A Walk Your Bike Wednesday Hour 1 (6-12-24)

The guys and VTB pay tribute to Jerry West, James Worthy shares his fond memories of the Lakers legend.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
J. C. Penny is cominghere because of me. Asked anybody,
they'll tell you, Oh, Gongby, You're gong Vic. Trust some money
A five seventy LA Sports Live Everywhereon the iHeartRadio app and Dodger Baseball back
again tonight after putting a fifteen spoton the Rangers last night Galpin Motors Broadcast

(00:21):
Booth. We'll have first pitch walkerBueller on the mound at seven to ten
pm, Dodgers on Deck at six. David Vasse will join us in the
four o'clock hour live from Dodger Stadium, and as we move forward, PI,
it's a reminder that the twenty twentyfour PMS Summer Tour has arrived this
week. It'll be this Friday atthe Rock and Bruise in Burbank in Wayna

(00:43):
Park. I'm sitting in Burbank theRock and Bruis in Pwayna Park on Beach
Boulevard right off the Nighty one Freeway. Yes, that's the first stop on
site. Prizes are plentiful, likea cornucopia during the Thanksgiving season. Fifty
inch Westinghouse HDTV five hundred dollars DodgerClubhouse Store gift cards with all kinds of

(01:03):
great stuff, knots Berry Farm tickets. Buena Park is the home of Knotsberry
Farm, the most California of allamusement parks and we are Californians. Two
hundred and fifty dollars, Burke Williamsgift card, Dodger tickets, and the

(01:27):
Thunderboner Remix underground hit that shot tothe top of the college charts after debuting
yesterday. We got Imagine Dragon's IntimateiHeart Theater Shows tickets to give away as
well. Ari can here kse IsBoner from Acrosstown all the way from the

(01:49):
Santa Barbara area sign up to bea finalist for our grand prize at the
end of the summer tour. That'sgoing to be eleven thousand dollars. Six
finalists them six tour stops and thenfive other ones from online were giving away
eleven thousand dollars, which has nothingto shake a stick at despite inflation.
And a big thank you to ourpartners Matt Rock and Bruise serving those that

(02:13):
rock. Thank you, Adam,thank you, Jenna, thank you Katie.
We love you and appreciate you.A Jay kay Itto, Nzoiocha Japan's
number one Green Tea. Proud tohave shoe Atani, the hitter of hard
home runs as a global ambassador.Sweet James Bergener, the Brad Wesley of

(02:43):
personal injury attorneys. No no,no, no no no no, no,
no no no. J Penny's cominghere because of me. Ask anybody,
they'll tell you. I'll tell you. I brought them all here.
I got the seven eleven, Igot the photo Matt here. I can't
listen to that crap. It's gotno soul buried from Barry's tickets. He's

(03:04):
got sold and he's super bad.Schet Merito seasonings. You leave with one
of those spice packages that's more valuablethan spice and dune. Pour it down
your pants, sen your love life, spy, go to a new level.
Spies of the spe pour this oneach other and make love. And
of course, powered by your SouthernCalifornia Toyota dealers, we make it easy

(03:29):
visit your local Toyota dealer dot com. Of course, we lost one of
the great all time LA sports iconsand global sports icons for the sport of
basketball, Jerry West passed away.Of course, it's been talked about Dan
Patrick on people mourning the loss ofa person that carried themselves with a lot

(03:50):
of dignity and a lot of decency. And that's hard to do when you're
so much in the public eye,like he wasn't involved with the Lakers like
he was. He never got druggeddown into the dirt with some of the
stories around over the years, especiallyin the twenty first century. And you
know what else is hard to do, Like usually the guys who are available

(04:13):
to talk, you know, likewow, we can call Jerry West and
he'll come on, you know,or guys that are always available to come
on camera. Usually those guys theycall them moths. You know. The
light comes on and they go overthere, and usually they don't always seem
to be able to carry themselves withthat same kind of dignity, you know
what I mean. Jerry would getupset as soon as you started talking about

(04:33):
him. Yeah, he would comeon. He would talk about whatever was
happening at that time, or ifhe was to celebrate somebody else. The
moment you started talking about him andhis successes and his career, he would
get uncomfortable and that was the end. But never make you uncomfortable, no,
like not really. He but likehe was always available to talk.

(04:55):
Like most most guys that are thatlevel of person and that reach that pinnacle
of the sport and the executive levelof the sport and the golf club they
want to be in and the suitsthey want to wear and all that stuff.
Well past the age of sixty,fifty, seventy, you know,
they're just not available to others inthe same way. And it's completely understandable.

(05:18):
This guy was always available to everybody. And usually people that are always
available to everybody are maybe a littlewishy washy down down underneath the surface.
Not the case. I mean,this guy was unbelievable in his energy and
his contribution to the sport as aplayer, even as a coach, helping

(05:41):
pat Riley become the coach of theLakers the way he did, and all
the different history as an executive.A Hall of famer on every level,
and a lot of people have talkedabout it, no doubt, And we'll
have some memories as well today withsome of our favorites. Matt, Yeah,
no doubt. James, were theygoing to join us in the next
segment. And I think the otherthing is separated Jerry West, And it

(06:03):
may be the case with others.But just because we're here in Los Angeles,
you know, we know about it. You said it. With the
golf club, Jerry loved team golf. He was on the bell Air Team
golf team, and they would travelfrom club to club and play LACC and
play Virginia and play those other countryclubs. And by all accounts, I

(06:23):
knew a couple people that were pairedup against him, and they said it
was ridiculous. He's like, I'msome idiot country club golf guy. And
Jerry would hold court when they wouldplay cards afterwards and was happy to tell
stories and just talk and pictures whateveryou wanted. He was all about it,
just a true gentleman that appreciated thecompetition. Yeah, he loved the

(06:44):
competition. She loved it. Soif you love competition, you know,
you certainly got to be around peopleto compete, right, you know.
And he he figured out how tobe one of the most competitive people and
also one of the most respected andalso one of the most loved. And
and that is a tough combo.You know, It's not easy to be
respected, loved and then available toeverybody. I mean, he really juggled

(07:08):
through life in a great way,eighty six years old. Doug Grecorian,
one of his closest friends over theyears, especially in the media, who
knew Jerry very well and was veryupset about the winning time portrayal, as
many of his other close friends were. Is going to join us. That's
the last time Doug came on totalk about that. Yeah, he's going
to join us along with James Worthyin the very next hour and a lot

(07:30):
of memories pouring out. It's asad day, but also a great celebration
for a guy that kind of squeezedevery ounce out of life and was really
really if basketball won, this washis life. I don't know how you
could have a bigger impact on whatyour life's work is than what Jerry West
had on that sport. Save youknow what stephen A. Smith is able

(07:53):
to accomplish. I think I wasthinking about it because he can really.
Stephen A's a great control There's areason they call him stephen N. Smith.
He has definitely added to the gameand grown the game. I was
thinking about it. I think,you know, dougall have a great perspective
on this, just because of howlong he's been around the game. But
Jerry is certainly in the top five, maybe the top three. You could

(08:16):
even make a case, because youknow he is. He was the star.
He and elgend Baylor were the starswhen the NBA moved the team from
Minneapolis and needed to expand to theWest and the Lakers, you know,
arrive in Los Angeles, and Jerrywas the face of that move and building
the National Basketball Association on the Westcoast. You have that in the Laker

(08:37):
brand and obviously as an executive,what he was able to do in building
a team that the NBA was asdown in the dumps after he retired from
the mid seventies and Vick you canspeak to this through the early eighties.
There are a lot of cocaine issues, There are a lot of arrests.
The league was losing its popularity.I sound like JJ Reddick and his construction

(09:01):
of the Lakers gave the Celtics aformidable foe. And that decade, you
know, of the eighties saw thereturn of the NBA on a national stage
because of the team that he hadconstructed, in the vision that doctor Buss
had and what the two of themput together. So you didn't just have
the Celtics winning eight of ten titlesin that decade. Instead, it became

(09:24):
you know, the video game Lakersversus Celtics, Magic versus Burt you know,
that's that's what he helped build.And I think of Bill Russell as
maybe the number one Well he createdthat. He created it as a player,
yeah, and then he recreated itas an executive. So you can
make a really good argument that hesaved the NBA twice, and then you

(09:46):
could say maybe and of course relevantthroughout and then with Shaq and Kobe,
and you could say he even savedthe NBA three times with the Steph Curry
stuff and the Golden State Warriors andthe resurgent of basketball in that style.
It's a crazy three point style.Yeah, very relevant throughout sixty years.

(10:07):
I mean, you think about somebodylike Lewis Armstrong who basically helped create popularized
jazz, and then forty fifty yearslater, you know, thirty years later
he's got a number one hit abovethe Beatles with Hello Dolly on the top
ten chart. You know, relevantdecade after decade after decade. But to
be able to do that and thenmaintain all these things simultaneously, you know,

(10:31):
maintain dignity and of being a winnerand being super competitive. You know,
those things aren't always you know,decency, dignity, those two things
aren't always like coming it with thesame person. You know. He was
flashy and he was Hollywood because justthe way he looked and how he carried
himself in the way he dressed.But he was completely and totally humble and

(10:52):
approachable, really really interesting person forthe ages in the city, no doubt,
and Vic you knew him pretty wellof course after all these years.
I love the man. He wasa prince of a man. Uh.
Off the court as as you guys, you know, caught the essence you

(11:16):
know of Jerry and your many manyinterviews with Jerry over the years. But
no one made more profound impact,not just on the Lakers but around the
league than Jerry West. That's whyhe's the logo man. I mean,
there's no miss, no Laker mistiquewithout Jerry. No, not really as

(11:39):
a player unparalleled. I mean,growing up in New York as a as
a Knick fan, a little uh, a little briquette, there wasn't a
player I respected more in the leaguethan Jerry West. You know, watching
him destroy the New York Knickerbockers,you know, back in the day.

(12:00):
And then of course the Celtics series, you know, became you know,
must watch TV, whatever TV youcould see at the time because of Jerry
West and his incredible, beautiful hatredof the Celtics. He hated the Celtics,
and I think, you know,I think the city picked up,
you know, on Jerry's emotions andreally set the rivalry, you know,

(12:24):
into such a highly amped, maybethe most bitter ribberry of all time in
sports, Lakers Celtics because Jerry hatedthe Celtics. But one thing about Jerry
when he was on the court,just off the court, it's so well
documented his amazing successes, you knowwith the Lakers, you know, creating

(12:46):
Showtime Kobe Shack dynasty, going onto Memphis, making them a playoff team
when they were garbage, and thenthe Championships with his his footprint all over
Golden State. You know, I'mbringing in Kevin Durant and you know,

(13:07):
creating Championship Basketball and Golden State andthen basically cultivating the Los Angeles Slipper managements.
And you wanted him to come backto the Lakers, uh Vic,
You were yeah, you made thatcall, and uh, I guess they
never really made amend s. Ibelieve that that's going to be a very

(13:31):
mysterious fracture that down the line we'llfind out what actually went down. But
I remember when Phil Jackson came inwas very integral. You know, I'm
not sure that was his first choice. Famous rift between the two of them
when he threw Jerry out of thelocker room not okay, right, not

(13:52):
okay, So there was there wasHe left with dignity. I heard with
dignity, and he never called outPhil for that. He just and he's
the head coach and it is hislocker like that, it speaks to your
point. I mean, you can'thave the best of the Lakers, like
the literally the best of all ofus like that, the guy that we
all kind of aspired to want tobe like, you know, or we're

(14:13):
just kind of in awe of whenhe was around. It really was like
that, Yeah, uh, hecan't have a bad relationship with that guy.
And then he passes away and thenthey hire JJ Riddick. Well yeah,
I mean remember, like you rememberwhat Jerry said about the whole plumbers
and firemen. I mean like JerryDESTROYEDJJ Reddick. He felt deeply disrespected and

(14:35):
he felt disrespect for Bob Coosey.Yeah, and you're gonna hire JJ Reddick
after that after getting to a tipwith freaking Jerry West and you're JJ Reddick.
They but I don't think they evermade amends with him, right,
I mean not, no, Ibelieve my look, I my understand.
I believe it had something to dowith his son, right and the way
they had treated Ryan. That wasprobably the last the last last straw,

(14:56):
I mean one was essentially choosing Philjack And over Jerry and not saying to
Phil, hey, he's been inthe locker room all the time. He
is not going to get in yourway. There is no reason to throw
him out. He's for five championships. The guy's been in that locker room.
That's it's asinine to tell him he'sgot to leave. It makes no
sense. You know you had issueswith Jerry Krouse, Fine, Jerry West

(15:22):
is not freaking Jerry Cross, Soget over it. And that was the
first part. And remember he walkedaway. He was comfortable to hand it
over to Mitch. And you know, Mitch was his protege and his mentee,
and he was some hard of that. He supported Mitch supported the heck
out of him, even helped himget pau Gasol. Yeah, of course.
So, I mean there's a lotof water under the bridge there.
But that will be talked about,especially if a JJ Reddick is hired here,

(15:48):
because it is kind of sad theway that ended. And if you
have the I mean, magic isone thing, but I mean if you
have Jerry West and you can't figureit out toward the end of his life,
if this was not a sudden death, people knew that he was sick.
That's that sucks. Yeah, thatthey couldn't figure that out. Just
the idea that you know that JerryWest still wants to you know that that

(16:11):
he didn't just retire from the Lakers. But next thing you know, he's
he's working for the Grizzlies, andnow he's working for the Warriors, and
now he's working for the Clippers.At some point, wouldn't you try to
repair that, wouldn't wouldn't it makesense if if thirty, you know,
twenty years later, he's still inthe game of basketball and the Warriors are
winning four titles and the Clippers arelanding Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. And

(16:37):
he's the guy that tells him todraft Shay Gilgis Alexander and not to trade
him for Paul George. And he'sthe guy that tells the Warriors to draft
Klay Thompson and not to trade himfor Kevin Love and they go on to
win for Tyler. Wouldn't it makesense to bring that guy back in.
That's it. It just it seemslike that's a pretty easy connection to me.
Shelley in points money. Sure,extremely that's why it's it was.

(17:03):
It was tough, tough to seethe you know, the fracture you know,
with the relationship. But Jerry hatsso much love for the Lakers and
Lakers stands that again. I don'tbelieve the the seeds of discontent will ever
be uh revealed until you know,much later down there. I don't know

(17:23):
what happened, you know, Imean the warrant report. Yeah, but
that's a great point, Vic,And it's he never he never, you
know, threw the He never threwthe team or the players under that.
He always celebrated the Lakers, theplayers. He was classy and they have
not been No, and he's probablythe best. He is the best combination

(17:45):
player in front office presence in sportshistory, no question. Arguably you could
say made the most impact of anyonein the sport of professional basketball. I
think there's probably, you know,there's there's two names. You think Will
russ even Stephen A. Bill Russelland Jerry was. You know, Stephen

(18:06):
Is he's just a light behind him, and then Jordan stephen A right behind
Jerry West, and then Jordan andthen maybe David Stern right there at five.
I mean, you compare Jerry Westand his legacy to the current Lakers
and just the moment we're in inthat kind of space, and just the
dignity, the grace, the regalmajor presidential vibe that West had and the

(18:34):
pettiness and the revision is history thatthe Lakers represent, and it really makes
you yearn for the past. Yeah. Well, you know what something we
just talked about yesterday just from astraight business standpoint. You know, remember
Magic went straight to Doctor Boss andsaid, I want Markaguire trade James Worthy.
And when Boss approached you know,Jerry West, you said, you're

(18:59):
not doing that. Yes I am, No, You're not. If you
do, I quit so you'll doit. I will do Dominique Wilkins,
Well, Wilkins was who doctor Rosswanted to draft Worthy stead of Worthy,
and then he tried to get ridof it and the other exactly and then
he said, no, Worthy isexactly what we need to beat the Celtics,
and he drafted Worthy and then theygot Jerry West really had to put

(19:22):
on the cape for Worthy. Yeah, but like just you know, and
Rob Polinka. Meanwhile, he wasgetting roughed up by freaking rich Paul and
Clutch Sports because he's got no sackto tell him the pound sand And Jerry
West said, I will quit.You're the owner. If this is what
you want to do, you're goingto have to do it. I won't
make the trade, So you canfire me and make the trade, or
we can keep James Worth. Justgo have a marguerite at El Coyote.

(19:48):
Doctor Okay, yeah, those littleplastic glasses. I'll take care of this,
uh wonderful member. Dynamic, dynamic, you know, dichotomy of them.
I mean, Jerry was so fundamentallypure, but then you get him
on the court, you know,he was so insanely tenacious, or you

(20:10):
get him I'm sure in a ina boardroom and negotiation, and he must
have been incredibly an incredible closer,but yet he would do it with with
with such savvy and wisdom and thedecisions he made over the years, you
know, created you know this lakermystique. I mean, who else?
Of course, doctor Jerry Buss.You know that they none of it happens

(20:34):
without him, Nothing happens without JerryWest exactly. Well you could you could
maybe say the same thing about JamesWorthy, who's going to join us now.
But we sure appreciate you, Vic, and thanks for coming on and
lending perspective. We have a lotto feeling you, and you know,
our hearts go out to the Westfamily, his wife Karen and and everyone

(20:56):
everyone. Everyone has been touched byJerry West in the city and around basket
and it's just a it's a verytough day for everyone. But we celebrate
the great West, we do,and we have some great guys coming on
to do that, James Worthy,of course, and one of his closest
friends media wise, Doug Grecoryan inthe next hour, and that's where we're

(21:17):
at on this. We just won'tbe defeated. Wednesday and don't forget.
David Vasse is going to be onin our next hour and he's got a
very special guest in the pregame show. Matt Corey seeger Yeah, is going
to join him in the pregame andDodgers on deck at six o'clock, so
we'll get the uh, the layoutof how that came to be, what
his connection was with Corey yesterday whenhe made his way into Chavez Ravine,

(21:41):
how that all went, and whatwe can expect from that conversation. So
a lot to do. Doug Grecoryand and James Worthy, who'll come on
next to talk about the passing ofJerry West. And we're going till six
pm. Petro Some Money AM fiveto seventy LA Sports Live Everywhere on the
iHeartRadio app. Driven by the series, America's best selling truck for forty seven

(22:02):
years in counting Ford gives your freedomof choice gas hybrid electric, head to
your Southern California Ford Dealers and findyours Ford f Series Built Tough brings us
James Worthy p Yes, a sadday in LA but also a great day
to celebrate the dignity, the grace, competitive nature and just the overall stardom

(22:26):
of one Jerry West, the greatestcombination player front office presence in the history
of sports, and joining us somebodywho's intimately friends and coworkers and colleagues and
worked for and with Jerry West fordecades and decades. I don't think they
would have either had the same kindof success if they weren't in each other's

(22:48):
lives. Hall of Famer and anall time great Spectrum sportsnet La Emmy winner,
our dear friend, James Worthy.James, It's a tough day,
but also a great day to rememberone of the all time greats. Thank
you for joining us. Yeah,yeah, you're welcome. Yeah, this
this is a tough day, man. You know, I just I just

(23:11):
talked to Jerry a few weeks agoabout getting together, and you know,
just reminiscing and talking about Bill Burkea little bit who's ninety five years old
and still living up in Santa Barbara, you know, so just reminiscing.
You know, Jerry was a goodfriend. He was very instrumental in creating

(23:33):
my career by you know, trustingme, you know, over guys like
Dominique Wilkins and and and Terry Cummins, and you know, even if Ralph
Sampson had come out, he stillhad faith in and what I could do
for this team, you know,what my role could be and a team

(23:55):
that was already you know, superlative. But you know, if you really
get the notes here over the years, which I did, you know,
all you had to do if heif he called you, all you had
to do was just say hello,and then for the next hour he would
just pour out his heart. Hewas a very introverted guy, but in

(24:17):
his latter part of his years he'svery expressive and very loving and just just
cared about people. You know,his career was amazing, and I got
to see a few of these gamesin the latter part in the middle of
the seventies. But his his hisimpact on my life, the conversations that

(24:41):
we had over the years about mycareer. He's very honest, brutally honest,
just brutally honest and sometimes didn't knowhow to do it with ease.
He just knew how to do it. And as a as a player,
I you know, I hear hewas just an amazing the only guy that
won MVP and in a losing serieshe wore that that pain of not ever

(25:07):
beating the Celts. He wore thatdaily like he never could go back to
Boston. So but Jerry cared aboutpeople. He gave so much of his
time money, uh, and hedidn't want anybody to know about it.
He was just a special guy.This was this is really tough. I
was on the golf course playing somegrateful Dead, you know, just thinking

(25:29):
of my friend Bill Walton, youknow, just thinking about Bill Walton and
some of those memories. And thensomeone came up to me and had a
pretty good round gooing and but afterthat, I just I couldn't finish.
I just splashed the balls everywhere.And but yeah, it's a this is
a special one. It's a specialguy if you really got to know him.

(25:49):
And uh yeah, he'll he'll bemissed, James. You mentioned it
there at the draft, you know, and we've heard the stories and you
know, whether or not been confirmed, but you know, you hear him
enough. And and then there wasyou know, did some people in the
organization want Dominique because of the flashand Jerry insisted on James Worthy. And
then there was you know, astory about a potential trade, and I

(26:11):
mean it really felt like the twoof you were really connected. He was
a I can't imagine what that musthave been like to have someone of his
stature, of his excellence, youknow, believe that much in you that
he was willing to really just kindof draw a line in the sand and
say, no, it's it's JamesWorthy, that's who's sticking around here.

(26:32):
Yeah. We had the same initials. Yeah, j A W j A
W. We had the same initials. And you know, he knew I
was coming. You know, hehad told my college coach, Look,
James Worth is available, We're goingto take him. He's you know,
James could see something in you thatyou couldn't see in yourself. You know,
he had that foresight, and thenif you were around him, he

(26:53):
would make sure that you've got towhere you should beget to. He knew
I was coming into a tough situationwith magic and Kareem in LA, knowing
that if I had gone to someoneelse, you know, I could have
been more of a star, maybescore more points. I don't know,
but he's he saw the same thingin me that you know he saw an
A C. Green that he sawin Michael Thompson. He just sees something

(27:18):
in you. And I remember mysecond or third year, I was starting
to jail with the team. Iwas getting used to magic and you know,
Raley was starting to give me moreplaying time. I was really I
was really, you know, reallyyelling well with the team, and Jerry
would pull me to the side andsay, you know, you only have
two more years on your contract,and you know you need to get to

(27:41):
a place where you you know,you're your best. And he recommended that
I go to Pete Knowles big Mancamp. He never he never would let
you relapse, you know. Healways was pushing for that maximum and he
got it out of me. AndI'd give him all the credit, you
know, you know they want toportray for Mark Orguire and and Roy Tarpley.

(28:03):
And he said, I'll quit,you know, to hear GM said,
I quit my you know that's youknow, it's it always stuck with
me. He was extremely honest,sometimes misunderstood, but extremely honest and just
he was a man's man. Youknow, you look at it. He
kind of like then, I wishI could could kind of you know,
carry myself like that. And hedidn't get to that until later on.

(28:25):
You know, he lost his brotherin the Korean War, and I really
had a tough childhood after that,and he just he carried that for a
long time, you know, depression, and he finally wrote his book about
it, and I think he wasstill you know, unveiling some of that.
You know, he had a lotmore to say. But unfortunately at

(28:47):
eighty six, same agents, chickher and I believe, but we lost
a dear friend. Not to mentionthe best GM I mean I've ever seen
and the impact he's had on thegame since you know, the safeties,
James, you mentioned him as aplayer, I guess he would be the

(29:07):
NCAA Most Outstanding Player from a losingteam in fifty nine at West Virginia and
then the finals MVP with the Celticsin sixty nine. But he was scarcely
proud of that nineteen sixty Olympic goldmedal in Rome. Yeah. Can you
speak to his mentality as a playerwith what he was like how he kind

(29:29):
of reflected on his playing career withguys who were his peers, like you
well, you know, he justyou know, we all knew he was
great as a player, but youknow, he used to always tell a
story about you know, a youngkid from West Virginia. I mean I
could totally relate when he was tellingthe story who didn't have much exposure,

(29:52):
you know, it was you know, it was wasn't that integrated. And
he just tells about the early career, the black players that had an impact
on him and it changed his life, Guys like Elgem Baylor who took him
in, and Happy Harrison, youknow, guys that he played with.

(30:12):
You know, he really and Iwas the same way. I had no
exposure. You know, I wasjust an introverted, kind of a quiet
guy and I did all my mymy talking on the court. That was
where I could verbalize in action.And Jerry used to tell those stories of
how he grew up, you know, uh in the NBA in those early

(30:33):
years and how he became more awareof you know, his his surroundings and
people uh in Los Angeles getting exposedand he was you know, he he
could talk basketball to you are bluein the face. But when you really
wanted to almost get him teary eye, it's when of you us started talking
about life and his his his brotherthat he lost in the career and wore

(30:56):
on his up and his upbringing andyou know, the things he had to
overcome and and how he was youknow, always had time to talk to
you about you and whatever marriage ormistakes that you were making. You know,
he was just very honest if youwanted to get a very short paragraph

(31:17):
of one thousand percent honesty. Hand also you know how to how to
you know, how to come outof it, how to change your life,
whether it was basketball or life.He was just one of those guys
that took in a lot and heshared a lot, and uh, you
know that's what he'll be remembered for. Last thing, James just you know,

(31:40):
we in this, you know,we we had the great fortune to
talk to him a handful of times, and he was you know, the
humility was ridiculous for his accomplishments.He'd get uncomfortable if you wanted to talk
about him. He wanted to talkabout everybody else and celebrate everybody else.
But if you could, you know, we're I think everyone's going to try
to sort of put a number onit, but you can make a case

(32:02):
that he's the most impactful person inthe history of the NBA. Certainly in
the conversation with with Bill Russell andDavid Stern and just in terms of growing
the game, you know, theLakers arriving in Los Angeles with he and
elgend Baylor as their stars to expandthe NBA to the West Coast, and
then helping to build Showtime, youknow, the Showtime Lakers, just as

(32:22):
you have been around this league aslong as you have. I mean,
that's kind of what we're talking aboutright this. This is someone that very
well could be the most impactful personthat's ever been associated with this game.
And I think that's why he's thelogo because obviously they are players that have
scored more points and you know,broken records and things like that. But

(32:45):
you said it right, the impactthat he had, you know, missed
the clutch. He still holds recordsfor finals, you know, the most
thirty point game, most forty pointsgame, more fifty points games, and
tied with somebody else. So youknow, he was kind of before his
time. And when people say thatguys at that era couldn't play, Jerry

(33:09):
would. He would. He wouldbust a lot of ASDs, you know,
just with his just with his mentality, you know. And then when
he finished playing, you know,he could have coached. He realized that
wasn't for him, and then navigatingand like if you will, like threading

(33:29):
sewing, a team's together, youknow, over time, I mean even
before Kobe, you know, youknow, just the players that he bought
in. Of course, Magic andI were number one picks due to a
coin flip, but they wanted SitteyMontcrief over Magic. You know, they
thought Sittney Montcreef or David Greenwood outof U c l A would would be

(33:52):
better picks. But you know,Jerry, along with doctor Bus, they
knew, you know a lot ofpeople looked at Kobe when he was fifteen,
they said, yeah, well he'llprobably be pretty good is by junior
year, sophomore year, And Jerrysaid, no, we'll all take him
right now. Trade of Vlade gotyou know, made that trade to get

(34:13):
Kobe Shack. Then in eighties,you know, eighty six, we needed
somebody to go up against Kevin McHale, and you know how better to bring
in the number one pick of seventynine Michael Thompson, who played with Kevin
mchal And that, to me,that was a big deal. So you
know, he's always been a smartman and a smart GM and just a

(34:40):
blessing to have for the NBA.His his legacy never left. You know,
a lot of times players retire,you know, you kind of you
bring them up from time to time. Oh yeah, we'll ten score one
hundred or this. You know,David Busher did this, or Bill Bradley
rad for president, Jerry just itwas constant, constant Lakers, Memphis,

(35:01):
Gola State Clippers, you know,making moves and making so I think you're
absolutely right, probably the most impactfulplayer slash contributor to the game. Well,
we could talk about the Laker coachingsituation next week. Maybe they'll have
hired somebody by then. But awonderful tribute to a great friend of everybody

(35:24):
in the city and somebody that wewere all very very well. We admired
him so much. Thank you somuch, James, and God bless you.
Thanks for doing it today. Thankyou boy, there he goes.
Great tribute to a great man,James Worthy. Very lucky to have James

(35:44):
join us today. Certainly an emotionalday for him, So kind of him
to take time out to share withwith us and everybody listening. Driven by
the Ford f series, America's bestselling truck for forty seven years. Accounting
for it gives you the freedom ofchoice gas hybrid, electric, head of
your Southern California Ford Dealers, andfind yours series Bill Tough. All right,
we will return with more great sportstalk. Some text does se sports

(36:07):
talk word number song of the day. We're going to talk to Doug Grecorian
about the great Jerry West and wewill continue all the way until six o'clock
and then David Vassey has Dodger's ondeck tonight and he's got Corey Seeger,
So stick with the show. Sadday, Jerry West has passed away at
the age of eighty six. Ahuge thank you to our friend James Worthy,

(36:29):
came out on the last segment tohelp remember his friend. Anything you
miss you can always relive through theiHeartRadio app and the Petro Send Money podcast,
from where you can always stream theshow live there as well. If
you're not near the radio around fourthirty, like forty minutes from now,
you're gonna want to because Doug grecoryanwho was friends with Jerry for a long

(36:49):
time, will join us to reflecton his life and his legacy. Yes,
Matt, and we have some listenerreaction This is the last a fine
brought to you by your so calledToyota dealers. We make it easy and
we will have a Grecorian on butVassay two with Corey Seeger as his pregame

(37:10):
guest, with Marongo Casino Dodgers ondeck. We have some text here brought
to you by Toyota. This says, forget Kate's hot piece on the national
Baseball media. The last fifteen minuteswith Worthy was the best sports radio I've
ever heard. Now, you mightnot say that when Kates wins another Golden

(37:35):
Mic, we have no chance.I mean you might. You might not
say that. You might want toeat those words, because Kate's is going
to get another Golden Mic for thatfifteen minute Otani piece. So wasn't that
long? Well in four minutes?And that will never be submitted, It
will never be edited, It willdisappear into the ether. What the James
Worthy interview. Yes, as faras Tim Kate's and a Golden Mic award

(37:58):
is considered, well, there's nonot unless somebody above us demands that it
be done right, and it won't. Jerry West didn't even get mad at
you guys for outing him in themiddle of a story he was telling about
his dad. It was a terriblemoment in our history. Matt and I
used to do a national radio onFox Sports Radio and double up here in

(38:23):
Los Angeles. And I don't knowhow long we did it. Maybe three
years, two years, No,I think it was at least I think
you're right. I think it wasthree Yeah. And the one thing that
really was hard because of the creativenature of this show and the Sistine Chapel
compared to you know, painting afreeway sign. Okay, kids, and

(38:44):
we can't be held. We needto take our liberties. Okay, yeah,
we cannot be held within the boundariesof heaven and Earth and specifically a
hard network clock. And we're talkingto Jerry West and he was telling his
harrowing childhoods a dirt floor in WestVirginia, rural alcoholic father who's beating up

(39:07):
his mom and brother, and heput a shotgun to his dad and told
him he's gonna kill him. Andsorry, Jerry, we gotta go.
That's exactly how he was in themiddle of that story. Voice is shaking,
yes, and good Fox Sports Radiocatch Keithon Smith and his big headed

(39:28):
frint I mean, it's just listen, guys. You can you can do
whatever you want, but at fiftyfour fifty you better be out. That
is all I ask. You're alreadyblowing through the clock. But no matter
what, no matter what's happened,no matter who's talking, at fifty four
fifty, you are going to breakor we're going to break for you.
And that's kind of what it was. That's exactly what happened. It was

(39:51):
the gold medal, terrible moment,the silver medal was Fear and Flurry talking
about being molested, and then hegot cut off somehow we at least managed
it five segment. Yeah, andthen we're like, you know, first
of all, this network clock youcould take to the carnival. Yes.
Second of all, why are wetalking to everybody about being molested and put

(40:12):
a shot out of your dad's head. We can't do that anymore. Well,
that was the book tour. Itwas the Jerry West biography autobiography,
and it was the Fair and Flurryautobiography that got them on our show when
they when we had the national peoplebooking certain you know, we had David
Vasse booking the show locally, andTim book and the show locally, but
the Fox Sports people will be like, Hey, we're putting this guy on

(40:36):
because he's pushing this and we're notgonna say no. And it's like Tours
running later. He's running five minuteslate, but we're gonna run into the
clock. He's on right now.Hey, guys, my dad held a
shock. Oh gock, all we'redone. We just got yelled at by
a PD in Indianapolis because the Pacersare in the conference finals. Start talking
up about the Pacers the Penguins.We got yelled at from a guy in

(40:59):
Pittsburgh because the Penguins were in theStanley Cup Finals and we were talking if
the Firecracker Show gets the Fireworks Showat since San Pedro gets canceled, that's
what we're talking about. Okay,that's just the way the show hyper local.
Hey, pe, you know JerryWest would have told Lebraun and this
team to shut the hell up.And Palinka's just laying there ready to get

(41:20):
nailed once again. Yeah. Well, I guess there'll be another couple of
years of BS and my ass isonly going to the crypt to watch the
Kings. Oh wait, Rob Blakeis still the GM never mind. Oh
wow, Yeah, dark days,dark days. Well, we got Bruins
softball one more, Matt, howare the Lady Bruins. I think Oklahoma

(41:47):
won their fourth straight championship. Yeah, they got blown out, blown out
by Stanford. We're grateful for thebust family, but they need to sell
the Lakers, oh, because they'veshown that they can't run the ball club
and more it's more circus than abasketball team. Now, can't have players
running the Lakers. It's shame forshame, for shame, rip logo for

(42:10):
shame. He's more machine than mannow, twisted and evil. And we've
got two more hours, two morehours. We're not like Fred. We're
not gonna do three solid death hours. Matt. I need you to edit
this and post it immediately. We'renot gonna do three solid but that was

(42:37):
a solid hour of remembering Jerry West. I have put the am five seventy
pocket square behind me. They didn'teven release a statement the Lakers did.
I think they did a little brieflike after everybody got after the two sentences
on it is. It is notbefitting of what Jerry West did for the

(43:02):
Lakers. This statement, this statementshould have been about seventy pages long.
And it was about seven words long. And yeah, we don't care that
he just died. We'll go afterthe Lakers, Yeah we will. We'll
be back with your word number.Song of the Day.