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The Paul Finebaum Show
A highlight from Hour 4: Chris Marler Joins the Show
"Fun, baby, and I am having fun today on The Paul Feinbaum Show. Our next guest, Chris Marler, he's the host of college football's uncensored podcast, and I've got to be honest, from what I'm hearing, this guy likes to mix it up, quote, unquote, with the fan bases over the mean streets of social media. Chris, welcome to The Paul Feinbaum Show. For a moment, thanks for having me, man. I don't know the mean streets. I'll take that. I'll take that. I'll get some street cred before we start this, for sure. Dave, if I'm giving it out, take it, brother. Take the mean streets cred. All right, Chris, what is the temperature of Alabama football right now? I know people are concerned. I mean, the call lines have been filling up all day with questions about Alabama, not only questions, but concerns. Yeah, I mean, so I think it makes sense, right? Like, you're going into the first season where, in probably six years now, where you don't have a answer or a potential, from what we've seen so far, first round pick at quarterback, right? Like, you don't have Bryce Young waiting in the wings. You don't have, I mean, Ty Simpson was a four or five star, but it seems like they're in a little bit of a new situation, I guess, going into this year. You get two new coordinators, which we've, you know, I think Bama's weather that storm, we've all seen that before. I think the issue is all of this is being kind of blown up from the spring game. And I don't think Jalen Milrow or Ty Simpson looked great in the spring game. I do think this is being overblown a little bit just because of the fact that this is going to be a team. When you look at Tommy Reese coming in as offensive coordinator, a guy that, his offensive two to three years in Notre Dame, averaged 60 % play calls running the football. I think you're going to get back to basics here and look at like a kind of a pre 2016 type type of Alabama team where you're going to play really good defense and you're going to run the football and they're going to play to the strengths that they have. No, I agree with you, Chris. I think it's got to be run heavy offense this year. Everybody's used to all these explosive wide receivers, but that is traditionally not who Alabama has always been. I think Nick Saban would love to be a run first team this year. And so I agree with you on a lot of those takes. I want to know about the fans psyche, though. How is that? I think the fans psyche, I think Alabama, the team coach, they're strong. I think the fans here are the one that are wavering. Yeah. Listen, if you want me to tap into the psyche of any SEC fan base, that is a place I don't want to live for sure. Bama fans have always been like, listen, I grew up, I hope there's some Anderson majority if they were on here today, they would first and foremost say thank you for what you did against Tennessee in 2005. Roman, you talk about the fact that like it's an unhinged fan base. It is an unhinged. I again, I grew up in this fan base. It's one of the worst fan bases in the country. I love them to death. But like, yeah, we're not exactly spouting off a lot of rational thoughts, especially on social media. And I think that, listen, if we're being honest, I don't think that your next door neighbors with your former defensive coordinator over there in Georgia winning back to back Natty has really helped that psyche at all. So I don't think it's exactly a, you know, from a mental health standpoint, we're not exactly the strongest as a fan base right now. All right. And talking about Georgia, I want to ask you, and this is personal here, your personal opinion. What is the biggest threat to maybe the downfall or the fall of the Alabama program? Is it truly other schools or is it the own past success of Alabama and its program under Nick Saban? Wait, so is the question about Bama's program or Georgia's program? Alabama's, sorry. Like, what is the biggest threat to Alabama? I mean, as you know, I guess people want to say it's trending down. I don't say that. But that's what people want to the experts, the writers and, you know, anytime they get a chance to knock Alabama, they will. So is it because of the other schools getting better or is it because, you know, they're being measured up constantly against their past success and endeavors under Nick Saban? You know, I think that it's probably a mixture of a bunch of things. Georgia has put together an incredible program and has done things in the past two seasons that really even Alabama wasn't necessarily doing in the peak of the early Saban years. I do think it's a massive rush to judgment and overreaction that the things that like the dynasty is necessarily dead or people have said like that. You know, you look at Georgia a year ago, right? You're a few plays away from losing to a really good Ohio State team. And that's like, I don't think people want to give credit where credit is due in the landscape of college football, where there's a lot more parity, especially in the SEC. We know about a Bama team that has looked vulnerable at times over the last couple of years. I don't think that people are used to seeing how that team was able to win games, right? Like we talked about earlier with like with being almost an offense first type mentality, give up, you know, in the 30s, 40s and 50s, once last year in Tennessee, first time under Saban at all. They're a little bit more undisciplined. All that being said, they won 11 games for the 12th straight year. I think the biggest concern if you are talking about what's going to dethrone that dynasty, you have two games on that schedule this year that you have to win.
The Paul Finebaum Show
A highlight from Hour 3: Stephen Means Joins the show
"We're taking more of your calls, looking forward to it. And the next one, we're going to go with the wireless caller, Dan, out of Louisiana. Dan. Brownway? Yes. Hey. How you doing, boss? Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thanks for calling. Oh, yeah. You bet. I don't get nobody on there fixing to watch LHC play baseball and talking to you on the Feinbaum Show. But anyway, Roman, you were born in Louisiana, right? No, I was born in Alabama. I spent most of my professional career in Louisiana. It's my second state. OK. Well, that makes sense, Dan. I had wondered, you know, why you went to Alabama, because I thought you had Louisiana ties. But anyway, where are you at on LSU and Alabama this year as far as who has the best shot to win the West and who has the best shot to maybe make the fourth team playoff? Well, number one, I really like LSU. I think their roster is constructed to win right now. I think the experience of what they did and were accomplished last year has to give them confidence going into this year. They got two really good quarterbacks that are able and capable, and Jayden Daniels and Garrett Nussmeyer, who I think Jayden Daniels will be the number one option. But Nussmeyer is sticking around. He totally believes in what LSU is allowing him to do. And obviously, he feels that he is growing there. So I like that anytime a quarterback sticks around and continues to battle it out. And that that lets me know he's in a good space. But the return of Mason Smith, the defensive tackle, I think is going to be the biggest impact. I saw LSU when LSU lost games last year is because they did not stop the run. And so Mason Smith is a run stopper. That is what he did does. And he also can get after the pass rusher from the inside. They returned Harold Perkins, who I think is outstanding player. And I actually love watching him play. You got Brian Kelly, who all he does is win ball games everywhere he goes. So it's a it's a it's a great combination. And I think everybody in Baton Rouge should be excited about what LSU has done and what they pulled off in the conference last year. My only question mark is for LSU is once they start winning last year in the Bulls, I was on them. They weren't sneaking up on anybody more. They faltered. And so how do they handle the pressure of being the hunted and no longer being the hunter? And that will be my my only question mark. Alabama on the other side, you got two new coordinators, which is not new under Nick Saban. And you also have to replace an all -star quarterback. The quarterback situation is not that defined. I remember the last time it was in this situation at Alabama. Jaylen Hertz came out of nowhere in the first game and really took over that role and continued on to his great career and what she's been able to establish going forward. The only other question mark I have for Alabama is really who is going to be the secondary players in pieces that go out there and make plays for this Alabama secondary, where I feel over the last few years that that is where they have subsequently given up some big plays in in questionable situations. And so can Kevin still get that side of the ball figured out if they do that, they will be good. All right. And now our guest, our next guest is here. That is what my opinion was on the Alabama LSU comment. Now I am ready for my main guest, Stephen Means. And he is he's yeah, he's Ohio State beat writer for Cleveland dot com. Stephen, how are you doing today? I'm good. Thanks for having me. Oh, man. I'm good. All right. Let's just start out with I'm shooting from the hip here. Is Ryan Day really on the hot seat? No, not even remotely close to the hot seat. I get it. We've lived in the world for the past 20 years where losing the Michigan has become so foreign to everybody when it comes to Ohio State that two losses in a row. We think that the roof is on fire. But I do think now, granted, two losses in a row, the way that they've lost them, that's not a good thing. So he's not anywhere near the hot seat. But I'm not going to say he's like sitting comfortably in his office either. I think that the Georgia game and how that played off and how it was basically, you know, if you move five or six yards closer, Ohio State's a field goal away from potentially winning a national championship last year. I think that maybe cooled some things off with the fan base and their view of the program and where it's headed. But no, he's not anywhere near the hot seat. I agree with you, Stephen. I thought if he if they would have got blown out by Georgia, they didn't look competitive versus Georgia hot seat for sure. But I think the way that he had his team ready to go, that was the best performance in my eyes of Ryan Day in these big game situations that I had seen. And what was your opinion on that? I thought the effort, I thought the energy. His enthusiasm, the way he led his team in those moments was amazing to see almost the Ryan Day that I had not seen from the outside. And I'm completely on the outside looking in. But you're on the inside of it. Was that the normal everyday Ryan Day or was that a little bit more of a special version of himself? No, I think that's what we had come to know Ryan Day to be really up until this year where it felt like especially that Michigan game. He was a little bit more conservative than we've known him to be. If you remember back to the two Clemson games, even the 2019 game, a lot of the reason they lost that work because Ryan Day didn't show up for the moment. It's just, you know, a targeting call here, a decision to flip a scoop and score there. It's a different game. In the very next year, they come out. And I think what's probably been the defining game of the Ohio Ryan Day or how it's so far in that 2020 Sugar Bowl against Clemson. So this is loose, relaxed, aggressive Ryan Day as a play caller has been why it was such a big deal when Gene Smith promoted him the head coach when Urban Meyer retired. This has been more of the norm. What we've seen against Michigan was maybe him getting in his own way a little bit. I love that. And so, you know, one of my coaches named Aaron Glynn would always tell me is that, you know, Roman, so often in life, we get so caught up in chasing down this dream or the person in front of us. And you actually lose sight of the most dangerous one, which is the one behind you until they pass you up. Is that where Michigan is at at Ohio State? And as Ohio State fans, are they actually worried about Michigan now? Because for a long time, they didn't even worry about them. They were so focused on Alabama, Georgia, the teams in the SEC competing for championships, that now you actually got to refocus in and start winning your own conference again. Yeah, I wouldn't say worry. It's the biggest rivalry in sports, so it's always a thing that you're paying attention to. The Ohio State even with two losses, it's not like they weren't valuing the rivalry in that situation. I just think Michigan's a better program than it was 10 years ago. Jim Harbaugh, he was, Michigan was going off two bad hires when they hired Jim Harbaugh. So he had to spend the bulk of the last five, six, seven, eight years here just getting that program rolling. And now he has the recruiting is at a higher level. The development of the players is at a higher level. And now you're seeing it on the field where in 2021, they finally started winning some big games and they made the playoff and they got a taste of it. That's the standard Michigan now has for itself. Ohio State is not a worse off program. It's just for a decade or so, Michigan was not a very good program.
The Paul Finebaum Show
A highlight from Hour 2: Rolodex Flex
"Connor O 'Gara from Saturdays Down South. Connor, welcome to the Paul Feinbaum Show. How you doing, man? I'm doing good, man. I was waiting for a second. I was kind of, it's all good. We're good. You kind of made me, almost had me a little nervous. Okay. All right. Well, good. Well, Connor, I just saw your article today. You mentioned you were talking about Evan Stewart, that you were maybe a little bit questionable, and not because of his talent. He was the number one rated wide receiver in his class, but more of the history that is of being a Texas A &M wide receiver. And for those that don't know, could you explain the history of what it is in the non -drafted players that play that position for this university for so long, and how he may be the next great one coming out of the SEC? Yeah, you know, it's interesting. I think if you look back at the history of true freshman receivers in the Jimbo Fisher offense, they're kind of scratching your head going, man, it is really hard to emerge and be a productive wide out. And especially in, you know, playing in the defensive backfield in the SEC, when you're a sub six foot guy, and you're lining up exclusively on the outside, man, I just think that's such a tall task to ask of a true freshman. And especially in an offense last year, let's be honest, we had some questions about it. And I think those questions were justified. What wasn't maybe justified was me being so skeptical of Evan Stewart emerging as a true go -to playmaker in this league. And, you know, I think that it's pretty impressive when you look back at his numbers and realize this guy had the most receiving yards of any true freshman ever in the Jimbo Fisher offense, at least during his time as a head coach, both at Florida State and at A &M. And the previous high at A &M for a true freshman receiver was an IS Smith with like 248 receiving yards. So I am really high on Evan Stewart. I think he's if you look at his surroundings, getting what should be a revamped offense with Bobby Petrino, a better quarterback situation with Connor Wigman, and I think a little bit more pre -snap deception, I think that's going to do him really well. With pre -snap pre -snap deception, you mean some motions, some, just a little bit of some shifts, anything, right? And I would, how do you feel that this relationship is going to continue to build or progress between, because that's the big question mark right now. I know all the transfers in the roster turnover at Texas A &M may have people on the outside questioning, but for me personally, I worry less about that because that's today's college football or all the college athletics. But the relationship between Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Petrino, two fiery, emotional coaches, how do they mesh? How does it promote the Texas A &M offense going forward? I think there's a world in which this relationship can work. It doesn't mean it's going to. I mean, we're talking about two guys who, like, let's be honest, man, like, they haven't had to answer to anyone on the offensive side of the ball. So you think about that dynamic at this stage of their careers, it's not so much, you know, what does it look like if they get off to a nice start, which they very well could, but what do those tough moments look like? What if there's two consecutive games in which, okay, the offense isn't really humming and it's not necessarily the level that Jimbo Fisher wants because ultimately he gets final say at this. And so it's going to be difficult because the offense has been Jimbo Fisher's baby and he is allegedly giving control to Bobby Petrino because when you're as bad as you are offensively as A &M was last year, you have no choice. I don't care how much money is left on that contract. You have to do something and he did. So, you know, I do think there's a world in which this works, but yeah, I think that those tough moments, they're going to be there, but it's really going to test Jimbo Fisher in a unique way that he really hasn't had to deal with during his time as a head coach. Yeah, I can't wait to see what happens on the first fourth and two or three and they don't get it, right? It's like, oh, what is going to happen there? That is awesome. I'm just imagining on the sideline what we're going to get ready to see. But Connor, I want to kind of segue to the powerhouses or what we're projecting to be the top part of the SEC West. We have Texas A &M, LSU, Bama, and possibly Ole Miss. Out of all of those teams I just named, who do you feel is the cream of the crop? I can't bail on Bama yet. I can't, and I'm not just pandering to you. I swear I'm not, but look, I think that everybody that's expecting Alabama to fall off the face of the earth and that they're going to be a nine and three team and overreacting to the spring quarterback situation, I would push back on that. I mean, I'm still not at a place where Alabama is just all of a sudden not necessarily at that level where they're competing for SEC championships on an annual basis. I mean, think about this. Bama's been the pick to win the SEC every year since 2015. The last time they weren't picked to win either the SEC or the division was when Auburn was picked to win the SEC that year. Bama was still picked to win the West, as weird as that is. Auburn ends up going two and six in SEC play. The Jeremy Johnson thing happened, and it was just a disaster. Oh, by the way, Bama goes on to win a national championship. So picking against Bama, history suggests that the last three times that they've been picked against to win the division or the SEC, they've gone on to win a national championship. So I'm not willing to be that guy just yet, probably, despite the fact that I love what LSU returns. I think LSU has fewer questions than Alabama coming back, and LSU's coming back as the defending West champs. But I do think that Bama has other areas that we're probably overlooking. This could be a vintage Alabama secondary. The offense line should be improved, and maybe their running backs get back to some of that physical play that we've seen in years past. You know, in the addition of Tommy Reese on the offensive side of football, you know, he brings in transfer Tyler Buckner, who I don't, I'm not saying he brought him in personally, but will Tommy Reese be able to have the freedom to really, you know, sink his teeth into this Alabama offense? What are you hearing on that side of it? Yeah, I think he will be. I think he's going to get that opportunity. You know, Alabama's such a unique situation because Nick Statement always says, you're not coming in here to reinvent our offense. You are running our offense, but you're using our tweaks within the offense. And that's been the case no matter how accomplished the offensive coordinator has been. You know, Brian who ran an NFL franchise, Steve Sarkeesian, and Lane Kiffin, I mean, gets to come in here and kind of set what Alabama's offense was. But, you know, I look at Tommy Reese, and I think that his youth is a question that has a lot of Alabama people kind of scratching their head going, man, like, is this guy ready for this opportunity? I don't think the standard of Alabama offense that we've come to know is going to be met necessarily. But do I think Alabama can get better defensively and perhaps make up some of that difference? Yes, I do. I don't think that it's realistic to think that, like, Bama is going to score 45 points a game and just pick up kind of right where they left off. I think they have too many questions for me to be willing to say something like that. But, you know, at the same time, can Alabama still be in the thick of things in late November and once again competing for an SEC championship? Absolutely. Well, we got to talk about the SEC West champs, all right? Jayden Daniels returns at quarterback. They get back possibly the most explosive true freshman defensive player we've seen since I've been working for the SEC and Harold Perkins Jr.
The Paul Finebaum Show
A highlight from Hour 1: Blake Toppmeyer Joins the show
"Host for the day, Roman Harper, SEC analyst, yada, yada, yada, played at Alabama, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers. You know enough about me. There's no reason for me to harp on it. But today's going to be a fantastic show. We got some guests. The phone lines will be open. I encourage you all to call in. Now, today, you must also understand you don't get to see my beautiful face, my fancy suits. This is radio only. SEC baseball has taken over the SEC network, and because of that, you get the radio version of me just for today. It's okay. We're going to all manage and get through it, but I'm looking forward to all the calls, the same type of energy you guys always bring to this show, especially when I'm the host. And you're not going to have to wait too long. We already have our first guest right here. It is Blake Topmeyer of the USA Today. He is a writer, and I have all the questions dealing with the SEC. It's big SEC weekend. They will all be meeting down in beautiful Miramar, Florida. Blake, how you doing today? I'm doing well. Thanks for having me on, Roman. So Blake, let's talk about it. All right. And let's get all the little stuff out of the way. So Texas and Oklahoma will have representatives in the room, unable to vote, but they will be taking part in all the meetings. What is the overall feel of this weekend? Yeah. I mean, I think the big question heading into this is, are we going to get a verdict on SEC schedules? As we know, the final year for SEC schedule on the docket is this season. After this season, it's a big blank piece of paper. There's nothing for 2024 and beyond. Of course, that's when Oklahoma and Texas will join the conference as competing members. And at this event last year, it was dominated by dialogue between athletics directors, university brass, debate around eight game schedule or nine game schedule. By this point last year, we'd kind of narrowed it down to the idea that divisions are out the window after this season. 2023 is going to be the last year of divisions. But again, for a year now, it's been this debate between eight or nine, and there's still been no consensus. I think earlier this spring, Roman, that there was the idea that this issue would be settled at spring meetings this year. As the event approaches, you're starting to hear some whispers now that maybe it won't be decided this week. And I say it won't, but I don't know that it's just cut and dry that it's going to be decided at these meetings as what I would have thought a few months ago. There's still, I think, a lot of disagreement on the two sides of this camp. Now, Blake, do these same talking figures understand that if they don't get these things ironed out now, when SEC media days arise very soon, it will be all gotcha questions from there going forward. Like, who are you going to want to play? Who's the team that you're looking forward to? You're going to get Nick Saban all riled up again, rattling the cages about what teams and how unfair it is that Alabama is probably going to have to play Auburn LSU in Tennessee, knowing that all three of these teams are viable championship quality teams year in and year out going forward. And so is it fair? Is it unfair? Can we just say let's go with nine teams? Because the tradition and what the SEC has really been built on is the secondary rivalries. I know we have the big ones, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia. But the secondary rivalries are what this whole, this conference where it's the oldest rivalry in the south, Auburn versus Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida versus LSU. These are the rivalries, the ones that nobody's really paying attention to that really rile it all up and make the season go. How do you feel eight versus nine? You tell me. Yeah, I completely agree with you. That would be really the devastating part if they were to stick with eight. I mean, we know with the division structure, they preserve those rivalries you're talking about with the way they've got the division and the locked in inter -division rival. They've been able to preserve Alabama, Tennessee. They've been able to preserve Auburn, Georgia. But as he said, divisions are going away after this season. So if you get rid of divisions and you go with an eight game conference schedule with one rival, you're going to lose all those secondary rivalries you talked about. Now, they'll still be played every other year. But in my opinion, and it sounds like you agree, that's not good enough. I mean, Auburn, Georgia, you can't be playing that game just every other year. Alabama, Tennessee, you can't be playing that every other year. And that's, you know, for all the hand wringing we hear from coaches and athletics directors about how these different things like NIL and the transfer portal and all these types of things are going to ruin the sport. I don't know. I enjoyed the sport quite a bit last year when we had NIL and the transfer portal and rivalries galore. I think the thing you can do to upset fans most and to water down this sport the most is to eliminate those rivalries, is to take away kind of why we all love college football. A big part of the reason anyway, in the first place, are those heated rivalries that go back in some cases, you know, more than a hundred meetings long. And, you know, you saw the scene last year in New England Stadium, you know, Tennessee fans, light and old cigars that they've been hanging on to for years. We've seen it play out time and time again, just how important those rivalries are. And, you know, I think the coaches and administrators that are maybe in favor of the eight games, they're thinking about how do we get to eight and four and win the Wheat Eater Bowl. You know, I understand those motivations, but come on, we can't be losing the rivalries. Now, this is a simple question here. And so, well, not so simple for me because I don't understand it, but where does Oklahoma and Texas fit in all this? Are they just in the meeting room and they're how are they participating at all? Do they get to raise their hand or there's questions asked or you just sit back there Oklahoma and Texas and you just wait on this, okay? And where do they fit with the secondary rivalry? So, you know, we understand Texas, Oklahoma, but Oklahoma, maybe their second biggest rivalry is Oklahoma versus Oklahoma State. Will they still be able to get those games in knowing that if we're going to come in your first year, you already have nine games, SEC then you'll have to fit in your other big ones off the table. Where do those look like? Would it be early in the season? Will they be able to fit them in late? Like an annual kickoff game? I would like to know maybe how they're looking at their scheduling as well. Yeah, you are kind of the peanut gallery if you're Oklahoma and Texas at these meetings. It's like you get a voice, but you don't get a vote. It's kind of a strange place to be in. Is that like Puerto Rico? It's like Puerto Rico. That's right. Yeah, a voice, but no vote. You know, with Texas, I think the three assigned rivals in a nine game schedule would fit pretty neatly. You'd have Texas A &M, you'd have Oklahoma, and presumably you have Arkansas, the old Southwest Conference rivalry that would be rekindled. I think that works great. Oklahoma is a bit of a strange lineup if you go to the nine game schedule. Obviously, you have Texas there. I would think Missouri is a likely assignment. They'll be stretching back to the big eight.
Bet The Board
A highlight from Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
"I'm your host, Todd Fuhrman, joined as always by racing analyst extraordinaire Chris Wormy and Wormser. It is the most festive weekend in all of motorsport, the Monaco Grand Prix first thing in the morning, the Indy 500 from Speedway, Indiana, and of course, the Coke 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway, where you, my friend, will be in attendance looking to buy beverages for all of our most loyal Stay Green listeners. Yeah. Hey, you don't shoot me a DM, I'm happy to buy a beer, talk some racing. Charlotte's just an amazing race town, so it's just kind of everywhere you go, you just see NASCAR, you see racing, I even found myself at a dirt track last night at Mill Bridge, and man, you know, I'm certainly into NASCAR and racing, but I still stuck out like a sore thumb. I showed up in white shoes and a white t -shirt and everyone's got goggles on and mask cover in their mouth and dirt is everywhere. I had to reach out to Murph, our buddy who works at SHR, be like, hey, I need to use your, you know, your washer and dryer because my stuff is wrecked. So it's been kind of a fun, fun week here, hit up the NASCAR Hall of Fame and got to visit SHR, went to Hendrick today just to check out their museum, you know, took a picture of a few cars that made me money and then a couple that cost me money, one of them being Jimmy Johnson's car where he went to Homestead. So I just set the record straight for everybody there that were, you know, himming and hawing at this car. I wanted to let them know that, by the way, second best car that day, Kyle Larson had them covered just in case you were wondering. But definitely awesome out here in Charlotte. If you're a race fan, you should definitely come check out this place. Just NASCAR everywhere you go. For those folks new to the Stay Green podcast, we break this thing up into three very distinct stages. Stage one, usually all about what we learned from the previous race and how we can apply that going forward. Stage two, typically betting basics, but I buried the lead as we have a very special guest who is generous with his time. Adam Alexander, for those NASCAR fans out there, have seen his great work on race, part of the Xfinity telecast, and he has been a fixture in motorsports across all different disciplines for our stage two piece. And then for stage three, we'll do a deep dive of the Coke 600. But before we get into stage two, this will be the shortest stage one we do. I mean, you mentioned the experiences that you are partaking in. You got out to Charlotte pretty early this week. I mean, what's the whole itinerary look like for you that you left the home office in Phoenix? You're in a non -legal betting state to try and be able to partake in a little live betting. So I'm sure you'll have your runners working in full force for you over the weekend. But how are we laying this out? When did you get to Charlotte? And what else do you have on the itinerary outside of what you outlined for us already? Yeah, it is funny that that is part of what I've been doing since I've been here is messaging people. You know, I'm texting with Papa Joe. Hey, do you plan on live betting the race? You know, better be careful. You've honestly better be careful how much access you give Papa Joe. You're going to bet that you had no idea you made. And I'm not quite sure they're going to end up in the plus side of the ledger. Yeah, I can't imagine him. Well, you know, he even said, would you like my opinion at all? It's like, no, no, I never want your opinion. But he got out here Monday and wanted to kind of really just get a chance to see the city. I have not spent extensive amount of time here. I did come to the Coke 600, but it was literally fly in, fly out last year. So I wanted to kind of experience just short track racing, hit up Millbridge last night. And just crazy to see just Carson Hoselvar just walking around, Chase Briscoe just walking and around Sheldon Creed. I mean, they're just this is what these guys love to do. And it's kind of cool to see just what a Tuesday night in in North Carolina looks like at a short dirt track. So a lot of fun that the NASCAR Hall of Fame was awesome. Got a little bit of a private tour there. Seeing NASCAR headquarters was also fun. And then tomorrow night, there's a fundraiser for Kyle Bush that I plan on attending. And then it's it's kind of the work week. You know, you have truck practice in the race on on Friday. And then obviously, it's it's cut practice on Saturday and then the race on Sunday. So it's whenever there's three races on a weekend, you know, come Friday. It's it's kind of, you know, all work and no play until till we see that checkered flag fly on Sunday night. Will you be trackside for all three series races for the truck race, the Xfinity race, weather permitting? Hopefully we get it to go off without a hitch on Saturday. And then, of course, the marathon that is the Coke 600 that starts in the bright sunshine and the track changes considerably before we wave that checkered flag, sometimes early in the hours of Monday morning, if it's been a long enough race. Yeah, the plan is to attend all all on track functions. However, the one that I would actually prefer to be kind of in the office or at my computer would be just cut practice. I do think that there's some valuable stuff here that I can I can actually get when I'm not at the track versus at the track. So that would be the only thing in the on track activity that I would miss.
The Paul Finebaum Show
A highlight from Hour 4: Connor Riley Joins the Show
"Final hour, Peter Burns in for Paul Feinbaum, 855 -242 -Paul is that phone number as we continue to roll on. I'm a firm believer right now as entering the 11th inning at Hoover Met, A &M 5 Arkansas 5. Listen, if Major League Baseball said it's good enough to start extra inning games with the runner on second, it damn sure is good enough to be able to do it in college baseball. Set it, I believe it, that's the way it is. Put the runner on second, allow them to do just like they do in Major League Baseball. If it's good enough for the pro game, it's good enough for the secondary pro game which is SEC Baseball. Jock Juicet joining us right now, he's out in Hoover. Are you with me Jock? Are you a purist? You said no, that's not the game. Well, in real time somebody just hit a home run, Arkansas did, so is that the game winner? Yeah, they were the home team. So it's over Peter. Wow. So, maybe it's a moot point. The baseball god stepped into the conversation and ended it. Literally, right there we were asking, hey is something going to happen in Arkansas with the walk -off home run to win it and, again, doesn't end A &M's run over at Hoover. It's a situation where they, of course, advance at least to double elimination. I think they did enough to get into the tournament, but they are calling the hogs there as they win on the walk -off, right as Jock Juicet is taking a phone call with us. So they advance to the winner's side of the bracket, they'll face LSU coming up on Thursday at 5 .30. Walk me through LSU's victory today. How impressive was it? Well, Peter, I think the biggest storyline is that Thatcher Hurd transferred to LSU from UCLA in the offseason and gave LSU a very strong start on the mound. He's been up and down all year. He went over five innings today in the LSU bullpen, which has been seriously ridiculed and perhaps rightfully so, including a game on a Sunday against Mississippi State in which they led 13 -4 after five innings and found a way to lose. Nate Ackenhausen came in today and closed the door, pitched the back half of the game very well through four, nearly four shutout innings to close things out. So LSU's pitching today was very strong. Everyone has said all year that it's false games, one superstar, and nobody else on the staff, but if LSU can trust Ty Floyd, he's been pretty solid lately, and perhaps Thatcher Hurd as well. Maybe just maybe they've got three good starters on the mound going into the NCAA tournament. The offense obviously showed up today to score 10 runs, Braden Jobert, an early two -run homer. They were able to manufacture some runs with a couple of base -loaded walks and a couple of sacrifice flies, and Trey Morgan bought in a run, and so did Dylan Crews. So top to bottom, a real collective team effort today for LSU, who entered this thing. Basically, Jay Johnson said they were a lot to be a top -eight national seed, that this was all gravy, and so obviously another victory just, I guess, solidifies that even more. Yeah, and again, now they'll have an opportunity to face Arkansas, which really, it gets to the point where you're just kind of improving a little bit of your seed, but they have been the number one team in the country for most of it. It was Kendall Diggs, by the way, that ended up hitting the game -winning home run for Arkansas. They win 6 -5, LSU won earlier, 10 -3. John, what program right now has the most juice around LSU? Is it Mokie Squad? People are talking about, I wouldn't be surprised if LSU ends up getting picked to win the West in SEC media days in Nashville, or is it this baseball team? Well, without a doubt, no one has ever talked about women's basketball at LSU to the extent that they do now. Like, you know, the conversations, Peter, you get in the gym when you go to the workout in the morning, it's June and July, and people are saying, hey, who's going to play quarterback? And who's going to, do you think we got a shot? Well, now I'm getting those conversations about women's basketball. Hey, you think we're going to get Haley Van Liff? What about the girl from DePaul? Is she coming? You know, and so people who never cared about the sport, and you could have honestly fired a shot gun in there a few years ago and not hit anybody, I mean, now you're packing crowds, and I don't know, and Peter, you're very familiar with LSU as well, and I was with Skip Berman's house on Sunday, sitting on his couch and shooting an interview with him. I don't know if anyone has ever moved the needle at LSU like Kim Mulkey does. Now, Saban obviously was a game changer, perhaps the biggest hire in the history of LSU, but you talk about, you know, men, women, old, young, black, white, when it comes to clothes, when it comes to the way she coaches, people from the outside who don't like her. So the women's basketball has got a lot of juice, but you know, football will always be king there, and I think baseball would be a second in terms of fan interest and passion. It is interesting because I almost wonder for an LSU fan right now, would you rather win another title in football, or would you rather win it in baseball? And the only reason why I say that is because 2019 is still fresh on the mind for LSU football fans, and I feel like they look at this and go, hey, it's been a while since, hell, even making it to Omaha, much less winning the whole damn thing in baseball. Yeah, it's been since 2017 when LSU had some bad luck and they lost in the finals to Florida that the baseball team made it to Omaha, and you know, they have only really, since Brad Cressy delivered the game winner to score to Ontario in 2000, they've only won one national championship since then, and so that's only one national title in the last two decades or so. So yeah, would you like to, you know, update the Intimidator and especially with this team, which has been measured against pretty much impossible standards from day one, would you take that, but of course football and what it brings in as far as money and all those different things, it's hard to go against them to win a title if you can. We've been talking about a little bit on the Fine Bomb Show today about next week in Destin, after SEC baseball tournament is over, they're going to put together some type of vote of eight game conference schedule versus nine. Some teams have been kind of vocal about where they stand. Do you have a way or thought of where LSU is leaning on either playing nine conference games or eight conference games, what they'll vote for? You know, I don't, I mean, I do know that during, when Les Miles was the coach and Joe Oliva was the AD, they were banging their fists on the table every year to get Florida off as their permanent opponent, that it wasn't fair and they should do something about that as far as equality and of course those guys are gone now and Florida and LSU have played some tremendous games over the year. I think the thing that LSU fans kind of complain about is, you know, we haven't been to Athens, which is by many people voted the best college visit or road trip in the SEC, right? Everyone loves to go to Athens. Well, LSU hadn't been there since 2013.
The Paul Finebaum Show
A highlight from Hour 3: All Calls
"We get a lot of your phone calls coming up over the next two. We see Mike Dock and Sarge all on hold. The number, as always, 855 -242 -Paul, that's 855 -242 -7285. We saw A &M was up 4 -0 on Arkansas, who had added a run, and then a go -ahead grand slam in the bottom of the seventh. That game right now over at the Hoover Met. Top of the eighth, duck on the pond there for Texas A &M, looking to continue their role to be postseason bound. And we saw LSU take out South Carolina in a little brunch baseball over in Hoover earlier today, 10 -2 -3. Big fifth inning for those LSU Tigers. 855 -242 -Paul is that number. Dock is in Alabama. Welcome to the Paul Feinbaum Show. What's up, Dock? Hi, how are you, Peter? Doing good, man. You have made the question, who could be the next one? I'm not saying that Auburn will be, but what I'm saying is, a lot of people, they look at the transfer portal and they say, well, these guys are leaving because they didn't get play in time because they're not the best, or they've got two or three folks ahead of them. That may be the case in the system that they were in, but I take a look at Bo Nicks when he transferred from Auburn to Oregon, look how well he did. It could just be that we weren't running the scheme that fit what he could do. Now, a lot of that, granted, has to do with the fact that our own line was absolute garbage. I mean, it was. And anybody that says otherwise is lying. But I'm just saying, I can see the case where Auburn could make a run. I can't say they will. I don't know anybody that really can, but I can see them going far into it. And I just think Hugh Freeze has come in with an iron fist and has absolutely laid down his expectations and has, at least to the Auburn fan base, lived up to what he said he was going to do. Doc, I'm glad you bring that up because this is the first time I can remember. It's been a while. We launched the network in 2014, so you're coming up on nine years now, that I have seen this much maybe excitement and this much belief and this much alignment around Auburn football. I think what's hurt Auburn football over the last four or five years was always this kind of, is Gus going to be back? Is Gus not going to be back? These people want to fire Gus. These people don't want to fire Gus. Then when Brian Harson came in, everybody was like, what the hell was that? And then everybody was saying, all right, we need somebody new. I told the story yesterday. I was at the Regents tradition at the Pro -Am, Doc, and the amount of War Eagle I heard when Hugh Freeze was walking by, I don't recall that. I can't remember the last time that we had people genuinely all going in the same direction and how they felt about Auburn football. Now, the product might not be there right now, Doc, but I can see that there is hype and there is belief and that's a hell of a currency in college football. Well, when you took what Cadillac did, you get the Auburn fan base rallied behind somebody like Cadillac. When he got the fan base rallied, you look at how the players responded to that. We were dead in the water. I can't say that I saw us winning one more single game. And then Cadillac comes in, gets these players fired up, and he got the fan base fired up. And I fully believe that the fan's reactions, the fan base showing up and showing out the way they did, got those players ready. Man, I remember Friday nights when we'd go to a game and we'd look over on the sideline, man, we didn't have anybody there. I'm going to tell you, that resonates with the players. So I fully do, man. I believe Hugh Freeze has got us, I haven't seen the product on the field, but I can feel it moving around how well he's got this fan base fired up. Doc, thank you for the phone call. 855 -242 -Paul is at number. And it does. It feels like there's a circling of wagons around the Auburn, faithful around the community that feels this could be that team, right? And it may not be this year. I've said it. I think that there could be a college football playoff contender next year in 2024, especially when the field opens up a little bit. And almost this is kind of like a redshirt year for Hugh of figuring out what you have, get your staff together, and get everybody ready to go. And he's not going to say it out loud, but that's really the project that they're trying to work on. Sarge is in Kentucky. Thanks for joining Peter Burns into the Paul Feinbaum show. What's up, Sarge? Peter Burns, Peter Burns, Peter Burns. We haven't heard from Hugh in deep gap for a while. And my main point, I've got two other side points, but Cal is missing his Midas touch. Coach John Calipari, unfortunately, the game has evolved and Cal has not. Only coach John Calipari can take CJ Frederick, who was close to a 48 % three -point shooter. And over the course of a season, you know, ding is his ego, break his confidence, and not use that weapon appropriately. And when we look ahead, two years from now, we have zero recruits on the board. As of right now, there's only seven players. We're struggling to fill a roster. Let me repeat that. We are struggling. Kentucky is struggling to put a full squad on the bench for this coming season. There's a rumor that Antonio Reed might transfer. We just missed on that forward from San Diego State, Kashaw Johnson. I mean, we've got Reed Shepherd. He's a hometown hero. God bless him. Lance Ware is going to Villanova. Frederick's transferring to Cincinnati. You know, Wheeler's gone. Damien Collins are gone. I want to say, my third point, UK needs to open up booze. They've had a hypocritical stance at football games for several years now. If you're wealthy, you can have it in the boxes. If you're the common folk, forget it. I'm sorry if I'm just rambling, but I know you need to move to other calls. And then lastly, Peter, what do you think about the evolution of the fan experience? I think there's a lot of people. Here's hypothesis. my I think there's a lot of people between my age. I'm a young gray haired. I'm in my mid 40s. And people that are two or three years out of school that they would love to go to a game, Peter. They would love to be able to buy a beer, a hot dog. And maybe they want to look at the game on like a screen or from far away. But I don't think they care about sitting in an assigned seat. I think that's an outdated mode of thinking. And I think Ole Miss experimented with this. I'd love to see Kentucky or other schools really think differently about the fan experience. What about augmented reality? What about virtual reality? Those are things that I think innovative schools, they're already thinking about those types of fan experiences that people 10 years from now, five years from now, they're going to want. Sarge, thank you for the phone call. A lot to unpack there. And I think the idea to get a ticket, even at Commonwealth, or Kroger Field, and to find a ticket, if you're a young kid, unless you're a student, it's tough because they're expensive, right? We know that. There's only X amount of games to go to. And especially with your eight game conference schedule, there's not a whole heck of a lot of great home games. So those tickets are going to be at an abundance. It's tough. I go back and look at what the Colorado Rockies did is that basically they had these party decks. They had spaces where, hey, the football stadium is the place where everybody hung out, okay? You could buy beer. You could have a good time. And yeah, you watch the ball game. There's going to be people that are diehard fans. And if you want a seat, boom, we'll give you a great seat in the house. But are there going to be more of these opportunities to where you can kind of tailgate inside the stadium and hang, right? Standing room only. Dallas does that with the Cowboys Stadium. Perhaps.
The Paul Finebaum Show
A highlight from Hour 1: Lead-off Guests
"Today over the next four hours. I'm Peter Burns filling in for Paul Feinbaum yet once again his SEC baseball tournament is underway. We'll take your phone calls 855 -242 -PAUL, that's 855 -242 -7285. We'll talk a little bit about Arkansas, Razorbacks, Auburn right now. We'll talk a little bit about what in the world is going on at Athens. No more troubling news out of Athens in that program. We'll see how Kirby is going to address the latest. We'll give you an update on that and then also we'll talk to Ivan Maisel discussing about what's going to go down in Destin here in a couple of days. About eight game, nine game conference schedule and big move out of the ACC as they are starting to change everything a little bit as far as how they distribute their revenue. Will we see that here in this conference? 855 -242 -PAUL is that phone number. Joining us right now David DeLucci who we were going to try to get on the show yesterday but sure enough you ended up having Mother Nature that decided to show up and give us a two hour rain delay. Did Dari and Alyssa, did they yell at me for blaming me that I jinxed the weather delay yesterday? PB you get blamed for everything. That's true. So if the spread is not up to par you get blamed for it, if the field is not prepared right it's all on you because you're not here. So no it was actually on Dari because Dari keeps talking about rain delays and 18 inning ball games so Dari is to blame for yesterday. I blame it. It was two hour rain delay but ultimately we got all four of the games in. When you look at what went down yesterday out of the four games in Hoover which one David DeLucci maybe surprised you the most? Well I can't say that I'm surprised by the play of Auburn but you know they were facing a Missouri team that was equally as hot offensively and it was a rematch over the last series of the season and you sit here and you go okay all right what are we going to see ball parks playing bigger than what these guys played during the regular season and how the offense is going to be and I tell you what I mean over the last five weeks Auburn has been one of the best all -around teams in the nation and they just came out last night. Look we had three shutout ball games yesterday first time in SEC history so it was pitcher duels all day long and then Arkansas comes in and drops double digits like it's nothing. I think that kind of surprised me more than anything. Yeah if you see at Auburn Tigers right now just as hot as anybody and they kind of remind me I talked to Andy Burcham on my serious XM show this morning they remind me a little bit of this Ole Miss team last year DeLucci and the fact of hey a little bit banged up everyone's kind of thinking man will they even make it to Hoover and sure enough the Rebs got hot they won it all Auburn got hot and Butch Thompson knows how to get those guys over to Omaha. I thought it was a big win for Alabama obviously helps their hosting causes it's a big win for A &M who I think punched their ticket but I think it was a monster win for LSU earlier today DeLucci. What did you see out of Thatcher Herd that makes you think maybe the Tigers found something? So Thatcher Herd went five and a third innings he only gave up two walks and four hits and it's a staff where you and I've talked about it PB you know who was going to step up behind Paul Schemes you see what he is capable of double -digit strikeouts every time he gets on the mound and then after that it's been a whole bunch of inconsistency with Ty Floyd and Christian Little and even Thatcher Herd gave up a couple home runs in his last outing in the regular season so this was an opportunity for him to start with a clean slate come into as I said a big ballpark especially the first game today nothing is really leaving out of that ballpark and he just went in there and was able to settle down and pound the strike and he looks like a pitcher that was on a mission and focused so if you add him to what Paul Schemes can do and if Ty Floyd will give you another good outing and this is another thing to think about Ty Floyd as many walks as we've seen and as much inconsistency Ty Floyd is 7 -0 so in the postseason all that matters is whether you win ball games or not so obviously the offense is hitting and scoring runs behind Ty Floyd with Thatcher Herd now you may have a three -headed monster yeah it's amazing about how you can find maybe one guy I remember Sully has done that in some of his runs that they've had even other teams even Vanderbilt found kind of that one guy that they're like all right we didn't expect you to do that well in this spot we kind of have to start you because of the weird way the weak whirls and then sure enough they end up being somebody that helps a run talking to David Dellucci right now who's over in this does not mean much to what probably Arkansas or Florida for the most part right I mean like these two teams are going to be national seeds no matter what they're going to be national seeds it's just what they're playing for now is whether they move up a spot in that national ranking I think both these teams are in a great space as long as they can stay healthy so their main goal is to come in here and get their reps in but also leave with everybody on the roster able to perform at the NCAA regionals and look if everything goes as planned these two teams go into the NCAAs with one of the most pitching the deepest pitching rotations starters and bullpen they've got everybody is capable of moving whether you need a guy that moves from the bullpen to the starting rotation they got plenty options at that and
CBS Sports Eye On College Basketball Podcast
A highlight from The 15 best one-and-done players in college hoops history; Kansas Alabama (College Basketball 05/24)
"Game Warden Joe Pickett. I'm looking for a lost hunter. This is the work of a serial killer. Based on the best -selling book series by C .J. Box. You either tell me what you know. Another innocent person's gonna die. Pickett thinks he can do a cop's job. Asking who the killer is has gotten us nowhere. What about why? The new season of Joe Pickett premieres June 4th on Paramount Plus. Head to ParamountPlus .com to try it free. Prince Charles is very protective of the monarchy. A new Paramount Plus original documentary. There are only a few of us that can say what really happened. About the man behind the crown. He's one of the most emotional people I've ever met. And the boy behind the man. Charles was a sensitive young man bullied by his father at school. The other boys had decided they were gonna get Prince Charles. He was the boy who walked alone. King Charles, the boy who walked alone. New documentary now streaming on Paramount Plus. Hey there. It's Gary Parrish. Welcome back to the CBS Sports Eye on College Basketball podcast. Where we sometimes discuss camel fighting, dodo birds and leaky black. Matt Norlander is here with me. If you're watching on YouTube, smash the like button. Like your brain and Davies, you have consent. If you haven't yet subscribed to the CBS Sports College basketball YouTube channel. Also do that while you're here. Okay, let's get into it. So as you know, Carmelo Anthony officially retired this week. Which prompted those of us at CBS Sports to start an internal debate in Slack. About the best
The Her Hoop Stats Podcast
A highlight from Courtside 109: THE WNBA IS BACK!
"To another edition of Courtside with Christy and Gabe right here on the Her Who Sets podcast network. I am Christy Winter Scott joined as always by Gabe, guy. Ibrahim, Gabe. There have been so many tweets about the WNBA season starting this past weekend. So many Instagrams and all of that but listen there were so many eyeballs on the WNBA this past weekend opening weekend for the league saw monstrous numbers as it should have because there were some amazing games, some amazing moments as well. I'm gonna tap into all of it and I could tell we're really excited because we started this podcast already and both we've started this podcast twice. Christy has not done our countdown either time she just goes right into it. Just jump in. We're not doing a countdown the first time she was so excited she slapped the phone that she's using to record. Yeah. It was a great blooper maybe we'll throw it in at the end of this podcast. Yeah. Stick around if you want to see it upload. Yeah we'll send it to Justin or something. We're just so excited. We're so excited for the start of the WNBA season. I mean like you know obviously we went to the Mystics games. Well you went to both Mystics games this weekend. I went to the first Mystics game to open the season which was incredible and shocking and just an awesome thing that we definitely have to talk about. Then throughout the weekend we just had some amazing moments from you know everyone. Rike had a big game. Obviously BG coming back was the big story. Stewie had a record in her second game with the franchise which seems very on brand for her. So it's just like so much stuff was happening this weekend and just like beautiful opening to the WNBA season and we do want to say I want to say before we get into all of this because we're going to get we're going to overreact obviously. Okay good. In the WNBA specifically and in every league generally the start of the season doesn't super matter especially in the WNBA where we're getting players back and people are starting to get into shape still. Like 40 games. It's 40 games. So it's not now is not the end all be all of the season if you had some bad losses. Excuse me on the Minnesota links. If you had some bad losses now's not the time to freak out. Right. If you had some great wins now's not the time to think that you are world beaters either. So just want to get that out of the way before we get into all of the story. You have to put the disclaimer out there but no hey I think we have to start with BG right. I mean everyone was out to LA to watch her season opener and then the home opener where she was just phenomenal right. I think with I think it was over what 300 days. Yes. Without somebody playing basketball and I don't know it's just unfathomable that she's even doing as well as she's doing and it's not just her shot rhythm that I'm talking about. I'm talking about mentally getting back on the court with her team in front of a sold out crowd everywhere she goes and then to have Billie Jean King, Magic Johnson and Lisa Leslie all the people in the building you know standing and cheering her on as her name was announced. I mean I still get the little chills down my arms for that because moment we just didn't know that she would ever play ever again. So to see her back on the floor and everyone with the welcome back BG comments that they had across the league, all the players. I mean it was so much bigger than basketball. You could see all the hugs and you know it was just really fun to see that dynamic of the game. Obviously the game and we love the game but that dynamic, the sisterhood, the camaraderie, the brotherhood, sisterhood with Magic Johnson there going to locker rooms with Vice President Kamala Harris going into the locker room and speaking with both teams it's just the respect. I think it just washed over me that wow it's you know they care about you as a person Brittany Greiner and everyone else knows that the league cares that much about them as well and seeing all the love and concern and respect sent BG's way they know they're in an all -inclusive all you know when you go to an all -inclusive resort you know how freeing that is only did it once but it was great you know but when you have that it's when you have that confidence and knowing that a whole league and a whole sports community has your back I mean that's that's pretty amazing yeah and I think you know a shout out to the X Factor first off the field fans I thought they really showed out for that moment and you know in LA they did too where her first game was and Don Staley was there and that was really cool but the moment where she came home and you know they're doing the the team introductions and it's you know Sophie Cunningham it's Diana Taurasi and Diana Taurasi gets a huge ovation they're playing their their regular music to come in right and then like you know you know BG's coming up last yeah and so they she kind of starts stepping out and then the music drops and they start playing coming home you know that's it's a song that comes up a lot now in these situations she's coming home and you can see Brittany like Brittany's face and I love that you know obviously cutting her hair was a necessity for her but I love that she you can see her face more now and like she has such an expressive like infectious almost with her with her emotions and so you could see her like kind of like drop a little bit when the music stopped and like it got really like it felt like the moment was there and you could see her saying like I cannot cry right now I have to keep it together just to walk out because it's supposed to be happy and she she's smart and in an interview with uh and with um oh uh and with the SPN she was like I was trying to hold back the tears you could see it on her face when it happened I just thought that was such a beautiful moment the extractor going crazy I thought the team did a great job with it I thought BG handled it amazing yes that moment submit was great and perfect and beautiful and then as you mentioned she's playing like this yeah she's not right it's not Brittany Greiner's not just back like Brittany Greiner is back she had 27 points in in the home opener 18 points in um the first game in I mean I'm sorry 18 points in the first game against Los Angeles 27 points against Chicago in the home opener getting to the line doing a little bit in the post doing she hit a three I know it's just like I'm so happy that not she it just feels like right back into it like there's not you know we're not dancing around anything we're not saying oh she's back and she's not no no BG's fully back mentally physically and with her game I just think it's it's an amazing thing yeah no it was it was beautiful you know to see her knock in that three and I think uh her percentage wasn't that bad if I recall um I think Rebecca Lobo said um she had taken nine or something like that or four for nine or something so I mean that wasn't bad you know to knock it in it wasn't like it was outside of her skill set just something that she doesn't do on a common occasion but for her to knock that down it was just kind of so theatrical to the moment that was already theatrical so it was really fun to see the smiles on the faces of all the fans and you know all the t -shirts they had the fat heads and and all of that just the spirit of the moment was really beautiful to watch but I think that's that's what it's all about that's what the WNBA represents right um they represent holding you up when you're down and and when you're you know on the top or trying to get back there's that encouragement and that flow of energy that's so positive and it just I don't know it just kind of flowed through the entire arena um and everyone who was watching uh caught a piece of it too so I mean that's what it's all about and it's a life lesson that's what it teaches you so it was really fun to to watch that in real time and not just as a highlight but to see it real time was was very moving for sure so you uh the the shooting numbers are actually interesting now that I'm looking at them from three in her WNBA career is seven of 18 so obviously not a ton right that's 38 percent however nine of those attempts came in 2021 there you go so over half of them came in her last year and then the last year she played something she's been working on she said that in the post game yeah um and and I don't know maybe she adds it to her game which is I hope so