April 10, 2019 • 41 mins
Doug dives in on Magic Johnson stepping down as the Lakers President and tells you why this was never going to work out long term. He talks to Virginia head coach Tony Bennett about their journey from a historic loss to a 16-seed a year ago to winning the national championship. Plus, legendary sports writer Rick Riley joins the show in studio to discuss his new book, Tiger Woods’ chance at winning another major, and what happened with Magic and the Lakers.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the best of the Doug Gottlieb
Show podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday
from three to six pm Eastern Time, that's twelve to
three Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station
for the Doug Gottlieb Show at Fox Sports Radio dot com,
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Radio app by searching fs R. This is the best
(00:21):
of the Doug god Leave Show on Fox Sports Radio. Boom,
What Up America, Doug god Leave Show, Fox Sports Radio,
Coming to you from the Sunny City of Angels, where
man did Magic Johnson just go hold my beer to
(00:42):
U c l A Basketball? Right? Because U c l
A Basketball was the dysfunctional disaster of a search for
new leadership, which culminated in hiring of McK cronin press
conference later on today, which actually think is pretty good
higher but it's like that was a mess, and then
the Lakers like, oh hey, do you think that's a mess?
(01:03):
Hold my beer. Doug Gotland Show brought you by Farmers.
At Farmers, we've seen almost everything, so we know how
to cover almost anything. When it's game time, have an
experienced player help you stay ahead of the game put
their experience in a play at farmers dot com. We
are Farmers dom dom Dum Dum dum dumb. There we go. Go,
all right. Kyle Guy Uh hero for the national Champion,
(01:27):
Virginia Cavalier is gonna join us in fifteen minutes. Karen Butler,
tough Jews, former NBA All Star, he'll join us half
past the hour. Then the head coach of of the
wah Who's will join us. Tony Bennett top of next hour.
Eric Musselman or Muss as he's known in the business,
will join us u next hour, and then Rick Riley's
(01:48):
gonna join us in studio. We'll talk some golf, we'll
talk about his new book. We'll talk about some masters
with the patrons in a tradition unlike any other um Man,
we got a lot to get too. Can we start
with Magic Johnson? Okay, so here, here's what happens. Here's
(02:09):
what happens. All right. Um. Generally, when you get to
the end of the season, if the big boss is there,
it means you're gonna get fired at the end of
the season. All right. Magic Johnson was not always in attendance.
You know, he had Michigan State's Final four run. He
(02:30):
has other appearances, he has other business interests, and the
general thought around the Lakers was, if you see Magic,
that means Luke should bring in his playbook. He apparently
had gone and gotten clearance from Genie Buss to fire
Luke Walton before the game, and by all reports apparently
(02:53):
want to fire Rob Polinka, who's the general manager of
the Lakers, and so instead he he had is an
impromptu press conference where he resigns, and I mean it
was a stunner in it. It was kind of out
of nowhere, and if you thought that the Lakers knew
(03:13):
it was gonna happen, there was no podium, there was
no desk, there were no dignitaries. This was not the
way that Magic would would traditionally do it. Magic's about big,
Magic's about showy. This is a guy who spends a
month every summer on a yacht traveling around the world.
Magic is not somebody who walks in quietly and just
(03:36):
hey man, I think I'm gonna step aside and go
on to something else. So there's a lot of questions
that are still yet left unanswered. There's a lot of
rumors out there, but the meantime, here's Magic Johnson sharing
what went wrong with the Lakers. What I didn't like
is the backstabbing and the whisper and I don't like that,
you know, I don't like, um a lot of things
(03:58):
that went on that didn't have to go on. And
so I hope that after tomorrow the Lakers can head
in the right direction, which we are the backstabbing huh huh.
Here's what he said about his relationship with gentleman Andrew
Rob Blinka. I got to know Rob. I didn't know
Rob before Jeannie put us together, and so, UM, it
(04:24):
took us a while. You know, we had to get
to know each other. Um, and so my relationship got
a good relationship. Um, it's as good as you like
you wish, Rob what, No, No, the relationship with Rob
is fine. I just didn't know him and he didn't
know me because we got put together, and so I
(04:47):
think we had to get to know each other and
then learn how to work with each other. So we
did that. Um. But you know it has nothing to
do with me stepping down, if that's what you're at.
Excuse me. That is not exactly a ringing endorsement, right,
Remember this the only front office in the league that
(05:08):
does not have an assistant gentlem manager Rob Polinka, who
is the longtime agent of Kobe Bryant. And obviously if
they don't know each other, and that means and Kobe
and Magic aren't exactly boys. And it wasn't like he's like, no,
I love Rob robs my guy. Yeah, we didn't know
each other beforehand, but and I just feel better for
(05:29):
having known him. I mean, we can see what this is, right.
We may be we were born at night, but just
not last night. The idea that we can sit here
and listen to Magic Johnson tell us he didn't like
the backstabbing, he didn't like the rumors, and not have
(05:51):
any sort of praise until today on Twitter towards Rob
Polinka tells you all you need to know. And then
you read this from Peter vs see got his own side.
Rob Polinka is the most disrespected agent ever snapped a
hardened executive. There's no bigger liar. Magic made a break
for it. This is from Peter Vessey. I'm guessing for
(06:12):
good reason because he knew damaging assertions were coming his
his desertion. His desertion may have been sudden, but it
was not surprising. Most assertions center on on what his
non existent work ethic. Magic was never there, and then
he got mad because Rob Polinka would say he's never there,
(06:35):
And of course he was so defensive about not being
there and not liking the progress that he was going
to fire everybody else, even though he wasn't really as
much a part of the process as he should have been.
It's the classic tale. Athletes think we have great work ethic,
and generally I believe that you hire great athletes. You
(06:57):
hire athletes because they do. They do pushed through pain,
they do push through other other boundaries. But star athletes
are completely different. They're so coddled, they're so protected that
they're never called on their own mistakes or they're never
ever called on their own inadequacies, just not. You also
(07:22):
have to remember that Magic Johnson is a guy who, uh,
I think people deemed as some genius businessman in Los
Angeles because he was always magic. And you know, putting
movie theaters in central south central Los Angeles and only
Starbucks was seen as some groundbreaking move. But the real
(07:46):
magic is outside of the court. Is the coaching disaster,
is the late night talk show disaster. Is the guy
who had nothing really to do with the reinvention of
the Dodgers and the guy who uh opined for the job,
stabbed everyone else in the back to get the job,
then finally got the job and didn't want to do
(08:09):
what was necessary to complete the job. And of course
there's these stories out there that there's uh some sort
of ESPN slam piece that is upon us and that
maybe he got out ahead of it. All of that
makes sense because to walk up in front of the
cameras three or four hours before you're supposed to fire
(08:31):
the head coach and you got approval to do so
and say to hell with it, I'm out doesn't make sense.
Doesn't make any sense. So look, I think that the
Lakers job is a big time job. I would guess
that all the big boys in the NBA will want it,
and when they get it, they'll clean house. And the
only question is how do they handle the Lebron situation?
(08:54):
The second question is how do they do they can
they get the right guy so that to become a
destination for re agents again, But what a fascinating turn
of events in l A where what was a foregone
conclusion that Luke Walton would be fired last night or
today is suddenly not at the forefront instead. It's why
I would Magic Johnson pull the ripcord after he got
(09:15):
some form of support from Genie Buss fired the head
coach felt like Magic fired himself last night and he
should have from a job that he thought he wanted
but didn't actually want to do. What else is behind it?
More to come. Be sure to catch live editions of
The Doug dot Leap Show weekdays in noon eastern three
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart
(09:38):
Radio app. We've had forty eight hours or so, and
I want to catch up with the head coach of
the new national champions, the Virginia Cavaliers. He's Tony Bennett.
He joins us on The Doug Gottlieb Show. Coach, I
don't know. I don't know how much you slept. Um.
I know you started returning a bunch of texts yesterday
because you and I texted each other back and forth.
(10:00):
I can't imagine when your cell phone is like. But
I want to ask you first, what's it like to
wake up, open your eyes for the second time knowing
you're a national champion? Now I got a little better
sleep last night. It's your same feeling, fortunate, humble, thankful,
the whole deal. And you know, I can, as our
guys were talking about it, I don't know if it's
(10:20):
fully you know, sunken. Yet little pieces come and I
think your appreciation all that will continue. But it was
such a hard fought you know that the way we
did it is improbable, and um, it makes it even
that much sweeter. Yeah, I said yesterday, like I've never understood. Um,
and maybe more fans and sometimes it's coaches and players
(10:42):
the defensiveness that that comes with when you say, hey,
they were a little lucky or even a lot lucky.
But I mean, look, there's a lot of and luckies
when timing and preparation kind of come together. That's how
it's always been described to me. But there's a lot
of ways to describe three consecutive games in which you
have improbable, very very late comebacks, two wins. Um is it?
(11:07):
Are you? Are you defensive at all? If somebody says, hey,
they were at least a little bit lucky, not at
all we were, you call whatever blessed fortunate, lucky? Um,
who knows? You know? Even this is the first year
in the NC tournament, we've been fully healthy, and so
much of the N terminals down to who you're playing.
Obviously we played some hot teams. Who you're playing, are
(11:30):
you healthy? And then those bounces, those plays, um so
that happened. The organ game was was so tough too.
Um So, that's that's real stuff. But no, I'm not
defensive one bit about that, And I think it's right.
Let me let me go to the semifinals because I
thought you guys had that game in hand and then
(11:50):
all of a sudden tie Jerome who has only had
four fouls four fouls once this season, and that was
and that was the game him against Perdue. So he's
the guy who never fouls out. Your team commits only
fourteen fouls as a team per game. It's something you
guys harp on, preach on, and it's, you know, one
of the basis of your guy's success. You took him
(12:13):
out of the game, and all of a sudden, Auburn
makes a run. You guys kind of lost your offensive rhythm.
Um in the in the moment, take me through your
thought process when he commits what was a silly foul
because he thought he was fouled on a post up.
You're right, that's something you would do and I would
probably do you like, hey, come on, I got hit
and he lost and said he described himself as a
bone headed play. So I said, what are you doing?
(12:35):
Because you know he it happened in Organ story, Organ
Auburn made an incredible comic because we were playing high
level basketball and in all these things we talk about
what we've gotta have luck where you still got to
be in that spot to win it sort of it
has to be high level plays for the course of
the game. But we had a terrific second half and
then there was so quick start making plays yet and
I think exactly what Ty did that and he just
(12:56):
lost his head for a second foul, and you know,
I was faced with the decision. I think was at
about the five forty or somewhere right around five minute mark,
and I thought, okay, do we just set him and
myselft was just set him for a minute, get him
under the media time out or at some point to
see but we're I think it was maybe a seven
point game at that time. So again it shows you
(13:18):
his value, you know, his his role on this team.
We have so many terrific players in Hunter and Guy
and all that, but he's kind of like the Tom
Brady you know for us, who just he just makes
everything go. And when he came out, we did lose our.
They started making some plays, tough contest to threes, missed
the blockout and then um he had to get back
in fairly quickly. But that was, you know, obviously a
(13:40):
key for for their comeback, and you know, us kind
of faltering. What's that feeling like? Look, you're a great player,
and you can you can undersell it all you want
to other people. You can undersell it to me. Tony Bennett,
our guest on The Doug Gotlip Show, You're a great player.
What what's that feeling like to have a kid like
Kyle Guy, who I remember calling your Aimes when he
was a freshman. He had that terrible man button right
(14:02):
and you you told me, like he just he's got
he's got a confidence about him that you don't want
to take away like you want to you want him
to take good shots and buy into what but there's
a confidence to him that that is unmistakable. What's that
like to stand there and watch him stare down those
three free throws and knock him down in your heart
of hearts, what's going on in your mind? Well, it's
(14:23):
interesting because you know, even statistically free throw wise, Kyle,
I don't think he's he doesn't knock it out of
the park. I actually don't know it off hand. Um,
And I remember when that happened, just I didn't know
if he was gonna make him or miss one. And
I just thought, well, I literally like, here we go.
You know. I didn't even think like, oh, he's got
these for sure, someone said, and I was standing the
next night. I didn't hear it, but where they interviewed
(14:45):
him right after and he said I was terrified. I
think they stepped in the line. I don't know if
that was for for Hollywood or if he really was,
but those were strong shots because they went in pretty
pretty pure, bang bang bang. They did the time outs.
But I was just thiful, all right, we got a
chance to tell either send or win it. I'm like
the way our Purdue game ended, I was kind of like,
well this would be fitting, wouldn't it now, So it
(15:07):
was like here we go. I was hopeful, but in
my mind thinking, okay, do we get someone at the
pre just you say in the moment, like, Okay, if
he makes, what are we doing? If he misses, what
are we doing? Where are we putting our pieces? And
that's really what was going on in my mind. You know,
it's interesting you bring up the Purdue game, and I
hate to go out of kind of chronological order, but
even though the Purdue game there was all those things,
(15:27):
Key making the right read and throwing it to Mama Dy.
But but part of the way you guys got the
ball back is one of the things that's unique about
how you guys play, even though you don't necessarily send
a bunch of guys to the offensive boards between Mama
Dy and Salt and and maybe DeAndre, but really Mamady
(15:47):
does an incredible job of tipping the ball out and
giving you guys additional possessions. That that's something that's taught, right,
I mean, like, look, he has to have the length
and skill to do it, but that's something you work on,
isn't it. Well, Jack, Salt and him were key you know,
of course we talked about those big three, but I
think the the X factors this whole tournament run where Key,
(16:08):
Hay Clark, Momady and and um of course Jack in
that game particularly, but that all started, you know, guy's
gonna Isaiah Wilkins was one of the best we've had
at that and you know, when you play with a
player who's effective at doing something, your other guys just
sort of say, yeah, that's the way to keep stuff alive.
And there's such athleticism, you know, in size and the game,
so sometimes you can't grab it the best thing you
(16:29):
can do. And I didn't mention Braxton Key what he
did in the championship game with that rebounding and defense,
but is just I can't grab it, so I'm keeping
it alive, and you know that's that's definitely something I
think Isaiah just seeled it in even more how it
was effective. You know, it's you bring up Key and
he did have a huge championship game, but I also
think it speaks to you and your ability to read
(16:51):
the game on the fly. Because Key struggled, you know,
a little bit with with their size, with their lengthen
really they're just older guys, right, I mean, he's a
kid there, they're grown men, and I thought you made
uh And they kind of change their lineup. They went
to a little bit of a small ball lineup and
it it caused you to change. Was that was that
part of your plan um to play key that much
(17:13):
in the championship game or is that something you felt
as the game went on. I felt that as the
game went on. And Doug, I'm gonna give you some credit.
You and I had a conversation. You know, we go
back so many years. You know, our fathers were both
you know, legendary coaches who have poured so much into us.
And after last year's UNBC game, you know, you and
I talked. I can't remember if we did an interview
(17:34):
or not, but you talk and you challenged me and
encouraged me that you know, obviously, like everyone would grow
from this game, but you know, can you can you
find ways when the tournament comes to play differently even
through the year, try different things, whether it's offensively or
defensively or lineup wise. And I remember that conversation, and
(17:56):
I and I knew we had to do that because
you know, obviously we were good last year and DeAndre
Hunter allowed us to play small and then when DeAndre
got hurt in the n SEE a tournament before that,
we couldn't. We didn't have that four guard lineup. Well,
this year when Braxton and Key got eligible, I knew
at times we're gonna be able to play Key as
a five, Andre as a four or vice versa, and
(18:17):
a real small lineup. And then against Perdue, we needed
to go big with salt and and mom Andy. So
you kind of challenge me. We added some things, and
I really tried to think hard about that, and I thought,
in tournament runs, you need to be able to have
the versatility to mix things up offensively or defense. We
used the offense against um Texas Tech in the championship
(18:38):
game that we hadn't hardly used all year because they
ran a different kind of defense with the way they
forced them aside and switched, and so you have to
have those things ready in those situations. Yeah, that was
I'll tell you exactly what it was. I might have
had coaching job, Doug, Like I thought, you got your
head coaching job. So all right, Oh that's that's fine.
(18:58):
You get you collected present, here's the here's the progress.
How process about went down? Uh? You guys lost, obviously,
I'm sure everybody reached out to text you. I text you.
We texted back and forth. I think we did do
an interview, and then you and I talked for about
an hour and what what I what I said, and
was like, you know, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid
(19:20):
to even to lose a game or to lose momentum,
you know, uh, you know, in a in a regular
season game, because you just you never know, like try,
you know, try stuff, like you look, your teams are
good enough that you're going to get to the n
c A tournament, and so why not, whether it's a
guarantee game or a c C game, try different lineups
and try different things because you know, I mean, look
(19:41):
Texas Tech, they went to a small ball line up there,
that's not their traditional lineup because you know, Owens was
hurt and in foul trouble and they couldn't score against
your bigs and the only way to do it was
to drag your bigs out on the floor, right, So
so those things that you have to kind of prepare for,
um okay. So so so then you did something that
(20:01):
you hadn't done the entire game when you're down three
or I don't remember you doing it. Where I thought,
I thought, as as well coached they are, I thought
leaving Odias in after he made the second free throw,
gave you the mismatch you need. You had a small
lineup and you said, kind of a sideball screen with
his man. Had you done that before in the game?
(20:24):
At what point, um, something broke up there? You said,
when we went what I miss last part? Okay, Um,
you're down three fifteen seconds to go. They make the
second free throw, and instead of taking the big guy
out Odias, they leave him in and you set a
screen with his man kind of to the side of
the court. That's what freed tide Drome up to get
(20:45):
the drive and kick. Had you had you set that
ball screen before in the game? No, in similarly all
the game and you don't have a coach where we
learned this. You have to save some things at times,
different little a quick little action him that they can
play out of and um and open up different things
and that they maybe haven't seen. And um, you know
(21:06):
Brendan Sill who he always talked about that you you
did in a tournament. You can't. You just have to
have something that might look a little different under four
or whatever, because you just need a possession of everything.
And we did it against all but a couple of
times and actually a pew thing cabinets. So no, that
was the first time we had you do something early
in the game sometimes just to get a look and
see how do they handle this that makes look similar.
(21:28):
So I just did a couple of things to just
get a gauge for what they do and um, and
then so when we got to that spot, it was
it was kind of the the second time we did it,
but we did it a little different. I know, you
gotta run. I got two more for you really quick. Uh.
DeAndre Hunter who had had struggled with his his jump
shot at times, and he struggled kind of out of
the gate. Did you say something to him, because he
(21:50):
was simply remarkable in that game. How did he kind
of personally turn it around? I thought you saw him
grow up before very guys, you first thought he was
he's just scratching the surface. Do not be defined by
a mistake in your game or missing shots. I said,
that's something every really great player has to overcome. If
(22:13):
you're missing In young players that they missed a couple
of shots or have a mistake, they sort of shy away,
and I thought he guarded hard. Again, we talked about
that leading up to the Final four. You know, look,
if I look at you on the leg, I think
you're getting a little discouraged. You snap out it, I
think because this team feeds off you on the glass
and the way he spread out and slid on culver
(22:35):
all games. I said, you have to give us that,
irregardless of your offensive output. But I knew we needed him,
and I thought he he struggled a little early, maybe
settled in the Auburn game, and then all of a
sudden the second half of both of those, but the
champions games, so he got a sort of started making
plays and just it was you know, it was unmistakable.
(22:55):
So that's the credit to him and part of the
maturity process of maybe going through that in the tournament
earlier or other games and not responding quite the same
as he did in the final four. Last thing, your
family and your faith or everything to you. Um would
would your dad say? Ah, he was you and I
can we can appreciate this Doug more than most because
(23:18):
we know how much they've poured into our lives, um
in in both areas that are so important to us.
But he just was happy, you know, he didn't come
to the Final four game, my father, but he wanted
to be there for that championship game. He gets so nervous.
But it was just a shared moment, you know. It's
just I could just seen his eyes and his hand
front was all over me. He prepared me to coach
(23:40):
in that moment in that game, because I know our
system and style gets a lot of criticism, which really
doesn't matter, but when you play elite competition, you better
have a way that sound and can hold up in
the pressures of the game against elite elite players. And
that was on display for me in my mind. All Right,
we know we have to do these things that have
been ingrained to me as a coach in a player
(24:00):
ever since he started working with me. And that's the
stuff I tried to just execute. Have our team ex
get at the highest level. And then yeah, you need
those to start to the way you start. You need
the luck and you need the players to make plays.
And our players made plays. So that's why it was
good and special moment with my family and with him. Well,
well we'll deserve respect. Hey, thanks so much for the
(24:21):
compliment and thanks so much for your time. Look forward
to seeing you in the upcoming offseason, but enjoy the
victory lap. It's well deserved, and of course it represents
a style of basketball which your dad believed in, so
many believed in, and finally has come to fruition. Congratulations,
Thank you, Doug. Pleasures mind Tony Bennett, head coach of
the wah who's the Virginia Cavaliers national champions for two
(24:43):
thousand nine. Be sure to catch live editions so the
Doug dot Leaps show weekdays at noon eastern three pm Pacific.
For my lifetime, every Wednesday, every Wednesday, you'd go to
the mailbox and you would see you would you'd get
your sports ills traded. Um. And my mom's house in Orange, California,
if you go into her garage, she's a bit of
(25:03):
a pack rat um. But and she may well be listening,
and she'll she'll nod her head a little bit when
I tell when I say this, there are several boxes
that have the all the first, second, third editions of
sports Sosis, the first year, the second or third year.
I I remember because one time I was like in
high school, I go digging through boxes and I found him.
(25:23):
It's like these are like gold. And my dad was
a subscriber, and anyway Wednesdays it would come out and
we have the cover person for Sports Illustrator be would
be you know, like the legend of the Week. And
then you turn to the back page and you read
Rick Riley's piece, and Rick Riley kind of spend some
time with this year on the week where his book
Commander in Cheat drops and it's already number six in
(25:43):
New York Times Bestseller. Let's congratulations. It's crazy. You know,
it's funny because that's how I got into sports writing
because my cousin kept him all and I remember being
like six seven years old, like what is this? And
all these great pictures and Zoli over Size, remember him
from The Twins was on the cover, And then I'd
go over. Every time i'd go to his house, I'd
start first, you look at the pictures and you'd steal
a picture with the scissors, put it on your room.
(26:06):
And then I started reading Dan Jenkins and Dan Jays
like whoa, what is this? And then I started reading
my local paper and it was Jim Murray, the Great
Jim Mury, like whoa, I've never read anything like this either,
And I started realizing you could write sports in a
completely fun, pithy, irreverent, uh meaningful way. I think that
(26:28):
wasn't all about stats and what they hit on Tuesdays.
And I tried never to use numbers. I tried to
make it about people who did sports good or bad, funny, mad, angry, whatever,
And that really made all the difference. Your first your
first calm and Sports Illustrated was about who or about what?
Remember dal Murphy. They gave me ten pages in the back. Uh.
(26:51):
And I go there and he like, Rick, I'm not
gonna give you any time for this, but I want
you to come to my house for dinner tonight and
I'll tell you why. And you know, all this great
stuff him his wife made a pie and and just
gave me great stuff. And he goes, so, so that's
why I can't do it. I'm like, dude, we already
got the piece and it really was great, and that's
really what got me. It went so well, I got
more and more assignments. Um, okay, So we've reached this
(27:14):
place with Tiger Woods where he went from being the
greatest thing we've ever seen to a villain too. Now
that then he was a sympathetic figure right where we
felt sorry for him, and there was the thought he
would never play golf again. And I've I've told people like,
look a couple of things. You never too drunk to fish,
and you're never too old to play golf. Um, And
(27:37):
so I always thought that there would be at least
one Sunday at Augusta where he probably won because even
after Ellen caught him, and there's the golf club in
the car accident. I remember I was at ESPN then
and I was I was set to be on ESPN
two on Thanksgiving weekend college basketball raps, and they're like, fellas,
(28:00):
you guys can go home. It's like, why, Like Tiger
Woods was in a car accident and it doesn't look good.
It's like, doesn't look good, like he's gonna die. And
that was that was the first talk, was it doesn't
look good. Then it was like, no, he doesn't look
good because everything else is gonna come out. So we
end up staying and doing the basketball rap. But he
became the biggest story. Anyway, We've had these different Now
he's someone who he appears to be mostly back granted,
(28:25):
a completely different version of himself. When you see Tigger
Woods at a place that you've covered thirty five different
times um at Augusta. What's what are the emotions that
go through you watching him when he's gonna tea off tomorrow? Well,
I have no emotions about him. His golf game, which
is fantastic, is the most skilled person I've ever seen
(28:45):
with a golf set of golf clubs. But I don't
get how is he a sympathetic figure. He got busted
twice for pills, illegal pills he shouldn't have had. He
had to be woken up twice in cars by cops
on the side of the road. He all his injuries
were self and did he did this to himself? He
tried to be an army ranger and couldn't because his
dad was military. He had fourteen affairs going I'm one
(29:08):
of the hot against one of the hottest women I've
ever seen with his wife. So he's got five hundred
million dollars. Why is I don't get why everyone's like,
oh no, we want tigers so bad. He's terrible with fans.
He's finally being a little nicer in interviews and smiles
a little, but Phil never passes up a fan. Phil
(29:30):
tips with hundreds. I mean, I have so many tipping
stories where Tiger just stiffs the guy, or he doesn't
need desserts so he gets up from the table and
leaves no money for anybody to pay his He he
was famous too young. His dad absolutely let him get
away with whatever he wanted outside the golf course, and
so he I think he was raised very, very poorly.
(29:52):
And yeah, great golfer, incredible story. But I don't get this. Oh,
I really want Tiger to win. You want a great
kid to win. Who could be that could at least
try to keep up with Tiger. Root for Rory. That
is a great guy who could win the career Slam
this weekend. I mean, he's He's fantastic. Ricky Fowler, Jordan
(30:12):
Speed couldn't be a nicer kid who's great with with everybody.
So I'm not a Tiger fan outside the course. Inside
he's absolutely one of the top five players in the
world right now. He almost won his last two majors almost.
Remember he won he led Sunday at Carnews team. He
almost won at St. Louis except Brooks Keepka put on
(30:33):
a show like I've never seen Otherwise he might have
his major already. Rick Riley, our guest here in the
Doug Gotlip Show on Fox Sports Radio. Uh you you
are you live in l A or in l A Native,
So you know, uh you know that this Magic Johnson
story is front page news even we say it, even
though most people don't read by the paper anymore. Um,
(30:57):
what's what what? When you hear what what? What's your
immediate reaction? Magic Johnson? It's not just that he quit,
It's that he just had a meeting with Genie Buss
and they walked downstairs this you know what. By the way,
I don't want to do this any one that was
so unmagic, Like, he's one of my favorite people. But
I don't even when he took the job, I'm like, really,
you're gonna work hard at this, because I don't see
(31:17):
you working hard at this. Because magic is magic. He
puts his arm around you and looks you in the
eye and remembers your name, and he always with me
is like, oh, this is one of the cool guys.
I'm not sure he remembers my name, but he always
gives you that magic and he's really personal and I
I don't know, but every other job he's kind of
had was like, come on, sell these guys sell the suits,
(31:38):
get Lebron and great, you can do all that, because
nobody's more magical. But if you want him to make
a whole study of how they're gonna build, that's never
gonna be him. I'm just surprised that he didn't hire somebody,
like like just having Rob Polinka who he didn't hire
and not they have no assistant GM right, there's no
he's not surrounded by a cast of people. Between Polinka
(31:58):
and him, they have zero experience and their head coach
had zero head coaching experience. But there's always some little
third guy that does all the work. But I don't
see anybody. Yeah, it's too bad. He's a great guy. Really,
he really stepped on it here, he did, and it
really I don't think it ruins, but does Sully the
image to those of us who grow up in something
California like I did, Like, dude, magic can do no wrong.
(32:21):
And now you're like, well, he didn't really do anything
with the Dodgers. The talk show is bad and the
head coaching was bad, like, but he was awesome when
he played. Now he becomes an awesome player who's kind
of you start to question anything else he's done as
was he really responsible for the success? Unfair? I didn't
say it was fair. I never said it was fair.
Like none of these things are fair, but it is
(32:41):
the reality. You judge a man by his body of
lifetime work, and he's been nothing but great and a
success and achiever. And I mean, okay, he kind of
stepped on this thing, but he was terrible as an
analyst for both the ESPN and NBC, and he was
terrible on talk show and as a head coach. Yeah,
he was terrible. Outside of that, he was amazing. That's
why my guy Alway never gets any love. Like they
(33:03):
want to fire him in Denver. How many great players
did really well at being He's also done this as
as a as a front as an executive, to five
as a players. That's seven And they want to fire
him in my hometown and never like what fire him?
You should build a new capitol with his face on it.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox sports
(33:26):
Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio app
search f s R to listen live. Rick Riley continues
to join us. His new book is called Commander in Cheat.
Could just show it. I will. I'm gonna turn it
around here, so it'll be on our digital page. It'll
be on my Instagram, Yeah it will. It'll be on
our Facebook page as well, and throughout Fox Sports Radio
(33:47):
everything we do. How golf explains Trump, you do realize
that you don't even have to say anything. You say
the word Trump, and suddenly you've you lose half the people,
or you gain half the half the people immediately go oh,
I hate you, I love you. Correct. But here's my thing.
It's not a political book. It's a golf book about
a guy who cheats like a mafia accountant. And I
(34:11):
saw it personally. And then he started telling people on
the campaign trail, I've won twenty club championships. I beat
the best guys in my club all the time. Vote
for me. I'm a winner. I'm like you, liar, because
you told me how you did it. You know how
he doesn't. He buys a golf he has, He owns
fourteen clubs. The club plays the first round by himself,
(34:33):
declares that the club championship. It's kind of kind of genius,
to be honest. So one time he was playing Trump
Philadelphia and they were holding it at Trump Bedminster, and
he calls in at the end of his round in
Philly and he's like, what when what won the tournament today?
Club Championship And the guy goes, oh, Joe Schmo shot
(34:54):
seventy four, shot seventy three. Up here, make me the champion.
And the head brows like, what, yeah, make me the champ.
I played better than that. So they take Joe Schmo
down and put him up and then it just goes
on and on like that. He won. He won one
while he was with Kim Jong un and in the
Singapore and they were holding it at the one in
mar Lago. So you're like, you don't get to say
(35:17):
you're a champ. If this is all like Russian history? Okay,
where do you begin with the book? What? Where? Where
is it? Where does it started to start? Like in
the very early ages when he first started playing golf,
Like what is the what is the point of beginning
when when you pick up the book? Where am I
going to start? When I learned about this book, I
was retired. I'm living in Italy half the year, playing piano,
playing golf, screwing around, and I kept getting these tweets
(35:39):
about Trump's Trump's the championship, like, no, he's not. Oh
Trump's at two point eight. He goes, I beat most
people I play against two. Yeah, if he's a two
point eight, tigers a rabbi, because I'm a five point four,
I can beat him. I met him a hunter grand
I could beat him. He can't cover it to Tiger
Anako storans to him, those guys saying he's about about
(36:00):
a ten. You know two point eight. You know how
he does it if you go on the doctor jin
dot com where you report your scores, so you gotta
have twenty scores to get a handicap. It's taken him
eight years to get twenty scores, which means he's just
and he plays all the time. He played sixties. She
does the opposite of what everybody I know does, which
is sandbag report all your beads, Like yeah, I'm like,
(36:23):
I'm like a thirteen. So dudeen get out of here,
stripe the ball exactly. So in golf, you call that
a cocktail handicap. If you if if he's a two
point eight in my club, he phone would be ringing
all the time to get him to the course for
two point eight. He's seventy two years old. He's not bass.
So the Trump defender would say Clinton cheated. Who cheats worse? Okay,
(36:48):
I played with Clinton as president, right, Clinton only got
to play like once every two months, and so he
wanted it to last. Trump plays in three hours. Clinton
played in six and he's sitting all these he plays
first ball, and he had twenty four clubs, by the way,
way over the limit, and he hit what we call
Billigan's and he hit these extra shots extra shots, and
(37:09):
we're like, oh my god, where's the first one? Because
he wanted to play the first one. But the Secret
Service always be like, I think it's on the green, sir,
because everybody wants to be ambassador to Sweden or whatever.
And so he played pretty well that day. But his
I always say, like Clinton is the guy that goes
to the bank and steals the pen, and Trump goes
and steals the vault, You know what I mean? Yeah,
I always feel there's there's a certain charm to how
(37:30):
Clinton does it where there's a did you play with him? No?
I just I know. Here's my knowledge of Clinton is
because I played for Eddie Sutton, who was buddies with
them back when they were both in Arkans, right, and
so we would, Um, he wasn't trying. It wasn't in office.
I'm trying he was not in office. When when was
he in office. I'm trying to think. Shoot, I think
(37:52):
he was in office when I was first school. There
was so he was that that was you know, my
career there. So if we'd win a big game on
national TV, like you beat Oklahoma on Big Nut Monday,
he'd leave a he'd leave a message and he coach
and call us all in and play for us the message,
or be on the phone and he put us on
speaker phone and he'd congratulate him and again, like there
(38:14):
was a certain charm to even if he didn't really
watch the game, he kind of somebody kind of gave
him the bullet points and then they'd start. Then they'd
start joking around and quickly pick up the phone because
he didn't want us the rest of us to hear
all the other stuff he was talking about. But let
me tell you the difference between Clinton cheating and Trump cheating.
Trump cheats like to win, he's gotta win, Like losing
to him is a bath to the wicked witch of
(38:35):
the West. Like he's not gonna lose, so he has this.
He married. He screws around with a governor on a
golf card. Have you ever done that to make it faster?
So it's fifty and yours is. So him and his
carder way ahead and they're throwing it out of the
wood woods and they throw He's a terrible chipper, terriffic
driver of the ball, terrible chipper, throw it out of
the rough. He kicks it so often the caddies a
(38:57):
winging foot calling pelee. So he's doing all the stuff.
And then sometimes if you're if he's way ahead and
you're clear back here to yards, he'll take your ball
and kick it in the bunker. Oh that's now, that's no,
that's he did it to Tariko, to Mike Rika. Would
you like the nicest dude, the greatest dude ever ever ever? Okay,
(39:19):
So give me, give me one more, give me one
more stories. Commander in Sheet is the book How Golf
Explains Trump, written by Rick Riley. It's already on the
New York Times best seller list, number six with with
number six with a bullet, give me one more. Okay. Well,
it's not just about how he cheats on the golf course.
There's all kinds of ways he cheats when he builds
coursesn't but he tried well. He did cheat Tiger Woods
(39:41):
last seventeen, playing with Tiger, Dustin Johnson and Brad Faxson,
and it's Dustin and Tiger versus Factson and the President
and so facstion in the President way over here, Dustin
and Tiger way over there. That kind of feels like
a bit of a mismatch. Yeah, And they play the
black teas and facts In and Trump play the white teas,
(40:02):
and Trump gets eight shots. Okay, it seems still like
a mismatch. Still seems like a mismatch. So they're left.
Trump's trumping facts in a right. Trump facts his approach
into the water. He goes, throw me another one. They
didn't see. In fact, it's like, what throw me another?
So he throws him another. Fats that one into the water.
Now they've seen. He drives up quickly to the like
(40:23):
drops hits it on. Tiger hits it like this for
kicking Birdie. And when they get to the green, Tiger says,
what do you lie there? Mr? President? He goes, I'm
putting for four. He told him he's putting for four
when he's putting for seven, Like what they f so,
I don't know, say what you want to me. Golf
is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a guy,
and it reveals a lot about about It's like it's
(40:47):
like booze boo booze will do that as well. Right.
Who you are as a drunk is who you are
as a dude. You think so. Yeah, If you're an
angry drunk, you're an angry dude. If you're funny, drunk
or light, aren't a dude. I remember Arnold Palmer saying
I never do a business deal until I've played whole
golf with a guy. And I said why, he says,
because you can't hide who you are in four hours.
If you're gonna cheat me, you're gonna cheat out here.
If you're gonna cheat out here, you'll cheat me in business.
(41:09):
If you're gonna have a bad temper, you're gonna be
bad to deal with. If you're a great guy who
plays by the rules, I'm gonna enjoy it. Pretty good stuff.
The book is Commander in Cheat, How Golf Explains Trump.
It's written by Rick Riley. Rick thanks so much for
joining us, that it it was fun. Thank you. Pleasure is
all mine.
Thanks for listening to the best of the Doug Gottlieb
Show podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday
from three to six pm Eastern Time, that's twelve to
three Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station
for the Doug Gottlieb Show at Fox Sports Radio dot com,
or stream us live every day on the I Heart
Radio app by searching fs R. This is the best
(00:21):
of the Doug god Leave Show on Fox Sports Radio. Boom,
What Up America, Doug god Leave Show, Fox Sports Radio,
Coming to you from the Sunny City of Angels, where
man did Magic Johnson just go hold my beer to
(00:42):
U c l A Basketball? Right? Because U c l
A Basketball was the dysfunctional disaster of a search for
new leadership, which culminated in hiring of McK cronin press
conference later on today, which actually think is pretty good
higher but it's like that was a mess, and then
the Lakers like, oh hey, do you think that's a mess?
(01:03):
Hold my beer. Doug Gotland Show brought you by Farmers.
At Farmers, we've seen almost everything, so we know how
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are Farmers dom dom Dum Dum dum dumb. There we go. Go,
all right. Kyle Guy Uh hero for the national Champion,
(01:27):
Virginia Cavalier is gonna join us in fifteen minutes. Karen Butler,
tough Jews, former NBA All Star, he'll join us half
past the hour. Then the head coach of of the
wah Who's will join us. Tony Bennett top of next hour.
Eric Musselman or Muss as he's known in the business,
will join us u next hour, and then Rick Riley's
(01:48):
gonna join us in studio. We'll talk some golf, we'll
talk about his new book. We'll talk about some masters
with the patrons in a tradition unlike any other um Man,
we got a lot to get too. Can we start
with Magic Johnson? Okay, so here, here's what happens. Here's
(02:09):
what happens. All right. Um. Generally, when you get to
the end of the season, if the big boss is there,
it means you're gonna get fired at the end of
the season. All right. Magic Johnson was not always in attendance.
You know, he had Michigan State's Final four run. He
(02:30):
has other appearances, he has other business interests, and the
general thought around the Lakers was, if you see Magic,
that means Luke should bring in his playbook. He apparently
had gone and gotten clearance from Genie Buss to fire
Luke Walton before the game, and by all reports apparently
(02:53):
want to fire Rob Polinka, who's the general manager of
the Lakers, and so instead he he had is an
impromptu press conference where he resigns, and I mean it
was a stunner in it. It was kind of out
of nowhere, and if you thought that the Lakers knew
(03:13):
it was gonna happen, there was no podium, there was
no desk, there were no dignitaries. This was not the
way that Magic would would traditionally do it. Magic's about big,
Magic's about showy. This is a guy who spends a
month every summer on a yacht traveling around the world.
Magic is not somebody who walks in quietly and just
(03:36):
hey man, I think I'm gonna step aside and go
on to something else. So there's a lot of questions
that are still yet left unanswered. There's a lot of
rumors out there, but the meantime, here's Magic Johnson sharing
what went wrong with the Lakers. What I didn't like
is the backstabbing and the whisper and I don't like that,
you know, I don't like, um a lot of things
(03:58):
that went on that didn't have to go on. And
so I hope that after tomorrow the Lakers can head
in the right direction, which we are the backstabbing huh huh.
Here's what he said about his relationship with gentleman Andrew
Rob Blinka. I got to know Rob. I didn't know
Rob before Jeannie put us together, and so, UM, it
(04:24):
took us a while. You know, we had to get
to know each other. Um, and so my relationship got
a good relationship. Um, it's as good as you like
you wish, Rob what, No, No, the relationship with Rob
is fine. I just didn't know him and he didn't
know me because we got put together, and so I
(04:47):
think we had to get to know each other and
then learn how to work with each other. So we
did that. Um. But you know it has nothing to
do with me stepping down, if that's what you're at.
Excuse me. That is not exactly a ringing endorsement, right,
Remember this the only front office in the league that
(05:08):
does not have an assistant gentlem manager Rob Polinka, who
is the longtime agent of Kobe Bryant. And obviously if
they don't know each other, and that means and Kobe
and Magic aren't exactly boys. And it wasn't like he's like, no,
I love Rob robs my guy. Yeah, we didn't know
each other beforehand, but and I just feel better for
(05:29):
having known him. I mean, we can see what this is, right.
We may be we were born at night, but just
not last night. The idea that we can sit here
and listen to Magic Johnson tell us he didn't like
the backstabbing, he didn't like the rumors, and not have
(05:51):
any sort of praise until today on Twitter towards Rob
Polinka tells you all you need to know. And then
you read this from Peter vs see got his own side.
Rob Polinka is the most disrespected agent ever snapped a
hardened executive. There's no bigger liar. Magic made a break
for it. This is from Peter Vessey. I'm guessing for
(06:12):
good reason because he knew damaging assertions were coming his
his desertion. His desertion may have been sudden, but it
was not surprising. Most assertions center on on what his
non existent work ethic. Magic was never there, and then
he got mad because Rob Polinka would say he's never there,
(06:35):
And of course he was so defensive about not being
there and not liking the progress that he was going
to fire everybody else, even though he wasn't really as
much a part of the process as he should have been.
It's the classic tale. Athletes think we have great work ethic,
and generally I believe that you hire great athletes. You
(06:57):
hire athletes because they do. They do pushed through pain,
they do push through other other boundaries. But star athletes
are completely different. They're so coddled, they're so protected that
they're never called on their own mistakes or they're never
ever called on their own inadequacies, just not. You also
(07:22):
have to remember that Magic Johnson is a guy who, uh,
I think people deemed as some genius businessman in Los
Angeles because he was always magic. And you know, putting
movie theaters in central south central Los Angeles and only
Starbucks was seen as some groundbreaking move. But the real
(07:46):
magic is outside of the court. Is the coaching disaster,
is the late night talk show disaster. Is the guy
who had nothing really to do with the reinvention of
the Dodgers and the guy who uh opined for the job,
stabbed everyone else in the back to get the job,
then finally got the job and didn't want to do
(08:09):
what was necessary to complete the job. And of course
there's these stories out there that there's uh some sort
of ESPN slam piece that is upon us and that
maybe he got out ahead of it. All of that
makes sense because to walk up in front of the
cameras three or four hours before you're supposed to fire
(08:31):
the head coach and you got approval to do so
and say to hell with it, I'm out doesn't make sense.
Doesn't make any sense. So look, I think that the
Lakers job is a big time job. I would guess
that all the big boys in the NBA will want it,
and when they get it, they'll clean house. And the
only question is how do they handle the Lebron situation?
(08:54):
The second question is how do they do they can
they get the right guy so that to become a
destination for re agents again, But what a fascinating turn
of events in l A where what was a foregone
conclusion that Luke Walton would be fired last night or
today is suddenly not at the forefront instead. It's why
I would Magic Johnson pull the ripcord after he got
(09:15):
some form of support from Genie Buss fired the head
coach felt like Magic fired himself last night and he
should have from a job that he thought he wanted
but didn't actually want to do. What else is behind it?
More to come. Be sure to catch live editions of
The Doug dot Leap Show weekdays in noon eastern three
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart
(09:38):
Radio app. We've had forty eight hours or so, and
I want to catch up with the head coach of
the new national champions, the Virginia Cavaliers. He's Tony Bennett.
He joins us on The Doug Gottlieb Show. Coach, I
don't know. I don't know how much you slept. Um.
I know you started returning a bunch of texts yesterday
because you and I texted each other back and forth.
(10:00):
I can't imagine when your cell phone is like. But
I want to ask you first, what's it like to
wake up, open your eyes for the second time knowing
you're a national champion? Now I got a little better
sleep last night. It's your same feeling, fortunate, humble, thankful,
the whole deal. And you know, I can, as our
guys were talking about it, I don't know if it's
(10:20):
fully you know, sunken. Yet little pieces come and I
think your appreciation all that will continue. But it was
such a hard fought you know that the way we
did it is improbable, and um, it makes it even
that much sweeter. Yeah, I said yesterday, like I've never understood. Um,
and maybe more fans and sometimes it's coaches and players
(10:42):
the defensiveness that that comes with when you say, hey,
they were a little lucky or even a lot lucky.
But I mean, look, there's a lot of and luckies
when timing and preparation kind of come together. That's how
it's always been described to me. But there's a lot
of ways to describe three consecutive games in which you
have improbable, very very late comebacks, two wins. Um is it?
(11:07):
Are you? Are you defensive at all? If somebody says, hey,
they were at least a little bit lucky, not at
all we were, you call whatever blessed fortunate, lucky? Um,
who knows? You know? Even this is the first year
in the NC tournament, we've been fully healthy, and so
much of the N terminals down to who you're playing.
Obviously we played some hot teams. Who you're playing, are
(11:30):
you healthy? And then those bounces, those plays, um so
that happened. The organ game was was so tough too.
Um So, that's that's real stuff. But no, I'm not
defensive one bit about that, And I think it's right.
Let me let me go to the semifinals because I
thought you guys had that game in hand and then
(11:50):
all of a sudden tie Jerome who has only had
four fouls four fouls once this season, and that was
and that was the game him against Perdue. So he's
the guy who never fouls out. Your team commits only
fourteen fouls as a team per game. It's something you
guys harp on, preach on, and it's, you know, one
of the basis of your guy's success. You took him
(12:13):
out of the game, and all of a sudden, Auburn
makes a run. You guys kind of lost your offensive rhythm.
Um in the in the moment, take me through your
thought process when he commits what was a silly foul
because he thought he was fouled on a post up.
You're right, that's something you would do and I would
probably do you like, hey, come on, I got hit
and he lost and said he described himself as a
bone headed play. So I said, what are you doing?
(12:35):
Because you know he it happened in Organ story, Organ
Auburn made an incredible comic because we were playing high
level basketball and in all these things we talk about
what we've gotta have luck where you still got to
be in that spot to win it sort of it
has to be high level plays for the course of
the game. But we had a terrific second half and
then there was so quick start making plays yet and
I think exactly what Ty did that and he just
(12:56):
lost his head for a second foul, and you know,
I was faced with the decision. I think was at
about the five forty or somewhere right around five minute mark,
and I thought, okay, do we just set him and
myselft was just set him for a minute, get him
under the media time out or at some point to
see but we're I think it was maybe a seven
point game at that time. So again it shows you
(13:18):
his value, you know, his his role on this team.
We have so many terrific players in Hunter and Guy
and all that, but he's kind of like the Tom
Brady you know for us, who just he just makes
everything go. And when he came out, we did lose our.
They started making some plays, tough contest to threes, missed
the blockout and then um he had to get back
in fairly quickly. But that was, you know, obviously a
(13:40):
key for for their comeback, and you know, us kind
of faltering. What's that feeling like? Look, you're a great player,
and you can you can undersell it all you want
to other people. You can undersell it to me. Tony Bennett,
our guest on The Doug Gotlip Show, You're a great player.
What what's that feeling like to have a kid like
Kyle Guy, who I remember calling your Aimes when he
was a freshman. He had that terrible man button right
(14:02):
and you you told me, like he just he's got
he's got a confidence about him that you don't want
to take away like you want to you want him
to take good shots and buy into what but there's
a confidence to him that that is unmistakable. What's that
like to stand there and watch him stare down those
three free throws and knock him down in your heart
of hearts, what's going on in your mind? Well, it's
(14:23):
interesting because you know, even statistically free throw wise, Kyle,
I don't think he's he doesn't knock it out of
the park. I actually don't know it off hand. Um,
And I remember when that happened, just I didn't know
if he was gonna make him or miss one. And
I just thought, well, I literally like, here we go.
You know. I didn't even think like, oh, he's got
these for sure, someone said, and I was standing the
next night. I didn't hear it, but where they interviewed
(14:45):
him right after and he said I was terrified. I
think they stepped in the line. I don't know if
that was for for Hollywood or if he really was,
but those were strong shots because they went in pretty
pretty pure, bang bang bang. They did the time outs.
But I was just thiful, all right, we got a
chance to tell either send or win it. I'm like
the way our Purdue game ended, I was kind of like,
well this would be fitting, wouldn't it now, So it
(15:07):
was like here we go. I was hopeful, but in
my mind thinking, okay, do we get someone at the
pre just you say in the moment, like, Okay, if
he makes, what are we doing? If he misses, what
are we doing? Where are we putting our pieces? And
that's really what was going on in my mind. You know,
it's interesting you bring up the Purdue game, and I
hate to go out of kind of chronological order, but
even though the Purdue game there was all those things,
(15:27):
Key making the right read and throwing it to Mama Dy.
But but part of the way you guys got the
ball back is one of the things that's unique about
how you guys play, even though you don't necessarily send
a bunch of guys to the offensive boards between Mama
Dy and Salt and and maybe DeAndre, but really Mamady
(15:47):
does an incredible job of tipping the ball out and
giving you guys additional possessions. That that's something that's taught, right,
I mean, like, look, he has to have the length
and skill to do it, but that's something you work on,
isn't it. Well, Jack, Salt and him were key you know,
of course we talked about those big three, but I
think the the X factors this whole tournament run where Key,
(16:08):
Hay Clark, Momady and and um of course Jack in
that game particularly, but that all started, you know, guy's
gonna Isaiah Wilkins was one of the best we've had
at that and you know, when you play with a
player who's effective at doing something, your other guys just
sort of say, yeah, that's the way to keep stuff alive.
And there's such athleticism, you know, in size and the game,
so sometimes you can't grab it the best thing you
(16:29):
can do. And I didn't mention Braxton Key what he
did in the championship game with that rebounding and defense,
but is just I can't grab it, so I'm keeping
it alive, and you know that's that's definitely something I
think Isaiah just seeled it in even more how it
was effective. You know, it's you bring up Key and
he did have a huge championship game, but I also
think it speaks to you and your ability to read
(16:51):
the game on the fly. Because Key struggled, you know,
a little bit with with their size, with their lengthen
really they're just older guys, right, I mean, he's a
kid there, they're grown men, and I thought you made
uh And they kind of change their lineup. They went
to a little bit of a small ball lineup and
it it caused you to change. Was that was that
part of your plan um to play key that much
(17:13):
in the championship game or is that something you felt
as the game went on. I felt that as the
game went on. And Doug, I'm gonna give you some credit.
You and I had a conversation. You know, we go
back so many years. You know, our fathers were both
you know, legendary coaches who have poured so much into us.
And after last year's UNBC game, you know, you and
I talked. I can't remember if we did an interview
(17:34):
or not, but you talk and you challenged me and
encouraged me that you know, obviously, like everyone would grow
from this game, but you know, can you can you
find ways when the tournament comes to play differently even
through the year, try different things, whether it's offensively or
defensively or lineup wise. And I remember that conversation, and
(17:56):
I and I knew we had to do that because
you know, obviously we were good last year and DeAndre
Hunter allowed us to play small and then when DeAndre
got hurt in the n SEE a tournament before that,
we couldn't. We didn't have that four guard lineup. Well,
this year when Braxton and Key got eligible, I knew
at times we're gonna be able to play Key as
a five, Andre as a four or vice versa, and
(18:17):
a real small lineup. And then against Perdue, we needed
to go big with salt and and mom Andy. So
you kind of challenge me. We added some things, and
I really tried to think hard about that, and I thought,
in tournament runs, you need to be able to have
the versatility to mix things up offensively or defense. We
used the offense against um Texas Tech in the championship
(18:38):
game that we hadn't hardly used all year because they
ran a different kind of defense with the way they
forced them aside and switched, and so you have to
have those things ready in those situations. Yeah, that was
I'll tell you exactly what it was. I might have
had coaching job, Doug, Like I thought, you got your
head coaching job. So all right, Oh that's that's fine.
(18:58):
You get you collected present, here's the here's the progress.
How process about went down? Uh? You guys lost, obviously,
I'm sure everybody reached out to text you. I text you.
We texted back and forth. I think we did do
an interview, and then you and I talked for about
an hour and what what I what I said, and
was like, you know, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid
(19:20):
to even to lose a game or to lose momentum,
you know, uh, you know, in a in a regular
season game, because you just you never know, like try,
you know, try stuff, like you look, your teams are
good enough that you're going to get to the n
c A tournament, and so why not, whether it's a
guarantee game or a c C game, try different lineups
and try different things because you know, I mean, look
(19:41):
Texas Tech, they went to a small ball line up there,
that's not their traditional lineup because you know, Owens was
hurt and in foul trouble and they couldn't score against
your bigs and the only way to do it was
to drag your bigs out on the floor, right, So
so those things that you have to kind of prepare for,
um okay. So so so then you did something that
(20:01):
you hadn't done the entire game when you're down three
or I don't remember you doing it. Where I thought,
I thought, as as well coached they are, I thought
leaving Odias in after he made the second free throw,
gave you the mismatch you need. You had a small
lineup and you said, kind of a sideball screen with
his man. Had you done that before in the game?
(20:24):
At what point, um, something broke up there? You said,
when we went what I miss last part? Okay, Um,
you're down three fifteen seconds to go. They make the
second free throw, and instead of taking the big guy
out Odias, they leave him in and you set a
screen with his man kind of to the side of
the court. That's what freed tide Drome up to get
(20:45):
the drive and kick. Had you had you set that
ball screen before in the game? No, in similarly all
the game and you don't have a coach where we
learned this. You have to save some things at times,
different little a quick little action him that they can
play out of and um and open up different things
and that they maybe haven't seen. And um, you know
(21:06):
Brendan Sill who he always talked about that you you
did in a tournament. You can't. You just have to
have something that might look a little different under four
or whatever, because you just need a possession of everything.
And we did it against all but a couple of
times and actually a pew thing cabinets. So no, that
was the first time we had you do something early
in the game sometimes just to get a look and
see how do they handle this that makes look similar.
(21:28):
So I just did a couple of things to just
get a gauge for what they do and um, and
then so when we got to that spot, it was
it was kind of the the second time we did it,
but we did it a little different. I know, you
gotta run. I got two more for you really quick. Uh.
DeAndre Hunter who had had struggled with his his jump
shot at times, and he struggled kind of out of
the gate. Did you say something to him, because he
(21:50):
was simply remarkable in that game. How did he kind
of personally turn it around? I thought you saw him
grow up before very guys, you first thought he was
he's just scratching the surface. Do not be defined by
a mistake in your game or missing shots. I said,
that's something every really great player has to overcome. If
(22:13):
you're missing In young players that they missed a couple
of shots or have a mistake, they sort of shy away,
and I thought he guarded hard. Again, we talked about
that leading up to the Final four. You know, look,
if I look at you on the leg, I think
you're getting a little discouraged. You snap out it, I
think because this team feeds off you on the glass
and the way he spread out and slid on culver
(22:35):
all games. I said, you have to give us that,
irregardless of your offensive output. But I knew we needed him,
and I thought he he struggled a little early, maybe
settled in the Auburn game, and then all of a
sudden the second half of both of those, but the
champions games, so he got a sort of started making
plays and just it was you know, it was unmistakable.
(22:55):
So that's the credit to him and part of the
maturity process of maybe going through that in the tournament
earlier or other games and not responding quite the same
as he did in the final four. Last thing, your
family and your faith or everything to you. Um would
would your dad say? Ah, he was you and I
can we can appreciate this Doug more than most because
(23:18):
we know how much they've poured into our lives, um
in in both areas that are so important to us.
But he just was happy, you know, he didn't come
to the Final four game, my father, but he wanted
to be there for that championship game. He gets so nervous.
But it was just a shared moment, you know. It's
just I could just seen his eyes and his hand
front was all over me. He prepared me to coach
(23:40):
in that moment in that game, because I know our
system and style gets a lot of criticism, which really
doesn't matter, but when you play elite competition, you better
have a way that sound and can hold up in
the pressures of the game against elite elite players. And
that was on display for me in my mind. All Right,
we know we have to do these things that have
been ingrained to me as a coach in a player
(24:00):
ever since he started working with me. And that's the
stuff I tried to just execute. Have our team ex
get at the highest level. And then yeah, you need
those to start to the way you start. You need
the luck and you need the players to make plays.
And our players made plays. So that's why it was
good and special moment with my family and with him. Well,
well we'll deserve respect. Hey, thanks so much for the
(24:21):
compliment and thanks so much for your time. Look forward
to seeing you in the upcoming offseason, but enjoy the
victory lap. It's well deserved, and of course it represents
a style of basketball which your dad believed in, so
many believed in, and finally has come to fruition. Congratulations,
Thank you, Doug. Pleasures mind Tony Bennett, head coach of
the wah who's the Virginia Cavaliers national champions for two
(24:43):
thousand nine. Be sure to catch live editions so the
Doug dot Leaps show weekdays at noon eastern three pm Pacific.
For my lifetime, every Wednesday, every Wednesday, you'd go to
the mailbox and you would see you would you'd get
your sports ills traded. Um. And my mom's house in Orange, California,
if you go into her garage, she's a bit of
(25:03):
a pack rat um. But and she may well be listening,
and she'll she'll nod her head a little bit when
I tell when I say this, there are several boxes
that have the all the first, second, third editions of
sports Sosis, the first year, the second or third year.
I I remember because one time I was like in
high school, I go digging through boxes and I found him.
(25:23):
It's like these are like gold. And my dad was
a subscriber, and anyway Wednesdays it would come out and
we have the cover person for Sports Illustrator be would
be you know, like the legend of the Week. And
then you turn to the back page and you read
Rick Riley's piece, and Rick Riley kind of spend some
time with this year on the week where his book
Commander in Cheat drops and it's already number six in
(25:43):
New York Times Bestseller. Let's congratulations. It's crazy. You know,
it's funny because that's how I got into sports writing
because my cousin kept him all and I remember being
like six seven years old, like what is this? And
all these great pictures and Zoli over Size, remember him
from The Twins was on the cover, And then I'd
go over. Every time i'd go to his house, I'd
start first, you look at the pictures and you'd steal
a picture with the scissors, put it on your room.
(26:06):
And then I started reading Dan Jenkins and Dan Jays
like whoa, what is this? And then I started reading
my local paper and it was Jim Murray, the Great
Jim Mury, like whoa, I've never read anything like this either,
And I started realizing you could write sports in a
completely fun, pithy, irreverent, uh meaningful way. I think that
(26:28):
wasn't all about stats and what they hit on Tuesdays.
And I tried never to use numbers. I tried to
make it about people who did sports good or bad, funny, mad, angry, whatever,
And that really made all the difference. Your first your
first calm and Sports Illustrated was about who or about what?
Remember dal Murphy. They gave me ten pages in the back. Uh.
(26:51):
And I go there and he like, Rick, I'm not
gonna give you any time for this, but I want
you to come to my house for dinner tonight and
I'll tell you why. And you know, all this great
stuff him his wife made a pie and and just
gave me great stuff. And he goes, so, so that's
why I can't do it. I'm like, dude, we already
got the piece and it really was great, and that's
really what got me. It went so well, I got
more and more assignments. Um, okay, So we've reached this
(27:14):
place with Tiger Woods where he went from being the
greatest thing we've ever seen to a villain too. Now
that then he was a sympathetic figure right where we
felt sorry for him, and there was the thought he
would never play golf again. And I've I've told people like,
look a couple of things. You never too drunk to fish,
and you're never too old to play golf. Um, And
(27:37):
so I always thought that there would be at least
one Sunday at Augusta where he probably won because even
after Ellen caught him, and there's the golf club in
the car accident. I remember I was at ESPN then
and I was I was set to be on ESPN
two on Thanksgiving weekend college basketball raps, and they're like, fellas,
(28:00):
you guys can go home. It's like, why, Like Tiger
Woods was in a car accident and it doesn't look good.
It's like, doesn't look good, like he's gonna die. And
that was that was the first talk, was it doesn't
look good. Then it was like, no, he doesn't look
good because everything else is gonna come out. So we
end up staying and doing the basketball rap. But he
became the biggest story. Anyway, We've had these different Now
he's someone who he appears to be mostly back granted,
(28:25):
a completely different version of himself. When you see Tigger
Woods at a place that you've covered thirty five different
times um at Augusta. What's what are the emotions that
go through you watching him when he's gonna tea off tomorrow? Well,
I have no emotions about him. His golf game, which
is fantastic, is the most skilled person I've ever seen
(28:45):
with a golf set of golf clubs. But I don't
get how is he a sympathetic figure. He got busted
twice for pills, illegal pills he shouldn't have had. He
had to be woken up twice in cars by cops
on the side of the road. He all his injuries
were self and did he did this to himself? He
tried to be an army ranger and couldn't because his
dad was military. He had fourteen affairs going I'm one
(29:08):
of the hot against one of the hottest women I've
ever seen with his wife. So he's got five hundred
million dollars. Why is I don't get why everyone's like,
oh no, we want tigers so bad. He's terrible with fans.
He's finally being a little nicer in interviews and smiles
a little, but Phil never passes up a fan. Phil
(29:30):
tips with hundreds. I mean, I have so many tipping
stories where Tiger just stiffs the guy, or he doesn't
need desserts so he gets up from the table and
leaves no money for anybody to pay his He he
was famous too young. His dad absolutely let him get
away with whatever he wanted outside the golf course, and
so he I think he was raised very, very poorly.
(29:52):
And yeah, great golfer, incredible story. But I don't get this. Oh,
I really want Tiger to win. You want a great
kid to win. Who could be that could at least
try to keep up with Tiger. Root for Rory. That
is a great guy who could win the career Slam
this weekend. I mean, he's He's fantastic. Ricky Fowler, Jordan
(30:12):
Speed couldn't be a nicer kid who's great with with everybody.
So I'm not a Tiger fan outside the course. Inside
he's absolutely one of the top five players in the
world right now. He almost won his last two majors almost.
Remember he won he led Sunday at Carnews team. He
almost won at St. Louis except Brooks Keepka put on
(30:33):
a show like I've never seen Otherwise he might have
his major already. Rick Riley, our guest here in the
Doug Gotlip Show on Fox Sports Radio. Uh you you
are you live in l A or in l A Native,
So you know, uh you know that this Magic Johnson
story is front page news even we say it, even
though most people don't read by the paper anymore. Um,
(30:57):
what's what what? When you hear what what? What's your
immediate reaction? Magic Johnson? It's not just that he quit,
It's that he just had a meeting with Genie Buss
and they walked downstairs this you know what. By the way,
I don't want to do this any one that was
so unmagic, Like, he's one of my favorite people. But
I don't even when he took the job, I'm like, really,
you're gonna work hard at this, because I don't see
(31:17):
you working hard at this. Because magic is magic. He
puts his arm around you and looks you in the
eye and remembers your name, and he always with me
is like, oh, this is one of the cool guys.
I'm not sure he remembers my name, but he always
gives you that magic and he's really personal and I
I don't know, but every other job he's kind of
had was like, come on, sell these guys sell the suits,
(31:38):
get Lebron and great, you can do all that, because
nobody's more magical. But if you want him to make
a whole study of how they're gonna build, that's never
gonna be him. I'm just surprised that he didn't hire somebody,
like like just having Rob Polinka who he didn't hire
and not they have no assistant GM right, there's no
he's not surrounded by a cast of people. Between Polinka
(31:58):
and him, they have zero experience and their head coach
had zero head coaching experience. But there's always some little
third guy that does all the work. But I don't
see anybody. Yeah, it's too bad. He's a great guy. Really,
he really stepped on it here, he did, and it
really I don't think it ruins, but does Sully the
image to those of us who grow up in something
California like I did, Like, dude, magic can do no wrong.
(32:21):
And now you're like, well, he didn't really do anything
with the Dodgers. The talk show is bad and the
head coaching was bad, like, but he was awesome when
he played. Now he becomes an awesome player who's kind
of you start to question anything else he's done as
was he really responsible for the success? Unfair? I didn't
say it was fair. I never said it was fair.
Like none of these things are fair, but it is
(32:41):
the reality. You judge a man by his body of
lifetime work, and he's been nothing but great and a
success and achiever. And I mean, okay, he kind of
stepped on this thing, but he was terrible as an
analyst for both the ESPN and NBC, and he was
terrible on talk show and as a head coach. Yeah,
he was terrible. Outside of that, he was amazing. That's
why my guy Alway never gets any love. Like they
(33:03):
want to fire him in Denver. How many great players
did really well at being He's also done this as
as a as a front as an executive, to five
as a players. That's seven And they want to fire
him in my hometown and never like what fire him?
You should build a new capitol with his face on it.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox sports
(33:26):
Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio app
search f s R to listen live. Rick Riley continues
to join us. His new book is called Commander in Cheat.
Could just show it. I will. I'm gonna turn it
around here, so it'll be on our digital page. It'll
be on my Instagram, Yeah it will. It'll be on
our Facebook page as well, and throughout Fox Sports Radio
(33:47):
everything we do. How golf explains Trump, you do realize
that you don't even have to say anything. You say
the word Trump, and suddenly you've you lose half the people,
or you gain half the half the people immediately go oh,
I hate you, I love you. Correct. But here's my thing.
It's not a political book. It's a golf book about
a guy who cheats like a mafia accountant. And I
(34:11):
saw it personally. And then he started telling people on
the campaign trail, I've won twenty club championships. I beat
the best guys in my club all the time. Vote
for me. I'm a winner. I'm like you, liar, because
you told me how you did it. You know how
he doesn't. He buys a golf he has, He owns
fourteen clubs. The club plays the first round by himself,
(34:33):
declares that the club championship. It's kind of kind of genius,
to be honest. So one time he was playing Trump
Philadelphia and they were holding it at Trump Bedminster, and
he calls in at the end of his round in
Philly and he's like, what when what won the tournament today?
Club Championship And the guy goes, oh, Joe Schmo shot
(34:54):
seventy four, shot seventy three. Up here, make me the champion.
And the head brows like, what, yeah, make me the champ.
I played better than that. So they take Joe Schmo
down and put him up and then it just goes
on and on like that. He won. He won one
while he was with Kim Jong un and in the
Singapore and they were holding it at the one in
mar Lago. So you're like, you don't get to say
(35:17):
you're a champ. If this is all like Russian history? Okay,
where do you begin with the book? What? Where? Where
is it? Where does it started to start? Like in
the very early ages when he first started playing golf,
Like what is the what is the point of beginning
when when you pick up the book? Where am I
going to start? When I learned about this book, I
was retired. I'm living in Italy half the year, playing piano,
playing golf, screwing around, and I kept getting these tweets
(35:39):
about Trump's Trump's the championship, like, no, he's not. Oh
Trump's at two point eight. He goes, I beat most
people I play against two. Yeah, if he's a two
point eight, tigers a rabbi, because I'm a five point four,
I can beat him. I met him a hunter grand
I could beat him. He can't cover it to Tiger
Anako storans to him, those guys saying he's about about
(36:00):
a ten. You know two point eight. You know how
he does it if you go on the doctor jin
dot com where you report your scores, so you gotta
have twenty scores to get a handicap. It's taken him
eight years to get twenty scores, which means he's just
and he plays all the time. He played sixties. She
does the opposite of what everybody I know does, which
is sandbag report all your beads, Like yeah, I'm like,
(36:23):
I'm like a thirteen. So dudeen get out of here,
stripe the ball exactly. So in golf, you call that
a cocktail handicap. If you if if he's a two
point eight in my club, he phone would be ringing
all the time to get him to the course for
two point eight. He's seventy two years old. He's not bass.
So the Trump defender would say Clinton cheated. Who cheats worse? Okay,
(36:48):
I played with Clinton as president, right, Clinton only got
to play like once every two months, and so he
wanted it to last. Trump plays in three hours. Clinton
played in six and he's sitting all these he plays
first ball, and he had twenty four clubs, by the way,
way over the limit, and he hit what we call
Billigan's and he hit these extra shots extra shots, and
(37:09):
we're like, oh my god, where's the first one? Because
he wanted to play the first one. But the Secret
Service always be like, I think it's on the green, sir,
because everybody wants to be ambassador to Sweden or whatever.
And so he played pretty well that day. But his
I always say, like Clinton is the guy that goes
to the bank and steals the pen, and Trump goes
and steals the vault, You know what I mean? Yeah,
I always feel there's there's a certain charm to how
(37:30):
Clinton does it where there's a did you play with him? No?
I just I know. Here's my knowledge of Clinton is
because I played for Eddie Sutton, who was buddies with
them back when they were both in Arkans, right, and
so we would, Um, he wasn't trying. It wasn't in office.
I'm trying he was not in office. When when was
he in office. I'm trying to think. Shoot, I think
(37:52):
he was in office when I was first school. There
was so he was that that was you know, my
career there. So if we'd win a big game on
national TV, like you beat Oklahoma on Big Nut Monday,
he'd leave a he'd leave a message and he coach
and call us all in and play for us the message,
or be on the phone and he put us on
speaker phone and he'd congratulate him and again, like there
(38:14):
was a certain charm to even if he didn't really
watch the game, he kind of somebody kind of gave
him the bullet points and then they'd start. Then they'd
start joking around and quickly pick up the phone because
he didn't want us the rest of us to hear
all the other stuff he was talking about. But let
me tell you the difference between Clinton cheating and Trump cheating.
Trump cheats like to win, he's gotta win, Like losing
to him is a bath to the wicked witch of
(38:35):
the West. Like he's not gonna lose, so he has this.
He married. He screws around with a governor on a
golf card. Have you ever done that to make it faster?
So it's fifty and yours is. So him and his
carder way ahead and they're throwing it out of the
wood woods and they throw He's a terrible chipper, terriffic
driver of the ball, terrible chipper, throw it out of
the rough. He kicks it so often the caddies a
(38:57):
winging foot calling pelee. So he's doing all the stuff.
And then sometimes if you're if he's way ahead and
you're clear back here to yards, he'll take your ball
and kick it in the bunker. Oh that's now, that's no,
that's he did it to Tariko, to Mike Rika. Would
you like the nicest dude, the greatest dude ever ever ever? Okay,
(39:19):
So give me, give me one more, give me one
more stories. Commander in Sheet is the book How Golf
Explains Trump, written by Rick Riley. It's already on the
New York Times best seller list, number six with with
number six with a bullet, give me one more. Okay. Well,
it's not just about how he cheats on the golf course.
There's all kinds of ways he cheats when he builds
coursesn't but he tried well. He did cheat Tiger Woods
(39:41):
last seventeen, playing with Tiger, Dustin Johnson and Brad Faxson,
and it's Dustin and Tiger versus Factson and the President
and so facstion in the President way over here, Dustin
and Tiger way over there. That kind of feels like
a bit of a mismatch. Yeah, And they play the
black teas and facts In and Trump play the white teas,
(40:02):
and Trump gets eight shots. Okay, it seems still like
a mismatch. Still seems like a mismatch. So they're left.
Trump's trumping facts in a right. Trump facts his approach
into the water. He goes, throw me another one. They
didn't see. In fact, it's like, what throw me another?
So he throws him another. Fats that one into the water.
Now they've seen. He drives up quickly to the like
(40:23):
drops hits it on. Tiger hits it like this for
kicking Birdie. And when they get to the green, Tiger says,
what do you lie there? Mr? President? He goes, I'm
putting for four. He told him he's putting for four
when he's putting for seven, Like what they f so,
I don't know, say what you want to me. Golf
is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a guy,
and it reveals a lot about about It's like it's
(40:47):
like booze boo booze will do that as well. Right.
Who you are as a drunk is who you are
as a dude. You think so. Yeah, If you're an
angry drunk, you're an angry dude. If you're funny, drunk
or light, aren't a dude. I remember Arnold Palmer saying
I never do a business deal until I've played whole
golf with a guy. And I said why, he says,
because you can't hide who you are in four hours.
If you're gonna cheat me, you're gonna cheat out here.
If you're gonna cheat out here, you'll cheat me in business.
(41:09):
If you're gonna have a bad temper, you're gonna be
bad to deal with. If you're a great guy who
plays by the rules, I'm gonna enjoy it. Pretty good stuff.
The book is Commander in Cheat, How Golf Explains Trump.
It's written by Rick Riley. Rick thanks so much for
joining us, that it it was fun. Thank you. Pleasure is
all mine.
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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