June 13, 2026 • 44 mins
Jason Smith and Mike Harmon bring you the best of the best from their entire week of the show! Jason is beside himself saying that the Knicks could possibly win the NBA Finals, the USMNT had a historic performance for their first group game, and so much more!!!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the best of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Carmen podcast. Be sure to catch us
live every weeknight from ten pm to two am Eastern
seven to eleven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find
your local station for The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon at Foxsports Radio dot com, or stream us live
every night on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
This is the best of The Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Hello, Welcome inside, Happy Game three The Jason Smith Show
with My base's friend Mike Harmon.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Much different tone and tenner than forty minutes ago. Sad
Soulin depressed. No no no shop no no no, no, no,
no no no. What did I said? No, no, no.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
I've seen this movie enough and I just watched the
San Antonio Spurs have the best start to a game
they could possibly have. They get out to a twelve
point lead. Wemby looks like Hulk Wemby Steph Castle is
unstoppable getting to the basket. And where are we at halftime?
The Knicks are up by seven. That was a lot
(01:09):
of energy expended, because that's the biggest thing for the
Spurs is you know, energy wise, they have not been great.
Go back to the middle of the series with the
Oklahoma City Thunder. You know they're working on vapors, they're
trying to steal with non Wemby minutes. This is not
a team that is closing to the wire like a thoroughbred.
They are just trying, how do we get our guys rest?
How do we get our guys to stay? And they
(01:31):
came out big because they had to, because the entire city,
in the entire arena threatened to swallow them up. And
they had an incredible start, and Wemby was affecting shots
and Wenby was very active in the lane. The Nicks
first three attempts were just dunks. Even defensively, he was
getting in the right position very easily. He was scaring
the Knicks out of the lane, and Steph Castle was
(01:53):
getting to the hoop. This was as good as start
as you could possibly hope for for the Spurs, and
yet here they are down seven at half time. If
you're San Antono, you're walking and going what do I do?
If you're Mitch Johnson, you're saying, what do I tell
the guys? We we did everything we could. In that half.
We came out like gangbusters. Everything we wanted to do
we did. We attack Karl Anthony Towns. We made sure
when Brunson was in the game, we harassed him. And
(02:14):
what happened. We watched the Knicks still go up by
seven at halftime. I don't know what you tell the
Spurs at halftime at this point, just keep fighting.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Just remember you had big leads in the other games
and you screwed that up. So yeah, I don't know
that before. I don't know from your experience, boys, I
don't know I that it works to remember, guys, we
had big leads in games before. Yeah, but we blew
them both. Let's not talk about that part of it.
I know that's how. I don't know that that you
gotta keep getting up and keep moving forward. The whole
rocky nonsense. I don't know what The biggest one. The
(02:44):
biggest thing that's like Mitch Johnson as someone hands him
the halftime stats, that's gonna make him shake his head
and be kind of salty is the fact that the
Knicks were able to eke out nine points and twelve
minutes from Jordan Clark and Jose Alvarad well, look, that's
the key to the first half.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Look, Jason Smith, Mike Harmon. This hour the show brought
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tire buying should be well, because that's the key to
the first half, right, Yes, Brunson's having a big first half.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
I told you the other day I have Josh Harten.
Josh hart had a bad game two. Watch the game
three he has. He's a guy that does not have
two bad games in a row. He's his own worst critic.
He motivates himself. Hit the two big threes early to
kind of steady the Knicks. He's got thirteen. At half time,
he's got three threes, five rebounds, three sys. I told
you he was going to have a big game. But okay,
(03:44):
you expect Brunson and Bridge, you know, and Andrew Noby's
got seventeen. But the key to the first half was
when Wemby went out of the game. The Spurs won
the non.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Wemby minutes, which is a huge key for them. Right, then,
if the Knicks are going to win, you can't lose
the non wemby minutes, right, non weren't that many, But
the Spurs won the non wemby minutes, and they were
up twelve. But the key to the half was the
Knicks won the non Brunson minutes in a large way.
He sat for a good portion of the beginning of
(04:15):
the second quarter. Right he's only played nineteen minutes. You know,
he sat for about five five and a half minutes.
And you watch Clarkson hit threes, you watch Alvarado hit
runners in the lane. They won the non Brunson minutes,
which is something that the Spurs have to say, Well,
we can't win if we don't win the non Brunson minutes,
right much you want to say for the Nix and Wemby.
When Brunson's not in the game, there's your biggest threat,
(04:36):
there's your biggest ball here, there's your biggest everything, and
you have to be able to say, if defensively we're
closing out on him, we got to win those minutes,
and they did not, and you got again, Yeah, what
did I do? How shocked was I?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
What I said? Oh my god, Jordan Clarkson's getting in
the game, steps to the end of the game, he's
getting Then for a moment, everybody's looking around, going the
hell's that checking into the game?
Speaker 1 (04:57):
He finished plus ten in his seven minutes. Yeah, he's
got five points. Alvarado's got four points each, have a
couple of rebounds and an assist. That was the biggest
thing was the non brunts of minutes for him to
be able to sit. There was no reason to bring
him back in because I thought, for a second, well,
maybe you're just gonna get a couple of minutes for
Brunton here end of the first quarter into the second
because how long, Like what's the deficit? You can really
(05:18):
afford to hit because the Spurs are playing really well.
But Alvarado the energy that the Knicks put out there,
and that's a big thing. And this is Mike Brown,
because you want to exhaust the Spurs because you can.
You need to get your energy guys out there.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
And what did they do?
Speaker 1 (05:32):
They played side to side. Alvarado was a guy that
was all over the floor with the ball. Clarkson spotting
up for threes like those minutes were so huge, and
again you gotta wonder what that did to San Antonio
because the Knicks just completely reeled them in to finish
the second quarter.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Forty two points in the second quarter, and talking about
those those minutes, and I think that's the key, key
part too. It is both those guys came in and
played like their hair was on fire. Right They're running
up and down the court, They're they're pressing the full
ninety four and trying to make things happen on the
offensive end, the extra swing passes, but certainly defensively staying active.
(06:09):
And that's been one of the curiosities. We saw one
big play Wembin Yama with the big throwdown of Jalen Brunson.
That doesn't get whistled. As a guy who's had a
couple of elbow moments and has seen himself ejected in
the past, see what the uh, what kind of pink
envelope he gets in his locker at least for a
fine out of that. If not a stern talking to.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
That is a that is a foul that I can't
I cannot believe that was not called. This is a
this is a full left arm shoving you to the ground,
and I could not believe that didn't.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Get yeah, no matter how much you might have been
agitated by by Brunson kind of digging back into you,
because that's one of the things, right, small guy ass
out into the larger quad quad area and affecting your
your stance and in what you can do in terms
of establishing position. But we saw just a full you know,
(07:00):
pushed through of his head and neck area down to
the ground, and Brunton's doing everything he can to sell, sell, sell.
He did it last game, He's doing it here. And
we saw that also on what was ultimately just ruled
to Colm and fill running through him, much like Carter
Bryant didga, hey I'm here, bam and down he goes.
(07:21):
But the officials have been how do we I'll just say,
curious how much contact is is allowed here versus all right,
let's take it back down the other end and this
goes both ways like it has just been, all right,
how do I get a file Castle? For as great
as he's been in the lane in the second quarter,
a couple of drives where he's getting bodied by more
(07:45):
than one player and he's not drawing a file call.
So he's looking around going all right, what's our continuity
here and how do we adjudicate this? So for second
half it'll be interesting to watch.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, look, the halftime came at a great time for
the Spurs because they were out of gas. Oh yeah, right,
Like the Knicks are going on a ten to one
run and that was a it was a huge break
for that. Okay, we got to get to halftime. Now
it's a sixty four to sixty two game. The Spurs
just hit a three. But this is uh, they're calling
a flagrant right now on Jalen Brunson. Uh, Champagnie went
(08:15):
up for a three hit, the three came down a
wee kind of a weird kind of I mean, I
see this and I go, all right, Brunson, I don't
know that he didn't that he failed to give Champenny
a place to come down and look like Champagne drew
the contact a little bit. But again, they're calling a
flagrant on Brunson, probably because he didn't give him a
landing spot. Uh So nowa champion is gonna go to
(08:38):
the free throw line with a chance to cut this
lead even further. The foul on Brunson, He's now has two.
We get a lot of people with two fouls in
this game, my Carmen. So I mean I think when
when you look at things and go, okay, well Castle's
got too, and Cat's got to and Brunson's got a
lot of people have two.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
A lot of people had that that that elusive third five,
big third foul. You're not seeing that big swing one,
you are? You are? I'm seeing a lot of two's
right now across the bold because we've seen one of
those famous moves that you'll see every once in a while. No,
that one's mine. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, going on him,
that was bo You take that about Clarkson, you were
seven feet that way. No, that falls mine. You take
that foul, You take that foul. Yeah. In this case,
(09:15):
I mean Brunson kind of flashes at him and then
spins in the air and puts his ass towards him,
and he catches his ankle as he lands. And that's
that's always the question, right, how much of that is? Okay,
I've got this guy in a position where I'm gonna
draw the file. Now, I wouldn't mess with my feet
and ankles in terms of trying to draw that file
myself if I'm Champenny. But it worked.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Wonders for it now So one point game, Nicks lead
very early in the second half, ten and a half
to go. So much tonight on going into the game,
president Trump being there, what the atmosphere was like, people
waiting in line, and by and large it's kind of
a nothing burger because yes, you expect there to be
(09:58):
more security.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Getting into the game is tougher. That's just kind of
how it goes. Wouldn't that be the way even I
would expect that even if President Trump weren't going. I've
gone to plenty of sporting and big sporting events where
I've had those kind of lines. Yeah, but it would
still be.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
But the whole thing is that with fans getting funneled
to only certain ways to get in, it gets tougher.
But like, okay, that part, to me, I don't really
care that much about because I'm like, you know what,
you're going to the game. If it's one of those
situations the President is coming, and all right, leave yourself
some time. You spent a lot of money, leave enough
time to get to the game. I'm okay with that.
The thing that sucks, and quite honestly it does suck,
(10:32):
is that because Trump is there, what fifty thousand people can't.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Go to the watch parties and to go find another player.
And that sucks because the watch parties are a big deal.
It's for people that can't get to the games. You know.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
We spent so much time talking about the fans getting
priced out, which again that's something I get it, but
I'm sorry that's kind of how it goes when when
the demand for a ticket is the biggest demand that
we have seen in our lifetimes in sports. Okay, sometimes
you have to find another.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Way, right If you waited long enough, they got back
down again. Decide what's reasonable whatnot. But we talked about
it on Friday that we were looking at tickets at
ten ten grand or higher just forgetting We were half
that this afternoon. So you know, it's all about the
wait and see. You want to play the timing game,
but you at least had the option of a watch
(11:18):
party before this event. You did, and that's that's the
thing that sucks.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
And I really, I really that does suck because it's
so much fun because look, I like it, because I
like the videos.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
To come out of the watch party. We're gonna I'm
gonna miss those videos. I don't think you want to
say that today with the amount of secret Service problem
a wise move.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
But overall, the fans got to the game. They were
all there twenty minutes before the game MSG was full,
So over over as far as that goes, yeah, okay,
it was a big nothing. But because I'm sitting here
going what happens if if fans can't get in, there's
gonna be fights outside and there's gonna be empty seats
because people can't get into the arena because I'm seeing
because you know, me Knicks fan, I'm just seeing all
(11:58):
the doom and gloom. Sure, this is what it's gonna happen.
But you know, in the end, it really was not
that big a deal. The fans got there, the game
went on, and again we have not heard anything, you know,
as far as that that really has raised our attention
so far. But it looks like getting there was a
big stressful topic going into the game. But I feel
(12:18):
like the fans got there. Everybody got in, everybody's there.
It's all about the game and we're okay, yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Hey, A lot of that came from media members who,
let's face it, whenever there's a twenty minute delay on
their flight. You know, I'm a beat writer or I
work for this entity and I'm taking my flights all
over to cover things. Ah, there's just twenty minute. By
the law of averages, you go to enough of these things,
you're gonna have a delay. You're gonna have a plane canceled,
You're gonna have something happen. Likewise, you go to enough
(12:46):
big events, guess what you might actually have to stand
in line before they give you your ticket to go get
your hot dog and chips. Okay, calm the hell down
and stop creating chaos for the rest of the world
by by making it such doom and gloom like the
number of here's the media line three hours ahead of Okay, yeah,
I mean also, so try to show up twenty minutes
(13:06):
early or before tip and see how that goes for you.
I mean, someone not an Angels game, somewhat of it
is inspiring that, Okay, with all this going on, they
were able to figure it out, right, Like, they able
to figure it out, and everybody is there right and
and and everybody got to the game, and the focus
can be on and the focus can be actually on
the game, because again I'm I'm so, I'm like, what
if something happens? If what what if?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
You know, I'm just thinking all the different scenarios right, like,
you know that that could go on because fans can't
get there, or there's something that happens outside they have
to close entrances. But what could possibly go wrong here?
Because you know it's it's the nixt so what if
it can go wrong?
Speaker 3 (13:43):
It will go wrong. But but so far I said, Okay, whatever,
the game's gonna be, the game's gonna be. Not here
in twenty twenty six, now thirteen in a row one
point lead as we come up on the eight minute
mark here in the third quarter.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
So a sixty eight sixty seven lead for the Knicks
right now over the Spurs again, just under eight and
a half minutes left to go, and that's either going
to be the third foul on Bridges or Karl Anthony Towns.
So not great news for New York.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Raise that head, Bridges, Yeah, Bridges, you take that, You
take that fall, You take that.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
It looks like again waiting to see who they wind
up calling it on, because it clearly looked like it
was on either bridges or cat.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
But now we'll split it half and half.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
No, well, I don't know. They still haven't had the
ruling on it. Just now, every New York Knicks starter
has two fouls. Oh just say, everybody's got two. Everybody's
got the balance in the force. So again, seventy sixty
seven lead for the Knicks. Right now, Jalen Brunson hitting
an absolute circus layup. He's going to the free throw line.
Eight ten left to go, Game three of the NBA Finals.
(14:51):
We are just getting started here. Jason Smith, Mike harmon
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific. I get really pissed because my blood is
really boiling. But in the end, if this is how
the league is determined to call it, they know who
they're sending. They know Zach Zarbers showing up is going
to do something very specific. And when you're making those
two big calls in the first three minutes, you put
your thumb on the scale.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
You affected the outcome of the game. And it's a
seventy six to forty nine leen for the.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Spurs, and yeah, I'd love to see the Knicks come
back in the second half. You know, they may been
a cottage industry of it, but I don't know that
that's happening, man. And this is this is a game
that was won and lost with that play on Coller
Anthony Towns and they keep showing the replay at halftime,
and I really I can't understand the officiating other than
they want seven games, they want Wenby to hoist the
(15:40):
trophy like that.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
That's kind of where I'm at right now. I wrap
you with a big hug. I warned you, didn't I
warn you? And now he's more powerful than ever and
he's on the Vegas half because he is starting to
hate him outside of just New York, right because we've
talked about some of the elbows, some of the extra
and then and the I'm smarter than you in all
(16:03):
my press conference right the big chess match when he
picked up the flagrant on Mitchell Robinson. Look, if you're
gonna get your attack on when min Yama, right, you're
trying to get revenge from Jalen Brunson from from Game three,
do like Alvarado where you're just kind of hitting him
and trying to chop him down like he's a giant
ass tree, which is still kind of silly, but he's
doing the same thing. But Mitchell Robinson putting his forearm
(16:26):
up and running into him not smart. And Wenby did
the tap to the head. Whatever, we like this.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Call, But of course that's that's the flagrant they saw it.
Didn't didn't see the flagrant on Brunson in the first game,
but that one they saw. I'm not saying that wasn't
a flagrant. I'm like, wow, didn't see the flagrant the
first time, had a chance to give him one yesterday. No, no,
still not gonna do it. But no, we're gonna give
you that flagrant to Mitchell Robinson.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I saw that one. Wow, that was a forearm to
the neck. I mean, it's one thing. It's only because
he's so tall.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
It would have been a four been over his head
for anybody that's.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Right ran with him like a swing from on Karkabis
in the late eighties for the White Sox. It was
the same swing plane and if you made a mistake
where he hit it a long way, it was your
fault because he wasn't adapting his swing going high or
low in the zone. It was the same swing plane
every time. But yeah, that that call immediately, look the
(17:19):
first one, if we're gonna call it, and then we're
gonna have a quick whistle and that's where we're gonna
put that line in the sand. That's all fine and good.
That call the second call as it's getting overturned and
you're watching the replay, and it was up on social media.
I've never seen a call get to social media before
they've even gotten to the timeout table. Uh, because people
(17:41):
were incensed and they should have been right. It was
what was clear and obvious reach attempt to hook Karl
Anthony Towns. Do you decide that that's a foul? Yeah,
maybe maybe not. But the he pins his arm like
where how like, Yeah, it's there. I mean he's trying
to corrab the ball with both hands because he's going
into the lane kind of afraid of losing control there
(18:04):
and trying to get off on the right start. And
he was aggressive right for that minute and two seconds
he was on the court, Which was great because I
was really excited for you because I thought, here's Kat,
that's the guy we wanted in Game three. He's ready
to go. Unfortunately he was on the bench and hanging
out with all of celebrity row for a very long
time thereafter. You know, and I almost thought with that,
(18:25):
cause said, Okay, they gave Cat a real cheap one
on that first player the game, and you want to
get conspiracy theory. Boy, that first play they run Daron
Fox right at Cat and he flops and gets a
foul call. Hmm okay.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
But I thought, honestly, I said, with that foul on Wemby,
I said, Okay, they're evening up. They know they screwed
Cat with that first foul, so they're evening it up here.
But then the Spurs challenge it and they not only
get it overturned, but they get the second foul on
Karl Anthony Towns. Like they went from this is a
call that should hey, we're going to even things out
here a little bit. But then no, went completely the
other way. I've never seen one call affect a game
(18:59):
like this, especially to call in the first three minutes
of a game. I mean, yes, it put Karl Anthony
Towns on the bench. The Spurs sense blood in the water,
and they've played terrific, right, I mean, they've played absolutely outstanding.
And the thing is, the Knicks have to look, they're
not gonna win another game if they if they don't
have one game where they're not trailing by double digits
after the first quarter. But like, but when I look
(19:20):
at this and say, okay, yes, it's clear what the
NBA is thinking, how much they want Wenby, how much
they want this series to go seven. They know what
they're doing with the officials. He's getting called maybe Dwayne
Wade in the first finals with the heat when they
decided they wanted to make Dwayne Wade a star. That's
what I go back to there with the whole you know,
with with Wenby making him a star, Like, we're gonna
give Wenby everything you need here, both.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
Calls and non calls. Now, all that being said, because
I'm nothing if I'm not fair, Wow, the Knicks absolutely
let that just just deteriorate them in front of our eyes.
They've never recovered from that second foul call on Kat
and to the point where you could tell it in
their body language. You can tell it. The Spurs were aggressive.
They knew this is our moment to seize this game
(20:02):
because we played great in the first half. The entire way,
and they're shooting well, they know the Knicks are. Now
the Knicks are on their heels defensively a little bit,
because when you see those two calls going your way,
what do you expect right now? That's a big part
of the Spurs shooting so well. But I give it
to they're aggressive all of this when you see the
way rotting for anything, Jason, No, no, they're not. These
these shots are wide open. They're looking around. It's like,
is there a guy gonna club me from behind? As
(20:23):
they go. It's when you're shoo.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
When you're shooting fifty five percent from three, Okay, you're
having a knight, right, you're having a night. But the
fact that the Knicks have never come back from that,
they've they there was no time out, there was no
let's settle, let's let's let's let's figure something else out here,
and they allowed that to dictate the game. And it's
almost like they've they've played defeatedly since then. The Spurs
have played like they want to win this game. The
(20:46):
Knicks are playing like, you know, how can they how
can we win? When this is going on? That's for
us outside, that's for us to say that's for us
to talk about what's being done to the Knicks and
everything that, But for you on the court, you got
to suck it up and play. And I didn't see
anymore suck it up and play from the Knicks in
the first half.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
I saw a lot of oh, woe is me? And
what are we gonna do? And as a result, Hey,
the Spurs are cruising. Man, it's gonna be limited womens
for minutes for Wemby in the second half. Spurs are
gonna get a lot of rest. Now they've taken home
court back and we're going back to San Antonio up
three too. Like, yes, for all the officiating, and we're
gonna spend a lot of time on that. Like I
look at the Knicks and I go, man, you allowed
(21:22):
that to get in your heads. You allowed that to
dictate the rest of the first half, where it was
only the first couple of minutes, and in the end,
hey what happened after there? You were down twelve to two,
Like again, you got to come out of the guy
out of the gate and start.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
A little bit better at some point. So, yeah, Spurs,
but I gotta give it to the Knicks two because
they completely allowed.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
That to happen. No, and we've seen it time and again,
slow starts and the spurs every quarter, right, every first
quarter of this series. They've had the double digit lead
and you've seen it whittled away, and we see the
ebb and flow. But all the championship metal, all of
the all right, their battle tested, their veteran led, all
of this stuff. They look like the kids, and they're
(22:00):
playing like the petulant children. You're at home, Madison Square Garden.
I caught a couple of minutes on the radio, the
last few minutes as I'm coming into the studio and
there they sound like they're in an empty studio. That's
how quiet it got in the garden. Yeah, it was
a lot of outrage during that adjudication of the cat
(22:21):
wemby instance, but other than that, it is absolutely silent incredulity,
to the point where they were showing that replay minutes
later trying to get the crowd inside it. Again, Hey,
if you've got some poles up there.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I've never I've never seen a game where it's turned
completely on a foul call not three minutes into the game,
But that's exactly what happened. There's so much game to
be played, it's to But because the Knicks allowed that
to happen, because the NBA clearly went in with some
look again, they know who they're sending, they know what
they want to do.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
They put their thumb on the scale. But now they're
backing off. They could say, oh, look all the time
to put the Knicks on the free throw. It doesn't matter.
The game's over.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
You can look back and say, well, when you decided
to give Cat that second foul, and I'm I'm even
okay with if you went back and looked at that
and said, yeah, I don't know that there's a foul
on Wemby, I'm fine. I'm I wouldn't like it, but
I'd be okay. But now no, you're given the foul
a Cat like, come on man? Like that that's I mean,
that's that's that's that that to that level of doing it, like,
I really don't know what what there is happening now
(23:26):
with the NBA that I could. I could even say
the Knicks could have done this, they could have done this.
But when you come into the game where where where,
That's that's how it's.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
Going to be officiated right away. I mean what can
you do well on the side, you have your entire
bench available, even though they should have all been suspended
going after Cornett after his fall on Josh Hart last game,
so you at least have them.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
David Starr would have suspended everybody. David Star would have
got rid of everybody.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
I mean, there were five guys that came over. I
was like, okay, we did nothing with.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
That party, and yeah McBride and Alvarado and all those guys, and.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
It's like, okay, well that just kind of got pushed
off to the side. We broached that the last couple
of days a little bit here. But you shoot forty
one percent, you quit in your rotations, and look, they're
hitting everything. It's like the exact opposite of going down
to the carnival where the guys installed the wrong rims.
It's like, wait a minute, those are supposed to be
off center and smallish to where the ball can barely
(24:22):
put through, and now you're basically just laying it up there.
It's like shot after shot wide open. Looks Dylan Harper
taking over, which means you got a lot of Ron
Harper love on the telecast as well, But overall, eight
turnovers for the Knicks in the first half. You see
the assists assist to turnover ratio. I mean, you had
(24:43):
eighteen assists for the Spurs moving the ball well, a
complete on sharp contrast from what we've seen in prior
moments where those started to become a one to one
ratio for much of the first three games. But yeah,
the level of quit just bothered me. It's a terrible call.
There's no there's nothing to say. And I agree with you.
(25:03):
You know, if you take the file away from Wemby
and just say all right, there's not enough, it doesn't
rise to the level because whatever we don't we don't
need these two guys that we want to watch play
in trouble. Fine, but the Knicks reaction thereafter is unconscionable.
That that looks like a team that that just said
all right, we're resigned to our fate and we're done.
(25:25):
There's still forty six minutes and changed people. No, I'm
with you, dude. I told you got to be able
to suck it up. Man, it's the NBA Finals. I
mean you you got to be able to suck it
mixer man, I get it, man, I get I mean, look,
this is where both things can be true at at
the same time, both things can be true with the
Spurs and the generous officiating that more than gener's officiating,
(25:46):
they're getting and and what's going on with the next
But look, I mean it's a it's a case of
of of uh of of we're gonna get a two
to two series going back to San Antonio. I mean
that that's that's where that's where we're gonna be after
the first four games, where the Spurs have played better overall,
but we're gonna be two two going back to San Antonio. Chickens,
(26:07):
they didn't Hatch Man. I did this a bit with
Ryan Hollins, our buddy, the seven footer, the cheap contest
that you guys have had for so many years. But
when we're talking to him on Sunday and it was
two to oh and folks were already moving the narrative
to the ah, he's got plenty of time. Wemby will
get there. They're a year or two Earl. I'm bl
(26:28):
like that. Man. It's like that argument for me is
a fail. Likewise, you know, the Knicks, this may be
all you got for the Spurs. Maybe all you got
you got health issues.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
You got.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
The basketball gods are very fickle as they are with
the rest of us in our everyday lives. Man, you
gotta go take your chances when you can. So yeah,
you got a half a basketball. Hopefully enjoyed the Wu Tang.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific on five Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
He had Paraguay getting three and a half goals. He
is a very happy man right now.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
I'm calling that in right before, absolutely happy. Maybe not
for that reason. I just I saw something tonight I
haven't seen from an American soccer team in a couple
of decades.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
I was singing the national anthem because Jesse Marsh says,
you know they're bad at it. You see that.
Speaker 4 (27:24):
I did hear about that.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
Look, no bigger story tonight than the United States winning
their opener in the World Cup for to one over Paraguay.
And it was as dominant to night as it sounds.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
The best way to look at this, right, you know,
there's been so many things to saying. We're gonna get
to the guy who has been the difference and was
the difference in the United States tonight in a second.
But after one game, there's prisoner of the moment. There
is wondering how big this is. It's one game, after all,
how big is as well? You know, you only get three.
(28:02):
It's not like it's you know, it's not like Major
League Baseball where it's one game. Now you get three
and you got to move on to the next round
of the World Cup. The United States did everything to
the near best of expectations that you could possibly have
hoped for. The entire first half was spent entirely in
Paraguay's end. It was a three to nothing lead at halftime.
They passed the ball through the middle of the field well,
(28:24):
they moved the ball, and the wings well they The
goalie was never tested, which is always the best game
in soccer. When you don't know if your goalie played
well because you didn't get it a lot of chances,
those are always the best games. That's always why I
would I would tell I would tell my team's coaching,
the All Stars and the extra teams, and the Clyde
would say, yeah, no, the best games is when I
don't know if you played well. How did I play
today coach the best? I don't know, but that's the best.
(28:44):
That's the best way because we kept the ball away
from you, right, that's everybody doing their job. Yes, Paraguay
scored a goal. Okay, just you know, I don't like
to say this too often, but you know, hey, I'm
kind of a USMNT whisper because I told you last night,
the United States is waiting for this series to be
waiting for this competition to begin. They're going to score
a goal in the first ten minutes. They're going to
(29:05):
win four to one.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
What happened.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
They scored a goal in the first ten minutes and
they won four to one. Anything you want to know,
Steve Asthley, I have the answers. Anything we want to know.
Speaker 4 (29:13):
Magic often does happen to a host country at a
World Cup that is well established in World Cup history.
The thing is, when we were hosting the World Cup
in nineteen ninety four, I'll say it out loud, we
barely had a team in comparison. Back then, Major League
Soccer didn't exist. We didn't have a major league in
this sport in nineteen ninety four when we hosted the
(29:36):
World Cup. So the magical thing that happened was Columbia
putting a goal into its own net instead of a
pass back to the goalie, you know, going back to
the goalie, and the Americans wound up advancing and actually
playing a close one nothing loss to Brazil in the
round of sixteen. So that was the magic.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Nothing like this that honestly was because my lifetime of
soccer just really quick, before we get to we get
to Balligan because he's too important, Like my lifetime of
soccer was was okay. The Cosmos were a huge team
in the seventies when Pele went there, and they were
a big traveling road show and it was amazing. They
(30:15):
traveled across the country. The Cosmos is a big deal.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
You had major indoor soccer league in the eighties which
was really fun to watch and that was always on TV.
But the nineteen ninety.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Four World Cup was the beginning of you want to
talk what the real birth of soccer in this country was.
It was the ninety four World Cup team that somehow
found a way to get to the next round, get
to the knockout round again, lost a one nothing game
to a really bad goal given up by Tony Meol
that was a really really bad goal.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
Was the Brazil team that wound up winning this tournament?
Speaker 3 (30:44):
I mean, that's an awful guy.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Yeah, Roberto Bogio hit the crossbar on penalties for team Italy,
you know, back when Italy would make the World Cup,
and like a really bad goal by Meal against Brazil.
Speaker 4 (30:54):
By the way, Bogio was in attendance in Mexico yesterday.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Oh was he that barely recognized? Oh wow? Did people
throw the ball off of the I.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
Know there's a joke to be had. It's gonna follow
him the rest of his life. But keep in mind
nineteen ninety four. The US had qualified for the previous
World Cup in nineteen ninety but you know, we got
destroyed in our three games, and then we hadn't made
any World Cup the previous forty years in a row
until nineteen ninety.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Yeah, and it's a huge run in ninety four and
the game against Columbia, which you've heard of, the you know,
the the own goal by Columbia.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
There's a superb documentary exactly about Tyby.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Really it was I remember covering it for ESPN, and
it it was the start like it was that and
the Knicks Rockets final going on at the same time,
right like the last time, like two times ago, and
the Knicks were in the finals for the last time.
It was the Knicks Rockets in the World Cup, and
I was like every day it was one of those stories.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
Same month as the OJ stories June of nineteen ninety four.
By the way, not to make people feel bad, but
for all who spent over one thousand dollars for this
incredible US game ten I believe, I believe tickets were
forty dollars at the Rose Bowl for US. Yeah, play
back then.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Yeah, I mean after beating Colombia, things got really exciting
for the United States, right beating Colombia and moving on, Wow,
we can get into the next round of the World Cup.
And these are the guys that that you've heard of
that have been telling Eric Winalda who is you know?
Alexi Lallis was the was a defender on that team.
Like all the names you hear now talking about soccer,
(32:27):
these are guys that all played in nineteen ninety four,
and that's when the excitement level really hit a fever
pitch that I had never seen for soccer before. I
remember covering it for ESPN and it was it was
something that's like wow, it was brand new. And the
big takeaway from tonight is really to say, Okay, Paraguay,
how good are they? Paraguay is not bad, right, They're
(32:48):
not one of the bottom feeders, They're not one of
the elite teams in the World Cup, but they're not
a bad team.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Well, let me put it this way.
Speaker 4 (32:55):
They were I mentioned earlier in the show, they were
just about all the teams that aren't Argentina but made
the World Cup out of South America. They all pretty
much tied for second place, well back of Argentina, but
that includes Paraguay. In their eighteen qualifying games over the
last couple of years, they only scored fourteen goals, but
they only allowed ten in eighteen games. And they won
(33:19):
at home against Brazil, and they won at home against Argentina.
That team gave up three in the first half in
La Tonight.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
To the US, and it looked like they looked like
a team that didn't deserve to be on the same
field as the United States.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
The women they were doing, it's like what other countries
had done to us in the past, and so coming
off of this game and seeing how it worked for
the United States and Christian Polistic was absolutely fantastic in
the half he played, and it looks like he's okay.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Got kicked in the CAF. They kept him out a.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Little bit of precautionary reasons, but with a week between games,
I'm pretty sure he'll be okay. But look, Baaligan was phenomenal,
and you know, everything went right for then, not right,
but everything.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
The United States made their own luck, They made their
own breaks. They attacked for ninety eight minutes, They did
not get tired. They were the dominant team. And I
think that's a big wake up call for a lot
of the other nations watching them tonight going oh wow,
Poachatino's got them exactly where he needs them. There is
no reason to not be.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
Incredibly excited about what the next few weeks can bring
us here at the World Cup. The way they're playing
end with it being the reality of we're in a
really easy group, right, you know, Turkey and Australia. This
should be a group we get out of and win
rather easily, which gives us an advantageous matchup in the
knockout round, which means, hey, all of a sudden, we're
(34:42):
looking at the quarterfinals, which WHOA the quarter finals. There
is no reason to not be that excited and optimistic
about what we could see. There's nothing holding us back.
There's no drama off the field. There is nothing that
you didn't see tonight that you shouldn't feel great about
going forward. And this is whether you're huge soccer fan,
middle of the road, paying attention to the World Cup.
(35:03):
They were absolutely outstanding tonight and.
Speaker 4 (35:06):
US once we get to the knockout stage, assuming they
advance out of this group, and I think tonight convinces
most everybody that the US will, whether they win the
group or not, be advancing out of this group and
therefore still playing around July first or so in still
on the West coast. By the way, that's the way
it's scheduled. The US is playing in LA and then
(35:27):
up in Seattle, and then back to LA against Turkey
A and then maybe like Bay Area for a round
of thirty two games something like that. It might be
US against an easier team as a group winner, and
then against Belgium or somebody like that who they faced
in round of sixteen before. If you win that round
(35:48):
of sixteen just after July fourth, you're in the World
Cup quarterfinals for crad out Aloud. The US has only
made the World Cup quarterfinals once since the first World Cup.
That was when and you referenced this earlier. A young
Landon Donovan was on the two thousand and two team
that not only beat Portugal but wound up advancing and
(36:09):
beating Mexico to nothing the famed Dosa Sato game in
the round of sixteen, and we nearly had the best
of a German side that made the final that year,
lost one nothing.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
Yeah, that was that was close. And Oliver Khanna that
was a great was That was when Germany started their
big run as a big power, when even there, like
their junior teams would beat the crap out of everybody
right like they had the United It's amazing.
Speaker 4 (36:34):
Germany's women's team was winning the World Cup back then.
Remember Oliver Khan at goal, he was like a wall
at gold.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
What a great villain he was. He was like Ivan Drago,
Like what a great villain he was. Yeah, he was
so much fun. But to be excited is one thing.
Fall Ballagan Tonight playing the nine striker position for the
United States. You've heard this over the.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Better part of the last twenty some odd years for
the United States is why can't we find a striker, right,
Why can't we find a striker that can be a superstar,
that can not just be someone that can score. But
the difference between winning and losing and advancing in the
World Cup and going home is Hey, in a tight
(37:20):
nothing nothing game or a one to one game, you
need your striker. You're nine to be able to make
a play where I'm creating space and I am beating
the goalie because I have a special set of skills
that nobody else has.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
Right, We've seen Messi do that. We've seen Rinaldo do that.
We've seen all the great players in Bappe, We've seen
him all do that. The United States don't forget r.
Speaker 4 (37:42):
Skills.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
He have very special set of skills and succeeded well
outside of the country. Three turnless, he did well in France.
He did very well in France. So we've never had
that guy like Clint Dempsey. He would score goal, but
he wasn't that guy, right, like Landon Don was a
midfielder the goal against Al Jerry, which will live forever,
he wasn't that guy. We've never had that one player
(38:05):
We've not have an earling Holland that is going to
be able to just do what at physically, I can
get us a goal when there's no goals out there.
Speaker 4 (38:13):
Yeah, and like the post player in the NBA, they
can literally just say give me the ball and yeah, we.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Can be wimby uh And Balligan tonight showed that he
can be that guy like it's it's I'm laughing going.
I feel like we've been waiting twenty five years for
fall Balligan and and the brace he had in the
first half to gives a three to nothing lead was incredible.
You're gonna hear the goals right now. It's the second
goal that got me more excited than anything. Ty Sho,
(38:43):
go ahead, great ball.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
Holistic one holistic. It's time. The fly is gaming down
time it's to the United States.
Speaker 5 (38:55):
As you said, I appreciate it by the fans, right
the lowest prinster Pochettino to get inside big Fox on
the call there.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
Listen to that noise mine.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
I mean, yeah, we definitely had home field advantage tonight.
That was pretty sweet. I gotta say, not that it
wasn't expected, but it's nice to see that that was
an overwhelming home field advantage for US in this game.
Speaker 4 (39:26):
And look at what we have at this forward spot
with the variety, because there was well too long a time,
frankly in US soccer history where they had maybe one
reliable guy that could be the goal scorer. Here, look
what Polisic creates. We know he's finished in the past.
Balligan had two goals in the first half. They had
(39:46):
tim Way off the bench, Ricardo Peppi off the bench,
guy like Diego Lunda didn't make the team.
Speaker 3 (39:51):
You'll rain off the bench, and he scores in the
ninety eighth minute to make it for to one Like
this is we finally have the firepower. Most goals we
scored in a World game ever, correct? I mean? But
the goal by Balligan, that third goal where he does
exactly what I said, He creates space and he hits
a hell of a bender in the top corner of
the net. That is that is a goal scorers goal.
(40:13):
And that's a goal that probably shouldn't have happened, but
it only happens because your striker is that talented. Like
that's the difference.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
That's gonna be the difference in a nothing, nothing game
against Belgium in the quarterfinal round or in the in
the round.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Of sixteen, where you can score a goal like that.
He's twenty four. You could have played any He could
have played for England. He could you could have played
for three. He could have played for three different countries
in the United States. Thank you for playing for the
United States. Mighty Balligan, by the way, so much.
Speaker 4 (40:42):
It's not just what you mentioned. An American team had
never scored four goals in any World Cup game, and
the tournament has existed for almost one hundred years. They'd
never won a game by three or more ever in
US soccer history, going back to the first World Cup
and then the fat fit. This, this really killed me.
The fact that the US men scored less than four
(41:05):
goals total for the entire World Cup tournament in half
of their previous trips to the World Cup. That is
spashed by this team. In one game tonight, it was
three to not think at the half and a four
to one final in We can't overstate how impressive this was.
You want to know how impressive. You mentioned earlier, how
(41:26):
the US defense was, to say the least, not tested
in the first half because the offense was so consistently
great foot on the gas pedal the entire first half.
It was so reassuring though, to have US defender Chris
Richards back in the starting lineup. He just returned to
full practice on Monday in Southern California. He had missed
(41:46):
both of the recent exhibitions with the ankle injury he'd
suffered with his club team in England last month, and
hadn't played at all then. The stat at the end
of the game Chris Richards attempted eighty three passes in
the game, completed all eighty three passes one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (42:06):
What Gino Smith is going to do for the for
the Jets this year?
Speaker 4 (42:09):
Okay, until I heard, but to complete one hundred percent
accurately that many passes had not been done by any
player in a World Cup match since nineteen sixty six. Yeah,
astounding offense and defense. What was on display for the
USA in a World Cup match.
Speaker 1 (42:31):
I mean he looked he was and he was big
on corner kicks, had a couple of headers that near missed.
Now he was he was part of that, uh you
know that that gaggle of players that got caught watching
on Paraguay's goal. He got beat for that but okay,
you know what, three No, the good he had played,
he had done was better, especially since he missed the
friendlies that they played against Senegal in Germany. But the
(42:52):
fact that Poach picked him for the team saying yes,
everything is fine, knowing full well that he's got a
bit of an overloaded a couple at one position and
you're kind of worried where injuries.
Speaker 3 (43:01):
Could take him. He played really really good tonight, right
like you got. I mean, this is that's what I say.
There's no reason to not be excited about everything you
have seen from this team going forward. But man, I'll
tell you what, when we're in one of those nothing,
nothing games where you're just I just you know, yeah,
said nobody, nobody's going to score for us. We're not
(43:21):
getting anything. We just got to hope to take it
all the way through.
Speaker 4 (43:24):
All the against England, willed a goal in and that's
the only offense they had that day. You're right, there
are games like that when you get to better opponents
in other rounds and.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
That instead of saying, well we just have to wait
to get to penalties hopefully and pull it out. It's
maybe Balligan could be a guy to get one of
those goals.
Speaker 4 (43:42):
Don't wait for that. That's why Italy is not in
this world well, not in the last one one before. Yeah, exactly.
By the way, no US men's player had ever had
a multi goal game in a World Cup until tonight
with Bell. It's just silly, the kind of history compared
to what US soccer has been in the last hundred
(44:03):
years of what was on display and last nag and
again we say we know that there's usually a boost
for any home team in a World Cup. In the
entire history of the World Cup, a home team has
lost its opening game only once and that was when
Qatar got shut out in Qatar four years ago. And
by the way, Qatar is probably the worst team in
(44:23):
this year's tournament. But this wasn't just a w This
was complete and total dominance against a team from South America.
It was unbelievably impressive.
Thanks for listening to the best of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Carmen podcast. Be sure to catch us
live every weeknight from ten pm to two am Eastern
seven to eleven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find
your local station for The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon at Foxsports Radio dot com, or stream us live
every night on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
This is the best of The Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Hello, Welcome inside, Happy Game three The Jason Smith Show
with My base's friend Mike Harmon.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Much different tone and tenner than forty minutes ago. Sad
Soulin depressed. No no no shop no no no, no, no,
no no no. What did I said? No, no, no.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
I've seen this movie enough and I just watched the
San Antonio Spurs have the best start to a game
they could possibly have. They get out to a twelve
point lead. Wemby looks like Hulk Wemby Steph Castle is
unstoppable getting to the basket. And where are we at halftime?
The Knicks are up by seven. That was a lot
(01:09):
of energy expended, because that's the biggest thing for the
Spurs is you know, energy wise, they have not been great.
Go back to the middle of the series with the
Oklahoma City Thunder. You know they're working on vapors, they're
trying to steal with non Wemby minutes. This is not
a team that is closing to the wire like a thoroughbred.
They are just trying, how do we get our guys rest?
How do we get our guys to stay? And they
(01:31):
came out big because they had to, because the entire city,
in the entire arena threatened to swallow them up. And
they had an incredible start, and Wemby was affecting shots
and Wenby was very active in the lane. The Nicks
first three attempts were just dunks. Even defensively, he was
getting in the right position very easily. He was scaring
the Knicks out of the lane, and Steph Castle was
(01:53):
getting to the hoop. This was as good as start
as you could possibly hope for for the Spurs, and
yet here they are down seven at half time. If
you're San Antono, you're walking and going what do I do?
If you're Mitch Johnson, you're saying, what do I tell
the guys? We we did everything we could. In that half.
We came out like gangbusters. Everything we wanted to do
we did. We attack Karl Anthony Towns. We made sure
when Brunson was in the game, we harassed him. And
(02:14):
what happened. We watched the Knicks still go up by
seven at halftime. I don't know what you tell the
Spurs at halftime at this point, just keep fighting.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Just remember you had big leads in the other games
and you screwed that up. So yeah, I don't know
that before. I don't know from your experience, boys, I
don't know I that it works to remember, guys, we
had big leads in games before. Yeah, but we blew
them both. Let's not talk about that part of it.
I know that's how. I don't know that that you
gotta keep getting up and keep moving forward. The whole
rocky nonsense. I don't know what The biggest one. The
(02:44):
biggest thing that's like Mitch Johnson as someone hands him
the halftime stats, that's gonna make him shake his head
and be kind of salty is the fact that the
Knicks were able to eke out nine points and twelve
minutes from Jordan Clark and Jose Alvarad well, look, that's
the key to the first half.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
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Speaker 3 (03:24):
I told you the other day I have Josh Harten.
Josh hart had a bad game two. Watch the game
three he has. He's a guy that does not have
two bad games in a row. He's his own worst critic.
He motivates himself. Hit the two big threes early to
kind of steady the Knicks. He's got thirteen. At half time,
he's got three threes, five rebounds, three sys. I told
you he was going to have a big game. But okay,
(03:44):
you expect Brunson and Bridge, you know, and Andrew Noby's
got seventeen. But the key to the first half was
when Wemby went out of the game. The Spurs won
the non.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Wemby minutes, which is a huge key for them. Right, then,
if the Knicks are going to win, you can't lose
the non wemby minutes, right, non weren't that many, But
the Spurs won the non wemby minutes, and they were
up twelve. But the key to the half was the
Knicks won the non Brunson minutes in a large way.
He sat for a good portion of the beginning of
(04:15):
the second quarter. Right he's only played nineteen minutes. You know,
he sat for about five five and a half minutes.
And you watch Clarkson hit threes, you watch Alvarado hit
runners in the lane. They won the non Brunson minutes,
which is something that the Spurs have to say, Well,
we can't win if we don't win the non Brunson minutes,
right much you want to say for the Nix and Wemby.
When Brunson's not in the game, there's your biggest threat,
(04:36):
there's your biggest ball here, there's your biggest everything, and
you have to be able to say, if defensively we're
closing out on him, we got to win those minutes,
and they did not, and you got again, Yeah, what
did I do? How shocked was I?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
What I said? Oh my god, Jordan Clarkson's getting in
the game, steps to the end of the game, he's
getting Then for a moment, everybody's looking around, going the
hell's that checking into the game?
Speaker 1 (04:57):
He finished plus ten in his seven minutes. Yeah, he's
got five points. Alvarado's got four points each, have a
couple of rebounds and an assist. That was the biggest
thing was the non brunts of minutes for him to
be able to sit. There was no reason to bring
him back in because I thought, for a second, well,
maybe you're just gonna get a couple of minutes for
Brunton here end of the first quarter into the second
because how long, Like what's the deficit? You can really
(05:18):
afford to hit because the Spurs are playing really well.
But Alvarado the energy that the Knicks put out there,
and that's a big thing. And this is Mike Brown,
because you want to exhaust the Spurs because you can.
You need to get your energy guys out there.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
And what did they do?
Speaker 1 (05:32):
They played side to side. Alvarado was a guy that
was all over the floor with the ball. Clarkson spotting
up for threes like those minutes were so huge, and
again you gotta wonder what that did to San Antonio
because the Knicks just completely reeled them in to finish
the second quarter.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Forty two points in the second quarter, and talking about
those those minutes, and I think that's the key, key
part too. It is both those guys came in and
played like their hair was on fire. Right They're running
up and down the court, They're they're pressing the full
ninety four and trying to make things happen on the
offensive end, the extra swing passes, but certainly defensively staying active.
(06:09):
And that's been one of the curiosities. We saw one
big play Wembin Yama with the big throwdown of Jalen Brunson.
That doesn't get whistled. As a guy who's had a
couple of elbow moments and has seen himself ejected in
the past, see what the uh, what kind of pink
envelope he gets in his locker at least for a
fine out of that. If not a stern talking to.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
That is a that is a foul that I can't
I cannot believe that was not called. This is a
this is a full left arm shoving you to the ground,
and I could not believe that didn't.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Get yeah, no matter how much you might have been
agitated by by Brunson kind of digging back into you,
because that's one of the things, right, small guy ass
out into the larger quad quad area and affecting your
your stance and in what you can do in terms
of establishing position. But we saw just a full you know,
(07:00):
pushed through of his head and neck area down to
the ground, and Brunton's doing everything he can to sell, sell, sell.
He did it last game, He's doing it here. And
we saw that also on what was ultimately just ruled
to Colm and fill running through him, much like Carter
Bryant didga, hey I'm here, bam and down he goes.
(07:21):
But the officials have been how do we I'll just say,
curious how much contact is is allowed here versus all right,
let's take it back down the other end and this
goes both ways like it has just been, all right,
how do I get a file Castle? For as great
as he's been in the lane in the second quarter,
a couple of drives where he's getting bodied by more
(07:45):
than one player and he's not drawing a file call.
So he's looking around going all right, what's our continuity
here and how do we adjudicate this? So for second
half it'll be interesting to watch.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, look, the halftime came at a great time for
the Spurs because they were out of gas. Oh yeah, right,
Like the Knicks are going on a ten to one
run and that was a it was a huge break
for that. Okay, we got to get to halftime. Now
it's a sixty four to sixty two game. The Spurs
just hit a three. But this is uh, they're calling
a flagrant right now on Jalen Brunson. Uh, Champagnie went
(08:15):
up for a three hit, the three came down a
wee kind of a weird kind of I mean, I
see this and I go, all right, Brunson, I don't
know that he didn't that he failed to give Champenny
a place to come down and look like Champagne drew
the contact a little bit. But again, they're calling a
flagrant on Brunson, probably because he didn't give him a
landing spot. Uh So nowa champion is gonna go to
(08:38):
the free throw line with a chance to cut this
lead even further. The foul on Brunson, He's now has two.
We get a lot of people with two fouls in
this game, my Carmen. So I mean I think when
when you look at things and go, okay, well Castle's
got too, and Cat's got to and Brunson's got a
lot of people have two.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
A lot of people had that that that elusive third five,
big third foul. You're not seeing that big swing one,
you are? You are? I'm seeing a lot of two's
right now across the bold because we've seen one of
those famous moves that you'll see every once in a while. No,
that one's mine. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, going on him,
that was bo You take that about Clarkson, you were
seven feet that way. No, that falls mine. You take
that foul, You take that foul. Yeah. In this case,
(09:15):
I mean Brunson kind of flashes at him and then
spins in the air and puts his ass towards him,
and he catches his ankle as he lands. And that's
that's always the question, right, how much of that is? Okay,
I've got this guy in a position where I'm gonna
draw the file. Now, I wouldn't mess with my feet
and ankles in terms of trying to draw that file
myself if I'm Champenny. But it worked.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Wonders for it now So one point game, Nicks lead
very early in the second half, ten and a half
to go. So much tonight on going into the game,
president Trump being there, what the atmosphere was like, people
waiting in line, and by and large it's kind of
a nothing burger because yes, you expect there to be
(09:58):
more security.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Getting into the game is tougher. That's just kind of
how it goes. Wouldn't that be the way even I
would expect that even if President Trump weren't going. I've
gone to plenty of sporting and big sporting events where
I've had those kind of lines. Yeah, but it would
still be.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
But the whole thing is that with fans getting funneled
to only certain ways to get in, it gets tougher.
But like, okay, that part, to me, I don't really
care that much about because I'm like, you know what,
you're going to the game. If it's one of those
situations the President is coming, and all right, leave yourself
some time. You spent a lot of money, leave enough
time to get to the game. I'm okay with that.
The thing that sucks, and quite honestly it does suck,
(10:32):
is that because Trump is there, what fifty thousand people can't.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Go to the watch parties and to go find another player.
And that sucks because the watch parties are a big deal.
It's for people that can't get to the games. You know.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
We spent so much time talking about the fans getting
priced out, which again that's something I get it, but
I'm sorry that's kind of how it goes when when
the demand for a ticket is the biggest demand that
we have seen in our lifetimes in sports. Okay, sometimes
you have to find another.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Way, right If you waited long enough, they got back
down again. Decide what's reasonable whatnot. But we talked about
it on Friday that we were looking at tickets at
ten ten grand or higher just forgetting We were half
that this afternoon. So you know, it's all about the
wait and see. You want to play the timing game,
but you at least had the option of a watch
(11:18):
party before this event. You did, and that's that's the
thing that sucks.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
And I really, I really that does suck because it's
so much fun because look, I like it, because I
like the videos.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
To come out of the watch party. We're gonna I'm
gonna miss those videos. I don't think you want to
say that today with the amount of secret Service problem
a wise move.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
But overall, the fans got to the game. They were
all there twenty minutes before the game MSG was full,
So over over as far as that goes, yeah, okay,
it was a big nothing. But because I'm sitting here
going what happens if if fans can't get in, there's
gonna be fights outside and there's gonna be empty seats
because people can't get into the arena because I'm seeing
because you know, me Knicks fan, I'm just seeing all
(11:58):
the doom and gloom. Sure, this is what it's gonna happen.
But you know, in the end, it really was not
that big a deal. The fans got there, the game
went on, and again we have not heard anything, you know,
as far as that that really has raised our attention
so far. But it looks like getting there was a
big stressful topic going into the game. But I feel
(12:18):
like the fans got there. Everybody got in, everybody's there.
It's all about the game and we're okay, yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Hey, A lot of that came from media members who,
let's face it, whenever there's a twenty minute delay on
their flight. You know, I'm a beat writer or I
work for this entity and I'm taking my flights all
over to cover things. Ah, there's just twenty minute. By
the law of averages, you go to enough of these things,
you're gonna have a delay. You're gonna have a plane canceled,
You're gonna have something happen. Likewise, you go to enough
(12:46):
big events, guess what you might actually have to stand
in line before they give you your ticket to go get
your hot dog and chips. Okay, calm the hell down
and stop creating chaos for the rest of the world
by by making it such doom and gloom like the
number of here's the media line three hours ahead of Okay, yeah,
I mean also, so try to show up twenty minutes
(13:06):
early or before tip and see how that goes for you.
I mean, someone not an Angels game, somewhat of it
is inspiring that, Okay, with all this going on, they
were able to figure it out, right, Like, they able
to figure it out, and everybody is there right and
and and everybody got to the game, and the focus
can be on and the focus can be actually on
the game, because again I'm I'm so, I'm like, what
if something happens? If what what if?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
You know, I'm just thinking all the different scenarios right, like,
you know that that could go on because fans can't
get there, or there's something that happens outside they have
to close entrances. But what could possibly go wrong here?
Because you know it's it's the nixt so what if
it can go wrong?
Speaker 3 (13:43):
It will go wrong. But but so far I said, Okay, whatever,
the game's gonna be, the game's gonna be. Not here
in twenty twenty six, now thirteen in a row one
point lead as we come up on the eight minute
mark here in the third quarter.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
So a sixty eight sixty seven lead for the Knicks
right now over the Spurs again, just under eight and
a half minutes left to go, and that's either going
to be the third foul on Bridges or Karl Anthony Towns.
So not great news for New York.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Raise that head, Bridges, Yeah, Bridges, you take that, You
take that fall, You take that.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
It looks like again waiting to see who they wind
up calling it on, because it clearly looked like it
was on either bridges or cat.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
But now we'll split it half and half.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
No, well, I don't know. They still haven't had the
ruling on it. Just now, every New York Knicks starter
has two fouls. Oh just say, everybody's got two. Everybody's
got the balance in the force. So again, seventy sixty
seven lead for the Knicks. Right now, Jalen Brunson hitting
an absolute circus layup. He's going to the free throw line.
Eight ten left to go, Game three of the NBA Finals.
(14:51):
We are just getting started here. Jason Smith, Mike harmon
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific. I get really pissed because my blood is
really boiling. But in the end, if this is how
the league is determined to call it, they know who
they're sending. They know Zach Zarbers showing up is going
to do something very specific. And when you're making those
two big calls in the first three minutes, you put
your thumb on the scale.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
You affected the outcome of the game. And it's a
seventy six to forty nine leen for the.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Spurs, and yeah, I'd love to see the Knicks come
back in the second half. You know, they may been
a cottage industry of it, but I don't know that
that's happening, man. And this is this is a game
that was won and lost with that play on Coller
Anthony Towns and they keep showing the replay at halftime,
and I really I can't understand the officiating other than
they want seven games, they want Wenby to hoist the
(15:40):
trophy like that.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
That's kind of where I'm at right now. I wrap
you with a big hug. I warned you, didn't I
warn you? And now he's more powerful than ever and
he's on the Vegas half because he is starting to
hate him outside of just New York, right because we've
talked about some of the elbows, some of the extra
and then and the I'm smarter than you in all
(16:03):
my press conference right the big chess match when he
picked up the flagrant on Mitchell Robinson. Look, if you're
gonna get your attack on when min Yama, right, you're
trying to get revenge from Jalen Brunson from from Game three,
do like Alvarado where you're just kind of hitting him
and trying to chop him down like he's a giant
ass tree, which is still kind of silly, but he's
doing the same thing. But Mitchell Robinson putting his forearm
(16:26):
up and running into him not smart. And Wenby did
the tap to the head. Whatever, we like this.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Call, But of course that's that's the flagrant they saw it.
Didn't didn't see the flagrant on Brunson in the first game,
but that one they saw. I'm not saying that wasn't
a flagrant. I'm like, wow, didn't see the flagrant the
first time, had a chance to give him one yesterday. No, no,
still not gonna do it. But no, we're gonna give
you that flagrant to Mitchell Robinson.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I saw that one. Wow, that was a forearm to
the neck. I mean, it's one thing. It's only because
he's so tall.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
It would have been a four been over his head
for anybody that's.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Right ran with him like a swing from on Karkabis
in the late eighties for the White Sox. It was
the same swing plane and if you made a mistake
where he hit it a long way, it was your
fault because he wasn't adapting his swing going high or
low in the zone. It was the same swing plane
every time. But yeah, that that call immediately, look the
(17:19):
first one, if we're gonna call it, and then we're
gonna have a quick whistle and that's where we're gonna
put that line in the sand. That's all fine and good.
That call the second call as it's getting overturned and
you're watching the replay, and it was up on social media.
I've never seen a call get to social media before
they've even gotten to the timeout table. Uh, because people
(17:41):
were incensed and they should have been right. It was
what was clear and obvious reach attempt to hook Karl
Anthony Towns. Do you decide that that's a foul? Yeah,
maybe maybe not. But the he pins his arm like
where how like, Yeah, it's there. I mean he's trying
to corrab the ball with both hands because he's going
into the lane kind of afraid of losing control there
(18:04):
and trying to get off on the right start. And
he was aggressive right for that minute and two seconds
he was on the court, Which was great because I
was really excited for you because I thought, here's Kat,
that's the guy we wanted in Game three. He's ready
to go. Unfortunately he was on the bench and hanging
out with all of celebrity row for a very long
time thereafter. You know, and I almost thought with that,
(18:25):
cause said, Okay, they gave Cat a real cheap one
on that first player the game, and you want to
get conspiracy theory. Boy, that first play they run Daron
Fox right at Cat and he flops and gets a
foul call. Hmm okay.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
But I thought, honestly, I said, with that foul on Wemby,
I said, Okay, they're evening up. They know they screwed
Cat with that first foul, so they're evening it up here.
But then the Spurs challenge it and they not only
get it overturned, but they get the second foul on
Karl Anthony Towns. Like they went from this is a
call that should hey, we're going to even things out
here a little bit. But then no, went completely the
other way. I've never seen one call affect a game
(18:59):
like this, especially to call in the first three minutes
of a game. I mean, yes, it put Karl Anthony
Towns on the bench. The Spurs sense blood in the water,
and they've played terrific, right, I mean, they've played absolutely outstanding.
And the thing is, the Knicks have to look, they're
not gonna win another game if they if they don't
have one game where they're not trailing by double digits
after the first quarter. But like, but when I look
(19:20):
at this and say, okay, yes, it's clear what the
NBA is thinking, how much they want Wenby, how much
they want this series to go seven. They know what
they're doing with the officials. He's getting called maybe Dwayne
Wade in the first finals with the heat when they
decided they wanted to make Dwayne Wade a star. That's
what I go back to there with the whole you know,
with with Wenby making him a star, Like, we're gonna
give Wenby everything you need here, both.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
Calls and non calls. Now, all that being said, because
I'm nothing if I'm not fair, Wow, the Knicks absolutely
let that just just deteriorate them in front of our eyes.
They've never recovered from that second foul call on Kat
and to the point where you could tell it in
their body language. You can tell it. The Spurs were aggressive.
They knew this is our moment to seize this game
(20:02):
because we played great in the first half. The entire way,
and they're shooting well, they know the Knicks are. Now
the Knicks are on their heels defensively a little bit,
because when you see those two calls going your way,
what do you expect right now? That's a big part
of the Spurs shooting so well. But I give it
to they're aggressive all of this when you see the
way rotting for anything, Jason, No, no, they're not. These
these shots are wide open. They're looking around. It's like,
is there a guy gonna club me from behind? As
(20:23):
they go. It's when you're shoo.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
When you're shooting fifty five percent from three, Okay, you're
having a knight, right, you're having a night. But the
fact that the Knicks have never come back from that,
they've they there was no time out, there was no
let's settle, let's let's let's let's figure something else out here,
and they allowed that to dictate the game. And it's
almost like they've they've played defeatedly since then. The Spurs
have played like they want to win this game. The
(20:46):
Knicks are playing like, you know, how can they how
can we win? When this is going on? That's for
us outside, that's for us to say that's for us
to talk about what's being done to the Knicks and
everything that, But for you on the court, you got
to suck it up and play. And I didn't see
anymore suck it up and play from the Knicks in
the first half.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
I saw a lot of oh, woe is me? And
what are we gonna do? And as a result, Hey,
the Spurs are cruising. Man, it's gonna be limited womens
for minutes for Wemby in the second half. Spurs are
gonna get a lot of rest. Now they've taken home
court back and we're going back to San Antonio up
three too. Like, yes, for all the officiating, and we're
gonna spend a lot of time on that. Like I
look at the Knicks and I go, man, you allowed
(21:22):
that to get in your heads. You allowed that to
dictate the rest of the first half, where it was
only the first couple of minutes, and in the end,
hey what happened after there? You were down twelve to two,
Like again, you got to come out of the guy
out of the gate and start.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
A little bit better at some point. So, yeah, Spurs,
but I gotta give it to the Knicks two because
they completely allowed.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
That to happen. No, and we've seen it time and again,
slow starts and the spurs every quarter, right, every first
quarter of this series. They've had the double digit lead
and you've seen it whittled away, and we see the
ebb and flow. But all the championship metal, all of
the all right, their battle tested, their veteran led, all
of this stuff. They look like the kids, and they're
(22:00):
playing like the petulant children. You're at home, Madison Square Garden.
I caught a couple of minutes on the radio, the
last few minutes as I'm coming into the studio and
there they sound like they're in an empty studio. That's
how quiet it got in the garden. Yeah, it was
a lot of outrage during that adjudication of the cat
(22:21):
wemby instance, but other than that, it is absolutely silent incredulity,
to the point where they were showing that replay minutes
later trying to get the crowd inside it. Again, Hey,
if you've got some poles up there.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I've never I've never seen a game where it's turned
completely on a foul call not three minutes into the game,
But that's exactly what happened. There's so much game to
be played, it's to But because the Knicks allowed that
to happen, because the NBA clearly went in with some
look again, they know who they're sending, they know what
they want to do.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
They put their thumb on the scale. But now they're
backing off. They could say, oh, look all the time
to put the Knicks on the free throw. It doesn't matter.
The game's over.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
You can look back and say, well, when you decided
to give Cat that second foul, and I'm I'm even
okay with if you went back and looked at that
and said, yeah, I don't know that there's a foul
on Wemby, I'm fine. I'm I wouldn't like it, but
I'd be okay. But now no, you're given the foul
a Cat like, come on man? Like that that's I mean,
that's that's that's that that to that level of doing it, like,
I really don't know what what there is happening now
(23:26):
with the NBA that I could. I could even say
the Knicks could have done this, they could have done this.
But when you come into the game where where where,
That's that's how it's.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
Going to be officiated right away. I mean what can
you do well on the side, you have your entire
bench available, even though they should have all been suspended
going after Cornett after his fall on Josh Hart last game,
so you at least have them.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
David Starr would have suspended everybody. David Star would have
got rid of everybody.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
I mean, there were five guys that came over. I
was like, okay, we did nothing with.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
That party, and yeah McBride and Alvarado and all those guys, and.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
It's like, okay, well that just kind of got pushed
off to the side. We broached that the last couple
of days a little bit here. But you shoot forty
one percent, you quit in your rotations, and look, they're
hitting everything. It's like the exact opposite of going down
to the carnival where the guys installed the wrong rims.
It's like, wait a minute, those are supposed to be
off center and smallish to where the ball can barely
(24:22):
put through, and now you're basically just laying it up there.
It's like shot after shot wide open. Looks Dylan Harper
taking over, which means you got a lot of Ron
Harper love on the telecast as well, But overall, eight
turnovers for the Knicks in the first half. You see
the assists assist to turnover ratio. I mean, you had
(24:43):
eighteen assists for the Spurs moving the ball well, a
complete on sharp contrast from what we've seen in prior
moments where those started to become a one to one
ratio for much of the first three games. But yeah,
the level of quit just bothered me. It's a terrible call.
There's no there's nothing to say. And I agree with you.
(25:03):
You know, if you take the file away from Wemby
and just say all right, there's not enough, it doesn't
rise to the level because whatever we don't we don't
need these two guys that we want to watch play
in trouble. Fine, but the Knicks reaction thereafter is unconscionable.
That that looks like a team that that just said
all right, we're resigned to our fate and we're done.
(25:25):
There's still forty six minutes and changed people. No, I'm
with you, dude. I told you got to be able
to suck it up. Man, it's the NBA Finals. I
mean you you got to be able to suck it
mixer man, I get it, man, I get I mean, look,
this is where both things can be true at at
the same time, both things can be true with the
Spurs and the generous officiating that more than gener's officiating,
(25:46):
they're getting and and what's going on with the next
But look, I mean it's a it's a case of
of of uh of of we're gonna get a two
to two series going back to San Antonio. I mean
that that's that's where that's where we're gonna be after
the first four games, where the Spurs have played better overall,
but we're gonna be two two going back to San Antonio. Chickens,
(26:07):
they didn't Hatch Man. I did this a bit with
Ryan Hollins, our buddy, the seven footer, the cheap contest
that you guys have had for so many years. But
when we're talking to him on Sunday and it was
two to oh and folks were already moving the narrative
to the ah, he's got plenty of time. Wemby will
get there. They're a year or two Earl. I'm bl
(26:28):
like that. Man. It's like that argument for me is
a fail. Likewise, you know, the Knicks, this may be
all you got for the Spurs. Maybe all you got
you got health issues.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
You got.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
The basketball gods are very fickle as they are with
the rest of us in our everyday lives. Man, you
gotta go take your chances when you can. So yeah,
you got a half a basketball. Hopefully enjoyed the Wu Tang.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific on five Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
He had Paraguay getting three and a half goals. He
is a very happy man right now.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
I'm calling that in right before, absolutely happy. Maybe not
for that reason. I just I saw something tonight I
haven't seen from an American soccer team in a couple
of decades.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
I was singing the national anthem because Jesse Marsh says,
you know they're bad at it. You see that.
Speaker 4 (27:24):
I did hear about that.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
Look, no bigger story tonight than the United States winning
their opener in the World Cup for to one over Paraguay.
And it was as dominant to night as it sounds.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
The best way to look at this, right, you know,
there's been so many things to saying. We're gonna get
to the guy who has been the difference and was
the difference in the United States tonight in a second.
But after one game, there's prisoner of the moment. There
is wondering how big this is. It's one game, after all,
how big is as well? You know, you only get three.
(28:02):
It's not like it's you know, it's not like Major
League Baseball where it's one game. Now you get three
and you got to move on to the next round
of the World Cup. The United States did everything to
the near best of expectations that you could possibly have
hoped for. The entire first half was spent entirely in
Paraguay's end. It was a three to nothing lead at halftime.
They passed the ball through the middle of the field well,
(28:24):
they moved the ball, and the wings well they The
goalie was never tested, which is always the best game
in soccer. When you don't know if your goalie played
well because you didn't get it a lot of chances,
those are always the best games. That's always why I
would I would tell I would tell my team's coaching,
the All Stars and the extra teams, and the Clyde
would say, yeah, no, the best games is when I
don't know if you played well. How did I play
today coach the best? I don't know, but that's the best.
(28:44):
That's the best way because we kept the ball away
from you, right, that's everybody doing their job. Yes, Paraguay
scored a goal. Okay, just you know, I don't like
to say this too often, but you know, hey, I'm
kind of a USMNT whisper because I told you last night,
the United States is waiting for this series to be
waiting for this competition to begin. They're going to score
a goal in the first ten minutes. They're going to
(29:05):
win four to one.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
What happened.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
They scored a goal in the first ten minutes and
they won four to one. Anything you want to know,
Steve Asthley, I have the answers. Anything we want to know.
Speaker 4 (29:13):
Magic often does happen to a host country at a
World Cup that is well established in World Cup history.
The thing is, when we were hosting the World Cup
in nineteen ninety four, I'll say it out loud, we
barely had a team in comparison. Back then, Major League
Soccer didn't exist. We didn't have a major league in
this sport in nineteen ninety four when we hosted the
(29:36):
World Cup. So the magical thing that happened was Columbia
putting a goal into its own net instead of a
pass back to the goalie, you know, going back to
the goalie, and the Americans wound up advancing and actually
playing a close one nothing loss to Brazil in the
round of sixteen. So that was the magic.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Nothing like this that honestly was because my lifetime of
soccer just really quick, before we get to we get
to Balligan because he's too important, Like my lifetime of
soccer was was okay. The Cosmos were a huge team
in the seventies when Pele went there, and they were
a big traveling road show and it was amazing. They
(30:15):
traveled across the country. The Cosmos is a big deal.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
You had major indoor soccer league in the eighties which
was really fun to watch and that was always on TV.
But the nineteen ninety.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Four World Cup was the beginning of you want to
talk what the real birth of soccer in this country was.
It was the ninety four World Cup team that somehow
found a way to get to the next round, get
to the knockout round again, lost a one nothing game
to a really bad goal given up by Tony Meol
that was a really really bad goal.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
Was the Brazil team that wound up winning this tournament?
Speaker 3 (30:44):
I mean, that's an awful guy.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Yeah, Roberto Bogio hit the crossbar on penalties for team Italy,
you know, back when Italy would make the World Cup,
and like a really bad goal by Meal against Brazil.
Speaker 4 (30:54):
By the way, Bogio was in attendance in Mexico yesterday.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Oh was he that barely recognized? Oh wow? Did people
throw the ball off of the I.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
Know there's a joke to be had. It's gonna follow
him the rest of his life. But keep in mind
nineteen ninety four. The US had qualified for the previous
World Cup in nineteen ninety but you know, we got
destroyed in our three games, and then we hadn't made
any World Cup the previous forty years in a row
until nineteen ninety.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Yeah, and it's a huge run in ninety four and
the game against Columbia, which you've heard of, the you know,
the the own goal by Columbia.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
There's a superb documentary exactly about Tyby.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Really it was I remember covering it for ESPN, and
it it was the start like it was that and
the Knicks Rockets final going on at the same time,
right like the last time, like two times ago, and
the Knicks were in the finals for the last time.
It was the Knicks Rockets in the World Cup, and
I was like every day it was one of those stories.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
Same month as the OJ stories June of nineteen ninety four.
By the way, not to make people feel bad, but
for all who spent over one thousand dollars for this
incredible US game ten I believe, I believe tickets were
forty dollars at the Rose Bowl for US. Yeah, play
back then.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Yeah, I mean after beating Colombia, things got really exciting
for the United States, right beating Colombia and moving on, Wow,
we can get into the next round of the World Cup.
And these are the guys that that you've heard of
that have been telling Eric Winalda who is you know?
Alexi Lallis was the was a defender on that team.
Like all the names you hear now talking about soccer,
(32:27):
these are guys that all played in nineteen ninety four,
and that's when the excitement level really hit a fever
pitch that I had never seen for soccer before. I
remember covering it for ESPN and it was it was
something that's like wow, it was brand new. And the
big takeaway from tonight is really to say, Okay, Paraguay,
how good are they? Paraguay is not bad, right, They're
(32:48):
not one of the bottom feeders, They're not one of
the elite teams in the World Cup, but they're not
a bad team.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Well, let me put it this way.
Speaker 4 (32:55):
They were I mentioned earlier in the show, they were
just about all the teams that aren't Argentina but made
the World Cup out of South America. They all pretty
much tied for second place, well back of Argentina, but
that includes Paraguay. In their eighteen qualifying games over the
last couple of years, they only scored fourteen goals, but
they only allowed ten in eighteen games. And they won
(33:19):
at home against Brazil, and they won at home against Argentina.
That team gave up three in the first half in
La Tonight.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
To the US, and it looked like they looked like
a team that didn't deserve to be on the same
field as the United States.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
The women they were doing, it's like what other countries
had done to us in the past, and so coming
off of this game and seeing how it worked for
the United States and Christian Polistic was absolutely fantastic in
the half he played, and it looks like he's okay.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Got kicked in the CAF. They kept him out a.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Little bit of precautionary reasons, but with a week between games,
I'm pretty sure he'll be okay. But look, Baaligan was phenomenal,
and you know, everything went right for then, not right,
but everything.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
The United States made their own luck, They made their
own breaks. They attacked for ninety eight minutes, They did
not get tired. They were the dominant team. And I
think that's a big wake up call for a lot
of the other nations watching them tonight going oh wow,
Poachatino's got them exactly where he needs them. There is
no reason to not be.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
Incredibly excited about what the next few weeks can bring
us here at the World Cup. The way they're playing
end with it being the reality of we're in a
really easy group, right, you know, Turkey and Australia. This
should be a group we get out of and win
rather easily, which gives us an advantageous matchup in the
knockout round, which means, hey, all of a sudden, we're
(34:42):
looking at the quarterfinals, which WHOA the quarter finals. There
is no reason to not be that excited and optimistic
about what we could see. There's nothing holding us back.
There's no drama off the field. There is nothing that
you didn't see tonight that you shouldn't feel great about
going forward. And this is whether you're huge soccer fan,
middle of the road, paying attention to the World Cup.
(35:03):
They were absolutely outstanding tonight and.
Speaker 4 (35:06):
US once we get to the knockout stage, assuming they
advance out of this group, and I think tonight convinces
most everybody that the US will, whether they win the
group or not, be advancing out of this group and
therefore still playing around July first or so in still
on the West coast. By the way, that's the way
it's scheduled. The US is playing in LA and then
(35:27):
up in Seattle, and then back to LA against Turkey
A and then maybe like Bay Area for a round
of thirty two games something like that. It might be
US against an easier team as a group winner, and
then against Belgium or somebody like that who they faced
in round of sixteen before. If you win that round
(35:48):
of sixteen just after July fourth, you're in the World
Cup quarterfinals for crad out Aloud. The US has only
made the World Cup quarterfinals once since the first World Cup.
That was when and you referenced this earlier. A young
Landon Donovan was on the two thousand and two team
that not only beat Portugal but wound up advancing and
(36:09):
beating Mexico to nothing the famed Dosa Sato game in
the round of sixteen, and we nearly had the best
of a German side that made the final that year,
lost one nothing.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
Yeah, that was that was close. And Oliver Khanna that
was a great was That was when Germany started their
big run as a big power, when even there, like
their junior teams would beat the crap out of everybody
right like they had the United It's amazing.
Speaker 4 (36:34):
Germany's women's team was winning the World Cup back then.
Remember Oliver Khan at goal, he was like a wall
at gold.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
What a great villain he was. He was like Ivan Drago,
Like what a great villain he was. Yeah, he was
so much fun. But to be excited is one thing.
Fall Ballagan Tonight playing the nine striker position for the
United States. You've heard this over the.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Better part of the last twenty some odd years for
the United States is why can't we find a striker, right,
Why can't we find a striker that can be a superstar,
that can not just be someone that can score. But
the difference between winning and losing and advancing in the
World Cup and going home is Hey, in a tight
(37:20):
nothing nothing game or a one to one game, you
need your striker. You're nine to be able to make
a play where I'm creating space and I am beating
the goalie because I have a special set of skills
that nobody else has.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
Right, We've seen Messi do that. We've seen Rinaldo do that.
We've seen all the great players in Bappe, We've seen
him all do that. The United States don't forget r.
Speaker 4 (37:42):
Skills.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
He have very special set of skills and succeeded well
outside of the country. Three turnless, he did well in France.
He did very well in France. So we've never had
that guy like Clint Dempsey. He would score goal, but
he wasn't that guy, right, like Landon Don was a
midfielder the goal against Al Jerry, which will live forever,
he wasn't that guy. We've never had that one player
(38:05):
We've not have an earling Holland that is going to
be able to just do what at physically, I can
get us a goal when there's no goals out there.
Speaker 4 (38:13):
Yeah, and like the post player in the NBA, they
can literally just say give me the ball and yeah, we.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Can be wimby uh And Balligan tonight showed that he
can be that guy like it's it's I'm laughing going.
I feel like we've been waiting twenty five years for
fall Balligan and and the brace he had in the
first half to gives a three to nothing lead was incredible.
You're gonna hear the goals right now. It's the second
goal that got me more excited than anything. Ty Sho,
(38:43):
go ahead, great ball.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
Holistic one holistic. It's time. The fly is gaming down
time it's to the United States.
Speaker 5 (38:55):
As you said, I appreciate it by the fans, right
the lowest prinster Pochettino to get inside big Fox on
the call there.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
Listen to that noise mine.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
I mean, yeah, we definitely had home field advantage tonight.
That was pretty sweet. I gotta say, not that it
wasn't expected, but it's nice to see that that was
an overwhelming home field advantage for US in this game.
Speaker 4 (39:26):
And look at what we have at this forward spot
with the variety, because there was well too long a time,
frankly in US soccer history where they had maybe one
reliable guy that could be the goal scorer. Here, look
what Polisic creates. We know he's finished in the past.
Balligan had two goals in the first half. They had
(39:46):
tim Way off the bench, Ricardo Peppi off the bench,
guy like Diego Lunda didn't make the team.
Speaker 3 (39:51):
You'll rain off the bench, and he scores in the
ninety eighth minute to make it for to one Like
this is we finally have the firepower. Most goals we
scored in a World game ever, correct? I mean? But
the goal by Balligan, that third goal where he does
exactly what I said, He creates space and he hits
a hell of a bender in the top corner of
the net. That is that is a goal scorers goal.
(40:13):
And that's a goal that probably shouldn't have happened, but
it only happens because your striker is that talented. Like
that's the difference.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
That's gonna be the difference in a nothing, nothing game
against Belgium in the quarterfinal round or in the in
the round.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Of sixteen, where you can score a goal like that.
He's twenty four. You could have played any He could
have played for England. He could you could have played
for three. He could have played for three different countries
in the United States. Thank you for playing for the
United States. Mighty Balligan, by the way, so much.
Speaker 4 (40:42):
It's not just what you mentioned. An American team had
never scored four goals in any World Cup game, and
the tournament has existed for almost one hundred years. They'd
never won a game by three or more ever in
US soccer history, going back to the first World Cup
and then the fat fit. This, this really killed me.
The fact that the US men scored less than four
(41:05):
goals total for the entire World Cup tournament in half
of their previous trips to the World Cup. That is
spashed by this team. In one game tonight, it was
three to not think at the half and a four
to one final in We can't overstate how impressive this was.
You want to know how impressive. You mentioned earlier, how
(41:26):
the US defense was, to say the least, not tested
in the first half because the offense was so consistently
great foot on the gas pedal the entire first half.
It was so reassuring though, to have US defender Chris
Richards back in the starting lineup. He just returned to
full practice on Monday in Southern California. He had missed
(41:46):
both of the recent exhibitions with the ankle injury he'd
suffered with his club team in England last month, and
hadn't played at all then. The stat at the end
of the game Chris Richards attempted eighty three passes in
the game, completed all eighty three passes one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (42:06):
What Gino Smith is going to do for the for
the Jets this year?
Speaker 4 (42:09):
Okay, until I heard, but to complete one hundred percent
accurately that many passes had not been done by any
player in a World Cup match since nineteen sixty six. Yeah,
astounding offense and defense. What was on display for the
USA in a World Cup match.
Speaker 1 (42:31):
I mean he looked he was and he was big
on corner kicks, had a couple of headers that near missed.
Now he was he was part of that, uh you
know that that gaggle of players that got caught watching
on Paraguay's goal. He got beat for that but okay,
you know what, three No, the good he had played,
he had done was better, especially since he missed the
friendlies that they played against Senegal in Germany. But the
(42:52):
fact that Poach picked him for the team saying yes,
everything is fine, knowing full well that he's got a
bit of an overloaded a couple at one position and
you're kind of worried where injuries.
Speaker 3 (43:01):
Could take him. He played really really good tonight, right
like you got. I mean, this is that's what I say.
There's no reason to not be excited about everything you
have seen from this team going forward. But man, I'll
tell you what, when we're in one of those nothing,
nothing games where you're just I just you know, yeah,
said nobody, nobody's going to score for us. We're not
(43:21):
getting anything. We just got to hope to take it
all the way through.
Speaker 4 (43:24):
All the against England, willed a goal in and that's
the only offense they had that day. You're right, there
are games like that when you get to better opponents
in other rounds and.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
That instead of saying, well we just have to wait
to get to penalties hopefully and pull it out. It's
maybe Balligan could be a guy to get one of
those goals.
Speaker 4 (43:42):
Don't wait for that. That's why Italy is not in
this world well, not in the last one one before. Yeah, exactly.
By the way, no US men's player had ever had
a multi goal game in a World Cup until tonight
with Bell. It's just silly, the kind of history compared
to what US soccer has been in the last hundred
(44:03):
years of what was on display and last nag and
again we say we know that there's usually a boost
for any home team in a World Cup. In the
entire history of the World Cup, a home team has
lost its opening game only once and that was when
Qatar got shut out in Qatar four years ago. And
by the way, Qatar is probably the worst team in
(44:23):
this year's tournament. But this wasn't just a w This
was complete and total dominance against a team from South America.
It was unbelievably impressive.
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Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
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