PMS 2.0 1534 - Iman Shumpert, Jeff Passan, Jackie Redmond, Andre Agassi

18:35If you have a locker room where you see those bonds happening, you see guys corralling each other on the sidelines, you see them reacting to another person's success that's on the floor because they might not be getting the minutes. When you see all these things happening, you can point to that team and say, hey, they're going to be all right. Because, you know, when you're making one of those runs to try and get any type of jewelry, when you're making those runs, something bad is going to happen along the way, and you have to be able to hold on to your guys in your locker room. So I think it's been great that you guys are discussing this, the things that Jackie Robinson did.

19:07When I look at it, I think, too, of Remember the Titans, one of my favorite movies, when they talk about those special relationships, those special moments, I think a lot of the times people don't get to get that camaraderie unless they play a sport, and that's what the game does. It breaks that barrier. Whatever we didn't have the common ground to discuss, As long as we all play basketball, we get it. As long as we all play football, we get it. So we love sports, and we love what it does to a lock and roll.

19:32Pat McAfee:We're incredibly lucky to be a part of it. We're thankful that you're a part of more of the televised part of this entire thing, given your opinions. We enjoyed you a lot this season. Congrats on everything. And as we push more into the playoffs, let's talk about the play-ins last night. Charlotte team, this is one of the teams that you're talking about. Feels like they're a tight bunch. Feels like that is a tight bunch team. I like that team. I like that team a lot. It actually sucks that we've had to harp on the thing that happened with Tripp and Bam because if you watch that game start to finish, you want entertainment for just being a playoff, I mean, a play in game to get to the playoffs.

20:05This is true entertainment. We always had that little gap in between the regular season going into the playoffs where we don't really have anything to talk about, nothing to get excited about. I think this play in turn really added something to the NBA, and it was special to see. I thought Davion Mitchell had a really good game. I thought Andrew Wiggins had a really good game. These things should be talked about, and we didn't get a chance to because of one play, but that was a very, very entertaining game last night.

20:30Pat McAfee:Yeah, I loved it. You know, I saw all of that game except for about like 24 seconds in the final minute of everything. I think we're all kind of there in the same spot. That was crazy. Insane. No, it can't happen. Insane. Yeah, that was crazy. Insane. But I think they had they had they had moments down the stretch that I thought the Heat might have some things going for them. What was cool to see was we talk about a underdeveloped or under the maturity level of the backcourt of the Hornets. And we talk about how they need to grow. And it was really cool to see Con Caniple have a terrible shooting performance and lose no confidence when Jack in his next shot.

21:13He stayed aggressive. He stayed with it. They didn't call his number down the stretch. Nobody's going to talk about it. He didn't mind it at all. He sat on that sideline. He was encouraging his teammates. He was there. Kobe White stepped right up and acted like he was back in UNC. He's hitting threes. Everybody's going crazy. When I saw that team at the end, I was like, wow, this is the first step of growth because our knock on the Hornets has been they are immature. They will play flagrant. They don't understand the moment. They understood moments last night, and I thought that was good for them.

21:44I don't know how much good it does because whatever you're playing into, y 'all are playing into some deep waters dealing with Detroit. But whatever they did, I think it was great for their ball club.

21:55Pat McAfee:Yeah, the Detroit fans, anytime I put a tweet out about the Hornets, they are in there immediately. And then obviously I am learning because I have not paid close enough attention to it that I guess Hornets and Detroit are what we want. We would all like to see those two play against each other. I also appreciate the fact that Charlotte, for not having a team for a long time that's been relevant, that place was awesome. He showed up. Oh, yeah. DaBaby's down there with DaBaby sitters. I don't know if you saw the video. He's down there. He's in it. He's filming with a mic. He is streaming live down in there.

22:27Pat McAfee:By the way, DaBaby, happy to see you back, by the way. Good to see you all the way back in this entire thing. But he's literally getting boards. He's down there getting boards for them. And the entire city is seemingly showing up for them. Good. Congrats. Panthers getting better. Hornets have a team.

22:43Jeff Passan:Hurricanes. Carolina Hurricanes.

22:45Pat McAfee:It's like North Carolina as a whole, but definitely Charlotte here is having a little bit of a come up. They're a great sports town. I'm excited to watch if they can continue to go. Okay, let's move to the other game that happened last night in the West. I learned of a guy. Go ahead, Con Man.

22:59Jeff Passan:Yeah, Denny Avdia. Avdia kind of gets pronounced in multiple ways. He is unbelievable. He drops 41. He's one of these European guys that's basically been a pro since he was 15 years old. Can you tell us about this Portland team, about Denny in particular? It felt like he was a bust for Washington, or maybe he just didn't come along quickly enough in Washington. Then he goes to Portland and makes himself an absolute superstar. Has this Portland team kind of got the grit they need? We all remember how the Portland season kind of started a little shaky when it came to off the court stuff. But what about this team makes you think that they can make a run?

23:37Well, it was very interesting last night. We kind of underestimated. Well, at least I did. I ain't going to say we. I underestimated what Drew Holiday means to a ball club. What Drew Holiday was able to silently do every time they needed a bucket, every time they needed a decision to be made, he kind of did it for them. And I forgot him and Chris Middleton were the guys filling in the blanks when Milwaukee made that run. So I saw last night, I saw him step up and get activated again. and Avdia take over. We thought Avdia was one of those guys that can go for 20 to 35 any night. But for him to put his head down, to be getting in ISO situations and waving the ball screen off, to see him do all of this, I really don't even understand if he has a ceiling anymore.

24:24I saw it. I was saying, maybe he's not as athletic. Maybe he's not this. Maybe he's not that. The guy can play basketball. He understands if he's not as athletic, he can take that little step across your body to make you unathletic for just a second. All he needs is just a second. He's got a good touch on the ball, a variety of finishes under the rim. Seeing him roll like that and say, it would seem like a statement game to say, I am the man. Not I can be. I am the man. And when you have a game like that, I think that it's big for your teammates to see it, but for the rest of the league as well.

24:57Pat McAfee:He's a smaller, faster joker. That's what I saw. That's what I saw. I mean, the one he made to win it down the stretch or whatever, He did that thing in the sky, and then he put it straight up in the air. It had no spin. It was like a trick shot that some uncle would do at a cookout or whatever. Like, hey, look, and then puts it straight up in the air. There's no spin on that ball. And he wanted that foul, too. He wanted it. I mean, it's a bang, bang, boom, and then no spin. Just like, guys, let me do it. He's outrageously good. Everything he was doing was special. It was like, so this guy's been playing all year, huh?

25:29I think he's been – but the thing is, he's been putting together quite the campaign all season. We it's not like he's come out of nowhere or anything like that. I think that he's one of he's one of those guys that we we don't we don't lean on the NBA enough for their player development. Sometimes guys come to a team and they're in a situation or a role where they can't do much. They have to leave that role. They have to get into a new environment for them to blossom, for them to become whatever they're going to become. I think he was one of those guys that was trapped in a situation. him being a professional since he was 15 years old adds to the fact that he's going to say hey whatever the team needs this is my job my job on this team is this he just never lost focus and never lost confidence in himself but i think that if you're a young player out there watching he is one of those guys that you should put a star next to his name and say let me watch and let me go back and watch some of his career as it unfolded to see where he got to this point because this is nothing but work and keeping your confidence the whole time they talk about uh when your name's called be ready.

26:31He was ready.

26:32Jeff Passan:Yeah, Prime showed a graphic somehow popped it up, but Denny I believe was the second leading scorer in the NBA from like March 28th to the close of the season too, so he really did come on and play his best ball now.

26:45Pat McAfee:Yeah, I think with him last night, the way he was playing, I didn't make it for the whole game. I apologize. That's late. You good. That's on me. And also, not knowing that guy existed until last night, that one's on me. That one's 100 % on me, but that was a nice little surprise. Oh yeah. That was a really good show. Nice. LaMelo, the way LaMelo's playing right now, obviously we were keeping up with Con Canipo rookie of the year stuff with how many threes he was making. I don't think I was – LaMelo's doing exactly what he was doing in like high school. He's doing that in the NBA now. Oh, yeah.

27:12Pat McAfee:He's just doing the same exact shit. They're running pick and roll, him pass to the left, then feed it, and then come back and go, we're going right back to the same shit. I swear I saw him doing this in high school, what he was doing. Everything – and then him hitting that game winner after the giveaway, the turnover, when Tyler Ero said, actually, I'm going to go ahead and mess this entire thing up and hits a crazy three. Then he presses. So, like, I think, yeah, this is crazy out of Tyler Ero. Is that right? Hero? Ero? Is it like gyro? I don't know. Hero. Hero. Okay, he was too. And then he presses up and bang.

27:43Pat McAfee:And then it kind of. Yeah, they ran a little. It looked like they watched the Connecticut game and they wanted to do the same thing. That's all I could think. Like, they saw the Connecticut game. This is the same thing about to happen. But I didn't see the foul right here in the corner. Didn't see the foul in the corner. I didn't see that. I don't know why they called that, but it happened. It was a very exciting play. This was a jaw-dropper to them. Okay, so the foul was not right is what you're saying. That should have just been a misshaw. I did not. Yeah, I don't think that was a foul at all.

28:12Pat McAfee:Okay, can you talk about the trap? Is that called a trap you guys run there where Tyler Hero moves up off his guy? What is that that they ran basically to confuse LaMelo and have him get no options? Not really. Yeah, yeah, they just sit in a double team and then it becomes a 2-2-1. So if you see right there, they got the two guys up there. Your next two guys in the next line would now become your Rovers. They're looking to intercept the pass, but they know they're playing three within two. They're trying to play that. And usually to run a press breaker, you should have somebody sprint up. Somebody from the Hornets should have sprinted up from behind and got to that middle area to give him an outlet.

28:48But that's part of playoff experience, part of game experience. It's loud in there. Lots going on. Everybody just sort of forgot. you only get eight seconds to get that thing across. Once the shot clock turns off, you got to kind of have that in your head.

29:01Pat McAfee:Okay, so thank you for all that information for those of us that maybe didn't play organized basketball. So his only right answer is the back corner there, right? That's his only right answer at this point? Yeah, I wouldn't even make it. That's a dangerous pass. They're baiting him for that back corner. What they need is the back corner to sprint all the way up and make himself available. Okay, so he just needs to provide an option up here. Without a doubt. They just didn't see it in time and left him to try and make the pass, which he usually does because it's LaMelo Ball. Probably put a little too much confidence in him.

29:30Somebody should have been there for him.

29:31Pat McAfee:But then him answering immediately with that layup. What a moment for him. I mean, that had to be. Oh, yeah. And he was telling people he is who they say he is. Oh, yeah. He had a lot of that. So I'm in the mascot.

29:43Jeff Passan:And then the block. Yeah. Popped him. Great. He's a great star. And that's another thing. This guy's been a star so long. Miles Bridges. Miles Bridges isn't going to get a lot of credit, But down the stretch, he hit big shots, timely shots, big rebounds. He played really well down the stretch as well as, yeah, that nice finish he had. And then the last block to make sure he gets back after, you know, quite the exciting thing that happens on the other end to get back and make sure to get that block. Yeah, really proud of the way he played and the rest of the Charlotte Hornets. Again, I understand what happened with Bam.

30:17It's very unfortunate. You never want to see that. But there was a lot of good basketball to see last night.

30:22Pat McAfee:Okay, I did want to get back to that, so I'm thankful you brought it up again. So this is the second time he's done it to Bam, right? The internet tells me that. They ran a highlight from 2024. Is this like his move? Was he trying to slow him down? Is there something between LaMelo and Bam? Because that's a tailbone problem right there, right? I mean, that is a big man who falls a long way right on his bone. And then allegedly, here it is from 2024. It happened again where he tried to trip him up. Is that like a move? A lot of guys try to slow people down when they can't get back? Or like, why do you think this is happening?

30:50Yeah, I think that is exactly what happened the first time. I think the first time you saw more, I didn't get the call, I fell. And then I'm really trying to stop the play because I can't get back now. I tried to sell the call and beg for a call, didn't get one. Now I kind of want the whistle to blow so we can argue a little bit. You see that a lot with guys, right? This second time, I really think he initially wanted to get his hand out of the way and saw, hey, maybe I could make him step out of bounds or move. I know he wasn't thinking, let me trip him to hurt him or harm him because nobody wants to sit out and take that fine.

31:27I don't think LaMelo would have a problem with Bam. It's not even a good physical matchup for him to be trying to pick at Bam. So I look at it and I see you saw an advantage. Look, he's out, he's out. I'm out, my hand's on him, whatever. Then you try and move your hands so you don't get stepped on. That's what I initially saw when I saw it. If it was malicious, LaMelo, you know better.

31:51Pat McAfee:Spolstra throwing it was malicious. Spolstra, he should have been kicked out of the game. Should have been a penalty, but that's not the reason why we lost. But our best guy didn't play since the second quarter. So I don't know. That's certainly something. That was crazy, especially because it is LaMelo. And then LaMelo hits the game winner. And we've all known LaMelo for so long. So it's like another added piece of his character almost. We've seen him grow up on the internet. and now he's leading a franchise in Charlotte, North Carolina to potentially a playoff run. What is the reality of them?

32:20Pat McAfee:What is the reality of them? I know Detroit, everybody loves. How could you not? Yeah, those guys that are waiting for them, it's no reality. I mean, bravo. They've played a hell of a season. If they win the next game and they roll into that and they play Detroit, bravo. You know, Con Canipple, you did great. Brandon Miller coming along. I love it. Go home. I think they, the way they match up, the way they, and I love, uh, uh, Charlotte's team. I've been telling people all the time, if LaMelo gets better with his decision-making, his gifts, what makes him any different from an SGA besides SGA's head, just being on straight and on the narrow to say, Hey, I'm not going to leave any room for error.

33:04I'm going to make every decision this way. LaMelo just plays a little bit more free flow, but I feel like he's has the same gifts uh when i look at um sorry i just lost my train of thought they're gonna lose they're gonna lose because detroit plays defense lamello and uh charlotte they play a free flow fast pace we can throw this freelance pass we can throw this skip pass we can put pressure on you this way we can put pressure on you that way detroit will muck up a game and say hey you're going to use the whole shot clock we're going to go downhill and there will be no three-point attempts they defend the three-point line as well as shoot threes they control pace and they control decisions if detroit gets them into a game where decisions have to be key or else it opens up charlotte cannot match up with detroit in that way i just i can't see it in my wildest dream

34:00Pat McAfee:Okay, I love it. I cannot wait to watch this Detroit team play. Obviously, I have been all season. These guys are so good, so good at basketball. And that's how it's always been up there, right?

34:10Jeff Passan:We've been the one seed for the entire season long. This is the perfect matchup for us because they hate each other's guts.

34:16Pat McAfee:So there will be no sleeping by the one versus the eight seed thing going on. They'll be ready. The crowd will be ready. The Pistons fans have been waiting for this for so long. Congrats to you guys. You've paid the 21-year-old Tiger baseball player as well. Here we go. Yeah, Detroit's really doing it. Okay, so you like the Pistons, obviously, clearly. How could you not? I do. Let's stay in the East. Go ahead, D-Buck. Yeah, Pistons up top of the one-seed jump, and then the Celtics are the betting favorites to come out of the East. But after that, I'm going to ask you about two of your former squads, the Cavs and the Knicks.

34:44Knicks got a ton of expectations every day I see. Hey, if they lose in the first round, wholesale changes. Cleveland, James Harden got the most wins ever in the playoff without winning the title. He's paired up with D-Mitch over there. Which one of those teams do you think are primed to make a longer run in the playoffs this year? Well, I think it's the New York Knicks. The New York Knicks were put together for this reason. I don't see why else you bring along a Mike Hellbridges. I don't see why else you bring along a Carl Anthony Towns. Like, this is what it was for. Down goes Jason Tatum, and everybody sort of changes the odds.

35:18But as far as I'm concerned, when I watched last year, they had Jason Tatum. They were the favorite already. and the Knicks were going to beat them before Jason Tatum went down. So in my mind, when I look at it, the Knicks are the only team with something to lose in this. Everybody else is sort of playing with an element of surprise. It's not a surprise to everybody that's been watching all season, but when we talked about before the season, we talked about the teams being up top. Nobody had Detroit on their mind to be the number one seed. What they're doing right now is great. Cade Cunningham had to sit down for a little bit.

35:52He'll be coming back. But there are excuses on paper for, it seems like, every other team. There is no room for error. There is no excuse for the Knicks. The Knicks have to come with it.

36:03Pat McAfee:Good luck to the Knicks, man. Last year they were so good. They do. And the Pacers just so happen to be, like, the hottest team. They do. And I like Boston a lot. I like everything that they have going on. I just don't see them as the favorite because of what I know the Knicks were brought together to do. If Boston was coming into this with a healthy Jason Tatum all year, I would have a different thing on my mind. I still haven't seen the explosion out of that leg. Knowing that the Knicks already had y 'all on the ropes, I'm excited to see the matchup if they do run into each other. I love that.

36:44Pat McAfee:Boston Carter cannot wait to respond to that. I would assume. Oh, yeah.

36:47Jeff Passan:I mean, that's the E so you can finish it up and then head to the West. I believe Jason Tatum played like 15 games, just more double-doubles than your guy SGA does all season. So, I mean, maybe he's not throwing down dunks and have a explosion, but he's still playing unbelievable basketball. I mean, all wheels ahead. It's different when you can put a whole game plan together for somebody, though. It's easy to knock somebody off on Tuesday. I can catch you on Thursday. I could catch you on a Saturday when y 'all went out the night before. You can do all of that during the season. Y 'all know how that is.

37:21When the playoff starts, everything changes. You get a big packet. You get a binder. You get film out the air. I don't know where they get all this film from. You get loads and loads of plays and seeing actions over and over to the point where we get out there. We don't have to yell out what plays they're running. We don't have to think about it. We've been trained to do this. We have been running, drilling over and over. You can't surprise anybody in the playoffs. And when that happens, sometimes those athletic gifts have to take over. That's the only question mark that I have by them right now.

37:53If they choose to keep leaning on Jalen Brown, he's shown and proved that he can do it all season. I would like to see how it looks in the playoffs.

38:00Pat McAfee:Didn't they have an exciting light five that they ran? Yeah. A white five. They had a white five, I think it was. Yeah, Charmin. They're bopping the wood, Iman. These guys were bopping the wood.

38:12Jeff Passan:You got a European just like Denny, you know, Hugo Gonzalez and secret weapon. Yeah, that classic Wi-Fi. Yeah, yeah, they did.

38:19Pat McAfee:They had it. They had it. Missoula was like, you know what, send them out there. You know what we're going to get here. They dominated. And they did. They did all that. I love it. Okay, so you just broke down a lot of things that happened in the playoffs. If everybody did that, I wonder how everybody isn't champion. But there's obviously one man who has been at the top and in the playoffs since the beginning of ball, seemingly, of my life. Go ahead, Kondi.

38:39Jeff Passan:Yeah, Sean, felt like the Lakers might roll into the playoffs, you know, feeling good and then Reeves and Luka go down from your experience with LeBron right now is he just basically locking in remembering every play in the history of basketball so he knows what the other team's doing what do you expect LeBron to do over these next couple weeks people are already kind of pontificating that the NBA has made the schedule for the Lakers rocket series a little bit longer maybe give Luka some time to come back but do you think LeBron will even need it and do you see him just taking over um he's gonna take over of course he has no choice you know what I mean and you only take over he only has to take over in the respects of I'm gonna lead us this way this is what we're doing now this is what we need to do uh uh this is the score we need to stay within until the end and I can make sure I can get us over that finish line what he's gonna do out there is have a feel out game where yeah he's gonna come out try and score it and do as much as he can to be aggressive and send a message, but he's also going to have to do the Andy from Toy Story.

39:42Put Andy under everybody's foot and know how to play with your toys. You've got to know where Marcus Smart wants to be. I don't know how we get DeAndre Ayton excited, but DA, it's time to get excited. It's time to start dunking and celebrating and yelling. Where's the emotion? He's going to need that from out of all his guys, and people underestimate LeBron's willingness to go down the line of anybody that's on his team and bring out the best in them. Now, I'm not sitting up here saying LeBron's about to miraculously go out here and beat the Houston Rockets by himself or bring these guys along to do so.

40:17But am I going to say they're going to compete? Yes, LeBron will not walk into any type of competition and say, I'm just going to lay down. So whatever the Houston Rockets do, they better do something to start off the game sending a message to them saying, hey, this is not going to be that. This is going to be 4-0. Let's get him out of here. Don't give him any confidence because LeBron James is one of those guys. I understand he's 41, but I didn't think he would be the guy that's healthy at the end of the year. And he's the guy that's healthy. Whatever he's doing to take care of his body is unbelievable.

40:51And if he's healthy and available, he is dangerous when he turns his back and makes decisions down the stretch.

40:57Pat McAfee:Yeah, he's three years older than me. Hey, listen. I went to his camp and got discovered. I was unranked. got discovered at his camp. He's still playing, and I'm discussing this with y 'all. That's what I'm saying. That's crazy. What are we talking about? This is ridiculous. Well, and then, you know, there's obviously the debate on goats. It's like it's two different leagues and two different sports, but it feels like it's been two different sports since the beginning of LeBron's career versus the end of his career. You remember when he was super Jack LeBron, then he got super thin LeBron. Now we got 41-year-old LeBron who's still playing massive minutes and doing everything.

41:32Pat McAfee:It's absurd, the professional athlete that he is, let alone basketball player and all. I think we heard out of Team USA practices that he was like literally talking the entire time, every single, like the entire practice. Is that what it's like every single day with him? And is it just expected that that's what it, and how does Luka, you think, fit in with that? Or Austin or any other stars fit in with that? Because that's always the conversation about LeBron, right? That's why the big three thing was the thing, couldn't win alone, but then people don't want to play with him maybe. It's like, what is it like being a teammate of LeBron?

42:02Pat McAfee:You kind of know that it's his shit, right? You kind of have to? Yeah, I mean, obviously. I mean, no matter where you see yourself on the rank list, you're going to be under LeBron James when joining his team. The fascinating thing for Luka and Austin Reeves was how beautiful is it to start playing during the season and then get the nod from a LeBron James to say, hey, y 'all take control. Y 'all go ahead. I'll take the back seat. It's okay. having him do that and be selfless in that moment to try and be uh you know relevant again i can't say to try and be a contender they just need more over there if they're going to be contenders but it's a fun story i just didn't want to say the wrong thing to make people think that but it has been unbelievable to see him still doing it because i remember playing with him and having to deal with the frustration of it doesn't really matter where iman is in his career because when you're on a team with LeBron James, you have to win now.

43:06There's pressure on you because there's pressure on him. He is that, and that's where you start to understand his greatness in the grand scheme. When there's people that don't want to play with him, there's people that don't want to play with him for a ton of reasons. Sometimes it doesn't make sense within their career. Sometimes it's way too much pressure. Sometimes it's he's too ball dominant and I'm also ball dominant you know what i mean there's there's a ton of different reasons why you wouldn't want to play it's not always a negative thing how people think about it it's always can that situation make sense right now because right now is always attached to lebron james to say he has to win right now or else we should fire this coach the coach is on the hot seat the owners have problems yeah it's all type of panic when lebron james is in the locker room it's not his fault it is to his greatness.

43:59Pat McAfee:Yeah, it's just like it's a part of the gift. It's literally the cursive portion of that entire thing. It's like, yeah, bud, we've known you since you're 15 years old, so why don't you go win a title? You're better than anybody. You're still healthy. You might as well win a title. Remember the Michael Jordan or LeBron thing? Yeah, my memory serves me right. Jordan won. That's literally what people think because you only see the highlights. That's Michael Jordan won. You know, that's not like just something people say. Where you from again, Sean? Chicago. Back to back, David. I got so many rules.

44:38Listen, I was supposed to go to school sad so many times that Michael Jordan said, nope, we're not losing enough. I got nothing bad to say about him.

44:50Pat McAfee:Thank you for joining us, man. We hope you'll do this again. You're the best. Man, whenever y 'all need me, dog. Hey, sorry about the whole I-man thing, you know, because you can see how many see that I-M-A-N, you know? Yeah, sometimes people want to think I'm a man. Like, you know what I'm saying? It is what it is. All right, Iman, thank you, man. Iman Shumper. Yeah, Shumper. Appreciate that, man. NBA champ. Yeah. Legend. Love him on TV. I do, too. Love him on TV. I saw him walking through the arena, I think, one time whenever we were down there in Game Bridge. And I appreciated the vibe that seemingly followed alongside.

45:26You know, I love, too, he still does the old throwback kind of COVID gimmick, suit up top, shorts down bottom if it's waist up.

45:33Pat McAfee:So you saw him? Yeah. Finals. I thought it was unbelievable. I was so happy. Oh, yeah, when we were doing each other, yeah. Yeah, and I saw him. Yep. And I smelled the situation, and then, you know, I was like, this guy's the man. Okay, hopefully we'll interact with him at some point. He's going on the program. It can't be pronounced his name wrong. That can't be. How can you know? Yeah, it's one of those. I'm sure it's been said a thousand times. A million times, maybe.

45:56Jeff Passan:Shump. He said it. Shump, that's what I always. Yeah, exactly. He's never been a first name guy. He's always been last.

46:02Pat McAfee:Joining us now, a man who we know his name, senior baseball contributor for ESPN, Jet Passett. Yeah. Yeah. How you doing, Jet? Shump is like the coolest guy on earth. Oh, my God. Actually, right? So you were seeing the same thing we were seeing, right? Oh, my God. He's majestic. And that's wild, by the way, that he went to LeBron's camp and LeBron is still playing. You know what? I'm sorry to do this and talk about another sport. The fact that LeBron James is still playing, let alone playing at the level he is right now, is one of the incredible sports stories of our time. Like this guy started off in the spotlight at 16 years old with more hype than any athlete in American sports history and has not only lived up to it, but exceeded it.

46:59And I understand Michael Jordan's the best of all time. LeBron's like one B. He is phenomenal.

47:05Pat McAfee:We get Jett Passan's vote here. We just got Jett Passan's vote. Where are you from originally? I'm from Cleveland. Okay. Hey. Can we get someone who's not from one of these things to weigh in? Well, he said 1B there, though, too. Yeah, true. I don't know. How old are you, Jet? 45. Okay, so I'm 38. So you're a little bit older as it was happening, but I was like right behind watching LeBron. You know, I was like in the age of like three years younger, four years younger. It's like how do you – In high school at the same time he was. Yeah, exactly. And he came to Pittsburgh with his high school team and played a Pennsylvania State All-Stars.

47:41Pat McAfee:everybody that's good in this entire state will play this high school and then this guy came in sold out the arena it was like five ten dollar tickets at the beginning and then obviously it got to a point where it was just like standing room only and it was like that's before the internet it's before everything that's just like whenever old-fashioned dial-up dial-up internet something pops up Kimbo Slice is knocking somebody out okay he's walking right into their place oh yeah he's walking right into their place and knocking somebody out okay no no questions asked and then all of a sudden you're seeing LeBron James has a new deal somewhere or LeBron James did something else or there's a new highlight that has hit the internet.

48:17Pat McAfee:And it's like a guy got a Hummer, I think, whenever he was like 16. It was one of the first deals. And then he had a Nike deal. And then now, so I saw it all, I think. So I kind of viewed it a little differently and I wasn't in the basketball world. It's like, I don't know how he's done it. I have no idea how he's been able to do it. And obviously people are going to say, he's made mistakes. It's like, yeah, dude, we've known this guy since he's 15 years old, literally his every move in a competitive sport where he is coming into your town in ruining nights for your team so people are going to say a lot of bad things he's going to go through a lot of stuff he's going to get a lot of money we all know his story didn't come from a lot of money he's going to put on all his friends too i didn't want to turn this into an entire hey lebron is the man type shit but it's like this guy no but he is i don't think like that's like that that's the thing he absolutely is the fact that you can be in the public spotlight for a quarter century like he's been.

49:06I'm not saying like there haven't been moments where there have been questions, but the questions on LeBron are such small potatoes, like avoiding any sort of like real scandal in that time, being great, winning championships, being a good human being, playing with your kid. Like how cool is that? He has lived an incredible sporting life. And I think it's one that because it's still happening, Maybe we don't appreciate it as much as we ought to, but over time we're going to see it. And it's going to be right up there with Michael Jordan. 1A and 1B.

49:41Pat McAfee:People are going to absolutely hate that we just did this for the last six minutes right here. But let's move along. Let's move along. NBA playoffs, he is the king of the NBA playoffs. He's been in there for 25 years. So that's – Is there a baseball version of LeBron James that have come through the MLB and kind of had these expectations and surpassed them? Sure. Yeah, Bryce Harper, I think. Like that, that's the closest one. He was, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 16, uh, as the chosen one. And you know, when, when you have that right there, like that's a lot. And Bryce Harper has been nothing but awesome in his time in the big leagues.

50:17And in the same way as LeBron, frankly, I think has conducted himself, uh, generally speaking in a tremendous manner from start to finish.

50:25Pat McAfee:Hey, I have a question for you about the NBA because we're on there. Obviously, Jackie Robinson Day. Do we know in the NBA, is that a celebration as well? Like what year and everything that was?

50:36Jeff Passan:I know it was around Bill Russell because there's a story about Bob Cousy when it came with the Celtics. They had the first ever player to break the color barrier in Boston.

50:43Pat McAfee:Earl Lloyd became the first black player to play in an NBA game on October 31, 1950, says Google, debuting for the Washington Capitals, known as the Big Cat. He broke the color barrier in a game against the Rochester Royals, preceding fellow trailblazers Chuck Cooper, first drafted, and Sweetwater Clifton, first signed in the same 1950, 1951. Okay, so Jackie Robinson in 1947 obviously kicks a lot of this all off for us. Me and Deebutt actually started the show talking about how we wouldn't be afraid. No, we would obviously assume that humans and mankind in our country would get to this point, okay?

51:20Pat McAfee:But who knows? It's always going to take a person of action to go ahead and decide to dive into something that is going to be, you know, very difficult, especially mentally. Jackie Robinson getting celebrated every single year by MLB. We think it's very cool because it's a good time to chit chat about the sports culture as a whole and how often sports kind of lead the way on what the rest of society should be like. Jackie Robinson once said, a life is worth nothing except for the impact it's had on others' lives. And I would make the argument that nobody in the entire world of sports has had an impact on others' lives like Jackie Robinson.

51:59What happened in 1947, when you look back, where the country was and where race relations were, it's incredible. Because Brant Rickey, who's the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, he wanted to break the color barrier, but he didn't want to do it with just any person. He wanted to do it with somebody who he knew could take the reams of crap that was going to be given to him, that there were going to be racist comments, not just from fans, but from fellow players as well. And there was a compact, essentially, between him and Jackie Robinson. Branch Rickey said, I need you not to get angry about this for three years.

52:41I need you to internalize it. Everything you hear, all the awful words, all the racism, you just need to be bigger than that. And that's an incredibly difficult thing to ask of anyone. But I think Jackie Robinson understood that the impact that he could have, not just on sports, but on society, was so much bigger than whatever he felt that he was willing to sacrifice those emotions and to keep them inside in order to go out and help facilitate this country moving forward in the right direction. And that's exactly what he did. The country is a better place because of Jackie Robinson's place in it.

53:22Pat McAfee:Hell yeah, and I'm happy we remember that. That's obviously a huge part of society. And yeah, a life worth living is your impact on others. I think it's certainly rang true for Mr. Jackie Robinson. We're thankful for that. And sports are the greatest. MLB also hitting a time now where I think we've got some active baseball nights. Hey, I'm enjoying the hell out of the sport. Can't have a work stoppage. No, you cannot. I don't like that that's lurking right now. But where baseball is right now feels special. Ty has the last question for you here, Jet. Yeah, Jet, we're obviously going to have a couple days where it's really cold and the games kind of stink.

54:00And pitching has, by and large, dominated the first 10 or 12 games of the season. But over the last couple days, a couple days ago, nine guys have multi-homer games. We have a bunch more the other night. Do you think now that the weather is getting a little bit warmer and we know how much velocity is out there, Are you expecting that we're going to see a lot more of these types of nights over the next few weeks, especially with all these marquee stars hitting a bunch of homers as well? Yeah, I mean, just last night, J.J. Weatherholt, a rookie, had his first two-homer game. The interesting thing that I'm looking forward to seeing, Ty, is actually how ABS is going to impact this.

54:41The one number that is up significantly across the sport this year is walks. And so guys are being patient. They understand that ABS is changing the zone. It's changing the calculus of the plate appearance. And how you go about that, you know what your strike zone is now. Like, you don't have to guess what the umpire is going to have it as. You know where to look for a pitch. And so you think that that should have some sort of an impact on offense going forward. And I understand it hasn't taken quite yet, but you're exactly right. Early in the season, offense tends to be brought down by the weather.

55:18As it gets a little warmer, the ball's going to fly a little more, and I think we're going to see it pick up.

55:23Pat McAfee:Yeah, and also these pitchers got to throw it a little tighter. They can't be throwing it as loose because they know that ABS can just kind of beat them if they want to. So maybe there's a couple more meatballs getting tossed right down there. Yeah, not nibbling as many edges, that's right. Yeah, you were nibbling the edges yesterday in Thunderball, I will say. Yeah, I was. I'm trying. Jet, we created a wiffle ball light in Thunderball in here with a mind, some pickle balls is what we're pitching, obviously a bat. And it's four on four, teams of four, one pitcher, three outfielders. Obviously, rules of wiffle ball, get the ball back to the pitcher's mind.

55:57Pat McAfee:D-Bott had a tough go. Yeah. D-Bott had a tough go. He was a pitcher for one team. We'll say it was his team. And they got absolutely rocked. Showed it. He got pulled right here, first inning. That's Nick Moraldo. He hit a three-run home run off of Darius as he got sent to the dugout. Nick would finish the game four for four with four home runs, including one grand slam. When you talk big bats, you certainly talk Nick. And then pitching, Ty threw a complete game. Ty, this thing was up at 74, 75 miles an hour at one point. I was going to say, is that Ty up on the hill there? Yeah. Yeah. It was at the – Wow.

56:34Pat McAfee:The bump was at 38 feet. I'm actually – 38 feet is where the bump was. And Ty threw a complete game, and I'll tell you what, Bruce went down. Everybody went down. Big hacks, big swings, great pitches, big fun. That's Thunderball baseball. Ty, you were phenomenal yesterday, pal. Well, you know, hey, I tried. It was nice, you know, kind of loosening the wing up. But I'm pretty sore today. I threw about 60, 70 pitches. I was not expecting to do that when I came in yesterday. But, you know, when you see that wiffle ball dancing out there and, you know, you get the velo up a little bit, But, yeah, it felt pretty damn good to be back on the Bob.

57:08Pat McAfee:Yeah, you were lining them up, knocking them down. I mean, yesterday was awesome. Me and Connor were running full commentary on this thing. Look for probably a live stream of Thunderball within the next two, three weeks, if I had to guess. We're making graphics right now currently so we know. So Connor and I can know. Everybody in there can know what's the count. How many outs do we have? That's tough. The no score bug thing, very tough for all parties if you're not really keeping track of it. But I'll tell you, when Talk came in, Talk went immediately from editing TikToks straight to the mound because he was called in for the bullpen after Bruce Brown quit the team.

57:41Pat McAfee:Bruce Brown quit Thunderball yesterday after his second, third straight consecutive strikeout, and then he couldn't throw a strike. He quit. Talk takes his place, finishes an inning. Then he goes up the bat, gets a hit. Then he goes and pitches the next inning, gives up four home runs. So Talk had a quick run. It was a tough day at Thunderball, but we'll have to get you in here, Jet, to bring your own team. I have a team ready to go. In fact, you guys had John Boy on a little while ago, I think. They have a whole warehouse where they do games like this. It's like a Blitz Bowl game. And I brought my son, his best friend, a cousin of mine, and his friend.

58:20And we went in there and whipped their asses. So we are ready to take you guys on.

58:24Pat McAfee:I don't think your boys are touching Tash, Mitch. Yeah, I think they will light Ty up. In fact, I guarantee that they will absolutely crush him. With us commentating as well, how's the mental toughness of the boys? Because they're going to deal with Ty's mouth too, not just the pitches. And three guys in the outfield, all big mouths. All big mouths. Yeah, Ty's mouth is like his arm. It's just kind of mediocre. Oh, yeah, right now. All right. Hey, you can say what you want, but you know what? When you get in the batter's box, Jeff, and I fucking embarrass you, then you'll be thinking different.

59:05Oh, I'm not getting in the batter's box. I'm bringing in my ringers. Are you kidding? You got to play, you car. Oh, do I have to? I thought I was going to be on commentary with you.

59:14Pat McAfee:Oh, you would like to see? Yeah. Okay. All right. I like it. Okay. All right. I like it. That's a good idea. You're the skipper of your team, you're saying? Yeah, absolutely. Listen, I'm a talent evaluator. I find talent, I bring him in places, and we go and wreck shop. Okay. That's what we do. Well, don't wreck shop because Cody already did that yesterday with the help of the bone. Yeah. Did you see that? Did you see what Cody did? No, I didn't. Did he take your belt back? Run the tape. It's Randy's title that he took out here. It's theft. Okay? Look at this. He walked in last night because the bone.

59:46Pat McAfee:What's so funny? What are you laughing at? What's so funny, Jets? It's not funny at all. That's a tremendous bitch. That's a priceless, maybe a million-dollar photo right there. He just busts it up because he throws a little hissy fit. Now, he shouldn't have been let in here. We should have had to get him with a breaking and entering, which I assume he probably would have done because the bone mopped floor last night after a Thunderball, obviously a lot of sweat. He hears a banging on the door, he says. Sees that it's Cody Rhodes. He goes, oh, we got to talk to Cody. Wait till you see what he does, Jet.

1:00:14Pat McAfee:Wait till you see what this asshole who works here does. Walks from right in. Go ahead. Don't worry about it. Wow. Belt right up there. That's a fireable offense. Yep. uh yeah the bone said that cody said hey pat said i was supposed to come pick up the title and bone goes i don't know what was real or unreal i didn't know and then it's like well bone how about when he picks up the sign babe ruth bat and then starts busting through the desk maybe you go stop him he just just froze i mean between between this and bones relay earlier this uh like break the yeah you know broke the pen i don't know it's two strikes at least Oh, in baseball.

1:00:53Pat McAfee:He's got one more and he's Ponche. Photo was going to go out for charity, too. Yeah, it was. To save lives. Yeah, exactly. Thanks a lot, Bone. Then look at this. Yeah, thanks, Bone. Shut up, Bone. Put your thumb down. What are you fist bumping for? Hey, it breaks our computer. All right, Jet, we appreciate you, man. Hope you have a good time. Are you going out to Mania Saturday night? No, I will not be there, unfortunately, but I will be watching. You're supposed to be a wrestler, Mark. It's a once in a century. Maybe once in an ever. night. Listen, I understand completely, but when you got a new show, like I do with Sources Tell Jeff Passan now on YouTube, sometimes you got to put in the work, buddy.

1:01:34Pat McAfee:This guy. I like that. Good plug, too. Man, you get it. You got it. First episode was fantastic with Scoobal and Skeens. Yeah, fantastic stuff. And Detroit just paid a guy, so that means Scoobal's got no chance of going back there? They got to pay Scoobal, too, if he wants to go back there. It's going to be$400 million plus. It'll be up to$500 million. It'll be a lot of money, Patrick. That's Jet Pass, and we're back on the other side. Be a friend, tell a friend something nice. It might change your life. Goodbye.

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1:03:27Pat McAfee:We're so incredibly lucky that we get a chance to chat about them every single day. The fact that we are who you spend your afternoons or mornings or nights with wherever the hell you live, we are so eternally grateful for that. Now, if you're a wrestling fan, though, I want to let you know and I see you in Vegas, don't talk to me. Don't look at me. I don't like you. I hate you, actually. Well said. Sorry. Sorry. There's a title that was sitting here that's going to be hopefully back here if Randy continues to be as gracious as he is to me because he is obviously the actual GOAT, a man who has the most matches in the history of Monday Night Raw because he's not just showing up and being seen.

1:04:05Pat McAfee:No, he's out there crafting, working, burying, dominating. He is the perfect WWE superstar. And on Saturday night at WrestleMania in Las Vegas, those fans have no idea what they're seeing, though. They look a gift horse in the mouth. these bums don't even know greatness whenever it steps foot in front of them. So if I see you out of WrestleMania, know that I hate you. And that's fair. Pretty simple rule. You guys are saying mean stuff to me. Uh-huh. A lot. I'm the hero in this entire thing. Got 25 % off tickets for three days. Did anyone thank you? Nope. Nope. Not one single member of Cody Rhodes' family.

1:04:44Pat McAfee:You mean Cody Crybabies? Bingo. Yeah. Seems like there's a lot of them. A lot of Crybabies out there. Seems like even people that maybe weren't Cody Crabbe's before, they kind of became a prophet. In the office, too. Yeah, in the office, obviously, that's a dipshit that just lets somebody in the building and says, I don't know what was real. He said that you said, and I'm real.

1:05:01Jeff Passan:At two bone? Big for no.

1:05:03Pat McAfee:Yeah, exactly. And now I will say this. You're lucky. You're lucky. You broke a picture that can be replaced. But with that being said, this was a once-in-a-lifetime artifact that has Randy Orton's sweat on the inside of it from the evening in which we announced together in St. Louis that we were going to save the business. That's worth a lot of money. More than$50 ,000, definitely. No doubt. Way more than$50 ,000. You were underselling it. You said a million in the first hour. I think you could argue that's$500 ,000 to a billion dollars. You never know. $500 million, excuse me. Yeah, just like Pawn Stars guy.

1:05:42Pat McAfee:Exactly. You never know who's going to walk in and want this thing. It could be a billion-dollar piece of art. You never know. And this asshole comes in here and damages it. Oh, what's that? A felony. Okay? You get your title. You also, multiple, level six felonies. Yep. Multiple happen in this entire thing. And you walk out of here with Randy Orton's title as if, like, you're supposed to have it. Possession is not intensively, bro. It's been here for a while.

1:06:07Jeff Passan:Bingo.

1:06:07Pat McAfee:That thing was in Augusta, too. Also, the boys did a full photo shoot upstairs up here with it. Yep. It was kind of making it on our own. It was ours, wasn't it? It was. It was cool.

1:06:19Randy Orton's going to handle you. Oh, big time. Yeah. Why didn't Bone finish sleeping? He just, what happened? That's a great question, too. He got tired and started passing out.

1:06:28Pat McAfee:So when he talked to me, when he called me, and maybe he did get a little tired, which could certainly happen a long day yesterday. Whenever he said something happened, you know, the whole. Right. And he told me the entire thing. I said, I think it's a crime. like I actually think it's a crime scene. So why don't you just get your ass out of there?

1:06:44Jeff Passan:Yeah.

1:06:44Pat McAfee:Smart. Okay, so he didn't touch anything. We made sure, Foxy made sure to get a bunch of B-roll of everything so that everybody could be seen. We didn't touch really the handle of the bat so that we can make sure fingerprint, definitely him, even though our security camera is in that top corner right there by the bison. I mean, that is just what it is. So we got it all here. You know, we're not pressing charges. We're not those types of people. Maybe we'll see what happens on Saturday night. Yeah. But on that note, Randy will handle this thing. Yeah. Saturday Night WrestleMania available on ESPN 2, the first hour, and then on ESPN Premium Plus Super Duper.

1:07:18Pat McAfee:That's right. Bingo. And you're going to want that. The Super Duper. Yeah. You're going to need that. You're going to need – well, you're definitely going to need that. Yeah. But you're going to want that too because all the things that are available. Try to figure it out today. Definitely ahead of time. Yeah. Let's not run into the old, well, I missed the hole. Yeah. Now that might be me as well at my house. We've got to figure that out. Talks at the table is here at Boston Corner, at Ty Schmidt. One half of the hammer. Done. Cowboys AP Tony is here. Nine-year NFL vet, Darius J. Butler is here.

1:07:46Pat McAfee:Yes, sir. D. Butch, you've been a part of some action, you know, in the wrestling world. Yeah. Down there at NXT. So you kind of know what it feels like to walk into enemy territory whenever you are disrespecting what they have going on. Remember, we had this in NXT. Mm-hmm. So you kind of get a feeling of what I'm walking into at a leader's. I'll tell you what. I got to San Jose. I'm in my bus. You know? Great to have a bus. Yeah. Good bus. I open that door. I see a bunch of people that hate my guts. I'm like, ooh. I forgot all these people are probably taking this pretty personally as well. And all of a sudden it is like, hey, this is me versus entire.

1:08:25Pat McAfee:For the good of it. And they don't even know that this is for the good. No. Of everybody's life over there. It actually sucks that you are helping them. Like, hold on now. That's kind of where it's like. Yeah. Interesting conundrum. Yeah, because my daughter about to be three. I would like her to be a wrestling fan. So I'd like there to be a business, you know, that is thriving. To be a fan of, yeah. To be a fan, yes. Yes. And it's like Randy Orton can definitely do that. Don't go. Bingo. The most dangerous three letters in all of sports. Entertainment. Yeah. R. K. Imagine what he's going to do this weekend.

1:09:03Pat McAfee:We've been drawing them up. I've been loving it. Hey, think about, you know, because he has a Seth Rollins one where it's... Yep. There's obviously the top rub on D-Bot's been drawing him up all the time. Yeah, you're right. You're right. Good call. Pick that shit up. You're right. Not all was lost. Yeah. And we will if we have to. Oh, yeah. He will, for sure. Hey, look at this. Let me set the picture for you. Bang. Like, I'm not actually. You know what I mean? All right. It's for the good of all you. You need to remember it. Boom. Boom. European uppercut. A couple of those. Yeah, I mean, that was fun.

1:09:36Pat McAfee:Kind of, you know. beat Randy Orton there for a second. Get him in the corner. Let's go ahead and hit him with a few, Randy. Let's go ahead and beat him. Boom, bang. Boom, bang. Boom. Let's go ahead and lace him in. I saw some good side-by-side

1:09:49Jeff Passan:today.

1:09:50Pat McAfee:I think I got... I'm trying to learn from the greatest. Everybody should be doing that, actually. Jordan Love behind Rogers. Everybody in San Jose should have been doing that, trying to learn from Randy Orton on what the hell to do, how the hell to do. That's basically what the business should do. What I was doing, you see, and I definitely thought about this as it was happening, I was showcasing what everybody should be doing. When you get a chance to watch Randy Orton, you're watching what it's supposed to be. This is who you should be trying to be. Take notes. Nobody else. You should be trying to be Randy Orton.

1:10:23Pat McAfee:And that's what it does. Saturday wins the 15th world title and saves the business. Yeah, exactly. And you already know. I mean, no one's going to see the light. You've tried to help everybody see the light for the last couple weeks now. I mean. What have they done? Just said rude things? Yeah, just potting. A lot of potting. I'm seeing a lot of potting, which I thought, you know, going into mania, we should be a gaffer. Is this potting mania? Yeah. It feels like potting mania. I want WrestleMania, not potting mania. Which is why Randy's going to do what he's going to do. Exactly. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, is a man who's a college football national champion, Super Bowl champion, Ryder Cup winner, and also a man who's been a part of one of these before.

1:11:00Pat McAfee:Physicality. Ladies and gentlemen, AJ Hawk.

1:11:02Jeff Passan:Hey, Hawk. How you doing, Adam? D-Bone just put in a tough spot last night. I would say he probably failed the test, but he was in a tough spot. I thought after Cody was in there, you know, taking those left-handed cuts and really messing the office up, I thought we'd see D-Bone come flying from behind, you know, cheap shot him or something.

1:11:19Pat McAfee:Yes. That is what we all kind of expected. Because when D-Bone explained it to me on the phone, you know, he undersold it, obviously, because he wanted the conversation to end a little bit lighter than it could have been. Sure. You know, Cody came, I let him in, he took the title. What? What? What?

1:11:37Jeff Passan:He says.

1:11:38Pat McAfee:He hits some things. It's hard to understand. And then I had to go pull the footage. Let me get onto the app. Let me look at the footage. And then all of a sudden it's like, you walked his ass in here to terrorize our office. What is even the question here? And then you got to think like, did DeBone and Cody set this up like long-term? Potentially. Could see that. But DeBone was told that today is his day. Yesterday was his day to kind of mop and kind of alternate. So if somebody else is working, does it just so happen to be that day? Or did it just so happen to be that day? You know what I mean, H?

1:12:09Jeff Passan:Yeah, we need a lie detector test in there. You got anyone out there that can bring one in and hook them up? Yeah, because I thought it was someone else's day to be going to volunteer to mop for that person yesterday.

1:12:18Pat McAfee:Okay, so that would be a different conversation than I would be privy to. I don't know. Let's move along here. Okay, somebody who might have a little bit more to say is a lady who not only is phenomenal in the WWE, WWE on top of all the stories, a part of all the stories, and incredible public speaker. Also, massive NHL superstar, ladies and gentlemen, Jackie Redman. Yeah, Jackie! Hi! It has been way too long. You got to get better security over there, Pat. I'm shocked at the footage I've seen today. So outside, we have blurry footage, which, by the way, I think it's on autofocus. I don't like that.

1:12:55Pat McAfee:I don't know. And it wasn't focused on the right thing. There was a truck parked outside gate. okay we got construction going on he jumps over gate gates not tall enough we need to raise that yeah Cody Rhodes should not be able to jump over our gate no way Randy Orton for sure he can jump over our not Cody Rhodes so he comes over gate runs up to door I genuinely wonder what the plan was if we don't have the traitor yeah right bone doing that at that time Jackie I genuinely don't know so we can't get him on breaking and entering it could be trespassing because he comes onto our property i'm looking into all of it i won't press charges randy orton's gonna handle him at wrestlemania go ahead oh i was just gonna say i look forward to seeing how you handle business with this because there's a lot of layers to this now thank you jackie speaking of the business uh me and randy about to save it how has it been and how do you feel just a few days out of wrestlemania what are you most excited about especially for the things that have been brewing over the last year?

1:13:58I think brewing is putting it lightly, especially over the last few weeks. And I don't want to make it all about what's going on with you and Randy. Of course. But one of the things that I do love about WWE is when we go from everything being sort of black and white to being very gray. And right now, I'm enjoying kind of figuring out, like, who's team Randy and Pat here and who's team Cody Rhodes? Like, where is everybody? And I think that behind the scenes backstage, age people are very divided and in fact today you know i show i'm in buffalo i'm about to do the sabers and stars game tonight last game of the season means nothing so they're probably going to be a lot of just shenanigans happening on the broadcast tonight but even eddie old chuck the great eddie old chuck is tapped into what's going on with you and randy and cody and he told me that if i came on here and did not tell you that he is pledging his allegiance to pat mcafee and co that I wouldn't be letting the building tonight.

1:14:54So I am here to report that Edzo is, in fact, Team Randy and Pat. He's, for some reason, irritated with Cody Rhodes. I am, of course, objective. I am a professional journalist. I don't take sides. But you do have the great Eddie Olchuk on your team.

1:15:09Pat McAfee:Edzo has a brain. Yeah. That is why. Eddie Olchuk, I appreciate you. I got one of his boys' sticks. That's right. In the Thunderdome. I appreciate him doing that. I'll be excited. I'll send some texts out to you. Wayne, you know, we'd like to hear. Mm-hmm. You know, we'd like to hear. We'd certainly like to hear from others in that world. And we'll certainly talk about the NHL as we go forward, which you are obviously a pillar of. But let's chit-chat a little bit more about Mania. Obviously, Punk and Roman main event on Sunday. Oba, Brock, it feels like it is stacked and packed to be a two-night spectacle.

1:15:43Pat McAfee:How do you feel? Oh, I'm so pumped, especially for Oba, Brock. Like, this match is going to be insane. I cannot believe the energy in the building when Obafemi shows up. Like, Brock Lesnar is one thing, and he's had that aura for quite some time. But Obafemi is a bonafide effing superstar. I can't remember if I'm allowed to swear on your show or not, so I avoided it there. Jockey, you do whatever you want, Jockey. You do whatever you want. Okay, you won't let them fire me? You won't let me go. Well, I don't know about that, actually. You should do what you think you should do. You very quickly went from that to whatever you want, Jackie, to never mind.

1:16:22No, it's your world. I just do not want to ruin your world.

1:16:24Pat McAfee:You do whatever you think you should do. Yeah, I'm excited for Obafemi. I cannot believe how quickly this guy has become an absolute superstar. He is such a force. I can't wait to see what happens there. I think it's going to be absolute insanity. So I'm really looking forward to that match. Obviously, both main events are huge draws, and CM Punk and Roman, every time they get on the mic, it's phenomenal. I'm sure you have your own thoughts about Punk right now, Pat. Of course. Of course. Rightfully so. Rightfully so. But I'm actually, I think Brock Oba is probably in my top three for the matches that I'm most looking forward to.

1:17:03If you're watching and you're a casual wrestling fan, you don't know Obafemi, he is a reason to pay the price of admission at WrestleMania. And if not, at least tune in on ESPN and watch this guy in action because he's a monster. He's awesome.

1:17:20Pat McAfee:And he's taking on the beast. So the alpha male, the species taking on Oba. It is going to be spectacular at first hour on ESPN. Now, this will be following, obviously, something happening on Saturday night. Go ahead, AJ.

1:17:34Jeff Passan:Yeah, obviously, Jackie, we know Saturday night we're all circled. You know, the main event, Cody, Randy, everything that's transpired, Pat will be in tow. I guess you are an objective journalist. You've got to play it right down the middle. But honestly, how do you see this match going? Is this going to be a marathon match? Obviously, we think Randy is going to win. We all believe that. We know. Do you believe that? And I guess, I don't know, how do you think, like, the pacing of it, is this going to be a high energy, like high octane match, high flying? Like, what's it going to be like? I don't know what to expect in terms of the pace of the match because there are so many unmitigated factors.

1:18:08I don't know, Pat, what your plan is coming into the weekend, but I do know that you shocked the world when you showed up on Friday Night SmackDown. Nobody saw that coming. Nobody knew that Pat McAfee would be the guy on the phone with Randy Orton. So for me, I feel like you guys, you and Randy, have been planning things for a while. You guys have been talking. I don't pretend to know the content of those conversations for sure, other than what you've told us. But I think the fact that you were able to keep that under wraps for as long as you did means that you guys are able to put a plan together.

1:18:43And so I am a little nervous for Cody Rhodes here because nobody saw you coming. So what else is there that we might not see coming? So the intrigue for me is sky high. But Cody Rhodes is a well-connected dude as well. So I don't know if anyone else is going to show up. I don't know what's going to happen and how far either of you are willing to go. But it feels like it feels like you and Randy are dead set on, quote unquote, saving the business. I don't know if the business needs to be saved, but it does. OK, Jackie.

1:19:20Pat McAfee:OK, Jackie. You guys are adamant about your goal. so I think whenever people come together with a common goal, it's a dangerous thing. So I don't know how far you're willing to go. How far are you willing to go, Pat? To get done what you think needs to be done. To the end of the earth. Hey, you know what? You're right. Exactly. I got kids. I got kids. I'm going to have kids. I want the future in this business to be strong. Thank you. thank randy with on that note jackie you're talking like i'm pulling strings here no no no i'm motivating the greatest of all time okay okay plan i mean plan's an interesting thing you know whenever you get on the horn with somebody and you say hey listen you're the only one that can do this you're the guy he's got kids the next generation he's third generation wrestling or a wrestler star his family's business which way is this thing going randy huh which way is this going right or are we going wrong okay like which way so i'm just a motivator you know randy most matches in the history of raw most matches in the history of like everything guy who's been there done that through everything youngest ever champion phenom comes from the business is made for the business he'll be the one that'll figure it all out on how to win 15 in there just know though i don't know You saw me working on my European uppercuts, right?

1:20:47Pat McAfee:Yeah. Boom. And boom. Right there. So, you know, I'm in good shape. So there's a chance Cody could catch some of those, but I'm not getting my guy disqualified ever. You know what I'm saying? No. And I'm not getting booted because I definitely want to be in there in the middle of that ring doing exactly what we did in San Jose. So I'll be smart, obviously, and Randy will do his thing. And if I need – Jelly should not have came in. No. Go home, Bubba. Yeah, he should not have came in. This isn't your fight, Pa. He said, I can't. That's a bad idea. But I appreciate all the angles in which you spoke of there, Jackie.

1:21:18Pat McAfee:And you tell those people backstage that whenever the business is better, they'll be gone. So everything will be good. Yeah, you go ahead and tell them that. Okay, do I need to tell myself that? Do I need to start worrying? No, Miss Jackie. Come on. Come on. Miss Jackie.

1:21:34Jeff Passan:TBD.

1:21:35Pat McAfee:You never know. WWE superstar. We don't know what you're doing tomorrow night. We don't know what you're doing tomorrow night. Okay, let's talk a little bit about the hockey. Obviously, NHL playoffs are electrifying. They are. I'm very lucky that I'm from Pittsburgh, that I got a chance to watch these growing up, obviously, with how great the Penguins are. I'm from HockeyCon, so obviously, I understand this. But I think the casual viewers of hockey, people that maybe don't watch as many, they tune into the playoffs and they think to themselves, wow, is this the fastest, most electrifying, most physical sport of all time?

1:22:07Pat McAfee:I think the Olympics, having the final that it had with USA Canada, with a lot of America tuning in, is going to bode well for the playoffs because you're going to see a lot of similar style of hockey in the playoffs. How do you feel going in? What are some of the big storylines? Obviously, Penguins are going to win again, but what do you think people are going to fall in love with with this NHL playoff series? The Penguins are in, and how about those Flyers? Those Flyers are playing pretty well, boys. Jackie. I got to say, I know you don't want to hear that, but are you guys ready? We covered that series, okay?

1:22:37Pat McAfee:I made a deal with the governor of Pennsylvania, Shapiro, when the Pens win this again against the Flyers, who haven't won a cup since 1970, something like that. Nobody alive has seen them win a Stanley Cup, so we're not very much worried about the Flyers. But it is good for hockey that they're in there giving it all they can. That's right. Yeah, it's good that they're dancing again, you know? It is. It's good for the game. And you know what? You said it best coming into this. is like even the most casual hockey fan will say like Stanley Cup playoffs are the best. The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, it's chaos, it's drama, it's physical, it's feisty.

1:23:16Like people that don't watch hockey all year tune in to the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs because they know it is going to be electric. And I think that that's going to be turned up times 10 this year, especially in the East, because the East is a bit of a wild card this year. We have a lot of the heavy hitters that have been in the playoffs for the last decade that aren't there, right? Like we got no Panthers. We got no Leafs. We got no Rangers. So there's a lot of teams back in the postseason in the East that haven't been there for a while. And a lot of the big dogs that actually aren't in the postseason in the Eastern Conference.

1:23:51So I think that anything is possible when it comes to the East in terms of who is going to make it to the conference final and who's going to represent the East in the final. So for me, that is super exciting because there's always upsets. But I think the potential for there to be Cinderella runs and craziness in the first round is even higher than usual in the East. So I'm very excited to see it. Obviously, the Buffalo Sabres are a massive story. If you're not paying attention, they haven't been in the postseason in a very, very long time either. But they're in now. They got Jarmo Kekalainen, the general manager, who is a straight-up Finnish G.

1:24:29running things. When he took over, he went in the room.

1:24:32Pat McAfee:How's that pronounced? A Finnish G? Is that like a... Is that Finnish G? I don't know what that is. I'm just saying he's a gangster. He's like a straight up G, but he's from Finland, so I just added the Finnish part. I don't know how you would say that in Finnish, but he is the man. When he took over earlier this year as GM, he went in the room and he went, none of you guys are safe. I don't care who you are. I don't care how much money you make like just know that like anybody can be traded here anything can happen so you guys better like get your shit together um so yarmo kekalainen is awesome lindy ruff is the head coach they're they're doing amazing things and tage thompson who we saw at the olympics uh with team usa is one of the cornerstones of that franchise so we can see him again um this postseason so i think buffalo is really excited for that and i think american hockey fans should be really excited for that too.

1:25:25So Buffalo is a big story in the East. And then over in the West, I mean, Colorado is the top dog, Nathan McKinnon and the boys have been a favorite all year long. They're still like all of the teams are set, but some of the matchups could still change tonight. There is a very, very, very, very small chance that we could get Nathan McKinnon versus Connor McDavid in the first round, which would be wild. I think the Oilers want none of that. I think that's a terrible situation for them but if it happens it's a good situation for hockey fans to see those two powerhouses uh go head to head but a lot has to happen tonight in order for that to happen so um probably won't happen but there's a small small chance that it could and then in the central i just feel bad for the other teams in the central like dallas and minnesota are two of the have been two of the best teams all year long they're gonna have to face each other in the first round.

1:26:16And then the winner is probably getting Colorado. So that's a super, super tough path. But I love the Dallas Stars. They've been knocking on the door for a while. They have some injuries. So that might hold them back.

1:26:29Pat McAfee:I remember Otter and Madonna down there. The good old days. We got the 99 tarps for the playoffs too, boys. Look up. For those that don't know, that's Gumpy. He's from Victoria, Canada, which is North-left Canada. He's a Miami Dolphins fan, a Miami Hurricanes fan, a Boston Red Sox fan and a Dallas Stars fan. And Liverpool. Sorry, you never walk alone over there, pal. So he has been riding with Texas hockey for a while. He likes them a lot, but I think you even understand the reality of Colorado, right? Isn't that kind of how you've been speaking, Gump? Yeah, it's a tough road, but Ranton and Ragdolled him last year.

1:27:01He'll probably do it again. While they're a physical group, though, it's going to be a tough battle in the first round, boys.

1:27:05Pat McAfee:Okay, let's stay in the West, Jackie. Ty has a question for you. Yeah, Jackie, John Tortorella takes over for the Vegas Golden Knights, and a lot of people I don't know, maybe thought it was just kind of like a sideshow. Hey, get through the rest of the season here. They have not lost since he took over. How much does this change the outlook for the Golden Knights moving forward in the Stanley Cup playoffs? Listen, I actually think it's massive because Vegas has really been underwhelming all year long, right? Like even though they're a playoff team and everyone wanted to talk about, oh my God, they fired their coach and they're in a playoff spot, blah, blah, blah, whatever.

1:27:39they have not been performing to their standard all year long like this is supposed to be a contending stanley cup team and they didn't really look that way like yeah they look like a playoff team but like 16 teams they're playoff teams they're not all necessarily bonafide cup contenders so for them to get mitch marner to have all this hype and then really underperform for most of the year by their standards is the reason that that move happened and anybody that follows vegas knows is that they have been that way since their inception. Like, they are not afraid to fire anybody. They're not afraid to trade anybody.

1:28:12Like, they are all about business and winning. So in terms of the move, though, like, Tortorella was kind of the perfect guy because his reputation has always been that he squeezes every ounce of juice out of his roster until they get sick of him. And he's new there right now. So I'm not surprised that they got the torts bump, that they're playing really well. But I think it's dangerous for whoever is going to have to face them in the playoffs because they were already a cup contender. Now they've had this very, very late season change. It's obviously working. There's a renewed energy, whether that's directly from Torts or just the fact that it kind of woke the guys up and had them start playing with a little more gumption.

1:28:53To me, it makes them dangerous because they already had the roster to do it. Now they've got someone leading the charge that's got them fired up. I don't know what Torts is doing over there. but he is somebody that even fires up viewers, right? So if that guy's coming in your room and getting the best out of you, and you're already a contender, I mean, this guy got the best out of the Blue Jackets. John Tortorella is the one that led the underdog Blue Jackets to that massive speed. Yeah, the crap, shite Blue Jackets. Yeah. To a massive, remember, they swept the Tampa Bay Lightning when the Lightning at the time had put up one of the best regular seasons in NHL history.

1:29:29They got swept by the damn Blue Jackets. Yeah. So Tortorella is very good at getting the most out of his players. And Vegas is already a contender. They're not an underdog. No way. So, like, the fact that they're playing like this, to me, scary. And they have a good path.

1:29:46Pat McAfee:Yes, they certainly, as now, I don't know what's all been punched in. And Ty certainly loves to hear that as a Vegas Golden Knights fan. Do you remember that? What was the mascot name for the Columbus Blue Jacky? Blue Jackie or Blue Yocket or something? Yeah, Blue Jackie. Buzz or something? Blue Jacky is definitely not what it was. I think it might have been. I think it was Blue Jacky. Yeah, Blue Jacky. Yeah, I think it was. Was it? I think it might have been Buzz, maybe. Oh, Stinger is the name. Oh, Stinger. Okay. That's the buzz. I knew I'd get there. He was bopping around at Ohio State game day first week, you know.

1:30:20Pat McAfee:Hey, what are you doing? And I just always remember the Blue Jackets being ass. So I immediately go, hey, what's up? You're ass. I know that. And then all of a sudden there was an immediate like, mm-mm. I know we're actually we're actually good now and they did the entire thing but I remember towards everywhere he goes it's always like a lightning rod right isn't it like uh he doesn't get along with the media he uh he's he fiery you say he gets everything out of them I guess he goes in there and he's pretty yeah grade a asshole yeah that's what they say yeah he is uh super accountability driven I think right and the way he goes about it he doesn't have like feelings emotions about like hey this is how we win this is what we're gonna do he's not scared to be like that either right i think that's a difference of him yeah that gets spot on and i think like you talk to guys that have played for him both current and former uh players and they all say the same thing like you know where you stand and i think as a player and pat you can speak to this it's like when someone is direct and black and white and is like hey you're not playing this is why or like this is why your ice time is down xyz they give it to you straight john tortorella is somebody that And I've talked to guys that were like, I don't like him, but I respect him because I knew exactly where I stood.

1:31:26I knew why I was in the press box. There was no gray area. There was no question marks about like, why isn't this guy playing me? Like, I'm not going to, you know, I talked to a player about a month ago who told me that like his coach wasn't even speaking to him. And he wasn't sure what he needed to do to get into the lineup. Right. And so sometimes there's murky water there where like, you know, you're not liking your coach's good graces, but you're not really sure why or what it is that you need to do to kind of get your ice time back or or get back in the game. And with John Tortorella, I think his players, even the ones that maybe didn't enjoy their time playing for him, understood why he was making the decisions that he was making and understood the reasoning behind those choices and got direct answers from John Tortorella himself.

1:32:09So I think there's a level of respect for the fact that Torts is going to maybe make decisions that you don't like, but you're always going to understand why he's making those choices. And I think that that's a sign of a really good coach. Because at the end of the day, I think all anybody really wants is transparency and kind of a plan of like, listen, your ice time's down because of this. If you can do X, Y, Z, like it will go back up. And then it's on you to kind of execute as a player. So I think for Torts, yes, he is hard-nosed. He will tell you like it is. He tells you straight, no BS. And sometimes you're going to like it, and sometimes you're not going to like it.

1:32:47But at least you know that he's always being real with you. And so I think a lot of players respect that about John Tortorella.

1:32:53Pat McAfee:Yeah, we understand that type of coaching style well over in the football world, obviously. There's different ways to go about doing it, but that has been a proven way to win in sports since the beginning of time, basically. It's like, hey, if we're all doing everything right and somebody is not going to take any shit or anything less than that, probably going to be good, if I had to guess. But some coaches play mind games, right? Like, there's coaches out there that, like, aren't super direct. And they very rarely win, I think. They very rarely win. So it's like I appreciate and respect the way Torch goes about doing his business.

1:33:21Pat McAfee:I also appreciate the fact that they're going to win. And I think that Vegas Golden Knight change room, I think those boys are okay with a little bit of accountability over there. Yeah, without a doubt. And I think there was a clip from right before they brought in torts. And it was like someone was, you know, giving everybody, you know, knucks before they were going back to the change room. They had just gotten beat. And everyone was basically like, fuck this guy. Like no one gave him anything. And it was just like, something's going on in the locker room. There wasn't good. Yeah. It's just something is very weird.

1:33:47And then torts comes in and now they're already with the hottest team in hockey. I don't think that's a coincidence.

1:33:51Pat McAfee:You slow as shit. Can't get on the ice. You can you receive a pass one time? You, I don't trust you with anybody's family. I mean, there's no way. Weirdo. Just Tord's coming in and being like, nope, nope, nope, nope. You get the hell out of the way. Can't be on the ice. They don't trust you. They can't be on the ice. Can't trust him with the puck. Can't trust him with the puck. Can't trust him watching the kids. Can't trust him watching the house. Can't trust him on the fucking ice. There's nothing we can do. By the way, just on that note, when I played college football, I was very lucky to play for Rich Rodriguez.

1:34:22Pat McAfee:Rich Rodriguez is a – I think he and Tord's probably pretty similar. Sure. If I had to guess. there's a new mic'd up coming out of Rich Rodriguez. He has evolved a little bit, but it's still in there. It's still in there. At the beginning of the video, he goes, you guys just line up right behind the fucking tackle. It's very simple. Let the tackle figure it out, and then you line up behind the tackle. Then like 35 seconds later in the video, he goes, behind the tackle, behind the tackle. And then the play happens. He goes over to the same group. He goes, that's on me. I thought you knew it wants center, guard, fucking tackle is right here.

1:34:59Pat McAfee:It's like it's still in there. Back in the day, it would have been a little bit more. It would have been a little bit more delivery on him. But the way they think and the way that they expect and would like perfection is why those teams are always good. Those coaches seemingly always good. Now, if you don't win, players will revolt. That kind of happened to the Bill Belichick coaching tree. Guys would leave the coaching tree, go into a new place. I'm Bill Belichick. This is how it's going to go. you lose and the players go first of all you're not bill we suck and this sucks that that is just and you get people out of there so i'd assume a big part of towards this thing is he has to win or i assume that gets bad i'd assume that's probably why it ends the way it does in certain places jackie i think just you know anytime you're you're dealing with someone that um you know has a high bar set for you and isn't afraid to kind of be direct and tell you how it is and and maybe be, you know, hard-nosed, as we like to say, in hockey.

1:35:57I mean, that runs its course anywhere, right? Like, you just get more and more comfortable with someone. And if they're barking at you all the time, like, eventually, you know what? I'm tired of this guy barking at me. Like, I don't like it. And so, you know, it happens everywhere. So I think, and even, you know, Bruce Cassidy is a fantastic hockey coach, right? Won a Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights. But he is somebody that demands a lot of his players. And I think over time, anywhere, no matter who you are or how good of a coach you are, it's going to happen anywhere. So I think that's just part of the business.

1:36:29And hopefully, you know, for Torts and the Knights, they can make something magic happen soon. Because, you know, Vegas, they'll fire their coaches in a month. They'll fire Torts after six weeks on the job and have no issue with it.

1:36:45Pat McAfee:You love the high expectations, don't you, Ty, as a Vegas Golden Knights fan? Absolutely. they should be winning or going to the Stanley Cup every single year. And that's what you've done. Everyone should have those expectations, no? Everyone should. Love that. I wish the Leafs were a little bit more hard-ass. Oh, yeah. That's never going to happen. Never going to happen. Jackie. They could have used a little of that. Yeah. Went for the last hundred years. Yeah, I'd say. Run it back. I wish the Red Wings had that. Run it back. Can we stop running back the losing? How about that? How's that for an idea?

1:37:15Pat McAfee:Okay, I have an idea, too, that needs a little bit more information. When was the last time a Canadian franchise has won the Stanley Cup? Oh, you want to guess? Because I can give you the answer, but I'd love to hear your – can you want to take a guess, Pat? It's been a while. I'll tell you that. When was there the original – Where's the captain on the Penguins who hoists it? Where did he grow up? Where's he from? You're talking about Nova? I'm talking about Sidney Crosby. One of the greatest players of all time. What are you talking about? He lifted Lord Stanley for the Penguins, right? Oh, shut up.

1:37:49Pat McAfee:We're talking about Canadian franchises. Oh, sorry. I thought we were talking about just great Canadian players that helped out your team. No, franchises. Are we talking about the Olympics? We're talking about, okay, so we literally need to get into the Olympics.

1:38:00Jeff Passan:He's got a silver medal in his ears. He can't hear us. Oh, my God.

1:38:03Pat McAfee:Oh, he can't believe it. And more on the way. And more on the way. Only like 40 more. You catch up. Okay. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. The last Canadian franchise to win the Stanley Cup was in 1993. Oh, my gosh. The Montreal Canadiens. Wow. Let me tell you about that. Le habitant. Le habitant. You know, we talk about decisions that have to be made at the coaching position. And down here in America, we'll bring in the accountability-driven coach. Okay? We'll send him around town. Hey, you got kicked out of this place. This guy's too hard-nosed. Some American owner goes, yeah.

1:38:38Jeff Passan:That's our guy. We want that guy.

1:38:40Pat McAfee:and then they come in here and just hoist Florida all the time. Florida! Florida! They don't even have ice outside. Never. Can't have ice outside. Only in drinks. Texas. Well, we did have the Winter Classic in Miami this year. That was outside. They used special stuff for it. It wasn't naturalized. We need to start doing that more because they win more Stanley Cups than Canada does. It's just something to think about. Let's pivot away from NHL playoffs, which are going to be spectacular. Can't wait to watch. D-Bud has the final question for you. Yeah, championships or nothing down there. Hockey beat.

1:39:16So, you know, she said the East is wide open. You're welcome. But moving away from hockey, since I am out in the Stanley Cup playoffs, let's go back to Mania. We're talking about, obviously, this upcoming weekend in Vegas. But I want to go back. What's your favorite Mania moment? I know mine, 40, Philly, that pop when Taker came out. Unbelievable. Been in that crowd. What's your favorite Mania moment over the years? That is a really, really good one because I don't think most people saw that coming. And so when you heard like the dong, it was just like, what? That is insane. My favorite mania is probably my first mania with the company, which was in Dallas when Stone Cold was in action and I was standing like 30 feet from Stone Cold being up on the top rope, smashing beers together.

1:40:04Pat, I think you were lying on the floor. I can't remember. But that was my first ever mania with the company. So selfishly, that has to be my favorite because it was just like I had one of those rare moments where you actually stop in the present moment and actually have the realization of like, how did I actually get here? Like, how is this my life right now? I felt that in the moment. And so that only happens every so often. and for me that one was really really special because you know 10 year old jackie would not believe that she was gonna meet stone cold steve austin that day and then watch him smash beers live from the floor so that's my favorite one selfishly uh you tell 10 year old jackie that

1:40:50Pat McAfee:old 10 year old pat had no fucking idea you know that was gonna be happening as well yeah it was a special night obviously let's get back yeah exactly exactly let's get back can i ask the final question is that okay sure sure i just pat just like if you could snap your fingers everything goes exactly the way that you and randy want it to this weekend and into the foreseeable future what does wwe look like if pat and randy get their way like paint that picture jackie if your 10-year-old Jackie would be excited to know about Stone Cold Steve Austin meeting you and being a fan of yours and everything, and that would make you excited.

1:41:30Pat McAfee:You understand what wrestling is, okay? You understand what it's supposed to be. And at the top of the card, you know, that is what everybody is striving to become, okay? It goes all the way back. Sam Martino did it for a long time. Andre did it for a long time. Hulk did it for a long time. Obviously, you get in the Stone Cold rock era of carrying the company and then you got roman reigns carried the company john cena carried the company when the top looks how it's supposed to look and acts how it's supposed to look everybody else falls in line you know so you understand what that is jackie you get done doing an interview with somebody they stumble all over themselves their ass and then you're told to send it back and you're like how the hell is that what this is you say it i know you do and your brain is a professional speaker so whenever the top looks how it's supposed to look everybody else kind of falls in line and uh randy orton's right here this is exactly what it's supposed to be and that's all i've been saying is like hey randy you're the only one that can really make this look how it's supposed to yeah for future generations here and he might be you know in his career pretty deep here we got a lot of time to save the business especially with a super motivated guy who's 280 pounds oh my I will say, I will say, I do think over the last year that not enough people in wrestling and around wrestling have been talking about how close Randy Orton still is to potentially breaking the all-time world title record.

1:42:56Like, he is still active. He is still amazing. And I know, you know, we had John Cena's retirement tour. We had him break the record. Like, all that stuff is important. But I feel like Randy did kind of fall into the shadows a little bit. Like, hey, this guy is still wrestling.

1:43:10Pat McAfee:Like he's still pretty badass. And we're not talking about him being so close. Like he could still break that record. And I will say, I maintain my objectivity and have no sides here. But I do think that that was not getting enough attention or play over the course of the last year that Randy is still right there. Yes, you get it. Thank you. I knew I was speaking for people with brains. And this will be good for the future. And Randy knows it. He knows the weight on his broad-ass shoulders. Oh, my God. Yeah, he didn't have to lie about his numbers up there. No, not one bit. And in between his ears.

1:43:45Pat McAfee:Like the other guy. In between his ears and behind that ridiculously handsome face, massive wrestling group. He is good-looking. He is good-looking. Did Cody change it? Yeah, Jackie. He is the WWE. This guy is 6 '5", 275. He walks into a room and everybody goes, holy hell, what is that thing? Oh, that's WWE World Champion. Of course it is. Did Cody change that graphic when he was in here last night? 6-2-2-22? Yeah. I don't think so. In my bra. Yeah, we did some measurements on what Cody is, especially being in the ring with him. Anyways, we appreciate you, Jackie. We'll see you in Mania. It sounds like you understand it.

1:44:24Pat McAfee:She gets it. Yeah, even though San Jose didn't. And I assume these disgusting pigs that are going to be in Las Vegas aren't going to understand it either. You're the best. Ladies and gentlemen, that's Jackie Redman. Hey, Jackie.

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1:45:44Pat McAfee:Oh, oh, oh, O 'Reilly. Auto Parts.

1:45:58Pat McAfee:Pigs.

1:45:59Jeff Passan:Yeah.

1:45:59Pat McAfee:I can already sense it. I can already sense them.

1:46:06Pat McAfee:We're a three and a half hour flight away. I can smell them. Yeah, they're massing already and their stench is just floating over. Disgusting. Like a fog. Yeah. Remember wildfires? Covers the entire country? That's what happens at Mania. All these people get together. It is crazy. Next Monday, Tuesday, look out Ohio, Pennsylvania. Yeah. This shit scent coming from WrestleMania, Marks, is on your way. Small. Low air quality. The worst. Ladies and gentlemen, joining us now is a man who's about to do something special tonight. There is... Oh, no. No, we just got a new... There's a sponsor in front of this thing.

1:46:44Pat McAfee:What? I've never seen this name before. Tonight, 7 p.m. Eastern. I can't go... You got it. You can't do it. You can't do it. Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, 7 p.m. Eastern, We have a million-dollar pickleball series of games taking place that will be headlined by a two-on-two by the who's who in tennis and pickleball. Tonight at 7 p.m. is the Aries Pickleball Slam 4. Joining us now is a man who's fallen in love with pickleball because of the pickleball slams. I don't think he's ever lost, ladies and gentlemen, tennis icon, future. pickleball icon Andre Agassi How you doing man? Those are very generous words my friend and a lot of assumptions there Well I heard you fell in love with pickleball The last time we talked to you I think was pickleball slam one That part's true Yeah fair enough that part's true Saying I'm going to be the future of it somehow is you know I don't know a lot of good players out there Okay so how much have you learned about the pickleball community since pickleball slam one because I think you only played for a couple weeks leading into that.

1:47:57Pat McAfee:Then you obviously go on TV. You win. Tennis pickleball used to have a thing, it felt like, the last time we talked about it. Now I'm hearing you have fallen in love with pickleball. You actually view it as a beautiful thing post-tennis is what it sounds like, and tonight you get another chance to do that. Is that all accurate, and why have you fallen in love with pickleball? Yeah, it is. The earlier slams of pickleball, I mean, I fell in love with pickleball because it's just added a lot to our lives internally as a family. I mean, we're actually making friends now. It's hard to do it at my age, me and stuff.

1:48:30But the truth is, it's a low point of entry. Nobody's intimidated to try it. Everybody gets better quickly at it. It brings community together. There's a lot of gifts to it. It's a great physical outlet, believe it or not. And mentally, it also requires a lot of lock-on. And in this slam, it's different, too, because we got the tennis thing with me and James Blake. But we also got the Anna Lee Waters and Jeannie Bouchard who play professionally. So it's a, you know, they want to promote his battle of the sexes, but to me, it's a celebration of pickleball. It breaks down gender barriers, you know, cultural barriers.

1:49:02I mean, just love it. We're looking forward to it.

1:49:04Pat McAfee:Yeah, James Blake will take on Anna Lee Waters. I don't know if you know this, Andre Agassi, and then in a two-on-two later, you and James Blake will take on Anna Lee and Jeannie Bouchard. The Anna Lee is really good at pickleball. She showed up at Radio Row, and we had a little bit of a... A little bit of a volley. A little bit of a pickle here. She is very talented. I don't know how much film you've watched. I was able to go a little bit here. We're rallying. Okay, we're on stage. She's going to hit me with a little topspin number that's really going to drop quick. I think you need to be prepared for this late.

1:49:34Pat McAfee:It seems to be her strikeout or ponche maneuver. Right there. That was it right there. That thing said goodbye right after it cleared my desk. She's unbelievable. She is the phenom, right? 165 gold medals. 168 gold medals.

1:49:51Jeff Passan:38 Triple Crown.

1:49:53Pat McAfee:38 Triple Crowns in pickleball. She is like the one. I'm excited she's a part of this, but how much have you interacted with her? And what are you expecting tonight at 7 o 'clock? Take it easy. I've got to play against her in a few hours. You're freaking me out here. I've played with her. I've played against her. I've appreciated watching her. I mean, it's obvious what makes her so good, which is pretty much everything she does. You know, the question becomes, you know, how does that sort of match up against a few things that we can do? And I think the jury's a little out on that. I mean, the discrepancy in tennis from male to female is pretty relevant from the standpoint of strength above the shoulders.

1:50:31But in pickle, the ball never gets up there anyhow. So I think the delta is a lot different. I think we have our work cut out, but we also had the luxury of being able to watch them a heck of a lot more than they've watched us. So we're looking forward to it in a lot of ways, but it'll just be data for me to take in. and hopefully inspiration to keep getting better.

1:50:50Pat McAfee:Excited to watch you try to cook in the kitchen against the world's greats. Go ahead, AJ.

1:50:55Jeff Passan:Yeah, Andre, what's it like playing with a partner here? Obviously, one-on-one, we know you can hustle around and do everything, but when you have a partner, you kind of have to have a strategy on which balls to hit, what not to hit. I know the little bit of pickleball I've played with a partner, sometimes you get in arguments with your partner saying, hey, that was mine, you shouldn't have taken that one, all of that. I guess, how do you work through all of that on a big stage like this? Yeah. Yeah, fair enough. Well, James and I have rallied to play together a handful of times leading up to this.

1:51:21And the good news between our games is they're very defined in what we do well. I mean, his athleticism is crazy. His forehand is huge. His quick hands are as fast-twitched as anybody I've seen out there. And the guy can still cover a lot of real estate. So we kind of have a pretty framed-out way that we can sort of work together. I know exactly what to expect from him. He knows what to expect from me. i wouldn't say it's um nuanced in its versatility but it is something that has to be stopped so we're looking forward to you know to to bring it out there but you're right not knowing your partner is a huge disadvantage when you're out there in real time because you're not sure what you can count on and what you can't but with james it's pretty clear what you can count on and um and that that helps me know uh a lot easier where to where to be on the court under different scenarios

1:52:07Pat McAfee:do you have a um do you have a rating or a score in the pickleball world uh i i i don't kind of officially because that just requires uh my add that i think doesn't allow me to you know focus on the score yeah the pre-match sort of yeah yeah but uh but no i i i i enjoy uh finding games where i'm the worst one on the court uh which is getting harder to do and but at the same time uh the levels just keep getting higher and higher so that's when you really improve the most uh in in pickle it's like if you're the best one on the court like go find another court you know you don't improve that way when you start seeing new sort of people that can hide the the paddle face to last second it's crazy how uh how one tool changes a lot of dynamics so i'm getting into the strategy of it a lot more now and you know hopefully have enough ability to not bring somebody down who who plays better than me okay so hold on did you just give away a little gimmick that you're going to debut tonight potentially on annalee and gina what or genie what is the hidden you're turning that thing backwards and then you're what is the move that you trick you just found because maybe we add this into our pickle

1:53:24you're asking me what trick i have i don't i don't have many tricks the question is you know how late can you sort of change your mind with your paddle face right it's those are split seconds but the distance and proximity of players on a pickle court is so close that that you know that last second change of shot is uh is very important and uh you know and speeding up in tennis we speed up when we see opportunity to end points you know and pickle you speed up to set up the end so you kind of have to unlearn a few things if you're a tennis player and you you try to create opportunities sometimes being a little bit calmer so it's uh it's a challenge you know mentally uh to for a tennis player to transition a lot of ways but in other ways it translates pretty comfortably so it's a give and take i cannot wait to watch 7 p.m the pickleball

1:54:10Pat McAfee:slam four brought to you by aries will be live from hard rock seminal hard rock hotel and casino in hollywood florida love that place oh yeah gorgeous absolutely love that place i heard you have some history down there too andres

1:54:26it's a classic venue i mean we i mean i've seen metallica here playing this venue to Red Hot Chili Peppers. I mean, forget about it. It's intimate, but it's electric. It's big enough, but it's not daunting. There's not a bad seat in the house. It's a great venue to play in. That's why we're thrilled to be back.

1:54:47Pat McAfee:Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Andre Agassi, James Blake, Anna Lee Walter, and Jeannie Bouchard. Pickleball Slam 4. We can't wait to watch 7 p.m. on ESPN. You're the man, Andre. Thank you, buddy. Hey, Andre.

1:55:05Pat McAfee:That's on us. I missed that there.

1:55:07Jeff Passan:You too.

1:55:08Pat McAfee:We agree, Andre. Oh, you dude. Annalee Waters is a problem. She's never lost, I think. But Andre sounds like he's figured it out. Yeah, my money's on Agassi. He's taking on Genie 101. James Blake takes on Annalee 101. Then they do the two-on-two at the end. I think the two-on-two at the end is the one that decides. It's like a warm-up match and then they get into it. Sorry, go ahead, AJ.

1:55:29Jeff Passan:No, I can't wait to watch. I love Agassi. I read

1:55:31Pat McAfee:his book back in the day beast yeah he's uh he's a weapon i can't believe he enjoys coming on our show we're very thankful he was back pickleball slam four tonight seven we'll watch we'll see you tomorrow goodbye nice how to get a lot in there got it in because i am intrigued to watch it because we know that the girl we know yeah yeah she's the one so i'm thinking about uh i'm not a big tennis guy above the shoulders obviously that's serving yeah what else or a steak of bad Yeah, Brad, yes. Okay. So now it evens the playoff. Mostly, sir. I think dinking is going to be – the kitchen is where pickleball is.

1:56:05Jeff Passan:You played – the defense played, right? Yeah, yeah. You know, like it kind of takes away – pickleball kind of neutralizes athleticism and power and all that. It makes everyone like more of a level playing field. Yeah.

1:56:15Pat McAfee:But on that note, I do think they do hit AQ – speed balls, I think is what AQ calls it, because AQ has a score. Yep. He's graded. He goes – graded, there he is. he goes and plays at country clubs against people. He has a little tag team, a little duo that they do. They wake up early and go do the whole thing. He's in there, in there. And watching him kind of go, I'll score now. I'm scored this. I'm rated this. This guy's this. If somebody's really good, he'll say for instance, this guy's this. He's this. But he said the speedball is the game changer. Because you've got to hide the speedball. Speedball is when you just hit it at the person and all of a sudden that's the game.

1:56:49Pat McAfee:Yeah, that's AQ's game. I don't know if that's everybody's game. AQ has fallen in love with the pound people at the ball thing. Sure. We had a good run. Great run. Incredible. Now we got Thunderball. Now you got a better one. I'll tell you what, Thunderball was the name of the pickleball. It was. It's kind of just the – It was. Now Thunderball is a wiffle ball game. AJ, you would love this game. I think you'd be very good at this. You should get maybe a Centerville Elks team together. You, Herbie. Bobby. Not technically from Centerville, but – Yeah, something to think about. I need to see a Ty versus Herbie.

1:57:21Pat McAfee:Yeah, Ty versus Herbie would be incredible here at Thunderball. I'll tell you, Ty threw a complete game yesterday. 72, 73 miles an hour from 38 feet. Okay, that ball is coming a little bit. Tough day is possible.

1:57:32Jeff Passan:Yeah. You say Nick really went four for four with four donners? Yes.

1:57:36Pat McAfee:And one of them being a grand slam. I believe he had nine RBIs. I don't know if that will ever be top, folks. Ty was dealing. Ty was dealing, though. Yes, actually. It was a great time. And we're figuring out the rules as we go.

1:57:50Jeff Passan:The bat off your shoulder, Foxy. I just was honestly baiting Ty to throw three strikes in a row, and he did it. That was incredible.

1:57:57Pat McAfee:That's why Toc became your guys' pitcher, because he was the only one on the other side that could throw a strike.

1:58:02Jeff Passan:Accurate. Bit of a quick hook. House don't meet, Bubbles.

1:58:05Pat McAfee:Bit of a quick hook. On yourself? Yeah. Bruce really took – there it is. Bang.

1:58:12Jeff Passan:Toc's form is off the track.

1:58:13Pat McAfee:Dirty was good at game, though. I mean, I know we're showing a strikeout right now. Dirty was great at game. Hit a home run in the park home run and an actual home run, And Toc had his moment in the sun. But inevitably, he would get shelled the next inning. And Toc almost missed him. He's going to RBIs. Hold on. Go back to Toc running from third to home. Toc's change of direction is awesome. Oh, my God. He runs into the wall. He runs into the wall. Here he comes. Let's go.

1:58:41Jeff Passan:Watch him put on the brakes here and redirect.

1:58:42Pat McAfee:He's going to round third. He's currently on second. Let's watch him. Oh, my God. I got time. I got space. Sideway, sideway. Oh, he missed it. He missed it.

1:58:50Jeff Passan:He missed it.

1:58:51Pat McAfee:Such an ope. Yeah, you're right. Ope. Good game, AJ. It's a good game.

1:58:57Jeff Passan:It looks awesome.

1:58:57Pat McAfee:And then the Thunderdome was sabotaged by a scumbag. I don't like that that happened at all, by the way.

1:59:05Jeff Passan:No, it's bullshit.

1:59:06Pat McAfee:There's just glass shreds, shorts everywhere.

1:59:09Jeff Passan:I like how you said he looks like a righty swinging lefty. That's what you said.

1:59:12Pat McAfee:He did, didn't he? I mean, it looked like he was like.

1:59:14Jeff Passan:I'm guessing he is a lefty, right? You tell me after looking at that swing. Who knows? After you said that, it made me rethink if he's right here left. It really did.

1:59:22Pat McAfee:Well, honestly, I'm going to say that regardless. That was going to be something I was going to say no matter what. Him walking out with a goddamn computer. We've had that computer for 10 years. That computer is the old faithful computer. Look at the stack of papers.

1:59:36Jeff Passan:The first paper was put down. We're lucky you didn't knock those over.

1:59:39Pat McAfee:Yeah, it did look like he was kind of in a little bit of a blackout, like anger. Rage. If he would have, he didn't even know. No. He probably thought that was a part of the tape. Whoa, whoa, fingerprints, fingerprints. Whoa, whoa. Oh, jeez. We know who it was. All right, we got him on camera. Hey, watch yourself, Pat. This guy's got power. I know. He busted a bat off the desk. He's not allowed to touch you, though, right? That's the rules. Big Gambino. Bingo. Bingo. And also, to Bone, you're good at making graphics.

2:00:10Jeff Passan:Not the best sweeper. Or security. Well. Or being a team eater. What was going through Bone's mind right here when he saw... Oh, shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Put it down. Put it down. What does it say? I'm sorry. I don't know. Need more ketchup? I think he was in on it. He's in on it. He knew it was coming. Oh. I'm with the edge. It has to. I mean, it's an inside job. Maybe Bone didn't think the cameras were on. He had a Wi-Fi jammer or something. That walks him in.

2:00:39Pat McAfee:You think you said go do whatever you need to do right there? Yeah.

2:00:42Jeff Passan:Yeah. How do you know you were gone? Sweep this floor.

2:00:44Pat McAfee:I thought he was just stupid. You know, like, because he said, wow, it's a thunderstorm going on last night. So he's like, oh, man, got to let ODO. Yeah, exactly. That's what I think.

2:00:55Jeff Passan:To get cold or get sick. Yeah, it's going to be freezing.

2:00:59Pat McAfee:That's what D-Bone said?

2:01:01Jeff Passan:Yeah, sometimes D-Bone, you know, he likes Cody that much. He did, at least. I mean, I don't know. I remember. I remember he was all about him when our tribal chief won. Oh, and look who, look, isn't this cute? Oh, Jesus.

2:01:16Pat McAfee:Feft.

2:01:20Pat McAfee:Felonies. Multiple. Now he's flying on some private plane. Look at that private plane. Must be nice. Yeah. We're on Southwest heading out there. Exactly. Jeez. That's what we do. Three connections. For the good of the fucking Ozone. Grit.

2:01:36Jeff Passan:That might be bad for Ozone. Three connections. Yeah, maybe. Three connections.

2:01:41Pat McAfee:I'm not farting out there like that. Yeah, there's more people. Those planes are going to plane. Yeah, exactly. Anyways, there it is right there. I wonder why he grabbed the computer. I don't know. I mean, that's just classless. And he ripped the cord, by the way, off the back that connects it to the entire thing. I had to fix the cord. Thanks. Didn't even add that. Oh.

2:02:03Jeff Passan:I kind of passed your shoulder like, hey, well done. Well done. Just like we talked about. A little pat on his shoulder. Thanks to Bone. Fucking asshole.

2:02:13Pat McAfee:Hey, Bone. Bone. Why don't you go ahead and grab your iPad?

2:02:19Jeff Passan:You know? Meet coach upstairs.

2:02:23Pat McAfee:GM. Get him out of there. Don't come near me, please. Stay out there. Stay out there. Stay out there. Don't go anywhere. He's going to the snack drawer. We all know. I walked past the snack drawer somehow. And he's on his way out. Good. Okay, good. He is much more of a gentleman than we thought. Yeah. Resigning before we have to fire him. He's probably going to get coached. That's phenomenal stuff. Thank you, Bone, for doing that. For taking the decision out of my hands. Yeah. Yep. Because that's treason. Oh, yeah. You kidding me? Big time. Punishable by death in some countries. Firing squad. This country.

2:03:01Pat McAfee:How much money is this thing worth, age, if you had to guess? Remember Rick from Pawn Stars. You never know.

2:03:06Jeff Passan:I would say$10 million to$12 million.

2:03:10Pat McAfee:There you go. Do you know what that does whenever you talk about destruction of property and stuff like that, the value? Starts at$50 ,000. What did you say?

2:03:19Jeff Passan:$10 ,000 to$12 million. I'm underselling it, too. It's probably more.

2:03:22Pat McAfee:That's what I'm saying. This thing can get... I'm not a big... I'm a press charges guy, but this guy's in jail for Saturday. What is that? Randy Orton wins? Yeah.

2:03:32Jeff Passan:Victory.

2:03:33Pat McAfee:I'm not doing it. Randy Orton will handle you.

2:03:36Jeff Passan:Hey, if DeBone comes walking out Saturday night, we know this is a bad deal. If he comes walking out with Cody.

2:03:44Pat McAfee:We will know it's a bad deal if he does that.

2:03:46Jeff Passan:What's his music? Does he have music? Does DeBone have music?

2:03:51Pat McAfee:WWE Superstar WWE I thought he came out to his dad's music. What's his dad's music? Woo!

2:04:01Jeff Passan:He also likes the Dom Minnow He likes that one too.

2:04:06Pat McAfee:Alright, I like that song as well. He just said that's his favorite song right now. Okay, we have some people within the business reacting to the security footage dan hasen says this is cgi this probably isn't even cody rhodes could be anybody probably matt cardona housing it wasn't cardona housing okay indie god didn't come walking in here straight out of a death match and go whoa whoa with his bat and hit this thing okay that was the american nightmare mr hazen and i think you You got to do some realizing on who these people actually are. That's right. I'm not worried about him. Dan Housen knows what's good for the business.

2:04:46Pat McAfee:Yeah, he does.

2:04:47Jeff Passan:Dan Housen knows. I still wouldn't get very close to him. Sounds like he's blinded by Cody.

2:04:52Pat McAfee:Yeah, that's what I'm saying. This type of thing could potentially be distracted. I need to stay away from that thing. Yeah. Exactly. Randy, it's okay. Can't be cursed. Perfection cannot be cursed. Bingo. But I need to go to my being out there in Vegas, which I would like to be positive vibes because we're going to save something. Yeah. Got to have the right mindset for that. Sure. And also, I'm motivated to Randy. Randy can't see me cursed. No. No, no, no. That'd be bad. No way. Can't do that. There's no reason for me to be any part negative towards Randy. the only thing I've done is positive for Randy I think everybody kind of agrees with that I think even the wrestling community is everything that I have done has been positive for Randy Orton they love it putting him over all the time I mean what else can you do in the lead up in the lead up to this

2:05:44Jeff Passan:what you heard

2:05:48Pat McAfee:put him over all the time I do put him over all the time Anytime I went in there Spent a bunch of money around him I did that We did that We are fans And we just want to motivate him To make the business Better than it's ever been Exactly Alright AJ we're going to get the hell out of here We got a Thunderball game to play We got to clean up some glass And we got a Thunderball game to play Pickleball Slam 4 tonight 7pm on ESPN. NBA last night obviously had an incredible night of playing games. It was electrifying. Obviously, what LaMelo Ball did to the Miami Heat drove some conversations today about, what's ethical?

2:06:40Pat McAfee:What are we doing here? Yeah. I'll say this. That was an electrifying playing game. Yes, it was. Shout out to Charlotte for providing that atmosphere, environment, and that game. I'm telling you, DaBaby was the sixth man on the court for the Hornets. He was on the court. He's about to pick up Lamella. Go on, Lamella. He's picking him up down there. Picking him up, send him out there. That's what you need. You need the city showing up like that, obviously, in a big way. And then Portland's got a guy. Yeah. We've been watching him all year. We've been talking about this guy. That's right. Trying to tell you.

2:07:08Pat McAfee:All year. He's been a pro for nine years now. Turbo. We've been talking about him. Avdia. Avdia. Yep. Avdia. Avdia. He's a problem. Okay? And it was nice to see you last night, pal. because what he was doing was just spectacular. It was a fun game of basketball to watch him go for over 40 in a play-in game and also potentially learn about his existence at the same time. That was a fun thing. That was a fun little play-in game. Now, remember, if you lose these play-in games, you find yourself in a position that is completely screwed. You're in the middle of the NBA. You're probably not going to win the draft lottery.

2:07:42Pat McAfee:You're not going to be able to rebuild because of the amount of money you spent. You're kind of in a purgatory situation. But if you get hot during a play-in and go on a playoff run, you can miraculously turn your franchise into a much better franchise over the course of, what, two months, basically. Is that Portland? And then they got Dame Time coming back next year, right? Yeah. So Dame Time and Avdia on the same team, yeah, that could be good. And then, obviously, Charlotte gets a win. Tonight, though, Magic Sixers. Steph Curry taking on the Clippers. Now, Clippers conversation has been loud off the court all year.

2:08:19Jeff Passan:Yeah. Yes.

2:08:21Pat McAfee:Kawhi's playing. Kawhi's healthy. Kawhi's good. Oh, yeah. Very good. Best year in a while. And what we've been told is all Kawhi cares about is the playoffs.

2:08:29Jeff Passan:Yes.

2:08:29Pat McAfee:Yep. So let's assume that Kawhi Leonard goes bananas tonight. And who on the other side? Oh, Stephan Draymond. Draymond, a guy who we now know will punch somebody in the face at a meeting. Yes. Okay. Off the court.

2:08:45Jeff Passan:Not just at basketball.

2:08:45Pat McAfee:Yeah. On the court, he'll do it. Off the court, he'll do it. And for that, we have to genuinely show respect for a man always being the same person since the beginning of time. I think that's it. And Steph Curry coming back from injury, lighting up the hoop. Is he going to be able to lead Golden State from a 10 seed into maybe an 8 seed after a play-in? And then, you know, the Orlando Magic. Here we go. They got a lot of good guys. Oh, yeah. They got all the guys. When they're playing basketball, people go, wow, those guys, they know basketball. Mm-hmm. Paulo's a dumb. Paulo Banchero. He's so good.

2:09:22Pat McAfee:So good. For the Orlando magic. And then the Sixers. I mean, Paul George, obviously, over there. We love that. Tyrese Maxey, Vijay Ejicom. Really, a fun team to watch, honestly. Because Maxey can float. Yes. Flots. Yes, he certainly can. Yeah, all right. So tonight, we got two more incredible playing games. Maybe we'll be able to see the entirety of it. It won't be technical disclosures. Oh, doubt it. 26. Anything about that?

2:09:48Jeff Passan:Huh? Have they talked about why it happened? What's going on?

2:09:52Pat McAfee:They said computer went down or something like that. Hardware in the truck. Yeah, it's hardware in the truck. So a computer or an input or something went down. Now, there is a chance, and I'm not going to say this, but whenever you're doing a live broadcast, and we have found ourselves now talking about this multiple days, we're not going to act like we are the experts on this, but we have certainly done it in a variety of fashions, strictly off a generator, off of other power, bringing in a truck, being in the back of a truck. We've been a part of a lot of boots on ground live productions in place.

2:10:19Pat McAfee:There is so many things that can go wrong. So many things that can go wrong whenever you're doing live events. That's why the CBS Masters 18th whole thing, it's like, we have no idea if a camera just blipped for 30 seconds. Well, why'd it do that? No clue. Well, it's resetting now. It's like, well, how long is the reset for? We don't know. It should be pretty quick or whatever. It's like those types of things happen. They came out and said something in the truck kind of crash. You would obviously hope that it isn't like a timer was set, you know, not expecting potentially going to overtime, which we have seen happen before.

2:10:52Pat McAfee:I've called a game, and they had the lights on a timer, and they didn't expect the game to go as long as it did, and all the lights turned off because it was on a timer. And we had to wait. That was East Carolina. I think it was East Carolina. I believe it was East Carolina. We had to wait until the lights came all the way back. That was like the old school lights. It took forever. But they had it on a timer, and somebody was like, you can't. Like that's something you don't even really think about. So there's a thousand things that could happen. They said they had a hardware issue with this entire thing.

2:11:18Pat McAfee:Whatever the case, it seemingly can't happen, you know, like that, especially in overtime, your first run with the playoffs, and it's in the final minute of playoffs, basketball that matters, and it's good like 24 seconds. One-section game. Yeah. So, but on that note, a lot can go wrong. So anytime you see these things go live, there are people riding the tech in the back like a bucking bull. Yeah. You know, like there's been shows that we've been a part of where the truck has lost all cameras. They don't know, but it's still somehow shooting out to live TV. So it's like, what do you mean the cameras of the truck has gone by?

2:12:03Pat McAfee:we can't see what the feeds are but the feeds are going to tv and it's like okay so what are you going to do we're going to stay on the wide shot because we we can't see any of the other feeds it's like well how long are we there for okay we're resetting we're resetting and it's like that just is all happening all the time for all these games and i think everybody just assumes it's all figured out but it's like you got a lot of humans in a place a lot of humans but a lot of tech a lot of set a lot of shit happening and obviously we should get perfection especially whenever you're spending billions of dollars on something you should want perfection as well but it's like all with tech it's a fickle fucker man tech is a really really fickle thing i think and we've seen it now masters potentially even though jim nance said the decisions are being made in real time potentially something else he didn't really give an answer and then with amazon it's like we lose some valuable time there it's like tech has the answers too there's nobody telling the tech what's happened the tech is telling us what the problem is from our experience basically.

2:12:59Jeff Passan:Yeah, for sure. Going back to Jim Nance, he talked about the ultimate team player when you talked about the broadcast and everything going on. How he handled it was beautiful. He gave a great answer but also stood up for all of his people behind the scenes.

2:13:11Pat McAfee:Yeah, because that can happen, he knows, at any time. And it's probably been so much chaos in his years before. Hey, we've lost five cameras. We got two cameras. Let's go back to 18. That's all we got right now. Nothing's happening at 18. Yeah, Phil, Jim. Phil. I ought to go to fucking 18. You know, those things happen. Like, that's why there's people in the truck you see sometimes there's like chaos. They'll only show you the shots when everybody's like just kind of. Yes. Merry Christmas to our families. You know, but in the corner, you'll probably see somebody sweating. That's the tech guy. And he has had something happen that he has no idea why it's happening.

2:13:46Pat McAfee:He can guess. There's an in theory. Sure. This could be the case. But with where we are in technology now, it's like they're kind of trying. They're telling us. Better fucking figure it out. Dude, I know. All right, Amos, Bezos, figure it out, especially NBA. You got how many different things you got to have to watch your NBA.

2:14:03Jeff Passan:Oh, yeah, the Celtics are on four different platforms to start the playoffs. That's a completely different conversation. But if you are Amazon, thank God it happened yesterday and not on Saturday or Sunday when it's going to be some of these six versus three. Like, if it's a play-in, sure, and it does suck. It was overtime. It's a great game. Come on, figure it out, great game. But, like, if this was tie game, LeBron versus KD, 30 seconds left, like, just as bad then.

2:14:29Pat McAfee:Now, I would like to say before the NFL went to Amazon, Amazon was their first streaming partner. Amazon had to prove multiple times that they'd be able to handle a game, you know, because platforms dropping, breaking, busting, overloading. I mean, we've been a part of a couple of those just in our – we take our podcast to a new platform. All of a sudden the thing crashes, you know, And it's like, that's a good thing, I think. But also, hey, how do you let that happen? We're working on it right now. We are recoding. Everything will be back up and running or whatever. And then that company sells for like.

2:15:02Yeah, well over billions of dollars.

2:15:04Pat McAfee:And it's like, well, wait, I know. Good for you, man. Good for you. But on that note, the people that get it in the back end and get into the coding thing and all that stuff, it's like, I don't even think they know everything about everything at this stage. You know, there's that. What was that documentary? it was on netflix about what um algos and everything are doing for you uh i forget the

2:15:25Jeff Passan:one that scared everybody away from phones and kids with phones yeah that one scared me a bit

2:15:29Pat McAfee:whenever the google person came on it was like uh nobody knows what what why it's happening social dilemma was the name of it some guy from google comes in goes nobody knows why the algo's doing what it's doing right now we can try to like kind of we can say hey this is actually a good thing when you do this but it's like it's going to decide whether or not it wants to do it and whether or not our prompts are the right prompts or not. It's like we're kind of just in their world. Now, granted, when they're operating, like, I mean, just look right now. I mean, we got PTZs, PTZs. I mean, we got everything.

2:15:56Pat McAfee:The amount of wiring, though, that goes to every single thing that has to be perfect. It's like it's a crazy thing. Can't have it in overtime. Can't have it in overtime. Can't have it. And also, if we're going to have it, I need something better in elevator music with technical data.

2:16:10Jeff Passan:Yeah, that would help, too.

2:16:11Pat McAfee:I need something better. Because they had to choose what that was. Oh, like the YouTube TV. The Zen thing. Give us a Zen thing. Yeah, the Zen's not bad. No, it's not bad at all. I'm in the mountains.

2:16:23Jeff Passan:Yeah. Got a nice garden. Beaver laying on his back at some creek somewhere.

2:16:28Pat McAfee:Instead, we got... Just a terrible song. Good luck out there, streamers. Good luck. We appreciate you investing in sport, though. We'd like that to continue to happen. But yeah, that is where the old legacy brands who've done live events for a long time kind of have, they've been through the war. so many times. But even they mess up. All the time. Shocked it doesn't happen more often. From what we know now, I don't know how it does happen. I can't remember that ever happening with an NFL game on a network maybe in my lifetime. At least in the last 30 years, I can't ever remember there being any kind of glitch in an NFL game.

2:17:08Pat McAfee:There's like triple check, double check on everything too. That's probably how they got to this point of what they got. Because anytime there's a live broadcast it feels like well this is a bit overkill this is a bit overkill here do you need all of this and they're like yes if you better have it then i'll have it and it's like i guess so but even those go down yeah and then transition from one to the the backup the transition from the regular to the backup is its own thing anyways do you even i'm telling you if we were to write a book about all the that has happened whenever we do the live stuff or what we've seen these shows should not be up on the air no i mean jackson state is that was where coach prime was right yeah mississippi we were in a there was no you said there was like no infrastructure for internet no no no we were out there and somehow they said we're in montana it was negative 13 or whatever had to cut the generator to the heater because we ran out of power to be able to send the signal out there i'm like are we on the air right now because none of the tvs are working that we can see.

2:18:10Pat McAfee:Cameras, yeah, right. Can't see. Who knows if those are on. And it's like, are we live on air? Yes, everything's still going. The heater's not working. The lights aren't working. That's not working. But we are still sending the stream. It's like, how? I have no idea how it works. And the tech that's doing it is like, we're the captains now. Seriously.

2:18:29Jeff Passan:We got your back. Until we don't.

2:18:33Pat McAfee:And on the flip side of all that, we have streamers walking around the entire universe, and they're perfectly streaming 4k quality anywhere they want that makes no sense either yeah they got a backpack guy next to them with a live view plugged directly into a phone i think they have to go to places where live view is big though yeah i don't think those are flawless live view is a collection of phone surfaces made into one particular thing it's a it's a device it's a little block you can put on your back we've looked into a couple times for our live shows that was speed was using touring africa i think all of them and that might have been starlink though that might have been uh Starlink, wherever it's at.

2:19:07It was like$30 ,000 backpacks, right?

2:19:10Pat McAfee:Well, it's the box that's really the box that you're buying. And then the backpack, obviously. I assume there's some radiation protection. Oh, I hope. I sure hope. I assume there has to be something. But, yeah, it's great technology. I love what they're doing. Those streamers, man. It's crazy. That's a full commitment. That's a full commitment of your life to entertainment, and I respect it. I do wonder what long-term, what happens, you know? That's a lot of time on air. Oh, yeah. A lot of time on air. And just broadcasting where you are nonstop. There's a lot of wackos out there. Yeah, old buddy got punched yesterday.

2:19:47Pat McAfee:Exactly. Yeah, that's – And on that note, we're done here. We gave away too much on where that was. Yeah. If you're going to take somebody's title, I guess you shouldn't just display it all over the place. Unless you know it's yours anyways.

2:20:03Jeff Passan:Yeah.

2:20:04Pat McAfee:Cody, that title can be sitting in your plane, but you know where it's headed. Randy Orton's shoulder. Saturday night, WrestleMania. We cannot wait to get out there and change the business, save the business forever. Stack card. Should be a blast. And if I see you in Vegas at one of these wrestling events, fuck off. Now,

2:20:29Pat McAfee:they don't like me over there either. so i'm letting them know mutual yeah and don't you be saying go home pat because i am home when i'm in there that's right with randy you're the guest and we're trying to that's a sweep something that that asshole i knew couldn't do that's right

2:21:01Pat McAfee:on the marquee out there I don't know if they're paying me or Randy for that gonna have to have a little conversation about that whole thing did we want those wrestling marks to be able to see that big of us they don't deserve that do you think they deserve that size of Randy Orton in their life on their eyes yeah right is that going on a chair as well I assume better not I don't want those stupid stinky butts all over Randy Orton's face. Can you imagine? If those are the seats, you fat sos and disgusting bums do not sit down. Do not sit on those. Do not chant, go home, Pat. I am home. You sound stupid.

2:21:43Pat McAfee:And don't look at this. You don't deserve to see Randy Orton this big. It's almost life-size, actually, of Randy Orton, isn't it? Yeah, it's pretty close. A little bit smaller. A gladiator, a giant. an impeccable WWE superstar a man who's going to save the business on Friday download the ESPN SuperDuper premium app now if you would like to watch a night changing a business changing night and also why don't you come join us if you're able to get to Vegas Saturday night it's going to be one of those I was there moments it's going to be one of those hey you remember when moments and I'm going to be lucky as hell to be the one that's motivating the greatest of all time, Randy Orton.

2:22:26Pat McAfee:All right. Thank you to today's sponsor, SeatGeek. Obviously, you can get$30 off your WrestleMania ticket. Yeah. What do you use? Code PATMACAFEE. Now, remember, there's over 35 million downloads of SeatGeek. It's the highest-rated ticketing app there is. Not even close. Because it's the greatest ticket-buying platform on planet Earth. And the moon! Which sounds like... Yeah, we're going. Coming soon. Oh, yeah. Coming soon. We definitely went. We did. Saw the pictures. Sure. Heard the contact. Astronauts are back home. We did it. America yet again. That's right, baby. Proud of us. Well, anyways, whenever there's a live event on the moon, SeatGeek will have the greatest tickets for you.

2:23:10Pat McAfee:You can get$30 off right now whenever you use code PATMCAFE. Restrictions do apply. I think that's how much the thing is. There will be fees and shit like that because it is the ticketing business. You can get$30 off the entire product there. with Pat McAfee code at SeatGeek. And we appreciate the hell out of SeatGeek because they don't lie to you. They'll tell you if it's a shitty deal for a ticket. There'll be a little red dot. Scale one to ten. Obviously, green dot means good. This is a good ticket for a good price. They're not scared to lie to you. They're not scared to lose a sale. They just want you to come back and know that SeatGeek is your ticket buying friend.

2:23:42Pat McAfee:Shout out to SeatGeek. Shout out. Be your friend. Tell your friend something nice. It might change your life. We're in this thing together. We're going to have to clean this up, Cody. Jack out. Peace.

2:23:51Jeff Passan:As punishment, Bones should probably clean it up with his teeth. Yeah, Bones should.

2:23:54Pat McAfee:Bones left the building, so maybe that's better for all of them.

2:23:57Jeff Passan:Good. Is he still walking? Is he just walking down the street now? He wouldn't get very far. He's tired now.

2:24:01Pat McAfee:No, he's got a tiny little car out there that we could literally go flip over with two hands. And he probably hopped in that little toy car and drove his ass to wherever that plane was headed for Cody and saying, I did your job. I didn't even think about him being in on it. I just thought he was stupid. You mentioned, AJ, that he was in on it. I didn't even think about it. true treasony.

2:24:21Jeff Passan:It's just shit. Gotta get a lie detector in there. You know that. Or that serum that you could inject in the mix. Either one works. Either one.

2:24:29Pat McAfee:Alright, I like it. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change your life. We're interesting together. Team on me. Team on three. One, two, three. Team. Goodbye.

2:24:49And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional cost. Visit activate.espn.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN, all in one place. Sign up or activate now.

2:25:08Pat McAfee:911, where is the emergency? It's the middle of the night in a small town on the Jersey Shore. Someone reports an abandoned car on a bridge. A search gets underway for the missing driver, 19-year-old Sarah Stern. Is it a missing person? Is it a suicide? At this point, nobody knows. Old friendships, buried cash, and a sinister plot that was once pitched as a movie plays out in real life. I'm Juju Chang from 2020 and ABC Audio. Listen now to Bridge of Lies wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.