Latest / Then and Now with Coach Z / Ep. 015 | Danny Nee | Then & Now

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Ep. 015 | Danny Nee | Then & Now · Then and Now with Coach Z

0:00
Good afternoon. It's a really hot day here in
0:03
Saint Louis. I mean, it is.
0:04
It is brutal and I like hot weather, but not this kind of
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hot weather. Anyhow, before I bring on my
0:12
esteemed guest, and he is an esteemed guest.
0:14
He's one of the greatest coaches in the history of the Big Eight
0:18
and definitely the greatest basketball coach at Nebraska's
0:20
ever had. But I'll introduce him in a
0:22
moment. But let me have a little shot
0:24
out here. I've got a little bit of a
0:25
problem. This is the a podcast called the
0:28
Then and the Now and the then. The then is like when I went to
0:32
University City High School in 1957 and the now is all these
0:38
young kids who are now, you know, participating in sports.
0:42
And today there was a a list of the great U City basketball
0:46
players and it was almost like you said, he didn't have
0:51
basketball until the 80s. My best friend who was a high
0:55
school all American in 1957, Sandy Pomerantz, he only
0:59
averaged 33 points a game as senior year and was the first
1:03
high school all American to come out of the city of Saint Louis
1:06
was not on the list. So that list was kind of missing
1:09
a few good people. And I mentioned a few other
1:11
people on there anyhow, so that's my shout out to the class
1:16
of U City 1957. And before that we had some
1:21
great athletes there. And of course there were some
1:23
afterwards. I want to say a shout out to my
1:27
wife's grandson, Braden. He's a catcher on a 12 under
1:31
team. And that's the now.
1:32
And, and the little guy got three really good hits last
1:36
night and he went home feeling good.
1:38
And another one on that team, Jack Goldenberg, who when I
1:42
substitute teach, he's a ladoo kid.
1:46
And then Friday night, my, my grandson, he's an assistant
1:52
coach at Parkway Central and at the last minute, about a week
1:55
before the first game of their quarterback said, well, I'm just
1:59
not going to play this year. Senior quarterback, first game,
2:04
Unbelievable. So a young kid, a sophomore
2:07
who's a receiver, he said, I'll, I'll give it a shot.
2:11
Never played quarterback in his life.
2:13
That night, first game he ever took a snap.
2:16
A kid's name is John Mertz. He threw for 285 yards and three
2:20
touchdowns. My hat's off to that young man
2:23
and their coaching staff who got him ready in a short time.
2:27
So now enough of all the shout outs.
2:30
Hello, Danny Nee. How are you my friend?
2:34
Good. Thanks, Wayne.
2:35
Thank you very. Much for calling.
2:36
Well, I'm, I'm listen, I, I'm honored to be talking to you
2:41
today, my friend. And I want to talk to you about
2:43
your great career and I want to talk to you about where it all
2:47
started. Everybody I know has heard of
2:51
Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Lou Alcindor at the time, but you
2:55
were his, you were his teammate at the Power Memorial.
2:59
You want to talk a little bit about that and your great coach
3:02
there, Danny. And the great coach here was
3:04
Jack Dunny who passed away and he and he granted it for you
3:09
when he left Power went up to Canada and coached the Canadian
3:14
Olympic team. And they did real what did well.
3:17
I don't know if I don't think they got a medal, but they did
3:20
well, much better than the other than before.
3:22
But Palm Memorial is a Catholic High School.
3:25
It's non existence out, but it's an Irish Christian School and
3:29
back in the day in the 60s, the way they they they work, it was
3:36
they gave you our Scott tuition scholarship.
3:39
So they were all all the Catholic schools in New York
3:41
City were given scholarships away in in in the early 60s and
3:46
I got a little scholarship to go over.
3:49
I get on a train every day from Brooklyn.
3:51
We're down to Times Square, changed over to the West side
3:56
went up two stops to Columbus Circle and that's where Palm
3:59
Memorial was located just West 59th St. and Amsterdam Ave. and
4:04
it was an expose of El possible. So we had about the first two
4:08
floors were administrator. The offices in front of 2nd
4:11
floor up to the 10th floor were classrooms and then the brothers
4:17
live on the on the top the next the next floor up or whatever
4:20
that was 12 to 13. But really a funny type building
4:25
because you walked up the stairs every day.
4:27
But at Catholic County School, no nonsense.
4:30
And Kareem came there and I believe it was 6162 as a
4:36
freshman who played on the varsity and I as a freshman, I
4:40
played on the JV. The next year would be let's
4:43
make it 626262 or 63. Sure.
4:46
We we started playing, he played a lot more than I did at the
4:50
beginning. But we went on a winning streak
4:53
for 70, some 70 some games was in a row and I'm not sure I
4:59
can't remember which, but in the last two years we we had almost
5:05
undefeated seasons. You know, one year we lost the
5:08
Damatha on the road somewhere and another another year we lost
5:12
one conference game. But other than that, records
5:15
like a 31 and through 230 and oh and gleam as 8th or 9th grader
5:26
in a 9th grader. He turned 7 feet tall in his
5:29
first first year at Powell with me he turned, we had a 7 foot
5:33
party at the end of the season. But then each year he grew about
5:37
an inch. So when they say he was 7, seven
5:40
foot tall, he was really more between 7 three and seven four I
5:45
think. Hey, day, Danny.
5:47
Danny, let me ask you this. What?
5:48
What? Going to school with a young guy
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like that and everything? I've heard he's a wonderful
5:54
fella, Danny. What kind of a guy did you find
5:57
him to be as a teammate? As a as any as any 9th grader,
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you only Aaron now a 9th grader playing were guys that are
6:07
161718 years old and you're 1314 you acquire he he look very
6:14
smart, very good student, but very shy his freshman year and
6:18
he wasn't a great player his freshman year.
6:21
He was a good player because he was about 6869.
6:24
But each year, each year he just got better.
6:27
At a softball year, he really started getting better and the
6:30
rebound and the blocked shots started coming.
6:33
And then after that it was a, it was a joke because most games
6:36
were blowouts because no one could score around the basket.
6:40
So domineering. And that jump hook that he
6:42
developed, he worked on it every day.
6:44
Very, very hard worker in the weight move, very hard worker on
6:49
the floor. And our coach was a no nonsense
6:51
type coach. So you went out there and you
6:53
stood there and you went and said, no, Sir.
6:55
We ran a fallout offense with the big guy inside.
6:59
When he put up his hands, I maybe it was a sophomore year
7:03
and he could touch, he could touch the rim on his skip toes.
7:08
Unbelievable. Well, listen, let me ask you
7:10
this. So where where did you play?
7:12
On the floor? See.
7:14
I knew, you see, you know, it's kind of funny, you know, as I
7:17
refereed the games for you and all those years and this and
7:20
that. I wasn't even aware of the fact
7:22
that you had played with Kareem. I wasn't aware of the fact that
7:25
you had gone to Marquette. You were recruited by the great
7:29
Al McGuire. You know, you just don't know
7:31
those things about the coaches. You just say, hey, there's Danny
7:34
NIA. He's going to get on my ass
7:35
tonight. I, I better have a good game out
7:37
here. He's going to be all over me.
7:39
No, no, because she knew more about Norm and the Kansas people
7:45
and Missouri people and Mr. Billy Tubbs down in Oklahoma.
7:50
Those are the guys that got all the all the respect in the
7:52
league. And I don't know how Iowa State
7:55
was back then, but Colorado, Colorado and the brass school,
7:58
we were down at the bottom of the league, you know, right down
8:02
in the toilet seat. And we just started recruiting
8:05
and I took you there for who my first goal player was coming out
8:08
of Nebraska, was coming out of Omaha.
8:11
Rich King had a Burke High School and I recruited in my
8:14
first year 8687 whatever, whatever your 87 copy and we got
8:19
him. He's played, bought it for me
8:21
for four years and turn this into a winning crow here and
8:25
then went on and played about at least five years and put a
8:28
Seattle Sonics. See the SuperSonics.
8:31
Well, let me say this. Let me say this about you at at
8:34
Nebraska and, and we're going to get into a lot more.
8:37
Let's see, you went to the NCAA Tournament five times while you
8:41
were there. And in 1994 you won the Big 8
8:45
championship and in 1996, you darn right.
8:49
And in 96, you won the NIT. And then and then let me ask you
8:54
a quick question here. And you don't have to answer me.
8:55
You can tell me. Just getting lost coach.
8:57
But what about this Bill Byrne? We're a tough situation.
9:04
I when I got recruited well, I picked Nebraska because of Bob
9:08
Devaney and I, I met Bob Devaney through one of the football
9:13
coaches because at Notre Dame, one of the football coaches,
9:18
George Kelly coasted Nebraska back in the day and he coasted
9:23
with Bob Devaney. And so he was always telling me
9:26
about Nebraska and then Bob Devaney and the Bob Devaney was
9:29
those spring chicken when I when I got there.
9:32
But to make a Long story short, he out of all the people that I
9:36
met, you know, and visited with when I was at Ohio, you and I
9:41
was a lot of ghosts has come down and and recruitment when
9:46
Coach Stevani called me. Actually, coach, look, it's a
9:48
long run and you come into Columbus, OH, yeah.
9:52
Columbus, OH, it's, it's almost a 2 hour flight.
9:56
I have a 2 hour dryer. I say at night time, it's not a
9:59
good point. I'll come up and I'll meet you
10:02
at the airport. You tell me what flight you come
10:04
in on. I I'm very familiar with the
10:06
airport. You said to come in on the
10:08
United flight. I'm going to meet the flight and
10:11
I should I coach, I forget what you look like.
10:13
Well, you'll know me. I'll have a little Red Hat on
10:17
and you always wear this. So what we did this is because I
10:22
had, I felt so comfortable with them from George Kelly.
10:25
We went up to a ball restaurant, you know, got a seat over and a
10:30
side and started talking. And the more I talked, but the
10:36
the problem was with the coach. Now he hadn't hired a coach in a
10:39
long time from outside the group of movements and assistants.
10:43
So every time I asked him something like what about the
10:45
basketball camp, They go, well, I'll, I'll, I'll I wrote it down
10:49
and I'll check it out. I go, OK, what do you think the
10:52
salaries are to be? We'll we'll work that out too.
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How much do you make now? I said, because I don't want you
10:59
to pay me what I break down because I don't make any money.
11:01
That's why Moore gets on going to the the Big Eight and
11:04
Nebraska to make a little bit of money.
11:07
And he laughs. He said, well, you won't make a
11:09
lot, but you'd always have a job.
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I said, OK, that's fair. He says.
11:14
I said, what do you says what? What do you think you're going
11:16
to need? I said, I need ATV shows.
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If you want to start 1, you can have one.
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You want a radio show, We'll start one if you want to have
11:23
one. But he didn't tell me.
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I had to show all the advertisements.
11:26
Just like you're doing for your show.
11:28
Anything you do with a podcast so built up to camp, dude being
11:34
on the radio was very comfortable on the radio.
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So went to the radio after every game had a show.
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And then Monday or Tuesday night, I I picked the day around
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7:00 I was on and I followed football and I liked following
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football because everyone's everyone listening to football.
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So no one knew the hell of betting he was.
11:58
And when you say basketball, then man, no one, no one was
12:02
really listening. They didn't have a facility like
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they have now. They didn't have, oh, the
12:07
volleyball team is outstanding. They were always good.
12:10
The football team was great. The baseball team was very
12:13
respectful. Track and wrestling were good
12:15
too. But I mean, basketball, men and
12:17
women's is stinky. It was just not very hard.
12:21
Now MO Iber went in there and he tried to connect him to the
12:24
NCAA. You got an IT bid, but they just
12:26
didn't play with Skylar play that, Granny said I have to play
12:31
up tempo basketball. These people are tired of
12:33
watching the ball be a pass to him and play in defense.
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I said coach defense is great, I know it's good, but the fans are
12:39
tired as they seem to play defense you didn't have.
12:42
You don't have to shoot the ball, get in there.
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He said. Everyone up here like Oklahoma
12:47
and Billy Tubbs, I said I can play like that, there's no
12:50
problem. So how many points do you think
12:52
I called? We're playing Fresno State, my
12:55
first college game in Fresno State.
12:57
I can't remember the coach's name now, but to make a long
13:00
story of what do you think the final score?
13:02
Was I have no idea. Come on, tell him, help me.
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About 121 to 116, something like that.
13:12
I, I, I never scored that many points again.
13:14
We scored on 21 points and, and we won and I sent to the guys,
13:19
yes to the game, you know what I mean?
13:20
Because they kept looking over the ranch.
13:21
I said stop, just keep shooting it.
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Just keep shooting, don't bore you.
13:26
We're not running plays. We do what place of defense,
13:29
rebound, push it, shoot it. And the few point line was not
13:33
in yet. So, you know, it was, you know,
13:36
it was a different style of game, but the fans hearing me
13:39
talking about saying whether they're running with the ball
13:41
and guilting down the floor. The next game when we are our
13:44
first home game, we had a couple of thousand more people there
13:47
because they wanted to see basketball.
13:49
And that's kind of how I broke in And they everyone liked the
13:52
style of play. Now that that's extreme, you
13:55
know, and I told the fans, I said, look, I'm doing that to
13:57
let you know I know how to do it.
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Now we've got to get players to learn how to play that way.
14:02
We can't. We can't play 100 point game
14:05
every night. I'll be dead.
14:06
I'll be forget about the T-shirt.
14:09
But that's how we started. Hey, Danny, Danny, let me let me
14:12
ask you this. You used to, I remember you used
14:16
to have some just a little bit off the subject.
14:19
It's it's but you used to wear some great looking ties.
14:22
Oh God. That was you, buddy, huh?
14:25
Yeah, that's my wife, buddy. Well, what a a guy in town and I
14:31
I gave me a little cold and deal so my my wife couldn't get him.
14:37
I I know where you see some tie. What was your ties?
14:40
But that's good. Just make sure you use them to
14:43
you, you know, if he's going to give you.
14:44
And so we started wearing a tie, but that was the second or third
14:47
year there. But what we did was the
14:50
basketball bushes, cancer, something like that.
14:53
But whatever it was, whatever the ties were worth, when we put
14:57
it up, a couple of bucks charged people for it.
14:59
I, I can't remember exact 10, let's say $10.00.
15:02
So I tried to take $12.00 and they gave a couple of bucks for
15:05
cancer and I kept the other 10 or 8, whatever it was.
15:09
And we did that for and we didn't show that many ties down.
15:12
And finally, you're digging a kid at free a college education
15:16
when they shave all your money from getting the ties.
15:19
But the ties became something kind of special, and I used to
15:22
call plays by touching the tie and they became a big B&D.
15:26
Ties became pretty big in my grassroots.
15:28
Well, let me ask you this, and this is going back some, I think
15:32
you had a really good relationship at at at Notre Dame
15:35
with Digger Phelps. Is that right, Danny?
15:37
Yes, absolutely right. Tell me about.
15:39
It he picked me out of a no I I was wanted to be a college coach
15:46
desperately. I really terrible.
15:48
But when I got out of the service and 72, I had to get a
15:54
degree. So I went to a small school in
15:56
Kennedy School, St. Mary's Airplanes and I get they
15:59
gave me a basketball live and I had the GI barrel.
16:02
So I basically then they hired me as a resident assistant and
16:07
RA they called it and I got free ruling board.
16:10
So I, I had basically a full scholarship at this little
16:13
school as Saint Mary's was in any IA school, but really not a
16:17
great place for me. I because I'm not going to talk
16:20
about the war, but you know, you come back in time, just take a
16:25
breath, you know what I mean, and slow down your life and then
16:28
figure out what you want to do. I just knew I wanted to be a
16:31
coach. Saint Mary's, had a PE major at
16:35
Saint Mary's or Clayton, so I called it the Notre Dame of the
16:37
Southwest. So how much you could have done
16:40
because the Notre Dame school said, Danny, you can do good at
16:43
the Saint Mary's. I said no, I can't.
16:44
I'm going to go to Saint Mary's and graduate because I I've been
16:47
to the school, been to the grind with them and Mark heckling.
16:51
So when I left Mark Head, I went home.
16:54
The draft was on big in 66, I believe what I understood in the
16:59
Marine Corps and joined and your way after that, it was just I
17:03
really, really, really wanted to go to Vietnam in a good fight.
17:06
You know what I mean? I thought that's what I thought
17:08
I wanted to as I got into it and I realized that the Marines was,
17:13
and then I realized what Marines do it.
17:17
And then I became a helicopter gunner.
17:19
But by the time it was over, I was just happy, I mean, happy
17:24
that I was there. I didn't get wounded, I didn't
17:27
get killed, and I was going home.
17:29
But boy, chain smoking, drinking warm beers, you know, I mean,
17:34
it's PTSD, all the things that you get for more.
17:38
I was down. I lost about 30 or 40 lbs in
17:40
Vietnam. I really came back really skinny
17:43
and when I got out of there and and got back and all that I saw
17:47
you know, I mean the body bag because all the different.
17:49
I believe that I, I feel to this day, my relate, my relationship
17:54
with Jesus Christ soars because you know, after you see so much
18:00
on the killing and the death of a war, you know, and the
18:03
Marines, we were always in it around it DMZ always, always
18:08
around it. We, we haunted them down like
18:10
dogs. But I I got up in the helicopter
18:13
because I thought I was a little safer there, but then I realized
18:16
real quick, they just shoot those fuckers right out of the
18:18
sky. Hey, Danny Rockets, let me let
18:20
me ask you this, Danny, you know, you're you're in the
18:25
Marine Corps and you're Vietnam and, you know, I take my hat off
18:29
to you and everybody else, whoever went over and and fought
18:32
that awful war, you know what I'm saying?
18:34
But Danny, Danny, you were recruited by the great Al
18:38
McGuire. You went to Marquette.
18:40
And then you decided. Yeah.
18:43
And you? I went to Marquando and then I
18:46
played on the fresh routine. I was a cat.
18:48
I captain in the fresh routine I started.
18:50
I was around 10 points game, but I was a good basketball player.
18:56
Al Mcwhorter wanted NBA basketball players.
18:58
The guy that came in after me, I was a pick up at the end, you
19:02
know what I mean? And he's just queered me and he
19:05
brings his mother to my house. OK.
19:07
Both my parents were bordered island.
19:09
There's shit in there. When they see Armaguy with his
19:11
mother, he she fell somewhere in our end, they're talking.
19:15
It was over. It was over in 15 minutes.
19:18
Now my father didn't even know we were no walking.
19:20
This concert was and Marquette University.
19:23
He he looked at the name. But how do you say that
19:26
Marquette better if there's like an Indian name and he goes,
19:29
you're going there, You're going there.
19:30
I said, Dad, that's not a good school from your son.
19:33
I said, I don't know if I can handle it, you know what I mean?
19:37
And then Marquette really was a good academic school.
19:40
So I went there for a year and struggled, you know what I mean?
19:44
Struggled like they didn't have the tutoring in the thing that
19:46
they have now. I mean, if I was at Nebraska, I,
19:49
I could have made it through probably because we have so much
19:52
help for them little guys, people help, you know, do your
19:57
homework, help you show you how to read the book, show you where
20:00
to go in the library to get a book, you know, and how to write
20:02
a paper and stuff. But.
20:05
Why can't we didn't have that that my ear.
20:07
So I'm sitting around, you know, I'm in the library, but I'm more
20:12
I'm looking at the girls. I'm talking to the girls more
20:14
than even talking to the books. I mean, that's who was at the
20:17
library, all the ladies and you know, some bull airport.
20:21
There's no football team in Marquette, so some basketball
20:23
players. But I found out real quick that
20:26
the best place in the world to me and then just say, hey, can
20:30
you help me look up something in the college catalog?
20:33
I kind of don't understand it. They had anything, any kind of
20:36
BS you. Had you're trying, you're trying
20:38
to a Danny, you're trying to you're trying to meet these gals
20:41
and and you're going to really, you know, I've always said this,
20:44
you know, if you really want to meet a gal, you know, I mean, if
20:48
you go in a bar, you're going to meet a gal and, you know,
20:50
goodbye, you know, but if you really want to meet a gal with a
20:53
little substance, either go to a supermarket while they're
20:55
shopping or the library or the library, at least you're going
21:00
to find somebody with some substance.
21:02
Am I right, Danny? Yeah, and I used to create a
21:04
little boy with children at the supermarket, walk around with it
21:08
all in my hand and I had this is not my friend, but I'm watching
21:11
them. Yeah, I'm watching.
21:13
Hey, Danny, let me ask you this and you don't listen.
21:16
You don't have to, but I remember you and I had the
21:19
conversation about power memorial going.
21:21
We're going back now and, and, and what happened when and when
21:24
you had to go to the public school.
21:26
Do you want to talk about that? And if you don't, I don't give a
21:28
damn. We won't talk about it.
21:30
It's. It's, it's we, we covered power.
21:34
I, I was there three years. I played, we won a bunch of
21:37
games and shut me up to go to market.
21:40
Yes, to think about power. And my parents would like to
21:42
because there's an Irish Christian School, but you know,
21:46
it's a no nonsense school. You do something wrong, you do
21:49
something stupid. What I did you can't get down.
21:53
What you do, stupid Danny? Tell me, OK.
21:56
After a championship game, the team, half the team, not all the
22:03
team, half the team and some of our players friends, we all went
22:09
to a bar up in the web. I think it's called location
22:13
now. Now look, I, most of the guys
22:16
that are there, the guys that didn't play in the game or you
22:18
know, the sums and they, they're there, they want, they, they
22:21
want to drink some beer and celebrate.
22:24
I was tired, man. I, it was such a hard grinding
22:27
year, man. I just was an intern, you know,
22:30
I did in the Marine Corps. So I want to go up to, let's
22:34
say, 2:00 in the afternoon. I'm throwing down beers for
22:37
three hours and then I have to get under Subway.
22:40
And I never had money. So hearing I never had money.
22:43
So I was there and I had some beer.
22:47
And what happened to him, you know, we're we as composed black
22:52
guys, we as a Puerto Rican guy. So it's a white guy.
22:54
He's white eyes. Bartenders didn't like our
22:57
language. We didn't like something that's
22:59
going on. So they threw us out and we
23:02
weren't going out best enough. So then they started pushing us
23:05
out and they won't. They had, the two bartenders had
23:09
big sticks. They were like baseball bats and
23:12
they're pushing. So they're pushing a couple of
23:13
the guys and all of a sudden, right in the doorway, a fight
23:16
starts, You know what I mean? From being pushed, those super
23:19
police, sure. And I'm in the back, I'm coming
23:23
from the back. I'm in the bathroom that I come
23:25
out of the bathroom and this is all started and by the time I
23:28
get to the door, there's a good, good fight going on, You know
23:31
what I mean? A couple of people are fighting
23:33
and the bartenders, they're not being any chandy asses about
23:36
this. They're hitting this with the
23:37
sticks and stuff and yeah, man. So I warned the guy, I warned
23:41
the guy. I said, look, I'm not drunk, I
23:44
just want to get by you and I want to go home.
23:47
All of a sudden, you know, he pokes me with the stick and then
23:51
he turns around and hits my one of my team mates with the stick
23:55
back. Then I started punching him, you
23:58
know what I mean? And that was.
24:00
That was his mistake. That was his mistake.
24:02
That was. His mistake is right because you
24:04
know what I mean. I I know how to fight and and
24:08
I've been in some bus rights in the Marine Corps and I'm not
24:11
bullshitting around now I'm going for it and I'm swinging
24:15
fight and you'll love this it. All of a sudden it turns around
24:20
that I'm beating that crap out of a bartender, you know, and
24:25
build up. The bartender comes over and
24:26
hits me on my back with a bear and not fall off and I'm on the
24:30
street now and they do. They're really ready.
24:34
Go whip it on my ass. Yours are I jump up and I really
24:38
start swinging and then I realized, you know, I had a big
24:40
cut on my hand now from punching someone in the mouth.
24:43
I I got hit in the head a couple times.
24:45
I'm I'm taking my lumps. K RIP part of my shirt off and
24:49
I'm the only one there. Everyone else is like a demon.
24:53
And so biscuit, Bobby, Alex and was good was my guy.
24:58
He's a mess, but he got caught cheating the face.
25:02
I pick him up and I am and I just said let's go, let's go.
25:05
And we're picking up our power beers and I'm just walking away
25:08
from the fight and I'm get down the street.
25:12
I could hear Cyrene's coming down.
25:14
Now my street sports are going up door.
25:16
I I'm not like, hey, man, I I can't put in a patrol car
25:19
bleeding. I did never going to believe
25:21
what I say. So we go to apartment building
25:24
and go up to the the fab floor and go up to the roof of the
25:28
roof for the car roof for the building and sit there.
25:31
It's cold as shit, but I'm looking over and I see all the
25:35
police cars and I'm sitting there and he's a mess.
25:37
I'm wiping him up with his ties, bleeding partly on his face.
25:42
And so I don't have himself cell phone.
25:45
So Bobby Ericsson have his cell phone.
25:47
So he tried to call it out and he calls his sister who's a
25:50
nurse and she says, are you home?
25:53
And she goes, she goes, well, I'm coming home.
25:55
I'm all banged up. And I got a friend with me
25:57
that's banged up there. So we wait another hour or two.
26:01
The blood is coagulating and we go down now, now and then we've
26:05
got to grab a cab and go to his house.
26:07
He lives up in the Bronx and she Patches is all up in the kitchen
26:12
and she goes, what the hell are you doing?
26:15
I said, well, I just say I was fighting.
26:19
She says, what did the rest of them look like?
26:21
I go, well, some of them are pretty bad because she says, you
26:24
don't seem like you got really hurt.
26:25
I said, oh, my hand, I think I broke it, you know, But I said,
26:31
she said, what happened to your back?
26:32
I said, the guy hit me with a bat and I she goes, no, he
26:37
didn't. I go, yes, he did.
26:40
And they should. What could you hit it with?
26:41
I should my fist. But that's how it went.
26:44
And we got out of there, got home and went to school the next
26:48
day. And they'll have to borrow his
26:49
shirt off his father. A clean shirt.
26:51
You know what I mean? Now I know.
26:53
You never went home. You never went to your.
26:55
Home. No.
26:56
No. So now I have to call an
27:00
emergency because I didn't have a phone at the time the
27:03
emergency was calling. Missus Ruse, who was our next
27:07
door neighbor. So I called her and I go.
27:10
She goes, Danny, Danny, your mom and dad are worried about you.
27:12
Where are you? I said I need to talk to them
27:15
and I thank God I didn't know how to say it was in jail here.
27:17
So I go mom, look, I'm willing to kids parents, this sister's a
27:21
nurse. What do you need a nurse for?
27:23
I said when I cut my hand out of how you turn your hand.
27:26
I said mom, it's a long sleeve. But there was a fight after the
27:29
game at a bar and you were at a bar after the game.
27:34
Why didn't he come home with your father?
27:36
Because I'm a stupid idiot, that's why.
27:40
I'm an idiot for not coming home.
27:42
But so I go to school. They yanked me right out of
27:46
class down to the principal's office.
27:48
And he look wire. I look like shit.
27:50
You're in this blood. I'm part of my shirt.
27:53
And so I guess you're going to tell me your brother said.
27:56
I guess you're going to tell me you weren't in a fight if you
28:00
want to call what they did to us a fight.
28:03
Yeah, I was in a fight. I was in an ass whipping
28:05
brother. They had backs.
28:06
So they beat the hell out of your teeth out of high school
28:09
kids. And I said they were really
28:11
jerks. And he goes, daddy, they say you
28:16
beat them up by myself because all the other guys designed just
28:25
didn't say they form. And the only one they could pick
28:28
out Friday the group was me. You're me so man.
28:32
So anyway I got sent home and got pulled out of school and
28:37
went to another school and that was there.
28:38
And you know what? Famous about the fight that I am
28:41
the. Basketball now, now you know
28:43
what, Danny, good for you. And you know what?
28:45
I was a very, I had a lot of problems too when I was in
28:48
school and when I was in, well, when I was in the eighth grade,
28:54
I've been skipping school all the time, Danny, you know what I
28:56
mean? I just, I didn't like, I didn't
28:58
like my teachers. I didn't.
28:59
So you know what I did? I just said, you know the heck
29:01
with it, I'm just going to not go to school.
29:04
And I, so they told my mom and dad at the end of the 8th, 8th
29:07
grade, if he skips next year as a freshman, the first time he's
29:10
gone and not a suspension, we're going to expel his ass.
29:14
OK, Well, I, you know what I did?
29:16
I I skipped and I got caught and my parents had to send me to a
29:19
military school in the ninth grade so I could go to school.
29:23
You know, there was no school for me to go to and I got, I got
29:27
a good ass whipping up there. They taught me how to say yes,
29:29
Sir and no Sir, and no time for that, no Sir.
29:32
And then you know what? They, the University City
29:35
Schools, let me come back as a sophomore.
29:37
But that one year up at that military school, just little
29:40
wise ass, little wise ass Jewish kid.
29:43
He wasn't so wise after he was up there for a couple days.
29:47
It was yes or no, Sir. And they whack you on the side
29:49
of your head, you know. But guess what, Danny?
29:51
Let's let's go into the Big Eight because I know you have a
29:54
a time. Restraints.
29:56
We don't know. You talk to Digger Phelps, you
29:57
know. Oh, yeah, I'm sorry.
29:59
Go ahead, back to him, please. So we, I guess we really want to
30:01
tell you. So how I got to know Digger
30:04
Phelps is one of his decisions was Frankie McLaughlin, who I
30:07
went to basketball camp with and he went to food with him.
30:10
But Jack, then he used to run these camps in the summer at a
30:13
place called Friendship Farm. And so that he and I went up
30:16
there. My parents put me up there to
30:17
keep me out of trouble as I got a nice relationship called
30:20
Frankie McLaughlin. He played for Digger at Fordham
30:25
one year and when Digger went to Notre Dame that he hired Frank
30:30
McLaughlin. So Frank McLaughlin told me so
30:33
you want to be a college would come up to come to South Bend.
30:36
I still don't even know where South Bend is.
30:38
Frankie, we should all you just get on a bus to come your train
30:43
and work camp for a couple weeks.
30:45
So I started going to Notre Dame camp of the the next couple
30:49
weeks during the summer and Digger, you know, doesn't know
30:53
people's name and he'd always see me giving lectures and
30:56
talking and doing stuff with the kids.
30:58
And he started liking me and we have beer and pizza after the
31:01
games and stuff like that. So we, I got to know each other
31:05
and it was a brushing in disguise because when he came
31:08
time for him to hire someone he didn't have, they didn't have a
31:11
lot of money and they went to the high school coach and they
31:13
paid me $3000 to come there and be they at the time they called
31:19
him the, they called him the Poly time assistant, I guess,
31:22
who was the 4th assistant and something like that.
31:26
But anyway, they were supposed to pay you the tuition of the
31:29
school, but they paid, paid me $3000.
31:32
And you say, how do you do that? While my wife worked at a little
31:35
Catholic school, they got out a job and I just, they gave me a
31:39
Skype for the $3000 I could eat at the Catholic area, you know,
31:42
I mean, so I didn't spend money and not spending money I was
31:46
used to. So there was no problem at all.
31:48
I mean, I just started doing that and then the next no two
31:54
years later, because I did a good no.
31:56
Then they put me on the road recruiting and I they just says,
32:00
have you any any experienced recruiting?
32:02
I said no, but I can talk. I said I I knew how to sell
32:08
Notre Dame coach. But that's what we're asking me.
32:10
We'll, we'll, we'll, we all I'm going to sell the Golden Dome,
32:15
the Blessed Mother. They're all the kids that are
32:18
Catholic. Anyone else?
32:19
I'm just going to say go to school.
32:21
It's a small private school, great education, great
32:23
education, beautiful girls and you're at Notre Dame and Notre
32:28
Dame was this the University of the whole United States?
32:32
Everyone knows people at Notre Dame and I said it's really,
32:35
really good academic school and we go from there and I said
32:37
bigger Phelps is a great coach and just sold it, sold it and
32:42
and got very good at it. You know, very, very good at and
32:46
by third and then then next year, well then maybe third
32:50
year, they moved me to full time.
32:53
So now Notre Dame assistance, everyone there wanted to be a
32:58
head coach. So when when they got to be the
33:01
top assistance, they were more worried about finding an
33:03
interview to get a job. And I was just, I wasn't, I
33:06
didn't want it. I didn't want to be a head
33:08
coach. Not bad.
33:09
I I was a brick down some high school the year before.
33:13
Come on, how the hell am I that a recruit?
33:16
So I, I wanted to get three or four or five years there.
33:18
So I get, you know, a resume, you know, there, I know what's
33:24
going on because I had never coached the game in Notre Dame.
33:26
You know, I think it was doing the culture.
33:28
I used to go sit down at the end of the bench.
33:30
I'll tell you it's a great story.
33:32
When I started doing well and doing scouting and he liked it.
33:35
We're playing the Russians, the Olympic team.
33:38
This is a couple of years later and it's the Russians team that
33:42
was the real good one there. They won the Olympics.
33:44
They did. To make a Long story short, I
33:48
came back and I'm saying to the assist, they say they're the
33:53
biggest human beings I've ever seen.
33:56
We're way bigger than an NBA team.
33:57
And they got a guy in the middle that's about 747 poverty, weigh
34:01
about £300. He can't speak English and he
34:03
smells like a bear. And I said these guys don't mess
34:08
around. They're really, really, really
34:11
physical. And we have Toby Nye, you know,
34:15
Dave Batten, go who some good players, you know, and we
34:20
should. I don't, I don't swore just now
34:23
I said to him, I'm like, they're freaking men.
34:28
Give that, give that college. He said they're men.
34:31
And I said they're probably all between 25 and 35.
34:35
And I said they're nasty suckers when they go talk English.
34:39
They're just tough as crap and rebounds go up and bodies go
34:43
flying everywhere. They don't call fouls.
34:46
Gigger, Gigger, make them call fouls.
34:47
But I said, well, what do we play?
34:50
I said you might as well play with two elephant guns and try
34:53
to shoot them because we don't have, we can't guard them.
34:58
So he says to me, Danny, you can't tell Digger, *** Digger
35:05
will eat you up alive. He saw all of them.
35:08
Digger leave me up alive after the first time out when he sees
35:11
them and he sees how they play. So I said we got to play zone,
35:15
play 23 zone, you're mean and blah, blah, blah.
35:18
So now it gets better. I'm I'm on the bench, just I
35:25
don't know where to sit. So there's one seat open next to
35:27
bigger. And I know why it's open because
35:29
no one wants to sit next to me here as big as like awful with
35:33
the the coach or the players or, you know, or referees.
35:38
So I sit down and I'm just getting comfortable and he says,
35:43
what's the blankie? Blankie?
35:44
You sitting next to me for your bad luck.
35:48
I should coach this has nothing to do with luck.
35:50
Yeah, that'll kick our ass if we don't get in the truth result
35:54
and I start walking down gold down by the end of the bench
35:57
where he's going to send me like Snoopy, like little little kids.
36:02
So I'm walking that and I'm as I'm getting down towards the end
36:04
of the bench now the David branch has more people on it,
36:06
but it looks like a line to go on a roller coaster and I get
36:12
them and I got guys. I go guys, look, you have to
36:15
move over. You let me sit down because I
36:17
can't stand down here. Let me just get in there and
36:21
I'll owe you 1 and a couple of young freshmen.
36:23
So I squeeze in with against two of the freshmen, my little butt
36:27
in there and all the offices they have we looked at shit.
36:31
They're look at the scouting ripple.
36:34
They get as addressed and get into this posting win all their
36:37
expression games and we'll look at more let down 1012 point and
36:43
for us at Notre Dame, if you got 1012 points in the first quarter
36:46
is is bad. So now they're calling them
36:49
Danny Danny Danny. Oh so oh now it's Danny.
36:56
I I thought I thought my first name was ML.
37:00
You know, yeah. So I get up there and he goes he
37:05
totally created my tie. He told me now and I'm looking
37:08
right at the players and I'm not talk to the assumed seniors
37:11
since I got there. You know what I mean?
37:13
I'm Adrian Daly. What if I do to talk to Adrian
37:16
Daly coming out of brick down Ship High School, I used to say,
37:19
hey AD, how you doing? AD turned to the coach.
37:26
What are we going to do? I said tell him you want to play
37:29
zone 2 through zone and we can gang up on them and surround
37:33
them and tighten it up and make them from the outside.
37:36
And he smiles at me. He tells to get out, dig it,
37:39
doesn't curse out of it. You know, they go out and we
37:43
hadn't even practice a 23 result.
37:45
We're in a 23 result. But it's helping us because
37:47
we're packing it in and they're throwing up a couple of threes.
37:50
You know, they, they, they love shooting the outside shots.
37:53
So they throw them up and they're not going in, you know,
37:56
and now we're getting at least we're in the insider, we're
37:58
getting some rebound, getting some fast brace.
38:00
So and they're not even taking a serious.
38:02
Then they're not even getting back on D front.
38:04
So now, now we get some points and by halftime I I don't
38:11
remember what we were doing. We were down.
38:12
But it gets worse in the second-half and I get told off
38:15
the bench again, but that's, you know, he neither here nor there.
38:19
So then I said to the assistants, I said I can't come
38:23
down on this bench and be talked to like that and last the whole
38:26
season. I might turn a punch and bring
38:29
in the mouth and he'll back off me.
38:32
And they and I said, I'm the rookie here.
38:35
This is my first college game and I'm supposed to now deliver
38:39
all this homework. Come on, man.
38:41
Well, what do what? You guys didn't read the
38:43
scouting report? Come on, what the hell are you
38:46
doing? I'm I'm like a lamb being sent
38:49
to the slaughterhouse. So now I said I don't even I'm
38:53
gonna stand outside. We're wanting I don't even want
38:55
to go in there. And so the assistant who has the
39:01
game supposed to go in and write the things to win in the
39:05
second-half on the bench on on the with the scribble board.
39:08
I get in my hands shaken and I said you got a rebound.
39:14
So you got someone's got to box out the the big guy and everyone
39:18
else got to contest shots and on the outside shooting.
39:20
Let's pray that they missed some shots, but we got to get the
39:23
rebound. So I should boxing out rebound.
39:26
I didn't push it. They don't want to run.
39:28
They must be tired or they went out last night.
39:30
I said just push the ball, push the ball and just take it to the
39:33
hoop because now you're taking the hoop against the Russians.
39:37
If they can stop you, you know, they'll grab you.
39:40
Then they'll knock you down. You know, they're really
39:42
physical. So duck Williams, one of the way
39:45
more and a couple of kids get glowing to the deputy skinny
39:48
black guy. You know, I'm just there's no
39:50
one skinny on the Russians. I mean, they're all, you know,
39:54
they, they look like linebackers for the Giants or in the city
39:57
Chiefs or something. I mean, but they're all pig men
39:59
and they're all really, really, really, really tall.
40:02
And some of them can really, really shoot.
40:04
So that's how my introduction I survived the first year.
40:08
Then went out in the road and came back and gave them the
40:12
about the number one recruiting class in the country.
40:15
My 4th year there and we had Kelly Trapuka, Orlando Ward's.
40:19
I mean we had everyone says how do we get.
40:23
All I did was talk about Notre Dame, and Kelly Trapuka's father
40:28
went to Notre Dame. So all you got to do is not
40:30
screw it up. That's how we got killed.
40:32
Kelly Trapuka and Kelly Trapuka's mom hated bigger
40:36
files. So in the house, we're in the
40:39
house and I should try to keep Mrs. Trapuka in the kitchen with
40:45
me and the digger talked to the father and the son over in the
40:51
living room and careful. So she's yelling at him from the
40:54
kitchen into why didn't you recruit my other son?
40:57
He wasn't good enough, Digger. He wasn't good enough.
40:59
So now Kelly, who is damn good, probably too good to go to
41:02
Naughty Babe and make sure people say Marjorie whatever,
41:09
calm down please. The father of the husband.
41:13
Yeah, the father and I'm saying the Mrs. Topeka, please, because
41:17
I'm in here staying there with you.
41:19
He says, say I turned on him and I'm on your side now and he's
41:22
right. But please back off, Ellie,
41:27
please. He walks over to this.
41:31
You think I'm telling my mother to shut up?
41:33
I said no, no, I don't think you are.
41:35
I don't want you to say shut up. No.
41:36
And I think she'd knock you right on your ass and say shut
41:39
up. So that's how it went.
41:42
So I wasn't confident we were going to get him.
41:44
But I went to Frank. You don't talk to him.
41:47
And you know, and listen, Frank, this is you got to tell her
41:53
lighten up. And then just come to Notre
41:55
Dame. He'll be a great player here.
41:58
And then you'll you'll be coming back to your alma mater.
42:00
You'll be coming back here. It just makes sense for him to
42:03
come to Notre Dame. I said if I don't because we
42:06
definitely come up, they they're probably the fire mate.
42:09
Yeah, that's right. And he started laughing.
42:12
He's not in there. No, no, they're they're not.
42:14
They're firing you. No, no, no, we like you.
42:19
Ideally won't help him with Digger.
42:22
Hey, Danny, Danny, are you good for a few more minutes?
42:25
You know, we've been going for about 40 minutes, buddy.
42:27
I mean, listen. Here here's here's a couple.
42:36
Yeah, you better take care of the wife.
42:37
We know how that is, don't we? Yeah.
42:40
Yeah. It's yes, ma'am.
42:42
It's yes, ma'am. Danny, real quick, just a, a
42:46
brief sentence. Can we do this?
42:48
You know, when you were when you were the coach in the Big 8
42:51
Conference and by golly, I'm telling you there was no better.
42:56
They could talk about the Big East and all that crap.
42:58
But I'll tell you that that Big eight, those years, Danny, they,
43:00
it was big time, wasn't it, buddy?
43:02
It was. It really was deep and then that
43:05
then, you know, like great coaches, OK, you have.
43:08
Well, let me, let me ask you, here's what I want you to do.
43:10
I want to just mention a coach and just in a brief sentence or
43:13
two, OK, describe him. Norman Stewart, Top.
43:21
His nails nails a winner, a great coach and been there so
43:27
long. He knew the we knew you guys
43:29
like he was your your uncle. I mean, yeah, he he got every he
43:37
got everything When he was at home, he was like really home,
43:40
you know what I mean? He was really tough playing down
43:42
there because norm and the analyst, but not normally what
43:46
tactician and he was there. I don't want American baseball
43:48
player. I'm sure he's played some kind
43:51
of pill basketball, but no, he was a great player.
43:54
I had a great coach. How about Billy?
43:57
And before I tell you about I'm going to say Billy Tubbs.
44:00
But his son Tommy. I I stay in touch with him.
44:05
He said to send you his best. He thinks you're the greatest.
44:08
Tommy Tubbs. How about Billy?
44:10
Tubbs I I love Billy Tubbs, but we were all because everyone in
44:16
Nebraska hated Oklahoma. Yeah, so they thought when Glee
44:22
thumbs came up there they were coaching against their famous
44:25
coach. You know what's her name?
44:28
I can't think of it. Now who's the famous coach from?
44:31
Oklahoma, Oklahoma Switzer. Barry Switzer.
44:35
Yeah, yeah, Barry, exactly. Very fit.
44:37
You know, it was crazy. And then when dishes, when we're
44:42
playing Oklahoma down in Norman, they think that I'm Tom Osborne
44:49
and they want to kick his ass. He used to win some game.
44:53
So I think they'd be up 25 and they would be what blood.
44:57
That's because the BM football team ran up scores and killed
45:00
people. You know they wouldn't.
45:04
They went to the finals 2 years, two years that I was there like
45:07
that when we were winning a couple years later and old times
45:12
in because they got to the final game.
45:14
Let me ask you this What about Larry Brown?
45:19
Oh. He could coach.
45:21
He could coach. Better, really.
45:23
Best tactician and a real gentleman.
45:26
A real gentleman. Real gentleman.
45:30
Was was Leonard Hamilton at Oklahoma State when you were?
45:34
Yes, there. Not then.
45:35
Leonard Aldo was up there. So I knew Leonard.
45:37
I knew I knew one thing, no matter what Oklahoma State did,
45:41
you were to get players. I hear your players, you know
45:44
what I mean. He got himself a couple of good
45:46
decisions and he was very shallow but a great recruiter.
45:50
What about What about Johnny Orr at Iowa State?
45:53
Oh, one of my favorite. People.
45:56
Something else funny people. Yeah, this is a sweetheart and
45:59
you know, he the way he talked it, but you know, he survived.
46:04
He he said Michigan. Then he comes over and I was
46:07
thinking to get into a winner everywhere he went he won.
46:09
But you know, I mean, I don't think he deserved got the credit
46:14
that he deserved because he survived in the brigade and and
46:18
win games. He's a great recruiter.
46:21
OK, now I'm getting waived for my wife, I thought.
46:23
You should talk. Well, listen, I'm telling you
46:25
right now, this has been one of the the better.
46:28
Hey, listen, I'm just going to I'm going to end it with this.
46:33
I have so much respect for you for a lot of reasons, but you
46:36
know, I'm looking at this thing and here you are guy who's done
46:40
everything that you could possibly do in coaching.
46:43
And then at the end, you're helping kids at A at A at a
46:48
small school, high school. Am I right, Danny?
46:50
You did that in that, in that to give it back to the kids.
46:54
And what's better than a guy like you?
46:56
I mean, coming back and showing these kids how to do it the
47:00
right way. The, and you know what, Danny,
47:01
this is this, this podcast of mine is called the before, you
47:06
know, whatever they want to call it, you know, the before and and
47:10
then, well, I like the before. I like what we did back in those
47:14
days. I think it was better.
47:16
I think there was more discipline and I think the kids
47:18
showed their coaches a hell of a lot more respect than a lot of
47:22
these kids showed today. I'm going to let you go with
47:24
your wife. Tell her I apologize.
47:26
No, don't worry, she's standing right.
47:28
Here and as soon, Danny, as soon as this podcast is finished and
47:32
then we get it, I'm going to send it to you and you can
47:34
listen to it. This is it's been I've I've had
47:36
the best time with you today. Here's a few words before we go.
47:39
Red Bank High School, Brick Township, Ohio University, which
47:44
we didn't talk about. You had great, great success
47:47
there. OK, Danny, Danny nee.
47:49
Danny nee. You're the best man.
47:52
I really I I. Really, I tell you this, coaches
47:55
like me win because we get good players.
47:57
And I had great players at Nebraska, great players.
48:00
A lot of them went on to the NBA that they never got a credit
48:02
for. You know, Chulan Liu, I mean, he
48:05
was unbelievable. I mean, Vincent out and Eric
48:08
Strickland, Toronto and great, great.
48:11
Prayer well and. Would you do do a lot of good?
48:13
Players, there was nobody. And and Eric Piakowski from
48:17
South Dakota. Unbelievable.
48:19
Danny, no Big 8 coach with the resources that you had being in
48:26
Nebraska and being kind of far away from a lot of different
48:29
things, if you know what I mean. You you recruited as well as any
48:33
of them buddy, and congratulations to a great
48:35
career. Well, thank you.
48:37
I appreciate it. Stay in touch.
48:39
Thanks for the call. OK.
48:40
Thank you for being on Danny Knee.
48:42
You're a good man. You're welcome.
48:43
Thank you. Bye.
48:45
Well, what a great podcast. And what, what a great guy,
48:50
Danny Knee. What a what a life that guy's
48:53
lived. I'm, I'm telling you.
48:55
And he survived it. But you know what?
48:57
Danny's about 80 years old, 81, you know, and he's a tough guy.
49:00
And he was in a fight and he went to Vietnam and he's just
49:04
Danny Knee is just as tough as they come.
49:06
But guess what? Just now his wife was yelling
49:08
Danny. And he.
49:09
Yeah, here I come, honey, I'm coming.
49:11
I'm coming. I promise.
49:13
God bless him. Anyway, this is Code Z and it's
49:18
been a great the then and then now my great producer back
49:25
there, Matt does an unbelievable job every single week.
49:30
I will leave you with this. Today's the youngest you will
49:35
ever be and I hope that you people will, if you like it, put
49:41
a like and then share it with your friends when this podcast
49:44
becomes available. Have a great day.