State of Sports Part II

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[00:01:12] these are the dog days of summer, but have no fear, we got you, you know what I'm saying, we got some college football to get into, the first coaches poll came out today, we gonna talk some NBA, is it time, is it, are we reaching that point where the Warriors and the one and only Wardell Carey heading towards divorce,

[00:01:36] that and much, much more, we are everywhere that you get your podcasts, you know, like, review, subscribe, share, rate, do all the free things, do all the good things, Liquid Death in hand, say less, say more, coming at you Thursday, let's get into it, Mr. Logical, so, you know,

[00:01:57] we've been doing some talk in the last few weeks, and there's this group of whiners that have been whining ever since last season ended, they go by the name of the SEC, so, as they've been talking about breaking away, we've had media days now, media days has come and gone,

[00:02:17] and you already got people like Steve Sarkeesian, you know, the head coach at the University of Texas, the much maligned University of Sports Reports is ordered, talking about, if we go 9-3, we should be a playoff team, why you going 9-3, Sark? I mean, I mean, he's right, but still.

[00:02:46] Nah, see, this is the problem, and this is a problem with the SEC, this is a problem with arrogance, this is a problem with, you focus on the past, you ask to be a has what, Andre, Benjamin, you know, Andre 3000, that's what the SEC is on right now.

[00:03:07] They had top dogs in college football for a very long time recently, with Bama, Georgia, sprinkling the dynamic LSU years, just, they've been, their best of the best has been better than some of the other conferences. If you rank the greatest teams in the last 15 years, a lot of them will probably come from the SEC, which is cool.

[00:03:38] But you still have a whole season to play, there's parameters you've got to work through, and you guys all bargained on this, it's already agreed upon, the 12 teams is going to look like this. I think they felt as if, when we go back to the first year of the playoffs, when Alabama didn't play in the conference championship, and still was in the top four in competition for the original four, the college football playoff format that way.

[00:04:08] Nick Saban was like, hey, there's no rules saying you have to play for your conference championship to play for the national championship. That's true. Logically, it would make sense, like, how were you the best in the country when you weren't the best in your conference? But they let them slide with that. They would coin flip, and basically 13-0, Florida State a couple years ago,

[00:04:34] nah, you good, we're going to take Texas and Bama, because you couldn't take just Texas, even though Texas beat Bama straight up. You had to take Bama, too, because you really wanted Bama in, so you had to take Texas. Florida State was an easy casualty. They got those breaks. It's indicative of their entire attitude since the inception of the United States.

[00:05:00] They've always wanted it their way, and they secede. They want to wage war, because we want it our way. We don't want to play by everybody else's rules. We got this much leverage. We want this much. We want this much control. It is indicative of the region. They're doing it now with college sports. They're doing it with political voting. They've been doing it since inception. They act as if they are above everybody else,

[00:05:29] just because they have strong black people doing all the heavy lifting in their region. Let's keep it real. Without that, you got nothing, and that's what they always do. They're complaining that other people are getting an advantage that they feel that they deserve when they don't deserve it, and they're doing it every time. And they go, and they complain.

[00:05:53] Just line up, get your red hats on, go down to the SEC commissioner's office and complain all you want. You're not leaving the SEC. You're just selfish, and you're upset that you're losing your leverage, because you used to be able to keep all that young black talent below the Mason-Dixon line. Now they're not going for that shit. Now people are going everywhere. Now Michigan is throwing out money. Ohio State is throwing out money. USC's throwing out money. Everybody's pooling your talent.

[00:06:23] Your coaching staff are all internal people. They're all the people that you homegrown, and you built them up, and you built them up, and you don't have any diversity in your coaching ranks. All your coaches look, talk, and act the same. Everybody has a super thick country-ass accent when they go to the podium. Even the guy Brian Kelly had to go down there and fake one, because that's what you want.

[00:06:44] You want everybody to assimilate to your way, and you are losing grip on reality on the field and in politics, and it's running head-on course, two trains, same track. No one's at the helm. So keep going. Keep going. I ain't even going to lie. General Kirby Lee has a ring to it. You know what I mean? But, you know, so my first impersonation of the night, Shaq. I got to turn my fan on.

[00:07:14] I'm getting hot in here. Hold on. Put it on a T-shirt, underdog. That was an underdog moment right there. The second one, you know, said, Mr. Logical just went folk master flex on y'all. We in here focused! You know, but look, so a lot of what you said is factual, right? I can't necessarily argue against it. But there's always an exception to the rule. So I look at it like this.

[00:07:42] In sports, just in a macro kind of way of looking at things. You have your regions, or you have your divisions, you have your conferences. The best of the best meet up in these playoffs, whatever sport you're talking about, right? Like, we don't go, hey, the third place team in the American League East, you know, is better than that wild card team that came. Well, you know what? They should have had a better record. You know what I'm saying?

[00:08:10] But of course, they're also talking about the same sport where the teams are even, and everything is on the up and up as far as you have the same abilities to do things that I have. So when we're talking about college football in this way, you know, I can't make a logical argument to say, hypothetically, that if Iowa State wins the Big 12, they're better than Alabama.

[00:08:40] Now, on principle, yes, you didn't win your conference. You shouldn't be in. And I'm not doing the Vegas thing that Nick Saban tried to do where it was like, who would be favored if we played today? Like, we know the answer to that question, too. But that's where college football screwed the pooch from the jump is best team instead of most deserving. We have that argument every year. Now, when it comes to Texas, going back to last season for a second, I talked about this the other night.

[00:09:08] You know, you went out here and lost to 4-8 Florida. You know, so no sympathy. You know what I mean? But at the same time, you did go to Columbus, whereas all these other teams like Alabama, they went to Tallahassee. They just messed it up. They lost. Yeah, I know. I know. But they messed it up. So it has to matter, though. No, no, it does matter. But the difference is, okay, so look, the NFL, right, every year we do the resetting of the schedules based on the standing.

[00:09:38] So there's going to be years that a team gets into the playoffs because they had the third or fourth place schedule versus that first place schedule. So we understand that. But the difference is, is that you're playing NFL teams every week that are all even, all salary capped, all following the same rules. Alabama is not playing the same game. No, I know. But Texas is not playing the same game that Kansas is playing. You know what I mean? They are, though. They're not. They are. They're not.

[00:10:08] We're making this delineation between the two because you decided to join the conference that has the most players. The parameters are you play in your conference. It's not my job as Iowa State to be concerned with the outcome and the record of Alabama.

[00:10:29] So when I win all of my games and I follow through with the parameters set forth for college football, you can't come to me and say, oh, because there's more young black athletes down south that join these teams. Because you play in Iowa, your wins are less deserving. You gave me the test. I took the test. I scored this. I rank here because of my score in this test.

[00:10:59] But it's not you can't be. And it's not like it was ever planned to grade. The SEC play with a point difference. Like, for instance, my son takes AP classes because he's like, yo, I get like a bump in my GPA for just having this grade and it looks good in my transcript. The other kid that took regular physics versus a kid that took AP physics.

[00:11:27] Yes, that's already predetermined when you sign up for the class. This is going to be weighted this way. This is going to be weighted this way. When the season starts and everybody's zero on zero and 12 teams make the playoffs and there's two at large bids and then it's this champ, this champ. These things are already laid out. I think what Bama and schools like Texas are expecting NCAA to do, and I'm just speculating. I'm going to look at last year.

[00:11:54] When JMU and Tulane met the parameters to make the, I think I can imagine the SEC commission was on the phone with someone in the committee or email chain that said, hey. Hey, we both, we all know that JMU and Tulane are not built for this to play any of these other 10 teams. Let's get either one big 10 team in and another SEC school in.

[00:12:22] I think that's what they expect to happen, and it hasn't happened. And now they're like, you know what? Because we're going to take our ball and go home. Where are you going to go? You don't have as much leverage as you think. You have all the leverage because you are big fish, small pine. But what are you going to do with, what, 34 teams? That's entertaining. So. It's a real, they're a real organization. They have.

[00:12:50] Well, that's where you have to be smart about it, right? Because Indiana. Ego. Arrogance and ego doesn't allow the smart decisions. They're not going to make a smart decision. Well, no, I'm not. Arrogance and ego. Right. But Indiana, for example, like they were supposed to play Notre Dame in 2030. You know, now we're going to get Notre Dame USC back. But anyway, but Indiana is like, nah, we just go to play Howard and we're going to play Western Kentucky.

[00:13:17] Now, when they got to the playoffs, they do their thing, right? So like looking at Texas Tech last year, for example, and we talked about how easy Texas Tech schedule is this year. So, so last year out of conference, Texas Tech played Pine Bluff, Kent State and Oregon State. You know what I mean? Like, so from that standpoint, if you're somebody like Texas, you have to look in the mirror and then you go, why the hell did we play Ohio State?

[00:13:44] You know, if that's what you could get away with, why are we playing this game when you can skate into the playoff by beating teams that have no pulse? Because you wanted to go to the SEC and you said to your constituents, your fans, your players, your organization, we want to compete with the best. You made that decision to move there.

[00:14:14] Now deal with the fact that those punches might be a little harder. No, that's fine, but you can't have it both ways. But that's the thing. They can't have it. They can't. No, they can't have it. But that's what I'm saying. It can't be Texas playing Sam Houston. And I'm just talking about like overarching here. You know what I mean? And people are like, your fans don't want to see that. Your fans don't want to see Sam Houston. What kind of game is that? And then I go schedule Ohio State for what?

[00:14:43] Oh, listen. I look at it like this. If I'm in SEC school and I'm a powerhouse, you know, blue blood school like Texas, like Oklahoma who decided to move to SEC, I made that decision. I put on the extra 10 pounds to move up to this weight class. I got to deal with the fact that this guy's left hook might be harder.

[00:15:09] I might have to play tougher games because I as an organization, we as a group, a collective decided to move up. You got to take your lumps with that. You can't just say, well, I moved up. These losses don't count because I moved up. No, and I don't think that. I'm not saying that. Yeah. Like, I'm not saying that. But I do think. Where did Ole Miss go last year? Ole Miss record. Went 11-1, right? I believe so. 11-1. Georgia went 11-1.

[00:15:40] Yes. Bama went 10-2 or something like that maybe? No. Bama went. Well, yeah, they went 10-2, but then they lost the SEC title game as well. Yeah. So, Bama won 10. Ole Miss won 11. Georgia won 11, I believe, as well. So, it's not impossible to be an SEC powerhouse and win double-digit games. Texas just has to get there. You can't even go into the season with a statement saying we can go 9-3.

[00:16:09] We should be in when you got challenged by Texas Tech to get rid of your first week game and play us and you was mum. And you was mum. Once again, it's tough talk. But again, but again, that goes back to. It's the same rhetoric of that region. It's just tough talk. But it goes back to that original point, though. Like, you know what I mean? So, like, if I'm Texas, right, and I played Texas Tech week one, right? Cool. Then I got Ohio State next week.

[00:16:39] You know who you got next week? Abilene Christian. All right, check it out. Then you got Oregon State again. Penn State plays Ohio State. Check it out. Penn State plays Ohio State and Michigan in back-to-back weeks some years or twice in a schedule some years. What's going on, man? We're doing good. How you doing? You know what I'm saying? And so it's like, I get that these teams are good. But you are also telling us you are better than everybody else as well.

[00:17:07] So you can't tell me you feel like you're one of – because the SEC – Ohio State beating me doesn't make you better than me. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, I'm talking about Texas. If Texas – No, I'm talking about Texas. If I lose to Ohio State, that doesn't make Texas Tech better than me. I didn't say anything. That makes Ohio State better than me. No, I'm not comparing Texas Tech. But we are, though. No. I mean, not you, but I'm saying. When you're looking at the context of the playoff, you are because I'm choosing 12 teams or –

[00:17:37] Well, there's at largest. But, yeah, if Ohio State and Texas play week two and Texas is like, damn, we had to go play Ohio State, big shit. Iowa State has to play Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan every year as well. Like it's on the schedule. It's just what happens when you are playing in a good conference and you decide to play those games. You don't have to. Right, right. But what I'm saying is –

[00:18:05] It's like if they didn't lose a coin toss and say, all right, Texas, you're the new guy. You got to go play Ohio State. But that's where I think there needs to be more nuance. Now, for one, like let's back up for a second. I'm not arguing that Texas should have gotten the playoff last year. That's not my argument at all. But I do think that there needs to be more of a nuanced conversation outside of they got two losses, you got three. And that's the end of the conversation.

[00:18:32] But I think the conversation is a little bit more nuanced, and I think the committee gets it right. I think the at-larges are probably the only thing that kind of handcuffed them. But they got it right with the Notre Dame-Miami conversation because they went back and like – They tried not to. They tried not to because – they tried not to because, like I said, like we said last week, after the 12 games are played and then the conference championships are played, it becomes a production.

[00:19:00] It is people putting on a television show for the next – what is it, like eight weeks after the season ends pretty much, about seven weeks from like November to like mid-January. So it's a seven-week miniseries of college football ball games. That's all it is after you finish your 12 or 13-game schedule. We are completely aware of that, and that's the thing I'm talking about. We are aware of the parameters.

[00:19:27] Other than making every team that's a preseason top 25 play each other week one, then there's no other real thing you can do to lock it in. And everyone gets their opportunity to play – you can either play a really good team and ramp up your status or it doesn't diminish it. Losing Ohio State if you're Texas doesn't – it doesn't drop it. No, and that's why I brought up the Florida loss because they still make the playoff if they beat Florida.

[00:19:57] If you're one – if Ohio State's one and Texas is three when they play that game, whoever loses, no one's going lower than four. So that doesn't – I don't think that hurts them as much. The thing that hurts them is losing your rivalry game or losing a BS game to a 4-18. Right. Having a game where you got to kick a field goal to beat Kentucky at the end. Like all of that stuff hurts them more than that big game. So that's what I mean.

[00:20:26] The Ohio State win or loss, the win gives them a boost. But a loss doesn't take all the wind out of their sails. No, I agree. I agree with that part. I agree with that part. So when it gets to the end of the season, you can't just be like – not you, but the proverbious like – Right, right, right, right. Oh, we played Ohio State week one. That's cool. You still only scored seven points. It wasn't like the score was 37-31 and y'all balled out. Like you had one touchdown in all your possessions.

[00:20:54] Granted, you played great defense, but you still don't score one touchdown. So to answer your question, I think you have to have a G6 in or a G5 at the time. I think you have to have one of them in. Like I said the other night, they're either a part of the sport or they're not. You know what I mean? Like they don't have their own playoff. So as long as they're here in this big ball of wax, then I think you have to include the best G5 team in the playoff.

[00:21:22] Now, with that being said, would I have taken two of them? I don't know. You know what I mean? I think last year was just an odd year because Notre Dame lost to the two teams that had a pulse that they played. They lost to Miami and then they lost the next week or I think they had a bye week actually. Came back and lost at home to A&M. So they started 0-2 and then they won out. It was a great game. Yeah, it was a great game. It was probably a better game from last year. And they probably got cheated a little bit. You know what I mean?

[00:21:51] But the point being though, they won out after that A&M loss. But then when you go back and look at it, it's that question again, right? Did you win out because you're a good team or did you win out because of the teams that you played? You're an AP level student taking mediocre level classes. Yes, you're going to ace that. And that's what happens. So in that scenario, I would have took BYU over Notre Dame probably and said, don't get mad at me. You know what I'm saying?

[00:22:20] But I would have took BYU because they had the win over Utah at least, which was better than any win that Notre Dame had. And their only loss was to Texas Tech twice, which was just a bad matchup. And they're the one team that got punished for losing in the conference championship game when they told us you don't get punished for losing in the conference championship game. But they said the same thing about SMU when SMU made the comeback and barely lost. SMU got in. They got in.

[00:22:48] But I'm saying they were like, they were saying, you know, before that, I think it was like Ward of Man, Wade O'Manuel or whatever. He was the spokesman on ESPN the week before. They said, oh, this won't happen. And then when they made that, they battled back. It was like, oh, they deserve a shot. It's just who's making the best seven week miniseries. Who's making Game of Thrones part two college football version. That's all it is at that point. But leading up to that, I think we can be honest. I'll say right here.

[00:23:18] I would get rid of the automatic at large for the G5 schools. I just keep it real. Like I said, I think they're really good schools. But to be honest, if you're not in one of these power four conferences, which is what they just really need to be honest with. Well, we're going to get to that right now, actually. Get the best 48.

[00:23:41] You can stay in the NCAA, get the best 48 and those or the best 60, whatever number you want to go up between the power four conferences. And say, hey, your top tier teams have proven that your conference is tough enough to battle for the national championship. Because Tulane was never going to win it. JMU wasn't going to win it. Boise State wasn't going to win it. If UNLV gets in this year, it's just there is a talent gap.

[00:24:07] I can dislike how the SEC behaves and how they act and their mannerisms when, like, I get it. Some tough dudes can get blocked. But if everybody's a killer, what the fuck is all the pumps? Some of y'all suck. Some of y'all aren't that good. Some of y'all are average. And just like that. Some of y'all are 8 and 4. All right, let's hear it.

[00:24:36] You know, here's the list. Miami. Penn State. Florida State. Virginia Tech. Boston College. West Virginia. Pitt. Syracuse. BYU. Army. Navy. All right. Don't focus on the names. But I'm just, that's the list. There's a reason I said those. According to this College Sports Act, they are capping conferences at 19 teams. You can't have more than 19 teams.

[00:25:05] I don't know why 19 teams. That's a great point. I don't know about 19 teams. But those teams were all independent once upon a time. Obviously, Notre Dame still is, along with UConn. All right, the reason I bring that up is because in the College Sports Act, for conference realignment to take place, for a team to go to another conference, you have to go independent for five years.

[00:25:34] So, before we get to how asinine that is, this is a question for you. What teams outside of Notre Dame do you think could successfully be independent? Georgia, Bama, Clemson, LSU, USC, Ohio State. I don't know.

[00:26:01] Because they can get the same Notre Dame schedule, go 11-1, no conference championship, and because their fans travel, they get into the dance. That's it. That's all I'm thinking. Clemson. We know these college football games are played in NFL stadiums, which is 70,000 plus seats on the side of the country. I don't know if Clemson has.

[00:26:30] Clemson might be my outlier. Yeah, I don't think they have the national interest that way. USC is a good thought. You know, I can think about that one. Georgia, I think you're looking at Georgia through the lens of what they are today. You know what I mean? But I'm talking about, like, long term. Like, if... Yeah. I don't think Georgia could do it. Bama, maybe? I think they have the fandom.

[00:27:01] I think they have the popularity that they could essentially follow the mold of BYU and Notre Dame. I think Texas could do it. Texas is another one. Yeah, Texas is another one. I just think, like, I think BYU's independence. I think Georgia on a national popularity. I think they could sell out more than BYU. But BYU is also... It's a very popular religion.

[00:27:31] Right. And those guys... And that's what they have that these other schools don't have. And they have very deep pockets. Like I said, they're the second richest religion behind the college. Okay. Well, with that being said, and I don't want to derail this too much. All right. Could Liberty do it? No. Why not? They got deep pockets. They got the religion on Smash. Yeah, but they don't have the names. They don't have Terrell Davis. They don't have... And that's the key. That's the key. They don't have the players that... Right. And they're almost...

[00:28:00] Like, BYU is religious. But Liberty is religious to the point where it's like... BYU and Mormonism, like I said, you and I both live in Utah. It's everywhere. But only thing they really... They just really impact the laws and the rules. Which, you know, you'd be like, oh, you can't get two bars on the same side of the street.

[00:28:24] They don't really, like, force their position on you because they run everything in the state of Utah. So they don't really have to, like, overdo it. Like, they're in every political position. The person's Mormon. The alcohol board's Mormon. Probably every mayor in almost all the cities are probably more likely 80, 85% Mormon throughout all the cities. So they don't have to, like, overdo it. I think Liberty, like, their stance is that they are a religious school and not a football school.

[00:28:53] So to artistically incredible's point, you think these schools that you named... That's a great name. ...could get a TV deal in the same way that Notre Dame has one? Georgia, yes. Bama, yes. Texas, yes. Clemson might be tough. BYU, yes, because they could just go BYU TV and fund it themselves. And USC, yeah, California market. They have legends.

[00:29:22] Like, they have NFL Hall of Fame legends. They have the stadium. They have the cachet of the city. They're the most popular... They were the most popular branded sport in the city for a while. The Lakers took the helm, but I think... But I think the problem with USC... In their heyday, they were probably the most popular teams in the city. I think the problem with USC is they have to be winning for it to work. Like, if they have anything that resembles a down year...

[00:29:51] Because Notre Dame isn't going anywhere. Like, if Notre Dame goes 3-9, it changes nothing. If USC goes 6-6, you know what I mean? You're going to have empty stadiums. You're going to... You know, I don't think the viewership is going to be there. Because California and these cities like that... Like, Miami even. Like, these cities are very fickle in that way because there's so much to do around you. So I don't know if that works. But anyway, we can come back to that. Now tell me how... The Miami comparison.

[00:30:21] The Miami comparison. Because I was thinking about the legends that USC and Miami has. And yeah, I didn't even think Miami could be one of those teams. Now tell me... I think Miami could pull it off. But like I said, they would have to be winning, though. Like, you know, I don't think they could sustain it if they weren't elite. But now, tell me how asinine this rule is. So you have to wait five... You have to be independent for five years before... So this goes out to my Seminoles, you know, Clemson, who were trying to leave the ACC.

[00:30:51] So if you want to go SEC, if you get an invitation and you want to join Big Ten, five years independent before you can join those leagues. I don't... What's the point? Is that to deter people from... I think that's exactly what it is. All the people who are clamoring for this, all the politicians, they're all the same type of people who want to restrict what women can do with their bodies, who can vote, who can come into the country.

[00:31:22] They just want all this damn control. And they're losing the grip on it because they got idiots at the helm. Smart people would have heard that and said, that doesn't make any sense. A smart person would have been like, as soon as you said five years, I'm like, that doesn't make any sense. On top of the fact that it's like, if I go independent for five years and it works, I'm not joining the conference. Why? I just spent the last 60 months getting all this money. You know that Dave Chappelle meme, he's holding all his money, he's wearing a crown. I'm like, oh no, we good.

[00:31:50] We're getting a whole new stadium built out here in LA for the USC Trojans because we won an average of 10 games the last five years. We're 50-8 the last five seasons. Like, yeah, we're not doing none of that. And Georgia's like, yeah, we good. We got to get our own stadium next to Mercedes Bench, next to the compressor. We're not giving up this money. So some other things that we talked about. So we talked about the five years rule, you know. All right, so let's get into that for a quick second.

[00:32:19] So there was a judge by the name of Charlotte Sweeney out in Denver, Colorado, who made a ruling this week that the players from last year who were seniors can retroactively come back to college football this year. The caveat, they can't join the portal. They have to go back to the school that they played for last year.

[00:32:47] So guys like Tommy Castellanos, for example, would have to go back to Florida State. But here we are, August 4th. I'm imagining these teams are filled. And then also, but we keep focusing on football. This also applies to college basketball as well. So there's players who might not have got drafted last year that this would affect, that could go back to their schools. Does this impact the swim teams?

[00:33:18] They're not mentioning. I don't know. They're just college football and basketball. What about softball? Is that a big part of the College Sports Act? I don't know. It falls under college sports, right? I don't think that's the primary focus. And we know why the primary focus is primary focus. They don't want these young black dudes with the power they have. They have power. If I don't come run this football, you don't get paid, coach.

[00:33:47] Hey, Arch ain't black. Your daughter doesn't go to this private school. Arch Manning ain't black. If I don't block for Arch Manning, coach, you out of here. I'm still going to graduate. If I don't play this cover too properly, you out of here, coach. I'm pretty sure Iowa don't got a black quarterback. I'm just saying in general.

[00:34:12] I'm talking about in the region that is really hooting and hollering about the lack of control that they have because they have this history of wanting to be in control of people of a different race. I'm talking about that region. Okay. That region is trying to control the entire narrative. That's all it is. They understand that I am no longer in control of all of these guys. I can't walk up to a guy who, yeah, if you're not 15 minutes early, you're late.

[00:34:39] He shows up at 6.51 for a 7 o'clock meeting. You can't chew him out threatening to kick him off the team like you used to be able to, Nick Saban. Somebody standing in Tuscaloosa with a check like, yo, come on out the gate, man. I got you. Come on to Tulane. I got $4 million for you. That's the problem. It has nothing to do with who gambled. It has nothing to do with who graduates. It has nothing to do with how many people go on the portal.

[00:35:03] It's the fact that these young bodies and these young minds they can't control because they profited off the backs and knees and heads of these young men and women for all these years. And now Nike's like, you know what? I'm going to just pay them directly. I don't need you, coach, insert miscellaneous generic name. I don't need you. I need the face. I need Caleb Williams in my Dr. Pepper commercial. I don't need Lincoln Riley.

[00:35:31] So one thing that I do like is they're setting up a 5% max that agents can get from players. And they have to go on a registry. All agents have to be on a registry. So I do like that. Another one that's kind of interesting to me is, and I don't even know how you enforce this.

[00:35:53] You know, let's call it the Lane Kiffin rule where you can't serve elsewhere if your team is still playing. So going back to last year, we don't have to rehash what Lane Kiffin did. But in that same vein, you had John Summerall, who was hired by Florida, but he was coaching Tulane. You know, you had Bob Chesney hired by UCLA, coaching James Madison in the playoffs. But they still had to recruit.

[00:36:23] They still had to build a staff at their new schools or at least figure out who they were bringing with them from their current school to the new school. But according to the writing of this, they cannot serve their new school until their season ends. So that doesn't mean fix the dates. That doesn't mean well, well, that doesn't mean that the regular season is over. So now you're free to go.

[00:36:50] If you're in the playoff, you're coaching and can't serve at your new place until your playoff is complete. I don't know how you enforce that. Yeah. Well, you just make them stay. I mean, it happens. No, they can still stay and still they can still double double dip, if you will. You know what I mean? Like like Summerall stayed. I'm sure he went out and got Buster Faulkner from Georgia Tech to be his office coordinator while he was coaching that playoff game. Fix the dates.

[00:37:21] All they have to do is fix the dates. Start everybody. Don't call it zero week. Call it week one, the Saturday before Labor Day. Everyone starts. Maybe you get fancy and do a Friday night. Texas versus Ohio State. One of these marquee primetime matchups. But everyone starts on that Saturday. You finish up. You go right in the conference championships.

[00:37:51] Then you go right into the college football championship concurrently with the other bowl games, the Pop-Tart Bowl, the Break Bowl, the Cereal Bowl, all the other bowls. And you run the playoff. And you have the championship game. You can still have your Rose Bowl on New Year's Eve if that's what you want. Give it a day. And your championship game is January 2nd.

[00:38:16] That following Monday, whatever is the first Monday after January 2nd, that's the beginning of the new semester for students. Normally, like the Monday after New Year's anyway is what most students go back somewhere between like the 6th and the 10th, something like that for most of the schools. Then all those coaches can go to their new school, start recruiting players.

[00:38:40] Guys can transfer out from their school, drop the class they need, enroll in the next school by the time that deadline of January 15th to 17th. So around there, it can be done. Just move the dates. That way the playoffs are over. Well, that might be coming. Well, that might be coming because the Senate, the bill is going over to the Senate.

[00:39:03] But if it's not passed by Friday, then the Senate goes on their month-long recess, you know, to come back in September. How about you get breakfast to kids in school instead of worrying about fucking college football? How about you get people health care? You got people out here dying because they can't get a blood test, but you worried about who the fuck getting paid in the game against Tulane and UAB. My bad. I'm just on one.

[00:39:31] So, you know, that's a good segue there because next week the leaders, you know, and everybody will be meeting, not the congressional leaders, but the NCAA leaders will be meeting to discuss 16 or 24. So, of course, 16, things probably stay similar, pretty much the same.

[00:39:56] But 24, you're probably getting rid of your conference championship games, which I already feel should be gone anyway because I don't even know why we have the conference championship game anymore. Like, I understand it was a spectacle. Well, actually, I do know it's money. But from a football standpoint, but from a football standpoint, I don't know why it matters because back in the day, back in 92. It was better for Ole Miss. Yeah, it was better for Ole Miss last year. Yeah, back in 92, right?

[00:40:22] You had Alabama and Florida, the first ever SEC championship game. Antonio Langham with the pick six to the house. Awesome stuff. You know, it was something that we hadn't seen before. Now, as we sit here, and I know, like, going to your point about Ole Miss, they didn't play A&M, Georgia, Bama, or Texas last year. And they still didn't make the conference title game. You know what I mean?

[00:40:48] Whereas, like, Bama and Georgia did play each other, you know, and Georgia played Ole Miss, but Bama didn't. Georgia played Texas, but Bama didn't. You know, so, like, now I'm just – the conference championship game is an elite team against the team that had the right schedule. Listen, that's their own fault. It's not like someone did it to them. No one told you to have 37 teams in your conference where you couldn't match them up in a nine-game conference schedule.

[00:41:17] That's your own fault. It's like, you know that meme where the dude's riding a bike and he puts the stick into the spoke of the bike and then the next bitch he's holding his knee? That's what these people did to themselves. The green and seeing nothing but dollar signs made them do this. There was no reason for the SEC to bring in Oklahoma and Texas.

[00:41:44] There was no need for USC to go to the Big Ten, UCLA to go to the Big Ten, Cal to go to the ACC. It's just money. And now that you did this to yourself, now you're stuck with the fact that you're – they say money is the root of all evil. No, the love of money is the root of all evil. Well, I think the ACC was just trying to save themselves because they were expecting to lose teams. Because everybody – because people – they started doing stuff that didn't make any sense.

[00:42:13] I mean we can argue about this soon. All right, so here's one for you. So here's one for you. So they're creating new – this bill would create new legislation. It would create a $22.5 million retention pool for schools to try to keep their athletes at the end of the season. In addition to a $21.3 million original cap, so $21.3 to go get players.

[00:42:40] You're 22 at the end of the season to keep the players that were on your roster. And an allocation of $5 million to be spent only – see, this is back to what you were talking about – to be spent only on women in non-revenue sports. So in total –

[00:43:01] What the hell is $5 million going to do when you've got these kids playing Cal and Clemson in the same season taking the bus, playing softball or playing swim meets? What's that $5 million going to do? Well, here's one that I noticed today real quick since you brought that up. I didn't notice it when we were doing our previews because I was just looking at the teams, but I didn't look – I didn't dig that deeply into the schedule.

[00:43:30] I was just focused on who you're playing and when. But Cal – so to your point about Cal, and I only remember it because you said Cal. So this is a part of Cal's schedule. Ready? Yeah. October 24th at SMU. Texas. October 31st at NC State. Let's go. They get a bye week, and then off the bye week they travel to UVA.

[00:43:59] Those are three consecutive road games that Cal is playing this year. So Cali, Texas back to Cali. Cali, North Carolina back to Cali for a couple of weeks out the VA. Now, if the swim team or a tennis team or soccer team had to play that same schedule, where's the money coming from? You know what? No one cares where the money is coming from.

[00:44:29] It's coming from this $5 million. They do not care about college sports. They only care about the amount of money that they have to share with these young men who play college football and basketball. They do not care. Like, I don't know. Don't piss them off. I can tell me it's raining. Folks, you can't even get people in your district to learn how to read. You know, like 25% of Americans can't read at their level. A lot of that is in that reason they're talking about football. These people can't pick up books. They can't read.

[00:44:59] And you worry about college athletes and getting them more money to play sports? How about you give people some money so they can earn their way into college academically? Now you just worry about how fast they can run, how many jumpers they can knock down. Like, cut it out. It's such bullshit. It's absolute bullshit. So, ladies and gentlemen, I promise you.

[00:45:19] I promise you when I started this episode, I promise I didn't know this was going to be Mr. Logical's version of George Bush doesn't care about black people. Yo, they don't. It's clear that these are just band-aids on cancer. And it's not a real effort to regulate and get anything in place.

[00:45:48] I don't like the salary cap. I don't like the salary cap at all. Like, you know what I mean? I don't care about the amount. But it's not supposed to be a cap. It's supposed to be a free market. Like, I can't tell you. Just like, you know. Actually, I ain't going to get into that right now. But anyway. So, before we wrap up our college. Kim Kardashian can make a post and make a million dollars. Yeah. Off that post because she's Kim Kardashian. Livvy Dunn, the athlete from LSU. She might get 50 or 60 grand. 70 grand for a post.

[00:46:18] Maybe 100 grand. But that's what the market deemed their value. That's still value. But it's not all the same. We're not the same. But you keep acting as if you're trying to regulate and make it all better for everybody. It's not the case. That's not what you're doing. You're trying to limit people's progress because you're losing leverage on the people which you're trying to maintain control over. You can't control me if I'm getting five million dollars. I got an idea.

[00:46:47] Since you're already upset, let's get right to it. Today, the coaches poll came out. And this is from Bussin' with the Boys, their Instagram page. You know, Bavia on 3 is the graphic here. This is your top 20. Oh, he got so bad, he left. Y'all see this? Like Mr. Logical said, I'm through with this. You know what I'm saying?

[00:47:16] Had to get my face right. You know what I mean? But here's your top 25, led by the Ohio State Buckeyes. Behind them, Oregon. And there's the rest of the list. So I already got problems. My first problem is the fact that it exists. You know what I mean? But I'll play along. I'll play along. You know what? I was thinking the same thing. I was like, I could go back to my whole, I think you shouldn't bring this out to October 1st. But clearly, that's never going to happen.

[00:47:45] If it does happen, we're taking credit for it. But it's the same song and dance we go through every single year. It's always like, how did Penn State get to 17 with a new coach in a terrible year last year? How did Washington get to 19? I mean, like, what puts them at 22 over, I don't know, Michigan State for that matter?

[00:48:14] So these were my first thoughts when I looked at the poll. You know what I'm saying? One, you know what I'm saying? I think Ohio State should be behind Oregon. You know, that's based on it. So it depends on how you want to look at this. Are the recruiting rankings that important? Is returning production important? Is coaches, are coaches important? Because Notre Dame, actually, now I know, they lost Jeremiah Love. They lost Jadarian Price.

[00:48:43] They lost their big receiver. But they have more returning production than anybody in the country. You know what I mean? So thinking about that, thinking about them being 11-2 or 10-2 last year, you know, just on the cusp of the playoff, why would that not put them at number one? I'm not saying they should be. But I'm just going by, like, why wouldn't they be number one? So that was my first thought. My second thought was, why the hell Clemson in here?

[00:49:13] And, of course, part of that could be because I'm a Florida State fan. But, you know, but they lost K-Clubnik, Antonio Williams, you know, running backs, TJ Parker, half the damn defense, and Dabo is ranting, you know, like, is he going to be here at the end of the year? You know what I mean? You just put Clemson there because Clemson is there. Then Penn State, Penn State, you know, I think you're ranking Penn State based on their schedule

[00:49:38] because they have one of the easier schedules in the country because they're basically Iowa State now, and I don't know if you would have had Iowa State ranked. You know, LSU is here just because. I'm not saying they shouldn't be per se, but they're here just because Lane Kiffin gives you something to talk about. Oh, Mike definitely ain't making it through the season. Like, that schedule, I'm hopeful for eight wins, but if he's not gone by the time we get to Louisville,

[00:50:08] I'd be shocked. Indiana all the way at six. You know, I know some people live by the national champion should be number one until further notice. I don't live by that. They lost a lot of 22 and 23-year-olds off that team. Yeah, this ain't the same team. Miami upgraded at quarterback. You could argue them being higher. They got a different quarterback. I don't know if it's considered an upgrade. He went 7-5 last year. I mean, he played for Duke. They got a different quarterback.

[00:50:38] Yeah. They paid him more money. Well, the quarterback Miami had before played at Georgia, so he wasn't going to have a downgrade. Right? But you got A&M, right? You know what I mean? Lost a lot. Ole Miss got Trinidad Chambliss back, so there's that. Because the judge said he was too sick to play football. Yeah. Like, you know what I'm saying? Maybe too sick to play football? You get another year, baby. Yeah. So that's enough of me for now. Like, anything stand out to you?

[00:51:05] I mean, what do we got? It's just a lot of the – you just kind of flood it with the names. It's a lot of SEC schools and 25 teams. Of course. So, basically, it's like the – you know, your favorite Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC schools sprinkled in with a couple of outliers. Non-SEC schools.

[00:51:35] Non-SEC schools. And why the hell is Tennessee in there? I mean, listen, they got – you know – We don't even know who their quarterback going to be. Like, you know what I'm saying? They got some players. They run fast. Their quarterback is either going to be a true freshman or the backup from Colorado last year. Check it out. You talked about this – you and I talked about this probably three years ago when I was on a break from work. It's the same formula they use every year.

[00:52:04] You front load the preseason standings so the team that you want to win, wins, yeah. They got this many ranked wins. Hell. And not only that – Tennessee was ranked number 18 before the wheels fell off and they played Bama. But Bama beat them when – you know, and like – Oh, and not only – The fact that they'll be the team before –

[00:52:30] But not only that, you got four SEC teams from 8 to 11 just back to back to back. And then you got your next one at 13. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? It's – We know that – what is that? We got – so Texas is your highest ranked SEC – No, Georgia. Georgia, Georgia. Yeah.

[00:52:57] So Georgia, Texas, that's your likelihood. And then you're hoping someone from 8 through 11 can wiggle their way up and stay within the top 10 for the duration of the year. Yeah, this is nuts. That way to get them into the playoffs. This is nuts. But it's just – honestly, I think you just take – they take who – they take the hype, they take the recruiting class, and they take the coach.

[00:53:27] And then they just put it out there. Indiana being 6 makes sense. Ohio State returning starters, offensive line, defensive line quarterback, dynamic wide receiver. They lost – Ryan Day. Ryan Day. They lost Caleb Mounds. They lost Carnell Tate. They lost – But that's – but those are the kind of schools that retool. Like, for instance, who had a – like, who – That's why Sark said what he said. Yeah.

[00:53:58] And that's – and that's – and now that's the narrative. So now we've already planted that seed in August. Hey, Texas had to play four of the preseason – three preseason-ranked top 10 teams. So this is what I always – So this is what – Regardless of what happens. So I think what usually bothers me, you know, about that is that I don't care what you're ranked today, right?

[00:54:21] You know, like when we get to this November – late November, how many of those four teams that Texas play going to be in the top 10 or going to be in the top 15 or whatever the case – whatever parameters you want to put on? Mathematically, you should get best-case scenario two, most likely scenario one. But they'll be – they'll hover around 16.

[00:54:49] Like, I don't think Texas A&M – so Texas has to play what? OU – They got to play OU, OU, A&M, Ole Miss, and Ohio State. That's the four. And Ohio State. That's the four. So, yeah, I think OU – OU and A&M will be somewhere around 16, 15, 16 as a year kind of matriculates,

[00:55:16] and they'll still get credit for them being, you know, top 10 preseason picks and having a Heisman candidate, you know, and Matier, Heisman candidate. And, you know, so it's like we already know the story. It's already written. I mean, like Nas says, it was written. And we just let it play out.

[00:55:37] And that's the thing for me that makes me laugh every single time we had this conversation because every year it's the same nonsense. Kirk Hersey gets up there and says something like, I mean, if you put him on a neutral field, who would you pick? Notre Dame or Alabama? Alabama, it's always like these hypothetical things after all the games are actually played. And it's always some kind of just ridiculous reach.

[00:56:03] Like, you mean to tell me on a neutral field you got Tulane beating Alabama? How does Tulane get in? Because the parameters say they get in. So just get rid of that and just pick the 12 teams you want to get in or the 16 of whatever that number is. But don't get to the end of the season and come up with this. Like, when Nick Saban said, hey, we lost on two last second kicks. That's cool. You still lost on two. So that has to count.

[00:56:29] Like, if somebody else was in that same predicament saying, hey, we should be above Alabama because we only lost on two last second kicks. You would have said something like you shouldn't have even had a close game against that team. We should have been close to the game against that team. Well, that's what I was saying because, like, when you talk to SEC fans, they'll say something like, yo, South Carolina was ranked number 13. And I'm like, that was five weeks ago. Like, you know what I'm saying? They're not ranked right now.

[00:56:58] You know what I'm saying? And that's where it's like, well, because they were playing against the SEC schedule. And it's like, okay, well, then rank another SEC team then. You ain't got to count them. Go to the ACC then. You know what I'm saying?

[00:57:13] But as long as you cash in those SEC checks and you get the nice uniforms and the big stadiums and the boosters and everybody else coming to your game and you're on TV every week, that is a luxury of being in the SEC. The byproduct of that is that you got to play some real dogs. Yeah.

[00:57:37] And it's just that is just where you are athletically, regionally, geographically, athletically. Like, everything about what you want to be good at in football, it's there for the taking. You just got to be better than some of the best teams in the country. Yeah. Yeah. Somebody has to do it. Why not you? Don't complain at the end of the year when United 3 is saying we should get in because they were real good and we played them. So speaking of better teams, true or false?

[00:58:08] And this came from our guy. Shout out to Easy Money Sniper. Yeah, I heard he went off. He said, oh, you knew I was going to bring this up? Oh, actually, I don't even know if we're talking about the same thing. But he said that the 76ers on paper are better than his Warriors teams. True or false? False. Say more.

[00:58:35] False because everybody on the Warriors team had a role that everybody on the Warriors team's role caused a headache for opposing defenses. We have no idea what the 76ers are going to do with their lineup. Well, that's why I said on paper. On paper. Even on paper. Even on paper.

[00:59:00] It's like, on paper, I know that KD is going to get open shots. Klay's not going to dribble the ball that much. Steph is going to be almost impossible to guard. Draymond's going to run the offense with the love of efficiency. I know for a fact that that's going to happen. With the Sixers, I know LeBron can score with his back to the basket or coming downhill. I know Embiid can score.

[00:59:28] I know Maxie is one of the quickest players in the NBA. I know Jalen Brown is really dumb. A final's MVP. I don't know what they do on the floor together. I don't know, like every single one of those things I described require all four of those guys to have the ball. Well, I think that the 76ers are more traditionally talented than the Warriors were. I think the Warriors, to your point, just had the chemistry.

[00:59:57] They had been through the ups and downs together before he got there. So, like, they were coming off a 73-9 season. You know what I mean? And even to your point about chemistry, Kevin Durant wasn't there. But I know inserting Kevin Durant into that offense, this is what he was going to do. I think Jalen Brown and LeBron play a lot alike.

[01:00:24] And I don't know if Jalen Brown can just do half of what he did and, like, just basically let LeBron set him up. I don't know if he could do that. Right, because I was thinking about this earlier. Independent of this statement by Durant, I was thinking about this because I was like, you know, when Miami came together, the Heedles, a lot of the talk of people that were criticizing were saying, well, Wade and LeBron occupy those same spots.

[01:00:52] Like, how are they going to make it work? Both of them need the ball, X, Y, Z. They're going to be in each other's way. And then I thought about that, and I was like, that's like LeBron and Jalen Brown, but Jalen Brown ain't as good as D-Wade. So, like... The thing about it, the reason... And then you still got me clogging everything up. Yeah, I think the reason it worked in Miami is because you can alternate possessions

[01:01:19] or even run action with LeBron and D-Wade doing the same thing. Like, because they were both good off the dribble, because LeBron was... He was working on the three, but he was, you know, he was a very confident jump shooter, but he also could get to the rim. Both of them can do that. It wasn't as if one thing was going to take away from the other guy. Whereas Chris Bosh was the odd man out who had to go to the corner, catch a shoot, rebound.

[01:01:48] But I think LeBron and D-Wade attacking the rim, that's cool because there's only two guys doing it. The other three guys are kind of setting shit in motion so that can happen. But with the Sixers, that's what Maxie does. Maxie's the spark. Well, that's what I was saying. He's like the Kyrie of that team. And then VJ is kind of, he plays a lot like Maxie. He played. Or he plays like, he can't shoot well yet.

[01:02:15] Yeah, but he plays with that same speed, get the ball out the rim, run down the court, whereas Jalen Brown and LeBron play the same way. But you can't have all four of them on the floor within B who, like, I mean, he's... Oh, so you're thinking VJ might have to come off the bench? Yeah, VJ, I think VJ's your natural guy that comes off the bench just because he's energy, he's fast, and you can give him the keys off the bench.

[01:02:44] And he's on a rookie deal, so it's not like you've got to worry about... Like, if you were to bench, if you were to have Maxie be the Six Man, he makes too much money. He makes too much money. And, like, Maxie sets the tone for what VJ does. So, you put Maxie in, he starts, you pull him out, or you pull LeBron out, and then you have VJ as the first guy up. Now they can get back to that same speed action. Well, see, that's where I have the concern is VJ and Jalen on the floor together.

[01:03:14] Those are the two that I don't like together. Really? I think he plays a little bit like a little Pritchett role where he's, like, just the smaller guy that can kind of, you know, because Jalen would, he deferred to... Yeah, but Pritchett could shoot that rock. Like, you know what I'm saying? VJ gets to the hole. Like, listen, you can't shoot like him, but get to the bucket. It's not like there's a lot of bigs in the East that he's got to contend with when he gets to the rim. And he gets to the rim with bad intentions, so yeah.

[01:03:42] I still know how LeBron and Jalen Brown mix, where I know, just looking at how KD, when Steph, Klay, and Draymond were already on the team, adding KD, I knew all it was going to be was KD was going to get the most open looks he had his entire life. He didn't get the most open looks in the AAU. So now that we've had some time to let it percolate, you know, how do you look at the Sixers today versus how you looked at them when the trade went down or when he signed with them?

[01:04:12] I think you still got to... Having them second in the East isn't crazy. Third is probably more likely. I think Boston plays a more player-friendly style. So Paul George, I think Paul George can fit right into that style with, like, the drive and kick. Oh, look at you sounding like me now.

[01:04:40] I said that a couple of weeks ago, and you're ready to fire me from the podcast. I didn't say he would be better than Jalen Brown. Well, of course not. He's not better than Jalen Brown. I don't think the trade was great. I just think that... But it's a better fit. It's the Boston offense, as it stands, just fits better. That's what I said. And I think they'll win games.

[01:05:01] I think the Philly offense, because you have two guys that you expect to not play more than 60 games. LeBron and Embiid. I'll give LeBron... I'll say he'll get to 65. Okay. Best case scenario, I think 65. I don't think you're getting 82 games out of him. Well, definitely not. I'm sure you're not getting 75 to 82 games out of Embiid either. So, I think they're just going to be a little bit more flux.

[01:05:31] I think you're lucky to get 105 between the both of them. I think 50... A record of like 55 and 27, or... We'll say like... We'll go 53 and 29 for the Sixers. Wouldn't be crazy. So, I think I'm a little bit lower. However... Now, the Sixers have depth, though. That's the thing. They do have depth. You know?

[01:05:56] So, it's not just going to be the LeBron show featuring friends. Like, they got other people that are going to contribute. You know? I think that... Yeah, it is a lot. That's why I said 105 between both of them is a bonus. You know what I mean? Because I can see LeBron in that 55 game range. But I don't know if I see Embiid getting to 50. More because...

[01:06:24] You would think so because it's a new team. You got to build the chemistry. You got to build chemistry. And this might be... You would think so. This might be it. But he's just another year older. So, I'm just a little concerned. You know what I mean? So, I'm not indicting him. It's just that... What can I truly expect? At some point, the energy has to be regulated. And the body has to rest. Yeah. Like, I imagine he's... You know, he ain't going to be playing back-to-backs. Or, you know what I mean? And things like that.

[01:06:54] So, I don't know. But when I look at the team as a whole... Don't buy those tickets if you go to Memphis. You know? I still think... If the sick is going to Memphis, don't buy that ticket. He ain't playing that game. I still think they... Well, he might not go to the city after that shit. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. He's not leaving Pennsylvania. But I think that... They still need another four or another five for me to feel that comfortable about them.

[01:07:24] You know? As far as... Because I think a lot of people are looking at this like... Hey, yo! New York! Meet me in the Eastern Conference Finals. I'm not sure it's that simple. You know what I mean? It's likely... I think it could be likely. But I'm not sure that... You know? Because to your point with Boston... Or I should say to my original point with Boston. You know what I mean? That's what I liked about it. Was that... You know? Paul George shot 39% from three last year. He's an underrated three-point shooter, by the way.

[01:07:52] He still plays defense. You know what I mean? He's older now. So, not as good as he used to. But he's still a willing defender to where... He can still defend people that... Like, you know, the pippin role. You know? Where, like, Jordan ain't gonna be out here guarding this person all game. You know what I mean? It's nice to have a Paul George there to take up that slack. You know what I mean? Then on top of that, he's gonna get good looks. Because that's what Boston does.

[01:08:22] So, I think he'll fit right in to Boston. Now, will Boston win 56 games again? I don't think so. You know, they might be closer to 46 or 47. Nah. Nah. Nah. I'm still 50-plus. I'm not. I'm not there. I'm still 50-plus because... Because they lose Jalen Brown's attitude. That's my thing. You know what I mean? The mentality.

[01:08:45] Yeah, but I think you get the veteran presence of Paul George, at least. And the recent championship cachet of the coaching staff and organization. And like I said, I just don't feel like the East... I'm not sure how many teams in the East are gonna not just give them wins. Like, I just feel like there's gonna be like probably like 16 games you could just book as wins. Well, I don't think so.

[01:09:15] I think the East is a lot better this year coming up. Every game they play against Brooklyn is a win. Like, the only two teams in the league that I am sure are just absolute trash are Brooklyn and Sacramento. Those are the only two teams in the league that I just look at and go, yeah, like, you're lucky to get 15 wins. Because, like, thinking about it like this practically, practically, right?

[01:09:41] So, the same way that you need Embiid to get those games, I need Anthony Davis to get those games. You know what I mean? But a team with Trey Young and Anthony Davis, theoretically, shouldn't be a walk-in win. They at least make you work for it. You know, Charlotte went on their run last year. Now, I know they don't have LaMelo anymore. You know what I mean? So, we'll have to see what they look like. Yeah. I think those are wins for Boston. Atlanta, I think, is trying to build their...

[01:10:11] And this is just me. Build their 2004 version of the Pistons, where it's like, we don't have a superstar, but we got a lot of good dudes here that work well together. They're going to lock you down on defense and hit timing shots. And the last time we were going to play basketball, they lost... They lost about 51. Yes. And then you got Hallie's back. Hell of a defensive game. You know, Halliburton's back, you know, with Siakam, Zubach, and now they added Kelly Oubre. Right?

[01:10:38] So, like, Indiana's got some core pieces that they could, like, not necessarily win a series against the Sixers, but I think the speed and style of play could give the Sixers issues. I think there's three teams in the East that are... You know how I feel about the East. I know, but you still got... But I'm looking through the lens of Philly, though. I'm looking through the lens of Philly. Yeah.

[01:11:03] I think Philly, Boston, and New York can pretty much write themselves one, two, or three. It's just a matter of how well do you compete in those games you should win. Like, I think that... Don't lose that game to Washington at home. Don't lose that game to Atlanta at home. Don't have the slip up and let Brooklyn catch you on a hot shooting night and they score 127 points. Like, just don't have those losses. I think they're going to be one, two, and three.

[01:11:30] Everybody else is vying for four through ten for the playoff situation. Like I said, you know how I feel about Miami. I think Bam and Giannis are a great combo. I just feel like Philly can give you, if managed properly, they could give you so many different combinations.

[01:11:51] It's like when people say buy a capsule wardrobe where you get like four pair of pants, three sweaters, four undershirts, a hat and a bag. And look, you can make 77 outfits out of it. I think Philly gives you that, whereas I don't know if Miami gives you that many very... I don't think they do, but they probably give you... I think they're going to be the best defense in the league. But I'm saying, but if it doesn't work, where you go? Where it's like, hey, LeBron... I don't think LeBron will ever come off the bench.

[01:12:22] But if they're like, hey, LeBron, we want to get you... Let's get you to 30 minutes. We want to get you seven... You know, like 30, 32 minutes. We give you 14 in the first half and then like the last nine of the fourth quarter. So like just they can... I think they can make that play on him. Jalen, we're going to have you stay out there. And Vijay, you're going to come in with the second unit. Jalen's going to run the show. You're going to be the sparkler. I think they can execute that.

[01:12:51] So I think they can give you so many different looks with just the people they already have signed on the team and the talent they have that can sustain games to where it's like they're not going to have a drought where four, five, six minutes go by. They don't get a layup. So are we heading towards a warrior carrying divorce?

[01:13:20] If we do, it's long overdue. I feel like they should have... Like I said, they should have done the last dance after they won that chip in 2022. Say, hey, we had a great run. Let's go ahead and let you guys continue going forward because we knew in our conversations that LeBron wasn't going to Golden State even before the Philly move because it's like, what are we doing here if I go?

[01:13:51] LeBron, if he would have gone to Golden State, it would have been a very similar situation as L.A. where he is probably playing five to six more minutes on games he didn't want to play that long. A game against Phoenix where he should have probably played 32 minutes, maybe got some longer rest. He ended up playing the last nine and a half minutes of the fourth because the game was close and no one could get a bucket.

[01:14:16] I think it would have been a repeat situation, a different color yellow jersey in the same state. And I think he knew that. And the Warriors had to know that. Like, they haven't done a great job of drafting and cultivating talent. They haven't done a great job in free agency. Well, they were trying to play both eras. They were trying to play both. They were trying to be like, hey, we're a championship team and we're going to get Kaminga Moody for the future. And it's like, no, you got to pick a lane.

[01:14:45] Getting that new stadium, I talked about that. Getting that new arena, you can't have that new arena without a face on the marquee. Same thing happened with the Clippers. You get this new arena, you then buy it. You tie yourself to a face for two more years just to get the flow of the arena back. Like, you got to get the people to go from one arena to travel separate, different direction to get to the new one. So, like I said, I felt like it might be long overdue.

[01:15:14] I don't know where it goes. I don't know if it's a trade deadline thing. I don't know if they just go ahead and just do it before the season starts. Like I said, I've been throwing it out there. Go to Charlotte. You know, go back home. Go back home. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's hilarious. What I do know is that Kaminga is still out here on the market and ain't nobody touching them.

[01:15:37] You know, it looked like the Lakers had some smoke for them at one point, but it sounds like the Hawks didn't like what was going to come to the signing trade. Like it was like Jerick Vanderbilt and something else. So, it looks like, but he's still out here on the market. You know what I mean? And Moody got injured last year. I think the Warriors... Kaminga's having a... He has the worst luck for a guy who just plays hard. Well, I think... Well, he doesn't play hard. He just shoots a lot.

[01:16:07] That's what he does. He was dunking that ball in Atlanta. Yeah, exactly. He shoots... He get the ball. The ball don't go nowhere else. And he don't play no defense. He's Cam Thomas at 6'7". Michael Porter Jr. is making a living off of that. He's... Yeah, and where's he at these days? Brooklyn getting paid. Yeah, yeah, he's in Brooklyn. But no, I think the Warriors... I think it's the opposite. Like, I think that...

[01:16:37] So, your point isn't... Your thought isn't wrong. But I think that when you have a guy like Steph Curry, I think that you try to keep it going. You just have to be smarter. Like, going to get Jimmy Butler wasn't the move. Going to get Porzingis wasn't the move. You just got names. You know, bringing back Al Horford again. So, if you wanted to keep the Warriors, I guess... Excuse me. At their peak.

[01:17:07] They had already, you know, got Clay gone. Jordan Poole was gone. You know, now you got Draymond and Steph. And you retool around that. You know what works as far as not necessarily names, but the type of players that you could put around them and be functional. You know what I'm saying? In that way. You know what I'm saying? Especially with... Steph's shot ain't gone nowhere yet. So, you still had three to four years of...

[01:17:35] I knew the Warriors were cooked when they kept... They wouldn't keep Steph on a team. Why is that? Because he could play just like... Because that's his brother? They played just alike. You could get the same... You could get the same production out of both of them and you would give Steph a break. Well, I don't know about the same production. I get what you're saying, but I don't know about the same production. If you get a shit. I mean, if you extrapolate the minutes, if you gave him as many shots as Steph got... They would be producing. What? Steph... Not like Steph's some kind of juggernaut on defense.

[01:18:05] Well, no, but I'm saying like... Steph Curry been in the league forever. Like, how many teams he been on? How many of them he starred on? How many of them did he start on? Yeah, I would have kept him. I would have given more of a shot. But yeah, the Warriors just... Hold on. Let me see. I got to look this up. He played for 12 different teams. Yeah, they just kept cutting him. Like, how many of them do you think he started for? I don't... You know what I mean? Probably none. That's what I'm saying. Just have him come off the bench.

[01:18:34] Like, because now you out here grasping at Porzingis, grabbing at Jimmy Butler. Like, come on. These... Like... It's... I get they look at Steph. Steph is 37 and he's in great shape. And a lot of these guys are kind of elongating their careers through different new healthy things that they're doing, hiring chefs and personal trainers and getting Pilates machines. Well, allegedly, Boston reached out for Steph. That would be... That would be sick.

[01:19:04] I'd love to see it. You know what I mean? That would have been crazy. But hey... If they get like a... Give them the same deal they gave... That Philly got. But hey, what... Some second round picks on good stuff? Yeah. I'm all for it. Why Pablo Torre all up in Kawhi Bidens, though? Yo, because that's his pure surprise. So... So, like... This is his moment.

[01:19:29] So, it sounds like Toronto is contemplating leaving the trade, which, of course, like unravels everything. But... There were reports saying that the NBA might not be able to get to a decision until 2027. A couple of different things that I've heard was, hey, maybe they'll just punish somebody. Like, you know, they'll punish one of the two involved and then go to arbitration with the other.

[01:19:59] Then I heard, you know, maybe... You know, there's no wrongdoing. Maybe they find, you know, that everything is on the up and up. You know? But Pablo Torre came back out. It was like, hey, y'all. Did y'all know that Kawhi was a part owner of this soccer team? And I'm like, what you doing, bro? Like, you're just blowing up this bad spot. He's trying to make some money.

[01:20:26] Like, apparently there's a Rhode Island FC that's building a stadium in Pawtucket. And a lot of the... But the funny thing about the story is not the Pablo Torre part of the story. The funny part of the story is that when they talk to the local news in Rhode Island, the big money investors didn't even know that Kawhi was an investor on the team. And they were upset. Like, why wouldn't we market that and advertise that?

[01:20:58] Pablo Torre just messing everything up. He just listened. I get it. At certain... Okay. At certain point things, it's reporting. Some of it is. You're just snitching. You're just snitching, bro. You're just gossiping. At certain point, you're just gossiping. And it's like, yo, I get that it's pseudo-sports related because it's an athlete involved. But it's like, come on, dog. He's not paying bribes to the lawyers.

[01:21:28] Like, he's not paying off doctors to say this about, you know, so he can sue somebody. Like, holla at me then. But if it's like, yeah, he's moving a little money here. And I get it. I understand integrity and rules. And the rules should apply to everybody. And, you know, we had this whole conversation. And sometimes it doesn't. But running right here, writing gossip columns about it. Ain't gonna get shit resolved. It's like, I just need to know what your purpose is. Like, what are you trying to get to with these stories?

[01:21:56] Are you trying to outline corruption in sports? Yes. It's money involved. It's gonna be corruption. Acclaim involved. It's gonna be corruption. Ego involved. It's gonna be corruption. Tax breaks involved. It's gonna be corruptions. Right. It's just par for the course. But you out here reporting there's people driving golf carts on golf courses. Like, duh. Like, stop it. Stop gossip calling me. Like, it's a real reporting. So you know who's still not signed?

[01:22:28] Who's that? Jalen DeRin. Westbrook. Should have played better in the playoffs, dog. Attack the rim. So he talked to Sacramento, allegedly. You know, before the Lakers got Walker Kessler, they were interested. So Detroit has already put out there, like, basically, they're gonna match any offer that he gets. Why he ain't got no offers? Like...

[01:22:58] Depends on... You gotta... It's representation. This is his first big extension. They probably want to maximize it. No one wants to take a cut. Maybe you look at a contender and do it and get a Jalen Brunson deal. Go somewhere. It was like, you know what? I think... Well, Boston just got Mitchell Robinson. Right. I don't know what their money situation is looking like. But...

[01:23:27] Could you go there and win five years 120? So... Five years 115? And, like, win, get the acclaim, get your jersey sales, get your... You know... Or do you need the 200 million? Because I think he's up... I think he's eligible for, like, a 200 million, right? Like, a five-year, 200, or four-year, something like that. Yeah. It's a whopper. Like a pretty big deal. Yeah. Let's see. So, with that being said... He plays a four? You think he plays a four or a five?

[01:23:57] Whoa. Never mind. He's eligible for five years 287. Could you go five years or four years 200 to San Antonio and play alongside Wimby? And let Wimby step out and play a four? I don't know because I think Fox's contract probably... You can get rid of that. You can get rid of that in a heartbeat. You can shred that. All right.

[01:24:22] So, with that being said, let's just walk this out as if Detroit, you know, offers whatever he ends up getting, you know, matches whatever he gets offered. Do you think that, being that it went like this and this long, do you think that has any effect on next season? Well, we've seen what happened with DeAndre, Aiden, and Phoenix, when they felt like... He felt like he deserved a bigger deal. And they did the whole thing, let another team offer him.

[01:24:49] And they matched it, and that relationship soiled within a year. It may sound like good business because it's available, but you also have to get down to brass tacks. You're dealing with a person here. You're dealing with a person that's played in your organization. You drafted him. You know, he's built ranks. He built relationships there. It's like, I understand it's money. You got to leave emotions at the door.

[01:25:15] But in the same sense, if you don't want this player back, then let that player go. That's how I feel. If it were me, I would just let him walk. Yeah, like, I don't understand why you would... Because either you're tainting this conversation pool because you're saying you're going to match whatever. So, like, why if I'm the Sacramento Kings or if I'm the Spurs or if I'm... Brooklyn! Or if I'm anybody that has 200.

[01:25:43] Because I think your team can give you five. Another team can give you four. That was kind of... So, five years, 287. That buckles down about like what? Like 50-something. 50, 59 a year. Something like that crazy. Is my math right? Am I tripping? Yeah. I don't know. Something crazy. So, I'd go to another team. I'm 57. 57 maybe. But anyway.

[01:26:12] Four years, 200 million. Oh, yeah. That's closer to 70. I got to do this math real quick, my bad. So, I think that... Okay, 57. You got it. 57. 57 for... I was thinking four years, 180. I was thinking four years, 180. Yeah. Yeah. Do I do the 180? Or do I go... Orlando. Orlando, you got a spot. No state tax. Hey, Houston, what's up?

[01:26:41] You got 180. You did 2 million for me? Like... So, like... I've seen some videos of Apollo with Kevin Durant. You got to... You got to, like... I don't know if it's the agent or if it's the pride, but... If you look at it... And granted, I've never been in a position where this amount of money was ever even in my stratosphere. But four years, 200 million to play in San Antonio.

[01:27:10] Uh-huh. Versus five years, 287 to play in Detroit. Bro, it's not that much of a difference. Because you're going to play... You'll play three years. You're going to play well. Especially if you... Granted, I'm just thinking... I don't know what the... I don't know what the basketball framework looks like. I don't know what he could do defensively for San Antonio's system. I'm just simply looking at, like... I got a bully. And I got the...

[01:27:38] I got the lengthy defender who plays a four. Who sometimes plays a three offensively. If I'm San Antonio, can I make this work before I pay anybody else big money? All right. So, last question. It's August. Keep that in mind when you answer this question. We basically headed back towards OKC San Antonio.

[01:28:05] I was thinking that yesterday. It was like... A lot of guys went... Either went to the East... Or a guy like Giannis stayed in the East. I think the only real big move that went West from East is... LaMelo. Yeah, he's the only one. And I don't think... You know what I'm saying?

[01:28:35] I don't think that team can compete with OKC. I'm looking for a third team. So, I'm just trying to... Minnesota, because they have the two stars, maybe. But, like, I think... I mean, yeah, you give them a puncher's chance. You know, just because of... Yeah. I think they're a distant third. I think Denver... Because you talk about their lack of movement. Yeah, they're going to fall down. I think Denver's going to be close to the play-in. Yeah, it could be...

[01:29:03] I think it might be another 60... Because they're going to lose Peyton Watson now. 61 to 63... 63... So, like, 59 to 63 wins between San Antonio and OKC. I don't know who has what. But I think their win total is going to be eight or nine wins above everybody else. Shout out to... I think... The third is going to be 50 and 32. Yeah.

[01:29:32] The third is going to be 50 and 32. Moving all those chess moves and doing everything better than everybody else. Yeah. Yeah, shout out to Sam Presti for offering Spencer Jones that contract that Denver decided to match. And now they don't got the money to keep Peyton Watson. So, now it's either a sign-and-trade. Like, they know Sam Presti didn't want that dude. You know what I mean? And, you know, like, it was just master class. You know what I'm saying?

[01:30:02] Take your enemy down from within. The art of war, right? You know what I'm saying? But, ladies and gentlemen, he is the one and only world-famous, world-renowned, cool, calm, and collected. He goes by the name... Yeah, sometimes. He goes by the name of Mr. Logical. Unless you're talking about the SEC. And he turns into Kendrick Lamar. And then if you talk about LeBron James, he turns into Stan. He is... Cap! Mr. Logical!

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