OKC wins NBA Finals, LSU wins College World Series, and KD traded to the Houston Rockets with Matt Thomas and Ty Harrington

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's a brand new week and there's lots of brand
new going into this week. Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to
the program on sports Radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone.
My name is Craig Way. I do thank you very
much for joining us. Brand new means there's a brand
new NBA champion. There's a brand new college baseball champion,
although the name is anything but brand new when it

(00:23):
comes to college Baseball Royalty. We'll get into that. There
are some brand new mini camp adventures going on around
the National Football League, and there's a lot that is
brand new. So we do welcome you to the program

(00:43):
here on thirteen under the Zone. My name is Craig Way.
We includes the producer. Now I think he's here. I
think that Cameron D. Parker is here, our producer. But
you have to remember Cameron's team won the NBA Championship

(01:05):
last night. Cameron Parker's favorite team is the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It has been the Oklahoma City Thunder for some time,
so he has suffered through a great many disappointments as
a fan of the OKC Thunder. And Cameron was out

(01:27):
over the weekend. In fact, he was out last Thursday,
and Friday as well. I do think that he was
heavily involved in an Oklahoma City championship celebration. To what
extent I do not know. I do know this. I

(01:52):
was told that he has come by here and at
least has fired up the control room here so that
I could begin the show. But as I sit here
and visit with you right now, there's nobody sitting in

(02:12):
the producer's chair. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean he's not
somewhere in the building, but maybe he's still recovering from
the celebration. So I am hoping and expecting that Cameron
will be here and that will have some conversation about

(02:34):
this about the Oklahoma City Thunder winning the NBA title
and how much celebrating he has actually done with regard
to this, I don't know if the at least temporary
absence is due to a shall we say, a recovery

(02:55):
going on from celebration, or if you're just a little
bit busy, Well we'll find out. Suppose he's gonna has
been in here in the building and isn't in here
at the moment. Sometimes this happens when there are meetings
going on and he gets called in a meeting, but
I'm not aware of any specific meetings right now, so

(03:16):
we'll ask him, assuming he does arrive.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
At some point, well, we'll ask him about them.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
In any event, let me tell you what else we
have going going on today. Yes, obviously there will be
a recap of Oklahoma cities when in the NBA Finals.
Unfortunate for Indiana and especially for Tyrese Haliburton. They're outstanding
star who suffered the torn Achilles there what five minutes

(03:45):
in five minutes to go in the first quarter. Indiana
was pretty brave and stubborn and hung around and actually
led by one point at half forty eight forty seven,
but you just had a feeling the damn was going
to burst, and it did so pretty quickly in the
third quarter. And in that third quarter the Thunder outscored

(04:10):
the Pacers thirty four to twenty. They four seven turnovers
in the quarter. They did not turn over the basketball
themselves in the third quarter. They got hot, so they
they did all the things that they needed to do
to get themselves in separation. They were up thirteen going

(04:32):
into the fourth quarter and then just kind of blew
it out from there. They wound up winning what by
I guess twelve one of three ninety one, but they
were in firm control after that third quarter. So anyway,
we'll have some review of the Oklahoma City Thunders NBA title,
and it also bears the question we'll examine some numbers

(04:53):
and things like that as to whether this is a
one off what we've seen from the Milwaukee Bucks and
the Denver Nuggets in recent years, or if.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
It is indeed the beginning of a dynasty.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
Okay, as I said, As I said, the producer was
here in the building and now he has returned. Now
to what extent of celebration this all brought about, I'm
not sure. But the Cameron D. Parker that we know
with the D on the birth certificate standing for Dallas,
now it stands for dynasty or delirious. I don't know,

(05:29):
but I know you're a fan. But I also congratulate
fans because they dedicate a great deal of themselves emotional, menial, psychological,
and yes, financial energy to supporting a team. So in
that thing, congratulations, you now have an NBA champion to
cheer for. And folks would say I was explaining you

(05:52):
were somewhere in the building, I thought, but that you
might be recovering from the celebration.

Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yes, sir, I was champagne in my eyes, and so
it was true the pain out and but now I'm
good to go. Good afternoon, Craig. What a Monday. What
a way to begin this week, and what a season.
What an unfortunate ending to the season, I think for
basketball fans, but for thunder fans, we are ecstatic to

(06:17):
finally have climbed Mount Everest and be able to celebrate
this championship.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
Okay, all right, here's here's some rapid fire questions for you.
At what point did you completely feel secure that they
were going to win when Halliburton went down?

Speaker 2 (06:31):
Really for sure? I felt India, Yeah, I knew this
team was going to turn on the third quarter at
a certain point, and they did. They went on a
big I mean, they're out by twenty two. I know
Matthren went lights out there for a moment to cut
it down, but once he went down, I think everybody
knew that without Tyrese Haliburton, he is the straw that

(06:53):
starts a drink for Indiana, and I think most people
felt confident at the end of the second quarter. It
was very interesting, some huge three pointers made Nemhart's three
pointer right before the buzzer was absolutely insane, but okay,
see finally turned it on. Jalen Williams had a good
third quarter. Chet was fantastic in shape, played like an MVP.

Speaker 1 (07:13):
Okay, Question number two when the game end, what was
your immediate point of celebration?

Speaker 2 (07:21):
What did you What did you do?

Speaker 1 (07:23):
Did we on the phone with people or you just
jumping up and down screaming by yourself. Your dad's not
a thunder fantasy.

Speaker 2 (07:31):
No, he hates all things Oklahoma. That's most Texas people do. Okay,
all right, So I was actually the oasis last night
in town, Okay, visiting from from Europe, and so they
wanted to go to the oasis and see whatever remains
of Lake Travis, which is not that much right now. Yeah,
it's it's like the one of those what's that grass

(07:51):
and oh okay, that's that's the island. So sometime again,
like once Haliburton went down, I thought, okay, this is
this is it, you know, a little bit bittersweet, because
you know, Game seven's are usually historically incredible in basketball,
and I felt like we kind of got robbed of
that with with Halliburton.

Speaker 1 (08:08):
Became a little LANDI climactic once it did, but you'll
take it.

Speaker 2 (08:12):
You have to write because part of you know, winning
a championship is surviving the injuries. You know, that's just
that's just part of basketball. You can go back through
every season and play the game of what if you
can do that with Texas football, what quhen yours was
healthy the entire season? What if you know Kelvin Banks
and Cam Williams, Baxter, c J Baxter and you know

(08:33):
Christian Clark, what if they were healthy. That's that's that's
how it goes. That's part of Ohio State was the
healthier team and it showed that way. And Okay, see,
I know J Dubb was banged up. He had a
risking going on. You know Cheta had has had his injuries.
I think Caruso was banged up. That's part of it.
You gotta be able to play through and and you know,
survive the injuries to win an NBA championship. You know,

(08:54):
you can go back every year and look at teams.
If you're a Celtics fan, you're thinking the same exact
thing right about with Jason Tatum. So it's the unfortunate
part of the game. I think it lends itself to
a much bigger conversation with a length of the NBA
season Craig and are we playing too many games? Is
there's too much basketball being played? But part of it

(09:15):
is just being able to survive that season, to survive
the Gauntlet And okay, so she was able to do
that this season.

Speaker 1 (09:22):
Next question, when it ended, and so you were inside
the oasis, did you like scream real loud?

Speaker 2 (09:27):
No, no screaming.

Speaker 1 (09:30):
The people you were with were not thunder fans, right, No, No,
you were the only thunderfan in the building.

Speaker 2 (09:35):
Probably. I had one of my friends. She was aware
the finals were being played, and so I'm a part
of it too. Was also, you know, I'm kind of worried.
I was a little bit of a jinx at some
point because I watched Game six and we got throttled.
So I was like, Okay, maybe game seven I should be,
you know, kind of just on my phone watching it
and not in front of a TV or projector and Steven,
so it worked out. It worked out, okay?

Speaker 3 (09:58):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (09:58):
And then and then one other think, did you immediately
as many fans do, immediately order of the championship hat
and T shirt.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
I've been looking at the gear. I hate the gear
that fanatics, the official merchandise, the one that SGA was
wearing on the set. Those shirts are so ugly because
you can't wear them out like you're gonna wear it
to bed. You maybe will wear a round to the gym.
But I want like an actual, like cool T shirt
or hat. So I've been looking, perusing Instagram and websites

(10:27):
for for some gear. I will order some stuff. When
the Rangers won the World Series, I ordered a Corey
Seeger jersey and then also ordered a World Series patch
that had it sewn on as kind of like my
championship gift. So I don't you know you can you
can baseball jerseys, you can actually wear in public. Basketball
jerseys not so much. Not I'm not in a frat

(10:48):
anymore so or ever was. So I'll find I'll find
something to get to celebrate this one. But I mean,
we're I think we're going to go on a run here,
winning maybe five or six championships this well fifteen years.

Speaker 1 (11:01):
That's going to be one of the things we're going
to talk about coming up here. Also, I've said this
on occasion. I said it not only when my team
in the World Series last year, but I said it
when your team won the World Series the prior year.
That I believe, as they died in the Wolds sports fan,

(11:25):
that every really true devoted sports fan should have at
least one of their rooting teams win a national or
a World championship at least one time in their life,
if you devote your fandom and emotions. And like I said,

(11:47):
even those who pay to go to some games, my
youngest son, who is a big Thunder fan, he feels
a great deal of satisfaction even though the game he
went to they lost Game one, but he knows he
got to go to a game in that championship series.
He said to me yesterday, if I had known it
was going to go to a seventh game, I probably
would have waited and saved my money for Game seven.

(12:08):
I said, well, I wouldn't imagine the tickets would be
through the roof. And he goes, it really wasn't that
much more. He goes, I checked it. It wasn't that
much more than one I paid for Game one. It
was like sixteen hundred dollars to go. And he said
from where he sat he had a good seat, he said,
Now some of the ones in the upper deck and
around those tickets kind of skyrocketed because folks wanted to

(12:29):
be there. But I've always felt this way that everybody's
everybody should have at least one of their favorite teams
win at least one championship. I've been very, very fortunate.
All of my favorite pro sports teams in the past
twenty years have won at least one title. I mean,
the one that's the furthest away from it would be Carolina,

(12:52):
the Hurricanes, and they wonted O six. And the other
favorite team I had for a long time in the
NH I want to still follow a little b the
Boston Ruins, and they won like in twenty eleven. But
other than that, obviously the Rams won in twenty twenty one,
and you know, and then the Mavericks won in twenty
eleven and then the Dodgers, so I you know, I

(13:14):
count myself fortunate not only that, but also it's a
broadcaster getting to call national championships, two of them for
long WARN baseball and one for long WRN football. Hopefully
it'll happen with men's and women's basketball as well to come.
But everybody, I think should should be able to experience
that joy. I mean, now you know, and you've got
to experience it with two of your teams, right, But

(13:37):
with this decade, this decade with the Thunder and then
and then also with the Rangers. Now you know, God
knows if you'll ever get a chance to see the
Cowboys winning Super Bowl thing. Yeah, and then and the Stars.
You were only two years old when the Stars won
their Stanley Cup. So maybe stiffing around for a while,

(13:57):
but I've not been able to get it done. Yeah,
maybe they can, Maybe they can, I don't know. So anyway,
if you have a story to share about your own
personal championship celebration, no matter the team, no matter the sport,
you can share it with us on the text line
text the word in Texas followed by that comment or

(14:18):
question or story that you want to share about your
own championship celebration to eight one five zero, so you
can send us that text to eight one five three zero.
Standard messaging and data rates may apply. We do have
inconceivable coming up in the three o'clock hour. It wasn't

(14:41):
the only NBA story that took place yesterday. Lifetime long
worn Kevin Durant now has a new home. He is
a Houston Rocket. And Matt Thomas from our sister station,
Sports Talks have a ninety iHeart station and Houston and
the Voice the Houston Rockets, will join us in the
three o'clock hour to talk about that. And then, as

(15:02):
I mentioned, there's a brand new champion in college baseball,
although the name itself is not brand new in terms
of college baseball royalty. LSU wins the national title. Ty Harrington,
our baseball antis will join us one last time for
this season in the four o'clock hour, not only to
review the two wins for LSU, but the bizarre sequence

(15:23):
of events that led to a head coach of one
of the participating teams being ejected in the first inning yesterday.
It was bizarre situation. We'll get his thoughts on that
and more so, glad to have you with us, whether
you're celebrating or not. You're on a Monday, I'm thirteen
under the zone.

Speaker 4 (15:41):
Thirteen hundred, so your home for the Hords.

Speaker 5 (15:58):
It's the Craig Way Show with a Voice of the
Texas Longhorns in Hall of Fame broadcast.

Speaker 3 (16:04):
Craig Way.

Speaker 1 (16:09):
Here on a Monday Cameron Parker's celebrating the first NBA
title for a team that he roots for, right, I mean,
there wasn't the team before Oklahoma City that you wrote
for that won the title, was there?

Speaker 2 (16:20):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (16:21):
I didn't think so. So anyway, here's another question for you,
and maybe I should have saved this for inconceivable. That's okay.
Did you jump into the canal? Last things? You got
to Oklahoma City and jump in the canal and brick temper? Yeah,
where fans were doing that? And for folks, by the way,
if you wonder about that canal, it's a lot like

(16:43):
jumping into the river off the river Walk at San Antonio.
In the best description of the great Charles Barkley, it's
a dirty little creek. That's the way he said. It
was a dirty little creek, was the way that he
described it. And it's kind of that. Looking at some
of the responses on social media to the video people
jumping in the canal, somebody said, I really thought this

(17:05):
was going to be so and so and so, and
said the one guy goes, I watched a homeless man
take a dump in there when I was a freshman
in high school. Oh yeah, so lots of celebration last night. Okay,
so uh, it does beg the question about is this

(17:28):
a dynasty? About to unload on it, and before before
you end, and I want to give you a chance
to kind of explain what you what you think about
how it could be or might be or whatever. We
as a sporting public, uh, and the society of the
sporting public are very much it's it's a rite of passage,

(17:52):
prisoners of the moment.

Speaker 2 (17:53):
We just are. And I clearly.

Speaker 1 (17:58):
Remember and you probably do as well, when the Milwaukee
Bucks won and Giannis was just looked invincible, they said, well,
this is the start of all those analysts say, yeah,
I could see this being a dynasty, and happened when
Denver won, it was with Jokic, it was this could
be the advent of a dynasty.

Speaker 2 (18:20):
Didn't happen.

Speaker 1 (18:21):
The Celtics had a long time dynasty run, dynastic run
in the NBA, So folks can make arguments about that,
and people can look at past dynasties of Lakers or
the Spurs or the Heat or whatever they.

Speaker 3 (18:32):
Want to do.

Speaker 1 (18:33):
But now that de ward is coming out again because
this was the second youngest team in NBA history to
win a World championship. The other one happened in seventy
seven Portland, which had a young Bill Walton I think
it was twenty four, and you had Maurice Lucas and
you know, you had some great players on that Portland team,

(18:56):
and it was the youngest and everybody said this is
the next coming dynasty. To this day, that's the only
title they've ever won. So now the second youngest team
has won. I was watching. I always watch all the
postgame coverages of the in all the major sports when
the team wins a championship. I'm interested in the news conferences.
I'm interested in the things they say, and I'm interested
in the questions, which you know, somebody always asks this

(19:19):
the start of a dynasty. Scott Bampeld himself fell prey
to it and asked, shake giltis Alexander, And he's like, honestly.

Speaker 3 (19:25):
Why not.

Speaker 1 (19:26):
We've got this started naming all the young guys, and
you know, the guys that haven't even really scratched the
surface of what they can do, and so on and
so forth, so you feel it's on the outset the
advent of a dynasty.

Speaker 2 (19:43):
Dynasties in the NBA are going to be so hard
to a ting with the way the CBA and the
salary cap is now constructed, with the second apron in
the first apron, it makes it it's going to make
it very hard for organizations to be able to go
on a run like we saw the San Antonio Spurs
where from what nineteen ninety eight to two thousand and

(20:06):
fifteen they were a contender even Jordan's Bowls for for
eight years. It's going to be really, really hard to
be able to do that. So to have that, you
got to have a couple key guys, you know, like
shay J. Dub In cheap with enough flexibility to where
you can let go of role players and also bringing

(20:29):
new ones through the draft. And that's why I think
Sam Presty has accumulated so many draft picks. It's not
because he wants to package it altogether in trade for
a Kevin Durant or for At Kumbo, or for a
Jimmy Butler. It's because he knows at a certain point,
guys like Hartenstein and Isaiah Joe and Cassan Wallace, they're

(20:53):
going to become a free agent and they're going to
get paid by somebody else. That's just how it's going
to work. They're going this team right here will look
different next season, It will look different in two seasons.
But can you keep the same couple pieces like a
Shay and a Chet and a jd Up and be
able to use the other roster spots to have guys

(21:14):
come in? And I think that's what Sam Prest He's
going to be able to do here. He's got a
great culture, a great head coach, got the MVP. He's
got some guys on some pretty good contract Aaron Wiggans
is on a fantastic contract. Alex Cruz is on a
fantastic contracts. You know he's going to get paid a
lot of money, so as well. Jillen Williams and Chet HOLMERM.

(21:36):
I think both those guys will probably get extensions this
next season because Jillen Williams, who had a forty point
performance in Game five, is on the doc for four
point seven million dollars next season. Craig, if you're Jillan
Williams and his agent, you are not showing up the
training camp to get paid four million dollars when you
were the second best player on an OKC team that

(21:58):
just won the NBA Championship. So Williams will get paid
as weld Chet He's got two years up in his deal,
both team options ten million dollars. They both will get
paid and it'll you know, it'll hamstring Okac here. But
what Presty has been able to do and what teams
like the Phoenix Suns the Milwaukee Bucks have not been
able to do is be able to give yourself enough

(22:18):
leeway to make moves to keep yourself a contender. You know,
you have the Phoenix Suns, for example, who just trade
away Kevin Durant. Meneshpia comes in and remember, you know
they were in the NBA finals, you know a couple
of years ago with Robert Salver and the you know
they lost with the Bucks and six with Chris Paul
and eighton and Devin Booker. Ishpia comes in and says,
you know what I want to bring in all these

(22:40):
big names? What did you do? He he trades for
Kevin Durant, He trades for Bradley Beal. But these guys
are on big contracts with player options. You give away
all your picks and what happens the team stinks? You
keep finding your head coach. Now the Phoenix Suns who
are trying to get out of this pit. And you know,
I thought got a really good return for Katie Can
considering his contract and his leverage. But you know, now

(23:02):
they got to figure out to do with Bradley Beal.
They're going to be in cap salary hell for a
couple of years. They probably won't be a true contender
for at least one or two years. So they did
all of that to put the chips all in and
what happens now they're paying the price for it. Now
seem like OKAC here has been able to build through
the draft, you know, make a couple of trades here

(23:24):
and there, not have any huge splashes, and it's it's
paid off for Sam Presty and the team. So all
of that to say is that I do think OKAC
is set up very well to be a dynasty. But
I think the definition of a dynasty is going to
change under this new CBA quick because I don't know
even this OKAC team, I don't know if they'll still

(23:44):
have the same three guys come twenty thirty one because
of this. At the rate that Jada and Cheddar going,
there's just it's impossible to be able to pay them
the max contract that they will ultimately serve at a
certain point. Now, of course, they could decide to take
less money to win a championship, but you know, not
everybody thinks like that. Not everybody has said Tom Brady,

(24:05):
mind st hey, I'll take less it helps the team win.
So I do think okay season a very good spot.
The next two seasons after that, I could not tell you,
but as long as Shay's healthy, I mean he's twenty
six years old. Guys, as long as Shay's healthy, as
long as Jadub who is twenty four is healthy, and Chet,
who I think is just scratching the services twenty three,
and can he stay healthy Because you mentioned Bill Walton,

(24:26):
you know Chet's already had two big injuries. Those three
guys can can stay healthy without sustaining devastating injuries like
season long torn achilles injuries. I think they'll be a
contender probably throughout the twenty thirties. So they're in a
very good spot and I would be very surprised they

(24:46):
don't make it at least one more finals. But again, again,
if you told everybody following the Miami Heats Game five
victory over OKC in twenty twelve to win an NBA championship.
He said, hey, okay, see will not be back in
the finals for thirteen eighteen years, and they won't have
Katie Durant, Harden or Westbrook on the roster when they
go back. I think a lot of people would have

(25:08):
been shocked. So that's just the way the sport is built.
So nothing is guaranteed, even for Indiana. You feel great
about the Pacers, but now this Haliburton injury, it's no
guarantee that Indiana will be back in the NBA finals
ever again with Tyres Haliburton. So it is so important
to just if you get that opportunity, you just gotta
seize it.

Speaker 1 (25:26):
So what you're saying is for the moment, yes it
looks dynastic, but things are always a moving target in
the NBA.

Speaker 2 (25:34):
All it takes is one injury and one person to
say I want more money, and everything could fall apart. Yeah, yeah,
everything can fall apart. Look at the Maverick.

Speaker 1 (25:43):
Yeah, but hey Cooper flag, Yeah, maybe it all flips again.
And the draft of courses on Wednesday. We'll talk a
little bit more about that later up next Inconceivable here
on a Monday afternoon. I'm thirteen under the Zone, second
hour of the program. Here on thirteen under the Zone,
Craig Waitye with you alongside the producer Cameron Parker. Cam

(26:03):
is back and we're glad about that he's back. I'm
here through Wednesday. Now Tomorrow, Cam's got some other duties
and we'll have Cold Dixon with us Cole Dixon, by
the way, who produced us the other day. We'll be
taking the music survey on Friday. And so we've we've
already had quite a few do the music survey since

(26:25):
we brought it back around after a three year hiatus,
and there's been some changes. So Harje did it the
other day. He did it on Thursday. And I have
to tell you, Cameron, there is one of Harge's like
one of his favorite out of those four questions about

(26:46):
band or artist love. No, it's not mystical. It's not mystical,
but mystical. It's one of those, or or maybe it
was another one. Anyway, it's a it's a category of
a band or artists. He really really likes that. I
might act happened to my overrated Oh we pull it up,
but mine's not gonna be for a while. It's not
gonna be until we get back from vacation, and that's

(27:09):
where I was headed next.

Speaker 2 (27:12):
Okay, I have an idea. Okay, all right, so.

Speaker 1 (27:16):
You know, I'm here through Wednesday, and then, as Cameron
called it, and as many before him described it, the
annual sabbatical, So I'll be out, Yeah, sabbatical. Well, in
my case, it kind of is because I'm really taking
a relief from everything from eleven months, eleven and a
half months almost, of just grinding straight through, not only

(27:37):
with the show, but obviously long worn football, men's basketball,
and women's basketball and baseball, a lot of stuff. And
it's a chance to catch breath. It's the only chance
I really have to have any kind of extended time away.
So I've been doing it this way for over twenty years,
and it's gonna probably gosh, about thirty years I've.

Speaker 2 (27:58):
Been doing it this way.

Speaker 1 (27:59):
But anyway, I'll be on through Wednesday, and then Lindon,
I'll be headed to the North Carolina coast where I
go every year for a couple of weeks. We'll go,
we'll get up there. We are driving and Cam we
are going to have to kind of have a little
route change. I don't know if you heard that they
had another mud slot and flooding in the mountains in

(28:20):
North Carolina.

Speaker 2 (28:21):
They did.

Speaker 1 (28:22):
Yep, it's closed down I forty for like at least
a couple of weeks. And we're supposed to stay in
Ashville one day, so we've got to kind of wind
our way around.

Speaker 2 (28:31):
To do that.

Speaker 1 (28:32):
But anyway, we'll be out on vacation and Cam will
be here. There'll be some Andrew Zimble influence in their
little zimbal Hour stuff involved as well. The music survey
will go on. Cole Dixon will take it this coming Friday.
We have plans for all members of the of the

(28:53):
staff and then some other folks as well to take it, including.

Speaker 3 (28:57):
My wife.

Speaker 1 (28:58):
When we'd get back, told her to think about this
because you know, it's kind of her end of the gang,
because some of her selections are going to be vastly
different than mine. We do like listening to music sitting
at home sometimes with the beverage in the evening after dinner,
we're just listening to music. There's not a game. We
want to see her. Whatever is listening to music. And

(29:19):
we do have some very similar and overlapping tastes. She
also has some taste on some artists that I'm like really,
and I have some taste in artists where she's like really.
So there's gonna be some divergence there when it happens,
but that'll be after we get back.

Speaker 2 (29:36):
You know, my dad got a phone call about his
Garth Brooks overrated take? Did he really? One of our
friends was listening and called them and was like, Hi,
this is the Garth Brooks fan club. We are not
happy with your decision on calling him the most overrated artists.

Speaker 1 (29:52):
See, and Cam's dad, we had his selections as well
the other day, and he did he said Garth Brooks
was overrated.

Speaker 2 (30:00):
That was his That was his his take on that.

Speaker 1 (30:05):
He thought it was overrated.

Speaker 2 (30:06):
So anyway, so it makes you know, Hey, it's like
it's like movies, you know, music is an objective taste
and a lot of these lists are going to piss
people off. And I remember the first time I did
it at the other spot with her text line.

Speaker 1 (30:18):
And people you up, It was like, what's going on here?
Do you remember what it was that you selected that?
They really I had some people kind of get on
me a little bit for picking guns and Roses is overrated.
I think I'm going to change it this time around.
I'm like, I can't stand Axle Rose's voice. I'm just
I didn't, you know, I didn't think it was that.
But that's again, that's a personal taste thing there I

(30:40):
think I had.

Speaker 2 (30:41):
I think Beyonce was either overrated or one I didn't like.

Speaker 1 (30:44):
See at the time, I had best band or artists
or band artists I have yet to see that should see,
you know, I have yet to see. And I had
her down there. But that's changing. There's for a very
very simple reason, and I'll explain it when I do
my but again it's not too watch we get back
from vacation.

Speaker 2 (31:02):
What really ticked people off was I was producing for
I think it was Chad Astings and tree Ling. Yeah,
And I don't know if it was because the music
surveyor or what, but coming out of breaks, for some reason,
the theme was like overrated bands, songs I thought were overrated.

(31:22):
So I started playing. I played Garth Brooks okay, and
I played some others and people were lighting me up.
Yeah excellent.

Speaker 1 (31:29):
Oh yeah, that's the fun thing. That's one of the
fun things about the survey is that you can kind of,
you know, get a little exercise because maybe there's somebody.

Speaker 2 (31:40):
You really really like and.

Speaker 1 (31:43):
Somebody thinks not really not so much, I'm you know so,
and then there's some that you don't think is really
that big a deal. And that's some other folks think,
are you crazy? How can you not like this person?
I could you not like this?

Speaker 2 (32:02):
There's a couple from Harts that I was just have
no idea like. I was like, huh, Rick Ashley Mystical.
I don't know who Mystical is.

Speaker 1 (32:11):
I don't think he played a little bit of that,
but I told him that he was setting a record,
uh for most artists where and of course we play
a selection from each artist who's listed. And I told
harj I said, you, my friend, are setting a record
for most artists that we have to play a clean
version of their too. Mystical was one of those. So

(32:32):
I said, yeah, wait, you.

Speaker 2 (32:34):
That's you're setting a record Rick James.

Speaker 3 (32:37):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (32:37):
I mean there's there's several where where we had to
where he had to play the clean version of a
tune and I said, you you've set that, You've set
the bar on that to the text line.

Speaker 3 (32:50):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (32:50):
Some folks talked about the Thunder winning and and uh.

Speaker 3 (32:55):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (32:56):
Yeah, there's one Thunder up. So glad our team one
at all can a thunderfan is cam headed to the
parade in Oklahoma City.

Speaker 2 (33:04):
Been some discussions. I've had some friends who are going up.
Actually right now I thought about just leaving Craig by
himself with the third flour. There's today's program and so
when is the preade? It's tomorrow tomorrow, and you.

Speaker 1 (33:18):
Had to take care of some other things and Cole
is gonna be you can you could probably still make
it up there.

Speaker 2 (33:23):
Yeah, well we'll see. We'll see there. Tomorrow's unfortunately a
busy day outside of our show, so I probably will
just be watching on NBA TV while getting some other
work done. But have you gone to a championship parade yet?
For I had to be on the air for the Cowboys.
He's a fan though. No, okay, how how was it

(33:44):
being on the air working?

Speaker 3 (33:46):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (33:47):
I enjoyed that one. The first one was the first
one because we were on top of a building in
downtown Dallas.

Speaker 2 (33:52):
Okay, so no, I was up. That's why all these
things are get chaotus. Yes, people are getting run over. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
that's whole. I was kind of kind of glad that
that that wouldn't get.

Speaker 1 (34:04):
Somebody got shot in Oklahoma City last night, But that
happens with most pros, all of these people.

Speaker 2 (34:09):
Someone always, someone always ends up getting shot.

Speaker 1 (34:11):
Yeah he's stupid, great car set on fire and stuff
like that. It happens.

Speaker 2 (34:16):
It's unfortunate.

Speaker 1 (34:17):
Uh. Somebody said, when McConnell starts carrying your team offensively,
you're in trouble. That was in that third quarter. JJ
mcconaughell was about it. It's about all the day.

Speaker 2 (34:25):
What was it? He had like three straight turnovers and
then you score ten straight points. The TJ mcconaughell experience,
he's like the he's like the white Russell Westbrook. Yeah,
he's gonna have like three great plays. He's gonna have
three plays where you're like, what in the world are
you doing?

Speaker 1 (34:39):
But somebody else said, Craig's Dodgers got to ring, Camstunder
got a ring. Now it's time for the Long War
and football team to get a ring this upcoming year.
We all agree, we're all in agreement. And then somebody
else said, I mean you're talking about bands, how can
you not like the Butthole Surface. They were pretty popular
and one of the I don't know if it was
the lead singer, but the guy who was in the
Butthole Surface is the son of mister They got Jerry Haynes,

(35:01):
the late Jerry Haynes, who did the Mister Peppermint Show
up in Dallas like the Kids Show in the morning.
All right, up next, how about that Houston Rockets trade
to get Kevin Durant. We're gonna visit with Matt Thomas,
the voice of the Rockets. Up next, I'm thirteen under
the Zone.

Speaker 5 (35:17):
Welcome back to the Craig Way Show and the Voice
of the Longhorns Craig Way. Follow Craig on social media
at Horn Voice.

Speaker 1 (35:31):
Here on a Monday, Glad to have you with us.
So much to discuss. We talked about the Thunder winning
the first ever NBA title and if you look at
and I'm always amused by I'm not necessarily a big
fan of it. I'm always amused by the way too
early projections and rankings and the way too early whatever

(35:53):
for the next year. Right after our title's done, I
realized that's that's a rite of passage. It's part of
the deal. But if you if you look at some
of those, there are those that say, yeah, maybe maybe
the Thunder is still the team to beat, but right
on their tail, perhaps is the uh reshaped, revamped Houston Rockets,

(36:14):
especially with one of my favorite people on the planet,
Kevin Durant. And I know he's polarizing to some people,
He's always been wonderful to me. So I have no
I have no new choir with KD, but joining us
on the hotline to talk about it from our sister station,
our iHeart sister station, Sports Talk seven ninety hus And
then the play by play voice of the Houston Rockets
is Matt Thomas. With you, Matt, I appreciate the time.

(36:38):
How you doing today?

Speaker 3 (36:40):
Good?

Speaker 1 (36:40):
I thought I was one of your favorite people on
the planet. I was like, man, this is certainly a
nice way to introduce the segment. Well, you're you're one
of my favorite people when it comes to broadcasting. He
just happens to be one of my favorite people when
it comes to actually playing the game. Well, it's funny
because you're my I am my daughter's second favorite broadcaster
because she went to king She goes to Kingwood High
School and you called the six d A Championship and

(37:01):
she was there and I said, and my friend Craig
is calling the game. And she says, oh, how cool.
I said, he also does the University of Texas. Oh
how cool? And I said, you never, you never said
that about me. I mean, I'm I'm the radio announcer
for the Rockets. I do some U of h games.
And she's like, yeah, but I.

Speaker 2 (37:16):
Know you already. I don't know Craig.

Speaker 1 (37:18):
I'm like, okay, That's how that always works with our kids.
They're always like they like, yeah, there's no there's no
doubt about it. I'm curious to get you first of all,
before we get into some of the nuts and bolts
of the deal itself. What's been the buzz about the
city this morning? You know, because it's weird. I don't
know that that the deal with Kadie actually quote unquote

(37:39):
upstage the NBA funds. There are those who've made that
that assertion that maybe the trade stood on equal footing
with the Thunder winning the first title. My good question
is maybe in Houston it did. So I'm kind of
curious as to your thoughts on what what the vibe
has been and on your show today and what it's
been like around h Town. The reality is Craig in

(37:59):
Hueston and we love our Houston sports teams. We don't
particularly care about anybody else.

Speaker 2 (38:04):
I might have.

Speaker 1 (38:05):
Gotten two phone calls in Indiana versus Oklahoma City in
two weeks, but the Rocket calls came in immense And
part of this is uncalling the games and my affiliation
with him. But ultimately all of our shows on seven
ninety have been about this today. A lot of excitement,
a lot of innu window and talk and rumors and

(38:26):
who do you trust, who do you don't trust? And
I said, look, when the dust settles, Shams will tell
us what's going to happen on this and maybe Brian
Windhorst and everybody.

Speaker 2 (38:34):
Else can just guess.

Speaker 1 (38:35):
So needless to say, it was a huge topic. And
I'll tell you this, and I brought this up on
my show many a time. Craig, the NBA, while it
might have his faults, has perhaps the most interesting off
season of any sport out there. We gravitate towards NBA
rumors and trades more so than then than we ever
do in the NFL. The trade deadline in Major League

(38:58):
baseball gets a little run in the last week of July,
but we don't talk about that kind of off season
for agency and trades like we do in the NBA.
So it was a perfect situation for me because as
much as I love Indiana Oklahoma City, because I'm just
a sports fan and love the NBA, it wasn't necessarily
moving my needle. On my radio show today, Kevin Durant did, yeah, yeah,

(39:18):
I'm sure of that, all right. So you brought up
Brian Windhorst, and he made a comment last night on
Sports Center. I'm really interesting getting your thoughts on this,
all right for folks who don't know. So the deal is,
and correct me if I'm wrong. The Rockets give up
Jalen Green, Dylan Brooks, the number ten pick in this
year's draft, and five second round picks, and they get
Kadie Well. I think I can't remember. It might have

(39:41):
been Michael Leaves who asked?

Speaker 2 (39:43):
Who asked?

Speaker 1 (39:43):
On Sports Center late late last night, he asked wind Words.
He goes, how can the Rockets justify giving up all
of that capital? And Winnmor's basically shot the whole thing
down and said, because I don't think they gave up
an immense amount to get him, and he went into

(40:04):
explaining what all the Rockets still have in certainly having
the stable and then adding and then adding Kevin to it,
and then he said something, and this is what I'm
really curious about. He pretty much kind of characterized second
round draft picks almost like a bag of donuts you

(40:25):
throw in there. Now, obviously, we know a second round
draft pick in the NBA draft doesn't carry the weight
that maybe a second round draft pick in the NFL
or even in the major league draft as it goes.
And that's where when folks here five second round picks,
it's like, yeah, but maybe it's like five gallons of gas.
You got a bonus on. What's your take on that
part of the deal, as well as the exchange of

(40:47):
Jalen Green and Dylan Brooks and the number ten.

Speaker 3 (40:50):
Pick, Well Craig.

Speaker 1 (40:51):
There are second round players in NBA that are successful.
Perhaps the greatest one in the recent years is Nicola
gokicch and the Denver Nuggets. But by and large, the
NBA draft is a super heavy top ten draft. Doesn't
mean picks at twenty five can't do something, or picks
twenty nine Tony Parker, Kawhi, Leonard Nikola, Joki Chi mean,
we can go on and on and find and find

(41:12):
diamonds in a rough last year's NBA draft, the Rockets
of the third overall pick and had to read Shepherd
out of Kentucky and he hardly played.

Speaker 2 (41:20):
So it depends on how deep a particular draft is.

Speaker 1 (41:24):
For me, I've never worried about second round picks, So
when I saw the number go out, there was no
alarm clock, the buzzer going off.

Speaker 2 (41:31):
There was no concern.

Speaker 1 (41:33):
The Rockets still had plenty of first round capital from
their deals with Brooklyn, the deals with Phoenix they have,
They'll have their own picks. And the only thing I
would say is that the Rockets have been able to
get better because of the draft of Jalen Green, of
a Jabari Smith, of a Men Thompson, because they kept
their first round selections.

Speaker 2 (41:52):
Darryl Moore, the previous general manager.

Speaker 1 (41:54):
Before Rofelstone, moved those draft picks around to go grab
the superstars, to go grab the stars, you know, the
Chris Pauls and the Russell Westbrooks and the other things.

Speaker 2 (42:04):
You know, the Dwight Howards and whatnot.

Speaker 1 (42:06):
So it's been a nice mix of keeping it young
and realizing there was a time to go get somebody,
and this was the time to go get somebody, somebody
that e may A dooka head, tremendous respect for it.
And that's why I think Kevin Durant has been on
the Rockets radar probably since today.

Speaker 2 (42:21):
That EMA took a job a couple of years ago.

Speaker 1 (42:23):
Visiting with Matt Thomas Radio played by play voice of
the Houston Rockets here on thirteen hundred Zone and Cameron Parker,
a resident NBA Hank and by the way, he's a thunderfan,
but that's a different story anyway.

Speaker 2 (42:32):
Oh, okay, I'm going to hang up now. Yeah I can, Matt,
Please don't hold that against me. Come on. It felt
for a little bit there, Matt, that the trade rumors
for Katie, we're kind of gravitating more so to Miami
and Phoenix and then Minnesota. Obviously Houston was always in
the mix, but it felt like maybe Houston was kind
of on the cold side of that path, and all
of a sudden, this trade came together last week. What

(42:54):
do you think chains from the Houston side of this
to go ahead and decide to move away from the
number ten pick Jalen Green and go all in on
Kevin Durant.

Speaker 1 (43:05):
I don't think anything changed on the Rocket side. Pure conjecture.
On my point, I think that Kevin Durant made it
perfectly clear.

Speaker 2 (43:13):
That Minnesota was not a place he wanted to go.

Speaker 1 (43:16):
I think Minnesota probably the best package, probably sending Rudy
Gobert in a variety of first round picks to Phoenix
for him, Miami didn't as four or five core players
a Haimi Hotkez, a khalil Ware that were unavailable as well,
and Jalen Green, as much as I liked him and
appreciated him and did bring value to his team, was

(43:36):
a one guy that just you could never get away
from the trade rumors of a guy that would be
up for grabs. Add on top of that, Kevin Durant's
willingness to go to only three teams San Antonio, Houston
or Miami limited what Phoenix did. And ultimately the last thing,
guys is the draft is on Wednesday, and they want
to pick their own guy. San Antonio sounds like they

(43:57):
were not going to give up the number two pick.
The Rockets the number ten and they had to kind
of take the best of what was available to them
because frankly, Kevin Durant dictated how few teams would be
actually be involved in a situation where you could not
only bring him to your town, but with signing his
two year extension, I believe the Rockets will eventually get
that done. May not be this week, may not be

(44:17):
until the calendar year starts into the July sixth, but
I fully expect Kevin Durant to sign a probably at
least a two year extension beyond this year. So add
all that together and it just felt like the right
fit was Houston, more so than maybe Minnesota, who would
have offered a much better package.

Speaker 2 (44:33):
In this trade obviously opens up some more minutes with
Jalen Green and Dylan Brooks to party. I think a
big winner of this matt is Jabari Smith Junior. I
think he his game reminds me a little bit like
Kevin Durant, and now Kevin Durant can be a fantastic
mentor to Jabari Smith. What are your thoughts on how
this trade will maybe benefit and effect Jabari Smith Junior
as well as some of the other young guys on

(44:55):
this Rocket right, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (44:56):
Yeah, we Cameron.

Speaker 1 (44:57):
We spent half the time today talking about who would
be the start, whether it be Tarre Easton or Jabari Smith.
And you can kind of pick your poison because if
one doesn't start, because the one comes off the bench.
I kind of like Jabbari as a starter, but you know,
I'll acquiesce to what he may wants to do.

Speaker 2 (45:12):
I like the kind of the instant offense, and maybe.

Speaker 1 (45:15):
A Tari Easing can do is he's a little bit
better offensive rebounder to put that guy, But either one
it would be great. I'm looking forward to seeing what
Cam Whitmore can do and Durant, you know, say what
you will. I don't think he's a big of a
mentor guy, but he's certainly not going to be a
guy that's going to get in the way of other guys.
This is still going to be largely a men Thompson's team.
This is largely going to be an Outprea and Shingoon's team.

(45:37):
So he doesn't have to go to a locker room
where it's you know, he's having a fight with Draymond
Green and Steph Curry and other folks there at Golden State.
I mean, he's turned him down twice. He doesn't have
to go and what Jimmy Butler there either, So you know,
it's one of those situations that it's a kind of
a nice mix. He'll go to play for a coach
he knew when I May was an assistant in Brooklyn

(45:58):
on Team USA. He knows he's gonna have free range
to shoot where he wants to because the Rockets were
bottom three and three point shooting, and he doesn't necessarily
have to play every single night. This is a team
that I think, at the end of the day can
go nine players deep and if there's a back to back,
he made Docus accustomed to that and has worked it
out very well for guys like tarr Ethan would take
days off, Steven Adams would take days off. And I

(46:19):
firmly believe that the Rockets have built this team not
for Kevin Durant to play seventy five games, but to
be healthy come playoff time. Well, that's kind of where
you were going next. I was going to ask you
right now, if a fan were to ask you, what
do you see the Rockets starting five being you started
to name him off there, Yeah, my lean would be Jabbari,

(46:39):
but it would either be Jabbari or Taris, and I
think it's going to be Fred van Bleet in the
back court with Amen Thompson. And a man can do
a little bit of everything. He can guard four positions,
he can play four positions. You've got Durant, You've got
Opera and Shingun, and then you've got the three that
you figure out at this point could either be or
a Jabari Smith or two. And with one of those

(47:01):
guys coming off the bench, came what Moore comes off
the bench, Ree Shepherd comes off the bench, Temn Adams
and guys. That's a nine man rotation I can live
with for eighty two games, no doubt. And that's where
I was going next. Is is this a team with
the rotation you just laid out that you see as
a legitimate threat to topple Oklahoma City in the Western

(47:22):
Conference next year?

Speaker 6 (47:24):
God?

Speaker 3 (47:25):
I hope.

Speaker 1 (47:25):
So the reality, Craig is this this was an NBA
Finals team or.

Speaker 2 (47:29):
Bus type of move.

Speaker 1 (47:30):
You you got fifty two wins last year, but you
couldn't get past Golden State, who has been a thron
on the rocket side for over a decade now, and
so you did this to get with Oklahoma City because
the West is so loaded. What order the Lakers going
to be like now that you've got Lebron and Luca
working with each other for a full year. Minnesota's not
going away Denver. I wouldn't bury them. Oklahoma City is

(47:54):
just thriving and young and have a pluthorough of first
round picks to get to It's it's a doggy dog
world out there, and this Western Conference is going to be.

Speaker 3 (48:02):
A hot mess.

Speaker 1 (48:03):
And plus what will San Antonio do if Wenby can
play a full slate of games and not miss a
lot of time and come back from his injury. So
this was built to get into that upper echelont. You
brought up the early season favorites next year. The Rockets
I think are now considered fourth best favorite to win
the NBA Championship next year. I'll take it, but beating
Oklahoma City will be a prime task. The Rockets did

(48:24):
beat them twice during the regular season, we played them
five times, but I don't really count on that kind
of stuff. I think about what you want to do
for the postseason, and I think that's the reason why
you made the strategic move to finally go get a
veteran after you built the last couple of years on
young players, and that's why Kevin Durant fit the puzzle
so well. Final thing here, MT, when it comes down
to with the draft coming up on Wednesday, how does

(48:46):
it reshape what the Rockets going to do with the
draft on Wednesday? It's so Goofy Craig. They will not
make this trade official till July to sixth. Yeah, So
on Wednesday night, there'll be a tenth pick that will
put a Rocket cap on and maybe attatched to a
Rocket jersey who will never see a Houston Rocket uniform
unless he's traded there. So we're having a draft party

(49:07):
downtown or at the Toyta Center.

Speaker 2 (49:09):
I don't know what the hell we're going to do
now because the Rockets don't have a first round pick.

Speaker 1 (49:13):
And as I said before, we are largely a town
of what's going on with the Houston teams, and I
don't think there'll be a lot of people bumping around
town going, oh, who's Stan turning to pick with number two.
This city is right now about Kevin Durant, it's about
a young Aman Thompson. It's about what I'm what Alpraha
and Shangoon is doing. So if you're a basketball fan
and you're in downtown Houston, come hang out with us
for a couple of hours. But largely I think the

(49:34):
NBA Draft is a non sequitar effector for us at all. Yeah,
I think what they should do is right when the
Rockets pick the quote unquote Rockets pick at ten comes up,
have Kadi in there and just have him walk to
the podium there at Toyota Center for you guys.

Speaker 2 (49:47):
I think that would complete it right. Oh my gosh,
you know.

Speaker 3 (49:50):
I haven't heard.

Speaker 1 (49:52):
He's not overly media friendly and doesn't do a lot
of that kind of stuff. That's why the whole fanatics
thing was kind of crazy yesterday watching that.

Speaker 2 (49:59):
But who knows? This to me feels like this is
going to be Katie's last stop.

Speaker 1 (50:04):
He'll be thirty seven from the season begins, I guess,
or thereabouts. You know, he's back in Texas obviously, he
loved his time in the University of Texas and has
a tremendous respect for Eman.

Speaker 2 (50:15):
Donca, do not sit on this, Craig.

Speaker 1 (50:17):
This may be the start of something as long as
Emayadokn continues to have this really good reputation among players,
and he's got so many connections because he fought his
way just to make it to the NBA. He fought
his way just to be an assistant coach. He worked
with Pop all those years in San Antonio. Then he said,
you know what, I need to go do something else.
I need to be around other coaches. That's why he
went to Philadelphia and to Brooklyn before getting his job

(50:40):
in Boston.

Speaker 2 (50:40):
So that is a factor. And I kind of like that.

Speaker 1 (50:43):
I kind of like that my guy, my coach, is
so well respected and so beloved that this might not
be the last time a player will say, hey, I
want to come to Houston, and Emadoaka is going to say,
we'll try to make it happen. Yeah. Oh, by the way,
there's Royal Ivy in town there, and.

Speaker 3 (50:58):
D Ge Augustine's coming back too.

Speaker 1 (51:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (51:00):
Mean, I mean we're just nothing but Texas players all
over the place.

Speaker 1 (51:05):
Well, then I want to imagine a pickup game, because
he may does play pickup games. He and I do
a weekly radio segment together on my show, and he's like,
you know, I said, can you do one thirty or
one o'clock? He goes, yeah, I gotta put the pickup
game first, and apparently he's unbelievably salty. So really imagine
the pickup games now with DJ back after just being
your act up as Rocket career a couple of years ago,
with us a nice enough, nice enough guy. But yeah,

(51:27):
this is going to be an intense post shoot around
game match between all these guys that are recently retired
from playing professional basketball. Those are two more of my
favorites as well. Royale and DJ A great time at
Texas and people love them here as well. Matt, thank
you so much. I appreciate you doing this. I know
we'll check in some more as we get ready for

(51:47):
the start of football season as well, and we'll do
all that. So I appreciate you hopping on the day
and talk to a little KD with us calling time.

Speaker 2 (51:54):
You know, I'll be bugging you during the course of
the year and I'm happy to oblige.

Speaker 1 (51:58):
Thanks Matt, Take care now, all right, Matt Thomas, voice
of the Houston Rockets. There and from her sister station,
Riart Station in Houston, Sports Talk seven ninety. All right,
there's some buzz about the head coach at Coastal Carolina
and what he said they got him kicked out of
the game yesterday in the National Championship in the first inning.

(52:21):
What he said in the press conference efforts. We'll bring
you some of that coming up next here on thirteen
under the Zone. We're back.

Speaker 5 (52:34):
It's the Craig Way Show with Hall of Fame broadcaster
and voice of the Texas Longhards Craig Way.

Speaker 1 (52:48):
All right, thanks again to Matt Thomas played, I played
voice of the Houston Rockets, joining us here on thirteen
hundred of the zone. Okay, yesterday, I don't know how
many folks watched it. And really and truly the boat
games Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, the College World Series,

(53:08):
pretty compelling stuff. Especially Saturday, a one nothing pitcher told
Kate Anderson was incredible for LSU and that one nothing win.
They score one run in the first inning and it
stands up and he goes complete game of the one
hundred and twenty five pitch, one hundred and thirty pitches and.

Speaker 2 (53:26):
They win that.

Speaker 1 (53:26):
And then they got out to the quick lead yesterday.
And that happened during that meltdown inning for Coastal Carolina
where Kevin Shall, the head coach, got tossed from the
game along with the first base coach, Matt Shilling Walker
Mitchell was at bat with two outs Sebastian Alexander just

(53:47):
stolen a base. Snall w in the top steps of
the Doug got a, gestered, gestured at Angel Campos, the
home played umpire, and was shouting at him. The NCAA
said Schnall was arguing and strikes and was given a
warning and when he did not leave immediately, he was
thrown out instead. Snall went onto the field to continue arguing.

(54:09):
So uh there was it ended up him and Chilling
spent the rest of the game in the clubhouse, and
then Schnall met with the medium So obviously he talked
a little bit about it in his opening statement and
then was asked specifically about So let's let's hear from

(54:29):
the head coach of the Chanticleers.

Speaker 7 (54:32):
I'm sorry. I'm not sorry for what happened. I'm sorry
for this being over. I'm sorry for how it ended
to have the words head coach next to my name
associated with this team. These guys, I couldn't be more

(54:53):
proud what they accomplished this year. Fifty six wins, twenty
six straight regular season Conference champions, Conference Tournament Champions, Conway
Regional Champions, Auburn Super Regional Champions. This team got us

(55:14):
back to the College World Series. This team got us
back to the College World Series Finals again. Proud is
an understatement of how I feel about this team. The
impact that these guys and this team will have on
me the rest of my life will be far greater

(55:36):
than the impact that I've had on them.

Speaker 6 (55:39):
And I can't thank you guys enough. I can't thank
this team enough.

Speaker 3 (55:44):
Now.

Speaker 1 (55:44):
That was his opening statement, and then afterwards there was
following that. There was the questions for the student athletes
when they were dismissed. The way they do it in
the NCAA, you have the questions for the student athletes
and they're dismissed, and then they open up questions for

(56:06):
the head coach. So the first question for him was about,
you know, what was his view of everything and what
came out of his mouth and they exchange with Angel
Compost and that sort of thing.

Speaker 8 (56:15):
Here was his answer, At this time, we'll open up
the questions for coach snaw No, it would be an
eleven point seven coach. The twenty eighth pitch of the
first inning were you warned prior to it? And then

(56:38):
I know the homeplate umpire kind of turned his back
and walked away. Were any words shared from him to
you afterwards?

Speaker 6 (56:47):
There's twenty five thousand people.

Speaker 9 (56:50):
There and I vaguely hear a warning issued as the
head coach, and I was assistant for twenty four years,
and as an assistant you're almost treated like a second grade,
second level citizen, and you can't say a word now
as a head coach, I think it is your right

(57:11):
to get an explanation of why we got warned.

Speaker 6 (57:15):
And I'm forty eight years old. I shouldn't get showed.

Speaker 7 (57:18):
By another grown man, right, So when I come out
to ask what the warning is, a grown man showed me.
So at that point I can now hear him say
it was a warning issued for arguing balls and strikes.
And at that point, I said, because you missed three.

Speaker 6 (57:42):
At that point ejected.

Speaker 7 (57:45):
If that warrants an ejection, I'm the first one to
stand here like a man and apologize. Two words that
the Fine R program are own it. And what does
that mean is you have to own You have to
own everything that you do without blame, without defending yourself,

(58:11):
without excuses. If you guys watched the video, there was
a guy that came in extremely aggressively tripped over the
camp post his foot, embarrassed in front of twenty five thousand,
immediately goes two game suspension and said bumping the umpire

(58:36):
immediately does that. There was no bump. He was embarrassed.
I shouldn't be held accountable for a grown man's athleticism.
Don't retract it, though, because now it's excessive, and the
reason why it was excessive because I was trying to
say I didn't pump him.

Speaker 6 (58:58):
It is what it is.

Speaker 7 (58:59):
But if that warranted an ejection, man, there'd be a
lot of ejections. As an umpire, I feel like it's
your job to manage the game. The National Championship game
was some poise, some calmness, and a little bit of tolerance.

Speaker 1 (59:21):
So there was that was the That was his explanation
on that.

Speaker 2 (59:29):
You got a kick out of that, didn't I did?
And the text line is comparing it to Mike Gundy,
which which is funny.

Speaker 1 (59:35):
And he's a little more under control and coach Gundy
the I'm come after me, I'm forty, I'm a man rant, but.

Speaker 2 (59:43):
I feel like what two different way way, two different
situations here. But I feel for Coastal Carolina because I
feel like you got to give him a little bit
more leeway in game two of a College World Series
national championship. Because how many I wonder how many games
U the sighting game for a national championship, both professional

(01:00:03):
sports and collegiately have we seen the head coach get
thrown out of it's It's probably a slim number. Can
do you remember any off the top of your head,
because I not that early. I don't. I don't really
remember anything like that.

Speaker 1 (01:00:16):
Yeah, somebody on the text line said, I think coach
Schnall and the other coach put themselves and the team
in a bad position. But I think the umps also
flinched too. Sad to see something like that international championship game.
Feel bad for the kids.

Speaker 3 (01:00:30):
You know.

Speaker 1 (01:00:31):
That was when things really started unravel. And then it
continued to unravel and they got down five to one.
Then they scored two runs, it cut into five to three.
I had the time run at the plate there in
the night. There are some inescapable realities here. First and foremost,
if you have watched during the course of the year,

(01:00:53):
Kevin Schnall has a motor that runs hot throughout the
course of the chanticleer's In postgame press conferences, he kind
of defiantly said, we're not a Cinderella, and people who
say we are, they're missing the boat on this. He
did the say it with me shanned to clears, it's
not shanned clear and all that that sort of thing,

(01:01:16):
and he was standing up for his program, no doubt
about him. I would also say he's exactly right, and
so are the fans about Angel Camposts getting a little
overheated too quickly in and saying something to the first
base up. I will also tell you this, and I've
seen it many many times in college basketball in college

(01:01:42):
baseball those two sports, not so much football, but college
basketball in college baseball, where the lead official, the referee
in basketball, or the crew chief the umpire, especially if
he's behind the plate, or even even if he's not
the crew chief, if he's behind the plate, will say

(01:02:04):
I don't want to hear anything from an assistant coach.
You got something to say to that, you come to me,
to the head coach. And a lot of coaches know this.
And we're gonna ask Ty Harrington about it on when
he's one of us next hour. There are some umpires
and there are some basketball officials who say, I don't
want to hear chirping from your bench. I don't want
to hear an assistant coach getting on me. And that speaks,

(01:02:25):
I think to what Schanel was saying about, because he
was a first base coach for so long. He said
the base coaches are treated like second class citizens that
they're you know, And he might have a point, but
by the same token, I also understand it coming from
the referee in basketball, the umpire. If you've got a beef,
you come to me and talk to me, not your

(01:02:45):
first base coach, not your assistant coach. You come to me. Okay,
that's a give and take. If the umpire is saying that,
then he's got to have a little more latitude. He's
got to let the let Kevin Schnall say oh, you
missed three, and then say, okay, I heard your opinion.
I disagree with that, and we're done no more. You

(01:03:07):
need to go back to your dug out. If you
keep coming, I'm going to run you.

Speaker 3 (01:03:10):
You know that.

Speaker 1 (01:03:11):
You know I've already warned you. So I'm writing down there.
You know, keep Mortland always good to say. Man, when
everybody we see him right down, he goes always going
to write a note to the principal to say stuff
like that. And I said that so they can have
a record of it saying he was he was warned.
I think the home plate numpire has to have more
latitude and more grace if if he and the crew

(01:03:32):
don't want to hear it from the base coaches or
the other member or the dugout, anybody in the dugout.
This year, when I saw umpires get a perturbed at
the Texas bench at the dugout, it wasn't so much
last Nagel. It was Max Wiener, or it was Troy Tulowitzki,

(01:03:55):
or it was another member of the coaching staff that
they got heated up about. And that happens sometime. I
saw him basketball as well. Steve McClain official got mad
at him one time, one of Rodney Terry's assistants. It happens.
But my point is this, if you are an umpire
or a basketball official and you don't like an assistant

(01:04:17):
coach or a member of the coaching staff for whatever reason,
some official don't mind. They don't care. They're gonna hear chirping.
Other ones got rabbit ears about that. I don't want
to hear from an assistant coach. And if you take
that perspective, okay, fine, but you've got to have a
little more latitude and a little more grace.

Speaker 2 (01:04:34):
That's where I fall on that. We'll be back to
wrap up hour number two on thirteen Under the Zone,
third and final hour of the program.

Speaker 1 (01:04:40):
Here on thirteen under the Zone, Craig Way joined by
the producer Cameron Parker. Glad to have you with us
here on this Monday. We've obviously discussed the Oklahoma City
Thunder winning the NBA title. They're first in Oklahoma City.
Employees don't do the thing like I've said on social media.

(01:05:03):
I understand your pain and frustration Seattle SuperSonics fans.

Speaker 2 (01:05:07):
Stop it.

Speaker 1 (01:05:08):
I don't say, hey, yeah, that's ourd title. No it's not.
You lost your team. I'm unhappy that you did, because
I thought Seattle supported the team. Well, they just didn't
want build a new arena, and so then it ended
up refurbishing one of the old key arena. What's it
now called climate climate in Seattle, Yeah, climate change or

(01:05:30):
something like it's something like, it's climate something.

Speaker 2 (01:05:33):
Arena and I'm a Pledgerina, that's it, climate Pledgerina.

Speaker 6 (01:05:37):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (01:05:38):
And word is when the NBA does expand the next time,
probably probably Seattle and the Las Vegas will be the
two places that they expand to, and I hope they
do it. And the Sonics do have their heritage and
they did win an NBA title. You know what, the
Syracuse Nationals won a title in nineteen fifty five, but
nobody says the Philadelphia seventy six ers title in sixty

(01:06:01):
seven should go to Syracuse. Syracuse moved to Philly.

Speaker 2 (01:06:06):
Let me ask you this, Craig. This is a question
that I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts
and the host was like, the Seattle and does okay,
see claim Seattle's first championship? No, nobody thinks that. But
the Lakers get to claim the five championships that Minneapolis won.
So my question to you, Craig Way, is do you

(01:06:26):
agree that the Lakers should be able to count those
championships or should that be to a separate franchise that
no longer exists.

Speaker 1 (01:06:34):
I think Alavada has to do with the name they
kept the name. Oklahoma City was in the Sonics.

Speaker 2 (01:06:42):
See, I don't count that, and I don't think I
don't think Okay she fans. I don't think any okac
fans count. I know the organization doesn't counted. The Lakers
count those five chips from Minneapolis.

Speaker 1 (01:06:51):
It was the same ownership group Bob Short, who, by
the way, one time owned the Texas Rangers, who own
the Minneapolis Lakers, and moved them to la and then
ultimately sold them to Jack Can't Cook. But he moved
them there, same ownership group, same ownership group. Art Modell

(01:07:13):
moved to Cleveland, Browns to Baltimore. They became the Ravens.
But here was the difference. The commissioner stepped in and said,
we will be replacing that franchise in Cleveland, and when
we do. When we do, they will retain the name,
the color of the records of the Cleveland Browns. The

(01:07:35):
Baltimore Ravens have their own identity, and the Ravens were
five with that. Now there are some Browns fans who said, oh,
you know that Ravens title. That's really no, it's not,
it's not, it's not. So the deal with the Minneapolis
Lakers is same owner, moved there, kept the same name,
and so they retained the records and moved them. So
I don't have as much of a problem with that.

Speaker 2 (01:07:56):
Looking at the Wikipedia page for NBA Championship, Yeah, they
list okay s with two it's interesting. Stop that. It's interesting.
So when Seattle comes back, that should rightfully go back
to the supersis. But I wonder how does the official
NBA stats, like, how do they count that?

Speaker 1 (01:08:17):
Well? I would tell you this curious. The Dodgers did
a new board this year after winning the World Series
last year, and have these baseballs with the.

Speaker 2 (01:08:26):
Years they won.

Speaker 1 (01:08:26):
They've got fifty five in there. The one title they
won is Brooklyn Walter O'Malley owned them there. He moved
them to LA. They are Dodgers World Series Championships. That's
why they call it that way. It was it is
Lakers World Series Championships. It's different sonics and you know
him thunder, So that at least that's how I feel

(01:08:47):
about it. Anyway, you know, I don't I don't think
the Spirits of Saint Louis and the ABA should be
allowed to have the Carolina Cougars records in the ABA.

Speaker 2 (01:08:57):
Still ten teams with out of championship in.

Speaker 1 (01:08:59):
The NBA team let me see my name ten teams
without a championship. The Nets obviously that's one.

Speaker 2 (01:09:08):
The Timberwolves would be two, Clippers would be three. Uh,
let's see.

Speaker 3 (01:09:17):
Uh the.

Speaker 2 (01:09:21):
Uh, I'm just rolling.

Speaker 1 (01:09:24):
Oh, Charlotte Rans, Yeah, that's four.

Speaker 2 (01:09:29):
Think about where they originally relocated to.

Speaker 1 (01:09:32):
That's when I'm trying to That's when I'm rolling through
my mind because Detroit, Chica. Oh, Sacramento, well, Sacramento. Yeah,
they were the Rochester Royals and they then became the
Cincinnati Royals. Then they became the Kansas City Omaha Kings
and then the Sacramento Kings. Their ancestral franchise roots are

(01:09:54):
in Rochester, New York. Okay, Uh, let's see.

Speaker 2 (01:10:01):
Got to see for Utah, what is that?

Speaker 3 (01:10:05):
Six? Five? Five?

Speaker 1 (01:10:08):
Atlanta? No, Atlanta has Saint Losis Hawks. Yeah, they have
Ancesta yeah. Uh and and I thought they had one
even before that. And I know the Washington Wizards had
is the Washington Bullets. And the Knicks obviously haven't won
in the Celtics and the Sixers one of them made
a big trade yesterday Phoenix. Okay, and uh, let's see

(01:10:35):
Toronto has one one.

Speaker 2 (01:10:39):
One of them lost last night.

Speaker 1 (01:10:41):
Oh yeah, well yeah, the Pacers who were trying to
become the first team UH to win both an ABA
title and an NBA title that still never happened. The
only teams who are even eligible to do that now
are the Pacers and the Nets, because the Nuggets and
Spurs both have NBA titles, but they never won an
ABA title. So there's only two teams that have eligible

(01:11:02):
to do that. Re left free left, I'm not looking
at the things in front of me, so I'm not
remembering clearly on this.

Speaker 2 (01:11:13):
Just go ahead and tell me New Orleans Pelicans, yeah right,
Memphis Grizzlies in the Orlando.

Speaker 1 (01:11:20):
Magic, in the Orlando Magic and of those three, only
Orlando has been to an NBA finals.

Speaker 2 (01:11:26):
Yeah, so five teams Hornets, Clippers, Grizzlies, de Wolves, Pelicans
have never been to an NBA finals. The Hornets have
not been to the playoffs in like forty years.

Speaker 1 (01:11:38):
So you know what's even more difficult if you're a
fantas the team that the Lions and Browns have never
been in a Super Bowl. That's two of the I mean,
the Texans didn't come into existence until two thousand and two,
so you can say, okay, you can give them a
little more leeway. The Browns came in in nineteen fifty
with the merging of the All American Football Conference and

(01:11:59):
the absorption of teams, said Winds. But those four teams
are three teams that went into the NFL, the Browns,
the Colts, and the forty nine ers. Colts some forty
nine ers have won titles, and the Browns were the
dominant team in the fifties along with the Lions. Those
were the two dominant NFL teams in the fifties. The
Detroit Lions Cleveland Browns met three times for the championship.
Both won multiple titles in the fifties. Neither have been

(01:12:21):
to a Super Bowl.

Speaker 2 (01:12:22):
You mentioned the Lion that the tough history for Lions
and Browns probably the two toughest teams to be a
fan based up because of all the pain. What's the
NBA equivalent of that, Because obviously the Hornets are pretty new.
You know, they were first founded in the nineties, moved away,
came back Clippers what late eighties. They came over from

(01:12:42):
from Buffalo, Memphis, from Vancouver, you know, Minnesota.

Speaker 1 (01:12:47):
You know a newer friend those, I don't say it
as much. Yeah, I say for a team like the
Atlanta Hawks because their only NBA titles as the Saint
Louis Hawks in nineteen fifty eight. So kind of hard
really for an Atlanta Hawks fan identify with that. They've
had the franchise since sixty seven. I believe maybe sixty eight.

Speaker 2 (01:13:07):
It might be the King since they've been around longer,
and they really have not been closed since the early
two thousands when they went up against Shaq and Kobe.

Speaker 1 (01:13:16):
No, because in the sixties, despite having Oscar Robertson, one
of the greatest players of that decade, that they were
in the East with Boston, they couldn't get past the Celtics.

Speaker 2 (01:13:24):
Nobodys won a championship with Kareem.

Speaker 1 (01:13:27):
Right, Yeah, yes, yep, yep, they traded him in nineteen seventy.
So anyway, that's I'll tell you. Another fan base is
pretty dog one frustrated Knicks fans. Yeah, they won a title.
In fact, they won two titles. They won in seventy
and they won in seventy three. They haven't won in

(01:13:47):
fifty two years and they haven't even been in an
NBA finals since ninety nine and that was the the
lockout shortened fifty game truncated season. It led to the
spurs first ever NBA title in ninety nine. That's the
last time the Knicks were in in NBA finals.

Speaker 2 (01:14:07):
They have lost six times in the finals, which is
the second most behind the Lakers fifteen and then tied
with Philadelphia for the second most, but not of times
they have lost in the final.

Speaker 1 (01:14:21):
But the Lakers have won what seventeen titles or something
like that, so they can live with teen. Yeah, so
they can get there. They can get with getting theirs
this just like I heard the same argument. It's going
to lead us to the break and then to Ty
Harrington join us. There are those claiming the LSU is
now the greatest college baseball program of all time. They
have eight national titles. They don't have the most national titles,

(01:14:44):
and they don't have the most appearances in Omaha, and
they don't have the most wins in Omaha, and they
don't have the most regional titles. But they are those
who say they are the team of dominance nowadays. USC
has twelve. They haven't won a title since nineteen ninety eight.
Texas has six, nine Championships two below LSU, and they
have more NC regional appearances and more College World Series appearances,

(01:15:07):
but they haven't won a title in twenty years. So
it depends on how you categorize and prioritize the greatness
and teams. Certainly they're the dominant program in the SEC.
We know it's the dominant conference. Six straight years now
an SEC team has won the National Championship. All right,
up next, we'll talk some college baseball.

Speaker 2 (01:15:27):
Well.

Speaker 1 (01:15:28):
Ty Harrington will talk about the way the National Championship
season and series ended in a lot more when we
continue on thirteen Under the Zone. Back here on this

(01:15:48):
Monday afternoon on thirteen Under the Zone, Craigway with you
alongside of the producer Cameron Parker. The man is as
good as his word. On Friday, we visited with Ty Harrington,
our our baseball resident analyst and uh College Baseball officionado

(01:16:10):
and devote and grand student and teacher of the game
and and on Friday, and I said, let's get together
on Monday and kind of if we're either going to
preview Game three of a National Championship series or we're
going to be recapping the series. And it's the latter,
but it's more than just the latter based on what
happened yesterday. Good afternoon, sir, coach. How are you today?

Speaker 3 (01:16:31):
Well, I'm wonderful, And yeah, it is the ladder and uh,
with a lot a lot of led to it. And
and so there's a lot probably to unpack. I meant, nationally,
I think there's probably more discussion about the national championship
game in the College Baseball World serieson you and I probably.

Speaker 10 (01:16:55):
Have witnessed in a long time.

Speaker 3 (01:16:57):
And uh, based on everything that happened in the final game,
and not just who won, but everything that took place.

Speaker 10 (01:17:06):
In the game.

Speaker 1 (01:17:07):
True enough, And we're gonna get to Coastal in a
minute here, and we're gonna get to Kevin Schnall and
all this because I know you're very close friends with
the former head coach Gary Gilmore and Schnall, of course
longtime assistant for him. We'll get to that in a moment.
First and foremost, let's let's talk about LSU. We saw
them during the course of the season. You've seen him

(01:17:28):
multiple times, You've seen Kate Anderson multiple times. He was
almost as good in the Friday night win for them
at dishfalk Fields as he was on Saturday, But Saturday
was probably the best performance he'd ever delivered, especially given
the circumstances. How about your thoughts on the way that
LSU went about winning this national championship before we even

(01:17:50):
get to talking about Coastal.

Speaker 3 (01:17:53):
Well, I mean, look, hey, who just proved how good
he is? And just we all know the value of
how important pitching is, right and good pitching, but that
was dominating pitching. That was I mean a mix of
four different pitches of command, different boxes meaning different sides

(01:18:17):
of the plate, quadrants of the plate that he was
able to execute on at and with so many multiple
different types of pitches, you never he never got.

Speaker 10 (01:18:29):
Set in on this was my pattern.

Speaker 3 (01:18:32):
The second time and third time through the lineup he
started to you know, he changed he I saw him
go to four different guys with first pitch, different pitches
for either swing miss strikes or strikes or or self contact.
And you just you know, his ability to execute, maintain
his emotions and execute under the largest stage, the biggest

(01:18:56):
stage that he's ever participated in as a as a starter,
and to be able to execute the way he did,
I mean, it is truly unbelievable. I mean it is
really that, you know, to be able to compete under
that circumstances one thing, and under that on that stage
is one thing. But to be able to execute in

(01:19:17):
a dominant form that he was able to emotionally and
physically is just unbelievable.

Speaker 1 (01:19:23):
Anthony Ironston was looked at as a guy that was
this pretty close to being the equal of him. He
looked a little more human, he looked a little more vulnerable.
Throughout the course of the postseason. He got lifted from
some games earlier, both in the region and the super
regional level, and even in Omaha and is in his
first start. But but it looked like he did enough.

(01:19:46):
I bought your take on ions in the number two
because they were looked at as being this fabulous one
two punch and it was more one than the two
I would submit. Although Ironsen did recover early and then
settle in yesterday.

Speaker 10 (01:19:58):
Yeah, he did settle in nice the kind of similar
you know.

Speaker 3 (01:20:02):
Yeske does a good job of, you know, mixing what
he does to number one, start the hitters off with
pattern wise and then also how he was finishing hitters
if they made it through to the latter part of counts,
he went different avenues and of how they approached each other.
But the one thing about Ainsten that you have to

(01:20:24):
be able to do is and it's easier what I'm
about to say, Craig, you know this is easier said
than done, but you have to be able to not
chase out of the strike zone on him.

Speaker 10 (01:20:36):
He really gets a lot of chase swings.

Speaker 3 (01:20:40):
He gets a lot of chase wings early in count
I think there was a point by the third or
fourth inning, you know, I was trying to count the
number of chase wings he had gotten on two strikes,
and I think it was like four, maybe five out
of the strike zone.

Speaker 10 (01:20:54):
There were some even two O counts.

Speaker 3 (01:20:56):
I thought Coastal started to press a little bit the
fifth and started really chasing, and really got really aggressive
and started chasing. And also they had he had some
shorter count innings than you would like when you're chasing runs.
And so in a lot of that because he changed
his patterns. I mean, look, there there were two times

(01:21:18):
in the fifth or six, I can't remember exactly everybody,
you know, he'd throw he'd gone to his slider, his
cutter and to start counts off with and all of.

Speaker 10 (01:21:27):
A sudden, he just back to back guy.

Speaker 3 (01:21:29):
He lays ninety two in there in the middle of
the plate, and nobody did anything with it.

Speaker 10 (01:21:33):
I think maybe because even later and so I mean
it just he did.

Speaker 3 (01:21:37):
He was a little more, Uh, you were able to
get to him a little bit more than what you
were with Anderson. But still he was.

Speaker 1 (01:21:46):
He was good talking college baseball at the end of
the season here with Tyan Harrington on thirteen hundreds and okay,
let's let's jump to Coastal Carolina. I want to and
I want to preface this by saying, uh, obviously, uh,
you and Gary Gilmore, the former coach who won it
All in twenty sixteen, are pretty tight. You've known each
other a long time. I know you're not quite as

(01:22:07):
familiar with Kevin Schnall, but you've seen his work, and
I know you've been impressed by what he's done. I
mentioned on the air earlier, I said, to watch him
work is to understand that his motor always ran a
little hotter than coach Gilbmore is if I'm correct on that,
and it always has and then and so maybe there's

(01:22:29):
some bases in for the way things broke down and
we and we ran his audio where he seemed initially
initially to be more unhappy with the fact that, as
he put it, a first base coach or a third
base coach, if they're not the head coach, kind of
gets treated like a second class citizen when it comes

(01:22:51):
from the umpires. And so that led obviously to what
was going on with coach chillings ejection.

Speaker 2 (01:23:00):
But he said he heard.

Speaker 1 (01:23:02):
Even with twenty five thousand people, he heard as the
umpire turned it back to him, and some said that's
a warning for arguing balls and strikes. And then everybody
saw the video where he's holding out three fingers and
he said, because you've missed three, and then he throws
him a tosses him and then he comes out to
get his money's worth. And now getting your money's worth
in college baseball means you're not leaving the field in

(01:23:25):
a timely manner, I think is the way the rule
is written. And he was, and so then they tack
on the two game suspension. I know that happened to
coach Pierce when he was here. There was one time
when that happened. But also he said it was because
they said he made contact with the umpire. He made

(01:23:45):
sure to point out that the first base umpire tripped
over the other of the umpire and he said, I'm
not responsible for his athleticism or that kind of thing.
He said in the news conference, so frust So let
me get your Let me get your take first of
all on the dynamic, because I talked about this last

(01:24:08):
hour with umpires and coaches other than the head coach,
and I brought this up because it also applies in basketball.
I've seen an official come over to the bench and
say to the head coach and point to one of
the assistants and say, I don't want to hear from him.
And I know not all umpires are like that, and

(01:24:28):
not all officials are like that, but there are some
who do not want to hear from anyone other than
the head coach. And I wanted to get your thoughts
and your experience with how that whole dynamic played out,
even before we get to your thoughts on coach Nolan
and him getting ejected.

Speaker 3 (01:24:47):
Well it correct me if I'm wrong. I originally when
it came out that it was the warning was issued
towards the first base umpire.

Speaker 2 (01:24:55):
That's correct, correct, correct.

Speaker 3 (01:24:57):
All right, So all right, so he probably I didn't
I couldn't hear what he said or what was going.

Speaker 10 (01:25:03):
You know, I can imagine what was said.

Speaker 3 (01:25:05):
I mean, the pits that really got it all going
was definitely, in my opinion, looked like a ball on TV.
The ball was in the catcher's arm, left elbow was
out when he caught it. But that here and there.
But the the assistants aren't supposed to argue, right, I mean,
it is clearly stated. The assistants aren't supposed to argue,

(01:25:26):
even though.

Speaker 10 (01:25:27):
It does exist to some level.

Speaker 3 (01:25:30):
Some guys that have been around the league longer get
a little more grace than others. But you know, the
assistants aren't supposed to say anything at that you know it,
and argue any anything, right, I mean, and you know,
balls and strikes are gonna always somebody's gonna chirp at times, right,

(01:25:51):
That's just part of it. I don't you know. Rarely
do you go to a game that somebody doesn't say
something about a ball or strikee I mean, you and
I see it when we do games together. We see
it all the time coming out of either either dugout
and by.

Speaker 1 (01:26:07):
The way, Ty we both know. We both know that
Frank Anderson is going to say he's gonna speak his
mind when he doesn't like even even as vocal as
Tony Vitello is a Tennessee Frank Anderson will make his displeasure.
And I've seen that all the way back to when
he was at Texas. And and you correct me if
I'm wrong, but I I do believe that most of

(01:26:30):
the time, when an umpire during a Texas game this year,
a home plate umpire was not happy with something coming
from the dugout, it wasn't something that Jim Slasnigle said.
It was something that Max Wiener or Troy Tulowinski. It
was somebody other than the head coach. Am.

Speaker 3 (01:26:44):
I right, yeah, that's that's real. Yeah, that's that's probable.
And uh and there were probably a couple of times
that you know that you know Jim did too. But yeah,
there are things that are said by assistant coaches. Look,
it's too intense, it's too involved, right, there's just so
much going on. I mean, I can't over express what

(01:27:05):
that feels like and looks like when you're down there
and you put your pants on to go play that game.
Just how intense the game is already, and just you know,
and then the National Championship the biggest stage. I mean,
there's just so many things involved in that. There's so
many different emotions and there's so many different narratives right now,
right there's so many angles of conversation that you and

(01:27:28):
I can have, that I can have with anybody. And
obviously there's gonna be a piece of me and you
know this that I'm gonna look at from the coach's
lens first, and I'm gonna I'm gonna see from an
assistant coach's lens. I did it as an assistant, you know,
and I got kicked out of games as an assistant.
Shouldn't have overstep my bounds at times. But coaches, they
assistant coaches do say they and and and offeryers will

(01:27:51):
look over and go, hey, that's enough, that's it, that's enough,
And then the next time they'll go, hey, that's a
warning all right that I'm warning your assistant coach.

Speaker 10 (01:28:00):
D I am mourning your assistant coach.

Speaker 3 (01:28:02):
I don't want to hear from him again, as you mentioned,
And that's usually kind of how it would, you know,
kind of take place. Now the second part of that
is there there are umpires that will diffuse that moment.

Speaker 10 (01:28:17):
They'll come over with them.

Speaker 3 (01:28:18):
You saw him open his pad, right, I had the
sense all out you you you walk over and you go, hey, Kevin,
time out, Hey, come to hey, hold on, hold on,
I'm right here, I'm right here. What what do you got?
All right? And he goes, what do you I'm warning
your first base coach. He's hollered at me twice. I
need you to get let's we got to get through
this game. We got to make our way through this game.

(01:28:41):
I personally think everything would have calmed down. I don't
know for sure. It's no way for me to prove
that would have happened. I do think things would have
calmed down and we would have gotten through that game.
Everybody would have caught their breath then that. And but
sometimes as a coach, this is the other land. Sometimes
as a coach, you got to be prepared for who
is behind home play yep, and and how aggressive are they?

(01:29:05):
And you know there are times you got to tell
your teams. I've had to tell my teams and myself
and my staff, hey, you can't say anything. You can't
say anything. To this guy, he will he no toleration. Yes,
And that's the scouting report that you could know, should know,

(01:29:28):
and might know. All three of those can category. Because
you're in the national championship game, You're assuming these are
the best of the best, and you assume that everybody's
gonna know that this is a national championship game, and
that you know, historically people don't get ejected out of
those games. Certainly, multiple objections don't usually occur in those games,

(01:29:50):
even though they have and they've happened before. And I think,
if I remember right, Tennessee got Tony got up one time, yep,
a couple of years ago. I think that I could
be wrong with that U. And so it does happen,
and more times than not, it's ball strikes, and it
just the hard part is Craig, and be your opinion.

(01:30:11):
It happened so fast. Yeah, it happens so early, and
it just seemed like, you know, it just seemed to
me like we all want that game to be decided
between the people that have the uniforms on, and we
all want that to be the players and the coaches
to make that final outcome of that game. You know,

(01:30:33):
you know, come about and that's what you hope for,
and it you know, unfortunately it did in this time
that umpire my opinion, whether he you know, the rural state,
he can do what he did, right, it's all out there.
Of the NCAA released released their opinion. But there are

(01:30:53):
ways in moments like that that there are umpires that
completely diffuse, that completely diffuse that. And you and I've
seen You've seen it, I've seen it. I've had it
done to me. So I've gone out there and just
read and mattered in the red hornet and I mean
just ready to unload and the upbreak, hold on, hold

(01:31:15):
on to tell me what you got? What what are
you mad about? Okay? Okay, and you know, and walk
you through your own diffusement or answering your question. And
so there are ways that that can be handled as well.

Speaker 1 (01:31:29):
Here here's here's also my additional thought on this. And
I've seen you and I have seen Angel Campost work
games this year. Keith and I talked about that he
was working games at Texas and Keith commented on his
strike zone and that sort of thing. But uh, I
think there is something to be said for how shall

(01:31:52):
I put this a question of specificity. And what I
mean by that is, as we all know, whether it's
Major league baseball, minor league baseball, college baseball, whatever it
might be, there are certain buzzwords that you can't say,
and the unmentionable ones ones we can't even say on
the air here or we get fined by the FCC.

(01:32:13):
That sort of thing. We know that that's all well known.
It's it's the specific act of pointing out an umpire's
shortcomings that I think bothers some umpires weren't. And for
Kevin Schnall to say, he said, you your first base
coach has warned for arguing balls and strikes, and Schnall,

(01:32:37):
without hesitation, said, because you missed three and holds out
three fingers, That to me is a trigger is maybe
it shouldn't be. Maybe it shouldn't be. And an umpire
with a longer fuse and more tolerance, as coach Chnall
said in the news conference, should be maybe he should
have more tolerance and say don't don't get technical with

(01:33:01):
me about that, okay, you know something like that instead
of just say you're out because the minute he said,
because you missed three and held the three fingers out
for not only there're twenty five thousand in the stands
to see, but for millions watching on national television to see.
That's when the umpire is gonna feel, shall we say,
shown up? And then and then and then is is

(01:33:24):
is there some merit to what I'm asking you to
year about this?

Speaker 3 (01:33:27):
Yeah, of course there is, of course there is, absolutely
there is. And yeah, there are words, there are actions,
there are gyrations said and done. Gyrations. Yeah that that
that do trigger that. But he also, you know, and
he also could have said, Okay, well now you're getting

(01:33:48):
a warning and you know, and at that point, as
a coach, you know, now I've been warned. Yep. Right,
So yeah, So to answer your original question, yes, things
that are said, how they're said, and gyrations is a
great way to put it. Body language where you are

(01:34:09):
also has something to do with it, you know, and
you know geographically where you're standing at that point. And uh,
but I just again, it's going to be debated and
has been debated all night and all day.

Speaker 10 (01:34:26):
And by everybody.

Speaker 3 (01:34:29):
And at some point this later this summer, I'll get
a chance to visit with Kevin and and and ask
you know, then I'll know more about really what happened?
You know, but I can take what I saw and
what you saw, and we can't do our experiences start
to probably unwrap really what happened? Could it have been prevented? Yes,

(01:34:53):
on both ends, it could have been prevented. A national
championship game, you do want your your coaches there. And
there's a you know a question that was asked me
last night and this morning. Do I think it had
an effect on the game? Yes, I do. I do
think it does have an ef on the game. If
it's the seventh inning, I don't. I don't think it's

(01:35:13):
as effective. I've been kicked out of a game before.
I love to tell you I haven't, but I have.
And it inspired your players. I've seen that. You've seen
that as well, But that early in a game on
a national championship stage, and not only were the were
of the both coaches two of the bet their you know,

(01:35:34):
leading coaches gone, Craig, the players knew that they were
gone for tomorrow as well. Yep. You can think that
they don't, but they do.

Speaker 10 (01:35:42):
They know that.

Speaker 3 (01:35:43):
So to think that that's not confusing for them, or
to think that, you know, what are we gonna do?
We don't have our summer break. I do think has
an effect on them. I do think it had an
effect on, you know, the offensive side of the game
for them. I do believe that, and now that LSU's
pitching had the bigger effect on I don't want to
take anything away from LSU, by the way, nothing because

(01:36:05):
they they want there. I think they were gonna win.
But I do think it did have some type of
an effect on the game, not just what we thought
of the game, but maybe what you know could have
transpired into the game.

Speaker 1 (01:36:17):
The interesting to see to learn who Coastal opens with
next year. Is it a whome weekend series against whatever,
the Citadel or something like that, or are they opening
in a big tournament thing since Schnol and Schilling won't
be there for the first two games.

Speaker 10 (01:36:33):
Yeah, it'll be a tournament.

Speaker 3 (01:36:35):
They always opened the year with They have back then
three straight weekends of tournaments there that that Gary started
years ago, Gary Gilmore started years ago, and release was
a big part of Coastal Carolina building their program. Craig
to be honest with and uh, but yeah, that that's
my assumption.

Speaker 10 (01:36:56):
They know that they're gonna have to say.

Speaker 3 (01:36:57):
I'm sure they'll try to appeal it, but to know,
in commit to Novail, I don't think it changes anything.
And you know, it's unfortunate that you know, there's discussion
that we're you and I are having about what happened
in that game like that, because it was you know,
you and I agree on this. I think college baseball

(01:37:18):
is in such an incredible place right now and so
many viewers, so many and there, and it was shown
by if you've got if you watched on Twitter or
ex what if, or if you looked at different people,
you know, social media describing in their minds what just
tried to or tried to describe in their minds what
just happened. Shows you the popularity of college baseball, where

(01:37:41):
it is and where it's headed, and how many people
are tuned into it and paying attention to it now.

Speaker 1 (01:37:48):
No doubt about it. Hey, I appreciate the the the
insight on this. Listen, you know I'm going on vacations.
We're going to be on the coach over Maybe I'll
just drop by coach Snall's office and see if he
wants to tell me his side problem.

Speaker 3 (01:38:01):
Well, I'm sure I'm sure he would discuss it with you.

Speaker 10 (01:38:05):
I'm sure he'd be more than happy to probably have
that conference.

Speaker 3 (01:38:08):
He probably had that conversation so many times now, Craig
that he you know, he can say it out uh
in his sleep. But either way, you get you know,
you look at this, you know, congratulations to l s U.
I meant luck Dave. They seem at this point right
now to have some magic dust and omaha and Jay Johnson.
They they did what they had to do to win

(01:38:31):
a national championship. And you know what does it mean.
You know a lot of people talked about, well, it's coastal,
you know, a mid major maybe quite conference, but not
by recognition in the college baseball world. And when you
have a national championship under your belt and you're the
last man standing and the last person standing in a
in a in a championship, and then you've been there

(01:38:53):
and done that before. And so both of those teams
were unbelievable representations of themselves in their offerences and two
tremendous baseball teams this year.

Speaker 1 (01:39:03):
Absolutely, Hey, I appreciate it, Ty, thanks so much, and
we'll catch up again soon.

Speaker 10 (01:39:08):
Have fun on your vacation.

Speaker 1 (01:39:10):
Thank you.

Speaker 3 (01:39:10):
All right.

Speaker 1 (01:39:11):
That's Ty Harrington the coach, and a great explanation on that,
his thoughts on all that, and that's why I wanted
to get his perspective, a former coach who you know,
where that's coming from on that, as well as the
dynamic of how coaches and umpires interact even on the
biggest stage. On that, when we're coming up, I'm thirteen

(01:39:31):
out of the zone.

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