May 28, 2024 • 40 mins
Jason explains that the Celtics are only in the Finals because they were the healthiest team in the East in the playoffs. Has there ever/will there ever be a retirement more universally celebrated by fans than Angel Hernandez? And we remember the Great Bill Walton!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
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Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for
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Speaker 2 (00:22):
Please give this you're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Greetings, Welcome in Side hour two The Jason Smith Show
with my best friend Mike Harmon. Get live from the
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Speaker 3 (00:47):
The way tire buying should be so.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Congratulations to the Boston Celtics. The easiest path to the
NBA Finals. They navigated it. They found a way to
walk down Yellow Brick Road. Hey we got eating.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
No Jimmy Butler, no problem, no problem.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Hey the Cavaliers and no Donovan Mitchell, no problem, no problem.
No Jared Allen, no the Pacers and no Tyres Alibert,
no problem, no problem.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
And here we are in the NBA Finals.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Watch out because you know this means Luca or Kyrie
are going to get hurt before the Just watch out.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
I'm telling you, man, you've seen it. Watch out. Why
are you existence?
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Because I just saw what happened the last three rounds
will put the best player on each team was hurt
and midst a good portion or.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
All of the series. So what do I think is
gonna happen?
Speaker 4 (01:37):
We have a lot Mike about his start getting hurt.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
Yeah, I get that, but I think this is I
think this is just a guy who's still bitter over
the fragility and the crumbling of his squad. I know
he's projecting it onto somebody else.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
What are you doing?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Putting?
Speaker 7 (01:52):
You sticking some pins and a Luca doll while you're out?
Speaker 5 (01:55):
Oh god, are you melting one of those plastic McFarland dolls.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Come on, man, we.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Watched him play the team in the first round and
their best player got hurt and couldn't play. Second round,
same thing, the final, same thing. What's gonnapenl Did you
ever think of that? It's the new kids on the
block curse. That's how it's getting out.
Speaker 5 (02:18):
Remember all the way back in the sixth sense to
now it's all his FAULTDJ.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Clearly, most of these teams were hanging tough for a
while but couldn't beat the Celtics.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
As they go on to the NBA Finals.
Speaker 5 (02:31):
I really thought you were gonna have a second New
Kids on the Block song to finish that line, TJ, TJ.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
These teams really, they all thought they had the right stuff,
but they didn't, and the Celtics were able.
Speaker 7 (02:44):
To win all right. Now, I just hate you, TJ.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
The Celtics saying please, don't go Pacers. But the Pacers went,
as did the other teams, and now the Celtics are
in the NBA Final. Now there's a classic ballad that
you got in there. Nice done, DJ, the Celtics saying
to the Larry O'Brien trophy, I'll be loving you forever.
Next round coming in about eight weeks when we begin
(03:09):
the NBA Finals, DJ.
Speaker 5 (03:11):
I think you need a swinging neck break to calm
you down. My goodness, I.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Gave you some more NKOTB song.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
I'm sure you've got a million of them, oh man.
Speaker 7 (03:22):
But the hustling as well.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Look now, look this is this is a this is
a thing to talk about because it is it is
the easiest path that a team has had and and
going all the way through, and congratulations to everybody, just
kind of picking up on that the last couple of weeks.
Remember we talked with us a while ago. But again,
like I said, information is free, it's free and full
of love. Here today I'm full of love. But this
(03:46):
is not something that is so unbelievably foreign to the
NBA playoffs, right, Like, this is what the NBA playoffs
are about.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Teams don't win just because you want to give just
as big of a reason. Teams don't win because they
fail on the court, as much as what do we
do when our best player is hurt? And granted we
see this now all the time in the NBA player
there's no getting around it. Bet the best players in
the game get hurt, they miss time in the NBA playoffs,
and the NBA playoffs is not what it should be
(04:16):
because you see the best players because of the entire
season they've played at this point, they're worn down. You're
playing games every other night. Now you have three weeks off,
so at least you have time for the finals. But
this is what you see This is now how it
goes every year. It's about staying healthy. I knew when
the Nicks started dropping like flies they weren't could have win.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
You can't.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
How far can you get when it's three guys from
Villanov and Jalen Brunson is I mean, come on, how
far are you gonna go? How far are you gonna go?
If you are the Pacers without your best player, Tyres Aliberton.
Same thing with Donovan Mitchell, same thing with Jimmy Butler. Hey,
the Celtics aren't a hundred percent healthy, but their fourth
best player was the guy who's gotten hurt. Right, Okay,
so you can withstand when your fourth best player gets hurt,
(04:55):
but when stars get hurt, you just can't win. And
that's why winning the NBA title it's a the teams
that are the healthiest all the way through, right, Because
the Celtics, pretty of all the teams in the Eastern Conference. Yes,
Porzingis is hurt, and I'm not gonna say it's not
a thing, But was that the least of all the
injuries in the East. Of course it was everybody else
was hurt even more, right, the Knicks, we know how
(05:16):
hurt they were, We'd hurt. The Sixers were Joel Embiid.
We know how everybody. Everybody's hurt, everybody's banged up, guys
are missing games. The Celtics stayed the most healthy, not
that not completely healthy, but the most healthy. So it's
no surprise they're in the NBA Finals. And that's how
it was last year the Nuggets were able to get
to the NBFL. Look, they had guys hurt that they
were playing. Look at all these players who were hurt
and banged up, and the Nuggets go all the way
(05:38):
to the finals they wind up winning. This is how
it goes now. So yeah, we can say, oh, easy path,
easy path, but that's part of what it is now
to win a championship is hey, you got to make
sure to stay healthy. That's why playing for the Seeds
don't matter. Finishing here, finishing here, because you don't know
what's gonna happen. One turn of an ankle is gonna
change a series. And sometimes guys are hurt after games,
(05:59):
you don't even know what to you get to the
court for the next day. So this is just how
it goes in the play. It's a natural thing. So
it's not so much an outlier. It's a statement say, boy,
that's got to take advantage of this. But at the
same time, it's, well, this is kind of how the
playoff goes. And kudos to the Celtics for staying healthy
because your best ability is your availability, and here they
are in the finals because they're the healthiest team in
(06:19):
the Eastern Conference.
Speaker 5 (06:20):
I mean, as we always go through it when we
start a season, it's the we may like this squad
on paper, but what are they going to look like
come April? Right, that's the billion dollar question. It's why
you could have liked the roster that Rob Polinka and
the Lakers put together on paper at the end of
last summer, and many did, but it was all predicated
on two guys staying healthy.
Speaker 7 (06:41):
Guess what they did.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
The rest of the guys did not, Right, you got
seventy games out of Anthony Davis and Lebron James and
high level of play virtually every one of those outings.
I mean, you're playing a minimum ninety eight games, right
to get.
Speaker 7 (06:56):
Through a season.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
You're eighty two plus. Say you just on the table
and go sixteen and o in the playoffs. That's a
lot of basketball. You gotta navigat and I know there
was a stat going around the Celtics become I think
it's the ninth team to have twenty or fewer losses
in the last forty years, right, the four round of
(07:18):
playoff era. To go into the finals with twenty or
fewer losses, it's pretty big task, right, shows consistency ability
to get out of those long droughts. And to your point, yeah,
you can go back and look at most of those squads.
They had extra talent or their guys played played all
the way through hurt. Right, because you go back forty
(07:39):
years ago, rosters were constructed completely different. Free agency was
not the same player agency as it is now. Trades
weren't as easily consummated and bounced around, et cetera. But
it's just the nature of the beast at this point, right,
guys try to play hurt. You know, I've gotten into
it with our Ryan Hollins. I'm sure he'll join us
(08:01):
as the week goes on. We've gotten into it the
last couple weeks kind of talking about some of the
concessions that the players associations made. You know, when it
comes to the game's played status, right to be eligible
for awards. You got to play the sixty five. Well,
you got guys that are fighting to get to sixty five.
Does that mean they get back on the court too
early and re injured themselves, thus costing them a chunk
(08:25):
at the back end of the season, or maybe their
ability to be healthy for the playoffs altogether.
Speaker 7 (08:29):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
That's too much science for me. But the reality is
you've got, you know, just a circumstance whereby it's a
war of attrition and who's still capable? The injured versus
hurt argument will rage on forever.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
The Jason Smith Throw with Mike Carmon live from the
Tirak dot com studios. All so understand, that's at least
half of it getting to the finals is being that
healthiest team. Now the other part of this, let's get
into the final thirty seconds of this game.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
Oh, I thought you were gonna say it broke down
to one Lemon on the final minutes of the game.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
The Pacers stake no, look that is true, it's eating
well it is well, Look the Pacers don't have anybody
to hit shots, right.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
We'll get to that.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
The final thirty seconds of this game, the Celtics are
up three with the basketball, and the Pacers decide, we're
not gonna foul. We're not gonna try to extend the game.
We're gonna let the shot clock tick all the way
down and give the Celtics a shot with about eight
seconds left on the twenty.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Fourth on the on the game clock.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Right when the twenty four second clock is running out,
with about eight seconds left. Now, best case scenario, Best
case scenario, whoever takes a shot for the Celtics misses,
the Pacers get the rebound, and they get a rush
shot three desperation three from somewhere inside of half court. Right.
(09:56):
Tell me how that's a great strategy, right, I mean,
because all things that could go wrong could go wrong.
It's why you extend the game rather than take it
down to a winner take all play. And I don't
know why the Pacers were okay with taking it down
to winner take all play.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Foul.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Make a team make free throws and extend the game,
make them, make them hit four or five whatever you want.
And if they wind up begs and make their free throws, okay,
at least you exhaust every opportunity. But Jason Tatum took
a three with the shot clock down and down at zero,
and what happened. The rebound was long and the Pacers
didn't get it. So all that strategy and the Pacers
didn't even get the ball when clearly they would have
(10:34):
been able to get the ball and cut into the
Celtics lead going down if they did a three or
if the Celtics miss a free throw.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
It doesn't make sense.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
I don't know why coaches go away from extending the
game and put everything into a winner take all play
when you don't have to, because the Pacers didn't have
to put it in a winner take all play, but
they did. And I can sum it up with this
because this will tell you how my argument is fool proof.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
What's a bigger advantage for.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
An NBA team the game if they're up by three
with thirty seconds left, or if a team is up
by three with eight seconds left, what's a bigger advantage
of course, when you're probably eight with the third with
eight seconds left, because there's not enough time for a
team to come down and try to tie the game.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
So I don't understand how that how you get into that.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
It's a here if you say, hey, you could be
up by three with thirty seconds or eight seconds, same thing.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
So like Rick Carl is like, yeah, same thing. We're
not gonna I don't get it.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
I I really and and that's really what it comes
down to for me, is you decide to make it
into winner take all play. You didn't have to, and
you gave the Celtics a huge if they were more
than happy to sit here.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
And go, oh, they're gonna let to take the shot.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Clock down and we're gonna, okay, hey, they're gonna they're
gonna single guard Jason Tatum.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Hey, okay, great Now.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I don't know, now Tatum, I don't know why he
didn't try to get to the hoop. He was okay
with taking three, you know, but hey, long rebound, I can.
Speaker 5 (11:49):
See, Yeah, you're a long rebound and tap and maybe
you create a little bit of risk. Long rebound one
or two dribbles. You know, it's not an unmakeable shot.
I mean, we've certainly seen many from Jide half court fall.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Yeah, but I mean, but I mean, I I really
I failed to see how the Pacers can and Rick
Carl can defend saying yeah, we're gonna do that, even
no matter how many times you have to foul to
get him to the free throw. Linetta, you gotta make
it look hey, we're trying here. We're trying to extend
the game. We're trying to do something because there's time
outs and there's guys. I really I I scratched my
(12:22):
head and I go, this is who the Knicks lost to.
This is who we lost any guys, we didn't have
any guys.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
This is who we lost to. It's amazing this.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
In seven they won in seven Frostburg. They wanted, Well,
Lebron had just Lebron.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Had been in Kenkle.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
We're talking by the time that happened. No, No, we
were talking about the Celtics. You decided to bring up
the Knicks, so I bring up the Lakers. That's how
it works.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
You bring up the Knicks, I bring up the Lakers.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
I'll bring up the White Sox. Since we're talking about
teams that stage home early. You got a man everybody
is his team and his players are lazy. Top That
tell me about misery. You jerks kill to have your
teams to where there was actually something positive you can
take from it.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
Your team Smith's Knicks went to the second round for
the first time in like forty years.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Yeah, yeah, it was great. We haven't been good. And
third it's been a world celebrated again.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
This is why Rick Carlisle is right on when he says, hey,
the big market teams get all the calls because of
how many championships the Knicks have won in the last
thirty years.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
Yeah, they get all the calls. Look at the NBA bottle.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
They're sending the Knicks to the finals every single year.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Okay, bottle of white.
Speaker 5 (13:36):
Okay, it's all about the sellouts from Billy Joel, don't
you know.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
I really I look at Rick and I go, what's
he gonna say? We're gonna play some of Rick Carlisle
back and here from coming up in a few minutes
meeting the media, and I really want to see maybebe
say it's the officials fault.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
No, he's smart for nix with his pregame like his
earlier met session, and he just keeps telling Bill Walton's stories.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Oh, that'd probably be better than that.
Speaker 5 (13:59):
Hey, he did tell a great story about you know,
his wife and that being a dead concert that became
the jump.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Rick, Can you can you explain your coaching strategy there
in the last thirty seconds. Well, instead, I'd like to
tell a story about Bill Walton. Okay, great, we're all
here for forget about the last thirty seconds. Let's hear
a great story and then you move on. That's that'll
be a smart thing to do.
Speaker 7 (14:19):
How's that for Vegas misdirection? Right there?
Speaker 3 (14:21):
That's a that's a great story. Rick, But I asked
you about the the final thirty seconds.
Speaker 7 (14:26):
The season, you know, market team got over on us again.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Exit out about a Fresca exit swollen dome. The Jason
Smith Show with my best friend Mike Harmon.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
We got more NBA on the way.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
But coming up next, how about this word of a
stunning retirement here on Memorial Day.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
That's next right here, Jason and Mike.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
NBA Insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right
into the NBA grape fine.
Speaker 8 (15:06):
All happening in only one place this league Uncut. The
New NBA Podcast with me Chris Haynes and me Mark
Stein join us as we team up to expound on
everything we're covering. Hearing and Chason.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Listen to This League Uncut with Chris Haynes and Mark Stein.
Speaker 8 (15:24):
On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get
your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Fox Sports Radio, The Jason Smith Show with My best
friend Mike Harmon, and a Memorial Day Shocker. Angel Hernandez
is retiring as a Major League Baseball umpire.
Speaker 7 (15:47):
Holy cow, this right now?
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Uh, Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
We have our cameras across cities in the country where
fans have joined hands singing Yub Nub but like at
the end of Return of the Jedi, because that's the
party going on that Angel Hernandez has retired from the game.
Speaker 6 (16:05):
There was no.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
They're all young fans. They're all young kids that were
told the.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
Kids said have been brought brought along to the game.
Speaker 7 (16:15):
Yeah, the Major League Baseball. Uh.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
There there is no retirement more widely celebrated, I think
than Angel Hernandez.
Speaker 7 (16:22):
No, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
I do know if you can find a more that
everybody is all in on, right, Like if it's a
star player from a team, maybe the other teams across
the league are happy because Wow, this guy was beating
us for our whole career. If you're the guy retiring
the team, the fan of the team that he's retiring from,
you're upset because a great player is leaving. No, I
don't know, but but universally, I don't think there's anybody saying, boy,
(16:46):
which Angel Hernandez would keep umpiring. I don't think there's
one person who's who's saying.
Speaker 7 (16:50):
That, not one. You know what, I'll be that guy.
I like the variability.
Speaker 5 (16:54):
Oh stop, you're you never knew you knew it was coming.
You knew it was coming. It's like an m night
shot on. There's gonna be a twist. It's gonna be
a twist, Angel Hernandez, there's gonna be a screw up,
just a matter of when and how costly to your
team or that of the opponent.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
You know what, Mike, just for you taking that ridiculous stance,
just because you're looking for attention, We're gonna play this
for you right now.
Speaker 7 (17:25):
Can't get him?
Speaker 6 (17:26):
He no, no, he was safe and no.
Speaker 9 (17:32):
No, well, Angel Hernandez blew the call and the infield
being back should have cost him the game.
Speaker 6 (17:40):
It didn't. Right there, he's safe.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
He is set the ball and another boom call by Hernandez. Boy,
I tell you, I tell.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
You whoa MLB Productions Hawk Haroldson.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Hell, he's yelling no, no, no, no no, this is
Angel Hernandez. Everybody's got he.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
He was safe with.
Speaker 7 (18:13):
So great it's now gonna be my ring tone.
Speaker 10 (18:18):
Be alone, no, happy to see this guy go.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
You know, it's it's not even just that he was
a bad umpire who missed calls like, It's not no.
He he umpired with an agenda. He umpired he wanted
to punch guys out for whatever reason. He wanted to
make calls he did. I mean, really, he he was
one of those guys. He's the first guy when you
say the phrase, oh, everybody comes to the game to
(18:44):
watch me umpire, Like I need to show everybody I'm
the real star of this game. Like these guys are
all playing the game, but this is my game, and
I'm gonna show you that this is my game. Because
this is how I think umpiring needs to go. Umpires
need to keep these these players in line, and these
players that do whatever the hell they want to on
the field, swinging the bats and throwing the balls and
(19:05):
sliding into the bases I'm gonna show them just exactly
how they can't do stuff.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Like that, and I'm gonna make my presence known. I'm
gonna announce my presence with authority. Now.
Speaker 5 (19:15):
You know, we can always get into the advanced metrics,
and I know there's plenty of sites that start diving
into consistency issues with umpires and balls and strikes whatever.
But Angel Hernandez is the poster child for why we
we've had any kind of push towards robot empires right, right,
(19:36):
and just in terms of consistency, at least in that
part of the game. Now, there's always gonna be problems
along the base paths, right that we'll have to adjudicate.
And you know, infield fly rules, that's something I would
have loved to hear Hawk call that one, you know,
in that Orioles White Times game. But you know, when
(19:57):
it comes down to it, if you can eliminate a
big part of the problem, which is arguing balls and
strikes and take the human element out of it, there,
you know you're you're that much closer to your your
utopia from an umpire and player and manager relations side
of things.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
I mean, really, he made it all about himself. He
would umpire with an agenda, and there's nobody that's not
happy about this.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
And just think about this. Do you really think it's
a coincidence? Okay, because remember because this is.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Something, it's a memorial day, it's a holiday, and people
now doing different things today, and obviously the basketball is
a big deal. Uh, we'll talk, we'll get back into
Bill Walton. The people are talking about that. But a
story broken major League Baseball today that the automatic balls
and strikes, the robot umpires we've been hearing about for
so long have been running trials and the minor leagues
(20:51):
the last few years been working pretty well. The automatic
balls and strike system will be coming to Major League Baseball,
not for next year, but for the year after.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
So not for next year, okay, but the year after.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Uh do you really think there's a coincidence that this
story gets announced today and Angel Hernandez retires. Wait a minute,
let me call it balls and strikes anymore? Well, blank,
you man, I'm quitting. I'm not gonna stand out there
and not make any calls while something behind me is
gonna and I gotta get a buzzer in my head.
When a team wants to challenge a call. Oh no, no,
not gonna happen. Not gonna do it, mad, not gonna
(21:25):
do it. I'm leaving. I don't think there's any coincidence
that we got this story today and now this story
today from Bob Nightingale and Angel Hand is retiring.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
No way, no.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
I also appreciate the uh the Lacick Twitter account taken
to it like they'd offered him services and he missed
the call. And there were a lot of and he
missed the call jokes that went on and on. It's
too bad that the naked gun the original was nineteen
eighty eight. Otherwise you could have really just done the
one to one Correlationcozo.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Can't get him.
Speaker 6 (21:57):
He was safe?
Speaker 9 (21:58):
No, no, Well, Angel Hernandez blew the call and the
infield being back should have cost him the game.
Speaker 6 (22:09):
It didn't. He's so good right there, he's safe, he
is set half the ball.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Another phone call by Hernandos another that's just.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
The best man, that is just the best. I can't
and he's retiring now and Adelaires is walking away. He's not.
Speaker 11 (22:33):
I mean, normally I.
Speaker 6 (22:34):
Would say the guy had a good run.
Speaker 7 (22:35):
I mean, he was in for thirty years.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
But it's been thirty years of when's this guy either
getting demoted, fired, or forced into retirement?
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Yeah, and that didn't really happen. Look, I mean I
get the whole.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
I understand that this has never been a tougher time
for officials in sports, right because it's the worst now.
And when you think about what's coming from Major leque
baseball umpires with the balls and strike calls that are
going to be automated, Like, what is it gonna be
to be a Major league baseball umpire?
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Now?
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Basically it's just as long as a play is obvious,
it's fine, and you can call it on the field.
But when there's a question, we're gonna go look at
the replay, and that's really what's gonna tell us, uh,
whether we're gonna challenge a call because we see it
go the wrong way or not challenge because oh okay,
yeah they got it right. I mean, you're basically just
out there to make the easy calls and and that
(23:31):
anybody can do it. Like, I don't know what the
training is gonna be for a Major League baseball umpire,
because clearly you go through games, I don't know all
the rules. Oh hey, sorry, Yeah, that rule where the
pop up thing with the orioles. Yeah, sorry, we screwed
that up. I mean, like you check us out.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
The ACCA is gonna be they're gonna show Angel Hernandez
stuff and they're gonna say, don't do that whatever.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Yeah, it's like in the Simpsons when Mahmer's got in
his face what Bart says do opposite? Like, like you
think about it. You're you're a major league baseball mPire.
You go out and umpire first base and what what what?
What's your job? You're umpiring the plays at first base
and you make the calls as long as it's not close.
But when it's close, it's gonna be looked at and
(24:12):
it's going to be decided that a team wants to challenge. Right,
So your authority has been taken away. And now home
plate umpire, their authority has been taken away because with
automatic ball strikes, it's gonna be still. Hey, we get
the the umpire gets the note from the from the
ball strikes calls the play like now there's nothing now
you're gonna make Yeah, you make the outsafe calls at
(24:34):
home plate. Yeah, but guess what that's gonna be reviewed
as well. If you if if it's if it's a
close play, somebody else is gonna do it. It's like
you're just you're just you're just taking up a suit.
You're just taking up an umpire's outfit, an empty suit.
So I understand.
Speaker 5 (24:48):
I understanding Lebron James no suit.
Speaker 7 (24:52):
So I so I.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Understand the the the how how tough it is to
be an umpire now, but you know, still, Angel Hernandez
is a guy like dude, you took being an umpire,
You took it to a to a proactive and combative level.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
You know, I mean, let's can't get him bloo go.
Speaker 6 (25:11):
He was safer, No, no, he spoke for all of us.
Speaker 5 (25:22):
But yeah, it really is difficult, right, we have these
conversations all the time trying to adjudicate you know, fast
moving plays the NFL. Yeah, we get to watch it
from fifteen different angles. These guys have to try to
call it live while running backwards or trying to keep
up with guys that do four three, five forties right
playing in the NBA. All right, where's the line between
(25:45):
there's a little bit of physicality and contact versus all right,
that's a fall or beyond that? Did the elbow graze
the guy's temple as he went to block a shot
trying to do that live versus allright, we gotta go
to review, whereas us at a home we haven't clipped
off and on Twitter in thirty two seconds the boom,
(26:07):
which is where we get to that. You know, it's
it's really not an enviable position.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
I mean, really, I don't everybody it's like a universal
celebration tonight, like everybody's popping champagne, going, let me talk.
This is what Angel Hernandez did to me in twenty nineteen.
Here's what Angel Lenna did to me in twenty twenty one.
Speaker 7 (26:29):
And everybody the story across Major League Baseball.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Everybody's got the stories.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
I really I want to find one person that can
really say, hey, this is where Angel hernand Losing Angel
Hernandez is a blow.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
I don't know. I don't know where you're gonna get
that one of.
Speaker 5 (26:44):
My and there Look, there's thirty five forty years of
material from Rick Flair interviews, some of which are like
he said left, but my favorite was there was a
referee in Tommy Young and you know it was controversial, dude,
But at one point Flair is doing his best, you know,
sell and he goes, look, I don't like this guy,
but he calls him like he sees them. Ain't nobody
(27:07):
step into a microphone in front and for Angel Hernandez.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
Tonight exit out about a friend he was no unless
maybe you know, maybe he may he would lend people
a lot of money. Maybe that's what I'm gonna miss him,
because hey, if I didn't have my per diem or whatever,
he would always buy dinner out on the road.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
Or something like that.
Speaker 5 (27:28):
I don't know, I don't really Isn't that what Andy Chubb?
There was a guy you saw that story right lending
and he made a million dollars.
Speaker 7 (27:38):
Bad move man.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
No, you know, maybe maybe now Angel Hernandez is gonna
go do a podcast that's gonna be so amazingly entertaining,
like it's Saban and Belichick. Right, Suddenly he's gonna have
all these great amazing insights. Oh, it's the Angel Hernandez
Joe West Podcast.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
It's fantastic.
Speaker 6 (27:55):
Just listen to No.
Speaker 7 (27:58):
Can he can he get hired to be one of
the guys in the in the booth? Can we bring
him to Fox? Oh?
Speaker 1 (28:04):
I really like to hear Hey, uh, now now bad
for the not bad for the Dodgers. Mookie Bets, Hey, Angel,
what was Mookie Bets like to umpire? Let me tell
you about this bay. We tell you about this dude.
He thinks he's so blain. He thinks he's so great.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
Mama. I love calling the inside strike on him with
Mike Pereira.
Speaker 7 (28:22):
Now let's go.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Now, if it was four inches off the plate, I
always called it a strike because Mookie would give me
like the side is like it was really mad, and
I like that and I wanted to see it again,
so I always called it. If I gave the I
gave the opposing picture four inches on either side of
the plate because I just didn't like Mookie bets. Oh
that's great. See look at the cat. He's gonna get
a home run here because he's gonna get himpired fairly.
But me, no, I like to make that strike zone
(28:46):
really really no time to find out what's trending right
now from a guy who well, let's just say he
was the original president of the Angel Hernandez fan Club
because he thought it was Keith Hernandez gave up his
membership and now he's here with us.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
It's Steve de Sager.
Speaker 10 (29:06):
I could hear that clip the rest of the night,
and I hope I do.
Speaker 11 (29:14):
It never fails to satisfy, by the way, you know
in the Monday Light Football, former NFL referee John Perry
did leave the booths, so there is an opening.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
I'm just go okay, okay.
Speaker 11 (29:26):
Angel Hernandez officially will retire from Major League Baseball this week.
He has confirmed the multiple reports Tonight. Over the past
couple of weeks, reportedly he and the league have been
negotiating terms of his retirement. I don't know how many
houses and what kind of real estate and how many
millions he gets to go away, But.
Speaker 10 (29:44):
It's all worth it, Hernandez.
Speaker 11 (29:48):
He says, I have decided I want to spend more
time with my family.
Speaker 7 (29:52):
Oh yeah, there it is.
Speaker 10 (29:55):
So it turns out, ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 11 (29:57):
The last Major League game Angel hernand has worked was
a White Sox victory.
Speaker 10 (30:03):
Go figure there may the ninth, age sixty two.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
It really would have been great.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
It really would have been great if the last time
in the last call he worked was that infield fly
with the White Sox, He's gets a walk off because
they win the game on the walk off there and
he walks off with it. Yeah, I wanted to make
a call like that to really end the game, but
I realized when am I ever.
Speaker 7 (30:25):
Going to get a chance to do that again.
Speaker 10 (30:27):
So you know, everybody, maybe a box that wasn't to
end the game something, just.
Speaker 11 (30:34):
To speak, this is the game walking off Back hired
as a full time umpire in the majors in nineteen
ninety three, So people have been discussing him for a while.
Can I point out remember in recent years he had
the lawsuit against Major League Baseball. He said, you know,
I didn't get chosen for World Series work because of race,
(30:55):
or I didn't get promotion to crew chief because of race,
which forces Major League Baseball in defending itself to actually
cite Angel Hernandez record. They had to point out specific
instances where he failed at his job and missed calls
on the field.
Speaker 10 (31:13):
In key moments. He lost the case, he lost the appeal.
Speaker 11 (31:18):
He was barely on the field last year with a
back injury and had ten games ten games as an
umpire all last year, and still according to Umpire auditor,
he missed one hundred and sixty one calls in ten games.
One of those games was in September where he kicked
out Bryce Harper. Harper winds up launching his helmet into
(31:39):
the stands behind the dugout when Harper was called out
on a check swing by Angel Hernandez on the appeal
at third and Bryce Harper says after the game, Angel
in the middle of something again. It's every year, same story,
same thing. I'm probably gonna get fined for being right again.
End quote. Angel Hernandez no longer a Major League umpire.
(32:03):
The late ballgame on this holiday is in Seattle and
the Mariners top of the seventh have a three to
two lead over the Houston Astros. Dodgers at Mets reigned
out doubleheader tomorrow. San Diego edge Miami two to one,
saved to Robert Suarez, his sixteenth save. His era is
zero point seven to three wins for Cincinnati and San Francisco.
Wins for Washington and Minnesota, which beat Kansas City six
(32:26):
to five. Colorado defeated Cleveland eight six. The Guardian's nine
game winning streak is over Milwaukee with five runs bottom
of the eighth beat the Cubs five one. Cubbies have
lost five in a row. White Sox have lost sixth straight.
Speaker 6 (32:37):
Oh he was safe?
Speaker 11 (32:38):
No Toronto one at Chicago five to one, and Baltimore
won its fifth straight game, eleven to three over Boston.
NHL Dallas up two games to one in the West
Final after winning at Edmonton five to three. Tomorrow the
NBA's West Finals Game four Minnesota Dallas, with the Mavericks
leading three games to none. Celtics completed a four game
(32:59):
sweet in the East Finals. Tonight, Boston wins at Indiana
one O five, one oh two. Jo Brown twenty nine points.
I didn't realize Angel was a Pacers fan. Celtics are
six and oh on the road this postseason, twelve and
two overall. The NBA Finals don't start to June.
Speaker 10 (33:17):
No, thank to you.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
Hey, you want the tweet of the night, the Angel who?
Speaker 7 (33:25):
Then?
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Oh no, you gotta have it?
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Uh from Epic Arizona, Jason, what are the odds? Angel
Hernandez misses the signature line on his retirement paperwork? Oh,
exit out A bout of Fresco exit, swollen dove. The
Jason Smith Show with Mike Harma, Thank you, Steve, oh hey,
We'll have more on the Angel Hernandez retirement coming up
(33:48):
in a bit but straight ahead. We remember an absolute
legend we lost earlier today. Keep it right here, Jason
and Mike Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Another boom call by Hernandez. Be sure to catch live
editions of The Jason Smith Show with Mike harmon weekdays
at ten pm Eastern seven pm Pacific.
Speaker 7 (34:07):
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
The song goes out to Angel Hernandez, Jason Smith, Mike
Harmon Livethtirack dot Com studios.
Speaker 3 (34:15):
Coming up in about ten minutes will.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Break down more of Game four. The Celtics headed to
the NBA Finals. They beat the Pacers one oh five
to one oh two, a four game sweep, and everybody
seems upset about one fel call that wasn't a surprise
the Pacers that he playing a game they're upset about fouls.
Will break it down coming up at about ten minutes,
(34:38):
but uh, look, there's no way to slice it up
any different. Today sucked. We lost Bill Walton, who passed
away at the age of seventy one. He had been
suffering from cancer for a while, and look, not a
lot of people knew about it, and he died earlier today,
surrounded by his loved ones. His family put out a
statement that was released by the And you know, you've
(35:02):
heard so many stories and seen so many stories about
Bill Walton today. And you know, some some people, if
you're of a certain age, you remember his NBA career.
Most people remember him from his broadcasting career, even the
last couple of years doing the PAC twelve after dark games.
And you know how how amazing it wasn't really Yesterday
was the last day of the PAC twelve conference, the
(35:22):
Conference of Champions. You know, Bill Walton passes away. It's
just it's it's nuts. But the thing about Bill Walton,
you hear one thing more than anything when it comes
to Bill Walton, is people talking about how much fun
he was and how much fun he was to be around.
Speaker 3 (35:40):
And he was one of a kind.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
He's one of those guys that I always want to
and wanted to get the sports world like he did.
Like he he got what it meant to be an
athlete and have pressure on you but also understand and
you can have fun with it and treat things the
(36:02):
right way. And when he's doing PAC twelve games that
begin late at night, he can do all kinds of
crazy stuff with Dave Pash, like eating cookies and cupcakes
and you know, and messing around with Snoop Dogg, and
you know, he just understood what the game needed at
that time. And the way he saw the sports world
was that, hey, don't ever forget this is a lot
(36:25):
of fun. This is big business, and it's a lot
of everything, and we take ourselves very seriously, and you
should when you pick to do something for a living,
you should take yourself seriously because why else are you're
doing it. But the way he saw the sports world,
I always said, boy, I wish I could see it
all the time like him. I think sometimes I do,
but not all the time, not with the consistency that
(36:45):
he was able to do it at. And that's really
one thing that I look and I go, that's a
wish I had, because he really saw the sports world
the way it should be seen, from beginning to end.
Speaker 5 (36:55):
Well, the Jordy just push past what might have been terrible,
and he would call out terrible calls, maybe not to
the degree of Hawk Harrelson, but you know he would
go down that path and then say, well they're human too,
and go back to the beauty of the game and
what you're watching. In my timeline, it popped up this
quote a couple of times describing Nikola Jokic from twenty eighteen.
(37:18):
When you see someone like a Nelson Mandela or a
Martin Luther King or a Mahatma Gandhi, someone who sees
the future before anyone else does, knows how to get
to and where they need to be, where they want
to be, that is Nikola jokicch. Happiness begins where selfishness ends.
And in a game that's been taken over by incessant
(37:38):
dribbling for yourself, jokicch is a breath of fresh air
and it's his imagination. Watching him play basketball, it's like
watching Bob Dylan come up with a song like just
the poetry truidity, right, that's still that curiosity that he
had on everything. We would always laugh and over the
last ten years, how many times have we had random
(38:00):
clips from the PAC twelve after dark of what the
hell did want? What was he talking about? Because if
you couldn't match it up with the visual on TV,
you would have no clue.
Speaker 7 (38:09):
But that was the beauty of it.
Speaker 5 (38:11):
Imagine the theater, the absurd and letting the imagination run
and you were laughing and smiling the whole way.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Yeah, look, he made you pay attention to games that
you had no desire or care about.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Right, Like, what do I want to do?
Speaker 1 (38:25):
I'm slowing down now, I'm nearing the end of being
able to broadcast. I want to do PAC twelve is
my conference. It's what I want to do, and I'm
gonna do whatever the hell I want to. I'm gonna
play the xylophone with Dave Pash, I'm gonna do this.
I'm gonna do this and you could be watching. It
could be Arizona State and USC What do we Does
anybody care about that game?
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Nope? What did Bill Walton do?
Speaker 5 (38:45):
What?
Speaker 1 (38:45):
He made you care about games that he broadcasts just
because he was there? And that's what I mean by
I understood the sports world.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
He got that.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
This is what I want to do. I want to
bring this attention to this conference. That is the conference
of champions that I came up in. But I want
to do it, and I want to do it the
right way that everybody's gonna like it and they're gonna
like what they see.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
And I know that I could pull it off.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
Because there's not there's not one time where I look
at something I go you know, Bill, you went too
far there, ye know, Bill, I don't know Bill did that.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
Bill kind of went too far there.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
I mean, the guy's knowledge about basketball and the NBA
and the way he can weave in as you said,
you just gave, you know, comparisons Nicola Yokitz and Nelson
Mandela seeing the future. It's like, what what what can
anybody else tell this guy? Like, what can anybody else
tell them? It's you watching broacast and go. He's just
got his own thing, man, and he just.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
Gets it, and he gets the life of sports, and
he gets what sports is as a business, has an
entertainment capacity, all of it. He got it, Lonnie.
Speaker 5 (39:40):
We got the view from his world right grateful, dead
lyrics and being a troubadour.
Speaker 7 (39:47):
There.
Speaker 5 (39:47):
How many acts they had though, I mean UCLA into
the NBA, hanging out with Snapper Jones and everything on NBC.
Obviously some health issues and we talked about it a
little bit earlier, I mean, and then the comeback and
becoming this beloved character. I mean, how many videos did
you see of him hanging out with bands, with cheerleaders,
(40:09):
with players from any type of squad on campuses, you know,
as as part of the celebration of sport and youth.
Speaker 7 (40:18):
Huge, he was.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
People say he was one of a kind, he was unique,
he was all of these things.
Speaker 3 (40:24):
Again.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
You're gonna hear and see hundreds of Bill Walton stories today, tomorrow,
and all of them are gonna be true. Rest in peace,
Bill Walton, seventy one years old. The Jason Smith Show
with Mike Carmon, lofthtirech dot Com series.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
We got more on Walton coming up.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
But straight ahead was that big call sending the Celtics
to the NBA Final.
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
ten pm to two am Eastern seven to eleven pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon at Foxsports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every night on the
iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Please give this you're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Greetings, Welcome in Side hour two The Jason Smith Show
with my best friend Mike Harmon. Get live from the
ti raq dot com studios tire rack dot com. I'll
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tiraq dot com.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
The way tire buying should be so.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Congratulations to the Boston Celtics. The easiest path to the
NBA Finals. They navigated it. They found a way to
walk down Yellow Brick Road. Hey we got eating.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
No Jimmy Butler, no problem, no problem.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Hey the Cavaliers and no Donovan Mitchell, no problem, no problem.
No Jared Allen, no the Pacers and no Tyres Alibert,
no problem, no problem.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
And here we are in the NBA Finals.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Watch out because you know this means Luca or Kyrie
are going to get hurt before the Just watch out.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
I'm telling you, man, you've seen it. Watch out. Why
are you existence?
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Because I just saw what happened the last three rounds
will put the best player on each team was hurt
and midst a good portion or.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
All of the series. So what do I think is
gonna happen?
Speaker 4 (01:37):
We have a lot Mike about his start getting hurt.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
Yeah, I get that, but I think this is I
think this is just a guy who's still bitter over
the fragility and the crumbling of his squad. I know
he's projecting it onto somebody else.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
What are you doing?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Putting?
Speaker 7 (01:52):
You sticking some pins and a Luca doll while you're out?
Speaker 5 (01:55):
Oh god, are you melting one of those plastic McFarland dolls.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Come on, man, we.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Watched him play the team in the first round and
their best player got hurt and couldn't play. Second round,
same thing, the final, same thing. What's gonnapenl Did you
ever think of that? It's the new kids on the
block curse. That's how it's getting out.
Speaker 5 (02:18):
Remember all the way back in the sixth sense to
now it's all his FAULTDJ.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Clearly, most of these teams were hanging tough for a
while but couldn't beat the Celtics.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
As they go on to the NBA Finals.
Speaker 5 (02:31):
I really thought you were gonna have a second New
Kids on the Block song to finish that line, TJ, TJ.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
These teams really, they all thought they had the right stuff,
but they didn't, and the Celtics were able.
Speaker 7 (02:44):
To win all right. Now, I just hate you, TJ.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
The Celtics saying please, don't go Pacers. But the Pacers went,
as did the other teams, and now the Celtics are
in the NBA Final. Now there's a classic ballad that
you got in there. Nice done, DJ, the Celtics saying
to the Larry O'Brien trophy, I'll be loving you forever.
Next round coming in about eight weeks when we begin
(03:09):
the NBA Finals, DJ.
Speaker 5 (03:11):
I think you need a swinging neck break to calm
you down. My goodness, I.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Gave you some more NKOTB song.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
I'm sure you've got a million of them, oh man.
Speaker 7 (03:22):
But the hustling as well.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Look now, look this is this is a this is
a thing to talk about because it is it is
the easiest path that a team has had and and
going all the way through, and congratulations to everybody, just
kind of picking up on that the last couple of weeks.
Remember we talked with us a while ago. But again,
like I said, information is free, it's free and full
of love. Here today I'm full of love. But this
(03:46):
is not something that is so unbelievably foreign to the
NBA playoffs, right, Like, this is what the NBA playoffs
are about.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Teams don't win just because you want to give just
as big of a reason. Teams don't win because they
fail on the court, as much as what do we
do when our best player is hurt? And granted we
see this now all the time in the NBA player
there's no getting around it. Bet the best players in
the game get hurt, they miss time in the NBA playoffs,
and the NBA playoffs is not what it should be
(04:16):
because you see the best players because of the entire
season they've played at this point, they're worn down. You're
playing games every other night. Now you have three weeks off,
so at least you have time for the finals. But
this is what you see This is now how it
goes every year. It's about staying healthy. I knew when
the Nicks started dropping like flies they weren't could have win.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
You can't.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
How far can you get when it's three guys from
Villanov and Jalen Brunson is I mean, come on, how
far are you gonna go? How far are you gonna go?
If you are the Pacers without your best player, Tyres Aliberton.
Same thing with Donovan Mitchell, same thing with Jimmy Butler. Hey,
the Celtics aren't a hundred percent healthy, but their fourth
best player was the guy who's gotten hurt. Right, Okay,
so you can withstand when your fourth best player gets hurt,
(04:55):
but when stars get hurt, you just can't win. And
that's why winning the NBA title it's a the teams
that are the healthiest all the way through, right, Because
the Celtics, pretty of all the teams in the Eastern Conference. Yes,
Porzingis is hurt, and I'm not gonna say it's not
a thing, But was that the least of all the
injuries in the East. Of course it was everybody else
was hurt even more, right, the Knicks, we know how
(05:16):
hurt they were, We'd hurt. The Sixers were Joel Embiid.
We know how everybody. Everybody's hurt, everybody's banged up, guys
are missing games. The Celtics stayed the most healthy, not
that not completely healthy, but the most healthy. So it's
no surprise they're in the NBA Finals. And that's how
it was last year the Nuggets were able to get
to the NBFL. Look, they had guys hurt that they
were playing. Look at all these players who were hurt
and banged up, and the Nuggets go all the way
(05:38):
to the finals they wind up winning. This is how
it goes now. So yeah, we can say, oh, easy path,
easy path, but that's part of what it is now
to win a championship is hey, you got to make
sure to stay healthy. That's why playing for the Seeds
don't matter. Finishing here, finishing here, because you don't know
what's gonna happen. One turn of an ankle is gonna
change a series. And sometimes guys are hurt after games,
(05:59):
you don't even know what to you get to the
court for the next day. So this is just how
it goes in the play. It's a natural thing. So
it's not so much an outlier. It's a statement say, boy,
that's got to take advantage of this. But at the
same time, it's, well, this is kind of how the
playoff goes. And kudos to the Celtics for staying healthy
because your best ability is your availability, and here they
are in the finals because they're the healthiest team in
(06:19):
the Eastern Conference.
Speaker 5 (06:20):
I mean, as we always go through it when we
start a season, it's the we may like this squad
on paper, but what are they going to look like
come April? Right, that's the billion dollar question. It's why
you could have liked the roster that Rob Polinka and
the Lakers put together on paper at the end of
last summer, and many did, but it was all predicated
on two guys staying healthy.
Speaker 7 (06:41):
Guess what they did.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
The rest of the guys did not, Right, you got
seventy games out of Anthony Davis and Lebron James and
high level of play virtually every one of those outings.
I mean, you're playing a minimum ninety eight games, right
to get.
Speaker 7 (06:56):
Through a season.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
You're eighty two plus. Say you just on the table
and go sixteen and o in the playoffs. That's a
lot of basketball. You gotta navigat and I know there
was a stat going around the Celtics become I think
it's the ninth team to have twenty or fewer losses
in the last forty years, right, the four round of
(07:18):
playoff era. To go into the finals with twenty or
fewer losses, it's pretty big task, right, shows consistency ability
to get out of those long droughts. And to your point, yeah,
you can go back and look at most of those squads.
They had extra talent or their guys played played all
the way through hurt. Right, because you go back forty
(07:39):
years ago, rosters were constructed completely different. Free agency was
not the same player agency as it is now. Trades
weren't as easily consummated and bounced around, et cetera. But
it's just the nature of the beast at this point, right,
guys try to play hurt. You know, I've gotten into
it with our Ryan Hollins. I'm sure he'll join us
(08:01):
as the week goes on. We've gotten into it the
last couple weeks kind of talking about some of the
concessions that the players associations made. You know, when it
comes to the game's played status, right to be eligible
for awards. You got to play the sixty five. Well,
you got guys that are fighting to get to sixty five.
Does that mean they get back on the court too
early and re injured themselves, thus costing them a chunk
(08:25):
at the back end of the season, or maybe their
ability to be healthy for the playoffs altogether.
Speaker 7 (08:29):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
That's too much science for me. But the reality is
you've got, you know, just a circumstance whereby it's a
war of attrition and who's still capable? The injured versus
hurt argument will rage on forever.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
The Jason Smith Throw with Mike Carmon live from the
Tirak dot com studios. All so understand, that's at least
half of it getting to the finals is being that
healthiest team. Now the other part of this, let's get
into the final thirty seconds of this game.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
Oh, I thought you were gonna say it broke down
to one Lemon on the final minutes of the game.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
The Pacers stake no, look that is true, it's eating
well it is well, Look the Pacers don't have anybody
to hit shots, right.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
We'll get to that.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
The final thirty seconds of this game, the Celtics are
up three with the basketball, and the Pacers decide, we're
not gonna foul. We're not gonna try to extend the game.
We're gonna let the shot clock tick all the way
down and give the Celtics a shot with about eight
seconds left on the twenty.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Fourth on the on the game clock.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Right when the twenty four second clock is running out,
with about eight seconds left. Now, best case scenario, Best
case scenario, whoever takes a shot for the Celtics misses,
the Pacers get the rebound, and they get a rush
shot three desperation three from somewhere inside of half court. Right.
(09:56):
Tell me how that's a great strategy, right, I mean,
because all things that could go wrong could go wrong.
It's why you extend the game rather than take it
down to a winner take all play. And I don't
know why the Pacers were okay with taking it down
to winner take all play.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Foul.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Make a team make free throws and extend the game,
make them, make them hit four or five whatever you want.
And if they wind up begs and make their free throws, okay,
at least you exhaust every opportunity. But Jason Tatum took
a three with the shot clock down and down at zero,
and what happened. The rebound was long and the Pacers
didn't get it. So all that strategy and the Pacers
didn't even get the ball when clearly they would have
(10:34):
been able to get the ball and cut into the
Celtics lead going down if they did a three or
if the Celtics miss a free throw.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
It doesn't make sense.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
I don't know why coaches go away from extending the
game and put everything into a winner take all play
when you don't have to, because the Pacers didn't have
to put it in a winner take all play, but
they did. And I can sum it up with this
because this will tell you how my argument is fool proof.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
What's a bigger advantage for.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
An NBA team the game if they're up by three
with thirty seconds left, or if a team is up
by three with eight seconds left, what's a bigger advantage
of course, when you're probably eight with the third with
eight seconds left, because there's not enough time for a
team to come down and try to tie the game.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
So I don't understand how that how you get into that.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
It's a here if you say, hey, you could be
up by three with thirty seconds or eight seconds, same thing.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
So like Rick Carl is like, yeah, same thing. We're
not gonna I don't get it.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
I I really and and that's really what it comes
down to for me, is you decide to make it
into winner take all play. You didn't have to, and
you gave the Celtics a huge if they were more
than happy to sit here.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
And go, oh, they're gonna let to take the shot.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Clock down and we're gonna, okay, hey, they're gonna they're
gonna single guard Jason Tatum.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Hey, okay, great Now.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I don't know, now Tatum, I don't know why he
didn't try to get to the hoop. He was okay
with taking three, you know, but hey, long rebound, I can.
Speaker 5 (11:49):
See, Yeah, you're a long rebound and tap and maybe
you create a little bit of risk. Long rebound one
or two dribbles. You know, it's not an unmakeable shot.
I mean, we've certainly seen many from Jide half court fall.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Yeah, but I mean, but I mean, I I really
I failed to see how the Pacers can and Rick
Carl can defend saying yeah, we're gonna do that, even
no matter how many times you have to foul to
get him to the free throw. Linetta, you gotta make
it look hey, we're trying here. We're trying to extend
the game. We're trying to do something because there's time
outs and there's guys. I really I I scratched my
(12:22):
head and I go, this is who the Knicks lost to.
This is who we lost any guys, we didn't have
any guys.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
This is who we lost to. It's amazing this.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
In seven they won in seven Frostburg. They wanted, Well,
Lebron had just Lebron.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Had been in Kenkle.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
We're talking by the time that happened. No, No, we
were talking about the Celtics. You decided to bring up
the Knicks, so I bring up the Lakers. That's how
it works.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
You bring up the Knicks, I bring up the Lakers.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
I'll bring up the White Sox. Since we're talking about
teams that stage home early. You got a man everybody
is his team and his players are lazy. Top That
tell me about misery. You jerks kill to have your
teams to where there was actually something positive you can
take from it.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
Your team Smith's Knicks went to the second round for
the first time in like forty years.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Yeah, yeah, it was great. We haven't been good. And
third it's been a world celebrated again.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
This is why Rick Carlisle is right on when he says, hey,
the big market teams get all the calls because of
how many championships the Knicks have won in the last
thirty years.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
Yeah, they get all the calls. Look at the NBA bottle.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
They're sending the Knicks to the finals every single year.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Okay, bottle of white.
Speaker 5 (13:36):
Okay, it's all about the sellouts from Billy Joel, don't
you know.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
I really I look at Rick and I go, what's
he gonna say? We're gonna play some of Rick Carlisle
back and here from coming up in a few minutes
meeting the media, and I really want to see maybebe
say it's the officials fault.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
No, he's smart for nix with his pregame like his
earlier met session, and he just keeps telling Bill Walton's stories.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Oh, that'd probably be better than that.
Speaker 5 (13:59):
Hey, he did tell a great story about you know,
his wife and that being a dead concert that became
the jump.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Rick, Can you can you explain your coaching strategy there
in the last thirty seconds. Well, instead, I'd like to
tell a story about Bill Walton. Okay, great, we're all
here for forget about the last thirty seconds. Let's hear
a great story and then you move on. That's that'll
be a smart thing to do.
Speaker 7 (14:19):
How's that for Vegas misdirection? Right there?
Speaker 3 (14:21):
That's a that's a great story. Rick, But I asked
you about the the final thirty seconds.
Speaker 7 (14:26):
The season, you know, market team got over on us again.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Exit out about a Fresca exit swollen dome. The Jason
Smith Show with my best friend Mike Harmon.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
We got more NBA on the way.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
But coming up next, how about this word of a
stunning retirement here on Memorial Day.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
That's next right here, Jason and Mike.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
NBA Insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right
into the NBA grape fine.
Speaker 8 (15:06):
All happening in only one place this league Uncut. The
New NBA Podcast with me Chris Haynes and me Mark
Stein join us as we team up to expound on
everything we're covering. Hearing and Chason.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Listen to This League Uncut with Chris Haynes and Mark Stein.
Speaker 8 (15:24):
On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get
your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Fox Sports Radio, The Jason Smith Show with My best
friend Mike Harmon, and a Memorial Day Shocker. Angel Hernandez
is retiring as a Major League Baseball umpire.
Speaker 7 (15:47):
Holy cow, this right now?
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Uh, Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
We have our cameras across cities in the country where
fans have joined hands singing Yub Nub but like at
the end of Return of the Jedi, because that's the
party going on that Angel Hernandez has retired from the game.
Speaker 6 (16:05):
There was no.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
They're all young fans. They're all young kids that were
told the.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
Kids said have been brought brought along to the game.
Speaker 7 (16:15):
Yeah, the Major League Baseball. Uh.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
There there is no retirement more widely celebrated, I think
than Angel Hernandez.
Speaker 7 (16:22):
No, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
I do know if you can find a more that
everybody is all in on, right, Like if it's a
star player from a team, maybe the other teams across
the league are happy because Wow, this guy was beating
us for our whole career. If you're the guy retiring
the team, the fan of the team that he's retiring from,
you're upset because a great player is leaving. No, I
don't know, but but universally, I don't think there's anybody saying, boy,
(16:46):
which Angel Hernandez would keep umpiring. I don't think there's
one person who's who's saying.
Speaker 7 (16:50):
That, not one. You know what, I'll be that guy.
I like the variability.
Speaker 5 (16:54):
Oh stop, you're you never knew you knew it was coming.
You knew it was coming. It's like an m night
shot on. There's gonna be a twist. It's gonna be
a twist, Angel Hernandez, there's gonna be a screw up,
just a matter of when and how costly to your
team or that of the opponent.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
You know what, Mike, just for you taking that ridiculous stance,
just because you're looking for attention, We're gonna play this
for you right now.
Speaker 7 (17:25):
Can't get him?
Speaker 6 (17:26):
He no, no, he was safe and no.
Speaker 9 (17:32):
No, well, Angel Hernandez blew the call and the infield
being back should have cost him the game.
Speaker 6 (17:40):
It didn't. Right there, he's safe.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
He is set the ball and another boom call by Hernandez. Boy,
I tell you, I tell.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
You whoa MLB Productions Hawk Haroldson.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Hell, he's yelling no, no, no, no no, this is
Angel Hernandez. Everybody's got he.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
He was safe with.
Speaker 7 (18:13):
So great it's now gonna be my ring tone.
Speaker 10 (18:18):
Be alone, no, happy to see this guy go.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
You know, it's it's not even just that he was
a bad umpire who missed calls like, It's not no.
He he umpired with an agenda. He umpired he wanted
to punch guys out for whatever reason. He wanted to
make calls he did. I mean, really, he he was
one of those guys. He's the first guy when you
say the phrase, oh, everybody comes to the game to
(18:44):
watch me umpire, Like I need to show everybody I'm
the real star of this game. Like these guys are
all playing the game, but this is my game, and
I'm gonna show you that this is my game. Because
this is how I think umpiring needs to go. Umpires
need to keep these these players in line, and these
players that do whatever the hell they want to on
the field, swinging the bats and throwing the balls and
(19:05):
sliding into the bases I'm gonna show them just exactly
how they can't do stuff.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Like that, and I'm gonna make my presence known. I'm
gonna announce my presence with authority. Now.
Speaker 5 (19:15):
You know, we can always get into the advanced metrics,
and I know there's plenty of sites that start diving
into consistency issues with umpires and balls and strikes whatever.
But Angel Hernandez is the poster child for why we
we've had any kind of push towards robot empires right, right,
(19:36):
and just in terms of consistency, at least in that
part of the game. Now, there's always gonna be problems
along the base paths, right that we'll have to adjudicate.
And you know, infield fly rules, that's something I would
have loved to hear Hawk call that one, you know,
in that Orioles White Times game. But you know, when
(19:57):
it comes down to it, if you can eliminate a
big part of the problem, which is arguing balls and
strikes and take the human element out of it, there,
you know you're you're that much closer to your your
utopia from an umpire and player and manager relations side
of things.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
I mean, really, he made it all about himself. He
would umpire with an agenda, and there's nobody that's not
happy about this.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
And just think about this. Do you really think it's
a coincidence? Okay, because remember because this is.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Something, it's a memorial day, it's a holiday, and people
now doing different things today, and obviously the basketball is
a big deal. Uh, we'll talk, we'll get back into
Bill Walton. The people are talking about that. But a
story broken major League Baseball today that the automatic balls
and strikes, the robot umpires we've been hearing about for
so long have been running trials and the minor leagues
(20:51):
the last few years been working pretty well. The automatic
balls and strike system will be coming to Major League Baseball,
not for next year, but for the year after.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
So not for next year, okay, but the year after.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Uh do you really think there's a coincidence that this
story gets announced today and Angel Hernandez retires. Wait a minute,
let me call it balls and strikes anymore? Well, blank,
you man, I'm quitting. I'm not gonna stand out there
and not make any calls while something behind me is
gonna and I gotta get a buzzer in my head.
When a team wants to challenge a call. Oh no, no,
not gonna happen. Not gonna do it, mad, not gonna
(21:25):
do it. I'm leaving. I don't think there's any coincidence
that we got this story today and now this story
today from Bob Nightingale and Angel Hand is retiring.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
No way, no.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
I also appreciate the uh the Lacick Twitter account taken
to it like they'd offered him services and he missed
the call. And there were a lot of and he
missed the call jokes that went on and on. It's
too bad that the naked gun the original was nineteen
eighty eight. Otherwise you could have really just done the
one to one Correlationcozo.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Can't get him.
Speaker 6 (21:57):
He was safe?
Speaker 9 (21:58):
No, no, Well, Angel Hernandez blew the call and the
infield being back should have cost him the game.
Speaker 6 (22:09):
It didn't. He's so good right there, he's safe, he
is set half the ball.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Another phone call by Hernandos another that's just.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
The best man, that is just the best. I can't
and he's retiring now and Adelaires is walking away. He's not.
Speaker 11 (22:33):
I mean, normally I.
Speaker 6 (22:34):
Would say the guy had a good run.
Speaker 7 (22:35):
I mean, he was in for thirty years.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
But it's been thirty years of when's this guy either
getting demoted, fired, or forced into retirement?
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Yeah, and that didn't really happen. Look, I mean I
get the whole.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
I understand that this has never been a tougher time
for officials in sports, right because it's the worst now.
And when you think about what's coming from Major leque
baseball umpires with the balls and strike calls that are
going to be automated, Like, what is it gonna be
to be a Major league baseball umpire?
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Now?
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Basically it's just as long as a play is obvious,
it's fine, and you can call it on the field.
But when there's a question, we're gonna go look at
the replay, and that's really what's gonna tell us, uh,
whether we're gonna challenge a call because we see it
go the wrong way or not challenge because oh okay,
yeah they got it right. I mean, you're basically just
out there to make the easy calls and and that
(23:31):
anybody can do it. Like, I don't know what the
training is gonna be for a Major League baseball umpire,
because clearly you go through games, I don't know all
the rules. Oh hey, sorry, Yeah, that rule where the
pop up thing with the orioles. Yeah, sorry, we screwed
that up. I mean, like you check us out.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
The ACCA is gonna be they're gonna show Angel Hernandez
stuff and they're gonna say, don't do that whatever.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Yeah, it's like in the Simpsons when Mahmer's got in
his face what Bart says do opposite? Like, like you
think about it. You're you're a major league baseball mPire.
You go out and umpire first base and what what what?
What's your job? You're umpiring the plays at first base
and you make the calls as long as it's not close.
But when it's close, it's gonna be looked at and
(24:12):
it's going to be decided that a team wants to challenge. Right,
So your authority has been taken away. And now home
plate umpire, their authority has been taken away because with
automatic ball strikes, it's gonna be still. Hey, we get
the the umpire gets the note from the from the
ball strikes calls the play like now there's nothing now
you're gonna make Yeah, you make the outsafe calls at
(24:34):
home plate. Yeah, but guess what that's gonna be reviewed
as well. If you if if it's if it's a
close play, somebody else is gonna do it. It's like
you're just you're just you're just taking up a suit.
You're just taking up an umpire's outfit, an empty suit.
So I understand.
Speaker 5 (24:48):
I understanding Lebron James no suit.
Speaker 7 (24:52):
So I so I.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Understand the the the how how tough it is to
be an umpire now, but you know, still, Angel Hernandez
is a guy like dude, you took being an umpire,
You took it to a to a proactive and combative level.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
You know, I mean, let's can't get him bloo go.
Speaker 6 (25:11):
He was safer, No, no, he spoke for all of us.
Speaker 5 (25:22):
But yeah, it really is difficult, right, we have these
conversations all the time trying to adjudicate you know, fast
moving plays the NFL. Yeah, we get to watch it
from fifteen different angles. These guys have to try to
call it live while running backwards or trying to keep
up with guys that do four three, five forties right
playing in the NBA. All right, where's the line between
(25:45):
there's a little bit of physicality and contact versus all right,
that's a fall or beyond that? Did the elbow graze
the guy's temple as he went to block a shot
trying to do that live versus allright, we gotta go
to review, whereas us at a home we haven't clipped
off and on Twitter in thirty two seconds the boom,
(26:07):
which is where we get to that. You know, it's
it's really not an enviable position.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
I mean, really, I don't everybody it's like a universal
celebration tonight, like everybody's popping champagne, going, let me talk.
This is what Angel Hernandez did to me in twenty nineteen.
Here's what Angel Lenna did to me in twenty twenty one.
Speaker 7 (26:29):
And everybody the story across Major League Baseball.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Everybody's got the stories.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
I really I want to find one person that can
really say, hey, this is where Angel hernand Losing Angel
Hernandez is a blow.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
I don't know. I don't know where you're gonna get
that one of.
Speaker 5 (26:44):
My and there Look, there's thirty five forty years of
material from Rick Flair interviews, some of which are like
he said left, but my favorite was there was a
referee in Tommy Young and you know it was controversial, dude,
But at one point Flair is doing his best, you know,
sell and he goes, look, I don't like this guy,
but he calls him like he sees them. Ain't nobody
(27:07):
step into a microphone in front and for Angel Hernandez.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
Tonight exit out about a friend he was no unless
maybe you know, maybe he may he would lend people
a lot of money. Maybe that's what I'm gonna miss him,
because hey, if I didn't have my per diem or whatever,
he would always buy dinner out on the road.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
Or something like that.
Speaker 5 (27:28):
I don't know, I don't really Isn't that what Andy Chubb?
There was a guy you saw that story right lending
and he made a million dollars.
Speaker 7 (27:38):
Bad move man.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
No, you know, maybe maybe now Angel Hernandez is gonna
go do a podcast that's gonna be so amazingly entertaining,
like it's Saban and Belichick. Right, Suddenly he's gonna have
all these great amazing insights. Oh, it's the Angel Hernandez
Joe West Podcast.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
It's fantastic.
Speaker 6 (27:55):
Just listen to No.
Speaker 7 (27:58):
Can he can he get hired to be one of
the guys in the in the booth? Can we bring
him to Fox? Oh?
Speaker 1 (28:04):
I really like to hear Hey, uh, now now bad
for the not bad for the Dodgers. Mookie Bets, Hey, Angel,
what was Mookie Bets like to umpire? Let me tell
you about this bay. We tell you about this dude.
He thinks he's so blain. He thinks he's so great.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
Mama. I love calling the inside strike on him with
Mike Pereira.
Speaker 7 (28:22):
Now let's go.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Now, if it was four inches off the plate, I
always called it a strike because Mookie would give me
like the side is like it was really mad, and
I like that and I wanted to see it again,
so I always called it. If I gave the I
gave the opposing picture four inches on either side of
the plate because I just didn't like Mookie bets. Oh
that's great. See look at the cat. He's gonna get
a home run here because he's gonna get himpired fairly.
But me, no, I like to make that strike zone
(28:46):
really really no time to find out what's trending right
now from a guy who well, let's just say he
was the original president of the Angel Hernandez fan Club
because he thought it was Keith Hernandez gave up his
membership and now he's here with us.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
It's Steve de Sager.
Speaker 10 (29:06):
I could hear that clip the rest of the night,
and I hope I do.
Speaker 11 (29:14):
It never fails to satisfy, by the way, you know
in the Monday Light Football, former NFL referee John Perry
did leave the booths, so there is an opening.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
I'm just go okay, okay.
Speaker 11 (29:26):
Angel Hernandez officially will retire from Major League Baseball this week.
He has confirmed the multiple reports Tonight. Over the past
couple of weeks, reportedly he and the league have been
negotiating terms of his retirement. I don't know how many
houses and what kind of real estate and how many
millions he gets to go away, But.
Speaker 10 (29:44):
It's all worth it, Hernandez.
Speaker 11 (29:48):
He says, I have decided I want to spend more
time with my family.
Speaker 7 (29:52):
Oh yeah, there it is.
Speaker 10 (29:55):
So it turns out, ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 11 (29:57):
The last Major League game Angel hernand has worked was
a White Sox victory.
Speaker 10 (30:03):
Go figure there may the ninth, age sixty two.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
It really would have been great.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
It really would have been great if the last time
in the last call he worked was that infield fly
with the White Sox, He's gets a walk off because
they win the game on the walk off there and
he walks off with it. Yeah, I wanted to make
a call like that to really end the game, but
I realized when am I ever.
Speaker 7 (30:25):
Going to get a chance to do that again.
Speaker 10 (30:27):
So you know, everybody, maybe a box that wasn't to
end the game something, just.
Speaker 11 (30:34):
To speak, this is the game walking off Back hired
as a full time umpire in the majors in nineteen
ninety three, So people have been discussing him for a while.
Can I point out remember in recent years he had
the lawsuit against Major League Baseball. He said, you know,
I didn't get chosen for World Series work because of race,
(30:55):
or I didn't get promotion to crew chief because of race,
which forces Major League Baseball in defending itself to actually
cite Angel Hernandez record. They had to point out specific
instances where he failed at his job and missed calls
on the field.
Speaker 10 (31:13):
In key moments. He lost the case, he lost the appeal.
Speaker 11 (31:18):
He was barely on the field last year with a
back injury and had ten games ten games as an
umpire all last year, and still according to Umpire auditor,
he missed one hundred and sixty one calls in ten games.
One of those games was in September where he kicked
out Bryce Harper. Harper winds up launching his helmet into
(31:39):
the stands behind the dugout when Harper was called out
on a check swing by Angel Hernandez on the appeal
at third and Bryce Harper says after the game, Angel
in the middle of something again. It's every year, same story,
same thing. I'm probably gonna get fined for being right again.
End quote. Angel Hernandez no longer a Major League umpire.
(32:03):
The late ballgame on this holiday is in Seattle and
the Mariners top of the seventh have a three to
two lead over the Houston Astros. Dodgers at Mets reigned
out doubleheader tomorrow. San Diego edge Miami two to one,
saved to Robert Suarez, his sixteenth save. His era is
zero point seven to three wins for Cincinnati and San Francisco.
Wins for Washington and Minnesota, which beat Kansas City six
(32:26):
to five. Colorado defeated Cleveland eight six. The Guardian's nine
game winning streak is over Milwaukee with five runs bottom
of the eighth beat the Cubs five one. Cubbies have
lost five in a row. White Sox have lost sixth straight.
Speaker 6 (32:37):
Oh he was safe?
Speaker 11 (32:38):
No Toronto one at Chicago five to one, and Baltimore
won its fifth straight game, eleven to three over Boston.
NHL Dallas up two games to one in the West
Final after winning at Edmonton five to three. Tomorrow the
NBA's West Finals Game four Minnesota Dallas, with the Mavericks
leading three games to none. Celtics completed a four game
(32:59):
sweet in the East Finals. Tonight, Boston wins at Indiana
one O five, one oh two. Jo Brown twenty nine points.
I didn't realize Angel was a Pacers fan. Celtics are
six and oh on the road this postseason, twelve and
two overall. The NBA Finals don't start to June.
Speaker 10 (33:17):
No, thank to you.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
Hey, you want the tweet of the night, the Angel who?
Speaker 7 (33:25):
Then?
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Oh no, you gotta have it?
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Uh from Epic Arizona, Jason, what are the odds? Angel
Hernandez misses the signature line on his retirement paperwork? Oh,
exit out A bout of Fresco exit, swollen dove. The
Jason Smith Show with Mike Harma, Thank you, Steve, oh hey,
We'll have more on the Angel Hernandez retirement coming up
(33:48):
in a bit but straight ahead. We remember an absolute
legend we lost earlier today. Keep it right here, Jason
and Mike Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Another boom call by Hernandez. Be sure to catch live
editions of The Jason Smith Show with Mike harmon weekdays
at ten pm Eastern seven pm Pacific.
Speaker 7 (34:07):
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
The song goes out to Angel Hernandez, Jason Smith, Mike
Harmon Livethtirack dot Com studios.
Speaker 3 (34:15):
Coming up in about ten minutes will.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Break down more of Game four. The Celtics headed to
the NBA Finals. They beat the Pacers one oh five
to one oh two, a four game sweep, and everybody
seems upset about one fel call that wasn't a surprise
the Pacers that he playing a game they're upset about fouls.
Will break it down coming up at about ten minutes,
(34:38):
but uh, look, there's no way to slice it up
any different. Today sucked. We lost Bill Walton, who passed
away at the age of seventy one. He had been
suffering from cancer for a while, and look, not a
lot of people knew about it, and he died earlier today,
surrounded by his loved ones. His family put out a
statement that was released by the And you know, you've
(35:02):
heard so many stories and seen so many stories about
Bill Walton today. And you know, some some people, if
you're of a certain age, you remember his NBA career.
Most people remember him from his broadcasting career, even the
last couple of years doing the PAC twelve after dark games.
And you know how how amazing it wasn't really Yesterday
was the last day of the PAC twelve conference, the
(35:22):
Conference of Champions. You know, Bill Walton passes away. It's
just it's it's nuts. But the thing about Bill Walton,
you hear one thing more than anything when it comes
to Bill Walton, is people talking about how much fun
he was and how much fun he was to be around.
Speaker 3 (35:40):
And he was one of a kind.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
He's one of those guys that I always want to
and wanted to get the sports world like he did.
Like he he got what it meant to be an
athlete and have pressure on you but also understand and
you can have fun with it and treat things the
(36:02):
right way. And when he's doing PAC twelve games that
begin late at night, he can do all kinds of
crazy stuff with Dave Pash, like eating cookies and cupcakes
and you know, and messing around with Snoop Dogg, and
you know, he just understood what the game needed at
that time. And the way he saw the sports world
was that, hey, don't ever forget this is a lot
(36:25):
of fun. This is big business, and it's a lot
of everything, and we take ourselves very seriously, and you
should when you pick to do something for a living,
you should take yourself seriously because why else are you're
doing it. But the way he saw the sports world,
I always said, boy, I wish I could see it
all the time like him. I think sometimes I do,
but not all the time, not with the consistency that
(36:45):
he was able to do it at. And that's really
one thing that I look and I go, that's a
wish I had, because he really saw the sports world
the way it should be seen, from beginning to end.
Speaker 5 (36:55):
Well, the Jordy just push past what might have been terrible,
and he would call out terrible calls, maybe not to
the degree of Hawk Harrelson, but you know he would
go down that path and then say, well they're human too,
and go back to the beauty of the game and
what you're watching. In my timeline, it popped up this
quote a couple of times describing Nikola Jokic from twenty eighteen.
(37:18):
When you see someone like a Nelson Mandela or a
Martin Luther King or a Mahatma Gandhi, someone who sees
the future before anyone else does, knows how to get
to and where they need to be, where they want
to be, that is Nikola jokicch. Happiness begins where selfishness ends.
And in a game that's been taken over by incessant
(37:38):
dribbling for yourself, jokicch is a breath of fresh air
and it's his imagination. Watching him play basketball, it's like
watching Bob Dylan come up with a song like just
the poetry truidity, right, that's still that curiosity that he
had on everything. We would always laugh and over the
last ten years, how many times have we had random
(38:00):
clips from the PAC twelve after dark of what the
hell did want? What was he talking about? Because if
you couldn't match it up with the visual on TV,
you would have no clue.
Speaker 7 (38:09):
But that was the beauty of it.
Speaker 5 (38:11):
Imagine the theater, the absurd and letting the imagination run
and you were laughing and smiling the whole way.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Yeah, look, he made you pay attention to games that
you had no desire or care about.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Right, Like, what do I want to do?
Speaker 1 (38:25):
I'm slowing down now, I'm nearing the end of being
able to broadcast. I want to do PAC twelve is
my conference. It's what I want to do, and I'm
gonna do whatever the hell I want to. I'm gonna
play the xylophone with Dave Pash, I'm gonna do this.
I'm gonna do this and you could be watching. It
could be Arizona State and USC What do we Does
anybody care about that game?
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Nope? What did Bill Walton do?
Speaker 5 (38:45):
What?
Speaker 1 (38:45):
He made you care about games that he broadcasts just
because he was there? And that's what I mean by
I understood the sports world.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
He got that.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
This is what I want to do. I want to
bring this attention to this conference. That is the conference
of champions that I came up in. But I want
to do it, and I want to do it the
right way that everybody's gonna like it and they're gonna
like what they see.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
And I know that I could pull it off.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
Because there's not there's not one time where I look
at something I go you know, Bill, you went too
far there, ye know, Bill, I don't know Bill did that.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
Bill kind of went too far there.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
I mean, the guy's knowledge about basketball and the NBA
and the way he can weave in as you said,
you just gave, you know, comparisons Nicola Yokitz and Nelson
Mandela seeing the future. It's like, what what what can
anybody else tell this guy? Like, what can anybody else
tell them? It's you watching broacast and go. He's just
got his own thing, man, and he just.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
Gets it, and he gets the life of sports, and
he gets what sports is as a business, has an
entertainment capacity, all of it. He got it, Lonnie.
Speaker 5 (39:40):
We got the view from his world right grateful, dead
lyrics and being a troubadour.
Speaker 7 (39:47):
There.
Speaker 5 (39:47):
How many acts they had though, I mean UCLA into
the NBA, hanging out with Snapper Jones and everything on NBC.
Obviously some health issues and we talked about it a
little bit earlier, I mean, and then the comeback and
becoming this beloved character. I mean, how many videos did
you see of him hanging out with bands, with cheerleaders,
(40:09):
with players from any type of squad on campuses, you know,
as as part of the celebration of sport and youth.
Speaker 7 (40:18):
Huge, he was.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
People say he was one of a kind, he was unique,
he was all of these things.
Speaker 3 (40:24):
Again.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
You're gonna hear and see hundreds of Bill Walton stories today, tomorrow,
and all of them are gonna be true. Rest in peace,
Bill Walton, seventy one years old. The Jason Smith Show
with Mike Carmon, lofthtirech dot Com series.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
We got more on Walton coming up.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
But straight ahead was that big call sending the Celtics
to the NBA Final.
Hosts And Creators
Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
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