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responsible gambling resources. Good morning,

1:21

y'all and good day. We got quite a lineup

1:23

for y'all this week. Before

1:25

we get into it, make sure you subscribe

1:28

to Point Forward, wherever you listen to your podcast,

1:30

and follow us on all social channels at

1:32

Point Forward so you don't miss a thing.

1:35

We have a few things we want to discuss today. Everyone's

1:38

obviously still got their brains

1:40

wrapped around an

1:43

amazing Super Bowl depending

1:45

on, I don't know if it was depending on who

1:47

you watched. I think it was a good game from what I heard. Oh

1:50

you didn't watch the game? Bro you're

1:52

sick. Don't ask me shit like that

1:54

man. It's the worst. Right, wasn't your favorite

1:57

football team? Yeah so... The

2:01

golf tournament was on and that was

2:03

giving me some peace and tranquility. So I kind of missed

2:05

some of the first quarter and then, you

2:07

know, trying to do some things with

2:09

the six year old. We did

2:11

watch portions of the second half while

2:13

playing. What's that game called?

2:16

Sorry. But then I did see the overtime. So overtime

2:19

was cool. Overtime was cool.

2:22

Also this weekend we're heading to Indianapolis

2:24

for the all-star weekend. And we'll break

2:26

down the dunk contest. If

2:28

it is or isn't losing its flair,

2:31

then we'll continue to highlight the history of

2:33

black excellence throughout the NBA with

2:35

a deep dive on some of the first for black

2:37

athletes in the league. Lastly, this is

2:39

just a whole lot of goat talk today.

2:42

Our guest on the pod this week

2:45

is the one and only Ken Griffey

2:47

Jr. who made us all

2:49

want to bat left handed. E.T.

2:52

Can you play baseball? I've never seen you swing a bat.

2:55

Yeah. Boy, I cannot play baseball. I

2:57

damn new in pro for that. For

3:00

real. Now,

3:02

I'm going to be completely honest with you.

3:04

I will say this. No funny shit. I swear

3:06

to God. I promise you,

3:09

I was really good at baseball. This

3:12

sound like bullshit. I'm telling you.

3:15

Right? I'm not even going to tell

3:17

you. I used to steal one base. I used to

3:19

steal two bases off one pitch. This

3:22

is fact. I swear to God this is fact. I

3:25

didn't say you were telling the truth. Okay.

3:27

Yeah. It's very similar to your connect

3:29

four stories. And that's what I'm

3:31

saying. I'm like, I can see why you're skeptical. I

3:37

can see the skepticism and I understand I'm

3:39

not, I'm not going to act like that's

3:41

not there. So bro, I was a really

3:44

good baseball player and

3:46

I was decent at soccer too. So, huh.

3:49

Okay. I know you can play football. I

3:53

was, you thought you thought of highlights. I know

3:55

you can play football baseball. I wouldn't be surprised.

3:58

I just hit. I couldn't. catch for shit for real

4:01

they put me in right field it's bogus as hell

4:03

it could have been racist but I would not I

4:05

could not catch I will say that much. Why does

4:07

everybody put you in right field right? Yeah

4:10

bro yeah you know how I go

4:12

yeah but other than that I was pretty good because you

4:14

play baseball? I hope we have

4:16

the tape I hope we have the tape somewhere I

4:19

was good at baseball in real life a shortstop actually

4:22

and really and I played back as a

4:24

catcher I was like do not put me at

4:26

catcher but I was shortstop and I had

4:29

three home runs one game one game. Really?

4:32

And there was tape. Two

4:34

were like over if it is a boys and girls

4:37

club we had no fence but No that's good enough

4:39

bro you did it I did it. Two of them

4:41

was like over the fence and then one of them

4:43

was like triple that turned into

4:45

inside the park. Now we went to the

4:48

um I was actually I was a

4:50

real switch hitter so this week's episode was like

4:53

I was in my I got excited because

4:55

I actually bat switched switch hitting. Oh

4:58

do you? Yeah so I got

5:02

two two adult examples

5:04

of me being good at

5:06

baseball one is uh we

5:08

skipped practice and went to the Oakland A's

5:11

arena which is attached to Oracle like you can just

5:13

walk down the tunnel and get there without going outside

5:16

and we have practice in uh Steph and Clay

5:18

with pitch because Clay could throw like 85

5:22

Steph could throw about Steph can throw but we

5:24

have more space who was like a 95 mile

5:26

an hour pitcher in high school. You said that

5:28

you said that yeah and I had

5:31

a real home runs right hand

5:33

left hand did you did

5:35

yeah it really

5:37

and then I'm the MVP of

5:39

the Javelle McGee softball game that

5:42

was held at uh the Oakland A stadium

5:44

too. Oh

5:46

you're playing that hard mister I don't like

5:48

to have fun and I went out there

5:51

playing hard I was just hitting home runs

5:53

left handed and right handed what

5:55

are they doing underhand of you Paul? It

5:58

was softball I mean I didn't Take

6:00

what they give you. I

6:02

hear you man. I believe you could

6:04

do a G. I just, I

6:07

mean, you get, bro, it's not hard to hit

6:09

the ball, Sam. Like you don't know who can

6:11

play softball or baseball for shit. And it hurt

6:13

my heart. Isaiah

6:15

Thomas. Which one? The

6:18

little one. So we played a, how do

6:22

I say that? Strange. You can do.

6:24

Yeah, we could do one for the

6:26

Celtics every year. Like before the season,

6:29

you play a team-wide softball game. It

6:31

like Boston at the same way. Yeah.

6:34

So you play there, whatever, but like

6:36

Isaiah can catch. He dropped every, dropped

6:38

every ball. He dropped like

6:40

four or five balls. At one point people were

6:42

like, bro, what the, like what the

6:44

hell? And then he couldn't hit for shit. And

6:47

then when he finally did catch a ball, the

6:49

whole field just started cheering. Like legit. And people

6:52

are like, no, buddy, they

6:54

gotta get bumpy to fuck up off the team. This

6:57

just kept hitting to him. But,

7:00

and then, and then, and then he

7:03

joined Spencer Hausen's team back in Seattle.

7:05

So he started doing like softball

7:08

like during the summertime and he's

7:10

historically bad. I'm talking about like

7:12

so bad. They were just like,

7:14

no, they're just like, no, this

7:17

time it wasn't a fluke. Like Spencer's

7:19

like, man, they motherfuckers suck. And like

7:21

legit, everybody loves him because he's Isaiah.

7:23

But he's like, bro, liability. He's

7:27

like liability. He couldn't even, I didn't understand

7:30

if it made no sense, but. Is

7:33

there anything you enjoy not doing well? This

7:36

question of the day. Oh, that's a

7:38

great question, bro. Is

7:40

there anything I enjoy not doing well? I

7:45

don't know if there's anything I enjoy not doing

7:47

well. Or do I

7:49

like, am I okay with not caring?

7:51

Like with the

7:53

expectations of people. I think at one point I

7:56

cared a lot. I think now at this age,

7:58

it's like. Blah,

8:00

you know what I'm saying? I don't think

8:02

there's anything like not doing well. I comprehend

8:04

like I don't do it well. I

8:07

don't do it enough to not do it well. You

8:09

feel I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to think of

8:12

because someone asked me, why don't you try this or

8:14

why don't you try that? And

8:16

my response would be I don't

8:18

have enough time to do what I like doing the most.

8:20

So if I got free time to do anything, I'm gonna

8:22

do it. I'm gonna do what I

8:24

like doing. That makes

8:27

sense. I

8:29

just saw something on Instagram earlier and it was

8:31

talking about the guy was like, it's

8:34

like rule to be great at something. You need

8:36

a hundred hours per year. So he's talking about

8:39

like, yo, do it 18 minutes per day. By

8:41

the end of the year, you're going to automatically be

8:44

like 95% better than most of the world or

8:48

whatever the hell it was. And I say, oh,

8:50

them numbers don't, I don't know if they sound right, but

8:52

I'm gonna try that shit. 18 minutes. It

8:54

sounds right to me. It

8:56

sounds decent. It's all discipline. Like most

8:59

people can't do something every single day

9:01

that is beneficial to them. Sounds

9:04

crazy. Yeah, nah, that makes it.

9:06

No, it sounds right nowadays.

9:11

And like it's funny Brad Stevens always preaches that. He's

9:13

like, bro, like all you got to do is just

9:15

fall in love with doing a mundane shit. So

9:18

a lot of people just don't want to do that. When

9:20

you fall in love with doing that, everything else is going to

9:22

be easy. It's like anybody can show up at 7pm and play

9:25

in front of 20,000 people. Like

9:28

that's the fun part. It's like the unfun

9:30

part is like going through shoot

9:32

around, going through walkthrough, going through all that goofy

9:34

stuff that solidifies 7pm

9:36

keeps coming. So I

9:39

felt that it sounds simple, bro, but sometimes you really

9:41

got to check back into what you were taught at

9:43

6 and 7. You know what I mean?

9:45

Yeah, we need to do a, I got

9:49

an idea. Somebody's probably gonna take it, but who cares? Get

9:52

the top critics for each sport and

9:55

put them through that sports

9:58

workout. The workout. of

10:00

that sport and see

10:02

how good they would be. No, I think it would be a good

10:04

show. No, I think it

10:06

would be a great show, man. You can't

10:10

take some people that serious, right? Anytime

10:12

somebody talk about some shit, they know

10:14

they suck that at age 11, bro.

10:16

You can't really pay attention to them

10:18

all. Bro, that shit looks crazy. I

10:20

can imagine like... Yeah, but that, we

10:22

understand that, which is why we

10:24

got to where we got to, right? But

10:27

the average human who

10:29

listens to the critic doesn't

10:32

understand that. And so this will put things

10:34

in this proper perspective. That's all I'm saying.

10:37

Yeah, I'll show you. That's

10:40

real. Now, you already know

10:42

what it is. Point forward is presented by

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where prohibited. See draftkings.com

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for details. Point

11:06

forward. This is Andre Iguodala. This is Evan

11:08

Turner. We're trying to get you the true

11:10

essence of not just basketball, but life. And

11:12

that means something, something, something, something.

11:15

It is like a finger pointing away to

11:17

the moon. Don't

11:20

concentrate on the finger or

11:22

you will miss all that

11:24

heavenly glory. That

11:27

level of understanding has

11:30

been taken out of the game. For

11:35

today's heard on stage segment, they're saying that

11:38

the Kansas City Chiefs are the next great

11:40

U.S. forced dynasty with three Super Bowl titles

11:42

in five years and the chance to be

11:44

a first team ever to three-peat. Andre,

11:47

even though your team took an L yesterday

11:49

and you barely saw it because why would

11:51

you watch your favorite team on the biggest

11:53

sports day of the year? I don't know.

11:56

But do you think with this

11:58

win, Pat Mahomes is like... is still, or does

12:00

he still have a long way to go? Like you

12:02

even heard Pat say the other day, like, I don't

12:05

know what it means

12:07

because Tom Brady really, you know, he beat

12:09

me in the Super Bowl, but I mean,

12:11

three Super Bowl wins in five years. It's

12:13

pretty impressive. That's becoming from you and you're

12:15

a dynasty, a member of a dynasty and

12:17

the last great US sports dynasty, which is

12:19

a pretty big deal. How do you feel

12:21

about that, man? Um,

12:25

in today's age

12:27

of sports, where

12:29

we hold ourselves or where others hold us, I

12:32

mean, you can't even enjoy it. And so I'm

12:34

hoping that Pat Mahomes is able to, uh, bask

12:38

in his greatness. Because I

12:40

mean, in two years, who knows? Like football, what

12:42

I learned was it's hard to be great in

12:44

football. Yeah. I

12:47

didn't realize that your whole roster can

12:49

change from year to

12:51

year. Like 40 to 60%, 35 to 65%

12:53

of a roster is changed every year on every single team. So

12:59

it's really, really hard to

13:01

win multiple times in such a short period

13:03

of time in football. So I give them

13:05

a lot of credit. Um,

13:07

Kelsey put on, like he made some

13:10

big plays in that game.

13:12

And then when Mahomes didn't overtime, like

13:14

they looked like they were, you know,

13:17

fourth and two or third and seven.

13:20

Like he was just, just making stuff happen.

13:22

And I'm like, Oh my God. And I,

13:25

I think in fantasy football and I think, you

13:28

know, having an affinity to one team that's playing is

13:30

hard for you to experience like greatness like that. Because

13:32

you're like, just stop them. Like, what are we doing?

13:35

When you take a step back and you

13:37

really digest what he was doing out there, especially

13:39

when he needed to, it was

13:41

just, it was amazing, man. He made the right play

13:43

every single time. Brock Purdy looked really good too. Yeah.

13:46

He stepped up too. Yeah. It was just,

13:48

you know, the team that's supposed

13:50

to win one because that's

13:53

just the way it goes. And so kudos. Go

13:55

ahead. But you got it, man. You got it for

13:58

one, they didn't know the overtime. that's what messed

14:01

him up for one. That

14:03

was, that was one dude to pull back, right?

14:05

Oh, well whoever for two, if you did know

14:07

the rules or whatnot, and you know, Pat Mahomes

14:09

body useful, you take it out. Pat Mahomes bro.

14:12

Pat already went to overtime thinking he's going to

14:14

go get eight. That's right. You know what I

14:16

mean? It's like, bro, y'all your ball first. Let's

14:18

see how I pause. Let's see how long it is. Yeah,

14:21

that's, I'm, I'm, I'm confused. He made

14:23

some big plays. He got, he

14:25

had a big first down, uh, late

14:28

game, we dove for it and, uh, there's

14:30

Brian wasn't too happy about that, uh,

14:32

with the new rule and, and the

14:34

four and also through the first touchdown shouldn't shouldn't

14:36

count it. They had like a man, they're only

14:38

going to man down field. Oh really? See,

14:40

I didn't see none of that. Yeah,

14:43

but, but I will

14:45

say, um, it

14:47

was, it was overall, I think it was a really good

14:49

game. Um, I missed the entire

14:52

halftime performance. So I've heard both sides of

14:54

the coin and I saw some,

14:56

uh, you know, the

14:58

clips of it. Her was amazing with the

15:00

guitar. Big fan of her, but her was

15:03

really good on the guitar. I did see

15:05

Jermaine Dupree's, uh, ensemble. I

15:08

won't call it a tux or suit. Uh,

15:10

did you see, did you see that? Yeah,

15:12

I did see that. I did see that. That was crazy.

15:15

And, uh, I mean, it's super bold,

15:17

man. He's doing this thing. I don't know what was

15:19

going on, bro. After I took you back like two

15:21

years ago with the little ass, he taught anything to

15:23

go. So how was

15:26

the halftime show? I

15:29

thought the halftime show was lit. I was

15:31

up in there dancing. I took my shirt

15:33

off and that's, and that was real. That

15:35

wasn't like me trying to be funny. That

15:37

was me. Like

15:39

really, it took over me and my shirt

15:41

was off. Like that's how busting

15:43

it was. And then,

15:45

um, bro, did

15:48

you see the means of our Alicia Keys?

15:51

Okay. I think you can bring that up. Thank you for bringing it up. Which

15:54

I'm telling that when they

15:57

talk about how she was singing. I'm not talking about

15:59

like that. Oh, he talked about he

16:01

was singing They

16:06

fixed it fixed it Hey,

16:12

I should hold her from behind and

16:14

whispering yo ass can

16:16

you see That

16:23

was the first word she said all day

16:26

it might have been you gotta save your voice

16:28

for your performances brah

16:32

For the Super Bowl bro. Go check that

16:34

out. Yeah, shit was so far. I Mean

16:38

we all have art You

16:41

can cut this already Did

16:43

you hear it? It sounded good. Yeah, I heard it. No,

16:45

I broke Wonder why I'm saying

16:47

some cuz I love the leash as a

16:49

kid I listen to leash a non-stop hope

16:51

for the fact of her like not being

16:53

the strongest voice was like then I Didn't

16:57

know that cuz you know me I

16:59

seen diary like a hundred million times

17:01

my jig well well a diary the

17:05

feature Like I'm

17:07

gonna show yeah, you kind of

17:09

stole the show but and then this isn't the first time Don't

17:12

do that. Don't do that, but Bro,

17:15

are you serious the lyrics of diary

17:18

was crazy? No, I'm saying his vocal

17:20

performance Like

17:22

he had a way for a minute just off that one song This

17:26

is black over you going too much everybody

17:28

likes that extra part. Oh Joe

17:34

Montana Tom Brady the only three-time MVP

17:36

ease of the Super Bowl and now

17:40

My homes Was there anybody else

17:43

who could have been in the race for

17:45

MVP of the game? I feel like he

17:47

stole it in overtime Yeah, I

17:49

mean who else would have got it. I don't

17:52

I mean the defense was crazy on this

17:54

That's what I'm saying. Like if anybody I feel

17:56

like the defense. I probably both as much as

17:58

both those doing yesterday I thought both of should have

18:01

got both of us getting held the whole game But

18:04

he was doing work, right? Yeah, and I'm saying like

18:06

the last the touchdown the last one He do wrapped

18:08

his whole arm around his neck. I had him in

18:10

the UFC chokehold. I Got

18:12

the table of it, but a play where me and

18:15

that long pause the play Literally,

18:18

I could be a hike All you

18:20

do is watch it because he came at two people and then

18:22

they had him and then he spun off and he had him

18:24

Maybe that wouldn't play but it was a couple plays that I

18:26

think I'm Looking

18:29

grand. Go ahead when you go

18:31

to Pat my homes, bro You plan on

18:33

scoring seven or eight dog. Don't do that three-point

18:35

bullshit, bro You deserve to win after you did

18:37

that bro. Yeah, they've seen what you want to

18:40

do Come

18:42

on bro. The P a t the P a t Got

18:46

us that's what that was that's

18:48

what got us. It's always a small thing So we

18:50

know it's like a fumble recovery or the punt and

18:52

hit all the teammates foot. They recover scored an X

18:54

play or The P

18:57

a t we missed after a touchdown where he

18:59

kicked it too low They blocked it just

19:01

small things like that. And then that's when you know, the

19:03

tires don't turn I had a great conversation with your guy.

19:05

I got to meet you guy. I've been wanting to tell

19:07

you this who's my guy I got to

19:10

sit next to two people. I

19:12

admire Joe burrow and The

19:15

other one's a tech guy not too many people know about

19:18

him They didn't even know he was sitting next to Beyonce

19:20

at this Super Bowl. His name is Jack

19:23

Dorsey, but I

19:26

got a chance to sit next to our Converse

19:29

with Joe

19:31

burrow super cool dude super cool dude, and I

19:33

mentioned that there's only one person other

19:36

than Tom Brady that can beat Patrick

19:38

Mahomes and that was him and He

19:41

was like man, you just got people

19:43

play against The Kansas

19:45

City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes and they just like

19:48

fear just comes out of nowhere Like, you know

19:50

and I said look it was the same with

19:52

LeBron like when the Browns on the court was

19:54

certain like Anybody besides I think the Warriors like

19:56

for some reason they just couldn't get over the

19:58

hump and And I feel

20:00

like that was the same thing with Patrick Mahomes,

20:02

but he was speaking to like, yeah, because you

20:05

just, what are you afraid of? Just go right at him. But

20:08

he just keep proving this wrong. Three times Super

20:10

Bowl MVP. He's still young. I

20:15

think it's too early and I don't think we should speak

20:17

on where he is in history.

20:19

We just got to let it play out. Like, let

20:21

him keep doing this thing instead of comparing him so

20:23

often. An

20:26

epic matchup between your two favorite teams,

20:28

and you're at the game getting the most

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from what it means to be here with

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American Express. You breeze through the card member

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entrance, stop by the lounge, now

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it's almost tip-off, and everyone's already

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20:43

is gonna be good. That's

20:45

the powerful backing of American Express. See

20:47

how to elevate your live sports experience

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at americanexpress.com/with Amex. Eligible American Express card

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required. Benefits vary by card and by

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venue. Terms apply. Hey

20:57

there, it's Matt in Orlando with the CBS Sports

20:59

Eye on College Basketball podcast. And yes, we are

21:02

in the thick of the college hoop season.

21:04

Our pod runs at least three times a week

21:06

and covers everything you need to know from the

21:08

power conference team to the mid majors, the

21:11

scoops, the stories, game predictions, previews, huge

21:13

recaps, everything we cover at all to

21:15

find us search Eye on College Basketball

21:18

podcast wherever you get your pods. Point

21:22

forward. Now,

21:26

another big sports spectacle we're looking forward

21:28

to is the NBA All-Star weekend. This

21:30

weekend Indianapolis as a former guest

21:33

on the show, Jalen Brown,

21:35

who I was surprised and

21:38

I was thrilled to see will be entering

21:40

his first All-Star

21:42

game dunk contest. And he is the first All-Star

21:44

to be in the contest since Victor Aylo Depot

21:46

in 2018. I think

21:48

he was Wakanda man

21:51

and one of his dunks. Oh, he came

21:53

out thinking in the other dunk contest. Oh yeah,

21:55

he was in two dunk contest, you're right. New

21:57

York. He came out from New York. Yeah,

22:00

that was I. Oh, that was I. Yeah, I thought

22:02

I was there too. She was smiling off it. That

22:04

was I. Amazing

22:07

how we rate our

22:09

performance based on certain

22:12

reactions. But oh,

22:14

this is a real question for you. Should more

22:16

stars enter the dunk contest? Is that

22:18

what we're missing from that particular event

22:21

over all-star game? And why don't

22:23

we feed anymore? I

22:27

think, Sugg, that you think is a treat for the fans. Even

22:29

when I was in high school and stuff, I

22:32

went to see the Dusty Rose used to do. I

22:34

used to be like, damn, I can't wait till he enters

22:37

the dunk contest. I think that would have

22:39

been a treat just for not only

22:41

the hoop fans, but for the other athletes. I

22:43

think the same thing with LeBron. I just think

22:45

there's certain people

22:48

that you definitely want to see jump.

22:50

Obviously, it's not a big name. But if

22:52

you're going to put Matt McClung in there,

22:54

I would have loved to see DJ Steven.

22:56

He was like a 6'5' wing, like a

22:58

48-inch vert. If you guys see the

23:00

chance, look up DJ Steven's, his

23:02

bounce. I think that would have been crazy too.

23:04

But I feel like if a

23:06

star started a weekend and people do want to

23:09

see stars compete, I think everything, when

23:11

you break it down, if a star does it, it's 10

23:13

times better. Even when you look

23:15

at the year, I think Anthony Simons won the dunk

23:17

contest. That dunk contest with Cassie Stanley,

23:19

that dunk contest is still good. It was. For

23:22

people that appreciate shit. You know what I mean?

23:24

They're just like, this is no contest. Who the

23:26

hell was that? Anthony

23:29

Simons is the top 20 scorer right now. I

23:32

think for the sake of just the fan base and

23:34

what you want to see, you got to

23:36

give a gimmick. Because I think

23:39

that's the loudest voice that comes away from

23:41

the product. When you talk about the

23:43

product every year, even when you're talking to Tatum, we got

23:46

to have a good all-star game. No matter

23:48

if it's good, bad, or indifferent, how

23:50

the fans respond to it is the customer

23:52

is always right in that situation. I

23:55

think you're right. That's a great point, actually. That's

23:57

a great point. Back

24:01

in the day, we would see our superstars

24:03

in multiple dunk contests, not just one. And

24:07

I know you speak to, you

24:10

know, spoke about D-Rose. He would have been great to

24:12

see. So some

24:15

guys, I'm looking forward to see,

24:17

hopefully they'll enter the dunk contest. But another piece, I

24:19

didn't want to forget this caveat. When

24:21

you try to, I'm not going to

24:23

say make it like throw some gimmick in it. But

24:27

you know, you want to have solidified NBA players

24:29

and that's no knock on anyone. But

24:31

if you're going to open up the floodgates, you got to open

24:33

up the floodgates. And I think

24:35

that's why you have some guys who are

24:37

reluctant to get into it. But

24:39

that's something we got to bring back, man. There's so much money and

24:42

there's so much value in an all-star game as

24:44

an event pillar for the NBA. We do have

24:46

to get back to that. So I'm happy JB

24:48

is going to do it. Yeah, but you got

24:50

also too, like you missed out on it, trying

24:52

to push the Nate Robinson narrative when you want

24:54

him to win three in a row. He

24:57

lost, DeMar DeRozan lost twice off two of

24:59

the best jumps anybody ever seen. You understand

25:01

what I'm saying? It's like, yo, also don't

25:03

waste our time either. True. They

25:06

already don't want to be doing this shit and you show up and

25:08

it might be like, hey, yo,

25:10

there's going to be a, the White House

25:12

is going to show up at seven footer and dunk but not

25:14

really dunk. And just throw it in

25:16

the rim. Like, you understand what I'm saying? I

25:19

think when it comes down to it, like it's also

25:21

got to be made at work the wild. Like one

25:23

year a D way help

25:25

assist, you know what I mean?

25:27

Oh yeah. Buddy won a chance

25:29

at the dunk contest. DJ. Derick

25:31

Jones Jr. Derick Jones Jr. And it's

25:34

like, yo, Aaron Gordon was one of

25:37

the best dunkers ever, bro. Yeah.

25:39

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

25:43

Yeah. Okay. So

25:45

who is our dream

25:47

dunk contest for 2025? And

25:52

as 2025 is the Bay and then LA

25:54

is the year after that, right? Yeah,

25:57

I wouldn't be mad. Yeah, I wouldn't

25:59

be mad. about this. I

26:01

still want to see Brad. No, not

26:04

Brian at 40. What you mean? Brad

26:06

just dumped the whole world. What

26:08

you mean? He's still jumping off the band

26:10

though. Anyway, I agree. I mean, he deserves

26:13

to show up on Sunday. That's

26:15

what I'm saying. Everybody else come on Friday. All

26:17

right. I'll say this because I know him.

26:19

I think Anthony Simons is a very good

26:21

dunker still. I would love to see an

26:23

Anthony Simon's been done contest. Okay. I

26:26

would love to see Zach

26:29

Levine again. I'm injuries

26:31

catching up to him. I guess

26:33

I'm talking about in a perfect way. Anytime you windmill

26:35

him from the free throw line, you

26:37

got a 90% chance. You're saying these superstars,

26:39

I got some names for you. Some

26:42

superstar. Who would be

26:44

Paul George? I guess. He was

26:47

in it before. Yeah, but I

26:49

don't like long athletes dunking. You know what I

26:51

mean? Like Paul, like it looked too easy because

26:53

like Rudy Gay. Rudy Gay had a good dunk

26:55

contest. His look too easy. Yeah. Just look like

26:57

he wasn't even like, let me

26:59

see who else should John

27:01

Moran. Oh, easy. Oh yes.

27:04

Oh yes. Oh yes. John Moran. John

27:06

got to get a dunk contest. I

27:08

got to get a dunk contest. Yeah. Oh,

27:10

swipe a

27:13

Fox will be a good one. It

27:15

would be dope. You

27:17

forgetting two people. You forgetting one person. Who's

27:21

a hot fire name him? Who is

27:23

it? Anthony Edwards. You

27:25

want to see Edwards? I don't know how great

27:27

of a, I don't know. He said it himself.

27:29

He's like, I'm an in-game dunker. When do say

27:31

that I believe it. So sometimes I'm like, if a

27:34

dude is saying that cause he would do it, he's

27:36

like, bro, I'm just an in-game dunker. I can't believe

27:38

he talked like that. That's my only thing. He said

27:40

it three times. So I got you. I got you.

27:43

But you got to do it anyway. Cause Dominique Wilkins

27:45

was an in-game dunker. Yeah, that's I

27:48

mean, and Jordan and he stole it from him in 84.

27:51

They did do that. That's right. And we

27:54

got one more. He got making them do it.

27:56

You got to do it. I'm

28:00

a mister would be good. He was in that contest before

28:02

he won one. He wanted his rookie year

28:04

back At

28:06

2017. Okay, he would be a good one.

28:08

I got a kid that would be really good. Oh Jalen

28:13

green So

28:18

he just dumped his shit out of buddy the

28:20

other day left hand the divine a

28:23

Murray oh my god Right

28:31

a stand-up and do it and why are you

28:33

it was a spin like he spun off of

28:35

them and then took off backwards

28:38

Backwards feet with the land. Oh

28:40

my goodness. Oh my goodness I

28:43

had a triple double that night, too. Mm-hmm That

28:46

was first triple double. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah

28:48

guys you got six guys You

28:53

got John John Ja

28:58

Jalen Brown Jalen green Donovan

29:02

Mitchell Anthony Simons

29:05

Anthony Edwards. Yeah, and

29:08

I know I'm for we forgetting somebody. I Don't

29:11

know who jumpin like OB topping need to come back

29:13

to I had a good contest He's

29:16

a have a go OB topping will be good That

29:20

is I think that's it bro. Oh JK

29:22

guy getting dunk on

29:25

tests John the Camino Camino. Yeah, he's

29:28

an in-game dunker He in game dunker, but he

29:30

tweet 20 years old go figure out how to

29:32

do some crazy dunks That's

29:34

real and he's a soccer guy He can figure out a bounce

29:37

the ball off his head and go dunk it or do something.

29:39

That'd be a good duck That's real. I'm

29:41

gonna that dunk contest winner odds

29:43

for our draft Kings odds of

29:45

the week Matt McClung

29:47

is the favorite followed by Jalen

29:49

Brown Jacob topping which is OB

29:52

toppings brother Jaime

29:54

hot kids Junior is

29:57

the least favorite at plus 500, but I

30:00

didn't know he had bounced like that. I've been

30:02

seeing him with some dope, dope, dope, dope dunks

30:04

this year. He caught a couple of lobs. He'd

30:06

been finishing over a few people. So

30:10

the contest is, it'll be

30:12

interesting this year, but in San Fran and

30:14

LA, that's my

30:16

duty to get the dunk contest back jumping

30:18

for the next two years. Hopefully JB wins it

30:21

so he can come back and defend it. Get

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Sportsbook with code LAF. forward. For this

30:51

week's S that's a bar, Lakers

30:53

GM Rob Velinka, also Andre's old

30:55

agent, weighs in on their approach to

30:57

the trade deadline. We're not fearful

30:59

of using future assets for now. It's just got

31:01

to be using future assets for now in the

31:03

right way, in the right deal. So

31:07

Dre, considering that when you break

31:09

it down and you say like,

31:11

we're not, obviously there wasn't much

31:13

on the trademark if you think about it, but when

31:15

you look at it in that term, is

31:18

that kind of saying like, well, should we might not just

31:20

win this year and might be next year we have to

31:22

hold off and win next year and see what we got

31:24

with this team? Correct. Is

31:27

that like the smartest way of doing it without

31:29

forcing your hand in that sense? Because obviously there's

31:31

a couple of people who are trying to make

31:33

trades for it. It didn't really move the needle.

31:35

It made no sense. Like Murray from- Atlanta?

31:39

Yeah, from Atlanta. I didn't really see that happening

31:41

after they making a big jump for them. I

31:46

mean, Rob

31:48

is very strategic. I

31:51

think they've always positioned

31:54

themselves to be better going

31:57

forward at the right time, by timing

31:59

it up. is everything. So if

32:02

it's not the right move right now and

32:06

you look back in December

32:08

of next season and you say that was a

32:11

bad trade, it was rushed to try to win

32:13

it last year and we didn't win it last

32:15

year, which is right now, then you know

32:17

you're gonna be pissed. And so if no one really

32:19

puts you in a position to really go after a title,

32:23

then you kind of like sitting in that

32:25

middle tier. You know I think they're ninth

32:27

in the West right now, eighth, ninth, and

32:29

so they're sitting right there and anything can

32:31

happen in the West, but I

32:34

think you have a lot of possibilities

32:38

this summer. And

32:41

I mean a lot of possibilities this summer

32:44

in terms of you know extensions, free

32:46

agents. You never know what teams might

32:49

just decide like it's over or we need

32:51

to do you know a revamp.

32:53

I think I heard something funny

32:55

on ESPN. Somebody

32:58

said Chicago's rebuilding but they just don't know

33:02

it. So you always have a couple teams that

33:05

fall in that bucket like a rebuilding team. The

33:08

team just doesn't know they're rebuilding and

33:10

so you can you can make some moves. I

33:12

know you know Demar's name has always been thrown

33:15

in connection to the Lakers. You know

33:17

it's quieted down but I

33:21

think you

33:25

got to look at salary caps as well. Could

33:28

LeBron leave if you don't make a move? Like

33:31

realistically you think about that

33:34

at the same time. I mean who has

33:36

cap space? You know you got two tiers

33:38

now. The apron, first apron,

33:40

second apron. This is the first time well

33:43

being a free agency under the new CBA

33:45

rules in terms of the salary cap and

33:47

the aprons. So it's going

33:49

to you know really determine how

33:52

this new system is going to work going forward

33:54

and how you know teams are looking at being

33:56

strategic around it. So you

33:59

know Rob's always the person who's trying to

34:01

think short and long term at the same time,

34:03

which is pretty tall task

34:05

in itself. So, I

34:09

guess we'll see. Do the Lakers have a real shot right now

34:11

in your mind? I think

34:13

with Brian, you always have a

34:16

chance, especially considering when you do

34:18

that one game situations, obviously. I

34:21

don't know, the way that the Denver

34:23

Nuggets are really playing at this high level, they're

34:25

definitely like the team to beat especially coming out

34:27

of West and my opinion or even the Clippers,

34:29

man, that's a tough team to see four

34:32

times. I just know for sure. You

34:34

always gotta give Brian a chance in a four

34:36

game series. And I think that's probably what Rob

34:38

is really doing too, of being like, does this

34:40

really move the needle or can Brian and Aidy

34:42

really get to certain series get one with the

34:45

help of these new trays or not, you know

34:47

what I mean? And I think then we can

34:49

help a little bit, but other than that, I

34:52

don't really see them getting switched out.

34:55

If I'm with the Lakers, I'm

34:57

trying to make a big move that will

34:59

give me someone who can

35:01

kind of take the

35:05

torch from LeBron in

35:08

his last year or two. So pairing him

35:10

up with a superstar that can kind of carry the

35:12

torch. So

35:14

I'm thinking of how I can maneuver that

35:16

this summer. Like that's the big thing to

35:18

me. Yeah, I just wonder who is

35:21

that? Yeah, I have no

35:23

idea. I know, what are you gonna package them

35:25

up? You're gonna package them Aidy and three of

35:27

them? No, I

35:29

mean, yeah, you have three guys and you

35:31

look for Aidy. I'm just saying they got three first

35:34

round picks this summer, don't they? Yeah,

35:36

yeah, you packaged them up. I mean- Or

35:39

future first round picks. If the Celtics

35:41

don't win, if the Celtics don't win

35:43

it this year, like when do they

35:45

say, hey,

35:48

this always grumblings about that

35:50

duo? I'm just

35:53

gonna state it because I'm fans of both of the guys. Both

35:55

of them are my guys, but you just keep hearing it at

35:58

some point. Like they gotta win it this year. Like when- when

36:00

is their clock starting to tick? You

36:03

know, similar to OKC? With

36:06

KD and Rumblin? No,

36:08

you're absolutely right, man. But sometimes those Rumblin's

36:12

are what people think. And it should have

36:14

happened. And then what you know, bro,

36:16

right now. It's like

36:18

when Jamal Murray don't get his credit, it's

36:20

one of the top guards. It's just people

36:22

just forgetting. The Nuggets is not no easy

36:24

go. And then when you have to go

36:26

play them in Denver, in

36:28

that altitude, G is even more of a cheat

36:30

code. And Yogas is, I think it's

36:33

P-E-R. He just passed MJ for

36:35

the best P-E-R of all time. You

36:38

know what I mean? I didn't

36:40

know that. Yeah, so this is stuff they're not telling

36:42

you. So when it's coming down to it, it's like

36:44

what you want to do, shoot yourself in the foot.

36:48

What I trade Jalen Brown for, for a Booker?

36:50

I'm going to go get another one. I'm not going to

36:52

go get a lesser. I'm going to go get the exact

36:55

same thing to see who we went in with. One

36:57

thing they be forgetting about

36:59

is, bro, Jimmy, staff, KD,

37:02

and all them, they're doing it for that long

37:04

pause. Even when you look at when

37:07

KD is done and say if Book and Bill are

37:09

still playing together, what would Tatum and

37:12

Brown do to Book and Bill in the head up?

37:14

Punish him. So that's what I'm

37:16

saying. So it's like, man, are they busy? Are they

37:19

trying to take the lead? Or are they just stuck

37:21

in current? You know what I mean? And being like,

37:23

all right, bro, this shit going muddy

37:25

up. But we going to get two or three. Don't

37:28

sweep on the nuggets, man. The nuggets is everything

37:30

and more. And my long coaching his ass off

37:32

and yokish and bro Jamal Murray is a one

37:35

B. He's not a one A. He's giving a

37:37

lot. And every

37:39

time somebody walk in, he give them 30

37:41

something along with Buddy. He do that. And

37:44

when Bruce Brown come back next year, they going to

37:46

have to trap right back jumping.

37:50

Not to say, but it's a dream. No, you're right. No,

37:52

he had a crack. They talking about, what's up with the

37:54

duo? It's like, no, bro. You go

37:56

put a weight vest on to go play three games

37:58

in Denver. First, verse that

38:00

offense, bro. That shit is a cheat code.

38:03

Point forward. We're now deep

38:05

into the month of February, which means we've

38:08

all been actively celebrating Black

38:10

History Month with the

38:12

exception of myself, which is every day. It

38:15

is one of my favorite times of the year

38:17

because we are celebrating Black excellence and highlighting the

38:19

journey of our people all month long. Knowing

38:22

your history and where you come from is very important

38:24

to me. Now let's take a look back on

38:27

some great highlights from some of

38:30

our pioneers.

38:33

Earl Loy, which is the name most of us

38:35

know, first Black player to play in

38:38

the NBA, which was Halloween 1950 for the Syracuse

38:43

Nationals. He went on to play over 500

38:45

games and won an NBA title in the

38:47

year the

38:49

54-55 season. Don

38:51

Barksdale, which brings up

38:54

memories of the wire. In

38:56

1953, as a member of the Boston Celtics, he

38:59

became the first African-American to be named to the

39:01

All-Star team. Also, he became

39:03

the first African-American to make the

39:05

USA Olympic team and capture gold.

39:08

Wayne Embry, very, very

39:10

familiar name. He was the original.

39:15

After I give you this take, E.T.,

39:17

I want you to give me who's

39:19

the version of him today. Wayne Embry,

39:21

the first Black GM in league history

39:23

toward Milwaukee Bucks. He was

39:25

nicknamed the Wall for his draft

39:27

picks. During his tenure, he drafted

39:29

Dr. J, Alex English,

39:31

Marcus Johnson and Sidney Montreep.

39:34

That is so crazy. That

39:36

is OD. We

39:39

should know more about him because that's OD.

39:42

Oh my God. If he

39:44

did that today, he would went to a

39:46

new team and got ownership. Yep.

39:49

All the love that Bob Myers

39:51

gets. And you would

39:53

have got that, bro. That's crazy, bro. That

39:55

sounds like you saying it. Who that sounds like? Bob

39:57

Myers, right? They on Bob Myers' ass right now, though.

40:00

for what he said last week. He

40:02

said, well, he

40:04

didn't say anything technically wrong. He said Kevin

40:06

Durant was the best player in two finals

40:08

that featured LeBron

40:10

James and Steph Curry. So

40:15

I think the people in the Bay just don't like

40:18

any credit being taken away from Steph and

40:20

what Steph was able to do. I don't

40:22

know, Geez, like Katie, Katie's

40:24

just not supposed to be part of that conversation.

40:27

Damn, like do you understand what I'm saying? It's

40:29

gonna be like, this is a one-on-one conversation and

40:31

now Katie joining. So yeah, he's the best. It's

40:33

like, I guess, bro, like who bro

40:35

I'm supposed to worry about Kevin or Steph? Like,

40:38

you know what I mean? Man, we was worried

40:40

about Kyrie, nightmares. No,

40:43

I feel you bro. But I'm just saying,

40:45

bro, like it's so much like stress removed

40:47

when Katie joined y'all, bro. Pressure is a

40:49

real thing. That's like when you go from

40:51

college and you shoot in the one-on-ones, they're

40:53

going to like automatically shoot on like the double

40:56

bonus. It's like, bro, that pressure is a... That

40:59

pressure is a real thing and it's a reason why you

41:01

never were able to do it again. Like you understand, fam?

41:03

But we're going to look back on history. Same

41:05

way we looking back right now on Wayne Embry and

41:07

how great he was in 30, 40

41:10

years, you

41:12

and I are going to be talking about, if we still

41:14

here, we will be talking about... I'm gonna go to report.

41:16

How good Kyrie is historically. Like

41:18

I don't know if there are

41:21

too many basketball players

41:23

better than Kyrie Urban. And

41:25

for some reason, we always go

41:27

through our decades

41:29

or centuries or we go through our time zones where

41:31

we just don't want to give certain people credit. That's

41:35

life, man. It's life, but

41:38

all right. Act like

41:41

Kyrie was Kyrie. Also,

41:43

Violet Palmer, first

41:45

black female referee. Violet was super cool

41:47

too. Like, he'd

41:49

actually have a conversation with her, which we cannot

41:52

do anymore. That binds her up, texts

41:54

her up. Bill Russell, first

41:56

black MVP award winner. He

41:58

averaged 16 in 20. 22

42:02

question are we allowed to be critical of

42:05

our pioneers and the shortcomings of their

42:07

game because we do it to the young fellows,

42:09

but can we do it to the Why

42:12

not? Okay. I watched a

42:14

documentary on Bill Russell and I Wouldn't

42:17

say he was a Skilled

42:22

Basketball player in a sense of how

42:25

we define skilled basketball players, but he

42:27

was the ultimate winner by the greatest

42:30

winner of all time above Tom Brady

42:32

and probably very

42:34

high IQ and Human

42:38

being and so Critical

42:42

Yeah, you want to reason the player coaches. Wow.

42:44

So he was the first blackhead coach Actually,

42:47

I didn't know that he was the first blackhead coach.

42:49

Wow He took over the role as a player coach

42:51

after red are back retired and he was a flourish

42:54

blackhead coach to win NBA title Like you said he

42:56

went to as a player So it's

42:58

interesting for Boston to be the Boston we

43:00

know That's where the first black

43:02

a lot of things happen as

43:05

I'm looking back and I'm seeing the But

43:07

I think they knew the only way we can win is to bring

43:10

them in This

43:12

is true and so I Wanted

43:16

to actually this question. I've been thinking about this since last night How

43:20

does one become player

43:22

coach and how many minutes

43:24

is Evan Turner playing? as

43:26

the player coach myself a

43:29

smooth 35 How

43:32

many shot attempts you get said

43:35

35 delicious a slow 35

43:38

36 minutes over four quarters is nine

43:40

minutes per quarter five Give

43:43

me about 20 20 21 Yeah,

43:46

I give out 21 21 shots five shots a quarter.

43:49

Just so you know, I'm up in the building. How

43:51

about you? What you doing? You

43:56

playing the whole 48 who team them all

43:58

I don't know I

44:00

thought when people play 43 minutes, you might as

44:02

well play the whole 48. I never got when

44:04

people be like, you know, I'm average

44:06

42 a game. Like, bro, you might as well stay out

44:08

there and rest. No, you need a

44:10

minute. I remember average 40 minutes a couple of times, but

44:13

I never, looking back, I

44:16

never really thought like I need a break or

44:18

I never really thought I'm in for a long

44:20

time. I don't,

44:23

I'm thinking back like, when did I get my breaks?

44:25

But then now, you know,

44:28

as I got older, I was like, man, put me in when it matters.

44:30

Don't waste my time. Don't

44:33

waste my time. Just put me in. Like, let me get a

44:35

rhythm. And then put me in when it matters. So when it

44:37

get real, I like who I go in. But don't be subbing

44:39

me out after I miss a shot. Like, I

44:41

can't take that. You sub me out after I miss a

44:43

shot, I'm liable to keep running to the locker room. I

44:46

catch all tomorrow at practice. Man,

44:48

that's the case, man. We like, what? So

44:50

when we start saying that, you know what I mean? Like,

44:52

that's just crazy. And then you sit there, you watch one

44:54

nigga shoot 48 feet out. And you'll be

44:57

like, damn G, so this is better than my

44:59

mismatch host up. Right?

45:02

Yeah, he be like, I don't need whatever, G. Rock

45:04

out. You're

45:07

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americanexpress.com/with Amex. Terms apply. Point

45:39

forward. We were fortunate enough to sit down

45:41

with King Griffey Jr. to talk about his

45:43

life and incredible rise to greatness. Obviously,

45:46

we spoke earlier about

45:50

me being a switch hitter on the

45:52

baseball field and

45:54

E.T.'s confidence

45:57

in the sport as well, similar to... to

46:00

his confidence on the Connect

46:02

4 grid. Okay,

46:04

so look, so I already

46:06

bet. The kid I used to

46:09

play with paused. He's a current beat writer for the

46:11

white side. This is fact. So

46:13

kid you not, damn,

46:16

my man is John Stankovitz. That's

46:18

his name, John Stankovitz. So

46:21

I'ma go on

46:23

Twitter, I'ma hit him up, I'm like, bro, can you just

46:25

please tell your dad, I

46:28

bet like six something. That's

46:30

why I didn't want to tell you. It sounded

46:33

like a lie. That's why I didn't

46:35

want to tell you. I'm not gonna say it like

46:37

a lie. Was it T-ball? No, bro, I

46:39

was 12 and I was playing in the white areas

46:41

too. So you know them boys was playing baseball. They

46:44

could play some ball. Yeah, that's why they could

46:46

play some ball. And I was out there playing some

46:48

balls, in between. We went

46:50

15 and 0 and I blew out in the playoffs. All

46:53

right, I'm done. That's usually

46:55

how I went. Maybe

46:58

get out of it. We

47:02

are here with someone

47:05

who made me like really dream as a kid.

47:07

Like it's kind of strange. It's only a handful

47:09

of the guys who I idolized.

47:14

I feel like he should have some shares

47:17

in Disney who owns ESPN. Because

47:22

he was the reason why I watched SportsCenter in

47:24

the summertime. Over

47:27

and over and over. Everybody

47:29

welcome Ken Griffey

47:31

Jr. Hey,

47:34

what's going on guys? What's

47:36

up, what's going on with you? How you been? What's

47:38

been new ever since you know, you stopped hitting home

47:40

runs. I heard you picked up the camera. You're doing

47:42

a hell of a job with a photograph.

47:46

Oh no, I've been, I've had a camera in

47:48

my hands for a while.

47:51

It's just that nobody gets to see me. You know, when

47:54

you retire, you can sort of blend in and

47:56

do things. I mean, I picked up

47:59

a camera I wanted to be able to watch

48:01

my kids play. And that was

48:03

a way of me sitting there, focusing on them and

48:05

seeing what they were doing right and wrong. Not

48:08

so much documenting it, but just being

48:10

able to be a dad, which

48:13

is sometimes tough when you're in the spotlight. We

48:16

were talking about that earlier. I hang out

48:18

with Andre. We can't do anything without people

48:20

going crazy. But you're arguably

48:22

one of the greatest baseball players of

48:24

all time. And a lot of people,

48:26

childhood heroes, in regards to the

48:28

tone you set and just the overall swagger,

48:30

I mean, your junior. What

48:32

was that like growing up? And sometimes when you

48:35

walked away from the game, was that

48:37

little things just showing up to normal events and

48:40

everything? Is that kind of therapeutic or getting out

48:42

the spotlight? Was that something you always was just

48:44

like, I can't wait till this is done and

48:46

I can just go be a fan? It

48:49

comes with the territory. There's

48:51

certain times where I just need to be

48:53

dad. And I think people have to respect

48:55

that. But for

48:57

the most part, you understand when you leave

48:59

your house, it is what it is. But

49:03

with the kids and things like that, whether

49:06

it's like dad's donut day or father-daughter,

49:09

things like

49:11

that, my daughter was the one

49:13

who was like, why are they bothering you? You're with me.

49:15

And she's like five at the

49:17

time. I got a

49:20

six-year-old and she told my mother.

49:23

We were in the car. I'd been there. We were in the

49:25

car riding home from school. And my phone

49:27

kept ringing. And it

49:29

was my mom was the last call. And she

49:31

was like, well, y'all stopped disrupting us. Daddy's

49:34

with me. We'll call you back. Bye. I'm

49:36

like, girl, you can't talk like that to

49:38

grandma. And it's funny because grandparents are totally

49:41

different than the parents we grew up with.

49:43

My mom used to whoop our behinds. But

49:45

now my six-year-old can

49:47

just get away with telling her to get off the

49:49

phone. Oh, yeah. I

49:52

remind my dad all the time. He

49:54

is not the same man that raised me. Maybe

49:57

he starts laughing because one day, Travers

50:00

probably oh Nine

50:04

and he was him my dad were riding and my

50:06

mom was in the car and my dad

50:09

said something He was like he turned around looking my dad said hey,

50:11

you're not gonna treat me like you treated my dad My

50:14

mom starts laughing my dad was looking here

50:16

like I was like It

50:19

ain't gonna look it ain't gonna end well for you, but

50:22

they can do certain certain things I

50:24

mean Travers three he drew on my

50:26

mom's couch Yeah, a white

50:28

she had a white couch that she got in 1978 from

50:31

Japan Mmm,

50:33

and he took a blue Sharpie and

50:35

drew all over it and All

50:39

I could say is I looked at my mom and look to Trey

50:42

I said I'm gonna take this butt

50:44

whooping this one time for you And

50:47

she was like he's such a little percasso and I'm

50:49

over there like oh, I just saw my desk He's

50:53

a percasso So

50:56

we all have something in common raw parents

50:58

and clearly, you know, Dre has a son

51:00

that's playing sports You've had two kids go

51:02

to University of Arizona Dre's

51:04

alma mater when it comes down to just

51:06

being a parent and you know overall support

51:08

system What was it like, you know? How

51:11

involved were you in their sports

51:13

or were you just showing up to the stands of

51:15

the fan and just not trying to put Any type of pressure

51:17

on them? No, I don't put

51:19

any pressure on my kids as far as What

51:23

they do And what I mean by

51:25

that their overall effort is what I

51:27

care about Because you give me an effort

51:30

on the field. You're gonna give me an effort off the field. You

51:32

know, give me an effort in life You

51:35

can see how kids are

51:37

when they're up by 20 if

51:39

they showboating and things like that Or if they're

51:41

down by 20 and they still grind it. That's

51:44

the kid that I want that still want to go out there

51:46

and battle You know

51:48

the guys who up by 20 showboating all

51:50

the time, you know It

51:53

depends on the circumstances when you do it. But

51:56

for the most part I want that kid That's

51:58

gonna be there all the time. But You

52:00

know, I try to allow

52:04

the coaches to

52:07

coach, but also

52:09

have to be dad. You

52:11

know, and I know the pitfalls of

52:13

being a father,

52:16

now a father, and I was the

52:18

son of a professional athlete. So

52:20

I see all the little, you know, sly

52:22

comments that these coaches make when they don't want

52:25

to coach a child because let's

52:27

say some of these guys, their careers didn't go so

52:29

well and they can't take it out on

52:31

me and they can't take it out on you guys, but

52:33

they can take it out on a kid that all

52:36

he wants to do is go out there and play. And

52:38

that's so sad that our society is like that, that they're

52:41

going to take it out on someone

52:43

who just wants to go out

52:45

there and prove that he belongs here. And

52:49

you know, I've seen it over

52:51

and over and over again to

52:53

my kids, to other kids. You

52:57

know, I tell people all the time. You

52:59

know, Trey Tarrant and Kevin, it's not a feel

53:01

good story if they do something, but

53:04

it's a feel good story if, you know,

53:06

this kid is, you know, his

53:08

dad is in jail, his mom is this and

53:10

he, you know, but I can't shoot

53:12

a jump shot for my kids. I can't run a route

53:15

for my kid. I can't catch a fly ball for my kid.

53:18

So all I want them is to be

53:20

out there and be known

53:23

as one of

53:25

them be known for them, not for me,

53:28

but it's sometimes difficult that, you know,

53:31

they can compare, you

53:33

know, me to

53:35

them. Well, name

53:37

me 15 baseball players that you can compare me

53:40

to, you know, that,

53:42

you know, so why are you going to matter? You

53:44

know, because we have the same last name, you

53:47

know, it's tough. I mean, you look at, you

53:49

know, Michael Jordan's

53:51

kids getting compared to

53:53

Michael, you know, I look at Bo

53:55

Outlaw son, you know, I

53:57

look at all these kids who. who

54:00

just want to be kids and

54:02

go out there and play the

54:04

game and be compared to them.

54:06

I mean, media, they

54:08

don't like being compared. I

54:11

remember when, oh,

54:13

who was it? Bobby

54:16

Knight went after

54:18

Jeremy Shapp. You went

54:20

your dad. You went your dad. You went your dad. Yeah.

54:24

They didn't like it. So, you know, if

54:26

they don't like it, can you imagine what a 13 through 20 year old

54:32

feels the same way? I

54:34

mean, just be fair. That's

54:36

all, you know, I think as athletes,

54:38

that's all we care about is the

54:40

fairness of day in and day out.

54:42

Well, you talked about earlier discussing with

54:44

your kids growing up with a father

54:46

that was a famous athlete and professional

54:48

athlete, but you also had the

54:51

same luck. You watched your father went back

54:53

to back a world

54:55

series with the Cincinnati Reds. Talk about the

54:57

upbringing and being, you know, a junior, the

54:59

kid before becoming the man. No,

55:03

my dad was a dad. He just

55:05

let me be a kid. It was no, hey,

55:07

you've got to play this. My brother played at

55:09

Ohio State, played college football. I

55:11

got a cousin who broke Tony Doris Sasse high school

55:13

rushing records, you know, Terrell

55:16

Pryor quarterback. I mean, the

55:18

list goes on. I got a nephew at

55:21

Fresno State, you know,

55:23

who is a cornerback. I mean, my

55:27

dad is that dad to just like, Hey, y'all

55:29

go out there and carve your own

55:31

path and whatever I can do to help,

55:34

you know, I'm here.

55:36

And he helped you negotiate your

55:38

first contract with the Mariners, correct?

55:42

Yeah. And, and I'm still waiting. He's still waiting

55:44

on his 3%. But I tell him he's just

55:46

dad. He can't take my money. That's

55:52

part of the deal. So,

55:56

you know, me freshly being retired.

56:00

What was it like for you? You put on a suit

56:02

real quick. I ain't used to

56:04

that. So what

56:07

was it like for you? You know,

56:09

I think people don't understand, I

56:13

don't wanna call it trauma, but the traumas of

56:15

being a professional athlete and

56:17

then that your lifestyle just completely

56:19

changing, regardless of how much money you

56:21

saved up or not when you're out of

56:23

the game. And so what was that first year like for

56:26

you? And what did you do?

56:28

And what would you have done differently in terms

56:30

of how you transitioned out the game? Well,

56:35

when I retired, it was the middle of the season

56:37

and I went straight into AAU girls

56:40

basketball cause that's the high point of the

56:43

season. So I literally

56:46

bought a RV cause

56:52

I said, you know, I am not staying

56:54

in some of these hotels. Oh

56:56

yeah, yeah, hey, you bad. Yeah,

57:02

so I bought a RV

57:04

and traveled around and

57:09

was just a dad. I mean, it was funny,

57:11

it was like all the dads was like, I

57:13

get there early enough. Cause you know, you're playing

57:15

five and six games a day. And

57:18

people, you know, the traveling to and

57:20

from, you know, the

57:22

hotel back to the gym, back to the

57:24

hotel to get something to eat. I was

57:26

like, I'm not doing all that. I'm gonna

57:28

sit here and you know, some of

57:30

the, sometimes, you know, college

57:33

football is basketball being played. I want to

57:35

watch sports too. So,

57:37

you know, I

57:39

sat there and my first trip, I

57:41

could tell you it was

57:43

Atlanta, Tennessee, Chicago,

57:47

back to Atlanta. Then

57:51

it went to New Orleans and then

57:55

Augusta. Augusta, yeah. That was my

57:57

introduction. the

58:00

AAU girls basketball. I was like, and I looked at

58:02

my wife, I was like, you did all this without

58:04

me? She was like, yeah, for the last four years.

58:08

I was like, ooh. And

58:11

then I started thinking, maybe I do want to go

58:13

back playing baseball. It's different because you're

58:19

sitting there going, you know,

58:21

like you said, what do I do?

58:24

You know, because it is, you know, one

58:26

day you're in uniform and

58:28

the next day you're sitting there going, okay.

58:32

I did tease my friends because they were, you

58:34

know, every day that, you know, Fourth of

58:37

July, that they would be waiting on me to go

58:39

to the ballpark and be out there in their robes waving

58:41

to me as I'm going to the ballpark while they get

58:43

ready to start barbecuing. So

58:48

I did the same to them, but

58:50

I did it for a week straight while

58:52

they were going to work after the Fourth of July.

58:54

Right. Gotcha. Get up and win just like, hey, yeah,

58:56

I'll see y'all when y'all get back. But,

58:59

you know, having, you know,

59:01

a support network is probably the

59:03

most important thing because it is a, it's a

59:05

shock. I mean, you know, I've been

59:09

playing baseball since I was three. And all of

59:11

a sudden at age 40, I'm done, you know,

59:14

and coming home and you just sitting there like,

59:16

okay, what's next? And,

59:19

you know, I own car dealership. So I was,

59:23

you know, okay, as far as being

59:25

able to do something. But just the fact, I

59:27

mean, it took me a

59:30

good four months to finally set in.

59:33

And I still had the attitude of,

59:36

you know, January 1st that I was still

59:38

get ready to go back to playing baseball.

59:40

And it literally took me five years to

59:42

break that. Finally, Melissa looked at me,

59:44

said, look, man, you ain't going

59:46

back to playing baseball. So this attitude that you

59:49

have January 1st has got to stop. But

59:52

it just kind of ingrained in you. Yeah.

59:54

I mean, you played 22

59:56

years in a major league and you want, didn't

59:58

you win like comeback player in a

1:00:00

year in like year 16? Yeah,

1:00:03

yeah. There's people on the victory tour. So

1:00:05

it kind of says everything that occurs with

1:00:07

you. Right. I wanted to go back and

1:00:09

ask you a question because we can correlate

1:00:11

it to basketball. But right now,

1:00:13

you know LeBron James, a great athlete. For the

1:00:16

past four or five years, he's been lobbying and

1:00:19

screaming about how much he wants to play in

1:00:21

an NBA on the same team as his son.

1:00:24

And considering you and your father kind of been there and

1:00:26

done that, how do you feel about

1:00:28

that situation? Is there any advice you can give? Like

1:00:30

be careful what you wish for? And how was it

1:00:32

when your father played? No,

1:00:34

I had an absolute blast of my dad. He

1:00:38

paid for all the lunches and

1:00:40

dinners. That was number

1:00:42

one. I told him he was Mr. Provider. But

1:00:44

you know, when he got released

1:00:46

from the Reds and he actually asked me, he

1:00:49

said, hey, the Mariners are interested. The

1:00:52

decision is up to you. But they want me

1:00:54

to come play. And I'm going to leave it up to you. And

1:00:57

I said, I would love for you

1:00:59

to come play. And

1:01:01

he said, if you don't want that, then I'll

1:01:03

retire. But to have my dad in

1:01:05

the same clubhouse where I can really sit there

1:01:08

and learn about

1:01:10

the game of baseball. People

1:01:12

look at it. If you look at my

1:01:16

first year, and I had great mentors, you

1:01:18

know, Harold Reynolds, Alvin

1:01:20

Davis, Mickey Brantley. You

1:01:26

see Harold, Al Valadei, Jeffrey

1:01:29

Leonard. All

1:01:32

these guys were in my corner every

1:01:35

day. The training staff, Rick Griffin

1:01:37

and his crew. You

1:01:40

know, and had great teammates, you know, with Jay

1:01:43

and Edgar. And

1:01:45

then later on, Dan Wilson. I mean, these guys

1:01:47

were always in my corner. But you know, at

1:01:49

19, you know, you

1:01:51

don't know anything. You just playing on pure

1:01:54

instincts and adrenaline. And

1:01:56

when my dad got there, I

1:01:58

could actually see what it was like. to

1:02:01

be a pro. And

1:02:03

if you look at my three,

1:02:05

four, and five years, I

1:02:07

went from he could play to, oh,

1:02:10

he can really play. And it was

1:02:12

all because of me being able to watch him and

1:02:14

understand, oh, this is what you do in certain situations.

1:02:16

I can set this guy up. Okay,

1:02:18

I can do this. And that's why

1:02:20

you are not because of him. Is that during

1:02:22

that time? Is that when you change your swing?

1:02:25

I know you said that you used to posture

1:02:27

down a little bit. And when you realize you

1:02:29

start standing up more, you start adding 40 feet

1:02:31

to each swing. Yeah, I

1:02:33

was just, I mean, I, you

1:02:36

know, I've had my game so much as like

1:02:38

my dad that is, you know, from

1:02:40

the batting stance until I stood up

1:02:42

one day and, and

1:02:44

started hitting the ball left field 40 feet further. I

1:02:46

was like, well, I'm gonna stay right here. Just

1:02:49

to hang on. And, you

1:02:51

know, and people think that it's just like,

1:02:53

oh, you didn't work at it. Yeah, I

1:02:55

had to work at it. You just don't

1:02:58

show up and be like, oh, okay.

1:03:01

I mean, but there's certain pitches that, you know,

1:03:03

I couldn't hit that I couldn't drive, which was

1:03:05

the ball low, you know, low in a way

1:03:07

where before I could get to that ball, hit

1:03:09

it down the left field line and,

1:03:12

you know, get a double out of it. Now

1:03:14

I just lay off that pitch because it's a ball anyway. And,

1:03:18

you know, he's got to bring the ball up and I can hit it out. Well,

1:03:23

you're still on top of your baseball. You said

1:03:25

you didn't feel any crazy, crazy pressure because of

1:03:27

the support system you had, but let's go back

1:03:29

to when you were drafted. You're drafted

1:03:31

to the Seattle Mariners as like the number

1:03:34

one pick for a franchise team. Out

1:03:36

of high school. Out of high school. Yeah. Yeah.

1:03:39

But I mean, there was 20 years of guys

1:03:41

that were drafted before me.

1:03:44

Yeah. Out of high school. Darnell

1:03:46

Cole was another one. You

1:03:48

know, you

1:03:50

know, every

1:03:52

year there's a first round pick. You

1:03:55

know, every year there's a one-one. You

1:03:59

know, I just happened to. to be that year.

1:04:02

Like I said, there was really no pressure by

1:04:07

my dad, my mom. The

1:04:12

internal of growing up is probably

1:04:14

the things that, hey,

1:04:16

you're now the professional athlete. There's things that you

1:04:18

can't and can't do, can and can't do now.

1:04:22

One of them is going to play tackle football

1:04:26

outside in the snow in December with

1:04:28

your friends when they're doing it. It's

1:04:31

interesting, because I never knew that

1:04:34

you were this football player and you got a

1:04:36

scholarship to the University of Michigan. I

1:04:39

like to, I mean, think about

1:04:42

this. I grew up, I was born in a town that's

1:04:44

a half an hour from Pittsburgh. So

1:04:48

it's a, everything is

1:04:50

football there. And so, I

1:04:53

mean, you look at Michael's first love is baseball. Yeah,

1:04:57

you know, AI's first love is football.

1:05:02

I mean, everybody has a

1:05:04

love. DeMonte Adams

1:05:07

first love is basketball. Yeah. Yeah,

1:05:10

I mean, so these guys, we

1:05:15

love to play sports. And just

1:05:17

because you're good at something doesn't mean that it's gonna work

1:05:19

out for you. For me,

1:05:21

I just, I

1:05:24

looked at it, it was like, I

1:05:27

got a chance to be one-one. My

1:05:29

dad was 29th round or

1:05:31

20 something, I'm

1:05:36

gonna say 29th, 24th or 29th round. And

1:05:40

one of the last people picked in that air, in

1:05:43

that draft. And for me to

1:05:46

say, hey, I'm

1:05:48

a one-one, meant

1:05:50

a lot because I know how much that

1:05:53

he put in it as

1:05:55

a kid, you know, hey,

1:05:58

we're gonna go out there. You're gonna. I

1:06:00

was a pitcher first baseman. Like

1:06:02

I only played two years of high school baseball. I

1:06:04

only played, you know,

1:06:06

three years of outfield before I got drafted. I

1:06:09

was a pitcher first baseman before

1:06:11

that. And

1:06:13

y'all had that look. No, I know

1:06:15

that. No, you just moving the way you're doing the

1:06:17

outfield. I figured like it's so natural. You're running the

1:06:19

walls. I figured you've been practicing that for quite some

1:06:22

time. I bet you said it earlier, you're just playing

1:06:24

off adrenaline and field. And so I

1:06:26

go back to sports have

1:06:28

become so specialized. And

1:06:30

you don't see, you know, the

1:06:32

players who are, a lot of football

1:06:35

players get drafted in baseball or you got

1:06:37

some baseball players who play quarterback. There were

1:06:39

a lot of multi-sport athletes who could transition

1:06:41

their abilities to different sports. And now it's

1:06:43

become more specialized. But then we're seeing

1:06:45

a lot of different types of injuries than

1:06:47

we did. Like we didn't have any

1:06:49

of the athletic training or any of the technology

1:06:51

that we had, we growing up and now all

1:06:54

these kids have access to it, but we're seeing

1:06:56

a lot of injuries, and a lot of kids

1:06:58

being, you know, overdeveloped or overused when they get

1:07:00

to the pros. And so like, what's your feeling

1:07:02

on, you know, being

1:07:04

a multi-sport athlete, it felt like you had great play

1:07:06

over. Play everything, play everything. Yep. You

1:07:09

know, we had a

1:07:11

kid on, you know, our football team who was

1:07:13

on a national

1:07:16

soccer team. And I

1:07:18

told our coach, all he got to do is show up on

1:07:20

Friday because you

1:07:22

want to give kids options. I mean, you

1:07:25

know, that's the thing is like,

1:07:28

I have a big problem

1:07:30

when the

1:07:32

head coach of

1:07:34

a summer ball AAU is now driving a

1:07:38

better car than

1:07:40

90% of the guys

1:07:43

that he's coaching or the kids that

1:07:45

the parents car. I think

1:07:47

that's a bad example. I understand

1:07:49

that, yeah, it's a big business and something,

1:07:51

but, you know, to me, you

1:07:54

know, I show up, when I coach pop-wonder football, I

1:07:56

showed up in a Jeep. want

1:08:00

people to know, I mean, everybody knew that I had

1:08:02

a better car and other cars. But I

1:08:06

wanted everybody to know, hey, I'm just like everybody else.

1:08:09

My equipment goes in here and we're gonna roll with

1:08:11

it. But, you know, my

1:08:14

football worked on my, my

1:08:17

moves for my basketball, my basketball

1:08:19

worked on the quickness for baseball.

1:08:22

So we cross trained all year. And

1:08:25

kids are not cross training in all year. And, you

1:08:27

know, you see in these guys, you know,

1:08:29

little leaguers who are throwing,

1:08:32

you know, 40, 50 games in the

1:08:34

season. And you don't even see big

1:08:36

league guys doing that. Right.

1:08:42

So speaking of, you know, you talked

1:08:44

about cross training, which has me thinking about,

1:08:47

you know, you were, you did something, you

1:08:49

were writing that era where Nike

1:08:51

told stories around their athletes, and

1:08:53

you were able to just open up a huge

1:08:56

market, you and Bo Jackson. And

1:08:58

we talked about, you know, your image in

1:09:01

terms of your trademark, you know,

1:09:03

your hat, wearing it backwards in the swing, man. When

1:09:06

you were playing, how involved were

1:09:08

you with that? And, you know,

1:09:10

your thought press process around protecting that

1:09:12

image? Because as you know, as athletes

1:09:14

nowadays name, image and likeness is a

1:09:16

big thing, you know, the brands, everything,

1:09:19

and it felt like in

1:09:21

your day, it wasn't about the brand, it was

1:09:25

the production that made

1:09:27

the brand. Now it feels like the brand is made,

1:09:29

and then it's like you're trying to produce to live

1:09:31

up to it where, you know, so just talk about

1:09:34

I'm with you on that. I'm with you

1:09:36

on that. Like, like, you

1:09:40

know, nowadays, you know,

1:09:42

hey, we're gonna play off

1:09:44

potential. I mean, it took

1:09:47

me five years, six years to get a

1:09:49

shoe. And now guys want them after day

1:09:51

one. Out the gate. Yeah.

1:09:54

You know, I had to earn

1:09:57

everything, you know, and

1:10:00

It's a little tougher for

1:10:02

me because people always thought that, hey,

1:10:04

you earned it. I mean, your dad

1:10:06

gave you everything. No, he

1:10:09

made me earn it. And

1:10:11

the same thing that goes in my house. My

1:10:13

kids, they gotta earn it.

1:10:15

And it's not gonna be given to you. The

1:10:19

only thing that's gonna be fair is what happens in

1:10:21

my house. Outside these houses is

1:10:23

not fair. That's the only thing, the advice that

1:10:26

I give my kids. But oh

1:10:29

yeah, it's... I

1:10:33

used to tease, J. Buner used to tease me. Like if I go

1:10:35

like 0 for 2, 0 for 3, he'd

1:10:38

be like, what you selling? Because everything was for

1:10:40

sale. You get a couple hits,

1:10:42

you may buy something. But it's a matter of, I

1:10:48

had to produce day in and day out. And

1:10:51

I didn't have the luxury of some of the guys

1:10:53

on the field. If

1:10:55

I go 0 for 4, it's gonna be in the paper.

1:10:59

And people always wonder, people

1:11:02

wonder, they ask me, hey, have

1:11:04

you ever had a big moment? I go, no. Maybe

1:11:07

you've never had a big moment. I have to explain

1:11:09

that every, at bat, every

1:11:11

fly ball, every time on the base is

1:11:14

a big moment. Because I'm getting

1:11:16

the best that these guys are offering day in

1:11:18

and day out. Nobody's gonna sit there and

1:11:20

go, oh, he's 0 for 2. Let me throw this 84 mile an

1:11:22

hour fast ball down the middle and see how far I can hit

1:11:24

it. They tryna make me 0 for 3, 0 for 4. And

1:11:28

they know where

1:11:31

I'm at in the order. So

1:11:33

I'm that guy that you're not gonna let

1:11:35

beat you. So

1:11:37

I know that I gotta pick and choose my

1:11:39

spots to

1:11:43

expand the zone to see if I can hit a ball out to tie

1:11:45

it up. But I'm getting the best day

1:11:47

in and day out every day.

1:11:49

And you can see the guys now. We

1:11:51

can go on. Ain't nobody gonna sit there and

1:11:54

go, hey, Steph is 1 for 13.

1:11:56

I'ma go ahead and let them shoot this three. No, they

1:11:59

tryna, they go get it. You know,

1:12:01

same thing with LeBron, same thing with Mike,

1:12:03

same thing with, you know, a lot of

1:12:05

guys that have played this game, you know,

1:12:07

the greats that played, you know, each sport,

1:12:10

they're not going to sit there and go, Hey,

1:12:12

this is a big moment. No, because every time

1:12:15

they touch the ball, it's a big moment. I

1:12:18

got a question. I got, you're so

1:12:20

humble in how you carry yourself. You

1:12:23

know, it never felt like you

1:12:26

thought of yourself as above anyone, but

1:12:28

we, here we speak a lot to your

1:12:30

ego in a good way. Like you need your

1:12:32

ego. Sometimes you got to build yourself up, especially

1:12:35

in slumps with all the hard work you put

1:12:37

in. So what was your disposition like in terms

1:12:39

of how you saw yourself amongst

1:12:41

the greats while you were playing? Did you realize the

1:12:43

impact you had? And did you realize how good you

1:12:45

were? Yeah,

1:12:48

I knew how good I was at an

1:12:50

early age. You know, as

1:12:52

far as I was

1:12:55

better than everybody on the team, but

1:12:57

it didn't hit me until

1:12:59

my dad sat me down when

1:13:01

I was 20. He goes, look, I played with some of

1:13:03

the best players in the world and

1:13:06

you are far better than them. Now, what is that?

1:13:09

I was just looking at him like,

1:13:11

you know, I was sitting there like,

1:13:15

is he saying that to just help my confidence or

1:13:17

is he saying it to that? He really

1:13:19

means it. And he was like, and he started naming off

1:13:21

names. He said, I have never got

1:13:24

so many fastballs and and

1:13:27

pitches to hit and sitting

1:13:29

anywhere in a batting order until I got in

1:13:31

front of you. And

1:13:35

I was sitting there like, OK, now

1:13:37

I understand what I can

1:13:39

do. And he was like, you can

1:13:41

do certain things. He would give me

1:13:43

a little, little, little breadcrumbs,

1:13:45

you know, like going through the streak of

1:13:48

eight in a row. He would just say,

1:13:50

you got one pitch a day and

1:13:53

don't miss it. And

1:13:56

that's the hardest thing to

1:13:58

try to teach because you go out. there in

1:14:00

basketball, you could shoot 30 times

1:14:03

and still walk out the gym with 60. You

1:14:05

know, in baseball, I got four chances

1:14:07

to hit if they want me to hit. It's

1:14:10

the only sport that defense has the ball. Damn.

1:14:18

So if they don't want you to play, you don't have to play. So

1:14:23

what, what was, I'm

1:14:25

transitioning to, you

1:14:28

know, your passions right now, one arm, you mentioned

1:14:30

Augusta. How,

1:14:32

what's your best handicap? How good have you gotten in

1:14:35

golf? Uh,

1:14:37

I was down to a two, one.

1:14:39

Okay. All right. I never got, I

1:14:41

got down to a two seven. Yeah.

1:14:44

Now I'm back to eight. It's

1:14:46

gone. Uh, you got

1:14:49

young kids. Don't worry about it. Right.

1:14:51

It'll come back. Yeah.

1:14:54

When they start, when they start going to high school and

1:14:56

you got to drive them to school, it's

1:15:00

only high school. Cause then they, you know, they gone all day.

1:15:02

You can't do it on a half day. You

1:15:05

know, when they gone the whole day, when you got to pick them up

1:15:08

at like six, then your golf

1:15:10

game is going to get better. Right. Right.

1:15:12

Right. Like, like my son's sophomore

1:15:14

year, Tevin sophomore year, I

1:15:17

think I played 249 rounds. Oh.

1:15:25

He played every day except the weekend. What

1:15:29

you made his game was on Friday. Oh,

1:15:33

wow. You live in a life. And

1:15:35

what's your, uh, top five favorite golf courses. Ooh.

1:15:43

High five. All

1:15:45

right. We're going to go with not

1:15:48

in any particular order. No, no

1:15:50

order. Okay. Uh,

1:15:54

old head. Hmm. Grove.

1:15:59

Ooh. Jordan?

1:16:02

Jordan? Let's

1:16:10

go with Cyprus. Ooh, that's a

1:16:13

one. Yeah. Pepper,

1:16:16

when is tournament time, when it's really nice? Like

1:16:19

when it's like 65 is really nice. Spyglass

1:16:23

better than pepper. Yeah,

1:16:26

but... Not

1:16:28

when it's tournament time, though. I ain't seen it in

1:16:31

tournament time, so I'm rocking. I got you. I got

1:16:33

you. I understand. Uh...

1:16:37

I probably put Pine Valley in there. Pine

1:16:40

Valley's the hardest golf course in the universe. That

1:16:47

day you must have hit the ball a little crooked. I

1:16:50

wasn't that good, but I could... It's blind

1:16:52

shots. It was the first time

1:16:54

in my life I did exactly what the caddy told me to

1:16:56

do, and I couldn't find my ball. He said I hit

1:16:58

it too far. You

1:17:00

shoot with people's hands and feet in your

1:17:02

face, and you can't hit a blind shot?

1:17:05

No, no. I mean, you got blind landing

1:17:08

areas. Yeah. Those

1:17:11

are the courses where it's like hit it at that

1:17:14

cloud. And I was like, that's my

1:17:16

weakest spot off the tee, but I did exactly what he

1:17:18

said. He was like perfect as it's in the air, ball

1:17:20

nowhere to be found. That's how tricky that golf course is.

1:17:23

Yeah, yeah. It's a tough one.

1:17:28

But great course. I wasn't that good when I played it, so

1:17:30

I got to get back. Maybe

1:17:33

they'll let us go back. I'm

1:17:37

sure you can call somebody. They'll

1:17:42

let us come back. All right, we're going to work

1:17:44

on that. Well,

1:17:46

we talk a lot about athletes

1:17:48

and how do you network, build

1:17:50

relationships. Talk to us

1:17:52

about what you did for

1:17:54

Nike and how that relationship

1:17:57

is still going today. I

1:18:01

think when you look at it, it's

1:18:04

very simple. You just got to be you. People

1:18:08

don't understand that. What

1:18:10

you see is what you get. I'm

1:18:14

not changing. I

1:18:19

enjoy what I did. Yes,

1:18:24

I understand it. Sometimes I have to be

1:18:26

an adult about certain things, but I

1:18:30

love the game of baseball. I love

1:18:32

football. I love basketball.

1:18:34

I don't compare eras. You

1:18:40

can't tell me Michael

1:18:44

could have done this and LeBron

1:18:46

could have done that and Willie

1:18:48

Mays could have done this and Hank Aaron.

1:18:52

They played in that era and that's who you

1:18:54

compare them to the guys that they're playing against.

1:19:00

People go, that's not true. I go, it

1:19:02

is true because how many home runs with

1:19:04

Hank Aaron and Willie Mays hit if they

1:19:06

didn't worry about getting knocked down by Bob

1:19:08

Gibson? If

1:19:11

you're not worried about getting knocked down, you sit in the rocking

1:19:13

chair all day. Your

1:19:17

swing's a little tough, a little lighter. You

1:19:19

can go and swing for the fences compared

1:19:22

to you

1:19:24

make one swing swing in the midst and they're

1:19:26

like, oh, okay, take this one with you. I've

1:19:32

had a hard time

1:19:34

comparing different eras because

1:19:36

I think that the

1:19:38

rules have changed, the guidelines

1:19:40

have changed, the people have changed, the

1:19:43

training has changed. I

1:19:46

just look at it in a way that I

1:19:48

let the guys enjoy

1:19:51

what you're seeing and

1:19:54

I know that people

1:19:56

have to talk about it. I'm just

1:19:58

not that one. But.

1:20:02

He known Nike has. An

1:20:04

with me from day one. Nino,

1:20:07

then. Blend mer

1:20:09

Ah. And

1:20:11

the Toma family or my kids

1:20:14

godfathers and in and godparents. You

1:20:16

know, and. Ah I'm yeah

1:20:18

guy who played well against my dad

1:20:20

body told him. And

1:20:22

you have learned who has

1:20:25

been in. You know to

1:20:27

Gen Vi. Ah he's You

1:20:30

know when. Vivid. The

1:20:32

funny thing is when ah, Tyree.

1:20:35

Was was was hard. That's my daughter's

1:20:37

favorite player at the time. Ah her

1:20:39

favorite player is a I in in

1:20:41

Colby. Ah, but.

1:20:44

When. He was. Ah

1:20:47

ah is. You know the. There

1:20:51

would be a package of of

1:20:53

size a girls' basketball shoe. And

1:20:55

her team colors and I'm like they didn't

1:20:57

make dancing with new nuclear facilities on ligaments

1:21:00

you go and ago nevermind my boys be

1:21:02

like he will do that for me of

1:21:04

like is you're not a girl with you

1:21:06

though you may go take hear him later

1:21:08

on in life like Siegel take care of

1:21:10

but ah when you do you look at

1:21:12

it. The night he. Is

1:21:16

more, they've been more of a family. You

1:21:19

know, When I got heard they were always

1:21:21

there. When when things happen, They were there

1:21:23

when. Ah, the Hall of Fame they were

1:21:25

there. So any big part of my career

1:21:28

there is always. You. Know.

1:21:32

Ah Dana Bill for said,

1:21:34

you know Lan always. There

1:21:38

watching. Ah, and making

1:21:40

sure that I was okay. Murph

1:21:42

recruited from of the best marksman you

1:21:45

know commercial few of Rome bird month

1:21:47

and moon food for a group you

1:21:49

for program. Known. It.

1:21:52

Was. A margin of the infirmary

1:21:54

for you want to be or did you

1:21:56

guys that a lot of thrones regards to

1:21:58

the for a turtleneck. Yeah, New

1:22:00

Jersey or and swinging man the represented a

1:22:02

job man. but they're talk about the number

1:22:05

one thing is your hat backers and on

1:22:07

at. Ah well

1:22:09

ah been a lot of things

1:22:11

that you know. Ah,

1:22:14

certain rules that. You.

1:22:17

Know air but he got the have some sort of

1:22:19

slack there. You know some you

1:22:21

always gotta be different. Ah but the main

1:22:23

thing about me as I want to my

1:22:25

game to be different. You.

1:22:27

Know if you're gonna say all he was

1:22:29

have back with you disrespectful mouth. A woman

1:22:31

have access to the one. it'll. Be.

1:22:33

Like my bad I wanted to wear. My dad sat in.

1:22:36

My. Dad had a fro and I had a peanut

1:22:38

hidden ability to hack. It hit me in the face

1:22:40

so I turned around. If you look

1:22:42

at early you can see all my early pitches

1:22:45

as shown. A whole bunch of for here. Because

1:22:48

that's the way our war. Now as you

1:22:50

get older that bank start going down there

1:22:52

my forehead a bit but you know I

1:22:54

still got a whole lot of hair but.

1:22:57

You know, the. I. Wanted to

1:22:59

be like my bad and. That

1:23:02

with the wow warm. I had the mock turtle neck.

1:23:04

Ah, I'm. You

1:23:06

know, I had a

1:23:09

of a gold same a little be

1:23:11

and of you gold Santa Jilsi ah

1:23:13

from a rookie card. I still

1:23:15

have it. Logo. Saying about

1:23:17

away while it kept hidden had kids hit

1:23:19

me in the face I said i kind

1:23:21

of i'm single were at I discovered put

1:23:24

some monitor to knock it down so I

1:23:26

started wearing a mock turtle neck a warning

1:23:28

and able. To one like hours

1:23:30

doing some different when I got to the degrees.

1:23:33

Dollar. Thing I did when I got to the

1:23:35

degree that may my path a little longer that

1:23:37

was it is. you know in a minor leagues

1:23:39

you get to so six inches in about a

1:23:41

chance to. Custom my pants

1:23:43

and say I want I'm thirty four linked.

1:23:47

Through for measure, owner, a new position

1:23:49

or for you or prefer the Mariners

1:23:52

in a position your mail but where's

1:23:54

your have been at the inaugural. year

1:23:57

of your griffey dry food you talk about

1:23:59

that and how that came about and

1:24:02

going from trailblazing paths to continue to do so

1:24:04

for the future. And

1:24:08

basketball, it's a lot

1:24:10

different than baseball. I mean, basketball, you get a full

1:24:12

ride. If you could play,

1:24:14

it doesn't matter, division one, two, or three. In

1:24:17

baseball, you get 11.7 scholarships.

1:24:21

A lot of these kids play other

1:24:23

sports because they can get a full ride. And we're

1:24:27

losing a lot of kids who

1:24:29

love to game baseball and want to be a part

1:24:31

of baseball because of

1:24:33

the amount of scholarships. And I just

1:24:35

wanted them to be seen. I was

1:24:37

fortunate enough that my dad played and

1:24:40

I was able to amplify

1:24:43

what he started. But

1:24:45

my dad has also taught

1:24:47

me how to give back. My mom and

1:24:50

dad were like, big on, hey, this is what

1:24:52

you do. And you got to

1:24:54

get back to the kids who are less fortunate.

1:24:56

And with that,

1:24:58

I was like, well, let me do something that is

1:25:01

fun and that could be seen.

1:25:04

And last year's HBCU swingman class,

1:25:06

it was a blast. We

1:25:09

had a lot of kids. We

1:25:12

had six kids in

1:25:14

the draft that went to teams,

1:25:16

hoping it gets bigger

1:25:19

and better. All these

1:25:21

kids that are asking is the opportunity to be

1:25:23

seen. They're not asking for

1:25:25

opportunity to play. They want

1:25:27

to showcase their talent like

1:25:29

everybody else. And

1:25:31

when people say, hey, it's a

1:25:34

historical black college, there are a lot of other

1:25:38

groups of people that go to

1:25:40

historical black colleges and

1:25:43

they want to be seen. Not everybody can go

1:25:45

to a Power Five and spend

1:25:49

30, $40,000 a year trying

1:25:51

to play baseball. Sometimes

1:25:54

it comes down to, hey, I want to get

1:25:56

my degree, but I

1:25:58

still love the game of baseball. and

1:26:00

basketball, football. You know, you look at

1:26:02

Division III basketball where these kids are

1:26:04

still paying, you know, to

1:26:07

play basketball. They

1:26:09

are paying to play basketball. And

1:26:12

the same thing, paying to play baseball. You

1:26:15

want to give those guys the opportunity to go

1:26:17

out there and to showcase against

1:26:19

the guys who got

1:26:21

the scholarship. Because they're just as

1:26:23

hungry as the guys who did

1:26:25

get a Division I offer. Well,

1:26:28

before we let you go, I got one

1:26:30

question. You still got beef with the

1:26:33

Yankees? Yeah.

1:26:42

You know what's funny is I got more Yankee friends than

1:26:45

any other team. New

1:26:49

York. But you just

1:26:51

won't see me wearing a Yankee hat. No,

1:26:53

that makes sense. I mean, you can wear your own hat. That's

1:26:56

why the logo was created, right? Yep.

1:27:00

So, Ken, we appreciate you. Thanks for

1:27:03

coming on. No problem. Thank

1:27:05

you, guys. Our big honor. Thanks for giving us your time. For

1:27:07

us, it was unbelievable. You're the reason why I've been waiting for

1:27:09

you. And we made an ex-golf date. All

1:27:11

right, yes, sir. No. Yes, sir. No,

1:27:14

no, no. You made it pro. Yo,

1:27:16

and... Because your butt

1:27:19

was dangerous. Yeah. And

1:27:22

when you robbed the home run in little

1:27:24

big leagues, you killed a six-year-old me. I

1:27:27

couldn't believe you did that. I

1:27:30

was hurt, man. I remember that. Hey,

1:27:33

I apologize. Man, I was hurt,

1:27:35

man. Billy Heywood. Damn. We

1:27:40

appreciate you joining us, family. It was my

1:27:42

fault. It's the only time I could be a villain.

1:27:45

Oh, it's true. That is true. That is

1:27:47

really true. Well, you weren't... I blame

1:27:49

Randy Johnson. I didn't blame you for real. So don't

1:27:51

worry. Okay. All

1:27:54

right, man. You Take care. Please Tell the

1:27:56

family hello and bear down. Heavy.

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