June 1, 2025 • 37 mins
Mark Thompson opens the hour with KFI’s entertainment reporter, Heather Brooker, talking Lilo & Stitch’s surprising comeback, Mission Impossible’s mixed reviews, the new Karate Kid, and the excitement around Happy Gilmore 2. He also covers TNT’s loss of NBA rights to ESPN and what’s next for Inside the NBA. Later, grief counselor Beth Bigler joins Mark for an emotional conversation about pet bereavement and the enduring bonds we share with our furry family members. Wrapping up the hour, Chris Merrill pops in to tease what’s ahead on his show, including Otani’s nap and Yankees fans’ meltdown after their series loss!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Mark Thompson here watching any number of Pride events. There
are still some hours I think, associated with the Pride
events that are going on around West Hollywood. So be
aware there are a lot of road closures that extend
beyond just West Hollywood, So if you are headed anywhere
that might run across that stuff, be sure to check
(00:27):
on traffic ahead of time.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
The world of do you want me to did you
want me to? Met?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Well, we have a I mentioned the Pat Bereaveman thing,
and I was talking to Matt about maybe taking some
calls with people who've had experiences. I mean when you
lose an animal to illness, or to accident, or to
any number of things that can suddenly affect you and
(00:55):
your family with the loss of an animal, the bereatment process,
you know, the emotional stuff you go through as you
try to deal with that can be intense. Some people
never get over it. I mean, these animals are members
who are family. So we're talking about the fact that
maybe there are a few of you who might have
(01:17):
stories from your own family. Because our guest has written
a book that is to it's designed to help you
through that process, to help us through the process of
dealing with the loss of a pet. And we'll talk
to her bottom of the hour. Beth Biggler's her name.
But if you want to jump on the line now,
(01:39):
you can and will fold you into the conversation if
we possibly can. The number is eight hundred five to
two oh one five three four. Eight hundred five two
oh one five three four is the number at KFI.
Heather Brooker is on the line and she covers entertainment,
all sorts of entertainment and movie are where it's going on.
(02:03):
Lelo and Stitch breaking box office records in the first
Weekendlelo and Stitch. Yeah, they're the Mission Impossible of the
new movie weekend.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Hi there hell, the new movie Weekend. Hi, Mark, It's
so good to talk with you. Yeah, you're absolutely right.
So I think that this big box office blockbuster is
definitely what we're gonna call it. I think it even
surprised Disney with how well it's doing almost six hundred
and eleven million dollars worldwide already. It's only in its
second weekend. It dwarfed Mission Impossible, Tom Cruises Movie. You
(02:38):
know a lot of people thought that it would be
a closer race, but it has dwarfed Mission Impossible. Now
Mission Impossible is holding its own, but uh, it's not
doing as well as Lelo and Stitch, which is also
already doing well this weekend as well, with another sixteen
million dollars.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
I sixteen million, is that what you said?
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Yeah, this weekend so far.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
I just wonder what the Cruise household is, like, I mean,
it does he do? I mean, it's not that they've
got anything to sweat. I mean they know that they're
dealing with a you know, a major blockbuster franchise. But
you know, again, I would imagine Tom Cruise expect that
Mission Impossible is going to dominate the box office for
you know, successive weekends, right, and you know, and.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
I think that you know, it's holding steady in second place.
I mean, it's not doing poorly by any means. It's
a franchise best for the Mission Impossible franchise, but people
just are not responding to this version. A lot of
fans are saying that this is their least favorite of
all the Mission Impossible movies, and fans are also not
(03:39):
really feeling Lelo and Stitch. They've gone to see it.
They were excited about it, and there's been a massive
drop off from the opening weekend until now. I think
some people didn't really like the ending of this movie.
They didn't like some of the story decisions, which deviated
from the original quite a bit. So, yeah, you know,
(03:59):
it's it's these two are still battling out. Low, don't worry,
Disney and Tom Cruise. They're gonna be okay.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yeah, how about that?
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Right? Wow?
Speaker 2 (04:08):
But it's wild that the fan base is so fervent.
You know, they're really into Lilo and Stitch, just like
they are into them I movies, and yet they're somewhat
mixed about how they feel about this offering. That's kind
of wild to me.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
You know, it's so funny too, as twenty to twenty
three years ago, when the original Lelo and Stitch came out,
it was up against another Tom Cruise movie at the
box office. Any guesses of what movie that might have been.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Years ago, twenty two years ago?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Let me think, let me guess the first mission impossible,
I'm sorry, is that Minority Report or something like that?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
One of them?
Speaker 5 (04:49):
Right?
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Is it Mint?
Speaker 6 (04:51):
That's right?
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (04:52):
And they and they be Minority Report back then as well.
So I think Tom Cruise, you know, I think he's
probably he's not Leelo and Stitch's biggest fan this weekend.
Let's just put this away.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
How about the Karate Kid, you know, the Karate Kid?
So this what would you call it a reconstituting of
the Karate Kid.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Well, it's just a sequel continuation. Yeah, it's it's a sequel.
It's a continuation of what some are calling now because
there's been so many movies the Karate Kid universe, essentially
the Karate Kid world, and it is a continuation. This
one solely takes place in New York, and there's a
little bit in the beginning in Japan, but it's mostly
(05:33):
the most of the movie is in New York and
there's a lot of great action themes, fight scenes. The
young man who plays the new Karate Kid, his name
is Ben Wang, and he is fantastic, and they did
a good job with it. The fans, however, are not
so happy. They felt like the story didn't have as
much heart. You know, whenever you do anything like this
(05:54):
that people have a nostalgia for, they're always going to
compare it to the original. They're you know, they're like
it doesn't have as much soul and as much life
as the original did. And that may be true, but
I still enjoyed it. I mean, listen, we can't be
quite so serious about these movies. This isn't Schindler's List
for crying out loud. People need to just calm down,
get some popcorns, and enjoy the fight scenes. They have
(06:16):
this epic fight scene on top of a skyscraper in
New York and it's fun and it's it's the Karate Kid.
So so I went and we enjoyed it.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Oh you did, Okay.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
I was going to say it has some pretty, you know,
good pedigree associated with it. Now you know, the original
mister Miyagi is no longer with us, right, I mean
that Pat Marina died, But you have Jackie Chan kind
of in that, you know, the elder statesman role. And
then you have Ralph Maccio who came back, right, who
is the original.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
Karate test Yeah, Jackie Chan was in the Karate Kid
that came out in twenty ten, the remake I believe
it was twenty ten, and he is back in this
one as Aiu, which is I believe he's like an
uncle he's an uncle to Ben Wayne's character, and then
Ralph Montreo is brought in as the sense So those two, honestly,
(07:12):
they're not even in it until the last like fifteen
twenty minutes of the movie, I think throughout and they're not.
That's a little bit. Yeah, there's a little bit of
Jackie Channel the beginning, and then a little bit of
him and Ralphil Montio at the end, which is great,
which is really really great, But the majority of the
story focuses on this kid, similar to the beginning, where
(07:35):
he's got bullies at school and he's trying to find
his place in this new school, this new town. There's
a girl he likes, and he ends up mostly throughout
the movie training the girl's father played by Joshua Jackson
for a fight, and fine refines his love of fighting
and in that sort of way. So I mean, it's
(07:56):
it's it is what it is. It's a fun karate movie.
It's it's beautiful love letter to New York or gorgeous scenes,
uh and filming done in New York. And they even
recreated the Miyagi Do House in Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
So it's that's I don't know, it seems yeah, it's
a curiosity to me.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I'd like to see it.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
I'm kind of bummed that, you know, the actors that
I know, you know, Machio and Jackie Chan don't show
up until the end.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
But uh, I might, I might check it out.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Uh, I know I should get people spoiler a little
spoiler alert there. Sorry, guys.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
No, I don't think you told us what happened, but
I think you know you're good. I don't think.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
I thought that they might have roped in a little
bit of the Cobra Kai series into this as well.
I mean, if they really wanted to flesh out this
Karate Kid universe, they could have roped in the Cobra
Kai series and brought in Williams Zabka as well.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
But he is not in it for the next one.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
You know, maybe it did well enough that they'll likely
be another one, right, I mean it seems to be enduring. Uh, Heather,
thank you. I appreciate a window on Lelo and Stitch.
The Mission Impossible, Uh shattering offering. I mean no, but
Lelo and Stitch did outpace Mission Impossible.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Let the box offices p y.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Yeah, that ditch possible? Uh at the studios? Oh, It's
always a pleasure to talk with you, Mark anytime.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Okay, all the best, talk soon, Heather Rooker, thank you
very much for joining us. And when we come back,
we're still going to keep the lines open. Eight hundred
and five to two oh one, five three four For
what we'll be talking about at the bottom of the
hour with someone who's written a book. Beth Biggler's written
a book about, uh, the emotional devastation that can follow
(09:46):
the loss of a pet, but how to get through
it and this the book is really helpful and instructive
in ways to deal with the loss of an animal.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Marked Thompson.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Here we are covering all things on this Sunday kind
of muggy. Just feels a little hot and muggy out.
All the Pride activities are going on West Hollywood. There's
a parade and there are a bunch of other events.
So do be careful because a lot of traffic has
been re routed and it is a very well attended
type thing. I don't know if anybody saw it, but
(10:24):
the premiere studio show covering the NBA is no longer
going to be on TNT. The show is going to transition.
That's right. You've heard so much about transitioning. It's not
that kind of transition. Inside the NBA no longer on TNT.
(10:46):
After all of these years on TNT. It will be moving.
I'll tell you where it's going to be moving in
a moment. But here were the last words uttered the
inside the NBA, the studio show that America has grown
to love. It's launched the careers, really the post basketball
(11:09):
careers of everybody on that show, especially of course I
would say Shaq and Charles Barklay.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Here's what it sounded like.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
As you know, we come to the end of the
end of the road here with the NBA on TMT, and.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Let's let's just go down the line here.
Speaker 5 (11:31):
I know everybody's got thoughts about the end of this chapter,
and Shack start with you.
Speaker 7 (11:38):
I'm the youngest.
Speaker 8 (11:39):
Here.
Speaker 7 (11:41):
Has been a great run.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
It's been an honor. Let me get that, Chuck.
Speaker 7 (11:48):
I love you like the older brother that I never had.
And if you say something, I will whoop you ass
one last time on this show. Right now. Ernie, you
came to my house in nineteen eighty nine, nineteen ninety one.
It's a big honor signing for me to be sitting
up here with you. Kenny Day, you all embarrassed us
in ninety four ninety five of you and Keen. You
taught me what it was to be a champion. And
(12:10):
we're a family. I'm glad we're sticking together. And like
I said, even though the name changes, the engine is
still the same. And to that new network we're coming to,
we're not coming to f around. And since it's the
last show, I'm gonna say it, were not coming to
around you kick an ass, were taking names and were
(12:31):
taking over.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
That new network is ESPN, by the way, that's where
they're going.
Speaker 7 (12:37):
Okay, I love you guys, and I appreciate you guys,
but hey, all right, let me see that number one
time for the number one show ever on TV, and
we come over.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
To take over that next network too hotly.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
But I'm proud to say, for the last time, thanks
for watching us.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
So, Matt, you've cut out some of the other remarks
I've noticed, so shack. That was shack. Of course, the
show is it's Ernie who you'll hear from in a second.
Shaquille O'Neil Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley. Those four have
ridden this incredibly hot franchise for all these years.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
So you heard a little bit of shack. This is Ernie, but.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
I'm proud to say, for the last time, thanks for
watching us. It's the NBA on TMG.
Speaker 7 (13:29):
Before we go, guys, stud Mike Chop there's a mic
drop from Shaq.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
He literally drops the mic there it is.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Yeah, the show is going to transition, as I say,
from TNT to ESPN and ABC, and so I mean
I understand a bit of the sentiment there in that
you've been with TNT for so long, but the exact
same crew and the exact same production team is moving
to ESPN.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
But they'll no longer be on TNT. They'll be on ESPN.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
It'll be produced by TNT out of the Atlanta studios,
and there is a licensing agreement. ESPN is going to
license the show from TNT Sports, So, as I say,
ESPN will not even be producing it themselves. TNT is
losing NBA broadcast rights. That's the reason if you're wondering
(14:30):
why they're making this change. So there's a new media
rights deal between the NBA and various Networks, and in
that new media rights deal, TNT loses the NBA, so
they you know, there's no sense running this show. But
as I say, you won't notice anything different. Everything, every person,
(14:53):
every teleprompter operator, everything and all that talent will be
moving to ESPN for the twenty twenty five twenty SES season.
I don't know if you've been following the NBA and
the NBA playoffs, which go on longer than I mean
the NBA playoffs, and this is my view I mean,
but again, I mean, i'd leave it to mine to
(15:15):
really know this space to comment on it. But it
just seems as though the problem with the NBA playoffs
is they go on so long that you lose key players.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
They're just so many injuries. The same is true in
the NFL.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
This season is so long that this incredibly violent sport
starts to take the toll of knocking out key players
to the point that by the time you get to
the playoffs and deep into the playoffs in the Super Bowl,
not everybody's always there. You know, you have got second
team quarterbacks playing often, or you know, major critical elements
(15:51):
in a team that's going to take the floor. Those
elements are lost. I mean Steph Curry was lost to
the Warriors, for example, in this latest play off series
in the NBA playoffs lead up to the finals. So
now you've got Indiana and OKAC. The Knicks lose, and
(16:13):
they were really dominated I felt yesterday. And again I
leave it to greater analysts to break it all down,
but I would say this, the league would have liked
to see the Knicks win, just because the kind of
ratings that you'll get and viewership tune in and interest.
(16:33):
It would have been just so much better with the
you know, big market teams going to the finals. But
on the other hand, so the Knicks are out of it.
You know, the Pacers are an exciting team to watch,
and in the end, isn't that just going to be
a better product. So you've got OKAC and Indianapolis and
(16:53):
the game series starts. When does it start? Is it
five point thirty today? When's game one? Matt, We'll check
it out. But I thought it was five third. I
think it was five thirty to day, But I might
be wrong. It would be extraordinary if I would be wrong,
(17:14):
because they just they just played yesterday, So it can't be.
It can't be today. All right, we'll check on it. Yeah,
oh it's it's next Sunday, June fifth, Yeah, yeah, yeah, Okay,
there you go. This is why we're not a sports
station because you have guys like me going when is it?
(17:35):
When is the finals?
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Again? Right? And we come back.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
There is I think, in families oftentimes no greater loss
than the loss of a pet, dog, cat, could be
a parrot, could be any any creature that you've bonded with,
big animals, small animal. When we come back, we talked
to someone who is in the pet bereavement world and
(18:04):
has helped so many people. In fact, it's interesting I
was reading about Beth Bigler on Reddit and across the
internet and she's helped so many people. So a pet
grief counselor who can reach out to so many people
and make a difference, we wanted to talk to.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
And now she has a new book.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
We'll discuss her book and ways in which she can
get families through this very tough thing, pet loss and grief.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Beth Bigler joins us.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Next, you're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Mark Thompson Here, we're just off.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
It was a month ago that we had to put down,
put to sleep, euthanize my darling, Mochi, one of our cats,
and we loved her so much, so hard, and even
talking about it, it's very hard to talk about without
getting emotional. And I'm a very emotional person probably already,
and around animals, I get real emotional. So this segment
(19:06):
touches me already because it's about the loss of a pet.
And there is a new book out called Honoring Our
Animals three hundred and sixty five Meditations for Healing after
Pet Loss, and the author of Honoring Our Animals is
someone who does a lot of work with counseling people
who are trying to deal with the serious emotional devastation
(19:30):
really that occurs when you lose a member of your family,
when you lose a dog or a cat. Beth Bigler
and Beth joins us now on KFI. Hi, Beth.
Speaker 6 (19:44):
Joy Mark, it's great to be here, and thank you
so much for normalizing and validating pet loss grief.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah, it's a real thing. And what's interesting and just
kind of preparing for speaking with you is I was
knocking around Reddit and around the Internet and seeing and
reading so many of the well of the experiences that
so many people were sharing, and honestly, some of them
(20:10):
were so devastating that people talked about years have gone
by since they have lost that dog or cat generally
is what it was, was generally a dog or cat.
In everything I read that they still feel as though
they can't go on. I mean that is to say,
the toxic thoughts, the devastating thoughts they linger.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
I wonder if you could speak to that.
Speaker 6 (20:36):
Absolutely. I mean, this is why this is such an
important and serious topic. Most of us know somebody who
is going through this type of grief, and yet many
of us don't understand the impact. But for many guardians,
their relationship with their companion animal is the most intimate
and loving in their life. The sheer physicality of the relationship,
(20:57):
the proximity, the understanding, the loyal it's absolutely unmatched. And
so you know, when people experience this grief, and we
have research to back this up, there's certain things about
it that can be even more distressing than human loss.
And a problem here is that people are experiencing this
total devastation mind, body, spirit upheaval. And then in our culture,
(21:20):
this is a disenfranchised grief. So you know, no one's
bringing over a cast row. People minimize this to say
it was just a cat or only a dog, and
then people start to feel shameful about their emotions and
they start withdrawing, and it can be a really invalidating
experience and you start to feel like you're not right
for grieving. So it's a really complex problem, and that's
why people who you know, unfortunately don't get good support
(21:43):
around them can still feel devastated years later.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yeah, that's really a great summary of the kind of
societal pushback we're just talking about in the studio last
hour about this, and somebody was saying, you know that
we always felt obligated to say, I know, it's only
my dog or only a cat, but you have to
understand to the family, because somehow we feel as that
we have to explain why the depth of emotion is
(22:08):
so great, even though it's not a human being that
the loss involved.
Speaker 6 (22:15):
Absolutely, and there we go again, minimizing and invalidating our
own experience. Right, So it's hard enough that we're getting
it culturally, and then we two put all this judgment
on ourselves or we think, oh, well, there's worse problems
in the world, or stiff upper lip. We're taught a
lot of things growing up about grief or not taught
a lot of things, and so we sometimes are just
repeating those messages and it really minimizes our pain.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
I'll tell you what I liked.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
I got your book Honoring Our Animals, and one of
the things I like about it is that you speak
to the way in which the memory of the loss,
but the memory of this sweet creature that was part
of your life, actually endures even in the loss. That
is to say, it's not over just because the life
(23:01):
is over.
Speaker 6 (23:03):
Yeah, that's absolutely how I see this. You know. I
believe in your case, for example, sweet Mochy, right. I
believe the gifts, guidance, lessons and teachings that Mochy has
instilled in you. In all the ways in which Mochi's
been such a powerful force in your life, I believe
that connection between you remains, and that that relationship can
be a place that you can continue to give to
and receive from. I believe for all guardians that our
(23:25):
relationships with our beloveds can continue to evolve and expand,
and we can honor them in our lives as the
important ancestor that they are and that the ending of
their earthside presence isn't necessarily the ending of our relationship.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
You also decided to do this in sort of the
days of the year. You know, this book is set
out such that there are messages for every day of
the year honoring our animals. Three hundred and sixty five
meditations for healing after pet loss involves sort of getting
me through the next year.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
Absolutely well, that alone sends a message, right, its that
this grief is not a one week thing and then
everybody's better. Right, This type of grief deserves long term support.
It deserves more than a sympathy card. So by structuring
the book in this way, I'm validating for a grievers
that yes, I'm offering you some support here, something every
(24:21):
single day for you to lean on and return to,
to empower you, to inspire you, and to hold you,
which is so important because this grief does not dissiphat quickly,
you know, we carry it with us always. So I
did want to offer something that would give someone every
single day something to lean on.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
You know, I've talked to people at the radio station
here at KFI, and so many people have said this,
I mean enough, Why I say so many. I mean,
I'm going to say maybe four or five, but you
know that's a significant number when you talk about the
loss of and the emotion associated with the losing of
a pet, of a companion, and they said that it
moved them more than the loss of their mother or father,
(25:00):
those who had lost month. I thought that was a
fascinating heart and one of the things, and I want
to get your thought, which is why I'm mentioning it,
but one of the things that hits me with it
is it's because of the innocence of an animal. You know,
you can't talk to them, communicate to them what's happening,
you know, and it's tough.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
I think it makes it harder.
Speaker 6 (25:19):
Sure, yeah, well, yeah, that is definitely a component, you know,
in particular when they have things going on with them medically, right,
and we can't always know exactly what they might want.
As their guardian, we make many decisions for them medically,
or make decisions about their lifestyle, and you know, sometimes
that adds a real intensity for us being responsible for
(25:41):
making that. That's why guilt comes up so much in
this grief, because we are concerned about the decisions we
made for them. So that's one component. And I was
telling you something else about parents.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
You know, our beloved You know, they've never.
Speaker 6 (25:54):
Lied to us, They've never made us feel bad about ourselves.
They never held up in unrealistically high bar for us
to meet. And our human relationships, especially with our parents,
tend to be a little more complicated than that. And
so in many ways, many of our animals reparent us.
They sometimes give us a lot of that unconditional love, acceptance, cheerleading, support,
(26:16):
feeling that we're okay no matter how messy we are
that many people didn't receive. So there's a lot of
reasons why it can sometimes hit harder not to mention
the daily routine. Our neurons are deeply impacted by that,
because our beloveds are so involved in all of our
daily routines when they are no longer earthside, our brain
has a super hard time adjusting to this in a
way that it doesn't when it's a relative who lives
(26:38):
outside our home.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Wow, that's fascinating.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
You've got so much great stuff in your work as
a grief counselor. Betz Bigler. I wish you good luck
with this honoring our animals, and you have a website.
I think Honoring Our Animals dot com is that right?
Speaker 6 (26:53):
That's right. You can also join milver on Instagram at
Honoring our Animals. We have a really vibrant community there
for grievers.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Well, I mean the beauty of taking in animals and
making them part of your family. It's sadly paired with
that loss, but I really respect.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
The work you've done and that you continue to do.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
And again the book is Honoring Our Animals three hundred
and sixty five Meditations for Healing after Pet Loss Beth
Bigler and again Honoring Ouranimals dot com if you want
more information, Beth, thank you and congratulations on the work
you do.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
Thank you so much, and thank you Mochi.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
Oh what a sweet shout out to moch you, my
sweet doll. Oh.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Very tough, very tough. Indeed, we still have three other cats,
by the way. I know you might think that's extreme,
but three other cats survive in my house, and sadly
they're senior cats. So you know you're facing you know,
some grim realities. But I know many of you with
dogs and cats and companion animals of all sorts. Yeah,
(27:54):
it's a struggle sometimes to deal with the loss, So
honoring our animals is a maybe a good way to
at least try to deal with some of that emotion.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Mark Thompson sitting in here on a Sunday, kind of
a muggy, warm Sunday. Yankees got blown out by the Dodgers.
Don't know if you saw any of it. It was crazy.
Eighteen to two was the final. Fifty one thousand was
fifty two thousand people at Dodgers Stadium. There'll be another
(28:31):
Dodgers offering just after four. I believe at four to
twenty is that the first pitch? But four to ten, okay,
thank you, Even without the injured Mookie, Dodgers led by
ten runs by the second inning.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Twenty one hits, five home runs. What a game. What
a game to be at the park for, or to
listen for.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
The Not a great game to be pitching if you're
a Yankee and this is the first series loss for
the Yankees, and they are they're licking their wounds, they're
bent on revenge, and it's going to be an intense showdown.
The other story is that maybe it was such a
(29:23):
one sided affair that Shohei Otani fell asleep. Cameras apparently
I didn't see this video, but camera's apparently caught Otani
with his head on the dugout railing, appearing to get
some shut eye. According to reports, during that eighteen to
two victory over the Yanks, he woke up suddenly and
(29:49):
appeared to realize what was happening. But I think if
you're as productive a player as Otani, hey, you're allowed
to get a little shut eye. What's the problem. And
I mentioned again, you know he's got a newborn, right
and so maybe there's not a lot of you know,
(30:11):
sleep in the house is also my thought. But congratulations
of the Dodgers who appeared dominant and a dominant win
over the Yanks.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
I mentioned before, that's the.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Last, the last inside the NBA NBA on TNT. This
entire franchise is moving to ESPN, so they had kind
of this emotional farewell even though the entire crew is
staying together. Everybody, the entire production team is going over
to ESPN and TNT is producing the show. ESPN just
(30:47):
licensed it from TNT. Anyway, the remarks you heard from Shaq,
hear the remarks from Charles Barklay.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Listen.
Speaker 8 (31:02):
Obviously I got lucky and made one of the best
decisions ever. I was obviously going to go to NBC,
and a friend of mine, Michael Jackson, says, come to
have done at Turner to make me look good. And
these guys took me out to dinner, and after five
hours I had to call the Great Dick Eversowl and say,
(31:23):
hey man, I'm gonna change my mind. I want to
thank Dick Eversaw for making me think about doing television,
but I want to thank Mark Lazareth who hired me,
David Leaving, my old boss, and Tara August, my best friend.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
She's been there for me the whole time.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
I just have to show them, you know, this is
an interesting fork in the road. We'll try to play
as much as this as we can. But Charles Barklay
always a personality, a terrific ballplayer, But this show launched him.
This show launched him as a commercial spokesperson. This show
(31:58):
launched him as a talking head that is sought after
he got a huge deal from CBS for his own show,
The Gail King thing that he did on CNN that
was a colossal failure. But Charles Barkley walked away with
fifteen million bucks from that, So this was a pivotal
(32:20):
decision made. He's right to recognize it as such, and
he's ridden this White Hot franchise into an incredibly robust
relationship with commercial brands and even with politics.
Speaker 8 (32:34):
I just want to thank every single person who's been
a turner with me the last twenty five years. Twenty
five years. Some of these people, some of these people
have had kids. They come see us one day for
they prom they come back when they graduate college, and
(32:56):
now they're bringing newborns in. So if you would people
that long, they are your family. And I just want
to thank everybody turning for the last twenty five years.
It's been an honor and I'm grateful and thankful. And
also to ESPN, it's going to be an honor and
a privilege to work for you guys. You guys are
the number one sports network in history, and I'm excited
(33:21):
for it. You guys got some tremendous talents over there.
I'm looking forward to co working with those guys. But
like I say, man, I just want to say thank
you to the NBA, every coach I've had, every player
I've played, with forgiving me this magnificent life that I've had.
I am so lucky and blessed. I'm lucky and blessed,
(33:42):
and I want to faith T and T. And even
though we'll never say T and T sports again, I
want to thank T and T for giving me a
magnificent life.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
Yeah, and he's right.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
I mean, this is an incredible life that Charles Barkley
leads and all of them have been and help so
much by that franchise. But it's it's entertaining and it's informative,
you know, and now you see it they're trying to
replicate it. If you're watching the French Open tennis, they
have totally changed the energy around French Open tennis studio stuff.
It's not sort of the very proper affair that oftentimes
(34:19):
you'll get in the world of tennis. They slowly have
warmed that up and created a dynamic of fun and
unpredictability and kind of horsing around that just didn't exist
before in tennis, and now it does. I think that
is unquestionably because of the success of shows like Inside
the NBA. Anyway, speaking of horsing around, you know who's
(34:41):
coming up is Chris Merrill, who joins us Chris Hey, yes, sir,
Hey yeah, nothing, my man, what's the big Chris Merrill
Show today? You know, as you were talking about sports,
I would not be talking about this, but you're talking
about sports in New York losing. Is Is there anything
more obnoxious than New York sports fans? And I mean
(35:04):
that there's something about New York sports fans where they
feel entitled, like every title is theirs and if they
don't win, it was stolen.
Speaker 3 (35:13):
And so the.
Speaker 9 (35:14):
Knicks lose and you feel like all of New York's
can't believe we lost to the Pacers.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
It was ours. Wow. I don't know. I'm going to
say this for New York fans. I'll say two things.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
First about the Pacers, I think the Knicks fans didn't
expect that they were going to be And I think
I used to hear the one thing.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
If you go to New York.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
And you listen on like w FAN or some of
those you know, sports radio stations, or even some of
the stations at A five seventy they'll carry some of
these New York hosts here in LA. You hear them
sort of smack talk in their own team. I mean,
the one thing about New York fans is they're really like,
they have no tolerance for mediocrity. You know, they expect
you to show up with the very best. So, yeah,
(35:54):
you're right. That can be both obnoxious, but it's also
refreshing how they get on their own team.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
I mean, yeah, I'll give them that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
And the other thing, I would just say that this
is of the two things. This is the second thing.
They are educated fans in general. You know, when they're
dogging one of their guys and you know, yeah, you
shucked in the playoffs, you shucked in the twenty twelve playoffs,
you shucked in intramural football, you suck.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
You know, they go back deep with these players, That's true.
Speaker 9 (36:21):
And you know, we do have a term for when
the fans of New York disappoint excuse me, when the
players disappoint their own fans.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
That is the Bronx cheer when they do. Yes, yeah, yeah,
but it's they're obnoxious. Yeah, and you.
Speaker 9 (36:34):
Love them so Mark, If you love them so much,
why don't you just root for them? Mark, Let's be
a Yankees fan. Mark heard Mark on the radio. Is
where It's pinstripes was all mad about the Yankees losing
to the Dodgers.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Boy, I will say the Yankees really getting owned by
the Dodgers this weekend.
Speaker 3 (36:49):
And I love to see I really do, because they
feel so bad.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Yeah, anyway, that's our little sports moment. Chris Merrill, the
the man, wonderful.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
Yeah. Thanks, Well, we got the gas prices are going
to go up.
Speaker 9 (37:04):
We all know that, and we will talk a little
bit of sports, including the trans athlete I in California
that has got all of Fox News angry. And then
sports like you've never seen it behind bars. So that's
all coming up with the first hour alone.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Wow, Bigley, the first hour alone, very impressive. I love it.
I'll hang out for it right. Thanks everybody, Thank you Chris.
Good to talk to you always, and thanks everybody and
to everyone who's part of this show. Thank you for
making things happen. Matt, Nicky and Robin and will talk soon.
I'll see you Tuesday with the Tim Conway Junior and
(37:38):
on my show on YouTube, the Mark Thompson Show for
those who cruise around to that.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
I'll be there tomorrow. Thanks for being with us.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
KF I am six forty on demand
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Mark Thompson here watching any number of Pride events. There
are still some hours I think, associated with the Pride
events that are going on around West Hollywood. So be
aware there are a lot of road closures that extend
beyond just West Hollywood, So if you are headed anywhere
that might run across that stuff, be sure to check
(00:27):
on traffic ahead of time.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
The world of do you want me to did you
want me to? Met?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Well, we have a I mentioned the Pat Bereaveman thing,
and I was talking to Matt about maybe taking some
calls with people who've had experiences. I mean when you
lose an animal to illness, or to accident, or to
any number of things that can suddenly affect you and
(00:55):
your family with the loss of an animal, the bereatment process,
you know, the emotional stuff you go through as you
try to deal with that can be intense. Some people
never get over it. I mean, these animals are members
who are family. So we're talking about the fact that
maybe there are a few of you who might have
(01:17):
stories from your own family. Because our guest has written
a book that is to it's designed to help you
through that process, to help us through the process of
dealing with the loss of a pet. And we'll talk
to her bottom of the hour. Beth Biggler's her name.
But if you want to jump on the line now,
(01:39):
you can and will fold you into the conversation if
we possibly can. The number is eight hundred five to
two oh one five three four. Eight hundred five two
oh one five three four is the number at KFI.
Heather Brooker is on the line and she covers entertainment,
all sorts of entertainment and movie are where it's going on.
(02:03):
Lelo and Stitch breaking box office records in the first
Weekendlelo and Stitch. Yeah, they're the Mission Impossible of the
new movie weekend.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Hi there hell, the new movie Weekend. Hi, Mark, It's
so good to talk with you. Yeah, you're absolutely right.
So I think that this big box office blockbuster is
definitely what we're gonna call it. I think it even
surprised Disney with how well it's doing almost six hundred
and eleven million dollars worldwide already. It's only in its
second weekend. It dwarfed Mission Impossible, Tom Cruises Movie. You
(02:38):
know a lot of people thought that it would be
a closer race, but it has dwarfed Mission Impossible. Now
Mission Impossible is holding its own, but uh, it's not
doing as well as Lelo and Stitch, which is also
already doing well this weekend as well, with another sixteen
million dollars.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
I sixteen million, is that what you said?
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Yeah, this weekend so far.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
I just wonder what the Cruise household is, like, I mean,
it does he do? I mean, it's not that they've
got anything to sweat. I mean they know that they're
dealing with a you know, a major blockbuster franchise. But
you know, again, I would imagine Tom Cruise expect that
Mission Impossible is going to dominate the box office for
you know, successive weekends, right, and you know, and.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
I think that you know, it's holding steady in second place.
I mean, it's not doing poorly by any means. It's
a franchise best for the Mission Impossible franchise, but people
just are not responding to this version. A lot of
fans are saying that this is their least favorite of
all the Mission Impossible movies, and fans are also not
(03:39):
really feeling Lelo and Stitch. They've gone to see it.
They were excited about it, and there's been a massive
drop off from the opening weekend until now. I think
some people didn't really like the ending of this movie.
They didn't like some of the story decisions, which deviated
from the original quite a bit. So, yeah, you know,
(03:59):
it's it's these two are still battling out. Low, don't worry,
Disney and Tom Cruise. They're gonna be okay.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yeah, how about that?
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Right? Wow?
Speaker 2 (04:08):
But it's wild that the fan base is so fervent.
You know, they're really into Lilo and Stitch, just like
they are into them I movies, and yet they're somewhat
mixed about how they feel about this offering. That's kind
of wild to me.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
You know, it's so funny too, as twenty to twenty
three years ago, when the original Lelo and Stitch came out,
it was up against another Tom Cruise movie at the
box office. Any guesses of what movie that might have been.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Years ago, twenty two years ago?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Let me think, let me guess the first mission impossible,
I'm sorry, is that Minority Report or something like that?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
One of them?
Speaker 5 (04:49):
Right?
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Is it Mint?
Speaker 6 (04:51):
That's right?
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (04:52):
And they and they be Minority Report back then as well.
So I think Tom Cruise, you know, I think he's
probably he's not Leelo and Stitch's biggest fan this weekend.
Let's just put this away.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
How about the Karate Kid, you know, the Karate Kid?
So this what would you call it a reconstituting of
the Karate Kid.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Well, it's just a sequel continuation. Yeah, it's it's a sequel.
It's a continuation of what some are calling now because
there's been so many movies the Karate Kid universe, essentially
the Karate Kid world, and it is a continuation. This
one solely takes place in New York, and there's a
little bit in the beginning in Japan, but it's mostly
(05:33):
the most of the movie is in New York and
there's a lot of great action themes, fight scenes. The
young man who plays the new Karate Kid, his name
is Ben Wang, and he is fantastic, and they did
a good job with it. The fans, however, are not
so happy. They felt like the story didn't have as
much heart. You know, whenever you do anything like this
(05:54):
that people have a nostalgia for, they're always going to
compare it to the original. They're you know, they're like
it doesn't have as much soul and as much life
as the original did. And that may be true, but
I still enjoyed it. I mean, listen, we can't be
quite so serious about these movies. This isn't Schindler's List
for crying out loud. People need to just calm down,
get some popcorns, and enjoy the fight scenes. They have
(06:16):
this epic fight scene on top of a skyscraper in
New York and it's fun and it's it's the Karate Kid.
So so I went and we enjoyed it.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Oh you did, Okay.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
I was going to say it has some pretty, you know,
good pedigree associated with it. Now you know, the original
mister Miyagi is no longer with us, right, I mean
that Pat Marina died, But you have Jackie Chan kind
of in that, you know, the elder statesman role. And
then you have Ralph Maccio who came back, right, who
is the original.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
Karate test Yeah, Jackie Chan was in the Karate Kid
that came out in twenty ten, the remake I believe
it was twenty ten, and he is back in this
one as Aiu, which is I believe he's like an
uncle he's an uncle to Ben Wayne's character, and then
Ralph Montreo is brought in as the sense So those two, honestly,
(07:12):
they're not even in it until the last like fifteen
twenty minutes of the movie, I think throughout and they're not.
That's a little bit. Yeah, there's a little bit of
Jackie Channel the beginning, and then a little bit of
him and Ralphil Montio at the end, which is great,
which is really really great, But the majority of the
story focuses on this kid, similar to the beginning, where
(07:35):
he's got bullies at school and he's trying to find
his place in this new school, this new town. There's
a girl he likes, and he ends up mostly throughout
the movie training the girl's father played by Joshua Jackson
for a fight, and fine refines his love of fighting
and in that sort of way. So I mean, it's
(07:56):
it's it is what it is. It's a fun karate movie.
It's it's beautiful love letter to New York or gorgeous scenes,
uh and filming done in New York. And they even
recreated the Miyagi Do House in Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
So it's that's I don't know, it seems yeah, it's
a curiosity to me.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I'd like to see it.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
I'm kind of bummed that, you know, the actors that
I know, you know, Machio and Jackie Chan don't show
up until the end.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
But uh, I might, I might check it out.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Uh, I know I should get people spoiler a little
spoiler alert there. Sorry, guys.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
No, I don't think you told us what happened, but
I think you know you're good. I don't think.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
I thought that they might have roped in a little
bit of the Cobra Kai series into this as well.
I mean, if they really wanted to flesh out this
Karate Kid universe, they could have roped in the Cobra
Kai series and brought in Williams Zabka as well.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
But he is not in it for the next one.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
You know, maybe it did well enough that they'll likely
be another one, right, I mean it seems to be enduring. Uh, Heather,
thank you. I appreciate a window on Lelo and Stitch.
The Mission Impossible, Uh shattering offering. I mean no, but
Lelo and Stitch did outpace Mission Impossible.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Let the box offices p y.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Yeah, that ditch possible? Uh at the studios? Oh, It's
always a pleasure to talk with you, Mark anytime.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Okay, all the best, talk soon, Heather Rooker, thank you
very much for joining us. And when we come back,
we're still going to keep the lines open. Eight hundred
and five to two oh one, five three four For
what we'll be talking about at the bottom of the
hour with someone who's written a book. Beth Biggler's written
a book about, uh, the emotional devastation that can follow
(09:46):
the loss of a pet, but how to get through
it and this the book is really helpful and instructive
in ways to deal with the loss of an animal.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Marked Thompson.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Here we are covering all things on this Sunday kind
of muggy. Just feels a little hot and muggy out.
All the Pride activities are going on West Hollywood. There's
a parade and there are a bunch of other events.
So do be careful because a lot of traffic has
been re routed and it is a very well attended
type thing. I don't know if anybody saw it, but
(10:24):
the premiere studio show covering the NBA is no longer
going to be on TNT. The show is going to transition.
That's right. You've heard so much about transitioning. It's not
that kind of transition. Inside the NBA no longer on TNT.
(10:46):
After all of these years on TNT. It will be moving.
I'll tell you where it's going to be moving in
a moment. But here were the last words uttered the
inside the NBA, the studio show that America has grown
to love. It's launched the careers, really the post basketball
(11:09):
careers of everybody on that show, especially of course I
would say Shaq and Charles Barklay.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Here's what it sounded like.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
As you know, we come to the end of the
end of the road here with the NBA on TMT, and.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Let's let's just go down the line here.
Speaker 5 (11:31):
I know everybody's got thoughts about the end of this chapter,
and Shack start with you.
Speaker 7 (11:38):
I'm the youngest.
Speaker 8 (11:39):
Here.
Speaker 7 (11:41):
Has been a great run.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
It's been an honor. Let me get that, Chuck.
Speaker 7 (11:48):
I love you like the older brother that I never had.
And if you say something, I will whoop you ass
one last time on this show. Right now. Ernie, you
came to my house in nineteen eighty nine, nineteen ninety one.
It's a big honor signing for me to be sitting
up here with you. Kenny Day, you all embarrassed us
in ninety four ninety five of you and Keen. You
taught me what it was to be a champion. And
(12:10):
we're a family. I'm glad we're sticking together. And like
I said, even though the name changes, the engine is
still the same. And to that new network we're coming to,
we're not coming to f around. And since it's the
last show, I'm gonna say it, were not coming to
around you kick an ass, were taking names and were
(12:31):
taking over.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
That new network is ESPN, by the way, that's where
they're going.
Speaker 7 (12:37):
Okay, I love you guys, and I appreciate you guys,
but hey, all right, let me see that number one
time for the number one show ever on TV, and
we come over.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
To take over that next network too hotly.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
But I'm proud to say, for the last time, thanks
for watching us.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
So, Matt, you've cut out some of the other remarks
I've noticed, so shack. That was shack. Of course, the
show is it's Ernie who you'll hear from in a second.
Shaquille O'Neil Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley. Those four have
ridden this incredibly hot franchise for all these years.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
So you heard a little bit of shack. This is Ernie, but.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
I'm proud to say, for the last time, thanks for
watching us. It's the NBA on TMG.
Speaker 7 (13:29):
Before we go, guys, stud Mike Chop there's a mic
drop from Shaq.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
He literally drops the mic there it is.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Yeah, the show is going to transition, as I say,
from TNT to ESPN and ABC, and so I mean
I understand a bit of the sentiment there in that
you've been with TNT for so long, but the exact
same crew and the exact same production team is moving
to ESPN.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
But they'll no longer be on TNT. They'll be on ESPN.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
It'll be produced by TNT out of the Atlanta studios,
and there is a licensing agreement. ESPN is going to
license the show from TNT Sports, So, as I say,
ESPN will not even be producing it themselves. TNT is
losing NBA broadcast rights. That's the reason if you're wondering
(14:30):
why they're making this change. So there's a new media
rights deal between the NBA and various Networks, and in
that new media rights deal, TNT loses the NBA, so
they you know, there's no sense running this show. But
as I say, you won't notice anything different. Everything, every person,
(14:53):
every teleprompter operator, everything and all that talent will be
moving to ESPN for the twenty twenty five twenty SES season.
I don't know if you've been following the NBA and
the NBA playoffs, which go on longer than I mean
the NBA playoffs, and this is my view I mean,
but again, I mean, i'd leave it to mine to
(15:15):
really know this space to comment on it. But it
just seems as though the problem with the NBA playoffs
is they go on so long that you lose key players.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
They're just so many injuries. The same is true in
the NFL.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
This season is so long that this incredibly violent sport
starts to take the toll of knocking out key players
to the point that by the time you get to
the playoffs and deep into the playoffs in the Super Bowl,
not everybody's always there. You know, you have got second
team quarterbacks playing often, or you know, major critical elements
(15:51):
in a team that's going to take the floor. Those
elements are lost. I mean Steph Curry was lost to
the Warriors, for example, in this latest play off series
in the NBA playoffs lead up to the finals. So
now you've got Indiana and OKAC. The Knicks lose, and
(16:13):
they were really dominated I felt yesterday. And again I
leave it to greater analysts to break it all down,
but I would say this, the league would have liked
to see the Knicks win, just because the kind of
ratings that you'll get and viewership tune in and interest.
(16:33):
It would have been just so much better with the
you know, big market teams going to the finals. But
on the other hand, so the Knicks are out of it.
You know, the Pacers are an exciting team to watch,
and in the end, isn't that just going to be
a better product. So you've got OKAC and Indianapolis and
(16:53):
the game series starts. When does it start? Is it
five point thirty today? When's game one? Matt, We'll check
it out. But I thought it was five third. I
think it was five thirty to day, But I might
be wrong. It would be extraordinary if I would be wrong,
(17:14):
because they just they just played yesterday, So it can't be.
It can't be today. All right, we'll check on it. Yeah,
oh it's it's next Sunday, June fifth, Yeah, yeah, yeah, Okay,
there you go. This is why we're not a sports
station because you have guys like me going when is it?
(17:35):
When is the finals?
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Again? Right? And we come back.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
There is I think, in families oftentimes no greater loss
than the loss of a pet, dog, cat, could be
a parrot, could be any any creature that you've bonded with,
big animals, small animal. When we come back, we talked
to someone who is in the pet bereavement world and
(18:04):
has helped so many people. In fact, it's interesting I
was reading about Beth Bigler on Reddit and across the
internet and she's helped so many people. So a pet
grief counselor who can reach out to so many people
and make a difference, we wanted to talk to.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
And now she has a new book.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
We'll discuss her book and ways in which she can
get families through this very tough thing, pet loss and grief.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Beth Bigler joins us.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Next, you're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Mark Thompson Here, we're just off.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
It was a month ago that we had to put down,
put to sleep, euthanize my darling, Mochi, one of our cats,
and we loved her so much, so hard, and even
talking about it, it's very hard to talk about without
getting emotional. And I'm a very emotional person probably already,
and around animals, I get real emotional. So this segment
(19:06):
touches me already because it's about the loss of a pet.
And there is a new book out called Honoring Our
Animals three hundred and sixty five Meditations for Healing after
Pet Loss, and the author of Honoring Our Animals is
someone who does a lot of work with counseling people
who are trying to deal with the serious emotional devastation
(19:30):
really that occurs when you lose a member of your family,
when you lose a dog or a cat. Beth Bigler
and Beth joins us now on KFI. Hi, Beth.
Speaker 6 (19:44):
Joy Mark, it's great to be here, and thank you
so much for normalizing and validating pet loss grief.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah, it's a real thing. And what's interesting and just
kind of preparing for speaking with you is I was
knocking around Reddit and around the Internet and seeing and
reading so many of the well of the experiences that
so many people were sharing, and honestly, some of them
(20:10):
were so devastating that people talked about years have gone
by since they have lost that dog or cat generally
is what it was, was generally a dog or cat.
In everything I read that they still feel as though
they can't go on. I mean that is to say,
the toxic thoughts, the devastating thoughts they linger.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
I wonder if you could speak to that.
Speaker 6 (20:36):
Absolutely. I mean, this is why this is such an
important and serious topic. Most of us know somebody who
is going through this type of grief, and yet many
of us don't understand the impact. But for many guardians,
their relationship with their companion animal is the most intimate
and loving in their life. The sheer physicality of the relationship,
(20:57):
the proximity, the understanding, the loyal it's absolutely unmatched. And
so you know, when people experience this grief, and we
have research to back this up, there's certain things about
it that can be even more distressing than human loss.
And a problem here is that people are experiencing this
total devastation mind, body, spirit upheaval. And then in our culture,
(21:20):
this is a disenfranchised grief. So you know, no one's
bringing over a cast row. People minimize this to say
it was just a cat or only a dog, and
then people start to feel shameful about their emotions and
they start withdrawing, and it can be a really invalidating
experience and you start to feel like you're not right
for grieving. So it's a really complex problem, and that's
why people who you know, unfortunately don't get good support
(21:43):
around them can still feel devastated years later.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yeah, that's really a great summary of the kind of
societal pushback we're just talking about in the studio last
hour about this, and somebody was saying, you know that
we always felt obligated to say, I know, it's only
my dog or only a cat, but you have to
understand to the family, because somehow we feel as that
we have to explain why the depth of emotion is
(22:08):
so great, even though it's not a human being that
the loss involved.
Speaker 6 (22:15):
Absolutely, and there we go again, minimizing and invalidating our
own experience. Right, So it's hard enough that we're getting
it culturally, and then we two put all this judgment
on ourselves or we think, oh, well, there's worse problems
in the world, or stiff upper lip. We're taught a
lot of things growing up about grief or not taught
a lot of things, and so we sometimes are just
repeating those messages and it really minimizes our pain.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
I'll tell you what I liked.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
I got your book Honoring Our Animals, and one of
the things I like about it is that you speak
to the way in which the memory of the loss,
but the memory of this sweet creature that was part
of your life, actually endures even in the loss. That
is to say, it's not over just because the life
(23:01):
is over.
Speaker 6 (23:03):
Yeah, that's absolutely how I see this. You know. I
believe in your case, for example, sweet Mochy, right. I
believe the gifts, guidance, lessons and teachings that Mochy has
instilled in you. In all the ways in which Mochi's
been such a powerful force in your life, I believe
that connection between you remains, and that that relationship can
be a place that you can continue to give to
and receive from. I believe for all guardians that our
(23:25):
relationships with our beloveds can continue to evolve and expand,
and we can honor them in our lives as the
important ancestor that they are and that the ending of
their earthside presence isn't necessarily the ending of our relationship.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
You also decided to do this in sort of the
days of the year. You know, this book is set
out such that there are messages for every day of
the year honoring our animals. Three hundred and sixty five
meditations for healing after pet loss involves sort of getting
me through the next year.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
Absolutely well, that alone sends a message, right, its that
this grief is not a one week thing and then
everybody's better. Right, This type of grief deserves long term support.
It deserves more than a sympathy card. So by structuring
the book in this way, I'm validating for a grievers
that yes, I'm offering you some support here, something every
(24:21):
single day for you to lean on and return to,
to empower you, to inspire you, and to hold you,
which is so important because this grief does not dissiphat quickly,
you know, we carry it with us always. So I
did want to offer something that would give someone every
single day something to lean on.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
You know, I've talked to people at the radio station
here at KFI, and so many people have said this,
I mean enough, Why I say so many. I mean,
I'm going to say maybe four or five, but you
know that's a significant number when you talk about the
loss of and the emotion associated with the losing of
a pet, of a companion, and they said that it
moved them more than the loss of their mother or father,
(25:00):
those who had lost month. I thought that was a
fascinating heart and one of the things, and I want
to get your thought, which is why I'm mentioning it,
but one of the things that hits me with it
is it's because of the innocence of an animal. You know,
you can't talk to them, communicate to them what's happening,
you know, and it's tough.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
I think it makes it harder.
Speaker 6 (25:19):
Sure, yeah, well, yeah, that is definitely a component, you know,
in particular when they have things going on with them medically, right,
and we can't always know exactly what they might want.
As their guardian, we make many decisions for them medically,
or make decisions about their lifestyle, and you know, sometimes
that adds a real intensity for us being responsible for
(25:41):
making that. That's why guilt comes up so much in
this grief, because we are concerned about the decisions we
made for them. So that's one component. And I was
telling you something else about parents.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
You know, our beloved You know, they've never.
Speaker 6 (25:54):
Lied to us, They've never made us feel bad about ourselves.
They never held up in unrealistically high bar for us
to meet. And our human relationships, especially with our parents,
tend to be a little more complicated than that. And
so in many ways, many of our animals reparent us.
They sometimes give us a lot of that unconditional love, acceptance, cheerleading, support,
(26:16):
feeling that we're okay no matter how messy we are
that many people didn't receive. So there's a lot of
reasons why it can sometimes hit harder not to mention
the daily routine. Our neurons are deeply impacted by that,
because our beloveds are so involved in all of our
daily routines when they are no longer earthside, our brain
has a super hard time adjusting to this in a
way that it doesn't when it's a relative who lives
(26:38):
outside our home.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Wow, that's fascinating.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
You've got so much great stuff in your work as
a grief counselor. Betz Bigler. I wish you good luck
with this honoring our animals, and you have a website.
I think Honoring Our Animals dot com is that right?
Speaker 6 (26:53):
That's right. You can also join milver on Instagram at
Honoring our Animals. We have a really vibrant community there
for grievers.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Well, I mean the beauty of taking in animals and
making them part of your family. It's sadly paired with
that loss, but I really respect.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
The work you've done and that you continue to do.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
And again the book is Honoring Our Animals three hundred
and sixty five Meditations for Healing after Pet Loss Beth
Bigler and again Honoring Ouranimals dot com if you want
more information, Beth, thank you and congratulations on the work
you do.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
Thank you so much, and thank you Mochi.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
Oh what a sweet shout out to moch you, my
sweet doll. Oh.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Very tough, very tough. Indeed, we still have three other cats,
by the way. I know you might think that's extreme,
but three other cats survive in my house, and sadly
they're senior cats. So you know you're facing you know,
some grim realities. But I know many of you with
dogs and cats and companion animals of all sorts. Yeah,
(27:54):
it's a struggle sometimes to deal with the loss, So
honoring our animals is a maybe a good way to
at least try to deal with some of that emotion.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Mark Thompson sitting in here on a Sunday, kind of
a muggy, warm Sunday. Yankees got blown out by the Dodgers.
Don't know if you saw any of it. It was crazy.
Eighteen to two was the final. Fifty one thousand was
fifty two thousand people at Dodgers Stadium. There'll be another
(28:31):
Dodgers offering just after four. I believe at four to
twenty is that the first pitch? But four to ten, okay,
thank you, Even without the injured Mookie, Dodgers led by
ten runs by the second inning.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Twenty one hits, five home runs. What a game. What
a game to be at the park for, or to
listen for.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
The Not a great game to be pitching if you're
a Yankee and this is the first series loss for
the Yankees, and they are they're licking their wounds, they're
bent on revenge, and it's going to be an intense showdown.
The other story is that maybe it was such a
(29:23):
one sided affair that Shohei Otani fell asleep. Cameras apparently
I didn't see this video, but camera's apparently caught Otani
with his head on the dugout railing, appearing to get
some shut eye. According to reports, during that eighteen to
two victory over the Yanks, he woke up suddenly and
(29:49):
appeared to realize what was happening. But I think if
you're as productive a player as Otani, hey, you're allowed
to get a little shut eye. What's the problem. And
I mentioned again, you know he's got a newborn, right
and so maybe there's not a lot of you know,
(30:11):
sleep in the house is also my thought. But congratulations
of the Dodgers who appeared dominant and a dominant win
over the Yanks.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
I mentioned before, that's the.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Last, the last inside the NBA NBA on TNT. This
entire franchise is moving to ESPN, so they had kind
of this emotional farewell even though the entire crew is
staying together. Everybody, the entire production team is going over
to ESPN and TNT is producing the show. ESPN just
(30:47):
licensed it from TNT. Anyway, the remarks you heard from Shaq,
hear the remarks from Charles Barklay.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Listen.
Speaker 8 (31:02):
Obviously I got lucky and made one of the best
decisions ever. I was obviously going to go to NBC,
and a friend of mine, Michael Jackson, says, come to
have done at Turner to make me look good. And
these guys took me out to dinner, and after five
hours I had to call the Great Dick Eversowl and say,
(31:23):
hey man, I'm gonna change my mind. I want to
thank Dick Eversaw for making me think about doing television,
but I want to thank Mark Lazareth who hired me,
David Leaving, my old boss, and Tara August, my best friend.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
She's been there for me the whole time.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
I just have to show them, you know, this is
an interesting fork in the road. We'll try to play
as much as this as we can. But Charles Barklay
always a personality, a terrific ballplayer, But this show launched him.
This show launched him as a commercial spokesperson. This show
(31:58):
launched him as a talking head that is sought after
he got a huge deal from CBS for his own show,
The Gail King thing that he did on CNN that
was a colossal failure. But Charles Barkley walked away with
fifteen million bucks from that, So this was a pivotal
(32:20):
decision made. He's right to recognize it as such, and
he's ridden this White Hot franchise into an incredibly robust
relationship with commercial brands and even with politics.
Speaker 8 (32:34):
I just want to thank every single person who's been
a turner with me the last twenty five years. Twenty
five years. Some of these people, some of these people
have had kids. They come see us one day for
they prom they come back when they graduate college, and
(32:56):
now they're bringing newborns in. So if you would people
that long, they are your family. And I just want
to thank everybody turning for the last twenty five years.
It's been an honor and I'm grateful and thankful. And
also to ESPN, it's going to be an honor and
a privilege to work for you guys. You guys are
the number one sports network in history, and I'm excited
(33:21):
for it. You guys got some tremendous talents over there.
I'm looking forward to co working with those guys. But
like I say, man, I just want to say thank
you to the NBA, every coach I've had, every player
I've played, with forgiving me this magnificent life that I've had.
I am so lucky and blessed. I'm lucky and blessed,
(33:42):
and I want to faith T and T. And even
though we'll never say T and T sports again, I
want to thank T and T for giving me a
magnificent life.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
Yeah, and he's right.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
I mean, this is an incredible life that Charles Barkley
leads and all of them have been and help so
much by that franchise. But it's it's entertaining and it's informative,
you know, and now you see it they're trying to
replicate it. If you're watching the French Open tennis, they
have totally changed the energy around French Open tennis studio stuff.
It's not sort of the very proper affair that oftentimes
(34:19):
you'll get in the world of tennis. They slowly have
warmed that up and created a dynamic of fun and
unpredictability and kind of horsing around that just didn't exist
before in tennis, and now it does. I think that
is unquestionably because of the success of shows like Inside
the NBA. Anyway, speaking of horsing around, you know who's
(34:41):
coming up is Chris Merrill, who joins us Chris Hey, yes, sir,
Hey yeah, nothing, my man, what's the big Chris Merrill
Show today? You know, as you were talking about sports,
I would not be talking about this, but you're talking
about sports in New York losing. Is Is there anything
more obnoxious than New York sports fans? And I mean
(35:04):
that there's something about New York sports fans where they
feel entitled, like every title is theirs and if they
don't win, it was stolen.
Speaker 3 (35:13):
And so the.
Speaker 9 (35:14):
Knicks lose and you feel like all of New York's
can't believe we lost to the Pacers.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
It was ours. Wow. I don't know. I'm going to
say this for New York fans. I'll say two things.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
First about the Pacers, I think the Knicks fans didn't
expect that they were going to be And I think
I used to hear the one thing.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
If you go to New York.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
And you listen on like w FAN or some of
those you know, sports radio stations, or even some of
the stations at A five seventy they'll carry some of
these New York hosts here in LA. You hear them
sort of smack talk in their own team. I mean,
the one thing about New York fans is they're really like,
they have no tolerance for mediocrity. You know, they expect
you to show up with the very best. So, yeah,
(35:54):
you're right. That can be both obnoxious, but it's also
refreshing how they get on their own team.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
I mean, yeah, I'll give them that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
And the other thing, I would just say that this
is of the two things. This is the second thing.
They are educated fans in general. You know, when they're
dogging one of their guys and you know, yeah, you
shucked in the playoffs, you shucked in the twenty twelve playoffs,
you shucked in intramural football, you suck.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
You know, they go back deep with these players, That's true.
Speaker 9 (36:21):
And you know, we do have a term for when
the fans of New York disappoint excuse me, when the
players disappoint their own fans.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
That is the Bronx cheer when they do. Yes, yeah, yeah,
but it's they're obnoxious. Yeah, and you.
Speaker 9 (36:34):
Love them so Mark, If you love them so much,
why don't you just root for them? Mark, Let's be
a Yankees fan. Mark heard Mark on the radio. Is
where It's pinstripes was all mad about the Yankees losing
to the Dodgers.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Boy, I will say the Yankees really getting owned by
the Dodgers this weekend.
Speaker 3 (36:49):
And I love to see I really do, because they
feel so bad.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Yeah, anyway, that's our little sports moment. Chris Merrill, the
the man, wonderful.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
Yeah. Thanks, Well, we got the gas prices are going
to go up.
Speaker 9 (37:04):
We all know that, and we will talk a little
bit of sports, including the trans athlete I in California
that has got all of Fox News angry. And then
sports like you've never seen it behind bars. So that's
all coming up with the first hour alone.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Wow, Bigley, the first hour alone, very impressive. I love it.
I'll hang out for it right. Thanks everybody, Thank you Chris.
Good to talk to you always, and thanks everybody and
to everyone who's part of this show. Thank you for
making things happen. Matt, Nicky and Robin and will talk soon.
I'll see you Tuesday with the Tim Conway Junior and
(37:38):
on my show on YouTube, the Mark Thompson Show for
those who cruise around to that.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
I'll be there tomorrow. Thanks for being with us.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
KF I am six forty on demand
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