About This Episode
Today the team speaks about the future of sports journalism with Jon Fernandez and Jaryd Bongcaras of the Technically Foul podcast! Join Val and Luis as they speak with the hosts of Technically Foul about how sports fan can become their own commentators, how professional athletes are developing their own personal brands and content, and how we can expect social media sites like TikTok to pave the way for more interaction between fans and commentators about sports.
Listen To The Episode On Spotify
Transcript
[00:00:00] Like the day to day life, I think Dennis Schroder even has, like a vlog on YouTube and just saying like, oh, this is like my game day prep and we’re fans because we like these athletes. So the fact that these athletes are kind of giving us this insider access and behind the scenes look of what their day to day lives are like, I think it’s very compelling for us to tune in and listen to.
[00:00:31] Well, welcome to The Brew, I’m your host Valtteri Salomaki. Today, I’m joined with my co-host, Luis Macedo from Free Logic, as well as today we have John and Jared from Technical Foul. Both these guys are UCR alumni, graduated twenty nineteen in twenty twenty. But I’ll let you guys introduce yourselves and talk a little bit about what is Technically Foul and we’ll get the show started from there. You guys want to take it away.
[00:00:52] Yeah. Go ahead, Jared.
[00:00:53] OK, you want me to do a little intro thing. Yeah. So Jon mentioned to me a couple of months ago saying they listen to sports podcast. It was like in the midst of the pandemic when you got home from the grocery store and you like spray your cereal boxes because coronavirus stay longer, like peak covid. And when it came to a name, I just tried to make it something clever and like, well, we because the intro is we take it more than we take our sports more than personal but not\, not too over the top. Or we get flagrant like oh technically foul a ha ha. So it was going to be like sports and it just we ended up trying to cover like NFL and baseball and basketball. But over the past couple of months, it’s really just that basketball. So I don’t know if the technically foul part just pertains to just basketball nowadays. But yeah.
[00:01:44] It definitely seems like it. But I mean, it’s been a lot of fun. And like we talked about earlier, we did this in college, too, which is why I felt pretty comfortable working with Jaryd, too. And I reached out to him because we’d already done it before and we had like a level of comfort.
[00:01:59] Yeah. So, I mean, talk talk a little bit about this. What were you guys doing beforehand when it comes to your sport podcasting like venture and then taking that into like I know you guys also wrote in the paper and stuff like that. So like, well, what was your roles beforehand that made you guys record that you started a podcast tied into sports analysis? Because let’s keep in mind, you talk about sports. People are hypercritical of whatever you say all the time. Like everybody got an opinion when you guys. Yeah. So what made you guys confident enough to start a show based on that?
[00:02:27] And it’s funny because like nowadays I feel like all fans kind of think they’re sports journalists too, which makes it even more divisive. But for us, we started we did a radio UCR two at the radio station called KUCR. We broadcast the teams basketball games. And we also had like a sports talk radio show, which was a lot of fun. And I think that’s how we got we kind of got that confidence.
[00:02:49] Yeah. And you guys are also writing in the paper.
[00:02:53] Yeah,.
[00:02:53] Yeah. We we’re doing all of that. We would we would write for the sports section. There’s one point where John and I were the only people in the sports section.
[00:03:01] So we would both have to write like two to four articles and then weekly we would have the radio show, like he said, and sometimes one to two times a week we would broadcast both the men and women basketball game play by play and color commentary, which is a lot of fun actually miss doing that a lot. And because of us working together for so long, once we got out of college, we’re like, so if we do this podcast. It’s going to be how we used to be back in college. We already have this chemistry and relationship with each other in terms of just, I don’t know, bouncing off each other’s energy, if that makes sense to them. Not done nothing does. I also feel like just from like broadcasting the basketball games, like you have to have a certain amount of knowledge of the game and like awareness of the terminology and what’s going on to be able to talk about, you know, a sports podcast, to be able to do sports podcast, you have to have that knowledge. So that’s why I felt pretty comfortable about it to you guys used to play basketball or anything like that back in the day, or have you guys just both been like huge advocates? Right. And just like just love watching and understanding the nuances, because I feel like that’s where the two levels of sports broadcasters come from. You did those that like, you know or in it have played it for such a long time, come back and provide their analysis or those that just been following it from the ground all the way up and just understand all the nuances when it comes to the sport I’ve played since I was younger. And it’s pretty funny because we have I have this story with Jared because this one time in IM’s I scored thirty.
[00:04:29] So like we were broadcasting one time, you could see he’s covering his face, but like we were broadcasting and I brought it up on the air because I was a super hyped I somehow scored thirty and I am game. But to answer your question, I’ve been playing since I was since I was pretty young. I want to say like first through second grade, I don’t think I was ever like that. Good. But, you know, I’ve been playing for fun and I feel like have a pretty good understanding of it. Yeah, definitely. The latter of the two. I mean, I’ve been I’ve been like a self. And Antoine Walker was on the team 2004, 2005, and I’ve always played it for fun, maybe since elementary or middle school or something. But it’s not like I played it in high school and was a standout athlete doing it or whatever. I played. I played tennis in high school because I don’t know about individual sport. Or did you really? Yeah. Oh, I had no idea you knew things about your brother. And that’s all a podcast is about learning about the other person. You’re talking about the. I learned a little too much about Lewis over here, and it scares me sometimes, but Bug going into the second of a second, so like you guys now started this podcast, like you said, you guys are now focusing a lot heavily on on basketball. And what is the main focus you guys have for the show? Like, what do you what are you guys trying to build out of it when it comes to the show concepts and what you’re trying to analyze and stuff like that? I don’t know if this is like indirectly happening, but it seems as if we’re trying to represent like a Gen Z perspective on sports takes because, well, what kind of balance out the, like, old head versus new head mentality? And like all what what is the narrative say? Like what? What are they saying it is paying or Fox Sports versus what are actual sports bloggers and what should people actually be thinking about what the headline is? And it does just click bait.
[00:06:26] So I don’t know if it’s like a balance between my quick bad news and what’s actually real and old head vs. new school perspective. I don’t even know if that’s accurate, if John would even agree with that. I think part of it is because we’ll read off some of the stuff, like if it’s an ESPN headline on first take and stuff, kind of laughing about it, like how they overexaggerate so much. But I feel like we also at least I tried to really mix in analytics and stuff, too, because I feel like that’s something that’s important where yeah, there’s the eye test, which I think Jared and I both rely on. But there’s also like what’s happening behind that, like an advance. That’s too, because I think that really tells the story and that’s where people go off nowadays, like professional sports journalists. And at least for me, I know I’m trying to build a career in sports journalism. I think Jared is, too. So that’s something we try to use as well. I have a question for you guys. And it’s important because this to me is like the the Rorschach test. Are you more first take or undisputed? I don’t feel like we’re either. I don’t feel like we’re either to be really like if you had to pick one, like if you’re like this is the one that I’m going to follow, this is my camp because I am undisputed. Like, I would rather wake up early and watch that than sit through a serious take. I don’t know. I just don’t really I don’t know if I could first take that much because I don’t like their takes. Like pretty much there’s very few that I do like. But undisputedly there are some takes that I can take.
[00:08:00] I hate Skip, I don’t like them by-election a lot. So I think that’s why, I think that’s why I sit there and do it. I don’t like go for it. They’re all going to say I probably lean towards more in undisputed. Also I feel like on some level the way that Skip is such a troll to LeBron and that is through this his entire career I kind of respected this dude just doesn’t care like Michael or Michael. Jeffrey Jordan would never let his hairline get to that point at thirty six. That’s like a skip cake. And that’s something that you would say honestly, I would say I find undisputed, just like more entertaining overall, because when I’m watching first take, I find myself like rolling my eyes. A lot of what they’re saying is just like, come on, man. Like, you don’t believe that this is probably just scripted with undisputed like they’re making jokes. Johnny Sharp is really funny. He comes in like wearing a goat mask and wearing a LeBron James jersey with any like it’s just. Yeah, yeah. I like it so much. Yeah. I’m one question I had to tied into that. When it comes to sports broadcasting, what do you think sports journalism is going to go? Because, for example, in the NFL side, I don’t know if you guys all at all like Pat McCarthy, he used to be the Colts kicker and he has his own show. That’s somebody who really wasn’t league. And he’s like, I screw screw all this like normal, normal way of building a show. And like all this bureaucracy times like ESPN and stuff like that, I’m going to make my own show. I’m going to joke around half the time. I’m going to have my own connections in the league to talk about it and shoot the shit.
[00:09:32] And his show blew up like you hear when I was watching it. He was at like two hundred K followers on on YouTube subscribers and now he’s like one point two million subscribers. So do you think that’s also kind of where you think sports journalism is going just because the younger generations want something more entertainment factors into it and more like casual conversations? It doesn’t always have to be like, you know, by the numbers, like breaking it down, all that kind of stuff. Because don’t get me wrong, that’s important. You guys talk, you have to bring up the analytics, but it also has to be super fascinating, have been to have all these other elements to it to make you like, really grasp into and want to keep listening in and bought into the stories at the beginning week after week. Titans, all these athletes. Yeah, I think that’s part of why Stephen is so successful. Right. Because it’s not like he’s watching all these games, but at the same time, if you’re entertaining, someone’s going to give you like that max contract or whatever it was that you got from ESPN. Like at the end of the day, people just want to be entertained and like, that’s what sports is about. They want to be distracted from whatever is going on. So I think naturally. Yeah, like, you need to be entertaining while you’re also giving out that information. And I think there needs to be a balance. And it’s interesting because there are people like Zach Lowe and like Kevin O’Connor who focus more on the analytic side, but they still find a way to be entertaining, too. So I think for myself anyway, I’m still trying to find that balance, too. And I’m looking forward to, you know, I mean, Jared working it out together now.
[00:10:56] Definitely. I agree, I think the future of sportscasting podcasting or whatever will definitely stem from athletes having these platforms like JJ Redick started a podcast on Robinson has a podcast, and the fact that all these athletes have a platform, it gives the fans a different perspective on the day to day life. I think Dennis Schroder even has like a log on YouTube and just things like, oh, this is like my game day prep and we’re friends because we like these athletes. So the fact that these athletes are kind of giving us this insider access and behind the scenes look of what their day to day lives are like, I think is very compelling for us to tune in and listen to. I think I think one of the people who I like I got definitely closer to last season was Jimmy Butler, just because of his YouTube channel, like seeing him like the dude, the fucking like for the playoffs last year. The dude’s dog, like that man was like gunning for that chip and then seeing that. And that was like, oh, he has a YouTube channel. And then, like, just seeing him like, fuck around and like go into like a winery. You like him on like a like a regular like prep day or him just like messing around. I thought that was pretty cool. So now he’s like as far as like people who I think are good players, who are also decent people, I think Jimmy Butler is kind of in that in that kind of range now. But no, I think it’s super important. And you have like NBA players like LeBron James is looking for a fucking gaming chair now so he can start streaming and shit like, you know, you have he’s going to get a Herman Miller chair probably because everybody in the fucking child was just staring at him about that shit.
[00:12:30] But then you have like 80 who’s already doing that? You have Schreuder who’s already doing that. You have a bunch of people in the NBA who are already streaming together and playing these games, whether it’s like GTA V or they’re playing war zone. But that’s I think it’s going to go that way where like you have players who are on the court, you know, they’re NBA players, but now you’re starting to see the other side of it where it’s like you get a little bit of like the human side of it, where it’s like, you know, how we it have been if, like you saw Michael Jordan put up some fucking crazy numbers and then like the next day on his off day, he was like, fucking fucking screaming Crash Bandicoot or some shit, you know, like it’s like like street fighter or something. Yeah, exactly. Like it’s it would humanize it a little bit, you know. Yeah. That’s something that actually I’ve been talking about too, just like the social media aspect. And because we feel like there’s this sort of mystique or around Michael Jordan then that kind of era, whereas you look at like LeBron and he tweets out pretty much everything he’s doing, Instagram is everything. And just sort of how that affects their legacy, too, because years from now, I don’t know if LeBron is going to have that same mistake or MJ had just because he didn’t have social media, he wasn’t always posting about what he was doing. So I don’t know. That’s just something interesting to think about. Yeah. Let me go. I’m just going to quickly say that kind of knowing the day to day lives kind of takes and devalues the the legend aspect of it.
[00:13:52] We didn’t know the day to day life of Michael Jordan, but we know LeBron likes using nine hashtags on Facebook and Instagram post because of that. It’s like he’s not he’s not bad as he can be to go because we know too much about him. Yeah. I mean, if you think about it, how athletes are nowadays, it’s like they’re also realizing and I think Shaq started to be honest, you can monetize your external personality more than you can for your sports career, because you got to think of it this way. You’re not an athlete forever. You can’t be. So you’re gonna have to figure out how do you create revenue streams? Rivers can be relevant. Right? So by them doing things like streaming, building a social media, following, by doing all these other avenues, because once they retire, they can do a lot of stuff that still makes them bank and they don’t have to worry about it because that was a huge issue with athletes in the eighties and nineties. A lot of them went broke. Dude, they made so much money. Yeah, they blew it on random stuff. They didn’t have no idea how to finance stuff. They had no careers afterwards and they lost all their money. So I think that’s just like a it’s it’s a good shift in the athletes also understanding that their brand is a business and they should they should work on that and build it out. Not every athlete can do it like some athletes have. Just nobody knows who they are. They’re just they’re, you know, their their support players and the important pieces to the team. But it’s hard for them to, you know, make a brand for themselves because nobody remembers their name.
[00:15:06] But for those athletes that can have their name out there, I think it is so important that they they build a brand off the off the court, off the field because that’s going to let them prosper and, like, do really, really well afterwards. Or just I mean, it’s just interesting watching. I think Shaq started that whole thing, though, because his personality was just like everybody’s like, you can’t be doing this. He’s like, dude, watch me. Like, I’m going to get every commercial you’re going to ever see your life. Crazyhorse it’s. Yes, so many endorsements. If for no reason he takes on like he’s fucking broke. But to your point, I think it’d be really funny to like, you know, like I think one of the coolest times in the NBA was the bad boy. Pistons like that was just like to me, it’s like Bucky, I do like that’s when people were like fight each other and like a little like literally just helping each other in the guts. But like, how weird would have been if, like. You saw that on the court and then they’re tweeting about how much they love their fucking family and tweeting about their tweeting about all that shit like it would take away, I think to your point, it would take away that, like, cool factor and like that like legend factor of of what they were back in those days. I think now with the oversharing, it takes away that like Monck in the fucking tower and on the mountain, just like training every day. All day, you know. Yeah. I don’t I don’t want to watch the Pistons battle the Bulls and then watch Bill NBA play war zone or that, you know, I feel like that might actually be entertaining with the like, nasty streak that I feel like that could actually be funny.
[00:16:37] That’s a good point. Might be right, too. I don’t know. But I mean, you’re definitely right on that point, though. I feel like it would take away and it could take away their edge, too. Like you said, they’re tweeting about their family people back then. I feel like we’ll get really into the trash talk. So, you know, different era men like that, the trash talking, the what you get away with back then, I mean, like. Yeah, like if you just watch, like, how what was a Taliban and what is a foul now. Like it’s yeah. It’s, it’s changed so much like the like fights on the court and stuff like that that happened today. Dude you’re, you’re just a. suspended. You’re going to have nice. Fine on your. Oh so like Luka gets fucking Lukla gets injected just for like, like coughing towards the fucking refs at this point. And so it’s like, you know, anything at this point gets you out of there. Yeah. But I mean it’s it’s strange that people got involved with it, like we always say, like, you know, that was that tough sport back then. That was a tough sport back then because, like, everything’s changed a lot. And I think athletes just need to evolve and get with the times. But I think it’s just overall interesting to see, like sports journalism that’s completely changed. It’s been more open. There’s more like insiders now that kind of build their own shows on YouTube and deliver social media, grow it. You have athletes are building out their brands. But what else do you guys think is like in the future when it comes to, like sports journalism or how how like this insider information is going to happen, where sports are going to go? Because leagues are changing all sorts of rules.
[00:17:56] I mean, I don’t know how much you guys follow, like the NFL rule changes. They’re constantly doing. And like a lot of beefs that they have with, for example, they want to change with the helmets and there’s like position required helmets and stuff like that they were trying to do. And all the athletes like pushing back on it and like making the season one game longer, which increases the probability of injuries. So I think athletes are also like trying to retire earlier. Like, the whole system’s kind of changed a little bit. So do you think that has a direct tie to some people wanting to be an athlete and then become a sports broadcaster? Right. Like in that’s like in their their third kind of pipeline journey. They realize they can do both. I think the full extent of personalities are just looking more towards all. I can be a broadcaster when my career is done. I don’t think I don’t know that that’s all. All I have to say about it. I had no idea, though, of like and in your career earlier to do that. I don’t know if I would. I mean, maybe it just depends on what your priorities are, right? Because obviously in the NFL, probably being the fourteenth man would get you more money than being a broadcaster. I’d assume it depends like how polished you are and, what nine how many years you’ve been doing it. But I feel like it depends on if they’re prioritizing money or if they’re prioritizing health, because that’s something that’s obviously very important to guys. And I think it’s becoming more and more important clearly to the league, too, if they’re starting to mandate like different masks for different or different helmets for different positions to.
[00:19:22] So I would say it just depends on what you’re prioritizing. But something you were talking about, too, in terms of like where sports journalism is going. I’m actually going to be going to Northwestern. And it was funny because I had like a little conference call with the director of the sports media, like like the major sorry I forgot what word it was, but basically what he was saying was like, keep an eye on tick tock, actually, because they talk was like a clear emerging different form of social media. It’s totally weird to think about like sports news coming from tick tock. But yeah, it’s I mean, people didn’t see podcasting coming. People like often don’t see what’s coming next. So I thought that was super interesting just because I’ve never even thought about that. I didn’t want to bring it up because I assumed there was inevitable. That is just going to happen. Tick tock. Which is this isn’t giants, the Giants. I’m not on it, nor do I watch it like Instagram reels to look at tech stocks. But it’s probably there probably is a future. Probably the president already like media presence on Tic-Tac. I’m sure, like if you were talking about barstool sports and what they’re I don’t know their assignment there, probably I’m ticked off already promoting whatever they do. Yeah. I’m sure there’s a future in that for all the different types of sports media personalities and broadcasters. Yeah, I mean, short form content is definitely dominating over the long term content in general right now, like long term content, like a podcast has value. You can get a really good following to follow a podcast, but just for attention span and getting people in like people always want to watch like a minute.
[00:20:56] And then either agree with you or not, but I think that’s dangerous for sports broadcasting because like in one minute, how do you, like sophisticatedly bring up an opinion? It just sounds like you just said some random points and you can see the chats. Everybody’s just talking shit like that. That’s bull crap, dude. That’s the blah, blah. Everybody has their own opinions and get toxic real quick. But yeah. You don’t read the book. You just noted it exactly. The summer. Exactly. But I mean I didn’t tick tock obviously. Like that’s something that everybody needs to focus on because that is just it’s a growing platform. Like it’s inevitable. Like you can say, like, I hated volleyball. I was like, dude, everybody jumps to that. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to move to it eventually. But the other thing is like YouTube is right now, they’re slowly starting to roll out their their rules. So, like, if you build a YouTube channel now, you can leverage their shortcode content flow. I don’t think anybody can make a platform as good as tick tock just because of how a tick tock has created their algorithm for you page. So like, it’s just better than any other platform that exists out there. Even YouTube, you know, Google owns it. They can do all this stuff, but they’re still going to be limited in the functionality. But that’s why I be saying it’s like if you’re really trying to build out, like, you know, journalism side, you have to think of, like, how can I take this idea and make it into minute content? Either post on Tick-Tock Post on Instagram, rels YouTube Brielle’s. But that’s unfortunately where some of the sports journalism is just going to have to go.
[00:22:14] Like you’re going to have to be able to take one in which which can be very detrimental to the industry, but that’s what the consumers want. So it’s it’s a balance. Both Yeah. And I feel like I mean, I feel like it could be not necessarily good for the industry, but I think it’d be a good way to gain InterAction’s because it seems like that would be a prime space for just spewing out hotcakes, one after the other and just getting the most amount of interactions with people either hating or loving it. Like I could easily see that being successful. Yeah, I can see the ones that I can see happening now are like like the shaking, a whole series like that, like that is so easily transferable over to talk to you just kind of change the format a little bit, make it vertical and kind of go with it from there. But as far as TotEx go, I can I can see, like if Stephen Smith was like the transition himself onto tape talk, that he would he would get a lot of engagement just because his work and his takes are hot, to say the least, most of the time. Yeah, I actually had someone on LinkedIn reached out to me about it’s a sports version of Tic TAC. I’m not going to like lift the name or whatever shameless plug I want. But when I when I use the app for a while, it’s basically tick tock with, like sports debating and like you record your cake and within ten seconds and then it’s like a threat of people replying to your take. I don’t know if that’s necessarily sustainable, but I like the fact that this is an idea now.
[00:23:43] And we’re talking about it just goes to show where it could go, possibly, depending on what different parts like short form content sports media will go towards. Yeah, I mean, I think the interesting thing there, though, was like I think you can make a platform for that, but I don’t think it’s going to be long living just because consumers want like, why go to a single platform for just sports? If I can go to tick tock and see all these different takes and curium for you page. Right. Like, I think that’s the one issue with some of these Nesher social media channels, because I, I’ve seen some channels really try to build around like Yallock, which takes on on sports broadcasting in like sports ideas and build a really good following based off of that. But I just feel like it’s it’s hard to sustain that right. Because unless you have a consistent flow of everybody who has like something to say about what you’re talking about, you can’t reach new audiences versus on a tick tock, you can reach people that might have not been so bored into sports at that point in time. They’re not going to download a separate app, but they can find your content and to be super bought into it. So there’s just kind of like that balance of both worlds where you just kind of play around with different things, but it still goes back into like short form content and like having those quick conversations with people and what they think overall. But going off of that, I think where we can turn the conversation a little bit about is the NBA playoffs are just around the corner. And I definitely wanted to have I’m definitely the worst first person here when it comes to the NBA.
[00:25:06] So I’m going to be quiet for like the most part and just say like three things in between. But I’m really interested actually hearing from from people I know, Lewis watches them be religiously. I know you guys are analyzing the NBA, so I’m actually really interested in your guys takes on like the current standings and what you guys think actually about the Lakers overall and how their playoff hopes are. For me, the only quick take I have is I still don’t understand how the Phenix Suns and second seed like that’s what we talk about. They’ve got Chris Bosh. That’s that’s all I know. We’re alone. He he lives up the fucking win percentages by like two like twenty percent like any fucking team that he touches a second line. The second bro, like I don’t I don’t get it but but but yeah. Yeah. I’m interested to hear a Lewiston’s thing just because I know like they’ve the Lakers specifically have been so unhealthy the whole year with LeBron just coming back. So I want to hear what your take is, too, because for me, I’m definitely concerned just because it doesn’t seem like they’ve been able to develop a chemistry, especially with Drummond and Schroder was out with covid and now he’s coming back. So that’s something that can really hurt the team. I think we saw that with the Clippers last year. So I’m just interested to see where your head’s at to. I think so. Here’s my here’s my thing. I’m going I’m pulling up I’m pulling up the standings and I’m pulling up the rest of the games that are left right now. So I think, like, I’m I’m a Laker fan. So I’m going to tell you, like, I don’t want to do this.
[00:26:38] If I can find it, they’ll get the chemistry. You know, they’ll do all that shit. And I think they will. Because I like to your point about the Clippers last year, like, they didn’t have chemistry and they just fucking lost because everybody they don’t want it to be the hero, like everybody, like whether it was Paul George trying to trying to get those game winning shots and then fucking balling it hit in the back of fucking the backboard. And then you have to have that kind of you see a Kawhi who’s a fantastic player. Then you have Paul. George is trying to be like the star, even though he shouldn’t be trying to be the center, like you’re the two guy, like, chill on that, you know, and I think that really fucked up the chemistry a bunch because they were just both trying to be the star of the show. I’m thinking that the Lakers are a little bit different because the whole team knows that it’s adding LeBron and it’s really LeBron and give the ball to LeBron. LeBron will control the court and he’ll see what the fuck the best players. I’m hoping that because of that, they they can hold their own. If they play the Warriors in the play in tournament, they’re going to I think they’re going to beat him like it’s it’s going. It might not be like an easy win, but I think they’ll beat them just because right now Curtiz going off and I’m I’m almost willing to bet, dude, if that guy heads back against the wall, he can drop a 60 bomb, like no doubt about it. So it’s one of those things sort of like I think the the chemistry they have is good enough to get them to the point where they need to be.
[00:28:07] I’m glad that problem is playing right now against Pacers. Oh, yeah. It’s going to be his first game back. So I’m glad that they’re doing that because I was scared that Voca was going to keep them out for these last to keep him up for these last two games and just fuck up like any chance of building chemistry before the plane and before the playoffs. So I’m glad that he’s playing this time around because it’s a mixed bag, a drumming like he’s he’s an amazing like he can get boards like no other dude, like that guy is a monster underneath the rim. But like when it comes to points and consistency on him actually scoring on the other side like that, that’s where it’s like kind of sketchy to me. Like he sometimes he puts up like, you know, fifteen, twenty points and other times he puts up like eight points. Like it’s like he has a real offensive game. It’s just like lobs mainly. And when he tries to go in the post and face up but usually does not end well and no it doesn’t, he can’t. It’s weird because he can’t go in for layups like you think. He’s like he’s tall. So you think it’d be easy for him to drive in and put something up. But I don’t know if he just is leg work just needs just needs something there. But the person who I think have a lot more faith in is still Trese. Like, he’s a wild card for sure. But he’s also like he’s proven that he’s really fucking good, especially when it comes to putting his body on the line and pushing in and driving in for those layups. Um, so I can see a situation where, like Drummond, like he’s he gets played.
[00:29:36] But the real clutch times, it’s going to be Trez in there, I think. Yeah. I mean, like you’re just a liability in the clutch. And what is career free throw percentage. Forty six percent or something like that. Like something absolutely terrible. And this is a big liability for him to be there during clutch minutes. And I don’t think you’re going to want him on the floor. They can just pack a Shaq. How can Drummond him and just intentionally follow him and slow down the pace of the game? They just don’t want him out there. Yeah, yeah. It’s they’re probably going to have I’m assuming they’re probably going to have like add at the five. That’s what they did a lot last year, kind of go smaller and have them at the five. But overall, like even looking at the play in and where they line up like them against the Suns, I feel pretty confident about just because there’s so much bigger than the Suns. And even without LeBron, they beat them like last time. So after that I think they would play three six, which I think it would be like nuggets blazers. And I feel I feel pretty confident about that too. I think they usually beat the Nuggets and the Nuggets don’t have Murray right now. So yeah, overall, I think like really the only team that could beat them in the West is probably the Clippers. Yeah, I think that might be it. I was talking to Valley yesterday. We were getting drinks. I said I really want to try to go to the play in a tournament. If it’s with the Warriors, like I’ll try to try to get those tickets. But then I told him I am I’m mentally preparing my brain to pay like ten to twelve hundred dollars to go to like a game three Clippers, Lakers Western Conference Finals like like that.
[00:31:17] That to me, like I think unless the Clippers curse stays true this year and they don’t make it past what, the first round of that second round, if they don’t make it past the second round, then I’m I’m almost willing to wager that it’s going to be a Lakers Clippers Western Conference final. If they don’t get on the jury, you bet on the Clippers to make it that far. See, I don’t know how much I trust playoff Rondo to show up again to that. That dude just it just depends on his mood and what he feels like doing and if it’s the playoffs or not. So I don’t know. I don’t know that necessarily carry their hopes to a point. But I, I kind of believe in playoff. Rondo let’s playoff. You believe in playoff now. Not that we don’t know. We don’t talk about we don’t talk about playoff B be quite on some certain occasions like elimination game hasn’t been playing that well either, which is I feel like a stat that doesn’t really get highlighted as he was it the who who took them out last year. Was it then nuggets. Yeah, the Nuggets won the Nuggets took them out the last game didn’t he. The last half didn’t fucking play off. P and Kawhi only score like ten points combined or something like that. Or but the second half was awful. Yeah. So I mean I think if they just get put under pressure like some people hold and some people don’t, I still to this day will hold like oh far out to the, to the death dude. I’ll fight the fact that the the Raptors shouldn’t have sort of gotten that ship like the only reason they got that ship was because of all the injuries that fucking happened going down exactly.
[00:33:03] In the same game or like them. Yeah. So it’s like they look cool. They got it. That’s their ship. You run with that shit, you got it. But at the end of the day, it was just literally injuries because the warriors were going to fucking and we’re going to smack them around for sure if they were actually healthy. Yeah. And hearing about that playoff run, it’s just so weird because Kawhi was insane during the playoff run. You just put it up there is is insane against the Bucs, against against the Warriors. And then we thought he was going to be able to carry that over when he joined the Clippers the very next season. And then when you see him kind of melt down against the nuggets like this, bigger than him, and just really Clipper Kearse like seeping into his play. But I don’t know, I guess just clutch play. Thing is, you know, there’s ups and downs and I guess it’s just inconsistent. I don’t know. Don’t get me wrong, dude, I, I love Kawhi because you kind of have to if you’re from Riverside or from the Ferrum, you’re literally like if you don’t have at least respect for the man then you’re just a hater. Dude, get out of here. Like, like the dude, the dudes from here, you know, shout out the fucking king King High School, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Literally in Riverside or in front of L.A.. Yeah. He’s from here. He played in San Diego State Local, you know, and then he shot over to what Spurs. Right. That he picked out of the Spurs for a while. The Pacers drafted him and then they traded I think the same both OK. And then he got a ship with the fucking Spurs and then immediately just shot over to the fucking Raptors.
[00:34:35] Yeah. So the like. I don’t get me wrong. I respect the dude, but at the same time, I don’t think he can really. I think he’s losing his grip a little bit. He’s just in the edge for sure. I think so. Yeah, so, I mean, out of out of the current playoff brackets, like, who do you think is going to be in first the East versus the West to be in the championship game? I mean, at the end of the day, this is all speculation. We don’t we don’t know the finals. Who’s who’s going to be in the finals, man. Like, it’s the same way. Like when you do your March Madness brackets, everything you guess is going to be wrong, most likely. But I’m actually fascinated here. Like, who do you realistically think will be in the finals east versus west of playing in that finals game face off? The teams are going in. Obviously, there’s so many scenarios. It really depends on who’s playing who. That’s the reality of it. Right, because there’s certain matchups that some teams are just getting knocked out. But who do you think is going to be in the finals? Well, we’ll recap this back when the finals are and make some bets. But then also, John, Jared, I’m here to I’m curious to see Occulus. I’m curious to hear I guess the safe bet would be Nets. Lakers? Yeah, I guess. I don’t know, I, I trust Brooklyn to obviously got the East I don’t believe have been great. Doc Rivers, by the way, even utilizing Embiid just literally bringing him out past the free throw line has helped open up the space so much more. I just feel that hard and Kyrie. It’s just hard to contain in the playoffs.
[00:36:05] Like who are you going to guard and take the like cheating off on defense. So we’re going to come out the east and I know the Lakers blah blah blah. They struggled with injuries and stuff but they have LeBron. I hate to say it that way, but they just have LeBron and he’s doing fine. Barring any injury, he’ll be fine. And I think the Lakers will just I don’t know. I feel like the Lakers clawing at the conference finals will probably be one of the hardest part as the West. The West is absolutely fucking stacked like you look. He’s always, always that the east has like four or four or five good teams now. But like the West, they’re good teams all the way down to like the eighth seed like and that’s that’s the crazy thing like that. It’s fucking stacked in the West. Yeah. But just in terms of the favorites, though, I think I’m probably the same way, except maybe I’m debating Philly, Brooklyn, because it’s like the same thing. I do wonder about injuries and that’s stuff like chemistry. That’s the thing I weigh versus just like overall talent. Yeah. And it’s tough because like how many games have KD Harden and Kyrie play together? What’s going to happen when a game is close down the stretch and Philly strength is defense. But again, it’s hard to defend those three guys. So that’s the one that’s kind of like up in the air. I would probably lean Brooklyn just because of the talent. Like it’s overwhelming, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Philly made it. Yeah, but contrarian in me is like hoping that Brooklyn kind of implodes. I don’t know. That makes me feel like, you know, growing up, you know what I want? I want to see them felt.
[00:37:44] Yeah. I just there’s too much talent there for, like, it’s too easy to be on their side. I think so. Yeah. I kind of see that should go down. Isn’t too good of a scenario to happen. Like what could go wrong. Let’s see. Yeah. I mean I think so. Well my head is saying I agree with you too. I think my head is probably leaning towards the Sixers or the Nets, but what my heart wants is for Giannis to finally get in the fucking finals. You know, it’s like do I think I could do it. Maybe that’s a stretch but that’s what my heart wants. Like I just want him to play and like if it’s like Bucs Lakers I think it’d be like super cool to have all the friggin Antetokounmpo brothers playing against each other that for me that be so sick and I’m sure for them as well. But safe bet. Yeah. Brooklyn just their offense is stupid, like dumb. But like you’re saying the Sixers they have, they, they have it’s more, it’s on both ends of the court. I’m hoping like, like you’re saying that they just fucking implode because I think about it like this dude the when you think, when you think of like the bulls, the how many games that the fucking warriors lose, like in their like their run in twenty sixteen where they only lost like once I’m sure it was once. Oh you’re talking about when they win. Seventy three or nine. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So they some pretty rough. Yeah. Yeah. So they won seventy three nine and so they just fucked it up. They just absolutely fucking just took it you know. But still like it’s like and that’s like with the weapons that they had there.
[00:39:27] Right. And they had you know that’s when they had KD and that’s when I think they all said he could all and everybody like that. Right. Still on the ceiling there you have the nets. Oh this is before the this before they did. This is playing for Haiti. Yeah. That’s a good thing. Yeah. That’s that’s one dollar. Yeah. They had those weapons. And ridiculous challenges like they take broke if they had those weapons and they did that record, and now you have arguably like some of the like top three of the top 10 shooters in the league, and they are nowhere close to that record. So I think looking at that stat line is enough for me to be like they might actually implode. Like, yeah, there were injuries. They were all this shit happening. But at the end of the day, even if I have one, two superstars playing on the court at the same time, that record should still be fucking solid, like they should be the number one in the east and they’re not. So I honestly think that they might they might just go down just because there’s too much too many hotheads. You guys just you guys just don’t see an opportunity for the jazz to kind of pull it out when it comes to the West. Just talking about it. I’m not a believer in the jazz. I’m not a believer. I have it. My main my main argument against the jazz is the fact that the Houston Rockets, when Harden was there in twenty twenty, eighteen, twenty, nineteen rounds and sixty five games, they were so good in the regular season. And I mean, yeah, they ran into like a historic warriors’ team. But the fact that even with the Milwaukee Bucks, the fact that we’ll see like a storied regular season, you just have to be able to sustain it in the playoffs.
[00:41:07] Like it’s great that the Jags are doing this, but we haven’t seen them, you know, traveled that far in the playoffs yet. So and so I see that I want to believe it. And I think it’s so important on who actually leads the team. Right. Who is those people that have the experience to run the playoff runs the same in any sport. Right. That’s why I like when when the when the playoffs started, the Bucks are going to be the Super Bowl. I don’t know if they’re going to win. It’s like you can’t tell Tom Brady that you’re not going to be like he’s going to he’s going to find a way to win. Like, that’s just like the personalities of the players. And if you don’t have that personality, your team and your really good team, you’re going to end up choking in one way, shape or form. Like that’s just going to happen. You know, it’s one of the reasons why I was like a little bit concerned when they got rid of Rondo just because it’s like, well, I feel like you want that, like look like the only people that are real veterans that were veterans. The Lakers really like tough ones. It was Rondo on LeBron like. So you have that, you have those like two kind of on the court leaders during the playoffs that can kind of like calm you down a little bit and be like, hey, yo, chill out. You know, like we know we’re cool. We’re chillin. Jared Dudley, bro. What do you mean? Look at it. I tweet that motherfucker every day. I’m like, that’ll give me some fucking tickets, bro. Let me let me be your baby momma, dude. Like some shit out dude.
[00:42:23] Let’s figure some shit out. Do let’s get together. Let’s link up. Dude, they always fucking ignores my DMZ. I slide in every day. Wow. I was going to say I remember I told you the story about but out of sheer respect for myself, I can’t root for the jazz just because their security kicked me off of their premises for when I, when I was in Utah I was really, I was yes. I was waiting for the store to open because I wanted to buy I want to buy like a fucking hat, like a just like a jazz hat from the actual place. Yeah. And it was close because we’re that early. We’re there for like a shoot. And I got one of those lime scooters and I started like jumping it off of the steps. And so so we were just like fucking around doing donuts at the time, scooters and like going around like two security guards just like ran towards us. So, like, get the fuck out of here. Like, you leave this place. And I was like, whoa, chill. Like waiting for this place. We’re wait for the sort of open. And they were just like, you don’t wait for anything open, bro. Get out of here. Leave just like behind when we left. So ever since then I can’t wait for just how dare they. I was trying to spend money on them free drunk. No, this is like an 11:00 a.m.. This is this is this is so you know, it’s like, you know, you don’t wanna drive drunk, lose out and not be able to go to Utah. Yeah, dude. Yeah, but get this. This was early. I had just had my Starbucks. This is I was chill indeed.
[00:43:43] I was sober as a whistle. I was also in Salt Lake City. It’s so hard to get alcohol in Salt Lake City. It’s yeah. I was over. Yeah. Yeah. I’ll take a shot. A melt vodka. Yeah. Who I want my coffee caffeinated and they’re like, oh she’s shit dangerous. Oh you must be atheist. Oh my God. You got out of respect. I can’t, I can’t root for the jazz. I’m if I ever become famous I got to tell them to you. Security fucking kicked me out for doing jumps on on your premises. You know it is it though dude. Come on. Yeah. You’re out. You’re acting like a buffoon loitering law. I now. No, no I get it. I get it. No, it’s it’s a funny story though. Getting kicked out of the fucking Jase’s premises. This is I’ll be able to tell that to the day I die. But now I think like I said, sexers, I think six is going to take it like if I had to really if I’m hoping that they implode, that the nets implode and it’s the Sixers. But again, I want the books. Do fucking give me the hawks, dude. Something like this. Give me give me the fucking give me that next. Dude, if the next dude I went to the to the Lakers next game the other day like I was there and the amount of fucking I wanted nothing more when the when the Knicks were up and like holding that like two three point lead. Spike Lee was fucking courtside. I want to do it. I want to, I could see his ass. I want nothing more than to just get my fucking phone and like feeling it at his ass and lock him in the head.
[00:45:24] It felt so good like I saw one, like LeBron and Eddie were talking shit to him, like I literally saw. And I was like, fuck yes. You like that guy. I was like he was tall. He was talking mad, smoke the whole fucking game to the to the whole Lakers. You could see his ass as the Lakers were coming down the second half. He was just like you could see him standing up and like Stoutland, just bullshit, dude. So I was so high that that the Lakers won that game and he just fucking sat there literally as like LeBron. And they were like waving by the hand. You just sat there and stared at them like God minutes. No more of so much pride to be a Laker fan at that moment. Dude, you’re a menace to society, but I respect you. Oh, yeah. Dude, you got to be there’s an iPhone ten to you this. It’s worth like one hundred dollars now. I got nothing to lose. You got the. All right. So we got we got the hot sex so we got, we got, we got it. Sounds like next Lakers and the Sixers. Lakers that’s that’s the that’s the spread right now on what you guys think. I feel like if I was just a pick I just pick like the most random asked you to watch me be real option you like. All right. It’s going to take a at the box versus the suns. Just fuck it, you know, let’s see what happens. But I do. I do. I’m offended. They even said that right now. I’ll be honest. I’m kidding. Dude, I really do think the Lakers will be there just to your guys point, like you can’t you can never count out.
[00:46:42] But I think the important thing there is I do think the Lakers are going to be in trouble. If there is any new injuries, though, the second there’s new injury, I think there’s no way the Lakers we were joking the entire Knicks game, like you’d see like add like hobel a little bit. And I’m like, oh, my focus back is fucking twitching right now. Do is always on the broad. He’s always. Oh yeah. I mean, good for him dude. He wants to fucking rebound but chill. Do you like your body spasm when he can. I can’t have you fucking sliding around the fucking corner like during the playoffs you know. But I’m curious to change it into Valse World because he knows a lot more about football, even though it shouldn’t be called football. For some reason, they named only your user foot three times in the game, you know. Yes. Field goals and kickoffs. That’s it. But it should be called handball. I don’t know what the fuck it’s called football. So what’s what’s your take right now? Who’s the favorite? I’m going to put it in your list. You hasn’t even started yet. The fucking preseason isn’t. Who’s your favorite for the Super Bowl? It’s honestly the bucks are stuck again. Did you see what they were able to do with their cap spending the off season? And how much money do the bucks have now? It’s it’s dumped on your money. No. Is right by the airport, bro. Is it. But I will say this to I will say this. I was that’s that’s a dis to Tampa Bay there. I will say this though. It is pretty cool that they have a fucking pirate ship coming through their stadium. That’s that.
[00:48:12] That is the number. I would say it’s interesting because the Patriots made a really, really good pick up. We’ll see how Cam plays with actual weapons, not with their pick ups. Let’s look at the quarterback. The quarterback looks like a carbon copy to work. Tom Brady looked like no, that come up for a couple of years. It’s going to be Cam’s can’t this is this is a make it or break. Because if Cam can’t perform with weapons, they got like they’re never going to be able to spend too much time picking his outfits out instead of fucking watching Taperoo. So that’s going to be interesting. But bookseller’s look way too damn good. And then if Aaron Rodgers does end up going to like all of us, the Broncos will be good. They would be really good. They just need a quarterback. And the thing is, if they can get hurt, Rodgers, they’ll be positive. But then also you’ve got the Jacksboro. Let’s let’s talk about the Jags. You know, they got this crazy pick out one quarterback, Tebow. No, they got Tim Tebow, bro. Shut the fuck up. Shut up. Tebow has a tight end to right. Tim Tebow is not going to be a tight end, bro. There’s a quarterback. Maybe he’ll be good as the tight end Little League and then coach, right? Yeah. The only reason that people are, like, justifying him as a fucking titan is because, like, oh, he’s big. It’s like it’s like people are like, oh, when he was a quarterback, he would push people away. It’s like that’s a common. Now, do we tend to lean back when Tim Tebow was playing in like fucking nineteen eighty five. Yeah sure. Like that shit was like, that shit was difficult, like no one was really doing it for the nineteen eighty five fucking around.
[00:49:40] But I’m saying like whatever the fuck you play dude like oh sure he would stiff arm of motherfucker that’s trying to like take them down. Oh, that was impressive back in those days, but now you’ve got people cutting, like cutting left and right. You’ve got quarterbacks who are so athletic that it’s it’s just it’s commonplace. Now, we’re in the era of, oh, my God, we’re forgetting the fucking name. The Ravens, the quarterback and Ravens Lamar Jackson. Yeah. You’re the era of like Lamar Jackson kind of thing. Like you brought it back to like the Super Mobile, athletic, feisty quarterback, like its back. I don’t want to see Michael Vick because his fucking who who he was off the field but like that, like shit like that’s back, you know. Yeah. And Jameis Winston looks real good for the Saints. Like you had a crazy offseason training. I don’t know. It’s going to be interesting here. This is the first year they’re adding an additional game and also the CAPPER team like they’re making super teams at this point. But it’s hard for me to believe that the Bucs will not be in the Super Bowl again because of Stack the Raiders. Yeah, like in Tom Brady’s entire philosophy is like he doesn’t think he won unless he had undefeated season. That’s why he was so pissed at when they lost the Giants, because they were going to be able to pull out the undefeated season and he literally would trade back three Super Bowls to get one undefeated season. That’s all he cares about that. And then Eli tweeted back and he was like, no, no, no, no, no. But Tom Brady, the Bucs already said that you can play for them until he’s like 50.
[00:51:00] Like, they just they just straight up said, as long as you can play, we’ll keep signing until you’re 15 years old. My mind is going to be on fucking stilts, dude. Just fucking chilling those things. I think. I think they’re going to win it. Yeah, I think you’re going to win it again. What it’s in isn’t the Super Bowl so far this year. It’s either this year or next year. Yeah, I think so. It’s this year that’s so far. Yeah. Fuck fuck about. Do you want to do you want to liquidate the company, get some tickets. How about we just sign a bigger client like Sophi and just get that’s the scheme. So I thought this, this entire company has been a ploy for me and Val to get fucking some Super Bowl tickets and plotting for this is like a liquidy just so you go out once the rule fuck is worth it is worth it. Did you see the Raiders, though? They got a whole club like they literally are building like club tables and everything like that behind the field goal post that like the seats are so expensive and they have like deejay’s, they’re gonna be playing and stuff like that. Of course, the Raiders would do that in Vegas. But like, would you guys pay to be in that club watching the game and having, like a D.J. having bottle service, sitting on the nice comfy seats? Is that an experience you would want to have or would you have like the grueling seats when you have, like, three guys next to you that are clearly overweight, yelling at you three hot dogs that you would experience? Would you rather guys, I don’t know if you could tell by my angry eyebrows as you were talking, but like, I would never find myself at a fucking Raiders game, dude, like, first off, unless it’s like a you can never see the Raider Nation fucking scares me, bro.
[00:52:39] That in the fucking IPA. Yeah, the bulls mafia and the fucking Raider Nation is fucking it terrifies me. I’d like to go to a game wearing like a fucking Rams jersey. I can’t get at it. I wouldn’t I would just come wearing a T-shirt. I will be wearing this, but I’d be like in my pocket, like whispering under my breath whenever the Rams scored a touchdown. I think I think the Raiders Chargers game a few years ago here in San Diego, someone got stabbed or was it an album? I would have it. So how did this happen? And both it’s happened. It’s happened and it’s happened San Diego one year ago now. So I would steer clear away from a Vegas later today. But to answer your question, I don’t know. I wouldn’t for me, when I like watching sports, I don’t want to be in some club drinking environment, not necessarily saying, like, this motherfucker’s throwing thugs at me. It’s like a more attractive place for me to sit down. But I’d probably be best clown sitting back in the day. Yeah, it’s a game with football to my my favorite part of soccer games is getting the fucking bleeder like the cheaper tickets and just getting showered with beer whenever, like your team scores any like you know, it’s like that’s the best part about like going to MLS games is going to like national games and stuff like that. Just like I went I went to a Chivas America game in Mexico. It was so crazy. Like they were shoving fights, fights, little fights. I was wearing a t shirt and the security made me take it off. Yeah, you’ll get fucked up. I went to save saved my life. Lokey I went to a bar.
[00:54:21] Was it was it was the Mexican national team. And I think Jamaica, it was like a qualifying game and it was at the Rose Bowl. And even that she got rowdy for no reason, bro. Like they were like there were like to fucking Jamaica fans and like in a Sea of Mexico fans. And like, I was in the bathroom and there was this one dude who was just belligerent drunk, who was just like Spowart. Knoff about the fork in the game, and like some guy was just like 80 to fucking shut up and he comes out, bro. He like he like he put a shit away in like a nanosecond like we’re talking like like he’s put it away, zipped it up and he gets up to the guy and like fuckin pins him against what the fuck to say is like fuck you up. And the guys like you like he’s like I’m not trying to get anything dude. And I’m sitting there like, my God, like what this is like off of like to mudflows right now. Like only that shielded, you know, it’s a different down to I get a different view of John that what would you rather do sweeter. The hot dog daughter’s probably the sweet. I feel like that would be safer. Right. And probably more comfortable to it. The nice chairs they have. Definitely sweet. Yeah. And I well, who’s your who’s your team, Higginsville for NFL, and if it was it’s been the Patriots. I’m a huge fan for everything I know you guys would hate on the Celtics, the Patriots, everything like Red Sox. I mean, because I when I when I was younger, like that’s when I got into sports was when I lived in Boston.
[00:55:57] But then coming over like I’ve loved watching the Chargers. I’ve watched love watching the Lakers. I know that’s like the most contradictory thing ever you can tell, like the Celtics and the Lakers, the same time that, like, is banned. I can’t I can’t allow that. But I mean, football wise, like it’s always been the Chargers and the Patriots. I’ve always loved watching the Chargers because I’ve been in San Diego and being able to watch those games. But at the same time, I always love the Patriots, but I have to be low key about that. In California, especially UCR. I was always just like when the Patriots won the Super my freshman year. I was just like the back and forth. These guys, I’m like, oh, my big brother the next day. And we’re like, we’re like a Brady jersey. I like Peyton Pullover. I used to be like all Boston Sports fan too. I feel like the Celtics. Once Brady left, I stopped liking the Patriots. I was really, really disillusioned with everything. Once Mookie left the Red Sox, I’m like, Oh, dude, I hate not the Mookie. Yeah, and that xmen, it’s about Coco Crisp. Yeah. And I’m sure that’s true. And then I had only the only hockey run I’ve ever watched in twenty thirteen when the Bruins beat the Canucks in like six games or something. And then the very next day I think the city of Vancouver erupted into riots in the streets because they lost to the Bruins in the Stanley Cup final. And then we got through that. I visited Vancouver. I’m like, oh yeah, this is where they’ve been broken windows. And it was kind of a surreal moment for me. But that was that was it. That was like my sports fan.
[00:57:22] Yeah. Yeah. For me, I mean, I’d say I’m a Rams fan. I didn’t really start watching football until recently, but I’d say Rams and Lakers teams, you know, although I, I growing up my family, except my dad was a Raiders fan, so everyone was just big time raiders. And then my dad was a is still a Cowboys fan. Oh, he fucking goes back and forth like he root for the Cowboys primarily, but he likes Green Bay a lot. But then like I said, watching football and then I was just basketball. So I’ve always been Lakers fan. And then I got back into football when the Rams came back because they’re like, OK, cool. Like there’s actually like a decent team in L.A. that I can go watch. So I go back into that. And then MLS, I’m a I’m an L.A. FC fan on an L.A. Galaxy fan. And that’s really I mean, for hockey is the only sport that I don’t have, like a local team. Like I I’m a I like the sharks just because back in the day when I was first getting into hockey, their goal in me was like a fucking God. And I was like, that guy’s so fucking cool. And I was like, I’m going be a shark fin. But then he left and now they’re not that good anymore. Like, they’re decent. They don’t get me wrong. They made it to the playoffs and stuff like that, like they make it to the playoffs and they make it pretty far, but they just don’t got it in them anymore, I don’t think to to kind of take it far. So now I’m kind of leaning on becoming either a Ducks fan or Kinks fan. I mean, Hockey’s like because I’m originally from Finland like that that’s our sport is hockey like that’s why I grew up loving hockey, grew up and like you brought me and stuff like that is known for their goal is to karazin me all the all these players like I love going to hockey games.
[00:59:04] If you guys are never going to talk to you, you got to go to hell. You talking about like Americans watching hockey. They just wanted to watch it. That’s literally why Americans go watch hockey. Everybody’s drunk. And the best comedy I’ve ever heard in my life was when I went to the hockey game. They’re like, oh, don’t worry, it’s only the third quarter when it’s three periods, there’s no quarters in it. And they always like what I heard that I’m like Brage, like, I just I need another beer. I’m getting out of here. Like, I can’t I can’t deal with these people anymore. But they’re always fun. They’re always a good time. I think the most engaging sport to watch in that aspect. But the reason I love like basketball is it’s always something happening. Basketball. Soccer is just the atmosphere in the stadium. Right. And then football just like exciting sports. Well, so I think that’s for everybody. It’s like you got to have that sport that you just didn’t like and you’re all about it. And I mean, for you guys, it’s obviously basketball. Yeah. I mean, to to close out today’s show, I know we talked a lot about, like getting into sports journalism. You’re filling out your guys podcast and going into some banter around sports. And Louie’s getting banned from watching JASE’S games. But to close out today’s show, we always end with a failure story. So I’m excited to hear if you guys have some kind of story to share, it can be anything. The main reason for really is just to articulate something that was very moving for you guys that helped you guys get to this point where you got in your life because nothing’s ever a straight line.
[01:00:25] You’re always going to deal with some stuff in your life that you learn a lot from. So the floor is yours. If you guys have any story you guys want to share and you take the floor, I’m still thinking about what I. You go ahead. I was supposed to be like professional related. Yeah, right. It could be anything you want, man. We’ve had we’ve had everything from professional to not professional, but it’s just anything of a learning moment for you. Well, I feel like graduating in twenty twenty in itself is kind of like a failure story because the job market completely crashed and like at the time everything was shutting down. I was in the process of doing interviews for a position with like ESPN next, which was like this like production assistant program where they keep you for like a year. And I did two interviews and then basically they shut everything down and I never really heard back from them. And I’d say that was my failure story. And I think that’s something that the class of 20, 20 can definitely relate to. Got it. I mean, from from that moment of, like, not being able to get that opportunity, do you think that kind of give you guys more fuel to, like, work on your podcast and start building out technically fell because you kind of wanted to put your passion into something else then at that point? Yeah, without a doubt. Like after that, I think shortly after that is when I hit up Geria, too, because I was like, I want to make sure I’m still progressing. I also do like some writing competition, which is how I kind of got to know or became aware of Jeff Pearlman, who we had on a podcast.
[01:01:54] And then I applied to grad school, too. And like I said, I’m going to be going to Northwestern this fall now in Chicago. So I’m pretty excited about that one of the top journalism programs in the country. So I’m very excited about that. And I think that definitely helped me push me to do that, because with the job market building, I was like, I don’t want to be stagnant. I want to keep progressing, so how can I do that? And that’s why I ended up doing that. That’s awesome. And congratulations for getting in. Thank you. Yeah. Turn your turn. Yeah. No, but I also just wanted to say that it’s more gratifying being able to produce like we’re in charge of our success and what our like passion and work is, as opposed to having to rely on someone to accept us. Like I can send out hundreds and hundreds of job applications and then I don’t hear anything back. But it’s it’s better that at least we’re doing something that we love and are passionate about. That being said, my feel story is a necessary one, like a certain moment. But it’s just graduating college and thinking that I was going to be like handed a job because of all the work experience I’ve put up in college, put up in undergrad and thinking that I didn’t have to do more to prepare myself. And I don’t know if it was like a confidence versus cocky thing, but like I would look at my work resume. What, because John and I had work resume is almost like the same. An interview. We did a lot. We did like all this stuff. We did commentary. We did a radio show. We we both wrote for all different types of sports at the at the university paper.
[01:03:37] And it was ignorant of me because it’s like, yeah, every motherfucker in America wants to pursue sports. Journalism is doing the exact same thing, if not at least focusing on one thing. And they all got internships during during college, during the summers in between their second and third year or whatever. So it was it was just assuming that I was like in a better position than anyone else and that I, I don’t know, I lacked some competitive edge in terms of like, oh, I can better myself. I was just like, yeah, no, I did fine. And I was content with that. So that’s that was a feeling that I had to overcome for sure and like get out of my own world that I did so much I was qualified then. Yeah, here we are. Definitely I don’t know. I like that story a lot because I think that resonates with a lot of people is that you tend to look at your own experience, but you just don’t understand like like everybody is trying to get that exact job is going to go for those same exact experiences that really have that same credentials. And you have to somehow separate yourself and you keep improving and kind of pushing forward from both of you guys as experiences. Do you have any, like, advice for younger people that are right now getting ready because graduation is right around the corner, right? So both you guys are stories about your guys, graduations you’re going in two years ago. So would you have any advice to those students that are going to be graduating this year? So I guess before I say anything like that, this claim would be like, I don’t think I’m not successful and landed my dream job or whatever, but based on my anecdotal experience, that would lead to one obviously network.
[01:05:08] And to always update your resume, because I find myself looking at my resume and then I would type something and I would look at like a past like bullet point. And then when I start thinking this is something that I wrote in my twenty nineteen, I should be updating this more like your writing style and the way you present yourself, obviously kind of changes. So yeah. Updating like a bit of your resume, more curating the cover letter to the specific company that you’re working for, not just. What I used to do was like, I’m just going to change the header and like the intro like of what the company was, and then I would be like, yeah, let’s just like pump it out, just send like hundreds and hundreds of these. But it wasn’t as personal and I guess intimate as a cover letter should have been. So, yeah, I would say those. I would just say one, just like make sure you apply a lot of places, but also just be willing to do the work like you’re not going to start off with your dream job. So you’re probably going to have to accept something that isn’t what you were initially going for and just do the work. That’s something that’s always been big to me. Like sometimes you’re going to have to work for free, like this podcast we’re doing for fun. It’s not something where we’re going to be getting paid, but that’s just about building experience, building your skills and really like investing in yourself. So you’re ready when the opportunity does come to take it? No, absolutely. I think both of us feedback is fantastic and it really resonates with a lot of students that are going to be gearing up because anything you want in life, you’ve got to do the work to get there.
[01:06:37] And then also it’s a stepping stone thing like where you’re at today doesn’t mean that’s going to be your permanent state. You can always advance from there, but you have to understand that and figure out the ways that you can personally invest of yourself and get to that next point. But yeah, I love having you guys on the podcast, and it’s been a great conversation. I know you guys have your podcast I without which now we’re officially going to be getting you guys content and getting that out there. So super excited to be working with you guys on your podcast overall. Wanted to kind of leave the door open. If you guys want to plug it real quick, where can people check out you guys podcast? What is some content that is going to be coming up sometime soon just so that those that are listening today can check out and stay up to the when it comes to NBA analysis and later done like some other sports as well. Yeah, it’s a sports podcast. And Katsas on Spotify Caterson Apple podcast. We recently did an episode a few weeks back kind of detailing and looking at the last dance one year later and just our takeaways and analysis, a bit of what it was like watching it in the moment. And if we would watch it nowadays, just to we watch a little bit about it. Obviously, we’re going to have an episode detailing, like our reactions to the play in and then more seating and other playoff. Yeah, the playoff topic could be coming up soon. And we’re also going to look to have more guests on as well. People like in the industry who have been really good articles, like someone who I’ve been wanting to have on for the longest is Marion Fator.
[01:08:08] So I’m really hoping to reach out to her soon and hopefully have her on. She’s at the ringer right now. So I think a big part of why we’re excited about this partnership, too, is it’s going to take away from our editing time, which is going to give us more time to reach out to potential guests and have more more fun people on to share their experiences, too, in the business. And we’ve had a decent amount of pretty solid names. And like the sports journalism or assistant coaches for identity, we had Jeff promenading. He’s a New York Times best selling author. He just wrote a Laker book, Seth Rosenthal. He works at SB Nation. Kevin Eastman, who was the assistant coach for the Celtics when they won in 08. And we also had Kaylynn Jones from the ring. He’s an NFL writer at The Ringer. So the fact that we were able to kind of like put those list of guests together with our very, very limited resources and the fact that there are some episodes where we would just be like, yeah, I’m on my phone, in my car, let’s go ahead and start this podcast. So we’re trying to look a little bit more sophisticated. We’re slowly progressing, going up. So we just want to get more guests out there. No, absolutely. Like I said, I love talking with you guys is a great insight. It’s like I said, I don’t know that much about the NBA. And it was good. Good to hear your guys is analysis about it. I’ll not say my my picks again. So Lewis doesn’t want to kill me off screen, but absolute pleasure definitely. For everybody who’s been in the chat today, I’ll let Lewis protect himself and give his give his two cents off camera, not on camera.
[01:09:43] So so that shows integrity. The show’s integrity can also be what with but. Yeah, exactly. But yeah. No absolute pleasure having you guys on death. We will have you guys on another time sometime soon. For those listening today, definitely check out technical foul. But that’s mainly it for today’s Today Show. Thank you for tuning into the brew. This is when Nick, your cue to drop drop all the social links into the chat. And we’re we’re pretty much set for today. But thanks for tuning in for everybody.
