The Saturday Stein Line with Marc Stein (August 5, 2023) Part 1

Dirk Nowitzki to the Hall of Fame? Lionel Messi playing soccer in Frisco? A week of non-stop Dirk coverage on 97.1 The Freak? Marc Stein discusses it all to lead off the latest edition of his new show.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Friends, Good Saturday to you.Welcome in to the latest edition of the
Saturday Stein Line, presented by PanniniTraining Cards and Collectibles Only on ninety seven
one. The freak Mark Stein herespeaking to you, this time from Las

(00:20):
Vegas, our first ever road show. It emanates from the famed decadent Vegas
Strip where USA Basketball, albeit withoutany Dallas Mavericks on the twelve band roster.
They're holding a training camp here inLas Vegas, four days worth of

(00:43):
practices ahead of Monday nights exhibition gameagainst Puerto Rico at tam Mobile Arena,
the first warm up game. It'sthe first warm up game for this all
new, totally untested group of playersunder Steve Kerr that will be repping the

(01:04):
United States in the Fever World Cup, which takes place later this month in
Asia. We're in the Menden HallCenter now, but you know there's three
gyms all right next to each other. There's the fame Thomas and mac Cox
Pavilion, Menden Hall Center, Andfor me, it's always a nostalgic crip
to come back because when I wasin college at cal State Fullerton, Vegas,

(01:27):
the best teams that Vegas ever hadthey were in my conference. So
I've been coming to Vegas. Don'ttell anybody since I was underage. Used
to sneak in here with older guys, because man, when I was eighteen
and nineteen and twenty, I lookedtwelve. But somehow had some vets who

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took me under their wing to getme in. I love being back here.
Great to see there's a lot ofNBA people in a gym. They
opened it. They opened the practicesbasically to team executives and coaches, So
there's a lot of people here watchingthese guys, watching these open training sessions
basically, and it's a chance forstalkers like me to see executives, see

(02:10):
coaches and try to get some timewith them. I also, I keep
saying this, I'm not sure youguys believe me. With the weather here
in the Vegas Desert, given therelative lack of humidity compared to Dallas,
it's actually easier to take walking aroundhere. And I think you guys know
by now you have a sense atleast of how much I love the Vegas

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life. We can't do a pollquestion today because the way this show had
to be put together. While I'mon the run, it precludes us from
making proper use of the steinline textline and shout out by the way to
Johnny Pollard of Waxahatchie. Johnny textedin last week, I wanted to get
to that text and I ran outof time. Johnny was proud that he

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woke up in time for last Saturdayshow, which had me wondering, Johnny,
how good are these Friday nights ofyours? If our noon tip off
is hard for you to make?Anyway, we will get back to that
on another occasion, and I promisethat retroactively on a forthcoming show we are
going to We're we're gonna discuss this. How many days would you say represents
the perfect amount to spend in Vegason one trip? How much is too

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much? How much is just right? Five days, seven days, three
days. Okay, We're gonna getinto all that down the road, because
this is a very special and avery personal show. This hour we're going
to spend together because one week fromtoday, Dirk Navitsky, the most beloved

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and decorated Dallas maverick in team history, officially will take his place in Springfield
for local purposes. Surely he isthe staries of stars in an absolutely glittering
class of Hall of Fame inductees.I've been teasing it all week on Twitter,
and now at last we're gonna beable to run my interview with Dirk

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and full in the second segment rightaround twelve twenty Central time. There is
so much to talk about this week, friends. I wrote a piece about
this Tuesday, and we did getinto this a little bit during last Saturday
show. Yes, the NBA seasonis a long long way off, but
I would also make the argument thatthis August it does have the capacity to

(04:36):
entertain NBA addicts a little bit morethan usual. And this next week,
I mean the next week starting fromtoday, so tasty. First of all,
non basketball matter. I am indeedgoing to be rushing back home tomorrow
in hopes of being able to finda way in to Toyota Stadium to see

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the spectacle that will be Lionel MessiFC Dallas with the honor of playing host
to Lionel Messi's very first away matchwithin her Miami, a round of sixteen
match in the New League's Cup.But it takes a messy for some.
The goat of international soccer, notmy goat. That's still play. But

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for many of you, I know, MESSI is the goat. You've got
to be that big time to getme to detour away from Dirk talk for
even a second. I promised youguys last week that ninety seven one the
Freak was going to be the stationin town, the outlet, audio,
visual, print, whatever, theplace to go for Hall of Fame coverage.

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And check it out. Next nextsegment, I'm going one on one
with Dirk Navitsky and he's got somegems to share in that interview on Tuesday
noon to one Ben and Skin.If I've got my facts right, and
I hope I do. I hopeI'm not speaking out of turn here.
I believe that is a commercial freehour with Dirk Tuesday at the official unveiling

(06:18):
of his new restaurant in the Cterminal at DFW Navitsky. Sources say that
is the name of the restaurant,Navitsky. And then next Saturday, a
week from today, technology permitting alive edition of the Saturday Stein Line for

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you direct from Springfield, Massachusetts,just hours before the actual enshrinement ceremonies.
I mean, do you guys seewhat a big week is materializing here.
Absolutely an emotional week, and Ihave to say a time of great reflection.
I've been playing This Is Your Lifefor days now, thinking about everything

(07:01):
that has happened since June twenty fourth, nineteen ninety eight. I will never
forget the date that the Mavericks acquiredboth Dirk Navitsky and Steve Nash Believe me,
I know it better than anyone.How lucky I've been. I am
so so so fortunate to have beengiven this opportunity for a quarter century now

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to cover number forty one from suchclose range. Dirk Navitsky and the two
Hall of Fame point guards who willbe up there with him on stage next
Saturday as his presenters, Steve Nashand Jason Kidd. These guys did not
have to give me the access they'vegiven me. They did not have to

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let their guards down. They didnot have to let me pester the hell
out of them for all these years, show up in their hometowns or their
countries. Of course, Dirk fromGermany Nash from Canada let me tag along
to places I probably didn't belong,put them under the microscope when they did
not want to be psychoanalyzed you know, and with Dirk, especially twenty one

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years with one team in one city, I really feel like that is a
record that will never be broken.And to me, it's always going to
count on his resume. To me, on my scorecard, that is a
championship unto itself. I actually sawPacers coach and former Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle.
We were both en route to Vegas. We cross paths, and we

(08:37):
were talking about how crazy it isthat Carlyle got to coach Reggie Miller and
Dirk Nivitsky. We are talking aboutreally two of the five or six all
timers in terms of one team guys, and Dirk went three seasons past Reggie's

(09:01):
tenure in Indiana. Just an absolutelyunmatched run for Dirk as a Maverick.
And listen, I know how muchhe means to so many of you listening,
and it wasn't always that way.After the championship is when Dirk became
a universally loved figure. On theroad to the championship, all those years

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to get there, there was somuch criticism, so much negativity. He's
soft, he can't get it done, he can't lead a team to a
championship. So look, I amby no means a Cowboys expert. I
always admit that, even after allthese years living here, even with a
high school junior at home who theNFL is his favorite sport. So on

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Sundays, the house is his andevery TV is tuned to the NFL.
I never would have thought that wasgoing to happen, but that's the way
it is. I'm convinced though.Cider myself a pretty keen observer of things.
I do think that's one of mystrengths. And look, I'm gonna
always believe this. He is upthere in stature I would say, Dirk

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Navitsky stature wise, he exceeds anysingular cowboy that you wish to name.
I know, the nineties cowboys.Who is that one cowboy who can match
Dirk Star in this city? Now, when I was young, Roger Stauback

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and Tom Landry were you know,I was not even close to living here,
and they were huge, huge,huge names. But Navitsky, to
me, is the modern day RogerStauback in this city. For years,
I've been calling him the godfather ofDallas sports. And look, okay,
if you don't want to agree withthat stance. Fine, I will fight

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anybody who tries to tell me thatDirk Navitsky is not one of the greatest
twenty player years in the history ofbasketball his sport. Sure, he has
but one championship ring, but thenyou add in that longevity, peerless longevity
with one franchise, one city,his standing as the NBA's sixth all time

(11:16):
leading scorer thirty one thousand, fivehundred and sixty career points. The man
is one slot ahead of Wilt Chamberlain. And above all, he changed his
position people. He literally changed theway the power forward position is played in

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the NBA. By year three ofthe Dirk era in Dallas, every other
team on the NBA map scouring theglobe for the next Nvitsky, their own
Nvitsky. The trouble is, justas you rightfully say with Lionel Messi,
there is only one Dirk wearing numberforty one or number fourteen, one of

(12:00):
one. And it's been my absolutehonor to have worked the Navitzky beat from
the very beginning, having gained histrust and the trust of those close to
him to be able to tell hisstories. It's really been a tale mlike
we've ever seen in the NBA,not merely because he came from far away

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Germany amid great skepticism to make hiscase alongside a chem Elijuan as the sports
finest ever for an import. Beyondthat, you have to factor in the
journey too. How Dirk seemingly climbedto the top of the NBA mountain in
two thousand and six when he ledthe Mavericks to that unforgettable Game seven triumph

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at San Antonio, outdueling Tim Duncanto lead Dallas to Game seven road glory
on San Antonio's court, only toslip back down the mountain when the Mavericks
unraveled against Miami in the two thousandand six finals, And then he needed
five more years to finally finally tastechampionship glory, leading the Mavericks to the

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first and only championship in franchise history, beating those same Miami heaters in the
title round. It's a career arcreally like no other, and trust me,
we're going to be celebrating it forthe next seven straight days here on
ninety seven one the Freak. InSegment three, I promise we'll delve into

(13:28):
some slightly more current events We've gota report from Slovenia, direct from Slovenia
from d Magazines, Iztalk Franco.We're going to talk about some of the
comments we saw this week from KyrieIrving in response to his critics, what
that means for Kyrie's forthcoming first seasonin Dallas. From Istok, We're gonna

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hear more about the first game Lucadon Chich, the first game of real
basketball that Luca played in a spanof nearly four months. I'm sure we'll
have more messy talk before to morrownight's massive match at Toyota Stadium in Frisco.
I told you guys, so muchhappening on this edition of the Saturday

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Steine Line, presented by our goodfriends at Panini Trading Cards and Collectibles.
August are supposed to be slow.We, however, can no longer wait.
After the break, get ready,I go one on one with Dirk
Navitsky next on ninety seven one,The Freak