December 9, 2025 • 43 mins
Kevin Seifert joins for another segment of Vikings talk before our friend Sam Mitchell joins for his impressions of the Wolves season so far and other NBA topics.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:19):
Sam is going to join about a half hour from
now and intrepid Caroleven reporter Lou Regoose Lou Regoose will
be with us at five point fifteen and we'll try
to get the answer to the question I posed earlier
in the program. See if for you've got some Caroleven connections.
Do you know if Lou Ragoose is his real name
(00:40):
or a TV name?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I thought it was his real name. I guess I've
never asked him.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
He's a great name for he is a tremendous reporter.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Yes, is tremendous reporter.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Great guy.
Speaker 5 (00:53):
Kids are Uh.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
I guess I shouldn't say where they go to school,
but they it's a familiar spot and uh and yeah, no.
Speaker 6 (01:03):
He's great lou Regoose.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I mean, it could easily be a stage name, but
we're gonna get to the bottom.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Going to be disappointed if it's his real name. I know,
because it's very creative. Stage name's tremendous. I mean, justose,
you don't even need the lou exactly what it's like his
buddy Bloom, you know basketball, the buddies they coached together,
Bloom and Regoose.
Speaker 6 (01:22):
It's like a great law firm.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
That would actually be that also be a really good
intrepid you know, investigative journalism duo.
Speaker 6 (01:31):
Were Bernstein like Bloomgoose dot com? Or does Regoose and
Bloom sound better Bloom and Regoose. I think Regoose and
Bloom trips off the top of it.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
Yeah, I think that's true.
Speaker 6 (01:41):
I'm true.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
All right, I'm gonna read you a quote that I
I I don't know how I missed this, but I
want you to translate it into English from KOC. I
think at times guys try to and maybe it is
the moment, and it's if it's authentic in the moment,
fire away have at it.
Speaker 6 (02:00):
But we don't need to exhaust any energy.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Our jobs are hard enough already trying to be somebody
else or trying to play to some sort of persona,
whatever it may be. Let's just go back to work, man,
Let's just go back to work and try to get
better every single day. I mean, that's almost word for
word what I said on the air about three weeks ago.
For God's sake, when did did KOC say this? And
(02:23):
what do we make of it?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
So that was actually I think that was today with
Paul allen.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Okay, even better on my apologies for not listening. I
heard earlier portions of PA, but not that part.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah no.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
And so that was today. And I believe that PA
had mentioned some along lines of this idea of the
nine personality that that McCarthy brought up and that you know,
and kind of left it, you know, threw it over
to O'Connell.
Speaker 5 (02:50):
You know, where are you at with that? Or what
do you think?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
And and O'Connell said that the big, ye know, the
big thing he wants people to do is be themselves,
especially at the quarterback position, so that players know that
who you are, you know, you're authentic, you're being true
to yourself, maken sense when you're not, there's no reason
to kind of try to play to a persona. There's
(03:17):
no reason to create that level of kind of he
didn't use this word, but like fictionalized drama or whatever
around you. And and he didn't even say that that's
what McCarthy had done, because he did then turn around
and say like if that really is who you are,
then let's have that and let's go. But the big
thing is I think O'Connell made pretty clear like like
(03:39):
that's let's just not go there anymore.
Speaker 5 (03:42):
Let's not.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
You know, reference nine, let's not create those meme mug
memes that had sort of populated the internet, you know,
prior to or I think was after that, that the
Detroit game, and let's just get back to work, let's
just play football, and and so that in that regard,
(04:06):
it was pretty typical of what a lot of coaches
a lot older than Kevin O'Connell would often say, is
you know, like, let's let's kind of not let's let's
cut the nonsense if there is in fact nonsense going on,
and let's just.
Speaker 5 (04:21):
Be football players.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
That's pool I would argue, that's pointed by his standards, though,
I mean it was, you.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Know, and to be clear, like he gave himself an
outlet if that's the authentic you know him, than it is.
But like he may, like I think any human being
listening to that would or reading it or hearing even
a paraphrase, would agree that that was probably not O'Connell's
favorite kJ mccark moment of the season, as short lived
(04:49):
as it was, you know, and it like he made
like he happened after one game and he mentioned it. Yeah,
it was It was a response to a question about
how he kind of responds to competitive moments, and and
it's probably going to stick with him for a long time,
if not forever. But it wasn't like it was a
(05:10):
weekly thing that he was, you know, creating or talking
about or being asked about by us.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Yeah, all that's true, but it left its mark beaus.
As we said before, the sequencing is all is all right,
there's plenty of time for the mythology to build the mythology. First,
you got to do the stuff that we associate with mythology,
and then you can you can invent all kinds of stuff,
and you guys will write it all out longhand Man,
I mean, you know, every every word. You'll milk the
hell out of it because that's that's sort of the
(05:41):
the nature of the of the business. By the end
of the season, by the end of the seventeen game
regular season, the number one team in the NFC North
will be in what.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
City the past in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
I man, I'm telling you I think that, and you
asked me that a couple of weeks ago. I think
and I have finally become consistent believers in the Packers
and I know they only squeaked by the Bears and
they lost Eagles two weeks ago or three weeks ago,
whenever it was. But I just think when you can
play defense like that and they still are playing really
(06:20):
good defense, the Bears have a good offense, you know,
that's that's what will take you a long way through
the playoffs and so into the playoffs stretch and then
into the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
And so I could be proven wrong.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
The Lions might somehow overcome the Bears, might beat the
Packers when they have the rematch of Soldier Field. But
if I had to have felt this way for a
few weeks, if I had to pick a best of
that three, that I really do think the Packers are
the most balanced team offense defense, and they have the
best their defense is the best unit on either side
(06:58):
of the ball.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Of any of those times you get they hit the
key point, they're the most balanced team. And I mean, look,
I thought Jordan Love regressed a little bit last year,
but he's been big time this year.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
Man.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
I think it's twenty two touchdown passes, four interceptions. Now, again,
the Bears left some people open for some explosives, as
you guys call.
Speaker 6 (07:19):
Them in the business that last game.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
But he to me, what he's managed to do is
continue to fling it a little bit without being quite
as reckless. He threw it one pick I think and
the Bears in that game. But he's only got I think.
I said, like I said, four interceptions for the season.
He's playing really well.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Yeah, And the funny thing is, like, and we say
balanced and really to the extent that there's been criticism
of the Packers offensively and of Matt Laford's that they've
been relying too much on the running game and they
should just.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
Let Jordan Love cook.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
But that's kind of left out the analysis that maybe
the reason he's cooking is that they're not asking him
to throw at forty five I have fifty times a
game or whatever that would be. If you're just letting
your quarterback cook, that like that balance might actually be
helping him be productive and the times he is throwing.
Speaker 5 (08:10):
So I yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Think that you know, we'll see where how they to
what extent they shift as they get into this final
playoff stretch and get into the playoffs. If that's the
way it stays, or if they go with a hot
hand or what have you. But he's definitely playing the
way you would want him to be playing in December,
and they've got a roster that's pretty well equipped for
(08:35):
that time of year as well.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Three PostScript texts regarding the fiftieth anniversary of the Hail
Mary play, which you are apparently going to chronicle.
Speaker 6 (08:47):
Dropping tomorrow. You said, yes, it's even better, that's the plan.
Let me read these three. One of them came in
via X.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Forget Gary Anderson and Blair Walsh, forget the Brett favv
Iron t. The Pearson push off was not only the
start of the Vikings hecks, it cost the Vikings the
best chance to win a Super Bowl. I was in
high school at the time, and I will carry this
to my grave. Another texture. I was there in seventy five,
we were about to rush the field. I saw the
(09:15):
whiskey bottle fly. Last thing I remember were the brawls
in the parking lot. A friend of mine tried to
market the Nerf whiskey bottle after that incident. And lastly,
I hadn't heard this one before, or maybe you cover
it in the story that will drop tomorrow. What bugged
me about that play was not the push off, but
that Allan Page was absolutely tackled by an offensive lineman,
(09:37):
that there was no flag for holding. That's what Bud
got hot about after the game. I am seventy seven
years old and I remember it like yesterday.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
So we didn't cover that. Somebody had mentioned that, And
if you watch the film carefully, you see a defensive
lineman go down. I don't remember it being Alan Page,
though I thought it was one of the defensive tackles,
like maybe it was Mark molleniy or and that was
part of it, like it was hard to see exactly
who it is. But somebody else brought that up to that,
like it never even shouldn't the ball. It shouldn't have
mattered whether there was mush off or not, because you
(10:10):
had a takedown. And you know, to the extent that
officials let people play now in certain high leverage situations,
I think back then they allowed it even more. And
so you know, maybe the strategy is commit the penalty
and challenge the rest to.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Make the call.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
It's just the best best approach to.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Take in those situations, especially in nineteen seventy five.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
We will look forward to the piece dropping tomorrow. Thanks
as always, and we'll then thanks for the preview today.
You ended up giving giving us a very nice preview,
I'm sure, without giving away the best stuff to appear
in that story.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Well, if there is a good best stuff, I guess
everybody will be the judge of that.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
Any chance you could just do a quick video for
ESPN dot com summarizing the stories so I don't have
to read it all nine seconds.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
Maybe maybe we did. You never know.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
If you go to YouTube the NFL Films thing, you
go to about the one forty five mark, you can
watch the whole thing in about twenty seconds.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
So thank you even better, thank you. Enjoy the stronami.
Kevin Seffert EESPN dot com, Sam Mitchell in about fifteen
minutes forty five years ago, yesterday, forty five years ago.
(11:43):
Last night, John Lennon was murdered outside of his residence
apartment building the Dakota And we've played in previous anniversaries,
the Howard Cosell announcement on Zar Call Monday night football
game late in that game, confirming that murder. I can
(12:06):
still remember watching that broadcast live in my little apartment
in Smyrna, Georgia, just outside Atlanta. Horrific occasion, and Dan
Minnesota noted that the next day, so forty five years
ago today, in the Minneapolis Star, there were two stories
(12:30):
in the cover, one with the headline tell me it
isn't true, says Lennon's wife, Say Lenin's wife and fans.
That looks like a news services story, and underneath that
a John Breem column. Our guy John Breem Lenin led
(12:51):
life as Beatles magical mystery man. He's listed here as
rock critic John Bream. I had the fortune of meeting
three of the four Beatles. Maybe it was fitting that
I never met John Lennon. He was the Beatles mystery man.
(13:11):
Beatlemaniacs may have thought once thought Paul McCartney was dead,
but they know he has been merely writing silly little
love songs. Meanwhile, Ringo Starr has been drumming his way
into the movies, and George Harrison has been searching for
the perfect guru. But where has John Lennon been? What
have he and partner Yoko Ono been doing in seclusion
(13:31):
for the past five years? And why has this once prolific,
once revolutionary artists become an inscrutable nowhere man for so long?
And it goes on from there, he notes, does bream
I think you know fairly rightly that if it hadn't
(13:54):
been for Lenin's guiding, artistic and intellectual vision, the Beatles
may never have been the musical and culture of four
whise they became. John Lennon certainly rivaled Bob Dylan is
the most important pop music figure of the nineteen sixties.
In a whal McCartney provided the Beatles tune full pop underbelly.
It was his songwriting partner Lennon who gave the quartet
it's rock and roll edge. McCartney admired the vocal harmonies
(14:17):
of the Everly Brothers and the toe tapping pop of
Buddy Holly, whereas Lennon was affected by the raw music
of Elvis Presley, Little Richard and other American stars. I
meant to get to that late yesterday because Dan want
a soda pass that along to us. But better in
this case late than never. Real quick, I've got do
(14:39):
we have a Winter Olympic sounder?
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Yet?
Speaker 6 (14:43):
No? We could get one.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
If we want one. Well, I guess we could think
about it. For this story.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
We get the iHeart Approved Olympics. Remember when we got that?
I wonder if I could find that.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Maybe it's possible. I'm sure some of you have heard
about this, but maybe others not that so much via
the athletic The late scrambled to get the hockey venues
ready for the Milan Courtina Olympics may have the NF
NHL concerned in the hockey world talking, but it doesn't
(15:14):
come as a surprise to those who were on the
ground the last time NHL players traveled to Italy for
the Winter Games.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
Stand By, Oh that's urgent. Yeah, yeah, very urgent. I
love the horns. That's nice. Got a longer one too,
that's good. That's really good. That's the one we played
it back today.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Yes, twenty years ago in Turin, construction delays went right
down to the wire and left no time to stage
a proper test event. In fact, organizers didn't found themselves
cruelly reconfiguring a section of the lower Bowl at Plassport
Olympico in the months before those games because of a
critical miscalculation in design. We realized that the big door
(15:53):
where there's the where the zamboni is driving it, it's
too small, so they had to carve the stands off
to get it done. So this might be history repeating itself.
I don't know, but it sounds as if there is
a the rink's too short problem. The Santa Guilla Arena
(16:19):
in Milan is being built on an even tighter timeframe
than the main venue in touring was. Shovels hadn't been
put in the ground as recently as December twenty twenty three,
and the level of warrior has only grown since. When
NHL employees toward the building in August, it was a
complete construction zone, none of the infrastructure completed, including roads
to the area or the arena, and the practice rink
(16:40):
hadn't even been started. We're still it appeared only a
middle amount of work was even happening toward the end
of summer. NHL also wasn't encourage for the update to
receive during a facilities update this past Friday, according to
Lee's sources, and recently sent more staff to Italy to
assist with the project on the ground.
Speaker 6 (16:58):
The list of outstanding.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Issues yes INCLUDESI the fact that the floor of the
building is currently covered in construction materials, preventing the bores
from being anchored, which allows ice production to begin. It's
too late to change the dimensions of the playing service
of the games just two months away. The IHF Internet
I should say IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation confirmed Monday
(17:22):
that the rink will be one ninety six point eighty
five feet by eighty five point three feet, more than
three feet shorter than the NHL stat are two hundred
feet by eighty five feet layout, and also much narrower
than the international standard.
Speaker 6 (17:37):
By ninety eight point four feet.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
But the league staff is working with organizers to try
to reduce the impact of the smaller service by accounting
for the difference in the neutral zone. Wow, and keep
in mind, the women's tournament is schedul to begin Feb.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Five.
Speaker 6 (17:54):
The men's tournament is scheduled to begin Feb.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Eleven. That's right around the corner. I know, I've seen
rumblings of this the last Yeah, it's not good. Handful
of days. Was anybody threatened to pull out?
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Yet?
Speaker 6 (18:04):
Has it gotten to that point?
Speaker 4 (18:05):
I thought it was a safety concerned I thought I
saw a NHL guy just within the last few days
said we're not doing this if this is how it is.
Speaker 6 (18:11):
I thought I saw that unless it was an overreaction
on me and well, I wonder if they mean it.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
That's the old We're gonna try to put as much
pressure and possible as possible to put to scare them
into somehow finding a way to get this thing done
one time.
Speaker 6 (18:25):
We'll have to ask Louis about it tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
I'm sure he has a story of how he had
to call and they had to call Dick Ames and
they brought in their own construction crew and figure out
how to do it.
Speaker 6 (18:33):
Are we done? We are?
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Whoa?
Speaker 4 (18:36):
This is the long version, This is the long ones,
so maybe this could be the open This is nice
and then the short one. Very maest on the way out. Yeah, yeah,
it was good, very majestic.
Speaker 6 (18:47):
That's feeling it. Yeah, I'm feeling the Olympics.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Let's find out if Sam Mitchell is feeling the twenty
twenty five, twenty six Minnesota Timberwolves.
Speaker 6 (18:56):
He is coming up next.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Man.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Questions for Sam Mitchell hit the branch on Brian kfan
text line six four six eighty six, and that just
might be your lucky day. We'll see how it goes.
Sam joins us via the Connectico Water Systems hotline. Been
way too long since we've bugged you and had you
on the air. But it's good to have you back,
and I hope you're doing well.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Man, I heard that temperature of van I'm like.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Well, it's been a harsh last It was a great fall,
but it's been followed by a very rapid descent into
Minnesota winter.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
Hell, dude, the only good thing. I was in my
Dinnis office yesterday and they had all these pictures up
of a white Christmas and I was telling the lady
door cleaning my teeth. I remember those days. Now. I
do miss wa up on Christmas, even Christmas morning with
the snow and the fireplace and all.
Speaker 6 (20:04):
The Christmas life.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Yeah, because being from the South, Betty, is something that
you know, you see on television and the winter time
of North, but you never experienced. And so having the
experience that and my children having the chance to experience that,
I always appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Well, you're in the best of You got the best
of both worlds now because you don't have to live
in it every day, but you can come back to visit,
you know, something the wolves related anytime you'll want, right,
that's the beauty of it, so you can get a
taste of it.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
I wait too, is more above freezing than those teams.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
I understand. I can't argue with you about it. I
don't think guards you'll argue with you about that either.
All right, where should we begin? I do want to
you know. The part of the reason I wanted you
on is I think I've told you this before. When
a team is in your market and you're watching them
and paying attention to them constantly, you sometimes can get
a little lost in the weeds. And so I always
(20:54):
want to hear what people who are connected like you
are very connected, but still outside of a little bit
looking in what they see that we might be missing
because we're in it every day. So Wolves are what
I think, twenty four games in now, and that's a
decent sample size.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Yeah, they kind of who they are.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Yeah, and I exactly and I'm not overwhelmed so far.
But I want to get your view of what you
see from your seat when you watch them right now.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Well, it's kind of weird with the NBA, man, because
I was talking to somebody about this day and it
gave kind of like two seasons. You have the regular
season teams that can win a lot of games in
the regular season, and then those same teams sometimes the
way they're built to win games in the regular season,
but if they get the wrong matchup in the playoffs,
they get exposed. And I go back to the Lake,
(21:44):
because I mean, you look at what the Lakers are
doing right now, it's crazy. But you also have to
remind yourself that come playoff time, they have Luca, Lebron
and Austin Reeves out them on the four, three guys
who are not the greatest defenders, and you kind of
pick on those guys, but now you look at them
in the regular season and man, Austin Reeves looked like
an MVP candidate. I'm watching the game against the Raptors. Yeah,
(22:05):
and the Raptors are trapping him at the end of
the game, leaving Lebron James open. So but again you
see that and you look at what the Lakers are.
But then you turn around and if the Lakers and
the timber Wolves play in the first round, you can
make the argument to pick the timber Wolves because again,
when it comes time to really play and they get
dirty and the gate crime and everybody take it to
(22:27):
another level, the Lakers do have three guys that just
are not good defenders.
Speaker 6 (22:32):
Yeah, that's undeniable. You're right, and that's that.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
They're kind of hard to judge this NBA. Other than
Okay Seed, it's kind of hard to judge everybody else.
Speaker 6 (22:41):
Yeah, that's fair.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Let me ask you about more specific Let's droll down
a little bit more about the team, because basically the
decision was made much too. I think the shock of
Mike Conley literally like right before the start of the
regular season, We're gonna bring Mike off the bench. We're
gonna start Dante and we have Mike on about once
a month, and he said, look, I you know, I
(23:04):
didn't expect it necessarily, but I get it.
Speaker 6 (23:06):
I'm a team player.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
I understand the idea behind it, and now you know,
I want to play, but I'll.
Speaker 6 (23:11):
I'll deal with it.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
And what it looks to me like is and a
guy I think you have gotten to know pretty well.
John Krasinski has basically written, well, in all honesty, Anthony
Edwards is this team's point guard. And I think that's
largely true most of the time. I still am not
convinced it's the best way in a perfect world to
(23:34):
use Anthony, and that they're doing it this way more
out of necessity than out of what they really want
to do. So how do you assess I guess the
offense with Anthony really as a de facto point guard,
especially when you know on the occasion when Mike Conley's
not even on the floor.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Look, I don't mind seeing Anthony with the ball, laving
games and incrusion situations because you know he can espacially
pick and roll because he's going to what's a double team,
he can split a double team. He can create a
mismatch for a lot of people. But in the regular season,
I think it gives me pause because again, he's stuck
between do I be aggressive? Am I shooting too much?
(24:13):
Do I get guys and bothering? I think right now
it's about necessity. But my big question what about the
kid they drafted two years ago to be the up
parent to beat up parent starter for Mike Culling. Because look,
I'm a Mike Cony fan. I respect Mike Collor, but look, man,
you long in the tooth. You can't guard the position
like you used to, and you know in the playoffs, man,
(24:34):
it was hard to watch. So I get it. I
get why they're kind of playing answer me at that position,
but I don't think they can be at their best
when Anthony has the ball consistently and he has to
decide do I be aggressive and score or do I
pass to make because the teammates better.
Speaker 6 (24:51):
I agree with you.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Now.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Last night the change finch went with was he sat
Dillingham completely and he used Bones Highland h and Hyland
actually had a good game. But with all due respect
to Bones Highland, I don't think he can be the
big change and that you're going to go anywhere with that,
you know, night after night when you're playing the best
team in the league. So the Dillingham mystery is it
(25:16):
hasn't He hasn't meshed with whatever Finchy's trying to do,
and he has shown more limitations than.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
I thought he would.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
I don't know what the answer is, Sam, because as
you know, you could say, well you just got to
keep playing him because he's got to get those minutes.
But I think Finchy's frustrated enough with him that he said, well,
at least for now, we're going to go another direction,
which means I'm not sure you can count on Dillingham
making a big jump at all this season to fill
the role that you're talking about.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Well, if not now, when and if that's not the case,
and you got to go get somebody. The question is
a tough part, Dan. This is what Timmillo was like
a lot of other team's gonna have to look in
the east, in the West and look in the mirror.
What do you do with OKC Do you just give
in and just give them the next eight to ten
(26:03):
years of winning or do you try to put together
a team that can play with them and a team
to play with them. You got to have depth, You
got to have unselfish people. You got to have people
that fits into their roles and accept their roles. Man,
it's scary because okay See is still the youngest team,
and I know when those contracts kick in next year,
(26:26):
they're gonna have to make some decisions. But the last
time I checked, they got about three or four first
round picks languishing in the G League that's looking for
an opportunity to play. And oh, by the way, look
at the treasure's roll of a picks they got still
hoarded away, so they can actually go out and make
some deal. You know, everybody's talking about where shijanis go
(26:46):
I tell people this all the time. The only team
that really has the picks to go get a Jannis
is okay see. But if I was okay, see Dad,
I would go get Zuba for this reason. Yeah, Zuba
plays the best defense against who the joker good? And
if you're okay, see, the only team right now that
(27:07):
make it beat you in the Western Conference is Denver.
So why not go get the guy that can guard
him the best? And you have the assets to do it,
and you got a guy in his slot right now
that you can slide on over with a bunch of
pigs in Hart's time and make this thing work. And
it looks kind of seamless.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
I again agree.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
I hate to agree with you again, but I one
hundred percent I don't even understand why you'd want to
as good as Giannis is throw somebody that dominant into
the mix with what you have going. I think your
move is a lot more subtle, but extremely effective.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
Well, the specific think about this, if Giannis goes to
Houston or to San Antonio Spurs, do you now you're
going to have to Now you gotta beat them to
get out the West right. So again, man, and that's
something that Sam pressed the guy decide he may have
to do a deal to stop a guy like Jannis
(28:05):
going to someone like Houston or San Antonio. Can you
imagine Victor and Giannis on the floor together in San
Antonio man with the rest of that young talent.
Speaker 6 (28:15):
Yeah, it's a little scary, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
So if the Wolves have to look outside, would you
dare to entertain a jah Moran exploration? Is there another
name you say that's less volatile? But might it still
be effective for the team? What are you hearing in
that regard who might be available at the position and
(28:39):
you think might be.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
I hear John. But for me, the biggest concern with
Jai is the size. Now you put John to start
in line up in Anthony with an Anthony, it look
he's a tremendous athlete, but he's on the smaller size
of two guards. When you look at what gets him
over is his bulk. His strengths is athleticism. And then
you throw job. Can you get away with it with
(29:02):
Rudy Gobert? Yeah? I thought it would be easier to
get away with it when you have Rudy a call
out there. I don't know what Rudy and the way
the lineup is now, I don't know, man. I look,
you may not have a choice but to try to
do something like this, because right now, can you what
can you do to beat Okac? That's the question you
(29:22):
got to ask, what can you do to give yourself
a punch's chance to compete with Okac? Because they're not
going anywhere they are They're going to be good for
the next five, six, seven years, and so you're either
gonna fold or you're gonna try to figure out a
way to improve your team to where you can compete
with them.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Could you get There's two names that have surfaced, not
because there's any reporting to indicate there's discussions, but more
basketball guys are looking at the Wolves deed and saying, well,
these guys might be interesting. Whether it's realistic to get
either one of them? Do the name Kyrie Irving or
(30:03):
James Harden do anything? Or is that both? Is it
at landish in both cases to think there'd be any
chance to get them, or.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
I would say I would go with Kyrie Irvin. James
scares me. Is the age one two? His track record
in the playff just have it played well in the
biggest moments in the playoffs, and you look at Kyrie.
He's had some of his shining moments in the playoffs
and winning the championship. So I would then look, if
(30:33):
you could get Kyrie Irvin and get him healthy and
put him in the back court with Anthony Edwards and
the rest of that team, a guy who's won a championship,
who's who's been there, done that. That gives you a chance.
But the question, now, if you're gonna go get Kyrie Irvan,
what are you gonna have to give up? Obviously you'll
have to give up a lot less to get James Harden.
(30:54):
But does James Harden get you there against Okac? Because
my question would be can he guard the position at
his age and with wear and tell in his body?
Speaker 6 (31:04):
Those are fair points.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
I like this version of hard and better than the
earlier version because I think he's become more interested. He
seems less interested in scoring and more on he's willing
to distribute. But that the playoffs is sitting there looming,
because as you say, he's had some really stinking stinker
games when it counts in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Could he be a knock down, spot up shooter for Anthony?
It was because obviously you put Anthonet with you know
he's gonna draw attention. Yes, and you got James to
know that. And if you kick it to James, he
could knock down the shot or he could create himself. Yes,
But my question of James is what thirty seven? So again,
it'll be a short time fix, short term fix, and
(31:47):
then what do you do a year or two after that?
I think if you're the Wolfs, you gotta find a
permanent solution and you got to start trying to build
a team that can compete with Okay, see if not,
I'm not gonna use this term, but what does Anthony
Awards do for the next five, six, seven years? Looking
at OKC.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
That's fair, Sam Mitchell kind enough to join us. Don't forget.
We got Lure Goose coming up at about five fifteen,
after the top five at five leaving a well, let's
just talk. Maybe I'll ask the question this way. The
best team in the Eastern Conference is.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
Ooh, man, I was looking at that. It is the
East is kind of crazy, I steal right now. From
a talent standpoint, I would go with the Knicks start
in six because they can score. But the problem with
them is defensively they could be allied. You would expect
Cleveland to have jumped up and taken the rain, but
(32:48):
they're struggling right now with physicality and injuries and things
of that nature. Man, right now, I would probably say
the Detroit Pistons.
Speaker 6 (32:57):
Ooh yeah, they're enough to watch.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
The young athletic K cutting Ham is the closest thing
we're going to have to an American player being MVP
anytime soon.
Speaker 6 (33:11):
Yeah, would be nice to have it.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
I mean, hey, look, at least he's gonna take uh,
the guy from Boston who's hurt right now, he'll take
his place on first team All NBA. At least we're
still getting the Maritatum. At least we're still getting the
American first team All NBA. But man, the MVP between Shaye,
between Luca, between the Joker, I mean, dude, winn as
(33:37):
an American player who's close the only guy's closest. K
Cuttingham right now, Well.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
You're you're My producer is reminding us, what about Anthony Edwards?
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Well, sixteed players don't win MVP. When you're six seed
and you got the Joker putting up the numbers, he got,
you got Luca putting up the numbers he got and
you got Shaye putting up their numbers. So those two
teams are what one, two or three something like that,
and you're sixth.
Speaker 6 (34:02):
I have not heard you on the Chris Paul saga.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
And man, a lot of people tell me that, you know,
it's easy to be angry with the Clippers, but that
Chris Paul went. If Chris Paul is a great player,
you can deal with all the other stuff that is
Chris Paul. But if he's not and he's yelling at
people as the eleventh guy and the twelfth guy, people
(34:27):
aren't going to accept it the same way.
Speaker 6 (34:29):
So where do you fall on the whole Chris Paul deal.
Speaker 3 (34:33):
Look, I think it's unfortunate, but look, Chris Paul a
great player. You have to read the room and you
have to understand the people and the team. When Chris
Paul was would okay see a young team? You can
get into young guys because they don't know, yes, right,
they haven't been around, they don't know it's Chris Paul.
(34:54):
So whatever Chris Paul say, they're going to react to
it in a positive way. Right, A better a team
that's losing, that underachieving hard man, Those guys are stuck
in their ways down I tell people this all the time.
Given the choice between a young team and an age
and veteran team, I take the young team all day.
(35:14):
Coaching the older team is a pain in the ass, man,
because all those guys, they know the game, they've been around,
they're stuck in their ways, and they're gonna question everything
that you want to do. A same and think about
Chris Paul. Chris Paul is used to having a latitude
of going around being able to say things to guys
(35:35):
and man, look, it's tough. Look I understand that. I
hate it for Chris Paul. But at the end of
the day, if you're the Clippers and a guy is
just making life unbearable, but not only the coaching staff,
but the players and the organization, the Clippers had to
do what they had to do. I put the onus
more on Chris Paul because he didn't read the room.
(35:55):
Think about this, Think about how hard it was for
the Clippers to make this decision, going through all the
things the organization dealing with right now on and off
the court, all the Kawhi Lillard situation, all the stuff
with Bomber, and now Chris Paul had this great introduction
when he signed crying on stage, the greatest player in
(36:17):
clipping history. It got so bad to where the general
manager had to fly to Atlanta and clut him on
the road. So again, I hate that it happened to
Chris Paul, but you know, if you're the clip for organization,
you gotta do what you got to do to try
to maintain or salvage any part of this season that
(36:37):
cad Uh.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
It's quieted down more recently, but I know you've commented
on it a lot when it was hot. Where is
this betting scandal going?
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Do you think, Dann? I don't know, man, because it's
you know, I don't get into it. I'm not a
gambler like that. It's just something that never interests me
that much before. I just find it hard to believe
that NBA players making the money that those guys will
make it. I've said it on and look, I don't
(37:09):
know Terry Roseal, I know Damon Jones a little bit,
but I know Chompson Billips. I don't believe Chanson would
get involved in something like this. Now. Could he have
been duped to show up at a poker game? And
play and then kind of look around the room and
see how maybe I need to go. Yeah, could he
have shown up and played, Yeah, But to say he
(37:30):
sat down with some guys talked about an X ray table, glasses,
all these type of things to cheat people out of
their money, the chance to billips. I know, I just
can't conceive him being a part of something like that.
I believe it when he's proven guilty or he admits
that he did, I just don't. I just can't believe that. Dan,
(37:53):
not the guy that I played with, not the guy
that I spent time with, knowing his children, ing his wife,
knowing his fan. I just can't. But the guy that
I know would not even entertain stuff like that. Get
I mean Dan when we played, even on the few
moments when guys were thinking about doing dumb stuff. Chohnson
(38:14):
was one of the few younger guys. You have to
remember that I was older than those guys. They called
me uncle, so I didn't necessarily hang out with those
guys own the road and stuff like that. I was
much older. Chohnson was one of those guys in the
group with the young guys that would always kind of
poor guys toy like now it's time to go.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
Yeah, that is interesting. Well, we'll see how We'll see
how the thing plays out. As we wrap things up,
Let's bring a full circle back to the Wolves. As
you know, they brought back most of the team from
a year ago, so the continuity existed this time around,
but they ultimately let Nikhil Alexander Walker go.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
Oh my gosh, he's been a god send here in Atlanta.
He is playing.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
But that's why I wanted to ask, because I don't
I mean, look, you can't re sign everybody, and I
get that, and I'm not going to pretend I was
clamoring for them to keep him, but I will say, Sam,
they haven't replaced him what he represented at his best.
Speaker 6 (39:16):
And you know, I just you're in here.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
I know you're in the Atlanta area, So tell me
about how well he is because from afar, it looks
like he's been outstanding for them.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Question they need to be signed Tray Young after the season.
I mean, that's how good. Now it's gonna come down
to can they win enough, can they make plays? But
you think about what he brings. He's a six six
point guard that can shoot the three, and he's defensive minded.
So think about when at certain stance of the game,
(39:47):
when you had him at Anson the atlas on the floor. Yes,
Anthony a physical defender, not tall, but strong like Donovan Mitchell,
bigger than Donovan Mitchell. And then you look at Nikil
at six six sixty six and a half. That made
to a very very good defensive team. And then with
Rudy Gobert there, Look, I gotta ask you, this is
there any way could they have resigned him?
Speaker 1 (40:08):
Well here's I think I believe it was going to
cost them second Apron if there was a way to
do it.
Speaker 6 (40:16):
But here's what what what I just remembered.
Speaker 3 (40:18):
Well, while they asked you a question, why do you
have to keep giving Rudy Gobert all this funny? Well,
I mean, why take a haircut?
Speaker 1 (40:25):
Well yeah, they all felt that way last night because
he had a stupid flavorant too. But you know, this
reminds me last year you brought up ni Kiel. You
asked me the question on air maybe it was off
I don't remember which, and you said, what about the
possibility of Nikiel becoming your number one point guard? And
(40:47):
I buy some people here like I'm not sure he's
good enough to be a level But you look at
it now and you say that's such a crazy proposition
compared to what they're using.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
Well, think about it. They had him in the back
court now, then I would say, I would actually say
they would have a punch of hands to play with. Okay, see,
because they're young, they got size. Look, I love my
Conny Man, but he can't defend. He can't defend that position,
especially in the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (41:16):
He just can't.
Speaker 3 (41:17):
And ni Kill just brings size, he brings shooting, he
brings toughness, and again, like we just said, he's more
defensive minded. So I think, look, look, I like Rudy Goldbert,
but I just think Rudy Man is just making way
too much money. That's money that you could have.
Speaker 5 (41:35):
That's some of that money.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
Again, not that he shouldn't get paid, but what is
he at almost forty?
Speaker 6 (41:41):
I think he's yeah, right in that range.
Speaker 5 (41:46):
Extended.
Speaker 6 (41:46):
He took a little haircut dirt with the extension shot.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
Hey man, he needs to take more of a halfway
because again, I mean, well, okay, think about it. I
would say this is his days of being defensive player
of the Year over well win defensive Player of the Year.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
I don't know if he can win it, but all
the all the analytics indicate he's still pretty damn effective defensively,
and their defense is crappy without them.
Speaker 3 (42:10):
Okay, well right now they're the six seed.
Speaker 6 (42:13):
Yeah, that's true too.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Yeah, and the teams above them are pretty good.
Speaker 6 (42:18):
Yeah, so that's all.
Speaker 3 (42:20):
You know. I might in this day and age in
the NBA, I might would even take a little bit
more offense, a little bit more defense right now.
Speaker 1 (42:29):
Yeah, be right, when's your first trip back in here?
Have you got any plans?
Speaker 4 (42:34):
You know?
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Now A Rod and the new guys are in charge,
so I'm assuming you know, they're trying to link up
with all the old timers, including KG, including you. You
got any big plans anything, any big announcements to make.
Speaker 3 (42:45):
They've reached out to us a little bit before the
season about some alumni bentss Okay, he said they're thinking
about doing. They haven't haven't heard anything, but hey, I'm
glad we'll ay ride. I'm ready to come to the game, man,
let's go.
Speaker 1 (42:58):
Yeah, it's time. I think it's it's more than time
for sure. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, all those good things.
If we don't talk before the holidays. Good to catch
up and we'll bug you again.
Speaker 3 (43:08):
Soon, without doubt.
Speaker 6 (43:09):
Daddy, Thanks Sam, I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (43:12):
That's the one and only Sam Mitchell great basketball insight.
Where like I said, we're in this every day. He's
looking at a lot of teams and I think to
that extent can give us some fresh perspective on a
number of issues. Moral of the story is he's not
feeling the twenty twenty five, twenty six Wolves as currently constituted.
(43:36):
I think that's fair to say. He's saying, you got
Dillingham to be the point guard. Let's go what are
you waiting for? This iteration? I don't think he thinks
is going to add up, and so we'll see where
it goes from here.
Speaker 4 (43:49):
Top five give you a little Wolves, maybe a little Twins,
and you messed with Zookie at your own peril.
Sam is going to join about a half hour from
now and intrepid Caroleven reporter Lou Regoose Lou Regoose will
be with us at five point fifteen and we'll try
to get the answer to the question I posed earlier
in the program. See if for you've got some Caroleven connections.
Do you know if Lou Ragoose is his real name
(00:40):
or a TV name?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I thought it was his real name. I guess I've
never asked him.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
He's a great name for he is a tremendous reporter.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Yes, is tremendous reporter.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Great guy.
Speaker 5 (00:53):
Kids are Uh.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
I guess I shouldn't say where they go to school,
but they it's a familiar spot and uh and yeah, no.
Speaker 6 (01:03):
He's great lou Regoose.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I mean, it could easily be a stage name, but
we're gonna get to the bottom.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Going to be disappointed if it's his real name. I know,
because it's very creative. Stage name's tremendous. I mean, justose,
you don't even need the lou exactly what it's like his
buddy Bloom, you know basketball, the buddies they coached together,
Bloom and Regoose.
Speaker 6 (01:22):
It's like a great law firm.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
That would actually be that also be a really good
intrepid you know, investigative journalism duo.
Speaker 6 (01:31):
Were Bernstein like Bloomgoose dot com? Or does Regoose and
Bloom sound better Bloom and Regoose. I think Regoose and
Bloom trips off the top of it.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
Yeah, I think that's true.
Speaker 6 (01:41):
I'm true.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
All right, I'm gonna read you a quote that I
I I don't know how I missed this, but I
want you to translate it into English from KOC. I
think at times guys try to and maybe it is
the moment, and it's if it's authentic in the moment,
fire away have at it.
Speaker 6 (02:00):
But we don't need to exhaust any energy.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Our jobs are hard enough already trying to be somebody
else or trying to play to some sort of persona,
whatever it may be. Let's just go back to work, man,
Let's just go back to work and try to get
better every single day. I mean, that's almost word for
word what I said on the air about three weeks ago.
For God's sake, when did did KOC say this? And
(02:23):
what do we make of it?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
So that was actually I think that was today with
Paul allen.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Okay, even better on my apologies for not listening. I
heard earlier portions of PA, but not that part.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah no.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
And so that was today. And I believe that PA
had mentioned some along lines of this idea of the
nine personality that that McCarthy brought up and that you know,
and kind of left it, you know, threw it over
to O'Connell.
Speaker 5 (02:50):
You know, where are you at with that? Or what
do you think?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
And and O'Connell said that the big, ye know, the
big thing he wants people to do is be themselves,
especially at the quarterback position, so that players know that
who you are, you know, you're authentic, you're being true
to yourself, maken sense when you're not, there's no reason
to kind of try to play to a persona. There's
(03:17):
no reason to create that level of kind of he
didn't use this word, but like fictionalized drama or whatever
around you. And and he didn't even say that that's
what McCarthy had done, because he did then turn around
and say like if that really is who you are,
then let's have that and let's go. But the big
thing is I think O'Connell made pretty clear like like
(03:39):
that's let's just not go there anymore.
Speaker 5 (03:42):
Let's not.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
You know, reference nine, let's not create those meme mug
memes that had sort of populated the internet, you know,
prior to or I think was after that, that the
Detroit game, and let's just get back to work, let's
just play football, and and so that in that regard,
(04:06):
it was pretty typical of what a lot of coaches
a lot older than Kevin O'Connell would often say, is
you know, like, let's let's kind of not let's let's
cut the nonsense if there is in fact nonsense going on,
and let's just.
Speaker 5 (04:21):
Be football players.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
That's pool I would argue, that's pointed by his standards, though,
I mean it was, you.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Know, and to be clear, like he gave himself an
outlet if that's the authentic you know him, than it is.
But like he may, like I think any human being
listening to that would or reading it or hearing even
a paraphrase, would agree that that was probably not O'Connell's
favorite kJ mccark moment of the season, as short lived
(04:49):
as it was, you know, and it like he made
like he happened after one game and he mentioned it. Yeah,
it was It was a response to a question about
how he kind of responds to competitive moments, and and
it's probably going to stick with him for a long time,
if not forever. But it wasn't like it was a
(05:10):
weekly thing that he was, you know, creating or talking
about or being asked about by us.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Yeah, all that's true, but it left its mark beaus.
As we said before, the sequencing is all is all right,
there's plenty of time for the mythology to build the mythology. First,
you got to do the stuff that we associate with mythology,
and then you can you can invent all kinds of stuff,
and you guys will write it all out longhand Man,
I mean, you know, every every word. You'll milk the
hell out of it because that's that's sort of the
(05:41):
the nature of the of the business. By the end
of the season, by the end of the seventeen game
regular season, the number one team in the NFC North
will be in what.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
City the past in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
I man, I'm telling you I think that, and you
asked me that a couple of weeks ago. I think
and I have finally become consistent believers in the Packers
and I know they only squeaked by the Bears and
they lost Eagles two weeks ago or three weeks ago,
whenever it was. But I just think when you can
play defense like that and they still are playing really
(06:20):
good defense, the Bears have a good offense, you know,
that's that's what will take you a long way through
the playoffs and so into the playoffs stretch and then
into the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
And so I could be proven wrong.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
The Lions might somehow overcome the Bears, might beat the
Packers when they have the rematch of Soldier Field. But
if I had to have felt this way for a
few weeks, if I had to pick a best of
that three, that I really do think the Packers are
the most balanced team offense defense, and they have the
best their defense is the best unit on either side
(06:58):
of the ball.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Of any of those times you get they hit the
key point, they're the most balanced team. And I mean, look,
I thought Jordan Love regressed a little bit last year,
but he's been big time this year.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
Man.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
I think it's twenty two touchdown passes, four interceptions. Now, again,
the Bears left some people open for some explosives, as
you guys call.
Speaker 6 (07:19):
Them in the business that last game.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
But he to me, what he's managed to do is
continue to fling it a little bit without being quite
as reckless. He threw it one pick I think and
the Bears in that game. But he's only got I think.
I said, like I said, four interceptions for the season.
He's playing really well.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Yeah, And the funny thing is, like, and we say
balanced and really to the extent that there's been criticism
of the Packers offensively and of Matt Laford's that they've
been relying too much on the running game and they
should just.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
Let Jordan Love cook.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
But that's kind of left out the analysis that maybe
the reason he's cooking is that they're not asking him
to throw at forty five I have fifty times a
game or whatever that would be. If you're just letting
your quarterback cook, that like that balance might actually be
helping him be productive and the times he is throwing.
Speaker 5 (08:10):
So I yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Think that you know, we'll see where how they to
what extent they shift as they get into this final
playoff stretch and get into the playoffs. If that's the
way it stays, or if they go with a hot
hand or what have you. But he's definitely playing the
way you would want him to be playing in December,
and they've got a roster that's pretty well equipped for
(08:35):
that time of year as well.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Three PostScript texts regarding the fiftieth anniversary of the Hail
Mary play, which you are apparently going to chronicle.
Speaker 6 (08:47):
Dropping tomorrow. You said, yes, it's even better, that's the plan.
Let me read these three. One of them came in
via X.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Forget Gary Anderson and Blair Walsh, forget the Brett favv
Iron t. The Pearson push off was not only the
start of the Vikings hecks, it cost the Vikings the
best chance to win a Super Bowl. I was in
high school at the time, and I will carry this
to my grave. Another texture. I was there in seventy five,
we were about to rush the field. I saw the
(09:15):
whiskey bottle fly. Last thing I remember were the brawls
in the parking lot. A friend of mine tried to
market the Nerf whiskey bottle after that incident. And lastly,
I hadn't heard this one before, or maybe you cover
it in the story that will drop tomorrow. What bugged
me about that play was not the push off, but
that Allan Page was absolutely tackled by an offensive lineman,
(09:37):
that there was no flag for holding. That's what Bud
got hot about after the game. I am seventy seven
years old and I remember it like yesterday.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
So we didn't cover that. Somebody had mentioned that, And
if you watch the film carefully, you see a defensive
lineman go down. I don't remember it being Alan Page,
though I thought it was one of the defensive tackles,
like maybe it was Mark molleniy or and that was
part of it, like it was hard to see exactly
who it is. But somebody else brought that up to that,
like it never even shouldn't the ball. It shouldn't have
mattered whether there was mush off or not, because you
(10:10):
had a takedown. And you know, to the extent that
officials let people play now in certain high leverage situations,
I think back then they allowed it even more. And
so you know, maybe the strategy is commit the penalty
and challenge the rest to.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Make the call.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
It's just the best best approach to.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Take in those situations, especially in nineteen seventy five.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
We will look forward to the piece dropping tomorrow. Thanks
as always, and we'll then thanks for the preview today.
You ended up giving giving us a very nice preview,
I'm sure, without giving away the best stuff to appear
in that story.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Well, if there is a good best stuff, I guess
everybody will be the judge of that.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
Any chance you could just do a quick video for
ESPN dot com summarizing the stories so I don't have
to read it all nine seconds.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
Maybe maybe we did. You never know.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
If you go to YouTube the NFL Films thing, you
go to about the one forty five mark, you can
watch the whole thing in about twenty seconds.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
So thank you even better, thank you. Enjoy the stronami.
Kevin Seffert EESPN dot com, Sam Mitchell in about fifteen
minutes forty five years ago, yesterday, forty five years ago.
(11:43):
Last night, John Lennon was murdered outside of his residence
apartment building the Dakota And we've played in previous anniversaries,
the Howard Cosell announcement on Zar Call Monday night football
game late in that game, confirming that murder. I can
(12:06):
still remember watching that broadcast live in my little apartment
in Smyrna, Georgia, just outside Atlanta. Horrific occasion, and Dan
Minnesota noted that the next day, so forty five years
ago today, in the Minneapolis Star, there were two stories
(12:30):
in the cover, one with the headline tell me it
isn't true, says Lennon's wife, Say Lenin's wife and fans.
That looks like a news services story, and underneath that
a John Breem column. Our guy John Breem Lenin led
(12:51):
life as Beatles magical mystery man. He's listed here as
rock critic John Bream. I had the fortune of meeting
three of the four Beatles. Maybe it was fitting that
I never met John Lennon. He was the Beatles mystery man.
(13:11):
Beatlemaniacs may have thought once thought Paul McCartney was dead,
but they know he has been merely writing silly little
love songs. Meanwhile, Ringo Starr has been drumming his way
into the movies, and George Harrison has been searching for
the perfect guru. But where has John Lennon been? What
have he and partner Yoko Ono been doing in seclusion
(13:31):
for the past five years? And why has this once prolific,
once revolutionary artists become an inscrutable nowhere man for so long?
And it goes on from there, he notes, does bream
I think you know fairly rightly that if it hadn't
(13:54):
been for Lenin's guiding, artistic and intellectual vision, the Beatles
may never have been the musical and culture of four
whise they became. John Lennon certainly rivaled Bob Dylan is
the most important pop music figure of the nineteen sixties.
In a whal McCartney provided the Beatles tune full pop underbelly.
It was his songwriting partner Lennon who gave the quartet
it's rock and roll edge. McCartney admired the vocal harmonies
(14:17):
of the Everly Brothers and the toe tapping pop of
Buddy Holly, whereas Lennon was affected by the raw music
of Elvis Presley, Little Richard and other American stars. I
meant to get to that late yesterday because Dan want
a soda pass that along to us. But better in
this case late than never. Real quick, I've got do
(14:39):
we have a Winter Olympic sounder?
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Yet?
Speaker 6 (14:43):
No? We could get one.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
If we want one. Well, I guess we could think
about it. For this story.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
We get the iHeart Approved Olympics. Remember when we got that?
I wonder if I could find that.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Maybe it's possible. I'm sure some of you have heard
about this, but maybe others not that so much via
the athletic The late scrambled to get the hockey venues
ready for the Milan Courtina Olympics may have the NF
NHL concerned in the hockey world talking, but it doesn't
(15:14):
come as a surprise to those who were on the
ground the last time NHL players traveled to Italy for
the Winter Games.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
Stand By, Oh that's urgent. Yeah, yeah, very urgent. I
love the horns. That's nice. Got a longer one too,
that's good. That's really good. That's the one we played
it back today.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Yes, twenty years ago in Turin, construction delays went right
down to the wire and left no time to stage
a proper test event. In fact, organizers didn't found themselves
cruelly reconfiguring a section of the lower Bowl at Plassport
Olympico in the months before those games because of a
critical miscalculation in design. We realized that the big door
(15:53):
where there's the where the zamboni is driving it, it's
too small, so they had to carve the stands off
to get it done. So this might be history repeating itself.
I don't know, but it sounds as if there is
a the rink's too short problem. The Santa Guilla Arena
(16:19):
in Milan is being built on an even tighter timeframe
than the main venue in touring was. Shovels hadn't been
put in the ground as recently as December twenty twenty three,
and the level of warrior has only grown since. When
NHL employees toward the building in August, it was a
complete construction zone, none of the infrastructure completed, including roads
to the area or the arena, and the practice rink
(16:40):
hadn't even been started. We're still it appeared only a
middle amount of work was even happening toward the end
of summer. NHL also wasn't encourage for the update to
receive during a facilities update this past Friday, according to
Lee's sources, and recently sent more staff to Italy to
assist with the project on the ground.
Speaker 6 (16:58):
The list of outstanding.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Issues yes INCLUDESI the fact that the floor of the
building is currently covered in construction materials, preventing the bores
from being anchored, which allows ice production to begin. It's
too late to change the dimensions of the playing service
of the games just two months away. The IHF Internet
I should say IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation confirmed Monday
(17:22):
that the rink will be one ninety six point eighty
five feet by eighty five point three feet, more than
three feet shorter than the NHL stat are two hundred
feet by eighty five feet layout, and also much narrower
than the international standard.
Speaker 6 (17:37):
By ninety eight point four feet.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
But the league staff is working with organizers to try
to reduce the impact of the smaller service by accounting
for the difference in the neutral zone. Wow, and keep
in mind, the women's tournament is schedul to begin Feb.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Five.
Speaker 6 (17:54):
The men's tournament is scheduled to begin Feb.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Eleven. That's right around the corner. I know, I've seen
rumblings of this the last Yeah, it's not good. Handful
of days. Was anybody threatened to pull out?
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Yet?
Speaker 6 (18:04):
Has it gotten to that point?
Speaker 4 (18:05):
I thought it was a safety concerned I thought I
saw a NHL guy just within the last few days
said we're not doing this if this is how it is.
Speaker 6 (18:11):
I thought I saw that unless it was an overreaction
on me and well, I wonder if they mean it.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
That's the old We're gonna try to put as much
pressure and possible as possible to put to scare them
into somehow finding a way to get this thing done
one time.
Speaker 6 (18:25):
We'll have to ask Louis about it tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
I'm sure he has a story of how he had
to call and they had to call Dick Ames and
they brought in their own construction crew and figure out
how to do it.
Speaker 6 (18:33):
Are we done? We are?
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Whoa?
Speaker 4 (18:36):
This is the long version, This is the long ones,
so maybe this could be the open This is nice
and then the short one. Very maest on the way out. Yeah, yeah,
it was good, very majestic.
Speaker 6 (18:47):
That's feeling it. Yeah, I'm feeling the Olympics.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Let's find out if Sam Mitchell is feeling the twenty
twenty five, twenty six Minnesota Timberwolves.
Speaker 6 (18:56):
He is coming up next.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Man.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Questions for Sam Mitchell hit the branch on Brian kfan
text line six four six eighty six, and that just
might be your lucky day. We'll see how it goes.
Sam joins us via the Connectico Water Systems hotline. Been
way too long since we've bugged you and had you
on the air. But it's good to have you back,
and I hope you're doing well.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Man, I heard that temperature of van I'm like.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Well, it's been a harsh last It was a great fall,
but it's been followed by a very rapid descent into
Minnesota winter.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
Hell, dude, the only good thing. I was in my
Dinnis office yesterday and they had all these pictures up
of a white Christmas and I was telling the lady
door cleaning my teeth. I remember those days. Now. I
do miss wa up on Christmas, even Christmas morning with
the snow and the fireplace and all.
Speaker 6 (20:04):
The Christmas life.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Yeah, because being from the South, Betty, is something that
you know, you see on television and the winter time
of North, but you never experienced. And so having the
experience that and my children having the chance to experience that,
I always appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Well, you're in the best of You got the best
of both worlds now because you don't have to live
in it every day, but you can come back to visit,
you know, something the wolves related anytime you'll want, right,
that's the beauty of it, so you can get a
taste of it.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
I wait too, is more above freezing than those teams.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
I understand. I can't argue with you about it. I
don't think guards you'll argue with you about that either.
All right, where should we begin? I do want to
you know. The part of the reason I wanted you
on is I think I've told you this before. When
a team is in your market and you're watching them
and paying attention to them constantly, you sometimes can get
a little lost in the weeds. And so I always
(20:54):
want to hear what people who are connected like you
are very connected, but still outside of a little bit
looking in what they see that we might be missing
because we're in it every day. So Wolves are what
I think, twenty four games in now, and that's a
decent sample size.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Yeah, they kind of who they are.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Yeah, and I exactly and I'm not overwhelmed so far.
But I want to get your view of what you
see from your seat when you watch them right now.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Well, it's kind of weird with the NBA, man, because
I was talking to somebody about this day and it
gave kind of like two seasons. You have the regular
season teams that can win a lot of games in
the regular season, and then those same teams sometimes the
way they're built to win games in the regular season,
but if they get the wrong matchup in the playoffs,
they get exposed. And I go back to the Lake,
(21:44):
because I mean, you look at what the Lakers are
doing right now, it's crazy. But you also have to
remind yourself that come playoff time, they have Luca, Lebron
and Austin Reeves out them on the four, three guys
who are not the greatest defenders, and you kind of
pick on those guys, but now you look at them
in the regular season and man, Austin Reeves looked like
an MVP candidate. I'm watching the game against the Raptors. Yeah,
(22:05):
and the Raptors are trapping him at the end of
the game, leaving Lebron James open. So but again you
see that and you look at what the Lakers are.
But then you turn around and if the Lakers and
the timber Wolves play in the first round, you can
make the argument to pick the timber Wolves because again,
when it comes time to really play and they get
dirty and the gate crime and everybody take it to
(22:27):
another level, the Lakers do have three guys that just
are not good defenders.
Speaker 6 (22:32):
Yeah, that's undeniable. You're right, and that's that.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
They're kind of hard to judge this NBA. Other than
Okay Seed, it's kind of hard to judge everybody else.
Speaker 6 (22:41):
Yeah, that's fair.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Let me ask you about more specific Let's droll down
a little bit more about the team, because basically the
decision was made much too. I think the shock of
Mike Conley literally like right before the start of the
regular season, We're gonna bring Mike off the bench. We're
gonna start Dante and we have Mike on about once
a month, and he said, look, I you know, I
(23:04):
didn't expect it necessarily, but I get it.
Speaker 6 (23:06):
I'm a team player.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
I understand the idea behind it, and now you know,
I want to play, but I'll.
Speaker 6 (23:11):
I'll deal with it.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
And what it looks to me like is and a
guy I think you have gotten to know pretty well.
John Krasinski has basically written, well, in all honesty, Anthony
Edwards is this team's point guard. And I think that's
largely true most of the time. I still am not
convinced it's the best way in a perfect world to
(23:34):
use Anthony, and that they're doing it this way more
out of necessity than out of what they really want
to do. So how do you assess I guess the
offense with Anthony really as a de facto point guard,
especially when you know on the occasion when Mike Conley's
not even on the floor.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Look, I don't mind seeing Anthony with the ball, laving
games and incrusion situations because you know he can espacially
pick and roll because he's going to what's a double team,
he can split a double team. He can create a
mismatch for a lot of people. But in the regular season,
I think it gives me pause because again, he's stuck
between do I be aggressive? Am I shooting too much?
(24:13):
Do I get guys and bothering? I think right now
it's about necessity. But my big question what about the
kid they drafted two years ago to be the up
parent to beat up parent starter for Mike Culling. Because look,
I'm a Mike Cony fan. I respect Mike Collor, but look, man,
you long in the tooth. You can't guard the position
like you used to, and you know in the playoffs, man,
(24:34):
it was hard to watch. So I get it. I
get why they're kind of playing answer me at that position,
but I don't think they can be at their best
when Anthony has the ball consistently and he has to
decide do I be aggressive and score or do I
pass to make because the teammates better.
Speaker 6 (24:51):
I agree with you.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Now.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Last night the change finch went with was he sat
Dillingham completely and he used Bones Highland h and Hyland
actually had a good game. But with all due respect
to Bones Highland, I don't think he can be the
big change and that you're going to go anywhere with that,
you know, night after night when you're playing the best
team in the league. So the Dillingham mystery is it
(25:16):
hasn't He hasn't meshed with whatever Finchy's trying to do,
and he has shown more limitations than.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
I thought he would.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
I don't know what the answer is, Sam, because as
you know, you could say, well you just got to
keep playing him because he's got to get those minutes.
But I think Finchy's frustrated enough with him that he said, well,
at least for now, we're going to go another direction,
which means I'm not sure you can count on Dillingham
making a big jump at all this season to fill
the role that you're talking about.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Well, if not now, when and if that's not the case,
and you got to go get somebody. The question is
a tough part, Dan. This is what Timmillo was like
a lot of other team's gonna have to look in
the east, in the West and look in the mirror.
What do you do with OKC Do you just give
in and just give them the next eight to ten
(26:03):
years of winning or do you try to put together
a team that can play with them and a team
to play with them. You got to have depth, You
got to have unselfish people. You got to have people
that fits into their roles and accept their roles. Man,
it's scary because okay See is still the youngest team,
and I know when those contracts kick in next year,
(26:26):
they're gonna have to make some decisions. But the last
time I checked, they got about three or four first
round picks languishing in the G League that's looking for
an opportunity to play. And oh, by the way, look
at the treasure's roll of a picks they got still
hoarded away, so they can actually go out and make
some deal. You know, everybody's talking about where shijanis go
(26:46):
I tell people this all the time. The only team
that really has the picks to go get a Jannis
is okay see. But if I was okay, see Dad,
I would go get Zuba for this reason. Yeah, Zuba
plays the best defense against who the joker good? And
if you're okay, see, the only team right now that
(27:07):
make it beat you in the Western Conference is Denver.
So why not go get the guy that can guard
him the best? And you have the assets to do it,
and you got a guy in his slot right now
that you can slide on over with a bunch of
pigs in Hart's time and make this thing work. And
it looks kind of seamless.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
I again agree.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
I hate to agree with you again, but I one
hundred percent I don't even understand why you'd want to
as good as Giannis is throw somebody that dominant into
the mix with what you have going. I think your
move is a lot more subtle, but extremely effective.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
Well, the specific think about this, if Giannis goes to
Houston or to San Antonio Spurs, do you now you're
going to have to Now you gotta beat them to
get out the West right. So again, man, and that's
something that Sam pressed the guy decide he may have
to do a deal to stop a guy like Jannis
(28:05):
going to someone like Houston or San Antonio. Can you
imagine Victor and Giannis on the floor together in San
Antonio man with the rest of that young talent.
Speaker 6 (28:15):
Yeah, it's a little scary, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
So if the Wolves have to look outside, would you
dare to entertain a jah Moran exploration? Is there another
name you say that's less volatile? But might it still
be effective for the team? What are you hearing in
that regard who might be available at the position and
(28:39):
you think might be.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
I hear John. But for me, the biggest concern with
Jai is the size. Now you put John to start
in line up in Anthony with an Anthony, it look
he's a tremendous athlete, but he's on the smaller size
of two guards. When you look at what gets him
over is his bulk. His strengths is athleticism. And then
you throw job. Can you get away with it with
(29:02):
Rudy Gobert? Yeah? I thought it would be easier to
get away with it when you have Rudy a call
out there. I don't know what Rudy and the way
the lineup is now, I don't know, man. I look,
you may not have a choice but to try to
do something like this, because right now, can you what
can you do to beat Okac? That's the question you
(29:22):
got to ask, what can you do to give yourself
a punch's chance to compete with Okac? Because they're not
going anywhere they are They're going to be good for
the next five, six, seven years, and so you're either
gonna fold or you're gonna try to figure out a
way to improve your team to where you can compete
with them.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Could you get There's two names that have surfaced, not
because there's any reporting to indicate there's discussions, but more
basketball guys are looking at the Wolves deed and saying, well,
these guys might be interesting. Whether it's realistic to get
either one of them? Do the name Kyrie Irving or
(30:03):
James Harden do anything? Or is that both? Is it
at landish in both cases to think there'd be any
chance to get them, or.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
I would say I would go with Kyrie Irvin. James
scares me. Is the age one two? His track record
in the playff just have it played well in the
biggest moments in the playoffs, and you look at Kyrie.
He's had some of his shining moments in the playoffs
and winning the championship. So I would then look, if
(30:33):
you could get Kyrie Irvin and get him healthy and
put him in the back court with Anthony Edwards and
the rest of that team, a guy who's won a championship,
who's who's been there, done that. That gives you a chance.
But the question, now, if you're gonna go get Kyrie Irvan,
what are you gonna have to give up? Obviously you'll
have to give up a lot less to get James Harden.
(30:54):
But does James Harden get you there against Okac? Because
my question would be can he guard the position at
his age and with wear and tell in his body?
Speaker 6 (31:04):
Those are fair points.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
I like this version of hard and better than the
earlier version because I think he's become more interested. He
seems less interested in scoring and more on he's willing
to distribute. But that the playoffs is sitting there looming,
because as you say, he's had some really stinking stinker
games when it counts in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Could he be a knock down, spot up shooter for Anthony?
It was because obviously you put Anthonet with you know
he's gonna draw attention. Yes, and you got James to
know that. And if you kick it to James, he
could knock down the shot or he could create himself. Yes,
But my question of James is what thirty seven? So again,
it'll be a short time fix, short term fix, and
(31:47):
then what do you do a year or two after that?
I think if you're the Wolfs, you gotta find a
permanent solution and you got to start trying to build
a team that can compete with Okay, see if not,
I'm not gonna use this term, but what does Anthony
Awards do for the next five, six, seven years? Looking
at OKC.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
That's fair, Sam Mitchell kind enough to join us. Don't forget.
We got Lure Goose coming up at about five fifteen,
after the top five at five leaving a well, let's
just talk. Maybe I'll ask the question this way. The
best team in the Eastern Conference is.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
Ooh, man, I was looking at that. It is the
East is kind of crazy, I steal right now. From
a talent standpoint, I would go with the Knicks start
in six because they can score. But the problem with
them is defensively they could be allied. You would expect
Cleveland to have jumped up and taken the rain, but
(32:48):
they're struggling right now with physicality and injuries and things
of that nature. Man, right now, I would probably say
the Detroit Pistons.
Speaker 6 (32:57):
Ooh yeah, they're enough to watch.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
The young athletic K cutting Ham is the closest thing
we're going to have to an American player being MVP
anytime soon.
Speaker 6 (33:11):
Yeah, would be nice to have it.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
I mean, hey, look, at least he's gonna take uh,
the guy from Boston who's hurt right now, he'll take
his place on first team All NBA. At least we're
still getting the Maritatum. At least we're still getting the
American first team All NBA. But man, the MVP between Shaye,
between Luca, between the Joker, I mean, dude, winn as
(33:37):
an American player who's close the only guy's closest. K
Cuttingham right now, Well.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
You're you're My producer is reminding us, what about Anthony Edwards?
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Well, sixteed players don't win MVP. When you're six seed
and you got the Joker putting up the numbers, he got,
you got Luca putting up the numbers he got and
you got Shaye putting up their numbers. So those two
teams are what one, two or three something like that,
and you're sixth.
Speaker 6 (34:02):
I have not heard you on the Chris Paul saga.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
And man, a lot of people tell me that, you know,
it's easy to be angry with the Clippers, but that
Chris Paul went. If Chris Paul is a great player,
you can deal with all the other stuff that is
Chris Paul. But if he's not and he's yelling at
people as the eleventh guy and the twelfth guy, people
(34:27):
aren't going to accept it the same way.
Speaker 6 (34:29):
So where do you fall on the whole Chris Paul deal.
Speaker 3 (34:33):
Look, I think it's unfortunate, but look, Chris Paul a
great player. You have to read the room and you
have to understand the people and the team. When Chris
Paul was would okay see a young team? You can
get into young guys because they don't know, yes, right,
they haven't been around, they don't know it's Chris Paul.
(34:54):
So whatever Chris Paul say, they're going to react to
it in a positive way. Right, A better a team
that's losing, that underachieving hard man, Those guys are stuck
in their ways down I tell people this all the time.
Given the choice between a young team and an age
and veteran team, I take the young team all day.
(35:14):
Coaching the older team is a pain in the ass, man,
because all those guys, they know the game, they've been around,
they're stuck in their ways, and they're gonna question everything
that you want to do. A same and think about
Chris Paul. Chris Paul is used to having a latitude
of going around being able to say things to guys
(35:35):
and man, look, it's tough. Look I understand that. I
hate it for Chris Paul. But at the end of
the day, if you're the Clippers and a guy is
just making life unbearable, but not only the coaching staff,
but the players and the organization, the Clippers had to
do what they had to do. I put the onus
more on Chris Paul because he didn't read the room.
(35:55):
Think about this, Think about how hard it was for
the Clippers to make this decision, going through all the
things the organization dealing with right now on and off
the court, all the Kawhi Lillard situation, all the stuff
with Bomber, and now Chris Paul had this great introduction
when he signed crying on stage, the greatest player in
(36:17):
clipping history. It got so bad to where the general
manager had to fly to Atlanta and clut him on
the road. So again, I hate that it happened to
Chris Paul, but you know, if you're the clip for organization,
you gotta do what you got to do to try
to maintain or salvage any part of this season that
(36:37):
cad Uh.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
It's quieted down more recently, but I know you've commented
on it a lot when it was hot. Where is
this betting scandal going?
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Do you think, Dann? I don't know, man, because it's
you know, I don't get into it. I'm not a
gambler like that. It's just something that never interests me
that much before. I just find it hard to believe
that NBA players making the money that those guys will
make it. I've said it on and look, I don't
(37:09):
know Terry Roseal, I know Damon Jones a little bit,
but I know Chompson Billips. I don't believe Chanson would
get involved in something like this. Now. Could he have
been duped to show up at a poker game? And
play and then kind of look around the room and
see how maybe I need to go. Yeah, could he
have shown up and played, Yeah, But to say he
(37:30):
sat down with some guys talked about an X ray table, glasses,
all these type of things to cheat people out of
their money, the chance to billips. I know, I just
can't conceive him being a part of something like that.
I believe it when he's proven guilty or he admits
that he did, I just don't. I just can't believe that. Dan,
(37:53):
not the guy that I played with, not the guy
that I spent time with, knowing his children, ing his wife,
knowing his fan. I just can't. But the guy that
I know would not even entertain stuff like that. Get
I mean Dan when we played, even on the few
moments when guys were thinking about doing dumb stuff. Chohnson
(38:14):
was one of the few younger guys. You have to
remember that I was older than those guys. They called
me uncle, so I didn't necessarily hang out with those
guys own the road and stuff like that. I was
much older. Chohnson was one of those guys in the
group with the young guys that would always kind of
poor guys toy like now it's time to go.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
Yeah, that is interesting. Well, we'll see how We'll see
how the thing plays out. As we wrap things up,
Let's bring a full circle back to the Wolves. As
you know, they brought back most of the team from
a year ago, so the continuity existed this time around,
but they ultimately let Nikhil Alexander Walker go.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
Oh my gosh, he's been a god send here in Atlanta.
He is playing.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
But that's why I wanted to ask, because I don't
I mean, look, you can't re sign everybody, and I
get that, and I'm not going to pretend I was
clamoring for them to keep him, but I will say, Sam,
they haven't replaced him what he represented at his best.
Speaker 6 (39:16):
And you know, I just you're in here.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
I know you're in the Atlanta area, So tell me
about how well he is because from afar, it looks
like he's been outstanding for them.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Question they need to be signed Tray Young after the season.
I mean, that's how good. Now it's gonna come down
to can they win enough, can they make plays? But
you think about what he brings. He's a six six
point guard that can shoot the three, and he's defensive minded.
So think about when at certain stance of the game,
(39:47):
when you had him at Anson the atlas on the floor. Yes,
Anthony a physical defender, not tall, but strong like Donovan Mitchell,
bigger than Donovan Mitchell. And then you look at Nikil
at six six sixty six and a half. That made
to a very very good defensive team. And then with
Rudy Gobert there, Look, I gotta ask you, this is
there any way could they have resigned him?
Speaker 1 (40:08):
Well here's I think I believe it was going to
cost them second Apron if there was a way to
do it.
Speaker 6 (40:16):
But here's what what what I just remembered.
Speaker 3 (40:18):
Well, while they asked you a question, why do you
have to keep giving Rudy Gobert all this funny? Well,
I mean, why take a haircut?
Speaker 1 (40:25):
Well yeah, they all felt that way last night because
he had a stupid flavorant too. But you know, this
reminds me last year you brought up ni Kiel. You
asked me the question on air maybe it was off
I don't remember which, and you said, what about the
possibility of Nikiel becoming your number one point guard? And
(40:47):
I buy some people here like I'm not sure he's
good enough to be a level But you look at
it now and you say that's such a crazy proposition
compared to what they're using.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
Well, think about it. They had him in the back
court now, then I would say, I would actually say
they would have a punch of hands to play with. Okay, see,
because they're young, they got size. Look, I love my
Conny Man, but he can't defend. He can't defend that position,
especially in the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (41:16):
He just can't.
Speaker 3 (41:17):
And ni Kill just brings size, he brings shooting, he
brings toughness, and again, like we just said, he's more
defensive minded. So I think, look, look, I like Rudy Goldbert,
but I just think Rudy Man is just making way
too much money. That's money that you could have.
Speaker 5 (41:35):
That's some of that money.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
Again, not that he shouldn't get paid, but what is
he at almost forty?
Speaker 6 (41:41):
I think he's yeah, right in that range.
Speaker 5 (41:46):
Extended.
Speaker 6 (41:46):
He took a little haircut dirt with the extension shot.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
Hey man, he needs to take more of a halfway
because again, I mean, well, okay, think about it. I
would say this is his days of being defensive player
of the Year over well win defensive Player of the Year.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
I don't know if he can win it, but all
the all the analytics indicate he's still pretty damn effective defensively,
and their defense is crappy without them.
Speaker 3 (42:10):
Okay, well right now they're the six seed.
Speaker 6 (42:13):
Yeah, that's true too.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Yeah, and the teams above them are pretty good.
Speaker 6 (42:18):
Yeah, so that's all.
Speaker 3 (42:20):
You know. I might in this day and age in
the NBA, I might would even take a little bit
more offense, a little bit more defense right now.
Speaker 1 (42:29):
Yeah, be right, when's your first trip back in here?
Have you got any plans?
Speaker 4 (42:34):
You know?
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Now A Rod and the new guys are in charge,
so I'm assuming you know, they're trying to link up
with all the old timers, including KG, including you. You
got any big plans anything, any big announcements to make.
Speaker 3 (42:45):
They've reached out to us a little bit before the
season about some alumni bentss Okay, he said they're thinking
about doing. They haven't haven't heard anything, but hey, I'm
glad we'll ay ride. I'm ready to come to the game, man,
let's go.
Speaker 1 (42:58):
Yeah, it's time. I think it's it's more than time
for sure. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, all those good things.
If we don't talk before the holidays. Good to catch
up and we'll bug you again.
Speaker 3 (43:08):
Soon, without doubt.
Speaker 6 (43:09):
Daddy, Thanks Sam, I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (43:12):
That's the one and only Sam Mitchell great basketball insight.
Where like I said, we're in this every day. He's
looking at a lot of teams and I think to
that extent can give us some fresh perspective on a
number of issues. Moral of the story is he's not
feeling the twenty twenty five, twenty six Wolves as currently constituted.
(43:36):
I think that's fair to say. He's saying, you got
Dillingham to be the point guard. Let's go what are
you waiting for? This iteration? I don't think he thinks
is going to add up, and so we'll see where
it goes from here.
Speaker 4 (43:49):
Top five give you a little Wolves, maybe a little Twins,
and you messed with Zookie at your own peril.
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