be the guy and then there are other people

27:08

like nah May's day he's like when Belichick's just

27:11

like I have speech fireworks all over the place

27:13

but like you know that was a really interesting

27:15

cut up where you know every every draft every

27:17

draft video is the five or six amazing plays

27:19

that the prospect had you

27:22

could do just as just as

27:24

interesting a 30-second clip of mistakes

27:26

they made and and

27:28

I found that interesting when Belichick was pointing at

27:31

things that all these guys could clean up but

27:34

it in the end watching watching

27:36

him at LSU this year it was you know

27:38

it's astounding then the question could be well he

27:40

had two first-round wide receivers on his team well

27:42

how much how much of that had to do

27:44

with him well I don't know Panics was in

27:46

the same boat I mean he had three guys

27:49

who went the first three rounds of wide receiver

27:51

so I mean a lot of these

27:53

guys are surrounded with talent and

27:57

that's that's the direction that I'd have gone in the end

27:59

and And I was, I was again, hoping

28:02

they would, and they did. Uh,

28:05

somebody sent me this note and I read

28:07

it on radio today and we took calls

28:09

on it and I'll just net it out.

28:11

It was basically that Adam

28:14

Peters, the new general manager, by

28:16

picking Jaden Daniels kind of put

28:18

himself into a position where he

28:20

can't be criticized or can't be

28:23

praised because of this

28:26

person, uh, suggested that he

28:28

was a consensus number two by the

28:30

time we got to draft night. And

28:33

it's almost like when Ernie Grunfeld, you know,

28:35

this is for DC sports conversation purposes,

28:37

when Ernie took John Wall at number

28:39

one, I mean, there was nobody else

28:42

to take that was obvious. And

28:44

that because he went

28:46

with the guy that everybody believes should be

28:48

picked there, you can't praise

28:50

him. You can't, you know,

28:52

complain about it. It'll work or it won't,

28:54

but that was the gut. That was the

28:56

safe pick. What, what is your reaction to

28:59

that? It

29:01

sounds about right. I mean, there's a

29:03

certain amount of, of slotting and it

29:06

takes over. And to that,

29:09

to the, to this particular pick

29:11

and prospect that felt like

29:14

that's what happened and I mean,

29:17

it's just interesting, right? We're all allowed

29:19

to grow. We're all allowed to get better. I

29:22

remember watching him. We played for her about it.

29:24

Arizona state and not thinking this

29:26

was a guy that would evolve into what he

29:28

became this year, um, but you

29:30

know, who he was playing for

29:32

Arizona state, comparing that to who he was this

29:34

year playing for LSU. It's, it's kind of pointless

29:37

to point it out other than just, I

29:39

didn't know then that he'd become this, but

29:41

by the time we got to Thursday, last

29:43

Thursday, night, yeah, it did. It felt

29:45

like the group thinks that, well, that's, that's just who you

29:48

take here. And I mean, I

29:50

don't know. There's, there's this whole cottage industry of mock

29:53

drafts and you know, how do you, how do your

29:55

picks net out? Well, then like, do we ever go,

29:57

like we do with the grades are on draft. closure

30:00

came up. Do we ever go back and go

30:02

look, everyone was right, but none of them were

30:04

right about whether they should have been picked care

30:06

or not. And I mean, when it comes to

30:08

quarterbacks, there's just so much intel through

30:11

the years that say they don't get

30:13

it right, no matter how much of the time

30:15

and effort and all the resources they pour into

30:17

it. So yeah,

30:19

I guess that's probably it. Like this was

30:21

the pick that you were supposed to take

30:23

and now we find out if anyone was

30:25

right. It's so funny that you just

30:28

said that because I had Warren

30:30

Sharp on the show yesterday and

30:32

he does this thing where

30:35

essentially he grades a draft, but it's not based

30:37

on whether or not they got the right players

30:40

or not. It's based on whether or not they

30:42

got the right players at the right spot, you

30:44

know, based on this consensus big board

30:46

that, you know, there's a

30:48

couple of guys out there that create, you

30:51

know, they go to hundreds of different evaluators

30:53

and mocks and they create a consensus big

30:55

board. And I asked him

30:57

and I said, well, what does it look

30:59

like for you three years after the fact?

31:02

Like, and he

31:04

said, to be honest to you, I've only been doing this for

31:07

a little while, so I haven't really

31:09

done an audit of, you

31:11

know, what it looks like three years from now, because

31:13

three years from now, you know, if

31:16

the team got it all right, like

31:18

every player right, but they picked three

31:20

players too early and three players too

31:23

late, I mean, who cares

31:25

really other than maybe draft value lost, you

31:27

know, and you could have done something else with the

31:30

draft spots. I don't know. Nobody

31:32

knows anything for three years. By the

31:34

way, I know you and I agree

31:37

entirely on this whole, essentially

31:40

what we're doing is grading draft

31:43

when that's just, who the

31:45

hell knows? Nobody does. We don't have a clue.

31:48

The teams don't know. They get it wrong 65% of

31:50

the time. But real

31:53

quickly on the question that I asked

31:55

you, I actually think Adam Peters is

31:57

going to get praise or blame. you

32:00

know, based on Jaden Daniels succeeding or failing,

32:02

because I actually think there was a choice.

32:05

I know that, you know, Schefter was

32:07

pretty sure, and a lot of the, you

32:09

know, in the last week to two weeks,

32:11

everybody really thought Daniels was the consensus

32:13

number two, but there was a question. You

32:16

know, Drake May was, you know,

32:19

the selection of a lot of people. I mean, I

32:21

know in our fan base, a lot of people preferred

32:24

Drake May. RG3 in 2012, Scott,

32:27

was absolutely the number two pick. It was

32:29

him in luck. This draft, I

32:31

think after Caleb, Daniels, May, you

32:34

know, people thought McCarthy were

32:37

all had positives, all had negatives, but

32:39

anyway, what else

32:41

from the draft stood out to you? I

32:44

would assume what Atlanta did stood out. Well,

32:48

sure, just because you've

32:51

spent the money on cousins,

32:53

and presuming,

32:57

you did that hoping it works, and if

32:59

it works, and he's your quarterback for four

33:02

years, then you'd conceivably go

33:04

into the fifth year of a guy you

33:06

took eight not having any idea if you're

33:08

supposed to extend him or not, and

33:12

it's just, I don't know. We

33:15

certainly see year after year the

33:17

number of quarterbacks who start games, and you go,

33:19

wait, what? This

33:23

is this person starting an NFL game, and

33:25

in some cases, they become all

33:27

a team has to go with. So

33:30

I guess we all understand the

33:32

notion that having too much of that position is

33:34

a hell of a lot better than not having enough, but

33:38

I didn't, like most

33:40

people, seem to understand it, and then I felt

33:43

like there was a whole lot of twisting themselves

33:45

into pretzels of people. They're like, no, no, I

33:47

didn't like it at first, but here's why it's

33:49

smart. Okay,

33:51

sure. That

33:54

was odd to me. I

33:57

think the way that the... depth

34:00

at offensive line wide receiver

34:02

and quarterback seem to

34:04

push a great deal of depth into

34:06

the second round. There felt that

34:09

it certainly seemed like there were a number of

34:11

players at positions

34:13

that you might not necessarily have

34:15

gotten them in the

34:17

second round were available as a result of

34:19

just you know the runs on specific linemen

34:21

and and the wide receiver talent

34:23

that that really is what's become interesting

34:25

to me Kevin is how that position

34:28

how ready guys are to

34:30

contribute immediately they come from

34:34

in many cases you know big-time programs God knows Ohio

34:36

State's got a ton of them and now Harrison just

34:38

becomes the next that presumably you

34:40

plug right in and it is a you

34:43

know a thousand plus yard receiver right out

34:45

of the gate that's a trend

34:47

where in the past three

34:50

or four years in particular it really feels like

34:53

it's become emphasized. I

34:55

want to go back to quarterbacks actually

34:57

because you like me and we we

35:00

talk about this all the time we

35:02

love Saturdays we watch a lot of

35:04

college football you talk to a lot

35:06

of people in this sport if

35:09

we assume that of that out

35:11

of the top six just

35:13

like the 2021 draft but let's go

35:16

with a slightly lower percentage and just

35:18

say three of the six are not

35:20

going to be on the teams that

35:23

drafted them. Understood we

35:25

don't know anything and it's impossible

35:28

but just gut feel based on

35:30

what we both watched you

35:32

know for an entire few years with some

35:34

of these guys who are the

35:37

three that are still on their teams three

35:40

years from now? Still on the team? Yeah still on

35:42

the teams three years from now. Three

35:45

years from now. Williams,

35:50

Daniels and

35:52

McCarthy. All

35:55

right I'll go

35:58

Williams, Daniels Daniels'...

36:02

...Pennix. I

36:04

mean, Pennix has to be on the team in

36:06

three years pretty much, right? Because in three years,

36:08

it's the third year, it'll probably be his first

36:10

year starting. Okay.

36:14

That adds actually a

36:16

unique wrinkle to this group because Pennix

36:18

probably won't play for a couple of

36:21

years. So maybe we should have said

36:23

four, but whatever. It's

36:25

just odd to use the first-round pick in the

36:27

National Football League like a developmental player, as if

36:30

you're taking somebody from Lithuania in the lottery in

36:32

the NBA. Right. So you're just going to stash

36:34

for a couple of years and then they're going

36:36

to show up and be like, oh, who's this

36:38

guy? Here's the second

36:40

quarterback question from the draft. Of the other

36:43

QBs and the next one didn't get selected

36:45

until the fifth round, Spencer Rattler. I think

36:47

a lot of people thought he might go

36:49

earlier. Rattler to the

36:51

Saints, Jordan Travis to the Jets, Joe

36:53

Milton to the Patriots, Devin Leary to

36:56

the Ravens, Michael Pratt to the Packers.

36:59

One of those guys ends up being a

37:01

starting quarterback three years from now. Who is

37:03

it? Travis

37:06

Foresnake, yeah. Yeah, that's

37:08

a good one. Do you

37:10

think if he hadn't broken his leg... Well, they obviously

37:12

would have been in the playoff, but

37:15

where would he have been drafted? I

37:20

don't know. It's

37:23

interesting that... I

37:25

mean, God knows that the NFL will talk themselves

37:28

into it, you know? Like, they

37:30

don't typically have to squint

37:32

too hard to see it in somebody.

37:34

So the fact that the

37:36

injury knocked him this far down the

37:39

grid indicates that he

37:41

wasn't going to be certainly a

37:43

first-day pick, but a second-day pick,

37:45

maybe. But I

37:49

don't know. That position was so overdrafted,

37:51

the fact that he fell as far

37:53

as he did was interesting

37:56

to me. I don't know if it was an out-of-sight, out-of-mind

37:58

thing, the fact that he couldn't test it. the way you

38:00

want to. I don't

38:03

know. But I mean, I felt like

38:05

there were, I mean, you go back to that

38:07

game with the guy Washington took that that opening

38:09

game of the year in Orlando. And I mean,

38:11

it was a duel between the two and he

38:13

was his team was got the better

38:15

of it. Right. All right.

38:18

Defense was horrific, though. But that's another

38:20

story. Oh, my god, awful.

38:23

So the NBA playoffs,

38:25

it was funny, the other day we were

38:28

talking and you said

38:30

you know, you had producers and stuff talking

38:32

about the rundown and it was all draft

38:34

draft draft. And at some point you said,

38:36

can we actually work in

38:38

a conversation about a game

38:40

that has an outcome? That's

38:43

what you wanted to do. Can we talk

38:45

about games with outcomes? Uh,

38:48

yeah, that matter, right? I mean, I mean,

38:50

well, we can leave, we can leave April

38:52

baseball on the back burner for now. But

38:54

I mean, we got best of sevens going

38:56

on the ice and in basketball. So yeah,

38:59

we, you know, we got this. Right.

39:02

So let's start with the

39:04

two games to, well, the game

39:06

tonight that people are looking forward to Nick's

39:08

76ers. Who do you like

39:12

and who do you like to win the series?

39:15

I think Nick's in the

39:17

series. I just, I think the

39:20

one thing that's interesting and legs pointed it out the

39:23

other night that Brunson is spectacular, but

39:25

they're still relying upon him. It

39:28

is problematic. Um,

39:30

where it's Philly's got two,

39:32

two clear scoring options

39:34

in MBD and Maxi. Um,

39:37

but I, I just, I think

39:39

New York and they're clearly

39:41

kicking themselves. You just can't let series

39:43

continue when you basically got them dead

39:46

to rights. But I mean, they've got,

39:48

they got two to win one in the got

39:51

to have it. I wouldn't shock me until we

39:53

got it back there. Um, but

39:56

they, I just think the mix

39:58

are better. The

40:00

game last night between the Clippers

40:03

and the Mavericks, what is

40:05

it about James Harden that

40:08

just, you know that something

40:11

like this is probably going to

40:13

happen in a postseason game or

40:15

series? He was so godawful. A

40:18

game after, he was great. And

40:21

we've seen that with him before. Why is that? I

40:25

have no earthly idea. I mean,

40:27

I've been here doing

40:30

sports center in some form or fashion for more

40:33

than 20 years. And

40:35

in that time with Harden, whatever

40:37

you've said about him, you being

40:39

anyone out there, whether it was

40:42

high praise that he's great,

40:44

unique talent, a gifted scorer,

40:47

an impactful player, you're

40:49

right. And if you say he

40:51

disappears at the worst possible time and

40:54

is an absolute liability and

40:57

has horrific shooting nights in

40:59

the most important times of the year, you're

41:02

right. It's amazing to

41:04

me how he can be all of these

41:06

things. It happened last year

41:08

in Philadelphia. At 43 I want to

41:11

say, it wasn't a game at

41:13

the Garden against Boston. And then when

41:16

push came to shove in the end,

41:18

he was horrible. And

41:20

Paul George was bad last night as well. I

41:24

don't understand it. It's

41:28

why the critics have all

41:30

this ammunition and last night just

41:33

adds another layer if you want to point

41:35

to exhibit whatever this is. But

41:38

as you said, look, the game before

41:40

when it was winning time after that

41:42

giant lead evaporated, he was tremendous. So

41:45

I don't understand the lack of consistency

41:47

in terms of his impact on these

41:50

big games. I don't know. Yeah.

41:53

And when it's bad, it's really bad. Like

41:55

there were moments last night where it looked

41:58

like he couldn't dribble the basketball. without

42:00

losing it. It was odd. Are

42:03

you looking forward to Denver, Minnesota as much

42:05

as I am and who do you like?

42:10

I like Denver just by default. I

42:12

think that the

42:15

two-man game they've got with Murray and

42:17

Don, excuse me, with Murray and Jokic

42:19

obviously, is

42:21

ruthless. Porter Jr. is such a great

42:24

score. I think

42:27

the defense of Minnesota is going to really

42:29

be stressed, but the defense of

42:31

Minnesota is exceptional. This

42:34

is a great coming

42:36

out stage for Anthony

42:38

Edwards. It was you that made the

42:40

point to me that I

42:43

talked about, I think, on the pod that this

42:46

is a guy that's a superstar. The

42:48

world's a big place. They don't all

42:50

listen to your pod

42:52

or mine or your radio show or

42:54

watch SportsCenter. The world at large that's

42:57

more casual consumers of the sport are

43:00

in for a treat if they're just kind

43:02

of learning about who Edwards is because he's

43:04

got it, man. He's got that everything

43:07

that a great player's got. He's

43:09

fun to watch, just the aesthetics of it all. I

43:13

like Denver just by default. It feels a little

43:15

early for Minnesota to get over that hurdle. Through

43:18

the years, there's always a bit of a learning

43:20

curve. There's always a bit of a process. When

43:23

Edwards was all with me the other night, I was asking

43:26

about trying to close out Phoenix. He's like, I

43:28

don't know. I've never done it. Don't

43:30

ask me about closing out. I've never done it.

43:33

I have no idea what it is. Now they

43:35

have. Now they finally won a series. It's always

43:37

destructive to me. You've got to win four,

43:39

man. They won a quarter of

43:41

the games that are required to

43:43

be champions. What's interesting

43:46

about them, NBA

43:48

fans understand that there's always this period

43:50

of time where dues

43:53

have to be paid and you've got to progress and then

43:55

you got to lose

43:58

and then eventually you win, but

44:01

a lot of those, whether it was Jordan or

44:03

any of the other players that have come

44:06

along that it took them a while, LeBron,

44:09

this team, the Timberwolves team,

44:11

is so good defensively. They're

44:14

an exceptional team defensively, and I just

44:17

wonder if that matters and maybe gives

44:19

Anthony Edwards in his first swing at

44:21

it a better shot

44:23

of advancing. That's fair, and

44:25

you also have guys that aren't new to

44:27

it and commonly go bare, right? You

44:30

have significant impact players at two

44:32

key positions who've been

44:34

through plenty of battles just not

44:36

at this stage with this group,

44:38

but that'll be

44:40

really interesting. It'll also

44:43

be interesting just from our businesses'

44:45

perspective to see a playoff advance with

44:48

no LeBron, no Steph, no Kevin

44:50

Durant, what kind

44:52

of numbers do things do. That's

44:54

nothing other than just interesting feedback

44:57

to me about what kind

44:59

of consumption the playoffs get absent

45:01

those older stars, but

45:04

eventually you're going to have to replace all

45:07

those guys sooner than later. That'll

45:10

be just an interesting bit

45:12

of information for the sports

45:15

media geeks out there. I think

45:17

Minnesota, by the way, is the

45:19

city, sports city, that's had the

45:21

longest drought in terms

45:23

of a championship. It may be

45:25

even participating in a championship

45:28

series because Washington broke that with the

45:30

hockey. It would have to be the

45:32

twins, obviously, that did it. Exactly. Thanks

45:35

for doing this. As always, I'll talk to you later. My

45:39

pleasure. Thank you. This

45:41

is a record, by the way. Just want to

45:44

have all the Kevin's listeners out there to know that when

45:46

he reaches out, we'll just do 15 or 20. Normally

45:51

about an hour, 10. You

45:53

say that all the time and it's true,

45:55

but it's not always my fault.

45:58

No, I ramble. I'm not even

46:01

saying you ramble, but it's

46:03

because you are excellent

46:05

and you get on a roll and I

46:08

think everybody likes to hear it, so I don't

46:10

want to cut it off with other people. I

46:12

want to cut it off much sooner than

46:15

letting it run. I'll try to do

46:17

worse hits. No,

46:21

I appreciate it. I try to do a bad job.

46:25

Have a hardened-like existence. One

46:27

really good appearance and the

46:30

next one not so good and I'll cut it short. Today

46:32

was excellent though by the way. There you go, damn.

46:34

What was wrong with Van Pelt today? He's just awful.

46:37

Just a complete, he was

46:39

just a conscientious objector. Well, you've

46:41

done that before. I haven't even

46:43

run those ones. Have I? No,

46:45

I'm kidding. All right, I'll talk to you later. Have

46:48

a good day, my friend. All right,

46:50

up next we will talk

46:52

about Tommy's Monday night event

46:54

at Shelley's Back Room with

46:57

a former teammate of Ralph

47:00

Sampson's at UVA. We'll

47:02

get to that right after these words from a

47:04

few of our sponsors. Without

47:09

the ones like you who work tirelessly

47:11

to keep things running, everything would suddenly

47:13

stop. Hospitals, factories, schools,

47:15

and power plants, they all depend

47:17

on you. No matter the weather,

47:19

emergency, or time of day, you're

47:21

the ones who get it done.

47:23

At Grainger, we're here for you

47:25

with professional grade industrial supplies. Count

47:28

on real-time product availability and fast

47:30

delivery. Call clickgranger.com or just stop

47:32

by Grainger for the

47:35

ones who get it done. This

47:43

segment of the show brought to you by our good

47:46

friends at Shelley's Back Room, the best cigar bar

47:48

in town, 1331 F

47:50

Street, Northwest, and the site of

47:53

Monday night's cigars and

47:55

curveballs event, Tommy's annual

47:57

event, 6 to 8 p.m. Him

48:00

I'll be there, Doc will

48:02

be there. So many of

48:04

us will be there are

48:06

you'll get to meet perhaps

48:08

Mike Rizzo, Davey Martinez The

48:10

Nats are playing great baseball

48:12

right now and it's all

48:14

for a great cause. It's

48:16

in support of the Dc

48:18

Graze, a nonprofit organization whose

48:20

mission is to provide opportunities

48:22

for college baseball players to

48:25

develop skills and give inner

48:27

city youth a chance to

48:29

learn. The. Great game of

48:31

baseball. Tommy will be back from

48:33

he's trip to Ireland or he

48:35

gets back. I think Sunday night

48:38

were Monday during the day. I

48:40

don't know he will be there

48:42

to more on Monday nights Up

48:45

hurts in his chair overseeing the

48:47

festivities. Joining me though is somebody

48:49

who's very instrumental. He does all

48:51

the work or Tommy just puts

48:54

his name on it to to

48:56

a certain degree. Anyway, Chris spirit

48:58

is the General Manager. Of the

49:01

Dc. Gray's Inn is a good friend

49:03

of the show and is a big

49:05

part of the night on Monday night.

49:07

First volley, You know I've never asked

49:10

you about this. I may have asked

49:12

you about this, but you played basketball

49:14

at Uva. right? Yes,

49:17

that is. That is correct. I was

49:19

a young. I'm old enough. Get in

49:21

there done. That the nostalgia

49:23

Jp programs still existed society and

49:26

so did I spend. So yeah,

49:28

that's why did that more diveroli.

49:31

I just remember Mark yet seventy

49:33

you be a grad and they

49:35

would are grad assistant. My

49:38

first year there and ninety lady on

49:40

every was or. What? The grad

49:42

assistant more that was the coach of the

49:45

duty programs a very short season ten twelve

49:47

games. And. Then when the

49:49

season was over, there were a number of us.

49:52

Who are essentially I'm around his

49:54

practice players the most notable of

49:56

whom you probably remember it. Was.

49:58

Kinda needle and. Where

50:00

the same torn the same class as

50:03

we started out together than seven was

50:05

a lot better than me and he

50:07

and a scholarship and ended up becoming

50:09

a starter. And was

50:11

really the linchpin of the team and I achieved

50:14

for. That. Been rocked everybody

50:16

and made it to the final four. Yes,

50:19

so. Let me just be

50:21

clear on this: You were a

50:23

T V player. You are not

50:25

on the varsity team with Ralph

50:28

Sampson. just lamp leave raker, Jeff

50:30

Jones, etc. After.

50:32

Rj. The season ended. I practice with us.

50:35

are you did you practice him? An infidel

50:37

didn't get what we're We're essentially that. There

50:39

were three or four of us who after

50:41

the Jt season ended we got to. We

50:43

were essentially practice players. That. But still,

50:46

that's awesome you were practicing with, you

50:48

know, couple of those years the number

50:50

one team in the country. Know.

50:53

That correct, they were a was on. He

50:57

was an exciting time to be there on

50:59

your sometimes they let us sit on the

51:01

bench, sometimes a lot of stress. Sometimes

51:03

we sat behind the bench. In

51:06

the to travel that often. Everybody

51:09

asks me if I got to to

51:11

go on the the dreaded trip to

51:14

Japan with the with the infamous last

51:16

two solid I and it was on

51:18

their return to the return trip and

51:20

of course everybody forgets that Virginia Beach,

51:22

Houston. In. Japan.

51:25

And. The last two some an odd was

51:27

was essentially the boondoggle part of the

51:30

trip. Where. They stopped

51:32

in Hawaii. And

51:34

and pick up this game ha and

51:37

and eight and ended up losing but

51:39

everybody remembers the Sharma not loss and

51:41

when no one remembers the the victory

51:44

over a really good know guy louis

51:46

team. In Houston?

51:48

yeah, which he had it. With

51:50

with that on the Olajuwon

51:53

and now it's wrestler and

51:55

wait a minute with that

51:57

with so was that the.

52:00

Your. Ah, I'm with

52:02

that. Ralph's senior year.

52:06

Yes, that was the herbs. Eighty

52:08

Two, eighty three years. So that

52:10

was the year that Uva played

52:12

Georgetown at the Capitol Center. Correct.

52:16

That. Was though that was the battle

52:18

against you. it? Yeah. I. Mean I've

52:20

always had that was a massive event.

52:22

I mean you would never get net

52:25

in college basketball now nowadays a means

52:27

back then that game or I'm going

52:29

to guess was played in November December.

52:32

He was that the Capital Center was

52:34

a made from you know massive T

52:36

v Vanu. it's it's Patrick against Ralph.

52:39

probably number one against number two or

52:41

something like that. I forget what they'd

52:43

The teams ranked. By.

52:47

Yeah, we earned or we were. We were

52:49

number one at that time, and in Georgetown

52:51

was certainly doctor. Yeah. And.

52:55

I. Don't remember who won that game. Who won that

52:57

game? Will. I remember

52:59

that with region it was Virginia Virginia One

53:01

the day of his. Emotional.

53:06

Regulation is it doing goaltender the first

53:08

out of a it. Yeah,

53:10

he was trying to send a message

53:12

well like he did in the championship

53:14

game against North Carolina and Eighty Two

53:16

he he goaltender the first to the

53:18

Irish as a good yeah cities and

53:21

the and that was the year that

53:23

you guys loss to Sharman I'd and

53:25

you're saying he was on a trip

53:27

back from Japan. And.

53:29

Yeah. Correct that Virginia in Houston were

53:32

were paid a bunch of money. To.

53:35

To go play a game

53:37

in Japan and then the

53:39

stop in Hawaii. And

53:41

the ensuing game against some and I was on

53:44

the back end of that trip. God it. Wow.

53:47

One. Of the biggest upsets in

53:49

college basketball history actually means it

53:52

doesn't get the attention that say

53:54

you know, the eighty Three final

53:56

By the way, Nc State beating

53:59

Houston or. The Nova over Georgetown

54:01

I guess. But ah, at the time I

54:03

mean, you know Virginia's the number one team

54:05

and American. They lose to a team that

54:07

nobody's ever heard of and it was a

54:10

division to team, right? they were division two.

54:13

Three a division for going to get any if

54:15

they might have been any. They

54:17

might have been unaffiliated. It might have been in a

54:19

I. Demanded. Of had an inflatable

54:21

A affiliation I can't remember it with a

54:23

long time ago. The one thing about the

54:26

the eighty three feet. I

54:28

always liked to say that's the season

54:30

where Virginia won the national championship because

54:32

if you stay wasn't going to make

54:34

the tournament. But. Then had a

54:36

run in the A C C tournaments

54:38

and and purely cannon. Stole.

54:41

The ball from after at the post

54:43

and return to Ralph. That

54:46

led to the winning basket and then

54:48

they won the a championship that year

54:50

that qualified that puts tournaments and then

54:52

in the round of sixteen. We.

54:55

Lost when we get in that image

54:57

instead of later. he for the it's

54:59

it's a nice you know I guess

55:01

as after all these years it's somewhat

55:03

of a healthy way to look at

55:05

it. I mean the bottom line was

55:07

his arm. Nc State needed to win

55:09

the A C C tournament in Atlanta

55:11

that year. I'll never forget it may

55:13

be Uva in the final. Ah and

55:15

they get into the and suitably tournament.

55:17

And yes in the ah, the Wizards

55:19

around sixteen that sort of the Elite

55:21

Eight. Idea

55:23

was it might have been at all. It all,

55:25

you'll a date and in Nc

55:28

State beat Virginia again. Ending what

55:30

it was devastating. I mean, it

55:32

was Ralph's opportunity to win a

55:34

national championship. He went to the

55:36

final fours a sophomore remember when

55:38

you guys lost in North Carolina

55:40

ah, in Philadelphia in a semi

55:42

finals, But he was kind of

55:44

a foregone conclusion going into that.

55:46

Tournaments in Virginia and Ralph, we're

55:48

going to make the big run.

55:51

And. Win the title And the irony is

55:53

you guys went to the final for the

55:55

next year without Rouse. When

55:58

there was controversy about version. Getting

56:00

in at all? My recollection was, you

56:02

know, that was my fourth year. But

56:06

that. Kennedy Eagle and you

56:08

I had referenced early as you hadn't had

56:10

broken an orbital bone. And

56:12

die under He and his eye and

56:14

so he missed the beginning of the

56:17

season and we started out for poorly

56:19

and then when he came back. We.

56:21

Want a few games? I think we

56:23

ended up regular season seventeen and eleven

56:26

if I remember right and were a

56:28

sort of the controversy or at large

56:30

bed. At seventeen and

56:32

eleven. Year. Am but

56:34

it but ended up on. Beat

56:40

Indiana and around evade. It

56:43

was. It was funny. I was. I was watching.

56:46

A game a couple years ago immediate the

56:48

former Indiana player Dan Doc. It was doing

56:51

again right and and he was just killing

56:53

time whenever the might have been to Virginia

56:55

gaming and it was likely that we will

56:57

lose by a lot. so he was just

56:59

filling time and he was talking about that

57:02

game. That Elite

57:04

Eight game and.and he said no,

57:06

He he was quoting Bobby Knight

57:08

and he said you know coach

57:10

Night After the game he said.

57:13

We were prepared for us. l Wilson Winter

57:15

prepared for Rick Carlisle. We didn't lose to

57:18

them. We lost a kitten bleep and heedless

57:20

is that was affected intense what I think

57:22

the last. Five. Points.

57:26

Of. Again was he stole of all

57:28

Zola pass. Made

57:30

a layout, made a free throw

57:32

my com and net and that

57:34

sealed the game. so is. It

57:36

was interesting as you can actually just

57:39

fairly recently and the very tragically

57:41

passed away and our we adequate memorial

57:43

service for ten am back in

57:45

February. We're very

57:47

fortunate was over the N B A

57:50

all star break so require Lyle is

57:52

now the coach of the Pacers. The

57:54

requisite air by Ralph was there. ricky

57:58

stokes ah damn Merrifield, were

58:00

five or six guys that they were able

58:02

to come back and and Craig

58:05

Littlepage who was our one of

58:07

our assistant coaches and Coach Littlepage was there and Coach

58:10

Littlepage and Rick Carlisle spoke

58:12

so eloquently. And

58:15

Chetton was one of my best friends because we

58:17

started out you know as non-scholarship guys together and

58:20

then he was local here to the

58:22

Alexandria area where I live and

58:25

I think

58:27

the people that were far less impressed with

58:30

my comments than they were with

58:32

Coach Littlepage and with Rick Carlisle. But be that

58:34

as it may it

58:36

was good to see those guys albeit in

58:39

a sad circumstance. Yeah, I'm

58:41

sure. To the passing of one

58:43

of our teammates but but that's not why

58:45

you had me on. No it's not but

58:47

I wanted to just add one quick thing

58:49

because like these you know this

58:52

is in my you know

58:54

wheelhouse ACC basketball in

58:56

the in the 80s and that

58:59

year when you guys beat Indiana to make

59:01

the final four and I just pulled it

59:04

up because I remember you played Houston what

59:06

I did not remember is that

59:09

you lost in overtime

59:12

against that Houston team with

59:15

you know a lot of either one.

59:17

I'll tell you the plate I'll tell

59:20

you the plate. Yeah. So

59:22

we're up by once and

59:26

and they're trying to get the ball to

59:29

Elijah and Kent Nieblin is locking him up

59:31

and they cannot get the ball to Elijah

59:34

and somehow the ball ends

59:37

up in a very rushed

59:39

fashion because they couldn't run their play it

59:42

ends up in the hands of Larry

59:44

Michaud. Oh, he was a badass. Mr.

59:47

mean Larry. Yeah, but

59:50

it was not part of the play that

59:52

coach Lewis had drawn up apparently and he

59:55

rushes up a shot and

59:57

it's an air ball. Or

1:00:02

first year center. the that

1:00:04

ballyhooed recruit to is replacing

1:00:06

Ralph old employees. Holding.

1:00:09

Did not box out. Cadillac

1:00:12

Anderson. Got the airball

1:00:14

and started back to win the game

1:00:16

by one mile. Well

1:00:18

and in my mind it was in

1:00:20

Seattle it was easier. Yes Seattle. Final

1:00:23

Score: Forty nine, seventy seven in overtime

1:00:25

and the next scheme for used in

1:00:27

was the last Georgetown in the and

1:00:30

scene and we were Russia. Probe.

1:00:36

Remember right after Fred branded run

1:00:38

the ball to James Worthy? Ah

1:00:40

to be two years earlier actually.

1:00:42

Yeah. Club? Yes. Oh wow. What?

1:00:45

What? Was it? your what's more

1:00:47

was So what was it like

1:00:49

to be around one odds? I

1:00:51

think the greatest college basketball college

1:00:54

basketball players of all time. Ralph

1:00:56

Sampson. I

1:00:59

will tell you that that my my first year.

1:01:02

Of high school player on.

1:01:04

My father was in the military. I graduated

1:01:06

from high school. From. A Department

1:01:09

of Defense High School in Heidelberg,

1:01:11

Germany. Said a nice

1:01:13

letter back to school. I'm so old

1:01:15

that my recruiting tape was actually a

1:01:17

tape. It was a reel to reel

1:01:19

live with you as an editor. centre

1:01:21

back to several schools. At

1:01:24

the time a similar neighbors were

1:01:26

the assistant coaches. Got. A

1:01:29

nice letter back at our our

1:01:31

radio address say eight. He.

1:01:34

For you to but know Thanks But

1:01:36

we are the most elusive program and

1:01:39

we wants you to participate and. Here

1:01:42

young when you register will be this

1:01:44

information. Could you know you're in high

1:01:46

school in Heidelberg? Germany? That's.

1:01:48

Correct. And. You with their

1:01:51

good basketball, their. Media

1:01:54

with my recollection is it

1:01:56

there were at least twelve

1:01:59

military bases. The denied. Bail

1:02:04

at athletic program yet and

1:02:06

and we would play them

1:02:08

and then I also was

1:02:10

able to play. Outside.

1:02:14

Of our high school season for

1:02:16

the young, the University Sports Club.

1:02:19

Which the the Athletics

1:02:21

in Europe. Are very

1:02:23

very different. It's more like recreational

1:02:25

sports here. The United States are

1:02:27

not tied at all to. The.

1:02:31

Academic structure and so like

1:02:33

it like of. A

1:02:36

youth sports program that you might have

1:02:38

registered your kids for. They

1:02:40

will continue to be your sports

1:02:42

provider through high school age to

1:02:44

college. It. To. The

1:02:46

sports club sort of serve the

1:02:48

purpose of of scholastic sports here

1:02:50

god that are they do it

1:02:52

in in most of Europe is

1:02:54

unrelated to the. The.

1:02:56

Academic System. Was

1:02:59

able to play for for my high school.

1:03:02

Either blinds, the lines and now and

1:03:04

then. was able to play for the

1:03:07

University Sports Club. In

1:03:09

their mans be which was. A

1:03:13

page Twenty. Twenty

1:03:16

Or Twenty One again. This is Nineteen Seventy

1:03:18

Nine Rose a while ago. So

1:03:21

aren't so you send your you

1:03:23

tape to you've Yeah, they don't

1:03:25

have a scholarship for you buddy.

1:03:27

Get this. Non scholarship opportunities A.

1:03:31

Threat to I apologize like my friend's

1:03:34

dog unit. sorry hanging out with us

1:03:36

so we got the dog. oh it's

1:03:38

I am. So

1:03:40

yet so to get a nice letter back

1:03:42

from Coach Larranaga? Within. The system at

1:03:44

a time. On Cosell.

1:03:48

Is that is very nice ladder and

1:03:50

if they follow through and I register

1:03:52

I have a pack and materials that

1:03:54

gives me information. About where I'm

1:03:56

supposed to be in my are exposed. To

1:03:58

do. and so The

1:04:02

backup center at the time is 1980

1:04:04

was a guy named

1:04:07

Lou Latimore and

1:04:09

Lou was a big guy about 6'10 and

1:04:12

he comes by my dorm to get me. Co

1:04:15

said I had to get you. It was some ball

1:04:18

workout and at that

1:04:20

point in time Lou Latimore was the largest person I've

1:04:22

ever seen in my life. 6'10,

1:04:25

260 pounds. And

1:04:28

then we go into

1:04:30

the, there was an annex called the

1:04:33

cage which is next to the university hall,

1:04:39

another building that doesn't exist anymore

1:04:43

and we were going to work out there and walk

1:04:45

in and there's Ralph and

1:04:48

I'm 6'4 and

1:04:50

that dude is a foot taller than me.

1:04:52

I'm looking like his chin,

1:04:55

his neck, holy smokes. And

1:05:00

on that team Jeff

1:05:02

Lamp was still there, Lee Raker was

1:05:04

still there. The Northians were

1:05:06

just big and strong. They

1:05:08

threw people around and I

1:05:12

was one of them. Anyway,

1:05:14

it was definitely like

1:05:17

you're not in Kansas anymore, Kevin O. Alright,

1:05:21

we got sidetracked there but that was

1:05:23

interesting to me and maybe some of

1:05:25

you. That's a great era of college

1:05:28

basketball and UVA was

1:05:30

front and center to that

1:05:33

period of time and Chris was

1:05:35

part of the team. Alright,

1:05:38

let's talk about Monday night. Six

1:05:41

to eight, Shelley's back room, 13th

1:05:43

and F streets Northwest. It

1:05:46

is a great night, one of my favorite

1:05:48

nights of the year. Tommy does such a great

1:05:50

job and Chris is such a huge help

1:05:53

in putting on this event. Tickets

1:05:56

are available at dcgrays.com.

1:06:00

ticket to the door too if you

1:06:02

decide last minute to

1:06:04

come down. But why

1:06:06

don't I let Chris kind of take over

1:06:08

and talk a little bit

1:06:10

about the event, maybe a little bit

1:06:12

about DC Grey's and some of the

1:06:15

auction items that will be available on

1:06:17

Monday night. Well

1:06:20

Tommy, as you know, is as

1:06:22

your long time partner is beloved

1:06:25

in the local athletic

1:06:28

community and the relationships that he

1:06:30

has both

1:06:32

among writers and broadcasters

1:06:35

and athletes and executives

1:06:38

and it's amazing. It

1:06:40

is really through the force of his personality

1:06:43

and his connection that he brings in these

1:06:45

things. And there's all

1:06:47

sorts of signed memorabilia.

1:06:50

I believe I've seen a Juan

1:06:52

Soto autographed bat. In

1:06:56

prior years we've had a

1:06:58

great relationship with Dusty Baker and Dusty even

1:07:00

after he left the Nationals

1:07:04

sent off autographed materials I would expect

1:07:06

there'd be more Dusty Baker autographed memorabilia

1:07:09

this year. Dusty's

1:07:13

son Darren actually was a Grey

1:07:15

he played for us. Dusty's

1:07:19

last year as the manager

1:07:22

of the team Darren was with us. I'm

1:07:26

trying to remember there was a Joe Gibbs

1:07:29

autographed autobiography. Yep,

1:07:32

a Riggins picture you

1:07:34

know of the run. There's going

1:07:37

to be a lot there for

1:07:40

people to bid

1:07:42

on and more than that it's just going to be

1:07:44

a great night. And

1:07:47

that's really the fun of it

1:07:49

is the ability to see you,

1:07:51

to see Doc, to see Tommy

1:07:53

interact with

1:07:57

those people. Now Kevin you'll remember and And

1:08:00

there are times when that interaction has a little

1:08:04

tension to it. You may remember a

1:08:06

few years ago when we had one

1:08:08

of the folks who bought a ticket,

1:08:11

Mr. Rizzo

1:08:14

was there and he bid on

1:08:17

an autographed mite trout Team USA

1:08:19

jersey, as I recall. And

1:08:22

Mr. Rizzo ended up being the

1:08:24

prevailing bidder. And someone

1:08:26

from the Peanut Gallery, someone who paid money

1:08:28

and was at the event appropriately, who

1:08:30

was nothing inappropriate about them being there. Shouted

1:08:35

out, well, I'm glad

1:08:37

you got the jersey because you didn't draft him. Or

1:08:41

something to that effect. And that wasn't me, was

1:08:43

it? No,

1:08:46

no, no. I'm playing an important part in

1:08:48

this story. You may remember this

1:08:50

because it was very, very

1:08:52

awkward. And Mike Rizzo

1:08:54

was a guest and he's not

1:08:56

going to come to the event if he's going to get heckled by some

1:08:59

guy. And

1:09:02

you were standing pretty close

1:09:04

to me in my capacity as the auctioneer. And

1:09:06

I turned to you and I said, damn it,

1:09:09

Cian, I told you no angry callers.

1:09:12

And everybody started laughing. And

1:09:15

you were a really good sport about it. And

1:09:18

you sort of put up with my nonsense as you do each

1:09:21

time you come to one of these. But

1:09:24

then when that person who had made

1:09:27

that comment to Rizzo, each time he

1:09:29

bid on something for subsequent auction items,

1:09:31

when I called on him and said,

1:09:33

$400 from, I didn't say any of

1:09:36

the guy in the blue shirt or I said, angry call

1:09:38

it. And the guy really kind of

1:09:40

dug it and he was angry caller for the rest of

1:09:42

the night. And

1:09:45

then it was actually kind of nice because

1:09:47

at the end of the evening, Mike Rizzo came

1:09:49

up to me and said, I appreciate how

1:09:51

you handled it. And

1:09:54

again, you want it's so

1:09:56

cool that through Tommy's connections

1:09:59

and the friendships he's in the

1:10:01

respect that he has the community that

1:10:03

he can get these people to come. Right.

1:10:05

But we want them when they come to be, you

1:10:08

know, not to feel threatened and not to feel like

1:10:10

this is sort of open season on it. That's

1:10:14

sort of, sort of crossed the line about

1:10:17

not drafting Mike Trout. Well, the

1:10:19

good thing about Rizzo, Mike is

1:10:21

first of all, he is fierce

1:10:24

and competitive, but he's also

1:10:26

got a great sense of humor. And

1:10:28

so he's always awesome on those nights.

1:10:30

I hope he shows up Monday night,

1:10:33

cause it's always good to catch up

1:10:35

with him. And, you know, actually now

1:10:37

that you remember, uh, you remembered

1:10:39

one of those, um, events

1:10:42

and stories from it, the

1:10:45

2019 event, um,

1:10:48

Davey Martinez showed up to

1:10:51

the event and the, the Nats,

1:10:53

if you recall that season, really

1:10:55

were struggling right around the time

1:10:58

that, uh, that he showed up

1:11:00

and I just remember,

1:11:02

you know, somebody saying something like, Davey,

1:11:04

this was really brave of you to

1:11:06

show up with the team having lost

1:11:08

like four in a row or five

1:11:10

in a row or whatever it was.

1:11:13

He had a great sense of humor that night.

1:11:15

And of course that was the year they turned

1:11:17

it around. They started, I think it was 19 and 31, something

1:11:19

like that. And then they

1:11:22

always referenced the 19 and 30. They're

1:11:24

always 19 and 30. Exactly.

1:11:26

But at the time, at the time of the

1:11:28

event, when he came, they were 17 and 28.

1:11:33

It's not, it's not, that's not what turned it around.

1:11:35

It was coming to the DC grades event that turned

1:11:37

the season around. No doubt. No

1:11:39

doubt. But an interesting story about that

1:11:41

night Kevin is that, um, that

1:11:44

Davey was there. He had, uh, Mike

1:11:46

Rillo was there, but, uh, Davey had

1:11:49

two of his nephews with him. And,

1:11:52

and as you know, at the events, I always

1:11:54

have a bunch of old

1:11:56

jerseys and tickets

1:11:58

and stuff that we give away. And

1:12:01

and I had given jerseys to

1:12:04

his two nephews Who

1:12:06

yeah, they're teenage kids who love jerseys and

1:12:09

they couldn't you know? I'm sure they have

1:12:11

their uncle has given them official MLB

1:12:13

jerseys, but you know, these

1:12:16

were cool and they liked them So

1:12:18

David comes up to me and says Then

1:12:21

that a jersey and thinking what the heck why on earth?

1:12:24

with the manager of the Nationals won a

1:12:26

DC Gray's jersey and he says

1:12:28

I Figure

1:12:31

I could just take it back To

1:12:34

the clubhouse and I just get the guys to sign of

1:12:36

course, you know, they're 1720 So

1:12:42

they win and Then

1:12:44

the next season is the pandemic shortened season

1:12:46

everybody sort of forgets about but

1:12:49

then Davey tell Stromi Hey,

1:12:51

you know, I got that jersey. All the guys

1:12:53

find it and so

1:12:55

That became

1:12:57

an auction item I believe it was last year

1:12:59

a gentleman bought that right? I think it was

1:13:02

for a significant for a significant amount. She was

1:13:04

a great fundraiser for So

1:13:07

a little bit about the gray is just to sort of

1:13:09

fill in the blanks for some of your listeners. Yeah, please

1:13:13

We we don't charge admission to

1:13:16

our games and when

1:13:18

we run our youth programs For

1:13:21

which are targeted for use in the

1:13:23

underserved areas of the community Where

1:13:26

we sort of give them the opportunities you

1:13:28

typically associate with the suburbs paid coaches and

1:13:30

the ability to go to tournaments and things

1:13:32

like that we fund all that and

1:13:35

we funded all through donation and

1:13:37

so the The

1:13:40

money that we raised through Tommy's event is

1:13:42

crucial not just to putting the college

1:13:44

team on the field But but

1:13:47

more importantly to being able

1:13:50

to help fund those programs for For

1:13:53

young athletes in Ward 7 and Ward

1:13:55

8 and in other areas where they

1:13:57

may not get the same opportunities one

1:14:00

of the things it's, and

1:14:02

look, my son was a Division I baseball player. But

1:14:06

we had the means to do the things that, you

1:14:09

know, send the kids to showcases

1:14:12

and having a pitching

1:14:14

instructor and playing on

1:14:17

a travel team and the type of

1:14:19

things that kids do to prepare

1:14:21

themselves to play collegiately. And

1:14:25

kids from underserved communities don't get those

1:14:27

chances. And what

1:14:29

we hope to do through the Grays is

1:14:32

to try and create a little bit more infrastructure

1:14:35

that doesn't cost so much for them so that

1:14:37

they can see what that's like and see if they

1:14:39

can generate, you know, a love for

1:14:41

baseball. Right. So that

1:14:43

they can go on

1:14:46

and get a chance. We actually had, two years

1:14:48

ago, we had

1:14:50

a young man who had come up through our

1:14:52

youth program and then had

1:14:54

gone on to play collegiately and came back

1:14:57

and played for the collegiate grid. So

1:14:59

being able to see that circle, that

1:15:02

cycle get completed. You know, a young man

1:15:04

who plays for our youth program, earns

1:15:07

a spot on the college roster, and then comes

1:15:09

back and plays for our collegiate team, was

1:15:11

just so rewarding. It's

1:15:15

awesome. dcgrays.com

1:15:19

to find out even more

1:15:21

about this incredible organization.

1:15:24

And Monday night, six

1:15:27

to eight p.m. Shelley's Back Room,

1:15:29

13th and F Streets Northwest. The

1:15:32

donation is $100. It includes

1:15:35

three cigars, appetizers, and

1:15:37

an auction of sports memorabilia, game

1:15:40

tickets, and some of the

1:15:42

merchandise and things we've been talking about. And

1:15:44

the bar will be open. It is a

1:15:46

cash bar, but it will be open. And

1:15:49

we will be there pretty

1:15:51

late if memory

1:15:54

serves well. It's

1:15:56

a fun night. You can get tickets

1:15:58

by going to dcgrays.com. You can purchase

1:16:00

tickets at the door too if you just want

1:16:02

to show up. Chris, thanks.

1:16:05

Appreciate it. Kevin, Kevin,

1:16:07

thank you for doing this, but also

1:16:09

thank you just overall for your generosity

1:16:11

towards our program. You've been a huge

1:16:14

supporter individually and through the pod. And

1:16:18

I can't thank you enough for the support that

1:16:20

you've given us. It means a great deal to

1:16:22

both the organization and to me personally. If

1:16:26

Tommy weren't a part of it, I think

1:16:28

I'd even be more generous. Thanks,

1:16:31

Chris. Appreciate it. A

1:16:33

part of your contribution is putting up with

1:16:35

him. See you on Monday night. Take

1:16:38

care. Thank you. All

1:16:40

right. That is it for

1:16:42

the day. Tomorrow, Chris Cooley

1:16:45

will be on the show. He's got a

1:16:47

film breakdown of Ben

1:16:49

Sennett, The Tight End, from Kansas

1:16:51

State.