Latest / Scene Projects Sports Network / WNBA Finals Preview, NBA Second Apron and Opening Night Matchups

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WNBA Finals Preview, NBA Second Apron and Opening Night Matchups · Scene Projects Sports Network

• 0:36
  Welcome into the Scene Project Sports Network.
• 0:39
  I am your host, Bubba Starts.
• 0:40
  Tonight, you are here for the rim report.
• 0:43
  I'm joined as always by my cohost, Selly and Ojouro.
• 0:47
  Selly, what's good, brother?
• 0:48
  What's up, Bubba?
• 0:49
  I'm doing well.
• 0:50
  Can't complain like always.
• 0:52
  Yeah, man.
• 0:53
  NBA season right around the corner now.
• 0:55
  WNBA finals start on Saturday.
• 0:58
  A lot to get excited about.
• 1:01
  You know, the network is rocking and rolling right now with with all the sports that we've
• 1:05
  got happening, live streams almost every single night of the week at this point.
• 1:11
  We got pods talking about doing a a live stream from the golf course on Halloween.
• 1:16
  Like, man, it's just...
• 1:18
  It's crazy right now.
• 1:19
  Gotta love this time of year.
• 1:20
  Right, Selly?
• 1:21
  Yeah.
• 1:21
  It's crazy, man.
• 1:22
  Like I like I said, last weekend was, like, heaven for me.
• 1:25
  I...
• 1:25
  From, like, morning to night, I'm watching Indiana play, I'm watching Indiana play during
• 1:31
  the day.
• 1:32
  Then I'm watching guardians, white sox game five, which is basically game seven.
• 1:38
  Like, it's locked in every single sport I could imagine just having the time of my life.
• 1:44
  Yep.
• 1:45
  Pretty, pretty incredible, run here in the fall.
• 1:49
  And you know it's coming every year, but I don't know that anything quite prepares you.
• 1:53
  All of the drama of these seasons coming to life, you know, in football, I think everyone
• 2:01
  is a little surprised that the Vikings are are five and o sitting, you know, at the top of the
• 2:06
  league with the 40 niners.
• 2:09
  In baseball, had some huge surprises as well.
• 2:11
  The Rays taking down your Yankees.
• 2:13
  Sorry, buddy.
• 2:14
  That wasn't great.
• 2:15
  I'm sure to watch.
• 2:16
  But, building up for a lot of drama here in the finals, the Brewers putting the dodgers kind of
• 2:22
  up against the wall right now.
• 2:24
  Is that streak kinda broken?
• 2:26
  And then the talk obviously becomes, you know, is the dodgers dynasty over if that's...
• 2:32
  I know if they could very easily come back and win four in a row now and, you know, it could
• 2:37
  be totally different, but that builds its own drama.
• 2:40
  And it's so...
• 2:41
  It's fun, man.
• 2:42
  It's the reason I love having a sports network so we can talk about these.
• 2:46
  We can follow these stories, and there's just nothing better than this time of year.
• 2:51
  Yeah, man.
• 2:52
  Like, if you're me, like like, this weekend, there's a huge college football matchup.
• 2:56
  Indiana plays Ohio State.
• 2:57
  It's like, that might be the game of the year this weekend, four versus five.
• 3:02
  Baseball postseason, obviously, if you're into, one of the reasons why I love the baseball
• 3:07
  postseason, it's, like, the shift from, like, the regular season to the postseason is, like,
• 3:11
  maybe, like, the most dramatic shift out of any sport.
• 3:14
  Like, you go from, like, a 162 games.
• 3:18
  Like, it can be slow, and, like, I enjoy the slowness of baseball.
• 3:22
  You have to enjoy every sport for what it is.
• 3:24
  But then, like, the slowness plays...
• 3:27
  Does really well in postseason.
• 3:29
  Like, it works it up and, like, the intensity of every pitch because every pitch literally
• 3:34
  matters.
• 3:35
  And, like, you go from, like, slow to not...
• 3:37
  You could, like, miss pitches.
• 3:38
  So, like, you can't miss any pitch in the postseason.
• 3:42
  So, like, you have this, and then, like we said, basketball starts up Tuesday with, Knicks
• 3:47
  Sixers, Piston Celtics, Spurs.
• 3:52
  Spurs play the...
• 3:53
  Who do they play?
• 3:54
  They play the Thunder.
• 3:54
  So, like, anything you want, it's right there for you.
• 3:59
  Yep.
• 4:00
  It's gonna be a lot of fun.
• 4:02
  I...
• 4:03
  And getting into that, let's get into...
• 4:06
  Let's talk about the WNBA finals.
• 4:08
  Atlanta taking on Golden State this weekend.
• 4:12
  What do you like about this matchup in particular and these two teams going head to
• 4:17
  head now?
• 4:18
  Well, it's a...
• 4:20
  It's gonna be a great matchup.
• 4:21
  Golden State Valkyries, shout out to them.
• 4:23
  Second league in second year in existence.
• 4:26
  We're an we're an expansion team, kinda like the Golden Knights in hockey, like, how they
• 4:31
  just made an instant impact, like, right out the gate.
• 4:33
  Like, making it to the finals is unbelievable.
• 4:36
  They have a great...
• 4:37
  They might have the the greatest home court advantage in the WNBA, Valhalla out there.
• 4:42
  It's, like, replicating like the warriors did in the Bay Area for all those dynasty years.
• 4:48
  Then you have Atlanta.
• 4:50
  They...
• 4:51
  With Angel Reese, with all those great women out there playing a great style of basketball
• 4:57
  with their coach who came from college, I believe, infused them with a different, like,
• 5:01
  offensive style.
• 5:03
  So it's gonna be a great matchup.
• 5:05
  Golden State is a great defensive team.
• 5:07
  Both teams coming off close sweeps, which is, like, a funny thing to say.
• 5:12
  Like, how can a sweep be close?
• 5:14
  But, like, I think every single one of their games for both series were, like, came down to,
• 5:19
  like, three points or went into overtime.
• 5:21
  But, like, Golden State taking out the dynasty of the aces, doing a great job on Asia Wilson
• 5:28
  the whole time, then, Atlanta taking out another great team with the...
• 5:34
  With our local town Liberty here with, Brianna Stewart, Sabrina Unescu.
• 5:39
  So I I think it's gonna be a great matchup, and I think it's gonna go the distance because I
• 5:44
  think these teams are well evenly matched.
• 5:46
  Yeah.
• 5:47
  Well...
• 5:47
  And they've played each other, you know, six times during the season.
• 5:51
  And, no, there was only one game where the Valkyries won by 11, but the other games are a
• 5:59
  two point win.
• 6:00
  You know?
• 6:00
  I guess the dream got them, you know, by by 16 earlier in the season back in August, but it
• 6:08
  just kinda back and forth and really close matchups as I'm kinda, you know, recapping what
• 6:13
  the games are, but looks like Valkyrie's two, three, four of them.
• 6:21
  So Valkyrie's kinda have the season, edge there.
• 6:24
  I think that is, most people would look at it kind of advantage Valkyrie's, but it also fires
• 6:29
  up this Atlanta dream team, right, to say, hey.
• 6:33
  Look.
• 6:33
  They got our number during the season, but all that's over now.
• 6:37
  And now it's, you know, who who can win, you know, what...
• 6:40
  Is it seven games finally for this then?
• 6:44
  I think it is.
• 6:45
  I'm not sure.
• 6:46
  Like, we talked last three.
• 6:48
  Yeah.
• 6:48
  So seven game series here at the end.
• 6:50
  Right?
• 6:50
  Who can win four right now?
• 6:52
  Like, that...
• 6:53
  That's the that's the big the big teller, and, yeah, I I love it.
• 6:57
  I don't know enough about either one of these two teams.
• 6:59
  I'm gonna get into it now.
• 7:01
  I said, really important.
• 7:03
  Golden State has home court.
• 7:04
  They have the greatest...
• 7:06
  They have the best home court in the WNBA, in my opinion.
• 7:10
  Then the problem with the with the Atlanta dream is, I don't know.
• 7:14
  You probably didn't hear.
• 7:15
  They sold their, they did...
• 7:19
  I don't think they thought the team was gonna make it this far.
• 7:22
  So, unfortunately, they can't play in the arena they normally play in.
• 7:25
  They have to play in their old arena, which seats seats.
• 7:30
  It's like it's like a smaller gym or arena.
• 7:34
  So, like, it's funny how, like, you're gonna have one.
• 7:37
  The home court differences are just gonna be insane.
• 7:44
  Yeah.
• 7:45
  What a...
• 7:46
  That's such a such a thing to happen to a WNBA franchise too where they're like, oh, they're
• 7:52
  not they're not gonna make it.
• 7:54
  Let's book the building, and we're good.
• 7:57
  And they're like, oh, we're in the finals.
• 8:00
  Yeah.
• 8:01
  You're gonna have to play down the street in the high school, Jim.
• 8:04
  Sorry.
• 8:05
  It's not a...
• 8:06
  It it happens, but, like, it it just, like...
• 8:09
  It sounds like a bad message sometimes to the team when it's like, well, we didn't think
• 8:12
  you're gonna make it this far.
• 8:14
  And it wasn't like they were a bad team.
• 8:16
  They had, like, a pretty good team set up.
• 8:19
  Like, they had a good off season.
• 8:21
  They were good last year.
• 8:22
  So, like, they could've had a little bit more faith in the team.
• 8:26
  Yeah.
• 8:27
  Well...
• 8:27
  And the way that it works with these, you know, the the franchises don't own the buildings that
• 8:34
  they play in.
• 8:35
  Right?
• 8:35
  The the buildings are separate, and I've seen this and now working at some of these venues.
• 8:39
  These are concert venues.
• 8:40
  They are hosting all different kinds of sports, things like that, especially with a place like
• 8:45
  Atlanta that has so much happening in that metro and probably not a lot of buildings of
• 8:51
  the size that that fit these teams to bringing them in there.
• 8:55
  And I'm not exactly sure of where, they play at.
• 8:59
  I might just, search that now at Atlanta Dream Home Stadium, which is now, you know, the East
• 9:10
  Side, high school spot, but that's just messed up.
• 9:17
  Gateway Center, looks like in College Park is where they would typically play, also home of
• 9:22
  this.
• 9:23
  I wonder what they got going on.
• 9:24
  So you're going from a 9,200 meter square multipurpose to...
• 9:30
  I wonder where they're gonna play now.
• 9:32
  I'm gonna find that out too.
• 9:34
  Where will Atlanta...
• 9:39
  Host finals?
• 9:45
  It's always the ticket people up at the farm.
• 9:48
  So then they're gonna go to the State Farm Arena, which is there, which...
• 9:52
  Let's look up State Farm Arena and see what the difference is.
• 9:57
  I think the State Farm are...
• 9:58
  Where they act originally played right now.
• 10:00
  Or I don't know.
• 10:02
  That...
• 10:02
  They just announced that games three and four will be at the State Farm, arena.
• 10:06
  So Oh, okay.
• 10:08
  Yep.
• 10:09
  Oh, which is the home of the Atlanta Hawks.
• 10:11
  So maybe they're going up because what I found is that they typically play at at this smaller,
• 10:19
  place where the skyhawks play.
• 10:22
  I think
• 10:23
  that's not right.
• 10:24
  Were playing at State Farm Arena, and they're going back to where
• 10:27
  Oh, this is 2023.
• 10:29
  Okay.
• 10:29
  Yeah.
• 10:29
  Interesting.
• 10:30
  So you're thinking they're going back to Gateway after being in now, at the State Farm.
• 10:36
  Interesting.
• 10:37
  I don't know how my...
• 10:39
  Like, who uses Yahoo to search?
• 10:41
  What are we doing here?
• 10:42
  I don't know why my default search engine got really...
• 10:45
  No offense, Yahoo, I guess.
• 10:46
  I don't piss anybody off.
• 10:47
  But, like, all of a sudden, it went from, you know, being my duck duck go to this.
• 10:52
  Yeah.
• 10:53
  Interesting.
• 10:54
  And that's unfortunately something that happens when you're one of these kind of lesser, you
• 11:00
  know, teams and leagues.
• 11:01
  And I hope that that changes.
• 11:03
  You know?
• 11:03
  We've talked a lot about the competition and the, the the vibration kinda rising for the
• 11:10
  WNBA this season.
• 11:12
  A lot of press, a lot more eyeballs on the product.
• 11:15
  And, hopefully, there's more...
• 11:17
  A little more forethought from these venues in the future to say that, hey.
• 11:21
  We are we are going to definitely block these out because any of these teams could make it,
• 11:27
  and maybe there's a chance where, you know, obviously, you can tell in there.
• 11:30
  But, also, you're...
• 11:31
  You know, if you had an opportunity to bring, you know, you know, I I don't know who would be
• 11:36
  a a big act that would take that up, but, you know, little John and the east side boys or
• 11:42
  something are coming to town and they need it for a...
• 11:44
  You know, you're you're you're like, yeah.
• 11:45
  We're selling that out or compared to we might be 50% capacity for, you know, for for another
• 11:53
  show.
• 11:54
  So, yeah, I I understand it from the venue side that you can't gauge it, and I don't know what
• 11:58
  their turnout was like, at all in there.
• 12:01
  But still, kind of a shame to happen to a team who are making a run at a WNBA championship
• 12:08
  this weekend.
• 12:08
  Kind of a weird storyline to follow there.
• 12:12
  Yeah.
• 12:12
  It's unfortunate.
• 12:13
  I mean, like you said, like, WNBA is making great strides to becoming a great league last
• 12:20
  year with a historic season with ratings.
• 12:22
  This year, same thing.
• 12:23
  Ratings up again.
• 12:25
  It's just an unfortunate misstep, but, like, it's still gonna be a great ending to another
• 12:30
  historic season.
• 12:34
  Yeah.
• 12:34
  And these are the kind of things that these are the kind of things that happen and and what
• 12:40
  make people kind of look at the league sideways, and it's absolutely no fault of the
• 12:47
  team.
• 12:48
  Like, the team went out and did their job.
• 12:50
  Right.
• 12:51
  So what what do you do?
• 12:53
  You know?
• 12:53
  It's so, it kinda stinks.
• 12:55
  Like I said, I I hate it.
• 12:56
  But gonna be a great series regardless.
• 12:59
  Looking forward to, hopefully, tuning in a little bit.
• 13:01
  I think I'll be play...
• 13:02
  I'm so busy this weekend, dude.
• 13:04
  It's unreal.
• 13:05
  But, yeah, we got games Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and then next Saturday, and then
• 13:11
  after that, if needed.
• 13:13
  So the way they're going to do this is two two one one one like the NBA does, I'm assuming.
• 13:20
  Yeah.
• 13:21
  Interesting.
• 13:23
  I mean...
• 13:23
  Yeah.
• 13:24
  That's fine.
• 13:25
  I mean, I the old way of two three two was always interesting, but I I think I like the
• 13:30
  way they do it now.
• 13:32
  Although the old way always intrigued me, though, when I was a kid.
• 13:37
  Two three
• 13:38
  Yeah.
• 13:38
  Because if you can if you can steal one of those first two games as the away, you just
• 13:44
  stole home court advantage.
• 13:45
  Right?
• 13:46
  Well, does the two three two.
• 13:52
  Like, it makes it interesting.
• 13:54
  So, like, even if you go down two o, you still have the next...
• 13:58
  Technically, you you you might have the advantage still because you have the next three
• 14:01
  games at home.
• 14:02
  You know, you gotta...
• 14:04
  But, like...
• 14:05
  Sometimes it's like, don't know what I'd rather be.
• 14:07
  I think I'd rather have the three middle home games as weird as it sounds.
• 14:10
  Because all you have to do is just win one game in the in the first two.
• 14:15
  And even if you don't, you still kinda it's like, alright.
• 14:18
  Oh, we just got three home games now.
• 14:21
  And even if we lose one, we still...
• 14:23
  It's it's not as weird.
• 14:25
  I don't know.
• 14:26
  I like it.
• 14:28
  Yeah.
• 14:29
  Interesting format as always, and, you know, I think advantages both ways.
• 14:35
  It it probably split to give teams more time and sell more tickets, to these, you know,
• 14:41
  build build the drama a little bit, but, super super fun.
• 14:45
  So who you got, Sully?
• 14:47
  Who are you picking in, in this series?
• 14:49
  I'm gonna pick, the Valkyries, and I'm a pick them in...
• 14:55
  I'm a say six games.
• 14:59
  Just said the defense, they have the number one defense in the league.
• 15:03
  I'm gonna...
• 15:04
  I don't think they're gonna lose a home game.
• 15:07
  So I'm just gonna...
• 15:08
  I'm gonna pick the Valkyries.
• 15:10
  I'm gonna pick...
• 15:11
  Shout out to Gabby Williams, a Connecticut product.
• 15:14
  Really huge fan of her and her career and how it was weird, how she found her way out of the
• 15:19
  league, how she was a champion, great player at Yukon, and she was drafted in the league.
• 15:24
  I was out of the league, showed out in the Olympics, and then got back into the league,
• 15:28
  and it's been a stud ever since.
• 15:30
  So I'm I'm a just ride with her.
• 15:31
  They have a great coach as well.
• 15:33
  So I'm a I'm a just ride with them, and I think it's gonna go six six games.
• 15:39
  Yeah.
• 15:39
  Pretty awesome.
• 15:40
  It's gonna be a great series and looking forward to catching some of the games.
• 15:46
  I haven't had them on any of my streamers, but I'm sure it'll be on while I'm out in Deadwood
• 15:50
  playing music and being a part of that this weekend.
• 15:53
  So I'll get a chance to tune in at least on Saturday and check out the action and looking
• 15:58
  forward to it.
• 15:59
  I'll obviously be a lot more tapped in in their next season as we've kinda gotten this ball
• 16:04
  rolling and being a bigger part of, you know, all the sports now that that we're covering
• 16:10
  into.
• 16:11
  And, you know, having the...
• 16:13
  I don't wanna say excuse, but having a good reason, right, to to start watching and
• 16:16
  consuming some of this stuff rather than, you know, having to sit down and watch ninety day
• 16:21
  fiance with my wife, which I absolutely just...
• 16:23
  I hate...
• 16:24
  It's so, so stupid.
• 16:25
  I hate it.
• 16:27
  My goodness.
• 16:28
  So bad.
• 16:29
  I don't watch it as much as I used to, but I like the show.
• 16:33
  Sally, I'm not surprised by that, buddy.
• 16:35
  I...
• 16:36
  That's funny.
• 16:37
  Awesome.
• 16:38
  Well, wrapping up the WNBA season in the week and then leading right into the NBA season
• 16:45
  kicking off tip-off on Wednesday.
• 16:48
  Some big games right away to start the season, build that drama early.
• 16:53
  What's the one that you're looking forward to the most starting off the season on Wednesday?
• 16:59
  If I'm being honest, if I had to pick one, I would pick sixers next because just LeBron's
• 17:06
  first game, the...
• 17:07
  With the sixers, just to see how the sixers experiment start.
• 17:12
  Just the buzz that's gonna be in MSG for the first game with the knicks getting their rings
• 17:17
  and just, like, LeBron being in the building.
• 17:21
  I would pick that game because I think...
• 17:23
  Especially, like, being up here in the area, it's gonna be, pretty electric.
• 17:28
  However, Spurs Thunder is...
• 17:32
  I'm...
• 17:32
  I can't wait for Spurs Thunder as because I think it's gonna be the Western Conference
• 17:37
  finals again.
• 17:38
  The two teams in the West, we've talked about it in the last two pods.
• 17:42
  Is anyone gonna be able to jump in there in the top two, or are these gonna be the top two
• 17:46
  teams for not only this year, but for years to come?
• 17:50
  I just think, though, for me, just the next six years, I I can't wait to watch that game,
• 17:55
  honestly.
• 17:57
  Yeah.
• 17:58
  Gonna be a lot of fun and not, you know, obviously, the matchmakers and, you know,
• 18:05
  they're they're not stupid.
• 18:06
  They they know what's gonna get the the headlines out there.
• 18:09
  I don't know.
• 18:10
  Was the schedule already out before LeBron signed, or were they, were they waiting?
• 18:14
  No.
• 18:14
  They they waited because they have to, like...
• 18:18
  They have to set, like, the Christmas...
• 18:19
  Well, they'll they'll have some matchups, obviously, but, like, they had to wait because
• 18:23
  they didn't know where LeBron was gonna play.
• 18:25
  And, like, LeBron is probably still the league's biggest draw, if we're being honest.
• 18:30
  But, like, we have to...
• 18:31
  He's gonna have to play an opening night or one of the first couple nights.
• 18:35
  Then Christmas, obviously, we have to determine where he's gonna play when.
• 18:39
  So we had to wait.
• 18:40
  We legitimately didn't know where he was gonna play until, like, late July.
• 18:46
  So Yeah.
• 18:47
  That's wild.
• 18:47
  They are like, hey, bro.
• 18:49
  Can you sign somewhere so we can get the ball rolling?
• 18:52
  What are you doing?
• 18:53
  Holding up the whole league.
• 18:55
  Like, legitimately, I...
• 18:58
  I'm still...
• 18:59
  Like, I I think now we're just kinda like, okay.
• 19:00
  He signed with the sixers, but, like, we have to remember how much of a shock it was, I
• 19:05
  think, to most of us.
• 19:06
  They're like, wait.
• 19:07
  He actually signed with the sixers?
• 19:09
  Like, I I remember when my boy told me about it.
• 19:12
  We were on a phone call, and he was like, wait, dude.
• 19:14
  LeBron just signed with the sixers.
• 19:15
  I was like, are you for real?
• 19:17
  Was like...
• 19:18
  Because I...
• 19:19
  We just...
• 19:19
  I just couldn't imagine, like, him doing it.
• 19:21
  But, like, I...
• 19:24
  Again, because he says he wants to win a championship, and it's not about anything else
• 19:29
  except winning.
• 19:30
  So if you're gonna say it's about winning, I guess this is it.
• 19:35
  And this is the team, and it's right.
• 19:38
  It can go really well or it can be a disaster.
• 19:42
  And I I don't know what it's gonna go, but people are gonna watch every night, and they're
• 19:48
  gonna...
• 19:48
  They might be the most popular team on league pass this year.
• 19:52
  I I can't wait, though, to watch them at least the first night just to just to see, like, what
• 19:56
  it looks like because you have all those talented players in the starting lineup with
• 20:01
  Jalen, Tyrese, LeBron, DJ, Joel.
• 20:06
  Like, how is Joel Embiid gonna fit in all this?
• 20:09
  I have no idea.
• 20:10
  Because as you you had a guy who, like, who was the most valuable player in the league at one
• 20:15
  point, and this was his team.
• 20:17
  And, like, is it still his team?
• 20:19
  Is it his town?
• 20:20
  Is it still his city?
• 20:21
  Like, I don't I don't know.
• 20:23
  But, like, does he still think it's his team?
• 20:25
  Like like...
• 20:26
  But, like, when LeBron comes to a team, it kinda shifts to his team naturally.
• 20:31
  Even when, like, Luca was there, it's...
• 20:33
  It did shift to Luca's team.
• 20:35
  So, like, we'll give him that, but, like, it's LeBron James at the end of the day, so he's
• 20:39
  always gonna take the oxygen in the room as people say.
• 20:42
  Yeah.
• 20:43
  The man's gravity affected the entire league until, you know, early July.
• 20:48
  So how can it not affect a team in that way and the way people are going, to look up to him and
• 20:55
  and and that respect level out there?
• 20:58
  It's gonna be interesting to see how that all plays out.
• 21:00
  Because just as much as we can forecast it going well and saying, hey.
• 21:04
  They're gonna win, you know, 75 games and be the best team ever.
• 21:08
  It could also go the opposite of that, and it could be a little bit of a mess.
• 21:13
  And I think the reason you're gonna have people tuning in is some of them wanna see that
• 21:17
  success, but then there's so many people out there that are LeBron haters that wanna see it
• 21:22
  implode or Embiid haters too.
• 21:24
  It's not like he's a, you know, mutually beloved individual playing in the league.
• 21:29
  So I I think there's something to that.
• 21:32
  Did did Philly become kind of the the bad boys of the NBA this season by kind of putting a
• 21:40
  target on their backs a little bit and knowing that teams are gonna wanna step up that much
• 21:44
  more and play their best against them too.
• 21:47
  You know?
• 21:48
  If you're coming out and getting everybody's, best punch every single night, how does that
• 21:53
  how does that look?
• 21:54
  How how are you able to absorb those punches, especially over an 82 game season?
• 21:59
  Yeah.
• 22:00
  It's interesting.
• 22:01
  Like, how is it gonna look?
• 22:02
  How does the rest of the league feel about this?
• 22:05
  Haven't really heard too much negative about it because it is like...
• 22:09
  At the end of the day, it's an older LeBron.
• 22:11
  I mean, this is why the second apron was created for a reason, and it was kinda prevent
• 22:17
  stuff like this even though this isn't what it was strictly trying to avoid.
• 22:23
  The second apron has kinda destroyed dynasties in the league.
• 22:28
  It's the Kevin Durant Kevin Durant effect going to the warriors.
• 22:32
  When this happened, owners didn't want this happening again, so we...
• 22:34
  They created the second apron.
• 22:36
  Now, unfortunately, it's kind of this...
• 22:39
  It's destroying teams, like, right in front of us, teams who won titles and you have to break
• 22:44
  up the team right away.
• 22:45
  Kind of like a kind of like an an old school reference to, like, the Miami Marlins back in
• 22:51
  the day when they won a world series and then traded away everybody.
• 22:55
  It's kinda what happens now with the second apron.
• 22:58
  Sully, can you explain this to me?
• 23:00
  Because this is all kinda brand new to me.
• 23:02
  Like I said, I've been tuned out for so long.
• 23:05
  Can you explain what the second apron is for me?
• 23:07
  And I'm sure other listeners that are more casual fans of the NBA?
• 23:12
  Yeah.
• 23:12
  So, basically, the second apron is a hard cap, and it's like...
• 23:18
  It's basically to prevent you from having multiple max players on one team.
• 23:24
  So, like, when the warriors had...
• 23:27
  Or, like, if you wanna start even, like, with, like, the the heatles with LeBron, Chris Bosh,
• 23:31
  Dwayne Wade, they don't want
• 23:33
  Did you call them the heatles?
• 23:36
  It's what they were called, though.
• 23:37
  I didn't know that.
• 23:39
  You didn't back in the day.
• 23:44
  You wanna refer back to the the Heatles with LeBron, D Wade, Chris Bosh, then with the
• 23:49
  extreme example of Kevin Durant, Draymond, Steph, Clay, owners didn't want all these
• 23:56
  Mac...
• 23:56
  Basically, they didn't want these all star teams and all these Max players on one team.
• 24:00
  So, basically, it's a hard cap.
• 24:03
  And what what the league wants now is, like, you can have, like, two max players then...
• 24:10
  Two max players and then basically, like, regular salary players.
• 24:15
  So, like, if you if you do go over the cap, then there's, like, pent...
• 24:19
  There's, like, really strict penalties.
• 24:20
  Like, they take draft picks away, or you can't, like, you can't make trades.
• 24:26
  You can only make, like, one to one trades.
• 24:28
  Like, there's, like, strict rules and penalties if you, like, go into the second apron.
• 24:33
  So, like, it's not like the luxury tax in baseball where it's like you go over, you pay
• 24:36
  it, it's whatever.
• 24:37
  If you're the Mets and Steve Cohen and you just wanna pay...
• 24:39
  Or the Dodgers, you just wanna pay, you pay it.
• 24:42
  There's there's, like, really strict penalties for it.
• 24:44
  And, like, owners in the NBA, they don't wanna pay it.
• 24:47
  So it ends up being like...
• 24:48
  That's why you see teams like the Nuggets when...
• 24:52
  And the Nuggets, when they win their title, they trade players away.
• 24:55
  The Celtics' prime example, when they they had to trade Kristaps Porzingis away, they they
• 25:00
  traded away Drew Holiday because it's like we can't pay all these guys.
• 25:06
  And then the salaries are going up too.
• 25:08
  So, like, a lot of these teams don't wanna pay, like, two guys, $300,000,000 contracts to both
• 25:15
  of them, which is realistic for a lot of teams if you have, like, multiple all NBA type
• 25:22
  players.
• 25:22
  So, like, basically, like I said, it's a hard cap, and it just prevents you from signing more
• 25:27
  than two max players on a team.
• 25:33
  Yeah.
• 25:33
  Incredible.
• 25:34
  Whatever they can do to create some parody in the league so you don't have these kind of
• 25:39
  dynasty teams.
• 25:40
  Or if you do, honestly, it it makes that dynasty that much more impactful and shows what
• 25:47
  what you can really do.
• 25:48
  So these teams that are constantly returning to, you know, the finals and having that, it it
• 25:55
  is not because they can just afford to get the best players.
• 25:58
  If you choose to do that, you're gonna be penalized and penalized heavily for doing so.
• 26:05
  Yeah.
• 26:05
  It's it's sometimes...
• 26:06
  It's unfortunate too because then, like, I know why the owners felt this way, and they kind of
• 26:12
  overreacted to, like...
• 26:15
  Because the Kevin Durant thing was just such a rare thing that happened.
• 26:18
  And in the moment, I get it.
• 26:20
  A lot...
• 26:20
  Most of us who weren't warriors fans were all pissed.
• 26:23
  However, like
• 26:24
  Well, yeah.
• 26:24
  Because they were already good.
• 26:26
  Like, they were already a really good team.
• 26:28
  Hadn't they already won a championship at that point?
• 26:32
  They had won a championship and then won 73 games and then went to the finals the year
• 26:37
  before he came.
• 26:39
  Yeah.
• 26:40
  And and then you get one of the arguably, you know, best players of all time.
• 26:44
  I think there...
• 26:45
  I mean, Durant's still out there doing his thing.
• 26:48
  You know?
• 26:48
  Just incredible player, and and hard to deny the talent.
• 26:54
  Adding that to a team that had already won a title.
• 26:58
  And then, yeah, had followed it up with a 73 win record breaking season, and then didn't win
• 27:03
  the finals that year.
• 27:05
  Correct?
• 27:06
  Right.
• 27:07
  And I I think teams...
• 27:09
  I think owners just overreact, and I think fans, we overreact too because we think, like,
• 27:14
  when a player signs, they're like, man, like, this is gonna last forever.
• 27:18
  And, really, like, besides your bulls when you were in the nineties, dynasties really don't...
• 27:24
  In the NBA, they don't really last as long as people think.
• 27:27
  The Miami Heat teams, those teams were only together for, like, three years, really.
• 27:31
  The...
• 27:32
  Those Kevin Durant warrior teams were only together for four years.
• 27:35
  They don't last as long as you think they do.
• 27:37
  And even then, it's not like they win all the titles.
• 27:40
  Teams teams jumped in there and won titles when both of those teams existed.
• 27:45
  They don't last as long as people think.
• 27:49
  Then there's unintended consequences like the Thunder who...
• 27:53
  Like Sam Prezzi, who's a great GM, who he drafted all these players or he traded for SGA.
• 28:00
  And now he's unfortunately gonna have to, like...
• 28:02
  Eventually, he's had to trade some of his players or he started to because the apron is
• 28:08
  preventing him from signing all his players the deals he wants.
• 28:12
  It's either you pay...
• 28:13
  You either you trade these players away or you have to do what Jalen Brunson did and take,
• 28:18
  like, a $100,000,000 less, which most players are not gonna do.
• 28:22
  Yeah.
• 28:23
  A lot of guys are are not gonna do that.
• 28:25
  And I think it's a little, it it can be, yeah, I mean, a little a little rude for an owner
• 28:32
  who...
• 28:33
  Who's kind of...
• 28:33
  And, you know, these owners and sports teams, there's there's a lot of money going out the
• 28:38
  door as well. So
• 28:38
  So I don't wanna make it seem like, you know, they're just pocketing hundreds of millions of
• 28:43
  dollars over the course of a season.
• 28:44
  These salaries are insane.
• 28:46
  But, yeah, put some of these teams who are really good at drafting and developing talent
• 28:50
  in a really big bind because you can have a a stellar class, a a two year, three class, and
• 28:56
  range of these guys coming up and then not being able to keep them together and maybe not
• 29:00
  ever having a chance to win it all before you have to trade them away in their prime.
• 29:05
  Right.
• 29:05
  And now you're penalizing a team like the Thunder or the Spurs who drafted all their
• 29:10
  players, developed them, and it's like, oh, wait.
• 29:13
  Now we can only pick two of them that we really like and we have to let one go or we have to
• 29:18
  trade one?
• 29:19
  Like, that's not fair to them.
• 29:21
  Like, the the point of it was, like, you don't want somebody to sign a free agent to just hop
• 29:25
  on a great team.
• 29:27
  But if it happens organically, then then it's an...
• 29:32
  Like I said, it's an unintended consequence.
• 29:34
  Yeah.
• 29:35
  I wonder if there'll be adjustments to that over time.
• 29:37
  It it just...
• 29:38
  And I I kind of admire the league and taking these big swings, and Adam Silver, I think, is
• 29:43
  one of the most innovative thinkers, in sports to to, you know, address these and be unafraid
• 29:50
  to really go out there and to to put some things in action.
• 29:55
  Because you're always looking at the long term, effects of these as well and growing the game.
• 30:00
  The NBA took such a massive hit, and we're really struggling to bring fans out and engage
• 30:05
  them because the teams were so good.
• 30:07
  Right?
• 30:08
  Because of the super team.
• 30:09
  So you make adjustments, and I think it's kinda like a pendulum.
• 30:12
  Right?
• 30:12
  That it it comes back and forth, and and you have that.
• 30:16
  And right now, I feel like we're in a really good place, and and we talked about it, you
• 30:19
  know, on the first couple of episodes that the league is kind of coming to an equilibrium
• 30:24
  where there's more talent.
• 30:26
  You know, you're you're seeing changes.
• 30:28
  NIL changing The the league as well where you are getting older players coming in now again.
• 30:34
  Kids are staying a little bit longer seasoning in their college programs and then coming up.
• 30:39
  I wonder if there'll be a swing back and an extension of the apron to say, okay.
• 30:43
  Maybe it's three max players or may...
• 30:45
  You know, add some adjustments to this as it goes on because you're creating more issues
• 30:51
  than you are solving them.
• 30:53
  Yeah.
• 30:54
  It creates an interesting conversation, which you hear a lot now in the NBA because it's a
• 30:58
  huge topic.
• 31:00
  We're...
• 31:00
  Right now, we're in the league of parody.
• 31:02
  We haven't had a team go back...
• 31:04
  Win back to back titles since the warriors did it.
• 31:08
  What, almost eight years ago?
• 31:10
  We've had eight different champions.
• 31:12
  But, like, it...
• 31:14
  So some people think, like, what's better?
• 31:16
  Do you want a team, like, in baseball, like the dodgers where we all have to hunt them down and
• 31:20
  chase them, where people hate them, or, like, the bulls in the nineties or the Kobe Shack
• 31:25
  Lakers?
• 31:26
  Or do you like it where your team legitimately has a a chance to win, like the NFL where...
• 31:33
  I mean, this...
• 31:34
  Discounting the chiefs the past couple of years.
• 31:37
  Typically, there was a different champion every year.
• 31:41
  They hadn't had a back to back champion since, the Patriots did it before the Chiefs did it
• 31:46
  recently.
• 31:47
  They're like, what what is better?
• 31:49
  Where you believe your team actually has a chance to win or we're hunting down a team like
• 31:57
  the heat or the lakers or the bulls or the or the celtics, one of those teams from back in
• 32:02
  the day, which...
• 32:03
  And it depends.
• 32:04
  There's different arguments I've heard, and there's good arguments on both sides.
• 32:09
  And I'm not gonna lie, even though sometimes in the moment, we don't like it, I think having
• 32:13
  the the team that we all hate and despise...
• 32:17
  Because, like, when LeBron first went to the heat, those, like, Miami heat teams, like, even
• 32:24
  though a lot of people didn't like them, I remember that era kinda fondly because it was
• 32:28
  like people gave them their best shot every time they played them, and the games were
• 32:33
  always intense, and regular season games mattered.
• 32:37
  And now people think the regular season doesn't matter as much because once you get to the
• 32:43
  postseason, like, anybody
• 32:46
  because now anybody can win it.
• 32:48
  Anybody can win it and get high.
• 32:49
  So, like, I don't I don't know.
• 32:51
  It depends on how people view it.
• 32:53
  Everybody has a different view of it.
• 32:55
  Yeah.
• 32:56
  No.
• 32:56
  I I think the league is probably better when you have a little bit more parity, that you do
• 33:01
  have, every team feeling like they can win it and that this is gonna be their year, and you
• 33:06
  don't have, like, you know, two...
• 33:08
  A handful of five or 10 teams or, you know, five or less teams sometimes at the top.
• 33:14
  That's like, look.
• 33:15
  This team is going...
• 33:16
  It's gonna be one of these three teams that wins it all just by looking at the rosters and
• 33:21
  the makeup of those and knowing what they can do over the course of an 82 game season and
• 33:25
  then the playoffs rather to now where you're like, look, man.
• 33:28
  This thing is wide open, and you're getting a lot more, you know, a lot more competition and
• 33:34
  an equilibrium in the...
• 33:35
  Across the league.
• 33:36
  I think it's ultimately a good thing.
• 33:38
  And then when you start to infuse more talent into the league with the NIL keeping and
• 33:43
  seasoning players a little bit longer, I think it has a a even greater long term effect as you
• 33:50
  start to infuse a little more seasoned talent into the league and and not a bunch of
• 33:55
  teenagers.
• 33:56
  Yeah.
• 33:57
  I mean, if you would have told me me last year with the Nick...
• 34:00
  At this time with the Knicks, we win the...
• 34:02
  We're gonna win the title, I wouldn't have believed you honestly because I didn't think...
• 34:06
  I mean, I thought there was a chance they could make it to the finals because of all the
• 34:11
  injuries that happened in the East last year, But I never actually thought they were gonna
• 34:16
  win the title.
• 34:17
  Even when the season was going on, never thought they were gonna win the title.
• 34:21
  Postseason happens, still didn't really think they're gonna win the title until they actually
• 34:26
  won the title.
• 34:27
  So it's like there's a bunch of teams in the in the the West or the East who believe...
• 34:34
  Who actually believe and rightfully, they're like, they can actually win because the Knicks
• 34:40
  just proved it last year.
• 34:41
  They weren't the best team from the start of the year to the end, but, like, they were good
• 34:45
  enough, and they got hot at the right time.
• 34:48
  They they had a great player, and they followed their great player, and their their other
• 34:53
  players played great.
• 34:54
  They they had great coaching, and they made a great run.
• 34:58
  So, like, if you're the Toronto raptors or if you're the Minnesota Timberwolves, like, why
• 35:04
  can't you win the title?
• 35:06
  You you have every right to believe you can.
• 35:10
  So I was just cruising the, NBA's, website, and they have a list of 10 games, 10 must see games
• 35:18
  in the first two months of the opening day.
• 35:22
  And it's really interesting to take a look at this and just kinda dates and times of things
• 35:28
  to watch.
• 35:29
  Tuesday, October 27, Detroit at New York.
• 35:33
  Always fun.
• 35:34
  And Pistons kinda had their way with them during the regular season last year.
• 35:38
  So now coming in, do they play them tough again that they are the world champions and kinda not
• 35:44
  care about what happened last year or the opposite?
• 35:47
  Wednesday, October 28, Philly at Indiana.
• 35:51
  LeBron visiting the Pacers with his new team, and it's a pretty interesting one there.
• 35:57
  Another one on the twenty eighth, Oklahoma City at Dallas, which is always kinda like the NBA
• 36:03
  version of the Red River rivalry.
• 36:07
  It's kinda kinda fun there.
• 36:09
  Those those cities are not far away from each other at all.
• 36:12
  If you've ever...
• 36:13
  Selly, how much have you traveled the country?
• 36:15
  I know you're an East Coast guy and around that area.
• 36:18
  Have you made it across the country at all?
• 36:21
  Not as much as you would think.
• 36:22
  I've been to LA once, been to Florida, never really to Texas or, like, the Midwest, really.
• 36:31
  I think Minnesota when I was, like, younger, when I was, like, a kid.
• 36:35
  Like, maybe, like, 10 years old, but not as much as you would think.
• 36:38
  I've done some traveling, but not a lot.
• 36:42
  Well, we're gonna take care of that now that you're part of the network too.
• 36:45
  We're gonna get you out here, start dragging you around.
• 36:48
  We'll go on tour.
• 36:49
  Last year, I did a 5,500 mile eighteen day tour across the country in my suburban.
• 36:54
  If I do something like that again, I'll come to New York first and pick you up.
• 36:58
  Friday, November 6, Philly at Cleveland.
• 37:02
  LeBron's return to the city that made him.
• 37:06
  That should be a fun one to tune into.
• 37:08
  Friday, November 20, Houston at Denver.
• 37:12
  Be a a cool one to pay attention to there.
• 37:16
  They were the third and fourth best teams in the Western Conference last year.
• 37:19
  So a lot of that, but they both were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
• 37:23
  So, you know, what what do those two teams look like?
• 37:27
  Tuesday, November 24, these are kind of pre Thanksgiving matchups here.
• 37:31
  Boston at Washington, you know, two teams that are big wildcards.
• 37:35
  You don't know exactly what you're getting with these teams right now.
• 37:40
  Wizards, Trae Young, and Anthony Davis playing in Washington DC.
• 37:44
  Didn't know that.
• 37:45
  Plus you have the number one pick, so that's interesting.
• 37:49
  Celtics have obviously been a fantastic team for the better part of the last two decades.
• 37:55
  They've always kinda been in that conversation of best in the league.
• 37:59
  San Antonio at Portland on Wednesday, November 25.
• 38:03
  You know, Damian Lillard and Jay Morant going to work.
• 38:07
  Let's find out.
• 38:09
  That's gonna be a pretty fun one there.
• 38:12
  Tuesday, December 1, they have Utah at Golden State listed.
• 38:18
  Jazz being an intriguing team this year.
• 38:21
  Saturday, December 12, New York at Miami.
• 38:24
  Maybe you can get down to Miami for that one.
• 38:26
  That'd be a fun fun game.
• 38:29
  And the first ABC game of the season.
• 38:32
  That's crazy.
• 38:34
  Like, ABC just has...
• 38:35
  That...
• 38:36
  That's so weird to me.
• 38:37
  Because, like, growing up, NBA on ABC was a pretty big deal.
• 38:41
  LA Lakers at Minnesota on Wednesday, December 16.
• 38:48
  So couple of games, a group of 10 there that the NBA website has picked out as something to
• 38:54
  keep an eye on over the first couple of months here.
• 38:59
  Agree or disagree, Sallie?
• 39:00
  What do what do you think about those 10 matchups?
• 39:05
  Pretty good.
• 39:06
  Some of them are kinda random, but, like, pretty good, though.
• 39:09
  I think they were just trying to include some cities in here.
• 39:12
  I know.
• 39:13
  Like They could've just had it, like, Philly at team at Philly.
• 39:17
  Philly at
• 39:18
  I was waiting for you to say the Lakers, and I was like, oh, wait.
• 39:21
  So I'm gonna get through and not say the Lakers one time.
• 39:23
  I was like, it's kinda weird.
• 39:25
  Yeah.
• 39:25
  I feel like they chucked them in at the end.
• 39:27
  They're like, oh, shit.
• 39:28
  Haven't we haven't mentioned that that...
• 39:31
  A team in LA yet.
• 39:32
  We better do something about that.
• 39:34
  Number one franchise in our league.
• 39:38
  Just crazy.
• 39:39
  Just crazy.
• 39:40
  Yeah.
• 39:40
  I'm excited, man.
• 39:41
  I'm gonna get up and probably try to take in at least one game in Minnesota this year.
• 39:45
  Hopefully, I get to do more.
• 39:47
  I gotta check the schedule and kinda put them up against what my NFL duties and schedule is
• 39:53
  like and and see if there's any chance catching...
• 39:56
  You know, I hit the trifecta one year where I caught a hockey game, a basketball game, and a
• 40:00
  football game all in one stretch.
• 40:02
  That was a a fun weekend, but, yeah, we'll we'll see.
• 40:06
  I'll have to check out the schedules and and see if some media credentials aren't in our
• 40:10
  future.
• 40:12
  Yeah.
• 40:12
  I haven't been to a NBA game since a long time.
• 40:19
  It's been a while.
• 40:22
  How how big...
• 40:23
  Is it a big deal when the Knicks play the Nets?
• 40:27
  It was in the...
• 40:29
  When, like, when the...
• 40:31
  Like, in the early on in the Nets, like, tenure.
• 40:35
  But, like, now because the Nets have just been, like, really bad, like...
• 40:38
  And, like, the Knicks fans just kinda take over, it's not really a thing anymore because
• 40:43
  the Knicks kinda just beat the Nets down, like, really bad now.
• 40:47
  Yeah.
• 40:47
  Like, games aren't even, like, really competitive anymore.
• 40:49
  Because at one point, like, it was, like, this whole, like, oh, can the Nets become, like, the
• 40:55
  number one team in New York kinda thing?
• 40:57
  And we kinda learned over time, like, the next for one basketball team in this.
• 41:03
  And it's not even, like...
• 41:05
  Like, at least, like, the other stuff...
• 41:06
  The others, like like, baseball, football, like, there are there are probably more Giants
• 41:12
  fans than there are Jets fans, but there are a lot of Jets fans.
• 41:16
  Same thing with the Yankees.
• 41:17
  There are probably more Yankee fans, obviously.
• 41:19
  But, like, there are a lot of Mets fans.
• 41:21
  And, like...
• 41:21
  But, like, when it comes to, like, Knicks and Nets, it's like the Knicks are, like, the
• 41:25
  undisputed king.
• 41:27
  Like, nobody's messing with them here.
• 41:29
  Yeah.
• 41:30
  Which always kinda made the
• 41:31
  move,
• 41:32
  kind of strange.
• 41:34
  Right?
• 41:35
  Moving them into Brooklyn and into the, you know, into one of the boroughs there because...
• 41:40
  Yeah.
• 41:40
  What are you gonna do?
• 41:41
  I mean I mean, the New York Knicks are a, you know, are...
• 41:45
  I mean, to me, they're one of the NBA franchises.
• 41:49
  Right?
• 41:49
  Like, you have the the...
• 41:51
  In in a lot of ways, more Knicks, you know, Knicks, Celtics, Lakers more so than even the
• 41:58
  Bulls.
• 41:58
  Like, the Bulls had a great run, but they've been completely kind of irrelevant for the
• 42:03
  better part of the last decade and a half.
• 42:06
  You know?
• 42:07
  The the teams with Derrick Rose obviously made a lot of noise back in the day, but then after
• 42:13
  his injuries and things, it just hasn't...
• 42:15
  It's never been the same, and it's never really come back for the Bulls franchise.
• 42:19
  Hopefully, that changes in the near future.
• 42:21
  I think they're pretty excited about some of the young talent on that team, and they feel
• 42:25
  like that team, you know, may be on the rise again.
• 42:28
  But, you know, the the black hawks are probably closer to a championship than the bulls are,
• 42:32
  and they're a long ways out too.
• 42:34
  Yeah.
• 42:36
  Shout out to Conor Bedard, though.
• 42:38
  He's a great player.
• 42:40
  Noted back, man.
• 42:42
  Got back in the game.
• 42:43
  The team rallied around him last night, had a point in his first game on the power play.
• 42:48
  Just changes the team completely.
• 42:50
  Right?
• 42:51
  And and it couldn't come soon enough because this team was just struggling without him.
• 42:55
  It was tough to watch.
• 42:56
  And I know this isn't the Kreese report, but, you know, big big big time players matter to
• 43:03
  teams.
• 43:03
  And when they are your captain and, you know, the undisputed best player on the team and and
• 43:10
  some will say, you know, eventually probably in the league that, you know, it matters to a
• 43:15
  team.
• 43:15
  And it's tough to it's tough to come back from that and to find ways to do what you wanna do
• 43:21
  and kind of impose your will on another team without that talent.
• 43:25
  So nice to see him back on the ice.
• 43:27
  The hawks got a win against the penguins last night.
• 43:30
  Felt like felt like old times.
• 43:32
  Sidney Crosby got a goal as well.
• 43:34
  The ageless wonder.
• 43:36
  The ageless wonder kid.
• 43:38
  Yeah.
• 43:38
  I had a I had a friend in high school one time because he thought I was just strictly a
• 43:43
  basketball guy, but he was a hockey guy.
• 43:45
  He was a big Rangers fan, one of the biggest Rangers fans I ever And he was like...
• 43:50
  He wanted to have a conversation with me, but he didn't think I knew anything about hockey.
• 43:53
  So he was like, oh, he wants to just talk Knicks or whatever.
• 43:57
  And I'm like I'm dude, if you wanna talk hockey with me, like, I know enough that, like, we
• 44:00
  could...
• 44:01
  I could talk hockey with you to make you feel comfortable.
• 44:03
  And he was like, dude, what?
• 44:04
  And I was like, yeah.
• 44:05
  Started talking ranger stuff.
• 44:07
  Because when I was in high school, my dad listened to this radio show, and the the host
• 44:12
  was boomer Sison, obviously, former Bengals QB.
• 44:15
  He's a big rangers guy, so he would talk rangers every single morning.
• 44:19
  So I had enough rangers knowledge that I could actually talk rangers with him.
• 44:23
  And he was like, oh my god, dude.
• 44:25
  Like, this is unbelievable.
• 44:26
  It's like the same thing with my cohost.
• 44:28
  My my coworker at work, she's a rangers fan too.
• 44:32
  And, like, one day, I just started talking to her about, like, rangers stuff, and she was
• 44:36
  like...
• 44:37
  She's like, you really know a lot.
• 44:38
  I was like, yeah.
• 44:39
  Well, when you listen to sport radio every day, like, even the stuff you're not even as big
• 44:44
  into, you just casually pick up on it.
• 44:46
  So it's just, like, stuff that, like, I'm just like, okay.
• 44:49
  They're talking hockey now.
• 44:50
  I'm still gonna listen.
• 44:50
  I'm not gonna turn it off.
• 44:52
  So, like, I have a insane amount of knowledge on, like, random stuff that people just don't
• 44:56
  even know about.
• 44:57
  So I'll just hit them with, like, something crazy, and they'll be like, man, you...
• 45:01
  How do you know about, like, all this penguin stuff or I'm like, well, sports center, just
• 45:06
  watch.
• 45:07
  You're like a...
• 45:10
  You're a sports sponge, Selly.
• 45:12
  You just absorb it all, and, I'm happy to have you as a member of our network, and you bring
• 45:18
  so much to everything that we do.
• 45:20
  We definitely missed you last night on our Tuesday recap with the tailgate show.
• 45:27
  Glad that we got to connect tonight and and, you know, get get the show done here.
• 45:32
  I may have to have you tap in on the hockey show tomorrow as I will be traveling.
• 45:36
  I kinda forgot about that.
• 45:38
  Might have to get Big B to come in and host the show if possible for the Crease report and,
• 45:44
  yeah, team you up with Brev at 8PM eastern time, and you guys can talk some hockey.
• 45:50
  I know his wild have been suffering some injuries, but still, I think they're gonna be
• 45:55
  one of the best teams in the league again and try to make a run, at that Stanley Cup.
• 46:00
  Think they play a really, impressive brand of hockey and do it the right way.
• 46:05
  So looking forward to a lot more hockey talk.
• 46:08
  That'll be coming up tomorrow for everybody, 7PM central, 8PM out there on the West Coast.
• 46:13
  Our cohost, Brevi Bright Lights.
• 46:16
  Hopefully, Selly can join them.
• 46:18
  Big b will be hosting tomorrow night, although he doesn't know that yet.
• 46:21
  I'm gonna text him after we're done here.
• 46:23
  Let him know.
• 46:24
  I kinda forgot, man.
• 46:25
  I do so little music now that this week kinda started.
• 46:27
  I was like, oh, yeah.
• 46:28
  We're leaving tomorrow to head out West, and I got a bunch of music playing some writers
• 46:33
  rounds for a a songwriter festival and then kind of emceeing a couple of the rounds as well
• 46:41
  for the fest and then doing some interviews.
• 46:44
  And I'm playing music both nights for three hour sets, and I'm hosting bingo for operation
• 46:49
  combatting veteran suicide on Saturday.
• 46:50
  So, yeah, I got a insane week.
• 46:53
  I probably won't have a voice by Sunday, but that's that's why we do what we do, man.
• 46:58
  Raise that vibration, get to go out, have a lot of fun with with everyone.
• 47:02
  And, yeah, getting to perform, I kinda forget how much I enjoy it because I don't do it as
• 47:06
  often as I did.
• 47:08
  That it's nice to go out, play, and really, you know, going back to my hometown to do it is
• 47:12
  always really special because I get to connect with people that I haven't seen in a long time
• 47:17
  and reminisce about the days when we were teenagers, you know, crushing cans out around a
• 47:22
  bonfire.
• 47:23
  Yeah.
• 47:23
  Well, at least the Vikings have a bye.
• 47:26
  It worked out really well on the schedule, didn't it, Selly?
• 47:29
  Yeah.
• 47:30
  At least they don't
• 47:31
  Oh, yep.
• 47:33
  Yeah.
• 47:33
  Well, you know what?
• 47:34
  The NFL, always looking out for me.
• 47:35
  Thanks, Raj.
• 47:36
  Appreciate you.
• 47:37
  Yeah.
• 47:38
  The dreaded early bye week.
• 47:39
  I always wonder how the teams feel about, like, having a bye week in, like, week five.
• 47:44
  I was This like
• 47:45
  like team this team needed it.
• 47:46
  I I don't know that it come...
• 47:47
  It could come at a more perfect time for the Vikings as the season has kinda shook out.
• 47:53
  Right?
• 47:54
  The the early injuries and getting Kyler comfortable.
• 47:57
  Obviously, he sat out, you know, the the couple of games with the concussion.
• 48:01
  Yeah.
• 48:01
  And now really starting to turn it on in New Orleans.
• 48:06
  You started to see, you know, shades of the Kyler Murray that I think we all thought we
• 48:11
  were getting.
• 48:11
  That was always my pushback against some of these guys.
• 48:13
  Like, oh, he's gonna be MVP.
• 48:14
  He's gonna be throwing for 400 yards a game and all of a sudden.
• 48:17
  I was like, dude, he's never...
• 48:18
  Literally never done that before ever.
• 48:21
  He's not that guy.
• 48:23
  But can he give you two fifty through the air, another 50 with his legs, and be responsible
• 48:29
  for moving the ball down the field and and maybe not having the 50, 60 yard bomb, but
• 48:35
  being able to chunk these 20...
• 48:37
  You know, 15 to 20 yard plays out there along with having a super high completion percentage,
• 48:42
  that...
• 48:42
  That's gonna lead to a lot of wins for this team.
• 48:45
  And looking at the schedule, really not a lot of, you know, scary moments at all.
• 48:52
  I think a lot of people are looking at the Bills game on Monday night in San Francisco as
• 48:57
  being really the the measuring stick for how far this team can go as far as when it comes to
• 49:02
  playoffs and Super Bowl aspirations.
• 49:05
  But I'm excited, man, and I'm excited to to get this NBA season started for the same reason.
• 49:11
  Like, let's get to it.
• 49:12
  Let's see what these teams are gonna look like, and let's get speculating.
• 49:15
  So next week when we come back and we're on, NBA action will be in full swing.
• 49:21
  Right?
• 49:21
  Opening night will be happening while we're on the stream, and it's gonna be really fun to to
• 49:26
  get to be here.
• 49:27
  Keep an eye on the live scoreboards, have a lot to talk about, and then, you know, kicking off
• 49:32
  this entire season.
• 49:33
  I mean, now we could talk basketball until freaking July almost, man, with games
• 49:38
  happening.
• 49:39
  So I'm excited, man.
• 49:40
  It's great because typically with the sports network, we are shut down between...
• 49:45
  Well, especially for the Vikings lately from January...
• 49:48
  Early January until, you know, August.
• 49:51
  So I'm excited, man.
• 49:53
  Excited for you to be along for this ride.
• 49:55
  Really grateful to you and all your family for tapping in.
• 49:58
  Maybe not here on the livestream because it is such a late show out on the East Coast, but I
• 50:03
  know they're listening on the podcast versions, and I'll make sure to get this out for them
• 50:08
  tomorrow morning so they can listen in when they're on their commute and and moving around.
• 50:14
  No.
• 50:14
  They're huge fans.
• 50:15
  Shout out to my mom again.
• 50:17
  I know she's gonna hear this tomorrow when she watches or listens.
• 50:20
  She said she was the first one to subscribe right away, but then everybody else had to hop
• 50:25
  on it.
• 50:25
  So shout out to so shout out to mom for being the number one fan.
• 50:29
  Thanks, mom.
• 50:30
  We appreciate you listening.
• 50:32
  I'll do my best, to keep the cussing to a minimum.
• 50:35
  The basketball show's a lot easier because I don't even really know what I'm doing here.
• 50:38
  Selly is is is the star of this one.
• 50:41
  I'm just trying to keep the wheels on the road, but it's been great getting to know you and
• 50:47
  spend time with you, man.
• 50:48
  I really appreciate you being a part of this ride, and we're gonna keep this thing going as
• 50:53
  long as we can.
• 50:54
  We highly encourage everybody to check us out on Roku.
• 50:57
  These episodes all end up over on our Roku channel.
• 51:00
  You can search SPSN on any Roku device or Amazon Fire TV.
• 51:05
  Check us out there.
• 51:06
  Make sure you're following the podcast versions of this as well, Apple, Spotify, iHeart,
• 51:10
  Amazon.
• 51:11
  It is everywhere.
• 51:13
  Same thing.
• 51:13
  Scene Project Sports Network.
• 51:15
  Appreciate everybody continuing to support the show and support Selly and I getting to live
• 51:21
  out our dreams.
• 51:22
  This is just the beginning.
• 51:23
  There's a lot of big things coming from our team here and covering all of your favorite
• 51:28
  teams out there across the sports world.
• 51:31
  For my cohost, Selly, my name is Bubba Starts.
• 51:33
  We've appreciated having you here tonight on the livestream and appreciate you listening.
• 51:37
  We'll see you next week for the rim report.
• 51:39
  Have a great night.
• 51:41
  Catch you guys later.