Half-Baked Ideas and a Mega-Mailbag With Kevin Wildes and Joe House
2026-08-10 02:37:00 • 2:26:16
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Wanted to mention we have two rewatchables episodes coming this week on Monday.
We're doing the Italian job from 2003 and then on Thursday, the 48th anniversary of about
last night.
One of the most secretly important days these movies ever made with Roblo and to be more.
So stay on your toes for that.
Two episodes, I'm going to have one more episode this week.
I'm not sure what the date but probably Wednesday.
Stay tuned for that.
We have an action packed one this one.
Kevin Wildes is here.
We're going to talk about Little Red Sucks at the top.
I really have picked ideas because he's had a whole batch percolating for a while.
I had a whole bunch of mail back questions that I had to go through with Joe House on NBA
and NFL and WNBA, all kinds of things.
And then last but not least, we taped the rewatchables last week and Amanda Dobbins and Rob
Mahoney and I we finished an Amanda wanted to go on a rant about being a Philadelphia sports
wife.
So I'm putting that at the end.
Amanda Dobbins is Philadelphia sports wife rant.
So there you go.
There's just a lot to offer everybody in this podcast.
We're going to take a break, Pearl Jam and then my friend Kevin Wildes.
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Alright, we are recording on a Sunday afternoon right after a tough red socks loss.
So right after a tough time for Kevin Wilde, so just went to see the new Spider-Man movie
with his son and felt like he was too old.
What happened?
You know what?
I just like a straightforward villain.
I just like, I'm the villain.
I've got powers and I'm going to try to thwart the city or whatever you have to try to stop
me.
When we're starting to like, I'm in your mind and I'm projecting here to other movies
that I've seen with my son.
I'm always like bouncing around in other dimensions.
I'm like, what dimension are we in now?
I'm just, I feel like I'm getting too old for cinema.
I just need straight down the middle.
You know what I watch with my wife the other day?
Urban cowboy.
Oh, hi, I'm John Travolta.
I'm in love with you.
We broke up.
Now we're back together.
Fastball right down the middle.
That's what I mean.
And I'm like, we were never in another dimension.
That's why I've been enjoying homeland.
Home man was just guy came back from Afghanistan.
They might have turned them.
They might not have.
Yep.
And we just got to figure it out.
I'm with you on the multiverse.
I don't get it at all.
I don't understand it.
I don't like these movies.
People get mad at me that I like these movies.
But like, even when you go back to the first Iron Man with Downey, pretty straightforward.
Yeah.
Right?
We're in all these other characters.
We're going backward and forward.
Anyway, good luck.
I'm glad.
I'm glad people are going to the movies.
Ultimately, it's great.
I'm glad your son's going.
I'm glad the Red Sox have revived the summer.
They lost a series to the A's who are terrible.
But not, but I, we weren't going to go undefeated.
No.
And I feel like both of these games were, you were in the ninth and you're like, oh,
we got a shot here.
Didn't work out.
But I feel like it's, it's, they're weaning us off the high of, I think they're what
I wrote it down 27 and five in their last 32.
Just was better than that.
It was 31 and five in their last 36.
They were, they were 27 and a 30 at one point, which like nine teams have done.
My wife, I've been getting along great with my wife.
It's been really strong summer for us.
So usually that happens after basketball ends and she kind of likes when baseball's on.
I've been watching, but basically the Red Sox from the moment the NBA draft ended all
the way through.
Yeah.
We can kind of push it a little bit because it was two day games and it was like, what
are we doing?
It's nice out.
And I'm like, well, I got to watch the A's.
Red Sox are coming on and it's like, oh, really?
Aren't they playing the A's?
Aren't the A's bad?
I was like, I know, but we're winning streak.
And then today they had like three losses in this series.
I feel like I can get it back.
It's like, it's like a bad at bat.
I feel like I can get it back with the next bat.
But right now I just walked back to the dugout and it was it was bad.
How's your summer bed, by the way?
This is the worst month ever for sports discourse.
You know what?
It's this month is traditionally not great.
The World Cup really saved us because we had a month plus of just excellent sports.
So not only was the World Cup great in a vacuum, it also pushed all of the sort of just,
what do you think conversations to August?
So I'm still fresh on what do you think?
Like, hey, the bills, what do you think?
If you do it a few times, you're okay.
If you do it 10 times, you start to drag.
But I still got a lot of, we're doing just a lot of what do you think right now?
Hey, panthers, what do you think?
Yeah, we knew seven minutes on the panthers.
World Cup was a godsend.
LeBron decided to take an extra three weeks.
It was great.
Perfect.
Thanks to Rich Paul.
Thanks to everybody.
Savvy move.
About done that.
The Jalen Brown trade was good content.
I'm with you.
Last week was the first football thing I really did on my podcast, which I had to do
the QBs, which usually I do like a week earlier.
But now getting into it, I had thoughts on the bills, the new stadium and the uniforms.
That was fun this weekend.
Somehow they have obstructed views in the new stadium, which I didn't even know that.
Possibly.
Yeah, it's a big thing this weekend.
They built a stadium with obstructed views.
There's some obstructed views, not everybody's covered.
And then they brought out these uniforms that looked like they were out of the, the XFL
in the 80s or 90s, whatever the XFL was.
I remember.
I had, I've got a stadium based half baked idea to about obstructed views.
Oh, I can't wait.
We're going to do a whole bunch of, I think has there been a polarizing sports content
take football guy yet?
I feel like Joe Burrow is kind of on the undecc circle with some Joe Burrow conversations
ready to be had.
There's some good zags against him where he has made the playoffs in four years.
So in three healthy seasons, you wrote that what you were on, oh, you were on with
Mina.
Yeah.
And you were talking about Drake and I watched it.
And then I got fired up on your behalf.
Thanks.
Joe Burrow, you were like, Drake's one 17 games.
Oh, excuse me.
Drake won 17 games last year.
Joe Burrow was one 19 games in last three years.
Yeah.
At some point, winning football has to count for something.
I know like, Jalen Hertz can win the Super Bowl.
If you're like, yeah, I don't know if he can win the Super Bowl.
Okay.
Well, he won it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sam, I know Sam Darnell's putting up good numbers and won the Super Bowl.
Is he as good as Joe Burrow?
Like, I know I probably won't go there, but Joe Burrow has to win games.
And I liked Joe Burrow and he's fun to root for.
But you can't win.
You can't go five in three every year and be like, if it wasn't for my defense, like,
not really dude.
And you can't play in your offensive line because Drake May had no offensive line last year.
It's been interesting.
You're a pass fan, we should mention.
It's been interesting watching people pick apart the last past season and some of it's
just fine.
And some of it's not.
But like, when they talk about the easy schedule, which it was easy, but there was a couple
of teams they played kind of in the wrong part of the season to play those teams.
You know, like they played Miami pretty early.
They played Tampa before Tampa kind of had their swim and they started the Tampa Swoon.
We started the Tampa Swoon.
We played him off the by.
We played Lamar when he was like, he'd memory played half the game.
We played the Browns.
We were a great defense.
The Browns were gave a lot of quarterbacks, a lot of trouble.
We had no problem.
There's one other big game that we had that I was going to play.
They played Atlanta right before Atlanta that is swooned to or they played.
We could have lost that when Atlanta was pretty good.
So yeah, I just can't defend the easy schedule anymore.
I'm like, you know what?
Then you should be driving a brand new Mercedes then.
If you saw how the Patriots were going to win 14 games, you should have bet it.
Right.
So over on the right there for you, it was seven and a half or eight and a half depending
on when you had it during the season.
And they overachieved by like six months.
AFC is in a weird spot.
I don't think the bells are very good.
Baltimore's got a new coach.
Chargers who knows.
Denver who knows.
KC's got my homes coming back off the torn ACL on a bunch of people.
It's been fun to try to figure out.
NFC have more steady opinions.
But not being said.
Yeah.
Opening night.
Most win.
It's a must win.
We quad must win.
It is a must win.
I don't have must wins in the NFL.
It's on November to summer.
Oh, I have Merle.
Okay.
That is that is a month.
If we get shalacked, yeah, it's for my own ego.
I mean, not for like how the logistics of the season and how it plays out, but it's
going to it's a must win for me.
Yeah.
I can't walk back into the studio after back to back embarrassing losses.
It's a must win game.
They definitely have more talent than they did last year.
They're in the year two of the coaching staff that they have.
Continuity matters.
And if you're going to ding them, it's that the schedule is harder and the variable thing.
I have no idea if there's any fallout from the soap opera of the last six months.
I would guess no.
No, no.
You don't think the players care, but who knows.
But listen, it's half baked ideas time.
We haven't done this in a while.
I got some great ones from readers too, but this is this is your show.
I don't know if you want to give us like a cleanup hitter.
Come on out of that.
Do you want to want to get like a lead off hitter?
Do you want to do a woman?
I'm going to go an update to the credit card cafe that I need to get your some clarification
on.
What's here?
I dropped Russell off at camp in New Hampshire, driving back.
I stay overnight in the Berkshires.
It's like, okay, I'm buying myself.
I go across the street to the bar, get a hamburger.
The table behind me, kind of rowdy group of guys, all of a sudden I hear they're doing
credit card roulette.
I'm there.
I'm like, kind of like feeling good and like in the woods.
It's like kind of nice.
I like, I'm feeling lucky.
Do you think it would have been a violation for me to be like, hey, fellas, I want in.
What do you get out of it?
I want my meal paid for.
Like complete strangers.
What's double this up?
Yeah, just like, there was like, it was, I think it was a table of six guys.
Or do you think like, no, this is our bonding moment.
We don't really aren't accepting just strangers at the bar.
Honestly, yeah, the more the merrier.
This sounds like the beginning of an action movie that I would have seen 10 times.
Where a good nature guy in his own for the night in the mountains thought he'd make some
friends play a little credit card, could roulette and now people are getting shot.
People are on the run.
He's wrongly accused.
Jason.
I think Jason stayed up playing you or Vigo Munchen.
I didn't do it.
I felt like I missed out on a bonding opportunity with these guys.
Well, we have another update speaking of stuff from previous half-baked ideas, a few
of them.
A reader named Bill from Massachusetts said he ate at the new Red Robin where they had
the burger towers.
We had talked about food towers and Red Robin apparently is doing different towers for
like onion rings, sliders.
So the tower is keeping eye on this.
How tall was the tower?
It seemed like it was five burgers and it just looked better than bringing him out on
a platter, I think.
I mean, I'm just much more excited.
I'm much more excited to see, but it was the tower.
It wasn't like a big pull through the burgers.
They were all like on.
I've got to see it.
Here's I've got to see.
Yeah.
All right.
First half-baked idea.
Are you ready?
You know, male loneliness is an epidemic.
It really is.
So we can get just guys in general.
You just get stuck on your phone.
You're just, you know, you doom scrolling, they call it.
So I switched this up.
It's called zoom scrolling.
Okay.
It's part of a application within Zoom.
You know when you're in your car, you've been, you haven't put your seatbelt on and then
your car knows after a certain amount of time, it will start beeping at you.
Hey, you're putting, this is unhealthy for you.
You need to buckle your seatbelt.
Well, as you know, from driving with me, I never buckle it and I just wait the minute
until it stops doing the noise.
Well, you don't buckle your seatbelt ever.
Nah, not really.
That's a terrible.
I know.
I'm not proud of it.
I'm not proud of it.
I just don't like seatbelt.
Not it.
I know.
Listen, I know I'll get skewered.
I'm a bad example.
Sometimes I'll put them on.
If I'm going like 95 in the highway, I might throw it on there.
But I mean, that's a whole other podcast.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm going to offend most people think that that's a positive, healthy reminder.
Yep.
So here's Zoom scrolling.
If there's a certain part, if you're just mindlessly flipping through your scrolling through
your phone, at a certain point, your phone activates.
And one of your closest friends, or just someone in your contact, their Zoom will activate.
So they come to save you.
You just have to talk to them.
You just have to talk to them.
On and it's like running into them in the street.
So it's like the Instagram restrictions where if you're on for 15 minutes, Instagram
will shut down.
Yeah.
You're not shutting down.
This is positive.
It's sending you a friend.
Yeah, we're trying to introduce your friends because your your buddies are out there scrolling
too.
You're not shutting down your scrolling.
Oh my goodness.
But I want to buy that Mustang.
And you keep on going through.
Then I'll send, oh, hey, oh man, it's my buddy Jesse.
I haven't talked to him in a while.
He's there's like, oh, hey, what's going on?
You talk to each other for 30 seconds and you keep going.
So you're getting rid of sort of doom scrolling and also fighting the epidemic that is male
loneliness.
That's pretty good.
It makes it more social.
There's surprise at the end.
Exactly.
Would your friends be able to turn their settings off so they wouldn't be activated to
come to you?
No, no, it's government, it's government mandated.
It's something that the FCC is involved to fight male loneliness because it's an epidemic.
See, I was wondering, I thought, I like this idea.
I was wondering because they have these things where it's just you've been online too long.
You've reached your limit.
Get off.
Like brick your phone or whatever.
Yeah.
But they also AI is getting better and better.
And I wonder if AI can get to the point where somebody could just talk to you like almost
like your social media therapist, but it would be AI and they could be like, Bill, you've
been looking at Bruins hockey fights from 1970s for 45 minutes now.
And you've already watched this terror rally fight three times over the last six months.
I just wanted to rethink this.
These games happened almost 50 years ago.
Maybe move on.
There's nothing more to watch.
Yeah, there's a lot of you've seen all the Bruins fights.
You've seen every LC chord fight that could have ever happened.
You've watched out the Stan Jonathan fights.
You've seen John went sink in different bras.
You don't need to go here anymore.
It's good.
You want to hear my, where is my stupid, I have a, I have an AI one that we'll, we'll
bake into it.
I don't have a name for it.
Okay.
Let's hear it.
So we were playing, we turned our chat GPT into a game show host.
I didn't know he could do is we're like, Hey, go into game show host mode.
And we're just like, we're like name every hockey team.
So you get the list of the hockey teams.
We all go around the car.
We're like the Bruins, the Rangers, the Red Wings, then eventually you get stuck and
they're like, Oh, you have four more.
We're trying to get it.
And the first person doesn't get it.
You're out.
We're going to talk to it and it will, it will be like a little game show host.
So we're going around and Billy just gives up.
He's, he's stuck.
So he just says the carnivores and chat GPT of course says correct.
Next three to go.
We're like, no, there's no team called the carnivores and chat GPT says, Oh, you're right.
My mistake.
I thought there was or you're, you know, it's, you're right.
And it's got this weird.
I've got the settings on and a weird manner.
So here's the issue.
VAR automated balls and strikes.
And of course the tennis lines, these things are super accurate.
But you still want to boo them.
We've lost the John McEnroe vibe in tennis.
Who's he going to yell at?
The ball was out.
The robot said it.
Right.
Do, you know, you're out.
You can't really argue.
It was a ball.
I'm ready.
So to do have some element of just total mistakes within the chat GPT.
Yes.
Within the like, Oh, balls of strike.
Oh, he checked it.
You caught us out.
It's out.
It's definitely a ball, but it's still a strike.
Like what?
And then you can just get light up.
Oh, this is this tennis ball.
It's on the line.
And then it pops up out.
Like what's going on?
Everybody can boo.
They can be more emotion to it.
So it's not so stale.
I like it.
Introducing into element of you like ABS, right?
Yeah.
Yes.
But I also like, I think it's been great.
The headwind today where the guy missed it by three inches.
It would have been strike three and Durban.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That almost you know, we almost came back three inches.
Fucking get this guy's eyes checked.
You get really mad when the up makes makes a mistake.
But I if I don't like taking away like has it reduced arguing?
It's a good point.
It has more emotion.
Like I haven't seen a manager come out and kick dirt on the home on home plate all
of the year.
Well, that's why we have the WNBA now.
Everybody's just arguing about everything.
Every game.
Just to produce costs and screen.
There's more.
And it's a bravo show now.
It's great.
Goodness.
All right.
You have one.
Yeah.
I have an unbelievable one from a reader.
I have a couple good reader ones, but I really have a great one from my wife.
And I don't know when you want me to unleash it.
So just before you do that, I want to do that.
Like one of the best ones ever from my wife somehow.
This is what I want to be honest with you.
We've been doing this pod for like 15 years.
Yeah.
I've never texted you, hey, I've got a great half baked idea.
And you've never texted me.
I've got a great half baked idea.
That's true.
This is the first time.
Because the very nature of the idea, if it is any good, then it's just an idea.
It has to be fundamentally bad.
So I feel like you violated the terms of the age rule of this.
That's fair.
Right.
Okay.
That's fair.
So this, I hope that it's perfectly mediocre, which is the real sweetest.
It's a spot of half baked ideas.
But I do want to hear it.
You've been doing it for weeks.
I'll give it to you now.
And I really do think it's a perfect half baked idea because I don't think it can happen.
But I loved it.
So we went to Hawaii.
And we were there for a week.
And my wife loves dogs, right?
We've always had two or three dogs, basically, since 2009.
So like about day three, she said, you know what would be great?
I'm like, what?
If you're away in a place like Hawaii and you could just adopt a dog for like two days.
Look at hotel dog.
Basically, they have like, there's a service and they know people are coming in.
And it's just like, I'd like a golden retriever for two days to join me on my vacation.
And they'll bring, oh, we'll bring, we'll give you Millie.
And then Millie comes in and she's a six year old golden.
And it's a female.
We walk her and she sleeps in the room with us.
And then she gets her dog fix.
We take her into the ocean.
Yeah, she's loving it.
And we're paying them.
And then we return Millie near the end of the trip, like we would return the car.
Like, thanks for Millie.
Millie was great.
We would, we would absolutely run this back with her next time we're here.
And Millie and Millie's having a blast too.
She said everybody wins.
We're the person who has the dogs that are getting paid.
Everybody wins.
Maybe some rescue dogs.
Maybe you end up taking the dog home.
Maybe it's a cup of coffee to see if maybe we take the dog back.
Maybe it's like, you know, we love Millie.
What, how much would it take?
Would we just want to sign her up for the Simmons family for the rest of mankind?
I mean, it's too good of an idea.
Is it a half-page idea?
So I've been at a hotel where they have a hotel dog.
It's just sleeping in the lobby.
And it's very much like, hey, can we play with this dog?
Like, yeah, but it kind of hangs down on the lobby.
Can I take it for a walk?
This is like, like how you go, I don't know if you've ever used to, uh,
Turo, be going Turo and it's like, oh, I want it.
It's basically like your own, it's like a rental car, but it's like, you pick, pick,
like it's like a slightly higher level of cars.
You can go, I really want like Ford Explorer.
Gotcha.
And it would be the same thing here.
I'd be like, oh, I'm on the dog site.
I really always have just wanted a great day.
Just two days with a great day.
Oh, let's go to the site and be like, oh, when we're in, you know, when we're in Hawaii,
we'll get a great day.
It's exactly like, I don't know if it's right for us, but I really want a super
gnar.
Right.
Or we'll try it right.
The same thing.
Maybe we'll get a great day and for two, same for gnar for two and finish with the,
with the six year old golden.
I don't know.
Yeah.
Just keep bringing them back.
There's something here though.
I think that's great.
You know where they get you though, the tennis ball rental.
True.
The tennis ball.
It's like $29.
How much is the tennis ball?
How much is the ball?
What?
She only only like specific tennis balls.
There's 60.
I can't.
How much is the chocolate?
Yeah.
No, Millie.
You get Millie $19 a day, but the chocolate is $80.
What?
It's a great one.
All right.
You go.
You're going to love this one.
I can't.
You're going to love this one.
So I like a fan duel as we all do.
Not a huge fan of losing money.
Also, not a huge fan of winning money.
So if I win 20 bucks, I'll be like, oh, cool.
But if I lose 20 bucks, I'll be pretty furious.
We should mention you're not really a gambler.
No.
Kevin Watt's that like really fun to go to Vegas with.
Just people.
No, definitely not.
Definitely not.
Not a great time.
But I want to sort of exercise my predictive.
Powers.
I want to be part of the conversation, et cetera, et cetera.
And growing up, my parents subscribe to Yankee magazine, like a New England magazine.
Do you remember this magazine?
That was the first thing that ever published me.
Yankee magazine.
Really?
I wrote this piece and the professor really liked it.
And I ended up got any Yankee magazine.
So I think now it's a full full size magazine, but it used to be a mini magazine.
Like the farmers all the next.
And in the back was this throwback where I did some research on it.
They did this in the late 1800s called Yankee Swap.
And this is where Yankee Swap came from.
We were saying, hey, I'd like a John Deere lawn mower.
And I've got a canoe.
Anybody interested in you would call you if you want this lawn mower.
I'm looking for lawn mower.
You're interested in a canoe.
So you can trade stuff.
Yeah.
But you're not buying stuff.
You just trading stuff that you got.
So it's a little bit sort of like polymarket.
I want to be able to bet.
But I just want to bet some of the stuff that I have versus some of the stuff that someone
else has.
So you bet like 1984 Sports Illustrated.
You'd be like, I've got 10 of them.
But I'm looking for a blender.
Anybody want to put something up against me on that the bills lose the first game against
the Texans?
I'm just like, yeah, I'm from Texas.
I've got a big smoker.
I'm like, oh, man, if that smoker's worth a lot, I've got a, you know, I've got to
look cross net that my son's on.
You're like, great deal.
Yeah.
If we punch it in on this eBay-type app thing.
And then that's the bet.
And next thing you know, if I win, I've all of a sudden this guy sends me this big smoker.
Yeah, that's got to be baked in somehow.
So eBay would have to like use some sort of system to judge a general value for everything
that people put on.
Well, no, there's an emotional value too.
Right.
Yeah, I just want to see I'm taking Texans over bills.
I can see it.
I see who's on the other side of it and everything that they're offering.
And then hey, are you guys interested in this lacrosse net that I'm getting rid of?
Until someone says yes.
So I could say I have the envelope that the Celtics got the number five pick and the
O7 lottery.
That's cool.
I'm willing to bet this, but I need, I need some big stakes from the other side.
Let's go.
What do you got?
And then somebody's like, I have a Paul Newman jersey from Slap Shot.
Like let's fucking go right now.
There you go.
That's a little more than.
Head.
Yes.
That's like high stakes.
I'm doing more Yankee swap style.
We're like, you're like trying to clean your garage out.
Right.
We got a second leave for us to be 25 pound weights.
Anybody interested in them?
They're covered with rust.
Like I'm looking for a weed whack.
Or after you got married, like somebody gave you an ice cream Sunday maker.
You just never open still in the box.
I've got a popcorn maker that shoots the popcorn all over the counter.
I'll be honest with you just what do you want?
Just any sort of Patriots coaster.
That's pretty good.
Basically eBay and Fandall merging.
Yes.
And becoming like a property swap cross with Ben.
I think that's pretty good.
That's like a three force of a baked idea.
That was a good idea.
Yeah.
Yankee magazine Fandall.
That's crost off.
You have another one.
I've got this one.
I have some great reader ones.
Okay.
Including Matt from Edmonton.
Said he's a longtime listener and enjoy of Hackbait.
That is.
Oh, thanks, Matt.
Thanks to create a historical workplace comedy TV show that focuses on the janitorial
staff at the Manhattan Project.
And it's called Mop and Heimer.
No puns.
No puns.
That is okay.
No, that felt like a pun that was.
That was.
Yeah.
Okay.
Tommy Lee and Ellie.
We're just dismissed.
This might be better than a half picked.
Okay.
He's talking about Express Check Outer Hotel.
You just check out your card settles everything.
You don't think about it.
He said the worst part of any dinner out is in the wait for the table.
It's the exit tax that awkward 10 to 15 minutes in a meal.
You're flakin' down the waiter waiting.
Totally agree.
Meals over.
Great dinner vibes fade.
You just want to get out.
Half picked idea.
You go to the restaurant.
You check in.
The bill auto closes on checkout.
Receipt hits your email.
You tip on the phone for the parking lot.
Do pre-tip.
Whatever.
Hotels I'm doing this forever.
Why don't restaurants do it?
That's actually better than a half picked idea.
That's a, well, I went out to dinner.
We had a show dinner.
Yeah.
And I'm like, I'm ready to go.
I was ready to go.
I was done with the dessert.
I'm gonna go.
I'm, I'm, you've been out of the chair for two hours.
I'm just antsy.
I'm not watching Spider-Man here, fellas.
I'm ready.
I'm ready to leave.
The conversation has now started to plateau.
Nick writes, arguing with somebody about my homes.
It's like it's time to go.
I'm ready to move.
I love that idea.
Yeah.
It's pretty good.
I love that idea.
Somebody should try that.
Okay, you go.
You're gonna love this idea.
Kids at camp.
No phones.
No digital appliances.
Writing letters.
We're writing letters to them.
They're writing letters back to us.
It's really nice.
Kids letters are usually disappointing.
Well, I'll be honest with you.
They don't put a lot into it.
I don't know if they're, I don't know what they're saying.
They're not a lot of effort.
But they're, they're, they're trying, you know, it's not bad, but it's not necessarily
what you would expect.
Especially the boys, the boys are just, you know, my, boys are a way of camp.
Mom's like having a stroke every day about it.
And then the, oh, it's a letter came in from Ben.
Hey, mom, hope you're good.
Love that.
There was a snake in the cabin.
That was the highlight.
Okay, someone did, someone mentioned this concept to me on social media, but I couldn't
find that they're the Instagram message.
So I apologize to this person, but I want to give them credit.
Okay.
Because you're about to be an empty nester.
Yeah.
And again, even though I don't like puns, this was just a coincidence.
And when Ben got into college, should you do the whole click the, click the video when
it pops up, you're accepted everything's now on the computer, right?
No, it was an email.
He didn't have that in email.
Yeah.
It's even laimer.
Yeah.
Okay.
This goes the other way.
Okay.
You go out to the mailbox.
Oh my God.
It is a five foot by five foot box and it's making noise.
And oh my gosh.
I think this is what I think it is.
You bring it inside.
You open it up.
Holy cow.
It is a huge bird cage.
It's filled with pigeons, homing pigeons, Ben got into college and this is how you're sending
them letters.
The pigeons are from the college.
This is where they were raised.
Oh my goodness.
So now you have to raise these pigeons for a little while until he goes off to school.
Yeah.
And then whenever you're ready, whenever he's settled, like, all right, money, let's go.
You grab a pigeon that you've been taking care of.
You put there.
Get it nice.
Yeah.
Attach this letter to its leg and then it flies off because kids love records.
Although they are very digital savvy, the analog is starting to have a real comeback.
And there's nothing more analog.
It is true.
than a homing pigeon.
Now, they can only go one way.
That's the issue.
I learned about this.
How far can they go?
Like, oh my God.
They go to South America.
Oh yeah.
Okay.
They navigate via magnetism.
They're unbelievable.
Honing pigeons.
Homing pigeons are bad.
Homing pigeons.
Homing pigeons.
Let us say honing.
Homing.
Well, they hone in on, they hone in on where they're from.
And this is a little bit of like empty.
It's called empty nesters.
Yeah.
That you're an empty nester, but you have these pigeons.
And then when you're out of pigeons, you've sent your seven letters.
That's a sign.
Oh, we've got to go see Ben.
Boom.
You fly back out there.
And when you're there, you go to the bookstore.
Oh, I'll take a dozen pigeons.
What happens to the pigeon after it delivers the message?
It's just because it's ready to go rest of its life.
What?
No, you have to go back to the bookstore now.
You order 12 pigeons.
Yeah.
And then you take them back to LA.
And then you're ready to.
Can I fit in the overhead compartment or no?
No, you have to, they travel.
They travel separately.
Next to the plan.
With the dogs.
What?
The way they're empty nesters.
Kevin and Minnesota says, no one wants to take the keys from their aging unsafe parents.
Very cool.
Now you don't have to.
They take the car in front of an oil change.
You've pre-rangered the mechanic to make the car self-driving.
They outfit it with autonomous driving tech response to their actions, but not really.
Now your parent thinks you're driving, but they're like a child at an arcade machine with
no corners of it.
The world's safer.
Your dad drives in the 90s and he wants to call Graymo.
He's pretty good.
Graymo.
Just give him an arcade.
Just press.
She wins.
For two hours, she completely changed to the car.
We got to take a break.
We'll come back with more.
This episode is brought to you by Mazda.
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Happiest ideas is back.
By the way, Colin from Portland, Oregon, once thinks MLB should do metal bats Sundays.
Great take.
Just Sundays, it would change the strategy.
They put their worst pictures in there because everybody's sitting in further.
It would probably end when there's a like one day.
Just one day.
I don't know if I need every Sunday, but so like the deal to dreams day.
So Netflix, Netflix pays for metal, metal bats Sunday.
Yep.
And it's just the game everybody gets to use the metal bat.
Who says no?
That is a lot.
I'm watching.
I'm watching.
Okay.
And it's a car valve.
Oh, regular old game.
Oh, what are we watching?
Cardinals Rangers?
No, it's a metal bat game.
Holy cow.
Great take.
Great take.
What else you got?
There's a story about my buddy who ran a KB toy store.
Have I ever told you this story?
No, but I still love KB Toy Stars.
They had all the cards that they used to buy growing up.
They used to have the three packs.
Oh, the rack pack.
Rack packs?
Yeah.
All right.
So my buddy, Dan, used to manage a KB Toy Store.
And he came back to the dorms one day.
And he said, I got a great idea.
So what is it, Dan?
He said, I know the ins and outs of KB Toy Stars
better than anyone.
I said, OK.
He said, I know the margins.
I know it all.
OK.
This is good.
He says, there is a open storefront
across from my KB toys.
I don't know.
So here's my toy store, $1 less than KB toys.
Oh, almost like a mocha Joe type thing.
Right.
I said, Dan, that is going to work.
I just loved it.
Just $1 less than KB toys.
So a combination of that and my fits furniture concept,
where it's furniture that fits in your house,
where just one idea business had to call my bank the other day.
Didn't go well.
Didn't even speak to a human.
What's your bank called?
Only humans.
Only humans is the idea.
Get this.
It's incredible.
Only humans.
No robots, boom.
Right away.
Bang.
What's up immediately?
First call.
Hey, what's going on?
What's up, Bill?
How are you?
Hey, how's it going?
You're going to love this even more.
But no one's calling it chat, right?
The first line of the first level of person that you talk to
is what I'm calling MTIBS level employee.
You call for something?
This person, the first thing they say to you, man, that is bullshit.
Immediately.
You're like, yes, thank you.
Thank you, Brian.
I can't believe we're doing that.
That is bullshit, man.
But yes, it is.
That's what I'm saying.
That's a double charge.
He's like, yeah, let me get you to somebody.
So the first level of defense, they're not, that guy's just on your side.
He's immediate.
Yes, they have no state.
I have no idea what's going on in the bank.
He's not suspicious.
He's not trying to pull something over on them.
They have no trade.
They've never invented the bank.
They have no banking background at all.
They are just immediately on your side.
And that's our loyalty component.
And then at the next level of only humans bank, then you'll get to someone that can actually
help you.
But you're already in a good mood because someone had heard you out.
It's a great idea.
I mean, it could run in concert with my idea of no babies on this plane, Airlines.
Everybody's 10 years and older.
That's great.
That's it.
It's just, there's just no babies on this one.
We have a baby specific plane.
We have a 10 year old car.
It's like, it's like an amusement park ride.
You have to be over this certain height to get on the roller coaster.
You have to be 10 years and up to get on the plane.
It's great to.
PAB, he sent his initials as an acronym.
He really liked your half baked idea about use sports training to be an intramural champion.
What you did in the last one.
But he thought you should take it a step further.
It's an entire youth sports league built around just the best possible experience for
the parents.
All parents who know that their kids not not getting college scholarship.
He said, tournament locations always coincide with great peaches.
Great peaches casinos are sporting events you can attend as a fan.
The hours are set up so you can go out drinking with the other parents at night.
No bad weather, bar attenders at all events and you get credit for spending the week and
at your kids volleyball tournament.
Take it from there.
It's half baked.
Can I add one thing that I think is very important?
Yeah.
The kids don't try out the parents do.
So, you know, the hockey team, it's tryouts tonight.
The kids are playing hockey but the coaches are upstairs at the bar watching people interact.
I don't think Jimmy is going to make it past the first tryouts.
He was tricking before we got here.
It's like you're very nervous and some people are like in full suits.
They like really want to make the team.
Yeah.
Something I think you're going to make it.
I think the reason this is a half baked idea is I think people would have ringers.
They'd have ringer kids in the league so their kids could dominate.
And then they could be the wins and losses.
The wins and losses are not the point.
For the parents, while games, you still have to get competitive on the sidelines.
It's just the expectations are lower or maybe you don't.
I don't know.
Pettit of it all.
So Russell played at one point.
Russell played on somehow four baseball teams in one calendar year.
And one of the teams, the games were literally across the street from our house and we would
walk there.
Yeah.
And it wasn't the highest quality baseball in the world.
It was your favorite league.
It's every minute.
And he loved it.
Yeah.
The kids want to just have fun.
Like I know that's a crazy concept.
He absolutely loved it.
I think that's a great idea.
I like the parents trying out part.
So if you get on a team with parents that you're not really rocking with, it's rough.
It's part of the bar like, hey, yeah.
No, yeah, no, Bill is a nice guy.
No, he's a guy.
It is like a baseball clubhouse.
You can have one bad apple parent, but if you have two, the wheels come off or the NBA
isn't even better example.
You don't have the one head case, but if you have the two head cases that can start becoming
buddies, not great wheels come off.
Speed round.
Yeah.
Speed round.
Tell me if you want to stop on any of these.
Number one, kids want medium size ice creams.
Adults want a small scoop.
Kitty size should be two scoops and the adult size should be one.
World cup, grabbing shirts and jerseys.
Wait, hold on.
So you're saying.
The kids scoop.
When I say a kid scoop now, it's actually twice as much ice cream and the adult single
scoop is less than the kid scoop.
Yeah, why would they do it that way?
Guy go up there, Billy says, out Lala watch two birthday party bonanzas and another scoop
of Oreo madness.
And I'm like, can I have a little kitty scoop of mid chip ladies?
A month to be around.
It's ridiculous.
Do you have any vegan flavors?
Kitty scoop, I'll have the adult scoop.
The adult scoop is small and manageable.
The kitty scoop is.
That's good.
One for one speed round.
World cup, grabbing shirts, jerseys, everyone should wear skin tight spandex like a scuba
diver.
You would never be held and you're faster.
Number three, a stadium specifically designed to put the crowd into an ornery mood.
Number four, 35 pound remote.
Number five, loser plane.
Again, loser plane is just when I don't have this one.
This is not probably that big.
That's why it's running anchor leg on the speed round.
When teams have to fly back and like, oh, it's going to be a rough, that's going to be
a rough plane ride.
I don't know if I want to be on the plane, but some sort of misery loves company, just
a miserable, a miserable plane.
Wait, let me go back to ornery stadiums.
Yes.
We want to hear the story behind the ornery stadium because I was thinking like in kidnap
movies, like in ransom when they play the person in the dark room, they're playing like
really terrible electronic rock music.
Yeah.
Like pulsating music so they can't hear the conversations.
Got you.
Yes.
Are you you're thinking that like to put the fans kind of uncomfortable with with the environment?
Or what what are you thinking?
The genesis of this is we went to the Texans Patriots game in the rain.
And I didn't realize when we were pulling up, people were in full ski outfits, which
I don't own a head to toe ski outfit.
I just had regular warm clothes.
Are there were the plastic thing that goes over your whole everything?
Yeah.
So I just had regular heavy clothing on.
We get to the stadium and the seats are soaking wet.
Like, all right, well, we're not sitting.
I would have liked to sit if it was a sunny day.
If I was at so five, if it was Patriots Texans, I would have sat down at least once.
Yeah.
Can't sit down.
It's my seat is ruined.
Yeah.
So I don't know if it's if it's wet seats, smaller seats.
Again, I don't know if the technology is there occasionally some spikes come up and
maybe spike you a little bit.
It sounds like they're trying all this with the new Buffalo Bill stadium.
Yeah, I'm abstracted seats, smaller scoreboard.
But I don't buy this is the central premise.
The more comfortable the seat, the less energy you have, that's sort of the point, right?
If you're in a nice, huge recliner, you're not going to be fired up.
Right.
And if you're sitting on the ground and, you know, WWE one in a trench, you're going
to be ready for action.
So I don't want a more comfortable stadium.
I want to be slightly uncomfortable.
Maybe that's like old Fenway in me, but I want to be the stadium.
The whole thing can be designed.
I don't want to be annoyed, but I want to be ordinary.
It's a very fine line.
I don't quite know how it would be.
Maybe it's like the clips they play in the jumbo tron and they're just stuff that people
don't really like.
Like it's season season eight of entourage.
Like I hate the season.
Oh man, it's had the drug problem.
Yeah, this season sucked.
Yeah, he wanted another one.
Yeah.
Well, let me get you a drink.
Oh, this is a good one.
I was going to give you a quick one from Adam.
Tattoo QR codes.
Great.
People have tattoos.
You don't know the meaning behind them.
There's a little QR code next to it.
And if you're interested, you just put your camera on it.
It's like here's the story about tattoo.
That's really good for people.
A little with tattoos as well.
Like when Bill Murray gives you that card, you had an interaction with Bill Murray or whatever
Steve Martin does it so they don't have to keep on explaining.
I'm off for more QR codes.
Anyway, really not in restaurants.
No, no, no, I like QR codes in general.
I like when they pop up on ads.
But not men.
I just outside of menus.
I don't want to do it on a menu.
I don't mind the menu.
Oh my gosh.
You sit down and there's a QR code sitting attached to your counter.
I would say menus are probably top five most disgusting germ filled thing that you could
probably touch.
Number one being the screens on an airport on the seat in front of you, those screens.
I'm convinced they don't have, they're not wiping those down every fight.
Well, I have number one, the smiley face or frown face on the bathroom exits.
Like all, which I do like that, but I'm not touching that.
It's a little bit gross.
Game that tune.
Game that tune.
So when we watch sports, we watch it through a few different lenses.
We watch it through an entertainment lens, a sense of history, historical lens, a community
lens, friends family.
My kids are watching games through a pure participatory lens.
They play flag football.
We're watching football.
So everything that they're looking at, they are inserting themselves into the game to
the point where when we're watching the game, how dad, how tall is he?
How tall is Will Campbell?
I think he's six.
How much?
What's his 40 time?
Do you think I could beat him in a race?
No, I don't think you could beat Will Campbell in a race.
Do you think if I could beat him in a race with a five second hit?
No, guys, but then they start to hurt their feelings, we're showing them videos of Larry
Allen.
Look how fast Larry Allen is, guys, you can't do this.
Then I'm starting to beat them down though.
Hey, do you think the entire flag football team could beat, could be in a fight?
Probably not.
He's going to be bad.
How about tooth like enough, guys?
Enough.
That being said, yeah.
I saw another video.
Two pro beach volleyball players versus 20 wreck league volleyball players.
I was super into it.
So it's game that tune.
I like that.
We'll start with three on three basketball.
Yeah.
And how you can normally see this idea is, oh, I get it.
Three pros versus 10 Joe's pros versus Joe's.
Let's see how it works out.
But here's the game that tune element of it.
Remember the name that tune I can name it in 10 notes.
I can name it in eight notes.
So on one side, suppose you had Steph Clay Dremon, okay?
Because everything's historical.
The other side we've got JR Smith, Kevin Lawvin, Richard Jefferson.
Now they are competing to see how big of a challenge they are willing to accept.
So they start off today.
All right, we can beat three wreck league basketball players, two junior high school players
and five of fifth graders.
I mean, this was the best thing about naming that tune watching people up it.
Yes.
Oh my god.
Great.
You know what?
Add two more high school seniors.
Oh, they're going to go five on three.
Oh my god.
They're going at an 80 year old, like an 80 year old.
What's the, it starts to get weird.
Eventually, like, all right, you do it.
And then the other team becomes the coach because a lot of times it's just a strategy issue.
So if Steph and Dremon and Clay accept it, okay, Kevin Lawvin, Richard Jefferson, become
the coaches of the team.
Do it for basketball, volleyball I've seen it work for.
I saw it.
There was a Japanese game show is three soccer players versus I think a hundred, maybe third
graders.
They had the ass on this.
Yes, I saw this.
They needed, they had no shape.
There was ten goalies, but they needed some real coaching there too.
So game that tune so we can actually see, like, all right, I don't know if you guys could
be, could be.
But now it's Cabeed and another UFC guy and they can, you have seen it probably, I'll
leave that to the side, maybe non-contact sports.
That's pretty good.
Game of tune.
Game of tune.
If Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were playing course for $10 million, eight o'clock on ABC
on Tuesday night, would you watch?
Yes.
I went to.
One on one sports I'm into.
I think like things with old people that we used to love doing something that hopefully
won't get them hurt.
Like I would just be fascinated, like, Larry Bird, a three point contest.
How many could he make now?
Like he's, he's, I think he's Bob Kuzi.
Well, Bob Kuzi made all those shots and blue chips from members.
That was great.
Are we in danger of swaling the legacy?
That's why it's a half picked.
This half picked is from James and Nashville.
I think you're going to be horrified by this.
She was.
That's a bad way to start.
He said there's a dumb company.
It's like Cameo that let celebrities connect with the public where they send you the messages.
I thought Cameo was a nice company, a trainer.
I'm just giving you what James is telling you.
Okay.
But he says, well, why don't we take a step further?
What if you could pay money to get a little bit of a celebrity's blood transfused in you?
For example, he actually mentions Larry Bird.
You find out Larry Bird's blood type.
If it's a match, you could have him donate some drops to put in your body.
And then you could tell people you have NBA championship blood in your face.
Jesus.
God.
I don't even know if that's a quarterback that did.
I don't know about that one.
Yeah, I don't know about that one.
I mean, I just came off of Spider-Man.
That's what happened.
Oh, is it?
Well, me, he's a spider.
Oh, and then that was the concert.
The whole little bit of play.
It's what is too weird.
That's why it doesn't pass the it's it's.
It's too weird.
That's too weird.
This one wasn't weird though.
Adam and Chicago said we did speech karaoke.
We talked about that on a previous topic that it exists in Chicago.
There's a place called Chicago movie.
Okay.
And you can go there and you can give speeches from different movies.
Crazy.
Chicago had.
So is the best Chicago had something else huge.
Oh, baseball with no gloves or something.
That was the from about last night.
That's the 16 inch soft balls with the no gloves.
Yeah, I didn't I wasn't aware of this.
Chicago was the answer to all Chicago's great.
Adam said he went there a couple years ago and he did the rushing
dragging scene from Whiplash.
So someone else have to do someone else need to play the drummer.
I don't know.
That's all that's just the information he gave.
He just wants he just kept on doing this.
Not my tempo.
That would be fun.
I would love the movie.
Okay.
Pretty good idea.
I think I'm out of half baked ideas.
Bill, what?
All right.
I got one more from Craig in Las Vegas.
He said he works in an office with several other professionals
and the family photos each of us have displayed in our offices
are woefully out of date.
He wants a service that comes to your office on an annual basis.
They have access to all your social
and they just update your photos.
What do you mean?
Like you have a picture of your two boys
but it's from when they were like in fourth grade and second grade.
Oh.
The service comes in as like, wow, those photos
are four, your kids are older now.
Like you need to do photos and they just kind of come in one day,
25 bucks.
Just come in and change the photos.
Do you've already signed up?
You can't do anything about it.
But do I need a current photo of my children every year?
They go on your social media, they grab them.
They have access to your private, your Facebook,
your wife's Facebook.
Well, remember I had the idea of funeral photos?
Yeah, a photographer that would come on your...
I was looking at the old bits the other day
and they're putting in these pictures of these old people.
And they don't want all of them.
Oh, 85 year old Maud passed away.
They took a picture of the other day.
That's not what Maud wants to look like.
So I think it should be like age 30 or 35.
When it's just like it's the standard photo.
25, 30?
25's too young though.
30.
You can't just look like...
No, but we just know.
It's every time there's ever a obituary photo,
the person's always 30 in it.
It's just we all make a rule.
I just don't want to...
If I died and you came to my funeral and I had a 25,
like, that doesn't look like that.
I don't know.
35?
You know, I think I had the photo in your contact.
You had a mustache.
I just saved it.
You had a...
I just thought it was the funniest one.
The other people should probably pick them.
Do you save your friends the contact photo?
Do you put pictures of them?
So when they call you, there's a picture of them.
I do that too.
But then I guess it's the program has changed
where you can suggest a photo and it pops up.
I'm not into that.
I like the photo that I choose.
Yeah, I have a good photo.
That you want of you.
No, of my friends when they call.
It's photos that I've selected.
So when I see them, I find it.
Exactly.
It's like, oh, I'm laughing at them basically.
Jacob.
There it is.
He's having a blast.
My guys are always having a blast.
Do you have...
Absolutely.
Do you...
I'm not going to ask you this.
It's too much personal information for me.
Phone address book habits of whether it's people
in your everyday life.
You just have their names.
But if you don't talk to them that much,
but you want them in your phone,
I put a Z next to their name.
A Z?
Yeah.
So there are a few...
What's that bottom?
A brutal.
So I don't...
But then I can go through the phone book though.
I just type in people.
It's easier to go through.
Yeah.
You're treating it like a digital roll it out.
Yeah, there's like levels in my phone.
So you've got triple A, somebody's triple A.
No, it's all double Z's.
For everybody other than like...
There's just two 75 people.
Two tiers.
Yeah.
No one moves up to A.
Sometimes people move up if they do.
Just like A, you know what?
A period of...
You're in my life a little more than being a ZZ.
Now they're just...
Now they're moving up.
They're full name of my phone now.
Pretty good.
Wow.
You've always been wild, so my phone.
Yeah, in a W.
I'm way back there.
Basically one step above the Z's.
Yeah, but it's very limited group as you go through.
In the bottom.
All right, football's in a month.
It's gonna be great.
I just can't wait.
Patriots facing a must win.
An early fandual eBay.
It's Texans overbills if anybody wants to bet me
any specific thing that they have.
Pitch me what you're willing to trade me
and I will go through my garage
and basement to see if there's anything
that I think lines up to equal value
and we can get a bet on the board.
Are you gonna film a new commercial
for first things first to share
where they do the edits where it's like you guys
are in different poses and then you're mad
than you're happy.
Yeah, the Anchorman and stuff.
I like this stuff.
Yeah.
I was gonna have a production company
called Head Turns and Finger Points.
It's just we would specialize in yeah.
And then reverse it.
Well, you know, the best ever at that was 902NOW.
That was my favorite thing.
It was to open in credits.
Just because they would do the.
It works.
It works.
It's great.
I and Zering like had clearly practiced it for months
before he was ready to do five seasons six.
Anyway, all right.
You look much.
Wow, it's great to see you.
I'll see you before the end of the year
for near holiday half baked.
Love it.
If not before then good to see you.
All right, go Patriots.
Thanks, buddy.
So this mailbag episode is brought to you
by ChatGPT, the official AI sponsor
of the Bill Simmons podcast.
I actually used ChatGPT work
for I think it's the third or fourth question
that's coming up here with Joe House.
You'll see in a second, but it was very helpful.
It's a strange question and I needed the help.
So let's get to the mailbag and you'll see what I mean.
All right, Joe House, just here we're going to do
some mailbag stuff.
House and the Ringer gambling crew,
we have changed the name of Ringer gambling
and it's now Ringer Wise Guys.
And on Monday, it's a soft relaunch,
but we're going to be available on Twitch as well.
And the Ringer, we are reviving our Ringer account.
So you can find Ringer Wise Guys
on the old feed on Spotify and everywhere else on Pods
on Twitch and on YouTube.
And we're doing division previews.
You did your AFC East one on Friday.
Reheam passed on two of the teams,
which I thought was incredible.
He had numbers.
His model obviously is telling him some numbers.
He's sharing what the model says,
but he didn't have a strong conviction.
So he didn't want to like jump in with heavy action.
Take a lean.
Heavy action.
I've yelled at everybody.
We're going to make actual picks on Ringer Wise Guys.
Do you feel good about the name chain?
We were Ringer gambling show for a long time.
Ringer Wise Guys is strong.
That's how it's got.
We've been that for a little while as well.
We're going to do a we're doing Ringer 107 again
with a tweak of four picks during the week
and then last second picks on Sunday.
We'll be okay.
We'll be fine.
Mailbag stuff.
So I had a bunch of these.
Thanks to everybody who sent them in.
I was enjoying them.
I haven't sent any of them to house.
Mike wants to know he was talking about the
Adley Rutchman trade.
Oh, and we gave up five prospects for,
oh, my God, we gave up our second, fourth and fifth prospects
for, and it just seems like a lot.
And he was saying how he was 10 years old at the game
when Jeff Bagwell got traded for Larry Anderson,
which is a famous terrible Rutsucks trade.
He says it's taken me 36 years to realize something.
MLB trades for prospects of the equipment
to NBA trades for draft picks.
Trading Rutchman for three of our,
getting him for three of the top five prospects
is like trading a first and two second rounders
in the NBA draft for quasi all star rate.
So I was thinking about this.
I think he's right.
And I've always been a big, get the real guy over the prospects.
But then when you actually see the list
and the numbers, it's more intimidating
than these amorphous first-sector on picks.
But I think he's right.
Like what the Red Sucks did basically was they traded
at an unprotected first, a heavily protected first
and some seconds for a 28 year old catcher
who's really good.
And that made me feel better.
There are good examples out there of teams,
doing that kind of asset collection,
getting the prospects.
And then once you have that basket of prospects,
if the team surprises you at any point,
then you have something, then you have real leverage
and real currency to do something.
And that's kind of the position.
Now Washington, the Charlotte,
with a bunch of firsts and seconds in the NBA right now.
Right.
If they want to make a move, they have cap space
all these things to do.
Yeah, that's right.
Do you agree with this?
I think football is much harder to,
football they have like that whole chart
in the very determined, like the chart said this
and kicked 32 is worth this.
And they tried to get 32 for 74.
Yeah, for the draft value.
This is like, these are human beings.
The prospects in baseball are real guys.
It's different from in the NBA,
where now we have protected firsts and three seconds.
Well, who are the guys?
No, I think idea.
Right.
Or like that one of the best of the scouts for Jalen
was like, well, the Cooper's might be Cooper's.
It could be the Sixers.
It's protect, I can't keep track of any of this.
Burridge from Mississippi.
He says in the year of our Lord 2026,
what is Steve Kerr, Jaymond Green
in the Immortal Step Curry have to play for?
What did dignity?
What slow moral rot has taken the greatest dynasty
since Kobe Slakers and dragged it into this valley
of mediocrity?
I asked this not as a words hater,
but as a student of decline,
a man who has studied the fall of empires
and finds this one every bit as instructive as Rooms,
it's considerably less dignified.
So I thought that really put you on there.
Well, I admire the inspire of the
Burridge.
It did make me think though.
And I know we've already talked about this in Curry.
And Curry's he's retiring as a warrior,
like it's a rap and sadly the words know this.
But we haven't had a lot of these
where it was like something real happened
for an extended bunch of years of the team
that won titles.
And then there comes an end to it, right?
And so we saw with the magic Lakers and bird Celtics.
So the MJ Bulls, which was abrupt.
Magic's Lakers had figured out how to kind of keep it going.
They got flat at D-Batch and Perkins.
And then Magic came down with this diagnosis
and that was kind of ended it.
Celtics just got old and never replenished it.
Matt, the Jordan's Bulls, that was like,
we're rebuilding and rebooting.
Like we don't want you guys anymore.
Like they made this decision easy.
And then Shaq and Kobe with the Lakers,
that was a Shaq Kobe.
It's one of us has to go type of situation.
They had to reboot with that.
They were able to get the Gisal Miracle
and get a couple more years out of it.
This one's pretty unique.
This one's almost almost like the 92 Celtics
like that range with Bird Parish McHale,
except they had Reggie Lewis and Brian Shaw and D Brown.
And they had this youth infusion
and they kind of, they have a two time lines thing.
Whereas the Warriors don't.
And I just wonder, how does this go?
What, like, everybody signed up for two more years basically.
So what happens?
None of us think this is, this is like barely a playoff team.
There's still a trade to be had out there
with the Jimmy Butler situation.
And if we're gonna be, you know, appropriate about it,
they did try Jimmy Butler got hurt.
They were a pretty goddamn good team
when Jimmy Butler could play.
And they kind of were directionally going, you know,
arrow pointing up to an additional asset
at a trade deadline if Jimmy Butler hadn't gotten hurt.
Like they were looking like they could be
of kind of interesting playoff team.
Yeah, they got in.
Yeah, but, but the Butler injury changed everything.
And you can't immediately pivot.
It's the, you know, the salaries are complicated.
The salary cap is complicated.
And so we are wondering what the hell's going on
because we didn't see them make what seemed to be
a genuine effort at, at, at Jalen Brown.
Okay.
Well, they thought they didn't want Jalen Brown.
Right.
It seemed like they did want LeBron.
They don't want Jalen Brown at that price.
They would love to have LeBron
at the, for four million bucks,
right?
Right.
And then use that as a way to bring in another player
that could actually help them compete.
But they're kind of stuck now for a little while.
Well, the question is, are you stuck forever
or are you stuck until December, January
and is there actual plan where you need
to Butler expiring, especially as it gets closer to February?
We're going to canvas the league and see what two to three
unhappy teams are there, situations that went sideways.
And we have a better chance to make a good trade then.
We can hang around for a couple of months.
Because listen, these guys, Lake, I think,
cares about his standing in the community
and going to games and not being yelled at.
He's got his kids involved or at least one of them
with the team.
I just don't see them rolling over and going 37 and 45 now
for the rest of the career.
So I feel like there's going to be a move.
So I think we're aligned.
I agree.
I think they didn't like the moves now.
Right.
But my guess is December, January, February,
if they're around over 500, they go out.
So we agree with this.
OK.
So it's not as dark as the fall of Rome.
I guess a bigger point crumbling empires and dynasties.
Kyle from New Jersey, you broke out the t-shirt the last time
of the of.
Jamel Brown on call and ask me.
Day.
Yeah.
He asked, would you say we've gotten to the point
where you have you've had the most famous call and ask
we have all time?
My sister got one recently.
I still thought of you over her.
I guess that's the bar.
Not sure if they're any other famous call and ask these.
Kyle, you're dead wrong.
I actually went to chat GPT to figure out
if there were other ones because I always
thought of the Katie Kirk one.
That was the famous one.
That is the famous one.
It's so funny.
You mentioned that there's a more famous one.
So more famous chat GPT came up with five Ronald Reagan in 1985
because they found blood and stool and they found a cancerous
section was colon and he made a recovery.
And that was like, apparently, the first real screening.
OK.
Katie Korak after her husband tragically died.
Kimmel had one in 2018.
Yep.
I remember Kimmel.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac.
Filmed a whole thing in 22 and Terry Crews filmed his in 23 and sent it
out to all his social media.
So there are five.
That one marked there.
I don't think I'm going to have 20.
Those are public health.
You know, the whole thing is about the public health.
You didn't intentionally, um,
schedule years with a public health message attached to it,
but it turned out to be a famous day.
See, I think you did more for Colin
ask me is than me because you talked about them on multiple podcasts
about how great they were.
And I'm great.
The nap was and you liked you didn't mind drinking the gross thing.
You have to drink twice and no.
I felt the same way.
Yeah.
Jeff from Richmond wants to know.
Harbaugh McArthur, they want a title of Michigan.
But is it possible?
JJ knew the defenses play calls in advance.
And that's why he's looked basically so terrible.
And and I felt quarterback that this was a limit all along.
And conspiracy bill did entertain this one.
Well, remember when he came into the league,
there was some eyebrow raising around where he was selected.
It wasn't like, you know, there was that that natural question system guy,
guy in the perfect situation situation guy coached up properly.
You know, the play calling was very solid or is there,
there, you know,
natural, that's going to jump over that stuff.
Intangibles.
I got.
I got a bunch of questions about the basketball fan,
which is coming up next week.
Our friend Doc Rivers is going to make it in as a coach.
That's the question I get the most is like, who's who should be in the
hall famed and put isn't.
And you can go a bunch of directions.
Seriously, everybody's in the hole.
Well, that's the thing in the whole.
So the natural reaction is, oh, everybody's made it at this point.
That they've actually this one of the reasons I wrote my book a while ago,
the hall fam's a mess.
That's the thing.
There's seven guys who should be in the hall of fame and art.
And I'm going to read them to you in order and we could talk about them really quickly.
Paul Silas, who was on three title teams and 74 76 Celtics,
79, Sonics, and then played in another finals as well.
He was basically 10 points, 13 rebounds a game for the playoffs from 70 to 76,
played 1400 games was the best defensive forward of that decade,
other than the busher was the glue guy.
Most respected locker room guy for that whole decade to the point that when
the Celtics didn't keep him Dave counts was so mad he retired for two months.
And I think with some of the people we've led in, I would have him in,
especially because he coached to and was just such like a beloved guy.
That was one that struck me.
When we were growing up, he was an awesome.
I would say like a little bit of dream on greenish as like, oh, I love it.
Not an all star, but like important.
So that's one.
Bill Lambeer,
center on two champs and a finals runner up, five straight Eastern Conference
finals basically double doubles for all that for 10 years was 14 or 11 with 50%
of fjogles.
One was in the mix for rebounding titles, only missed four games in 10 years.
And was the most annoying opponent of the last 45 years hands down.
Everybody hated this guy, but he was memorable.
I hate making the case for him, but zero all star game appearances, right?
Zero all NBA teams.
Rip a Michael Cooper just made it.
That's where it's like if Michael Cooper's in like, we have to start thinking about
Bill Lambeer.
The thing with the ambir the three point, the three pointer was there the first
decade, but like basically the three pointer came in in 80.
But I think if he if you transported him from 81 to now, yeah, he's a really dangerous
like 2026, but he's a classic Mr's era guy.
Did you, did you hate Bill Lambeer?
Cause I think he's the most despised South Dakota my lifetime.
I hated him because I hated the pistons for what they did to Jordan.
Yeah, you know, MJ was my guy, you know, in that, that era.
And I was just, you know, enraptured by every time MJ was on the floor and those
playoff games.
Some of their trying to hurt against the pistons.
Yeah, exactly right.
Yes.
Tom Chambers who when I did my book 2009 was 96, my pyramid.
Was just really good.
He made two second team on Bays.
He was 27 and eight for two straight years and 89 and 98 two Western conference
finals was a part of the 93 finals team.
I wrote down the best forwards from basically second half of the 80s through 91.
And I think he's in the top 10 bird Malone, Barkley, Mullen, Wilkins,
worthy, McHale, Pippin, Chambers, Rodman.
I have as the, now you can nitpick with two of those guys.
I had in my book he was the starting power for it on the white guys who played like
black guys team.
And then there's a whole what if thing with Chambers and worthy and the clippers
and Lakers and 82 if he's just on the Lakers, his whole run.
Could he have just been, he wasn't that a Fender James worthy was, but would he
have been a worthy like offensive player because we saw it on the 87 all start game.
When he won the MVP and he was awesome.
It's easier to project him in not only because of the all star and the all NBA,
but the prolific scoring like I can see it.
I can see I know where the shot looks like that helps.
I don't know what I can't remember what Paul Silas' shot looks like.
Right.
That's what he just played in that the deadest of dead era.
Silas did Chambers.
The first two guys that mentioned, I think there's a case Chambers should be in.
I agree.
These next five guys are should be in guys because even when I did my book,
I had him in the top 100 Gus Williams.
We talked about it on a previous pod.
I don't need to do that one again.
Gus Williams is outrageous that he's done it.
I agree with this.
Kevin Johnson is not in and there might be reasons for this off the floor,
but resume wise belongs.
I don't need to go through it.
Or when I had him, did my book, he was 93.
These last two are fully outrageous to me.
Sean Camp not in.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
Three second teams.
Second best guy in the 96 Sonics who really kind of threw some punches back at the 96 balls,
who were better than the greatest team of all time.
Three year.
This is outrageous.
Basically a 2010 guy in the playoffs, he was 21 and 10, 57% feel go outplayed.
Who came alive.
You're on in a playoff series.
Be car alone in a playoff series and thrived against Dennis Rodman in a playoff series.
And then was one of the most memorable dunkers of all time.
And the list of dunk is in the pantheon, not to mention the son.
It's yet another slide against Seattle fans that he's done it.
It might be.
Well, and he he tried to build a legacy by having as many kids as possible,
which can't go overlooked.
I mean, I should have mentioned that the camp leg like legacy.
Yeah.
I don't need to go to the Hall of Fame right now and pick five guys that I know for sure.
Sean fucking campus.
So like I don't want to name names.
Let's not.
It's not nicer appropriate.
But Mitch Richmond is in the goddamn NBA Hall of Fame and Sean camp.
Is it right?
That's incorrect.
That's a mistake.
That's a that's a miscalculation.
Yeah, we I had no platform whatsoever during the 96 finals.
But I do remember talking to you on the phone about it a couple of times.
And we were like, we couldn't believe how good Sean campus was like, where is this going?
And granted he blew it.
And, um, you know, which would be the case for Derek Rose to get into, which is,
you know, he's one of those what if guys camp had all kinds of personal issues.
But I think he should be in.
And then the last one I can't believe is not in his Robert Hory.
The greatest world player of all time.
He's not in played for seven championships.
How long has he been eligible?
Oh, wow.
He was on the 94 95 rockets, 0 0 1 0 2 Lakers and the 0 507 spurs and was huge parts of those six teams.
244 play half games.
He was on 10 55 win teams.
He was on eight teams of the 700 plus 1 percentage.
He was the first guy with a hundred steals, blocks and threes in the in the same season.
And he had famous game winners and then swung the 0 5 finals for real.
He had 20.
That gave me a 21 of the last 35 points.
5 3s and it's one of the great finals games ever played where he swung a title
from one team to the other.
And I wrote a piece at the time talking about if I called you and I said the Robert Hory games on,
you would say which one.
He's not true.
He's not in the half end.
I am not going to go back.
Maybe I will.
Maybe I'll ask.
We like chat.
GBT.
That's that's our inner face.
What's the ballot situation?
Like has he been on and then gotten to a certain level and not like play a couple of years and
there's no ram or easy.
You don't know how close somebody got.
There's no voting like a baseball.
Okay.
But that's what I'm getting at.
He should be it because it's crazy.
I mean, and I'm wondering, you know, was he close at different times since he's been eligible?
Do you think Eric Rose should be in?
That's a really hard one.
I would lean towards no, but he did win the MVP.
No.
Super respect.
When the MVP though, I mean, I admire the talent he showed up.
He did take the league over that year.
It seemed like the ceiling was super high.
He just got cut short by injury.
Football question from JK Collins.
He was listening to my QB rankings podcast.
And was talking about why I have a name ranked players based on how much they move the Vegas line if they're out.
It's basically a Vegas war rating.
Or on our podcast, the Fandall war rating is net the ultimate measure of a players word to a team.
So Ben Fox had this on Twitter recently.
Talk to 11 odds makers.
Who do you think the number one quarterback who moves the line is this year heading into the year?
Wow.
This year, this is going to be hard.
Because I mean, it was just like my homes was just the obvious, most obvious.
2026 number one quarterback moving line.
Josh Allen.
You are correct.
7.23 points if he's out of the game.
Perfect sense.
Number two, Patrick Mahomes.
Okay.
6.32.
Not, I mean, no surprise.
Number three, Matthew Stafford, 6.16.
Number four, Drake May, 5.93.
And then number five was Lamar Jackson, 5.89.
Okay.
Yet another more evidence that Drake May is a top four quarterback.
He was top three or four last year.
And I think it's going to be top four again this year.
Okay.
Jake and the Bay.
wants to know, this is a little harsh, but I'm going to read it.
I didn't write it.
Can you remember another part of consequence in the modern era with less franchise,
specific fan love than Kevin Durant?
Is anyone even close?
His recent self-induced spat with Golden State and Clay.
It's just another brick in the wall.
And I could tell you this much as a Golden State fan.
We don't want him and we don't claim his legacy.
Joe Laker, my but Golden State fans certainly don't, especially being a mess with Clay,
who we adore beyond reproach.
They might as well just leave Durant's Jersey blank when he goes to the Hall of Fame someday.
And then Jared P sent a separate thing about how stupid it is when people have to announce
what Jersey they're going to be in the plaque, but ask like what would Kevin Durant
wear if he gets in the Hall of Fame, which he will, because he's going to get in the Hall of Fame.
And I think it's supposed to be in the Hall of Fame.
Yeah.
And I think the answer is I think he's going to do, I think he would do Sonics.
Oh, wow.
That's incredible.
That's the move.
What?
Yeah.
And he's like, I love Seattle.
I would have loved to have played there, but I to honor the Sonics, I'm going to be a thing.
It is, it doesn't, I went through my top 30.
It's pretty hard.
Shacks probably the closest.
And I think Shaq, the Laker fans love Shaq.
They just love to be more.
Sure.
But it's weird to have a career that you had like Durant had where there's animosity with every fan base that you played for.
Well, it's okay.
See, I mean, he, he, he did play a significant role in that franchise.
Elevating itself into, you know, what you think that'll forgive him in the end.
Yes.
Yes.
He won his MVP with the whole city.
There's still salty with him when he goes there.
I don't know.
That, that's, that's good fandom, I think.
I feel like he can still save this as we head to the last part of his career.
How?
I don't know.
I don't have an answer.
I thought you were going to give me something about him.
I was trying to see the Seattle expansion team.
Okay.
He goes back there and finishes it as like a start and finish and, um,
now, Brooklyn probably has, Brooklyn's probably the coolest with him just because he did try to win there and then, you know,
it was a bitter house.
Well, that's a, that's from Brooklyn fan base.
Oh, God.
Speaking of Joe Laker, um,
ran share from the Bay city grew up in the Bayer.
I remember reading my column, had a, an oil fan base in 60 steps about the Warriors after Joe Laker got boot.
Um, when I talked about all the shitty things that happened in Warriors fans three years later, they win the title.
Um, and he said that was the back home was the first time it felt the point of Warriors fans are recognized.
But then I'll change and Steph saved the franchise, turned into a dynasty.
The 2015 title is the most euphoric sports moment I remember.
And he asked a question because we talked about this last pod when you were on, talked about the concept of a bag of Chandler.
And he says, what wasn't Steph Curry or bag of Chandler.
So I do have a bag of Chandler.
Terminality.
If you missed the last podcast, it's about a team or franchise or city has a one and forever and somebody comes in and flips it,
gives them the confidence and that's the first person I think of them point to Steph was there for.
Six years before they won if you're drafted by a team, can you ask me the bag of Chandler would be my question?
I think the answer is yes.
Yes, yes, yes, because it's a little different when it's like a messy a coming in like your higher gun bag of Chandler.
No, I, I agree.
No, Steph changed.
Steph was, was native to that situation and he grew up.
He matured and then he, he blossomed.
I mean, he, he was a, a minute more.
So bag of Chandler's bag of Chandler doesn't matter whether you're on the team the whole time or not.
No, no, you, he was, he came at the very different player.
He was a radically different player.
I do want to chime in.
I do have a, a good pal who sent me a follow up to the bag of Chandler concept and observe just out loud.
We don't do college football very much.
You and I because we didn't really grow up with it.
We're going to, we have a college football team.
That's what you said.
Yeah.
And it, well, we also have Holy Cross, but both are on the upswing.
College football is a great repository of baggage handlers and he sent me a list, but the only two that I remember off the top of my head,
Vince Young in Texas.
What, what he delivered to that and, and, and Cam Newton in Auburn.
Oh, that's a good one.
Yeah.
That's an incredible one, isn't it?
Yeah, that's a great one.
Doug, yeah, Doug Flutey, I was going to say Doug Flutey and BC, but he never actually won there.
Um, a bunch of people, Reggie Bush, the, oh, the USC, P Carol, Reggie Bush and Liner together, P Carol.
A bunch of people sent this out.
I'll, I'll give the credit to Kyle Wagner from Nebraska that we missed the Wayne Gretz gave baggage handlers, the man, the myth legend, Theo Epstein,
who did built the Red Sox and then went to the Cubs and built them.
He, he, he double baggage handled.
That's incredible.
So the baggage handlers should be called the Theo.
Okay.
I'm fine with it.
The architect of two,
especially the two, the two hardest ones, most four-learn franchises in the, in the sport.
The Red Sox fans, we were actually dumb enough to think we're going to win every year.
The Cubs fans had like completely given up.
They were like the, the widow who just assumed the husband was never coming home from the war.
We were like, we were dumb enough to think each year was going to be the year.
There's nobody like him.
Yeah.
I'm trying to go red now, not red hour back.
Jerry West.
I think he's the back.
Actually, Ben from Central Mass said Aaron, Aaron Donald's looming come back.
Philip Rivers, weird come back last year, had me thinking the weirdest late career come back.
So about time.
He said Bob, who's in the royals, Satchel page on the A's at age 58,
magic on the 96 Lakers,
Calons on the 83 bucks.
And of course, Philip Rivers, but he picks Bob Koozy who had him played in seven years
and inexplicably came back on the royals, which were the numbers are terrible.
And then he threw a game in one of the worst,
or best comebacks ever in the next beat the royals.
But Koozy just became a player coach randomly for seven games and it's terrible.
And he's like completely washed up.
It's weird.
I don't think the Aaron Donald come back to him be like that at all.
I think he's I'm factoring in and like our projections and stuff for the NFC,
like that he's going to be 95% awesome, right?
Oh, I agree.
Absolutely.
Well, what's the case for him not being awesome?
Just that he hasn't played in three years.
I wouldn't say the right side is, it's going to be nice and fresh.
That's a net positive.
Yeah.
It's football.
There's nothing harder than that on the body than football.
You had a bad weirdo come back.
The Joe Gibbs coming back was bad.
Yeah.
That poor dance nighter was trying to, you know,
taking a swing with that and it didn't work.
It's not poorly.
Just like everything else, everything else that dance nighter did.
Yeah, that because it was partly because of Vermeal.
Because Vermeal went to the Rams and it worked.
Remember?
And it was like, oh, it worked.
And then all of a sudden Gibbs was back coach in your team again.
Well, Snyder was flailing.
I mean, he needed a reason for the team to be relevant.
He needed to try anything to reconnect the team to the fan base here.
I don't think that one worked.
Rich and Toronto.
Thanks.
This one will be seconded by Craig Coralback, definitely Joe has.
Instead of dancing around the idea of an actor's appearance and the rewatchables,
he thinks we should lean into it with a new category called the Mielecunis
and forgetting Sarah Marshall appearance Apex Mountain award for is the most,
is this the most attractive of persons ever been in a movie?
And it could go female or male because we did talk about this during witness with Harrison Ford.
I really like this idea.
I'm mad.
I'm mad at this.
The next one.
We're doing a Italian job in the rewatchables tomorrow.
Let's just say there will be a Charlize conversation.
Oh, oh,
Debbie.
Really good to just know from Rich.
And then one more set from 707 on the rewatchables.
On the hitch I was talking about we were talking about how Denzel never made a romcom.
Okay, it's true.
He's never made one.
He has an idea that he thinks I would like the movie starts with a current 71 year old
Denzel at the Memorial Service first to see his wife.
Sitting in a chair, Mel and Colley and a young family member approached him and asked how he met Grandma.
And then the movie goes back in time using Denzel becomes young Denzel thanks to CGI and how he fell
and fell in love with his wife and we go romcom.
Denzel will never do this, but I thought that was a pretty strong idea.
I agree.
You know, the crazy thing is you could talk that whole thing into a chat GPT and get a whole script with all the characters.
I think that just happened for the actress and actresses.
Yeah.
Andy from NYC had a question for conspiracy bill asking if I was watching this man ish be a situation with his
United Shore stock, which has been been going down fluctuating.
Yeah.
It's fluctuating and not doing well and was asking what are the possibilities of a sale if he can't make the debt payment.
So are you watching this?
That's not happening.
I think if he needed cash for the team, you would just sell 25% right.
You would you would sell a stake.
You would have value you value the team at 5 million and get money from somebody.
This is a good one for you from Jeff from Texas.
He thinks the new Vegas team name should be called the odds.
So we could say stuff like what will it take to beat the odds?
The odds are against us.
The Vegas odds are plus 200 to be OK.
See, and then he said, I'm just about 100% positive house will support this.
He is correct.
He is 100.
Vegas.
Correct.
That is a great name.
And it also you can imagine the cool logos.
I love the four letter names.
They fit perfectly.
And you can do front back.
Oh, I'm so all over this.
That's phenomenal.
Willie for the odds.
I like the odds.
The Vegas odds.
I don't know what the other runners in the clubhouse work for that.
Whether they go Vegas or Las Vegas.
I don't know.
I've been happy with some of the team names.
Well, I mean, they had this right now, Vegas, all the only one that's relevant to Vegas
really is the aces because the nights aren't on anything and the riders are the raiders.
Right.
So it would be good to tie it to the to the locale.
Willie from Rockaway Beach wants to know in the Odyssey Odysseus' thing was was stringing
the bow and shooting through the axis.
That was like his move.
I don't know if you saw the Odyssey yet.
I'm sure you can do it.
He wants to know what my Odysseus tax is.
Wonders like trade machine.
Dump up culture sports analogies.
He had a bunch of a bunch of things.
I don't have anything to rival the string in the bow and then shooting it through the thing.
But I feel like you do.
I think you're Odysseus' task is your ability to eat for another half hour at a normal dinner after
everybody else is finished eating.
Like that is your version of stringing the bow.
I will accept that.
Your there is your second and third.
Everyone else is playing 18 and you're playing like 54 and you're just going to your pace and then
then you're looking around and you're like, Oh, you're going to eat those french fries.
What's going on at the stake and you're just kind of cleaning up.
And I think that's that's better than any Odysseus thing I have.
Here's the secret.
Not I mean, of course you have to have the appetite and the interest and the curiosity.
But when I get to go out to eat with friends and family, I'm eating the whole table.
I get what everybody ordered because I know you win at some point.
At some point and there's nothing that I can't taste.
It's it's a it's a really wonderful thing.
The yeah, I probably stumbled into it.
It's not like a deliberate strategy.
But over the years, I've just grown accustomed to eating.
If the food arrives at the table, I'm going to eat some of it either at the beginning of the meal,
a little bit at the end of the meal.
There's going to be, you know, the other issue is when the restaurant puts in parameters.
Like this is for two or three people.
Oh, it's like a personal insult.
That's an outrage to me.
Yeah, this day should have you need to or three to finish a stake in your like, okay, come on.
That's that's ridiculous.
Kobe from Oakland or now lives in Vancouver was very upset about Katie's comments on the 17
words.
And he said he was watching highlights from them and couldn't help but notice the insane
love of steps gravity in the court, which has been talked about forever.
But he said there's so many highlights of deramping the ball up court.
Going direct to the basket for an open dunk because two guys had their backs turned,
trying to tie off staff and forgetting that he had the ball.
People just feared the empty.
This is why it's impossible to talk about curry historically compared to other guards
because nobody has ever swung defenses like this.
And he wants to know is any other player in NBA history had a gravity even close to that.
So to me, it centers.
Oh, it's interesting.
It's like when Shaq was really feeling it and had position, the whole team would sink down,
the whole defense would sink down him.
Just everybody else was open.
But I don't remember a guard having what's that fast except for Michael fucking Jordan.
I mean, Michael Jordan all 10 eyes on the floor.
I mean, although the whatever, everybody, not 20 eyes, 18 eyes.
There's nine other players.
They're all looking at Michael Jordan when he had the ball.
Yeah, that's so you're saying the whole thing.
The go to basketball also had the best gravity.
Well, I mean, he's in the conversation.
Yes, yes.
He tilted, you know, the, the, the, the, the pistons had to engineer a specific style of,
of, you know, thuggery.
Right.
I've never seen anything in person like what would happen at defenses and curry.
Well, because watching them just soon they probably have to go where he was.
Right.
Yes.
This is a good one.
I do, I do want to say just as a final thought, we were cheated by not having Michael motivated
to develop a three pointer.
We know he could do it.
Just in an empty head.
None of the guys in the 20th century was right.
It was used as a dagger and not as I know I'm saying we were cheated.
The six that he had against Portland.
Right.
I mean, well, speaking of Jordan,
tell us there.
Shahan from London was talking.
He thinks the best that in soccer, the best individual player season ever,
just based on individual stats was achieved by Messi.
In the 1112 season where he put 60 games and scored 73 goals, then 32 assists.
Did not win the league, but made it to a second semis of the champions,
one Spanish cup, Spanish super cup and wants to know what is the basketball version of a season like that.
Where somebody's stats are so ridiculous, but you had enough team success to make it relevant.
I had three seasons, so I'm going to give you one was the 96 MJ.
When the bulls went 87 and 13, he won MVP finals MVP 36 and 6.
The numbers weren't insane compared to the typical Jordan season is the problem.
Curry in 16.
If they had won the title, I think would be in the conversation for this, but they lost game seven,
but he had 30 game.
He made five, three is a game.
I don't know if anyone else that even made four.
He was like 50, 45, 90, everything.
They won 25 games in a row.
I had had all of the check marks and then they blew the game in the last five minutes.
So sadly, the answer is Will Chamberlain.
Oh, 1967 average 24 points, 24 rebounds and eight assists during the regular season.
The team went 68 and 13, which was the record for best record at that point.
In the playoffs, he was 22, 29 and 9, 22, 29 and 9 and B.
Bill Russell and they went 11 and four.
So they went 79 and 17 and he basically averaged 24 and 26 every game.
Grand Ate was 60s.
But I think that's the answer.
JJ Redick's not impressed.
That's the problem.
He's not impressed.
We had less numbers and truck drivers.
What's the answer to Yannis's 21 season?
Because I feel like he was definitely, he didn't score enough.
Is that the deal?
Is that why he's not?
Yeah.
And it's got to be the stats have to be almost like what Joe Gage was doing in one of his
years.
But if the nuggets had also been incredible, I guess.
Okay.
Okay.
And I don't shack that was okay.
But yeah, it's tough.
Like the wheeled stats are like, wow, we'll never see those again.
Right.
Nathan from Epson, Wisconsin thanked me for the Elchipo discussions about the Blazers.
But said we did not mention the Stanley Cup.
And he writes, this motherfucker wanted the name of his wife and five kids on the cup.
So six people who were involved with the actual running of the team that got to the pinnacle of the NHL didn't get their name on the most famous
truck feed sports.
Awesome.
That was unbelievable.
Did you follow that whole story?
He was family in the cup.
Why they agreed.
Oh, is it his choice of the name?
Yeah, he's a middle-aged.
Yeah, he's like, here's what we're put on the cup.
That's outrageous.
Unbelievable.
It's so bad.
How do they have the room?
They don't.
They have like that one, they have like this one thing and they can put as many names as possible.
And then that's it.
James is a Celtics fan and wants to know who was the who had the washed goat season in NBA history
and suggested trailblazers mellow, Celtic Shaq, Ewing and the Sonic's or is it the obvious wizards MJ choice?
The answer to this is MJ and the wizards was the wash goat.
Because he couldn't jump.
He I think he played 82 games, at least one of those seasons was going against all these young dudes had him played in a while
and was not MJ anymore.
He was a shell of himself, but he wasn't.
Couldn't get him to the playoffs.
Did have a 50 burger though.
Did remind everybody he would, you know, once every three weeks, he would drop something.
So maybe he was too good for that.
Well, they didn't make the playoffs.
Does Michael Jordan made like a game winner in the All Star game.
The other one I was thinking was Kareem near the end when he could bet he was like 42, but it's somehow in the 88 finals.
They're still going to him in the biggest moments and he's got nothing left.
So the answer is probably Jordan.
Um, conspiracy bills being summoned again.
Christian Ohio.
When he says when we hear about double agents and teams that might relocate Nico Harris and Dallas, all these the conspiracy rumors.
Why hasn't Joe Doomars and Orleans come out of that come up in this?
He's out of the league.
He's working for the league.
Makes a bunch of dumb moves last year and then no moves this summer for a pelicans team going nowhere.
Seems like prime double agent material.
Thank you, conspiracy bill.
Just wanted to get that out there.
Uh, I, I don't think it's a conspiracy with that.
I think the focus of just a competent.
I don't know.
They weren't going after anybody.
Isn't that indirectly a kind of like inaction is action, not doing anything.
It makes it a lot easier.
It might not even be their plan, but it's a plan.
It may not be what that what they're intending to do, but it certainly does make that that franchise feel very relocatable to me.
They're, uh, there's some overunders on Fandall, which I know you know, for MBA.
I know people are pumped that it's August 9th when we're doing MBA content.
Everybody was looking for that.
But there's some of the wind totals were out.
And there were four teams that are basically like 44 and a half.
And these four teams are the Lakers, Miami, Indiana, Orlando, and actually Toronto, assuming with Quasas, there's five teams.
Do you have to go over any of those five teams?
Who would you pick?
Indiana, Miami, Orlando, the Lakers and Toronto.
It's the Pacers.
Um, and I already have them as well.
43 and a half.
So I'm thrilled to hear that the market moved in my direction.
The, the combination of healthy, Haliburton, same dancing in his wedding.
He looked great.
It's back healthy, Haliburton and Zubat's is going to be an eye opener.
It's going to be a revelation.
And that team is talented.
They have, you know, all of those guys know their roles.
Um, we're, we're going to see you guys.
Look, Kelly, you know, over there, more than that.
I think it's going to be more than a little.
It's going to be work.
I think it's going to be something.
The East is stacked because that was, like Charlotte was 39 and a half for their wind totals.
I was like, I think Charlotte's going to be pretty good.
Um, conspiracy bill question from Ben from Detroit.
He wants to have the trade trade at schoolable to the Dodgers.
So they could win the World Series again and a drum up support for a salary cap for medium level, low level teams.
They're basically trying to stack the deck because that will help the salary cap argument.
I don't think that's what it was.
I genuinely feel like that schoolable side made it seem like, we're going to the Dodgers than the anyway.
So he kind of put the stink on himself with the other teams.
And teams didn't want to give up prospects to somebody for two months and then they leave.
Right.
That was my interpretation.
All of that's credible, especially if you think that, um, that his, this is the last time you're going to get a whatever $100 million.
However many hundreds of millions of dollars, yeah, for, for, for a, for a picture, right?
This is it.
I just, would you pay that much for a starting picture?
I guess you don't, if you don't care about money, it would.
I mean, I just don't trust, like we did crochet and he's already hurt.
Nearly 800 million for one soda and one soda was hurt too.
I understand that that's different to put a picture in a, outfield or a hitter.
But Jack wants to know.
Do you think it hurt LeBron that he didn't end his tenure with the Lakers and sign with the Knicks?
Because the next one, the title.
And that was like the best thing.
He this next fan base starving for a title, which he saw in real time as they won.
They had it one and he goes there as a missing piece and then as part of that.
And where does that rank among LeBron regrets for his career?
Which I think is a really fun topic.
He suggested the failed Paul George Kyrie swap 2017, the Westbrook debacle,
Zubat's for Mike Muscala.
He said forcing Brian to play basketball instead of being a five star NFL caliber safety.
Would have been a good safety.
He left out a couple good ones.
I think the number one, if I'm LeBron and I'm like 78 and I'm just thinking back at everything,
I think the thing that would make me the Matt S would be the Oh nine Orlando Cleveland series.
And it wouldn't be a regret as much as remember Orlando just turned into an awesome team and guys.
We did a, we did a, we did a rewatchables on one of the games, I think, from that with a,
because I did a Dwight Howard book of basketball.
But I think you look back at that now and it's just fucking batch of crazy.
That's serious.
He did.
That guy was awesome.
That's what Lewis was good for a year.
They made every shot that they looked at.
Are you beat me to it?
Those two guys, they were the really the linchpin to it.
And then Dwight Howard was pretty awesome.
And LeBron was awesome in that play.
I think he was like 35 and 11 and 9.
He'd like did everything he could and Orlando was just on a heater.
Howard played the best he'd ever played.
And it was just the second best player on that Cleveland team.
I mean, that was that's why he left.
Clever.
Now we're, we're, I think we, I don't know if Jamison was there yet.
I'll look this up as we're talking.
But I, you know, if you remember going back, that was, we were supposed to get the LeBron
versus Kobe finals, right?
The Celtics got hurt.
Um, the stars had aligned and it was going to be like the greatest, you know, star
and star series we'd had in a while.
All right.
I'm looking this up.
I have the series ended in six.
The second leading score on the calves was Mo Williams.
Okay.
That's why followed by Delante West and Zadruna, so Goskis.
I knew.
Okay.
Good.
I learned here as I messed up, but they'll Goskis.
I remember on that team in the series, Richard Lewis shot 48% from three.
I was, I was there made 18, he made 15, he made 18 a game.
Terkelu was at 39.
Mikhail Pietrus was at 51% from three.
Oh no, 47% from three.
Uh, Ray Farolston, 38% the team shot 41% from three.
They were 62 for 152 and just.
Just split the series, but I that would be the one out of all the ones he's had
where it's like, fuck, man, we shouldn't have made the finals that year.
What I like, nothing, none of those Orlando guys ever matched that again.
Within a year and a half, your dumb team was training for Richard Lewis.
And he was good.
Got a big contract for somebody.
For PEDs.
Yeah.
Right.
Tough fun.
I would say that was a big one.
The other one I would say bad team though.
They would have got swept by the Lakers too.
The other one is whether if you're LeBron looking back at everything,
would you have just gone to the next in 2010?
2010 instead of my in bring Duane Wade there, go to New York, because that was on the table, I think.
Who was the general manager of the club?
No, who was the GM for the club?
That was the problem.
It was Donnie Walsh on the wheelchair, the game stolen and no, no.
No.
Me Riley really deserves the, he gets credit.
He also deserves the credit.
He stepped to that.
Come here.
It will be awesome.
The Paul George trade is a good one because I think the Paul George trade,
because they were getting rid of Kyrie anyway.
And I think it would have, I think if they were somehow getting Paul George and somebody else good.
And they definitely would have been a better team.
I don't know if it would have mattered against the 18 warriors.
By the way, I got this from a few Pacer fans, because I talked about LeBron's,
that awesome old Deepo versus LeBron, we did the redraftables, that series.
And a bunch of people mentioned, I said how LeBron had that great black and old Deepo and gave five minute to three.
And it's like a famous goal tend apparently that all the Pacer fans are still pissed off about.
The game report they said after it was, it was a goal tend.
And then Ray Blazer fan wanted to point out on all the Blazers conspiracy stuff that the Blazer sale was in a state sale.
With all proceeds going to charity.
Yeah.
So they had to actually maximize value.
They couldn't like pick the owners.
It was basically highest better wins.
So he was saying Adam Silver didn't have a lot of, didn't have a lot of elbow room with this because of the way the sale was done.
Which I think it's true.
They start to approve it.
Yes.
Yes.
The league controls who comes in and the estate has to live by the league's rules.
Right.
The estate doesn't get to choose at the, you know, over the will of the league.
Zach brought up something that I'm going to apologize for.
I, we did the winners and losers of the LeBron signing with Philly.
And I said, VJ Edgecom because he's going to be pushed to the side and whatever.
He said, look, you're the guy who's talked up the virtues of playing for USA basketball being around winners, how changes guys.
Young talented guy like VJ, you learn the habits and mentality of one of the games greatest ever players.
Doesn't this set the stage for a culture change?
I don't think it's a stretch call one of the biggest winners.
You agree with that?
I sure do.
Yeah. I think I miss that really.
I think it applies across the board.
This is going to be at least by intention and will and attitude, the best version of Joel and B that we will have seen.
He really tried super effing hard on team USA.
Yeah.
I think of his team USA performance as one of the things that goes on his resume.
He was healthy.
It came at the expense of two, two more years of terrible knee and injury ailments.
And we'll forever be able to make fun of the Sixers for giving him an extension immediately coming off of that Olympic performance.
But that is proof of concept.
I think that the Braun, the whole thing, it just adds a layer of we use that we're going to overuse this the word gravity.
But it makes it, it's a serious situation now.
We're not just showing up and effing around.
This is a show and the guys all want to show out.
I think it's really going to be interesting.
11-01, I have the fourth best title at now.
Just going to wait regular season.
They're now minus 120 for 50 plus games.
I think there, there's a way that they, they're probably in the low fifties.
Even if you told me 40 MB games and 55 LeBron games, just because the other three guys will be able to catch up.
Yeah, Maxie Edgecomb and JB could get them there.
Rich for I was saving this one for you.
Rich from Melbourne, Australia.
The Australians always have good emails.
You love the old.
Fucking crazy people.
They're really like Boston on the other side of the world.
How have we never been to Australia?
We have to go.
We really do.
Just have great experiences.
You would do a Simmons podcast from Australia.
Your enthusiasm for Caleb Wilson got me thinking, who are this year's Gisru Maustars?
I'm thinking it would be Dylan Harper, Conniple, Jalen Brown, Caleb Wilson and Wembee, but Caleb
Wilson's the captain.
I don't think Jalen Brown would be from the Gisru Maustars.
I agree.
No, that's the only one that does the small forward is for the Gisru Maustars.
Let's let's let's let's let's work.
Maybe it's your guy.
Maybe it's your guy.
Yeah, sure could be the bounce.
Yeah, your guy, AJ could be AJ.
Yeah, he's a Gisru first team.
What if he starts doing stuff?
He might show us something first team.
Gisru, he's not going to be afraid to show us what we want to see.
I know that much.
Right.
You know, it's the Gisru Maustars or all pros in the NFL are already started in the form.
I don't know if you've seen any Denzel Boston training camp footage for the Browns.
Oh, no.
Oh, yeah.
It's Caleb Wilson.
Ask.
Okay.
Yeah, he looks like Torello and space.
Basically, that's a ball.
Darrym Price on the Seahawks.
I think he's the price.
I already bet price rookie in the year.
Just so we get that out there.
Smart bet.
Yeah.
I didn't understand the rookie.
The year odds at all.
We've we've been texting about this because I jumped on Boston when he was 45 to one.
But that but the quarterback situations are going to be weird.
I don't think Mendoza.
I don't see any of their quarterback.
The guy in the Cardinals love as they have two other veterans that are there.
So yeah, I like Boston.
I still think his odds are great.
Need you for this one because I got a I didn't mean as pot and we somehow
we're talking about the NBA comp for Lamar Jackson.
And I was saying it's it's I didn't think there was a comp, but there's something
beat in there because you don't know whether he's going to play or not.
And just a bunch of people were like, how how is the answer?
Not James Harden.
Oh, wow.
Where it's like you got MVP's you have a ton of regular season success and then play
off.
So now it's pretty good.
The problem is hard and played hard and was.
Yeah, durable and durable.
All the time in Lamar.
I think so it's almost like 75% hard and 25% and bead maybe.
The bead durability.
Both of those by the way, that says a lot about the regard with which we hold
Lamar, which is I think appropriate.
One to MVP's I know he really broke our hearts gambling wise a couple of times.
I mean, really like what you have said.
It's just the things not even really him that lost a Buffalo two years ago.
Not the March Jackson's fault.
Right.
A lot of people have asked if this is the end of the process.
No, regardless of what happens.
I keep getting an email about that.
They eat different variations of that email.
The process starts in 2013 with the NBA draft.
And now we're heading to the 2627 season 14 years later.
The process is already at a bar.
It's a process is already gone through puberty.
And is this winter lose this the end of the process?
Do you like the process has to end when and be leaves?
What is the official end of the process?
I like this and I'm subscribing to it.
And I know that I can do a better job.
I'm going to do right now.
But I think the bronze arrival means that it's over.
The process really has become so, you know, they've built themselves into
something that's so attractive that the, you know, one of the top three players in history
shows that team, right?
Go to that team to play games with that team.
So I think that that is a kind of success, right?
Like what are the high since since the, since winning in 83.
There aren't a lot of high water marks for the sixers.
There've been a lot of fun players and the high water mark was probably
Iverson beating the second best team of this century by himself in a final
scheme in one game.
And maybe in bead win in the MVP.
I think it's fine declaring the process over.
Did LeBron choose the sixers or did he just not have a better option?
Why can't the answer be both?
Okay.
Speaking of the sixers, he clearly
for the money that he agreed to play for, he could have done that for any team, the entire NBA.
Right.
Every team has $8 million available.
Benson from Canada says,
co-I hate in the game winning shadow again in the 2019 playoffs against the sixers.
Leading to the Raptors win the title.
LeBron has beaten Toronto like a drum for two decades.
There's a fun LeBron versus Kauai where they went together in the two finals, 2013 and 14 Kauai wins the finals of the B.P.
Good.
So you have Toronto fear of LeBron.
LeBron fans kind of afraid of Kauai a little bit plus sixer fans, memory of getting their guts torn out by Kauai.
Potentially them playing being rivals.
I didn't think about the rivalry part with LeBron going to the east and how fun this is going to be as much as I probably should have.
Celtics, his biggest long time rival, right?
Next.
Right, he's going to live in New York City, but they just won the title.
Worldwide Western Leana there is old agents.
You got all that.
You have Toronto and then you have Cleveland.
Cleveland and Miami both and you have Miami.
So five teams that he has like actual real history with that when he goes there with the sixers, it's going to be like a thing.
Now we'll see how good he is.
Like at some point this has to start fading a little bit, but it did start to get me excited.
Yeah, that's really it.
That's all I got.
That's all I have for I have one more that I'll read for.
Put the just keep that just keep the El Chico heat going just from John and Austin, Texas.
He thinks El Chico is like Mr. Blind and reservoir dogs Michael Madsen's character in the movie.
Where he chips out on the coaching search doesn't let two way players travel lays up the employees breaks up the broadcast team.
And now is the city of Portland tied to a chair in a warehouse with stuck in the middle with you playing.
Well, he dances around the straight razor, which is the threat of the blazers moving away.
And Adam Silver is Mr. Orange in this scenario that he has to get there before they slice the blazers.
They're often done scassling on them.
I'm only reading this to say about this.
Yep, these are my listeners.
But also this is a credible email from somebody comparing
El Chico Tom Dunden to one of the scariest characters of any movie in the 1990s who actually tormented and mutilated a character in the movie that they cut away from.
Yes, that's where we've gotten with this Portland situation of a vile depraved yeah, torture scene.
Yes, that's what the Portland fans are living the NBA is fantastic.
How are you feeling about the Washington Commander season?
Oh, I would have felt I felt better 24 hours ago before Larry Tonsel tore his tricep.
That's like a four-month injury, right?
Oh, it's just I mean the only thing that I cared about coming into this season is can we just show up with the 11
Yeah, intended guys on both sides of the ball more healthy than that.
We know that injuries are going to happen.
The injuries do happen that that's it's part of football.
But God damn it.
Can we just get to the first game of the season without one of these linchpin guys?
Now Washington has been you know sort of collecting offensive line talent and they're going to try.
This looks like Brandon Coleman's going to be the guy.
But he they just extended Tonsel because Tonsel was effing awesome last year and Tonsel and David Lowe and JD
five are all on the same page and man, I'm just kicking the nuts.
Even with Tonsel though, I do think that this is going to be a tough season for Washington.
Yeah, you did the dig signing a couple days before that.
Welcome home.
Happy to have digs.
Digs in the coming digs in the DMV buckle up.
Yeah, well, he's he went to high school here and went to the University of Maryland.
He's from this area.
So your regular season wins right now.
Six and a half is minus 140 on Fandall and seven and a half is plus one 15 for the Overse.
Yeah, I think they're going to win eight games.
I think they're good enough to win.
The defense especially has been completely renovated, recalibrated.
It's a brand new 11 nearly and it's a brand new defensive coordinator.
We got the apprentice from Minnesota, Dorante and he's also a DMV guy.
I think the defense is going to surprise people.
It might be the most interesting defense that Washington's had in a decade.
I'll definitely be surprised because I don't think they're going to be good.
One of the only things you had is like, well, the offensive line is going to be
even better this year in Daniels.
Yes, keep them healthy and see how it goes.
And now, yes, yeah, that's all true about that.
I was just reading the brain and Thor in a couple days ago.
He does those offensive lineman rankings.
Yeah, put all of them out.
Tonsa was I think his second left tackle.
Super high up there.
Yeah, that was a good trade.
It's deservedly so.
How much homework have you done?
I'm doing it, you know, by division.
So right now I am knee deep in the AFC North.
Did you notice the bundles on the AFCs pod, the bundle?
Kind of kicked the tires on a soft.
Maybe Miami's not that bad.
It felt like a Zag.
It felt like a Zag.
And I also did kind of make me go, huh?
So there's going to be last year we did not have the shitty team
that came out of nowhere.
Like with the really bad odds to make the playoffs that actually did.
The usually there's like a plus 400 or worse.
And last year didn't happen.
Yeah, no, we're do.
Carolina to win that division was at nine to one,
at one point in the season and dream did play that.
So they might, they're probably the one that they're the closest.
They won the division.
So I'm really excited at football back.
I can't wait.
Yeah, finally.
Like honestly,
you'll listen to this feel the same way.
Well, this has been a good, you know, the World Cup
followed by the Red Sacks.
I've had a really fun sports summer.
But I'm getting ready.
Getting ready to talk football.
Waiter and football.
Do they'll do it?
All right, House.
Good times.
And we have FedEx coming when the playoffs start.
We're talking about professional golf.
It's still on.
Something to watch through the balance of August.
That they wait in Memphis.
They'll be in Chris Vernon's backyard next week.
The first round of the FedEx Cup playoffs underway.
The top 70 players in on the on tour.
And then they cut it down from 70.
I think to 50 at the next event, which is in St. Louis.
But yeah, all the best golfers will be playing golf
down in Memphis a week from now.
Has anyone complained about the hotel?
He had a Memphis or no.
That's just NBA.
You the tour guys don't.
I haven't heard a lot of complaints out of tour.
By the way, I forgot to mention WNBA before we go.
Oh my.
Oh no.
I've been watching it.
No, I've been watching.
I've been enjoying it.
And I've even tweeted this about how nobody needs a commissioner more than the WNBA right now.
The WNBA, which is for some reason,
turned into the Twitter for you page as a leak.
And meanwhile has all of these amazing stories going on.
The leaks fucking deep.
Even like the teams that aren't good like Seattle and Chicago,
like you watch them.
You're like, I have some good players.
See, you know, it's you know, who's good Washington.
Right.
The not good teams are actually like not bad to watch.
And then they have, you know, the living miles,
keeping Minnesota straight the whole time.
And now colliers back.
They're even odds to win the title.
But Asia's the best player in the league.
Still she shut down Caitlin the other night.
Indiana's really fun to watch.
Like the leagues like legitimately fun to watch.
And yet all anyone talks about is dumb shit.
And then everyone who participates in this nonsense.
Anyone who participates in the shitty discourse about the league.
Like I think that speaks more about them than the league.
But what the league really needs is a commissioner.
And I don't I would personally bet anything
that we will not have this commissioner next year.
I will.
If that was on Fando, I would be loading up.
You have to lay in an enormous amount of juice.
I think about throwing my hat in the ring.
This is this is league.
They either need somebody who thinks outside the box.
Or it needs a therapist for everybody.
It might need to be the league.
I need to get Bernet Brown as as the commissioner.
Just a therapist.
The he'll relate just not you.
Anybody but you fine.
Fine. I'll sit up.
That mean.
But I've never seen a league that needs.
Just an adult to help them.
An adult.
Oh god.
Basic fucking situations.
Yes.
Basic.
The most basic situation.
People like this league.
Not to mention they're on seven different channels,
which was the same case for the NBA.
But in this case, like I never know where the games are.
Is that the NBA?
It's like, oh, I know this is an Amazon night.
They've done such a terrible job of marketing.
Because they had to grab money.
God forbid, they didn't take every fucking dollar they could have.
And you go to these games.
It's like, I'd love to watch.
I'd love to watch this fever game tonight.
I don't know where to find it.
And now I'm doing roulette for 10 minutes, looking for the channel.
Well, I know where I am is in my cable pet.
It's now I on.
Yeah, I am.
I am.
Yeah.
Right.
So the leagues like Cresting too.
I think a pretty good spot before football.
But now they're all going to go away for like 10 days to do world champions,
world championships.
Team that somehow live in Miles is not even though she's one of the most important
people that's coming to league.
I get it.
They had practices and there's reasons for that.
But I've never seen a league more determined to not push
fun stars and fun storylines and fun people.
Like this Olivia Miles.
How many times do you watch her?
And only a little bit because I haven't called a lot of my son again.
You honestly, you would love her.
Okay.
And she should be like, if this was the NBA, this would be all anyone
talked about.
Like, have you seen Olivia Miles?
She's on tonight.
Oh my God.
Oh, I saw the commercial and in WNBA, it's like, she's like an annoyance
that she's just a good storyline.
Like push your fucking players.
Yeah.
And then instead, it's all this discourse stuff.
And they're just stepping in bear traps left and right because they have no adults
in charge of the league.
Yeah.
And you know, I don't know where Adam Silver is either.
But look, you're scared even talking about it.
This is part of the league.
I'm not going to say it.
I'm not going to say it.
Everyone's like terrified to even have conversations about it.
The only thing that I will say.
The lowest hanging fruit is getting, I don't understand enough.
Why can't they get good refs in the WNBA?
That is.
That is like more than anything else.
That to me.
They, I watched the entire fever.
The Chicago sky fever game.
Yes.
Yes.
And Caitlin was stumbling into the ref and the ref just gave her a tech that
yep, she's going to have to miss the game against New York on Tuesday.
It's like, what?
It gave us that ESPN.
You got to reverse this.
So they're reversing.
She clearly tripped.
Now, the question is, did she say something like, come on,
you know, to the ref like out of frustration about how she ran into the,
did Caitlin say something?
No, she said nothing in the reverse.
This is ridiculous.
Of course, of course they reversed it.
It was a nonsense tech.
Can you imagine late 90s David Stern
presiding over this league?
Well,
it feels like they're going to have some hits and some misses,
but I think he would have been a little more involved.
I agree.
I mean, this commissioner they have now
has no relationship with any of the stars.
She seems like she's like a big swimman.
She's like an ex-women.
Yeah, and she is.
She is.
And by the way, she did the thing.
She got the McClechted Bargain Agreement with the,
you know, with the increased revenue that the league has enjoyed
since Caitlin Clark arrived.
Yeah.
And on top of that, you know, they have the CBA in place
and they have, you know, TV deals that are,
that are dramatically increased from what they had before.
And because they're on seven channels.
They're getting eyeballs that people are interested in the WNBA.
People are talking about it.
Here's how stupid they are.
Their finals are going to be on two different channels,
depending on the game.
How stupid and desperate for money do you have to be to
agree to that?
It's also in during NFL season, right?
Yeah, that's part two.
But I mean, look, if they got Indy Anniversas, Minnesota
or Indy Anniversas Vegas as the finals,
that's just legitimately entertaining.
And I don't care if you don't like women's basketball that much.
I personally have grown to actually enjoy watching it.
I like the style of it.
But if those were the finals, that's going to be fucking awesome.
And I'm sure they'll bury it.
It'll be like, hey, is there a huge NFL game
that we can put this finals directly against?
Try to limit the audience because we don't want to make any new fans at all.
Well, they do know that Tuesday night is a dead night.
Friday night is a dead night.
I mean, historically Friday night,
that people are going to high school football games.
Right. You could basically make the two.
The finals just be Tuesdays and Fridays to make sure they won't.
They'll be like, oh, no, it's counter-programming.
Okay.
It's too bad though, because the league,
they by far have the best collection of players that I think they've had.
I agree with you.
And I don't know anybody who thinks they're well run.
So they have to fix this.
And I hope they do.
That's the end of my rent house.
You see you got out of this.
We stay that we stay that out of it.
I didn't make you uncomfortable.
Once.
Thanks for being on house.
I'll see you on Twitch and on YouTube.
And Spotify and every other podcast platform for the Ringer Wise Guys show,
starting tomorrow at the Bundle and Raheem and South.
It's going to be great.
It is a great, nothing but winners.
So that was today's mailbag.
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I'm going to throw it right now to Amanda Dobbins, Rob Mahoney, and myself as promised.
We just taped a rewatch,
both Jaylen Brown press conference was today for the sixers.
And Amanda mentioned she's very upset about this.
Because she's married to a sixer.
So why are you upset about this?
No, I'm a long-suffering Philly sports wife, among my many other.
You're the Kathleen Quinlan of sports wives.
Exactly.
Is there any other kind?
Yeah.
And I, at the end of last season,
and after the frankly humiliating playoff run against the next,
asked my husband and his close friends,
who do include Chris Ryan?
So, you know, I understand what I'm proposing here.
But I suggested that we just renounce the sixers.
That we just take a break.
Because I have watched this happen every year.
They never have it.
They just, they get there a little bit in April and you think,
oh, maybe there's the juice or maybe they've got somebody else.
They rope you in and then they absolutely do not deliver.
I have to tell you that the darkest moments of my family life
are on a Tuesday in February at 4.45 pm.
When NBC sports Philadelphia is on lead pass.
And they're playing like the hornets.
Do the jazz.
No, the jazz are good.
No, hornets.
They're going to be like hornets, wizards.
Do the Orlando magic still exist?
Magic, yeah.
Okay.
And no one cares.
Everybody is just shuffling back and forth,
trying to get this through this dark Tuesday in February.
And we still have to spend our time watching this and investing this
and reacting to this.
And I just don't think it's a great way to spend your life.
So I suggested this.
I was pretty strongly rebuffed.
Then the Jalen Brown thing happens.
With your absolutely incredible content.
No one can do it like you.
And I love you and I support you.
Thank you.
And then I am in my bedroom doing a workout with free weights
next to my bed, which is supposed to be my time.
That is just for me.
When the door is closed,
you don't come in until I'm done with the free weights.
And the door opens on a Friday morning.
My husband with a shitting grin on his face pops in to say,
I just want to let you know that LeBron James is a 76er.
And walks back out again.
And now I got to deal with all this shit for another season.
Is it going to go well?
No. The man is commuting from New York,
which any sane person would do by the way.
Because have you seen Philadelphia in February?
And I love everyone I know in Philadelphia.
Like we know that this isn't going to work.
I don't know what's going on with Jo Ellen beat.
Is he still a 76er?
Yeah, technically.
Like a third of the time.
I don't know who Jalen Brown is except for that he was treated during
your medical treatments,
which were very proud of you forgetting.
And it just does not seem like it's going to work.
It seems like everyone's getting their hopes up again.
And I would like to do something else with my time
besides League Pass.
Thank you.
Well, I have some consolation news for you.
The Eagle season starts in three weeks.
I don't even want to talk about it.
And the Philly's playoffs are coming.
Yeah, and they're going to make it to October
and then forget how to hit.
Like they do every year.
Oh, wow.
This is incredible.
So you know what it's like living with a Philadelphia sports fan.
You don't you live close to that.
You want a Super Bowl and then you want another Super Bowl.
Can I tell you something about that Super Bowl?
Yeah, that was also my son's third birthday.
And so we had his third birthday party in the morning.
And then the entire Philadelphia family was there
watching the Super Bowl together and ignoring the grandson on his birthday.
That's three is a good birthday too.
Yeah, I mean, he was happy.
I think it was also Sequan Barkley's birthday.
So he knew that and like got into it.
Which he's happy.
What's the problem?
Well, the happiness never lasts.
This is also Sean is already letting go of the Nick's glow
and is starting to bitch about the Metz again.
And I just like I can't live like this.
I just I need them to control their emotions.
You know, it's tough living around all of you.
Sean has such a glow for like a month with the Nick's
and the return of movies.
Yeah, it's gone.
But I'm just gone.
So much trouble for the Philly stuff
because I can see whatever I want.
Well, I can't I hear from Zach.
But he doesn't mind when I represent his movie takes or our family life
or things about our marriage.
But anytime I weigh in on his Philadelphia fandom,
like the people who threw snowballs at Santa come out, you know,
I just need you to understand if you did get him to disavow a sixers fandom
and they did somehow win.
I think that you're cooked at that.
I know that it's not coming down from that.
He's grounds for divorce and listen to his credit.
I guess he just immediately rejected it.
He wasn't going to do it.
But it's just not how I want to spend January through April.
It's not a good use of our time.
You're stuck with your teams.
You're stuck with your children and your teams.
Yeah, divorce.
But you can't divorce your team in my opinion.
I think you can get rid of the kids if you really wanted to.
There are people you can't talk.
For us to an uncle, I get it.
But you pick your team and that's it.
The only thing is if they move.
All right.
So that's like my dad was a Dodgers fan growing up because he grew up in Brooklyn.
But then they moved.
Okay.
And then he went to college and Massachusetts and came up.
And now we're sick.
Yeah.
Or if you live in Seattle and you were Sonic's fan and they move.
Sure.
What are you going to do?
But that, see, you didn't even, you glossed over the LeBron piece of this.
LeBron's in your life now.
He's always been in my life.
No, but now you have to be like a LeBron defender.
Your children will have LeBron first.
I don't have to do anything.
You have to, no, I'm going to give you the playbook for be like,
do you know how many records LeBron has?
I didn't know I needed to spam text you LeBron highlights,
but now we do.
You know, like the good thing.
Do you know how amazing this guy is?
I had no ideas playing point guard for us this year.
Are you, have you talked yourself into the Sixers yet or no?
Of course, I've talked to myself and do it.
It's going to be fun.
No, this is going to be a thing.
It's going to be exciting.
It's the most fun.
It'll be the most fun story line the whole year.
Okay, but that's different than it being fun to watch.
I think that'll have moments when there'll be really fun to watch.
It's just that will tanolize people and then it'll be like, uh oh,
it'd be, where is it?
Is that playing tonight?
LeBron,
bronze taking two weeks off.
Just think of the glow that a good Sixers team could bring to that random Tuesday in February.
Wow, I think this is going to be great for us.
I'll never trust it.
It could be great for Zach.
I think it is great for us.
I mean, what this really is, this is the end.
This is the finish line of the process, which started in 2013.
Sure, I remember the process.
We need to trust it.
And then for our own way seasons and building around and bead.
And now we've now culminated with this somewhat super team.
Also, what if he brings my sons into this?
It's going to happen.
You know, their Eagles fans a bit, they know about the Phillies.
I like they, they played baseball.
It's tough.
Mostly the kids gravitate to players.
Okay.
If they were in Philly, no chance, they're Philly fans, but they live here.
Stone now can go any direction.
Okay.
They might decide one day.
Like there is Garland all of a sudden you're buying like a there is Garland, Jersey.
I think parents have a responsibility to educate their kids about Tyrese Maxi.
And so like you're just going to have to bring him into your home.
Yeah, so that's a great one. Maxi's great.
You know what?
We do have some like a portrait of Tyrese Maxi,
framed and hanging in my son's room that was a gift from my sister.
It's a good start.
When I tell you I am living in Crazy Town, I am not kidding.
We have a special name for the Philly fanatic, green friend.
I just, you know, you know what this is all really about.
The three craziest cities for sports teams are all called weather cities.
Boston, New York and Philly just fucking crazy.
Cause there's four or five months a year when the weather is just the worst it could be.
And then in the summer, it's 100 degrees for six straight weeks and everybody loses their
months. Only the cold, adult mind could have created gritty.
You know, it really takes some divine inspiration.
Do we have a stuff gritty? Yes.
Do we have a gritty Christmas ornament?
Yes.
Do you know what our tree topper is?
The Philly fanatic.
That's actually cool.
I like that one.
It was custom made.
But like this is this is what I deal with.
And can the sixers deliver on that?
And you want to give it all away.
Like see Robin, I know how this is going to play out.
Cause we love the wig and follow it religiously.
In the second and third round, you have to play every other day, basically.
And that's one that's being sustainable for 42 year old LeBron and Joe LNB.
But between year and year and year, 42 year old me.
So yeah.
Yeah.
That's where we'll fall apart.
All right.
Thanks for checking in with us.
Of course.
Thanks.
So I'm sorry, Zach.
I love you.
All right.
That's it for the podcast.
Thanks to Wilds and House.
Thanks to Dobbins and Mahoney for their cameo.
Thanks to Gahau and Eduardo as well.
Don't forget to rewatch those episodes this week on Monday and Thursday,
the Italian job and about last night.
And I will have another episode for you midweek.
So stay tuned for that.
See them.
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