PMS 2.0 1565 - NBA Finals Preview, Stanley Cup Game 1 Recap, LA Rams GM Les Snead, Heather Dinich, Peter Schrager, PK Subban, Iman Shumpert, Darius Butler, & AJ Hawk

21:10How much pressure does that put on you with the high contracts you have and then the young guys coming up? Really good question. That's a variable that we all have to deal with in the NFL, right? When players in your locker room become eligible, let's call it for that second contract, that first extension. So, you know, we're not the only team dealing with it. But that's part of the business aspect that we were just talking about. And the human aspect, the people part of that is there's an element of practicing patience before you're rewarded. We'll have to work through that, and we'll continue working through that.

21:47Because a lot of players on our team, right, a lot of our core players are on their rookie contracts. And some of them are now, you know, they're eligible for that second contract. And we want to keep this machine going. And so the vision is to not just do it in 2026, but to continue, you know, winning past 26 and then in 27, 28, 29, all those things. The other part of the component, I think, is very important is when you do things like we've done, having ownership like Stan Kroenke, his family, allowing us flexibility, right, to be able to do, you know, some of these out of the box type moves to take advantage of the window that we're in presently.

22:31Pat McAfee:Well, Kroenke also doesn't want you just to win right now. Now, I think a lot of people would say that you went all in to try to win the Super Bowl in Los Angeles. I think we said that. I think that's where the fuck them picks kind of came for it. You trade for Stafford. I think you bring in Jalen. You have a star-studded crew, obviously, that come in because the Super Bowl is in Los Angeles, we all think. And we think you're sacrificing the future because there's no way you're going to be able to do this long term. You're kicking the can down the road with this. You're kicking the can down the road.

22:59Pat McAfee:you're kind of not going to be able to build for the future you've been able to do that so i think it is very right for you to be able to say like yeah we're not just thinking about right now we're also thinking about the future with every single move that we do because you've kind of did something similar to what you did before and you were able to withstand still having a great team so a lot of teams fall off after they go all in or that was the big fear if you kind of go all in and uh i think you've been able to kind of ride the wave somehow what a perfect fit for Los Angeles for you to be able to do that because Myles Garrett coming out there, McDuffie coming out there, Stafford coming out there, and then wait a minute.

23:32Pat McAfee:Go ahead, Connor. Yeah, Les, Pat reached out to Aaron Donald yesterday and basically asked him like, hey, what's the deal? You coming back? And Aaron Donald said to him, hey, I got to just, you know, see if I can find that fire again. I think that'll be pretty easy, but have you actually reached out to Aaron, see what it might take? Have you had any sort of back and forth with him? And just as a non-Rams fan, please don't. Please don't. Hey, Pat, I did see your, whatever, it was X'd out, I guess it's X right, where the highlight where you, point what I'm trying to say is continue texting Aaron Donald.

24:09I know you said you don't text Willie Malton, but this is probably the time to build that daily text change with you.

24:19You know, because we're Rams fans. So let's, but you know what? I can't say I haven't. Sean has had conversations with Aaron. He still communicates with Aaron a good bit. The neat thing about it is I do think for the first time, right, Aaron's like, oh, wait a minute. I don't think he's actually thought that since he did retire. Because if you know Aaron, Aaron's just at his core, at his DNA, he feels like, hey, if he doesn't think he's one of the best on the field, He probably doesn't want to be on the field. So I think he's actually enjoyed retirement. But you know what? He said he left and his tank was full.

24:56Maybe it's getting a little bit less full, Pat. So keep texting. Okay, I will.

25:01Pat McAfee:I will keep texting because I think it would be good for the game. Although I will say there's been some people in the Thunderdome here that have said, like, hey, what are we doing? Some other teams just trying to win. We do not want Aaron Donald coming back. You guys have the Avengers over there seemingly coming together on all sides. superstar team in a superstar city with the Super Bowl being in said city on ESPN. D-Butt has a question for you about the Avengers cast. Yeah, Les. I see the workout video. I do know this. Probably since his retirement, he hasn't missed a workout. I bet he might not do three a days anymore, but you know what?

25:35I bet you he hadn't missed a workout since that retirement.

25:37Pat McAfee:I texted him and told him to get the knives back out. Yeah, that would help. And I remember the knives was his thing. Stop doing that, man. What? Stop texting them and tell them to get the knives back out. You're screwing all our teams here. It does seem unfair. You know it's good content, right? You're not. Well said, Les. Oh, fuck off. I don't need it from you either. Yeah, it sounds like you're trying. Excuse me, I'm not a Ram recruit. On that note, I do love Ball. And the thought of. It'd be so entertaining. Oh, my God. Miles Garrett already. Just think of him and his Los Angeles Ram. He's on primetime seven times.

26:11Pat McAfee:His story's going to be told so many different times. and his Halloween shit's going to be outrageous in LA. I couldn't even imagine. Oh, my God. I can't even imagine what his shit's going to be in LA. Yeah, I couldn't even imagine. It's going to be a Ram. It's going to be a superstar. And Donald Clinton, that kind of thing would be outrageous. Now, the thought of all of this is obviously what's happening outside the building. Go ahead, D-Bug. Yeah, we got that news live when we were on air, and my phone was ringing off the hook, so I know yours was. But I want to know inside the building, who was the first player to call you?

26:38Was it Trent McDuffie who made the highest-paid corner? I know as a former corner, that makes my job a lot easier when you got Miles Garrett off the edge. On the other side, Young coming off a 12-sack season. Was it him that gave you the call? Matt Stafford, who gave you that first call after they got the news of this trade actually going through? You definitely got some text. We were in the building, so some people stopped by. But, you know, it was one of those interesting turn of events in that, hey, we were saying goodbye to Jared Burst, so he was able to say his goodbye. So there's that element, you know, from the from a teammate perspective of, you know what, this is this has been a really good teammate.

27:17We really like this. This person. Let's let's you know, that first part of the equation was was saying goodbye to someone that we all really like, love and respect. So and then at the end of the day, as this thing processes and settles, you'll get some conversations with different people about, you know what? But, you know, if you're a defensive back, right, there's an element where the quarterback might not have as much time to drop back and pass the ball makes their job a little bit easier. So those conversations do occur once something like this is done.

27:48Pat McAfee:Yeah, I would assume that everybody in Los Angeles wants the dust settles with verse, which obviously everybody respects and likes. And then you think to yourself, like, Miles Garrett's going to be on this team. That's hilarious. I watched him live, obviously, as you have as well. He took over Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. I mean, he took the place over. He blocked a kick. He had a strip sack fumble touchdown, I think, in like a matter of two minutes. The Browns fans were chanting his name in Lucas Oil Stadium. I mean, he took over the entire game, this guy. He's one of one, and he's in his prime.

28:22Pat McAfee:Outrageous, obviously, that you're able to land the ship without anybody or land a plane without anybody, like, finding out. It feels like you keep everything real tight. I mean, so tight to Ty Simpson after he gets drafted and says, I never talk to these guys ever. You know, and, you know, that's kind of like the way you go about it. How many people knew about this? And how does this stay so tight, you think? Because nobody had a clue this was coming. We try to do things discreetly. And even in this case, you think about the situations. What if this, what if this, what if we weren't able to execute the trade?

28:54We weren't able to pull it off, right? So you try to keep things as quiet as possible so that, right, if it doesn't happen, let's say it were to get out, that it was a possibility and it doesn't happen, And those things are, they can be more distractions and you get questions about a possibility, but not necessarily the reality. And I would say that too, a lot of times you try to keep what you're doing in the draft as discreet as possible. Because let's just say you end up liking five players or let's keep it simple, three players that you might pick somewhere. Two of them are gone. You pick the third.

29:27Then it becomes, wait a minute, for the person you drafted, hey, did you want those other to and not meet things like that so you try to when you're doing uh this type of business and always go this the blueprint is not necessarily the reality so let's try to keep the blueprint in-house and if it becomes a reality then let's uh chat about it i love it because you're in los

29:50Pat McAfee:angeles you would assume you could potentially have a lot of potential leaks out of there and then you guys somehow have kept a lot of shit very big shit very tight that's gonna make you feel good about your culture hey yeah congratulations because i can say this and you'll appreciate this everyone who's played i know this once we decided to do this i do know this the most important thing for uh you know our head coach sean was to be hey to be the first to tell jared not someone else not not someone from the outside not not a tweet none of that that that was very very and very difficult conversation but you want to be the first you want that person to hear from us it's hard to do this thing yeah that's what I'm saying very hard to do you should be very and I can say this and not a negative because right there the benefit of of shows like a shelf talking about the NFL a lot that benefits all of us in the ecosystem so but it is harder and harder to do to to handle the people part of it that was very nice of you but What I'm saying is I think D-Bott agrees, especially because as we cover it every single day, like you mentioned, the places that stuff gets out from and the way it gets out, it's like, that's a bad building.

31:03Pat McAfee:You can just tell by the building. Like the Jets not having their second overall pick get leaked somehow, sportsbooks didn't even know. So, like, nobody was able to find out any information about it. I thought that was a good indicator of the culture. Now, that goes completely against, like, Schefter and Rapsheet, who are friends of our program, and daily sports. Like, we'd like more shit to get out of your building. We would like more shit to get out of there. because that gives us more to talk about. But the fact that it didn't, I think, is a good indicator. Even the other side, too. Yeah, Cleveland, too.

31:30Their ability to be tight with Cleveland. And then, you know, Miles, when he spoke yesterday, I think he said he heard of it like a week ago. So even like his team or somebody, because somebody's always trying to trade some information, give some, get some back. So in this day and age, like, you know, kudos to everybody doing right.

31:44Pat McAfee:Hey, good business, Les. Good business. Thank you all. Appreciate that. All right. Well, have a good one. We appreciate the hell out of you. Was there a talk about a wide receiver you guys were getting? Were you always going to make a big trade? I can say this. This was an opportunity that arose. We thought we should seize it. So you can't ever plan for opportunities. But I can say some of the A.J. Brown stuff, that was – Billy was discussing trading him kind of back in the – that was more back in free agency. So that was something we were aware of. Snooping around maybe. Yeah, we'll listen a little bit.

32:22Pat McAfee:We'll snoop around a little bit, see what's going on. See what's going on. That's our job. That's the business. And business is good. All right, we appreciate the hell out of you, ladies and gentlemen. The general manager of the Los Angeles Rams, Lesney. Yeah, Les. He's the man. The man. Love him. Yeah, I mean, yeah. We saw them just like you guys. We were watching you guys. You guys reacted the same way we did whenever they moved that contract. We all thought, well, we can certainly snoop around. Knock on the door. We'll talk a little football and then we'll knock again. Hey, about that. You did the thing for a reason, right?

32:56Like basically put him on the trade block. Yeah.

32:58Pat McAfee:Yeah, you did that too. Why'd you do it? Why'd you do that to his thing? That wasn't to tell me that this guy's available? Is that what you're trying to say? Why don't everybody kind of move like this? Well, Bean does. I think Bean, all right. I know he talked about, you know, Cronkite, the owner, you know, allowing him more flexibility too. So I definitely got to do a little bit of research on how that actually worked. But, I mean, they're just always trying to improve. Like, it's one thing to go all in and draft. Obviously, you have to do those different things. But moving on from golf, getting staffed, and even dealing with the human aspect of that, I think Sean McVay has talked about, hey, I wish I could have done that better or handled it differently.

33:35So it's like they're almost like getting all the shit right. It's like how you were playing like Madden. Like, okay, Miles Garrett, okay, A.J. Brownsville, yeah, let me make a call. Let me snoop around. Let me try to continue to improve. and you would think like of all the franchises, like, you know, obviously you can't operate the same exact fashion, but, I mean, shit, come on.

33:55Pat McAfee:Yeah, definitely something. Come on now. Yeah, you would want your team to at least snoop around. Yeah. Like I would like to know that, you know, Ballard's snooping around, which we know he is because he's made massive moves, obviously. So that's good to know. And we're going to win because of it unless the Los Angeles Rams just acquire the Aaron Donald. Unless you keep texting him. That was funny to hear him say, hey, yeah, I saw you say you don't text. Now is a good time to start texting him. Let him know how good he is. I would like to say I did follow up with a morning text this morning. No response.

34:25Pat McAfee:Okay. That's because he's working out. No, it was a gas up text. It was completely a gas up. Don't know if you saw it, brother. The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive to the thought of you coming back to a football field being alongside Myles Garrett. That would be awesome. Thanks for yesterday. Cheers. No response. But I'll send him another one tomorrow if that's what Les Ney thinks football needs. I told you to. But with Kroenke and the owner stuff, because obviously there's cash-rich owners and there's not cash-rich owners. Is that like when you're doing the deals for all these star players and you put the money up front?

34:55Or like the guaranteed money and all the money that needs to go in? I assume that's what he's talking about as far as owners that are all in on it as well?

35:01Pat McAfee:Yeah, being able to guarantee them. Because every dollar that's guaranteed, you've got to put up, I think, right? Isn't that the thought? Yeah, because that used to have to happen because owners didn't have enough money. So if they didn't put the money up, then players would end up not getting the money that was guaranteed to them. I assume that was way back in the day, but I think it's still a rule that happens. So I think there's some owners that are in better positions to be able to kind of do that. Now, let's move away from the NFL football, and let's go to another professional football organization, the NCAA.

35:28Pat McAfee:Ladies and gentlemen, live from the Senate Commerce Committee's vote on the Protect College Sports Act that has been backed by two Democrats and two Republicans, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, the guy from the Yankees. Randy Levine. Yep, multiple people. A lot of people. This is presented today. Coach Saban, also a part of this, was talking. I heard him presenting and pitching what college sports could become and what it couldn't become and why a vote is crucial. Then there was a statement from the SEC and the Big Ten that said, like, hey, hold the phone. We don't love what's happening here. To break it all down for us, live from D.C., ladies and gentlemen, senior college football insider for ESPN, Heather Dinnish.

36:10Yeah, Heather.

36:11Pat McAfee:How you doing, Heather? I'm great. How are you guys? Good. Any day in Washington, D.C. is a good day. You know, a lot of good things happening over there. What's your takeaway from what took place today? Because we obviously talked to Cody Campbell. Coach Saban, obviously, we know rather well. We know that today was pretty vital, but can you break it down a little bit more on what exactly happened today and what we can expect to come from this? Sure. I think it's fair to say that there was a lot of support for this bill, the Protect College Sports Act. To be clear, there's not a vote. They're not at that point yet.

36:43I spoke with Senator Ted Cruz this week about it because I think what people want to know is, is this thing going to pass? Because for five years, people have been lobbying Congress for federal legislation to help NIL and the transfer portal and all that. Right. And so you need 60 votes in the Senate. Cruz told me that he's highly confident this can pass. He thinks that he can get more than 60 votes, which would give it some momentum going into the House. Now, I will tell you guys, having covered this for a long time, I am in believe it when I see it mode in terms of actual federal legislation getting passed.

37:22Which is why, guys, last week at SEC spring meetings in Destin, Florida, you had SEC presidents and chancellors talking about potentially breaking away and creating their own rules. Because of skepticism that there will be federal legislation to help.

37:41Pat McAfee:One week before we do this, they decide they're going to split it. That's not good. That's not what we need. That's only going to delay everything because now it's going to take them forever to put their own shit together. Stay together. I thought this was the one that had everybody together. We had two Democrats. We had two Republicans. We had Urban Meyer, which could be considered a Big Ten legend, even though he won one down in the SEC as well, coach. You had Coach Saban, down SEC legend coach in there. You had the biggest NIL contributor, basically in college sports, who's also ex-athlete and also ex-professional athlete, who's running as a general manager of basically an entire athletic thing in there and numerous others around it all.

38:24Pat McAfee:And then a week before we decide we don't want to do it, Tone has a question for you. Why? Heather, you talked about lobbying for five years. I feel like the SEC and Big Ten have been lobbying for a long time, correct me if I'm wrong, on something like this. They wanted something like this. And then last night they put out the joint statement that they will not support this as it is written. Do we know why the SEC and Big Ten finally has agreed on something and it is this right now, even though they've been lobbying for something like this? Well, because of the way it impacts the House settlement, and they don't think that it's going to take care of that.

38:59And that's something that was talked about at length here today. Notre Dame Athletic Director Pete Babacqua, who I know is also a friend of the program, talked about how he doesn't think that cap is enough, and there needs to be more discussion about increasing that cap. And he talked about the possibility of, if there isn't federal legislation, a Super League happening. And so why is this happening? Why is there still disagreement about it? Well, the simple answer is because it's politics. And in every bill you have, not everyone is going to agree on everything in it. Like the media writes.

39:38Hold on, Heather. We're going to have to reconnect. Heather, Heather, we're going to reconnect.

39:41Pat McAfee:We're going to reconnect. Hold on. We'll reconnect with you, Heather. She's got a lot of good stuff going. That's crazy, though. The media rights. Yeah, the media rights. Yeah, we need to make sure we hear everything that's happening because Pete Pavacqua bringing up a Super League. Obviously, Notre Dame would be able to mention that because Notre Dame runs their own league, which is Notre Dame in and of itself. It's kind of its own entity, even though it does compete underneath the rest of the D1 NCAA football. They're kind of in all their sports, but they're kind of in their own avenue. And also, I think they believe that they could probably build a Super League if they were to recruit some of the other schools who probably aren't going to be happy with whatever this is.

40:16Pat McAfee:If the SEC and the Big Ten aren't happy with this one, this ain't going to happen. No, correct. No way. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, senior college football insider Heather Dinnage. Heather, you're starting to get choppy. I think it could have been RN. Thank you for reconnecting over from Washington, D.C. Senate Commerce Committee voting on the Protect College Sports Act. And then now we're learning that the SEC and the Big Ten have come together and said they are not in support of this, which is going to make it really hard. But you were about to say something about media rights, and obviously that's a big deal, and Super League, and then it all kind of started getting a little choppy there.

40:47Pat McAfee:But what do you think inevitably happens now that the SEC and the Big Ten are seemingly against this? It's got no chance, right, to actually work. Are we anywhere closer to an answer at this point than we have been over the last couple years? Does everybody understand that we have to have something happen in this world? Yes. I think it is closer to federal legislation because this is bipartisan. Did I freeze again? No, you're good. You're good. You're good. We can hear you. Okay. Because it is bipartisan. I mean, we're talking about Senators Cruz and Cantwell pouring hundreds of hours into trying to figure this out.

41:28But they stated, the SEC and the Big Ten, as written, that doesn't mean that they can't go back to work on this, right? Because they can go back and tweak some of the language, which I'm sure they will. And even Nick Saban said today that there are things that can be better about this and there are people who can continue to make it better. So today was a really good conversation. I think Saban made a lot of good points and so did everyone else involved. A big message here was the threat to Olympic sports, though. That was a real big message here.

42:01Pat McAfee:Yeah, and women's sports, I do believe. I heard Coach Saban bring it up multiple times. He said, if this keeps going, all right, the way it's going, all right, you're going to have football and basketball, and then you're going to have club sports for everything else. And then you're just going to see how it is. That was kind of the end of his entire pitch about my first year with NIL at Alabama. It was$2.7 million, all right? Then it became$7 million. It just became$9.7 million,$17 million,$24 million. Now that's$40 million. Do you see what I'm saying here? I'm saying. You see what I'm saying here?

42:27Pat McAfee:We need something here to kind of happen. Miss Heather, we appreciate the hell out of your coverage. Ladies and gentlemen, senior college football insider Heather Deney. Heather. I don't like it. Yeah, me neither. I thought everybody was on the same side here. Definitely not. In Washington? Politics. Never. She did bring up the good point as written, you know, because, you know, just a little tweak. But this thing is just going to get dragged out and delayed and delayed. Like, we're not going to have an answer on this for so long. I mean, the kid from Iowa State who just left the NBA combine to go back to college got like$6.5 million from Kentucky for probably one year.

43:02We need that in West Virginia. They're not even talking about that. It's football, and then there's the guys of like, listen, we've got to protect the Olympic sports here.

43:12Pat McAfee:They don't give a shit. No, they don't. Cody Campbell does. Cody Campbell does. He's investing in all that in Texas Tech. Right, he does. Nick Saban does as well. Sure, but the coaches at all the specific schools, the ones who are building up these$40 million rosters, You think they're like, wait a minute, shouldn't we give$12 million back to the Olympic program? I don't know, it just seems so convoluted. And it's hard because everyone knows that football is the biggest game in town. So it's just like, I don't know, I hope something gets done. I hope something gets done soon. But it does seem like this is kind of just like a cat chasing its tail almost.

43:51And the presidents of those schools, to your point, at the SEC and the Big Ten conferences, meetings and everything, the presidents of the schools just want to make money for the schools.

43:59Pat McAfee:Yeah, but what about the guys doing seven, eight years college sports time? Need to change that. Can't have it. Need to change that. What about the non being able to have real deals? You know, and real negotiations and fulfillment of contracts and all these things. Like, we need something. Something. So if this was something just in the right direction, it's like, I think that's always the issue of politics. And I don't know enough about politics. So I guess me saying that just immediately kind of undercuts everything I'm about to say. but it does feel like every time I listen to politicians or activists, political activists or politics, are they the same?

44:36Pat McAfee:I don't know. But should they be? I don't know. But every time I hear them doing it, it's like everybody wants everything that they want and they don't want to ever just like at some point we have to do some sort of something. So can we get to that and then we'll get to that? And I appreciate it, especially in the politics world, because it's life-changing and life-altering some of them, but it's like people just get so like, no way. We're not changing anything. It's like if we can't get everything, it's like, man, I hope they're able to. And it is politics. Oh, yeah. So we assume that that's never going to be possible.

45:10Pat McAfee:But the whole bipartisan thing, that gave me like hope. Like, okay, hey, they've already done the we've given up, you've given up. And then now it's like, well, how's the money, though? What about the money, though, giving up? This is the third time we've done this, like on Capitol Hill, and we haven't gotten one answer. It's just like, no, they're all in the same room. Hey, it was a great discussion. We're going in the – we're veering in the right direction, but then we're just – then we have another one, and it's kind of like the same thing happens. It's like it doesn't feel like there's any real movement on it.

45:38Pat McAfee:I mean, remember it was like two years ago. We thought there was going to be a cap. We were excited. This is how everybody's going to be operating. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And then that date came and went, and nobody told us anything. We were like, oh, yeah, what happened on May 18th? I think it was May 18th was the date maybe a couple years ago. I thought it was last year. It's there. Whatever it was.

45:55It was a$43 million roster. It was just a hearing. It wasn't an actual thing.

46:01Pat McAfee:This is kind of people watching us. And I guess, you know, when we're on air, if we're on air, if you guys will let us be on air however long it is, like watching us in real time realize it's so much of this. It's just absolute bullshit. Yeah, it is. I mean, even if we think there's a chance. Like, I thought there was a chance with this. And then the two biggest conferences write a, you know what? we're going to need to redraft that thing. It's like, what have we been doing? And they can't agree on anything. Yeah, but we know, like, it goes back to the commissioner thing. Like, if they don't have one commissioner who's just saying, you know what, no, this is what we're doing.

46:38And that's been kind of the thought from the beginning. But that's another thing that's like, there's no way they're ever going to do that. And nobody wants that job. Yes. Nobody wants to be, like, because we were saying, like, hey, if there was anyone who was qualified to do this, it'd be Saban. And he was like, yeah, I don't want to do that. So, no.

46:55Pat McAfee:And then you ask somebody else that could potentially be qualified, and it's like, so I'm going to give up my job now. Yeah, my current job that's pretty damn good. To go figure out 4 ,000 problems for everybody else. And who's in charge? Me? What is the NCAA? Well, and then what about all the other sports? What about the – okay. Who am I dealing with? Oh, everybody. Okay, sick. 130 schools plus. All right, all their different people. Okay. That'll be fun. Yeah, nobody wants to do it. But what we would like to say, we appreciate the fact that they're seemingly a step forward towards something way to go way to go good work coach saban's been spending a lot of time on that oh yeah i mean he's been investing a lot of time he's been doing this i think having great meals with miss terry every once in a while i'll get a photo of a meal that they are eating and it does look spectacular and then i think he's immediately in the we gotta save college sports he loves it doesn't want to do it but he has to ladies and gentlemen joining us now is a guy who's uh on cloud nine not only because he's the big inside information guy with the Los Angeles Rams and many other teams.

47:54Pat McAfee:And he's an Emmy Award winner. Back-to-back now, I do believe. Well, not back-to-back, his good morning football. Gapier wins another one with NFL Live. Ladies and gentlemen, Peter Schrager. How you doing, Schrags? I'm doing amazing. I'm currently in the car right now, and I'm headed to the airport. I will be headed from New York to San Antonio to support the New York Knicks and watch this game in person tonight. I love that you're doing that. I appreciate that you're doing that. You came out to Indianapolis when the Knicks were playing against the Pacers. You are a diehard Knicks fan. Where will you be seated in the Frostbanks Center?

48:28No idea yet. I will say I represent a lot of people in New York City here, and I know how grateful and how lucky I am, and I feel like I've got to represent and be loud, and I'll be sitting anywhere. You could put me in the top of the building. You put me outside the building. I'm I'm just going to be blessed and honored because I have never been to an NBA finals game. And I have certainly never been to a New York Knicks finals game. And Pat, when I tell you the last three weeks in New York City, for as much shit as this city gets and it's overpriced and everyone's at ends and there's, you know, issues with this and that.

49:04It's a beautiful place to be the last three weeks. And this team has galvanized and brought this city together. Look, we have a we have a new mayor. Some people like them, some people don't. We have people fleeing to West Palm Beach and to Miami and saying that they don't want to do their business up in New York City anymore. There's a lot of stuff going on. And yet at the end of the day, every single person has reached across the aisle, has reached across everywhere, and has supported this particular Knicks squad. I am romantic about sports typically. I know you are. I am romantic about New York City, and I am romantic about this Knicks team right now.

49:38I think it is so cool what they have done for a city that's been at the ends really and kind of, at some points, maybe being split at the ends a little bit. And it feels like everyone's together right now.

49:46Pat McAfee:I love to hear that. I love that that's what sports does all the time, especially in the biggest city in America. We've been there a couple times over the last few weeks. Got a chance to be there last year during the New York Knicks run. It is a different energy and a vibe when everybody is seemingly upbeat. Every store, every, what are those on the street? Bodega. Every bodega is kind of having music up, everybody up. even the suits kind of walking with a little bop in their step it is a cool thing to experience and for obviously the nba having texas this is texas san antonio new star gonna have to go into madison square garden i mean that is i mean that's a dream for a league yeah how does traggs have a ticket you get one from a scalper out there or something yeah you know indolo how what's going on out here We're going to leave how I'm getting my tickets into the same lock and key that the Miles Garrett trade was in that Les Snead had.

50:44We're going to leave it amongst the circle of people who need to know. That's what we'll leave it at.

50:48Pat McAfee:Wow, good for you. I'd love to hear that for you. I don't know what you owe anybody, but I hope it's a good game. I hope it's a good game. I hope it's 100 % worth it. Let's talk about the lock and key with Les Snead. You knew about this trade when, okay, now that we're talking about this a little bit more. and what is the final buzz that you're hearing from the building in which you are very close to? Yeah, I knew there was going to be a big trade at some point the second they drafted Ty Simpson. The deal was this. They talked to Matthew Stafford. They wanted to let him know they were taking Simpson when they thought that might be a possibility.

51:22And that day they told him, A, you're going to get paid a little bit more and we're going to extend the year and we're going to take care of you in a way financially that we think befits an MVP. But if we take this kid, don't worry. We are going to unturn every rock, every leaf, and we are going to go hog wild this offseason and finding you a veteran player that you think is going to get us over the top. And they already had brought in Trent McDuffie. They already had gotten Jalen Watson. And the player that they had their eye on was Miles Garrett. Now, you know, they also looked into A.J. Brown and there were other players they looked into.

51:54But they were knocking on that door for Miles Garrett starting in March when that contract trigger went off. And then as you'll hear, they've continually followed up, followed up, followed up. Didn't look like it was going to get done at one point. And then once Jared Verse's name came up, the Cleveland Browns were listening in a real way. And that's when I kind of got the heads up and I knew this was going to happen rather shortly. Once it really was Saturday, Sunday, when Miles Garrett said, yeah, I'm cool with this and you can waive my no trade. Question was always going to be, would it get out before Jared Verse found out?

52:25Now, as D-Butt mentioned earlier, Sean McVay, his biggest lesson from that Jared Goff trade was that Goff never found out and was the last one to know. And when he heard it, McVay was celebrating in Cabo with Stafford in a hot tub. And that didn't feel great. That wasn't fun. So he has always gone out of his way to make sure if there's ever any uncomfortable conversations with a player or there's something that's going to happen, to let them know. So really, when this thing started buzzing a little bit, he made sure that Jared Verst was in the building on Monday. They told Jared Verst, and they told the rest of the team all in person.

52:57And then after that was going, everyone kind of got the news, and Schefter broke it, and away we go. But it was very key for Jared Verst to be brought in on this before everyone else knew, and he was the last one to find out. He was going from L.A. to Cleveland.

53:09Pat McAfee:Well, Jared Verst, that would be an Ohio legend. He won the Super Bowl in Cleveland. Oh, man. King of Ohio. That's you. I mean, that's what we got to get to, and obviously he will make the most of it. He's a great football player. So good. Incredible football player. Outplayed the 19th overall pick is what the general manager who drafted him at 19 just said moments ago. So I would say, first, this sucks. This is a part of the business. But also, can't wait to see what you do with it. And on the other side, damn, Miles Garrett is now a member of the Los Angeles Rams. And maybe Aaron Donald comes back, too, alongside Big Duffy.

53:47Pat McAfee:Oh, my God. Puka? I don't know on Garrett that you'll like. And I tweeted this and like, you know, the amount of hate of people just rolling my eyes and being like, Schrager, get out of McVeigh's whatever you're living in. This is the story I got yesterday. He gets there this whole long day and it's like cross-country flight, press conference, everything. Meet everyone in the organization. You have to go inside and out. You got to sign your paperwork. You got to do all this stuff. And like it's like late and it had been a long day. and he pulled over an official like, I want to get a workout in.

54:19Is that possible? Can I get some team-issued gear or whatever? They're like, just come back tomorrow. But that was legit. It wasn't him putting on a front. After a 12-hour day where he had to shake a million hands, Myles Garrett just wanted to go to the gym and work out with the Rams. What a dog. Hey, Shregs. Been there, brother.

54:35Pat McAfee:Shregs, I want to let you know, Gumpy's first line to me after you being announced coming on program today was, oh, he's still alive. I thought he drowned carrying the Los Angeles Rams water. Just sent a photo into the group text of a guy holding water in his hand. That's what Gumpy's been saying about you, Shreggs. I just want to let you know that. That is where Gumpy is right now. Let me tell you. When I start talking about his Dolphins, it'll be 2035. Had him in the playoffs last year, brother. Don't worry. Missed on that one, too. You're the best, Shreggs. All right, safe travels. Hey, quick question for you.

55:13Pat McAfee:Hold on, hold on. We need your positive vibes very quickly. Yeah, Strager, just tell us right now. We got Jalen Brunson 25 points tonight. Can you just give us some positive vibes here? How many threes is he going to hit? 10, 20, 30? What do you think? Honestly, I can't give you all the advice on Brunson because I'm scared as shit of Castle and Vassell. And, of course, hang up on this guy. So let's just say the Knicks win. I'm not giving you any. All right, okay, Strager. We appreciate it. Ladies and gentlemen, New York Knicks fan. going to be in the Frost Bank Center tonight. Is he going to get frost bit?

55:48Pat McAfee:Ooh. Nice to jump here. We just got horn-oiled again. Nick's winning. That would be a good idea. He horn-oiled us. We're getting horn-oiled. You already got horn-oiled this morning. You already got horn-oiled. Who's that? We had to work through it. We had to work through it. Yeah. Trust the stars. Trust the stars. That's right. Trust the stars. Trust the stars. We're going to watch this game, and we're going to trust the stars. Alien. Unstoppable. Brun-stoppable. Well said. Alien Brun-stoppable. We'll trust the stars. Who's going to win? We'll see. Okay, we'll see. Will Frostbank Center be too much for the New York Knicks?

56:23Pat McAfee:I don't know. Will the alien be too much for Jalen Brunson? I don't know. But we're going to trust that the stars are going to show up whenever it's the biggest stage. Yes. You know what's good for Frost? Brunson Burners. We need it. And we need Wemmey to be ice cold in that Frostbank Center. Tony, you were spinning the ball in that crowd? Oh, yeah, brother. That's not AI? No, that is not AI. What about the shoes? Are those shoes you're wearing? Those are dope, bro. You got yours? Those are sick. Fresh games. Put up to your ankles. All right, we're back in the second hour. It should be great, we assume.

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57:51Pat McAfee:Sports! The DraftKings signed it up Here we go I messed it up Are we going back to the top? I don't know. I don't know. We should not talk to the table. I don't know. You know, old us, we've got too much to talk about. It's the NBA Finals tipping off tonight. That's right. We've got an alien taking on New York City. And the guy joining us. Breaking news. Talks at the table here at Boston Corner and Ty Schmidt. One half of the hammer. Cowboys AP Tony's here. Nine-year NFL vet. Yes, sir. Darius J. Butler's here. You look really cool in your Sunday red hoodie right there. Thank you. You can get that for the low, low price of$749.99.

58:26Pat McAfee:That's it? They dropped him? Joining us right now, ladies and gentlemen. Before shipping and handling. Okay,$1 ,000 with the fees now, especially with gas. Yep. What? Hey, whoa. Whoa. Good time having an electric car. Yeah. Saving the world. Well, that battery's coming. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, is a college. I was told I was saving the world. Yeah. You got to get a little deeper on everything. Some salesman. On the record. Some sweaty salesman. The whole world was telling me that. The whole world was telling me that. It's a lie. Joining us now. We have come to learn a lot more. but right now good time yeah joining us now ladies and gentlemen what about the kids this guy's truly saving the world i won't do it again joining us now i got a lot of them i got a few of them though so it's kind of you know how many kids ladies and gentlemen joining us now is a college football national champion he is a super bowl champion he is a rider cup winner ladies and gentlemen a man who is now a college football Hall of Fame nominee.

59:30Pat McAfee:Wow. Ladies and gentlemen, A.J. Hawk. Yeah! A.J. Hawk! A.J. Hawk! A.J. Hawk! Oh, look at that. He's got a little dimple there. Hey, boys. Shining. Making you blush. I know. Hey, congratulations. Let's go, Hawker. Awesome. Thank you. Proud of you, buddy. Thank you, yes. Obviously, Chris Carter probably should have been put in like 25, 30 years ago. I was surprised to see he wasn't in. But, yeah, thank you, guys. Yeah, Chris Carter, obviously. we would say warranted as well, but we know how these Hall of Fames work. That's right. Well, actually, we don't. Good point. So what we're going to say is, AJ, after running back through the highlights of AJ Hawk out of Centerville, Ohio, a man that was born and bred to be an Ohio State Buckeye legend, a man who would go on to win a national championship, run a 4-4 at 235 pounds, representing the state of Ohio, with a chin in a skull that is as strong as stone and feet in hands that are like a shorebird.

1:00:34Pat McAfee:Amanda will go on to become the all-time leading tackler for the Green Bay Packers. He's now potentially going to live on forever in the College Football Hall of Fame. AJ, to you, we say you deserve it, pal. Let's go, Augle. Thank you. I appreciate that. How are they mining those minerals to make the batteries feel like they're going home? You don't want to know. How do they get those out of the earth? I know too much. I don't know enough. I know too much. I don't know enough. It's kind of like everything. But I'm just saying, you know, I was told I was saving the world. I would like that to be on the record.

1:01:06Pat McAfee:That is why my decision was made. A decision being made about you going into the Hall of Fame. What else do you know? Do you know anything else? I know Steve Slayton won in last year. Obviously, if you're a part of the College Football Hall of Fame class, you're a massive part of the Peach Bowl. There's a lot of different celebrations and things that happen throughout the year. I believe they take care of the Hall of Famers very well in the college football world. I think it's based down there in Atlanta. Yep. I do believe that's where everything is. It's a beautiful museum, the way they kind of pay tribute to college football.

1:01:33Pat McAfee:I think it's a very cool thing, AJ. And I know that you love college football and love the Buckeyes. So I know deep down this means a lot, I would assume. But when you get the news, what is the initial reaction? And how far into you going, oh, I didn't even know I was eligible for that, Did you hear from your friends and family saying, hey, this is actually really cool for the Buckeyes as well, not just A.J. Hawk? Well, I mean, I found out from my buddy James Lennonite, his current linebacker coach, and he went in the Hall of Fame a year or two ago, the College Hall of Fame. He sent a thing to me and Chris, like just a text saying congrats or whatever.

1:02:08So that was the first and the last that I have heard of it, really. So, yeah, that's how I found out. Okay. See? I don't know how many nominees. I don't know how it works from here. They've got to narrow it down. They take forever. And then they do it. I saw, like, last year, LeVar Arrington went in, right? You saw him at the National Championship game. Was that an ad for a pressure washer? Yeah, for your highlight reel. Yeah, because we had to find your highlight reel.

1:02:28Pat McAfee:That person did a great job on that. Fantastic work there. They know people who are watching A.J. Hawk highlight reels need pressure washers. Yes, they do. They know their demo. They certainly know their demo. But, A.J., this is a cool thing, man. Honestly, watching Steve Slayton get his flowers last year, I was pumped about. You, in the NFL, obviously going to become the all-time leading tackler for the Green Bay Packers. You win a Super Bowl. Going to be an all-time great forever. But you're also in the same division as Brian Urlacher. And I don't think it was just Urlacher. Lane's Bridge as well.

1:02:57Pat McAfee:There was also multiple others. So whenever they go like your Pro Bowl nods, that was going to be a fucking tough get. It's like Matt Stafford. That was going to be a tough get. So the fact that you're getting recognized for your football ability, not just in the NFL where you're obviously great, but now also college, I can't wait for the high school one. If you're not in high school one already, what are you, 30 tackles and fucking 100 yards rushing in a couple games? I mean, it's just like, it's cool. We feel that it's cool to watch you get your flowers. I would like to let you know that. Thank you.

1:03:25I appreciate that. Thank you. You're right. I do love college football, and it's actually been the last few years that we've got to go on the road and do these college football playoff games from the field. Like, that has even, like, energized my love for college football. So, yeah, I appreciate it.

1:03:37Pat McAfee:Second biggest sport in the United States of America, by far, behind the NFL with so much room to grow. If they can get out of their own way, AJ, I don't love what we learned today from Heather Denich over here in Washington. I saw Saban essentially lobbying for Bill, right? That would be what that is called over there. He was sitting there. And anytime Coach Saban's doing anything, he's going to crush it. Okay, you just need to know that he is going to crush it. He's going to be over-prepared. He's going to be very comfortable. He is going to say everything that you want to hear because that is how he feels.

1:04:11Pat McAfee:and also he has everything and every reason to prove it. He was very passionate, clearly, about this happening and obviously about college sports as a whole. And when he's pitching and selling, you buy in, and then you hear the Big Ten and the SEC are like, ah, we don't like what this one actually is. Whenever we're about to have a little problem, I'm scared, AJ. This one scares me a little bit. I think we're very naive, and I was starting to talk about this earlier that maybe 10 years from now if we're still somehow doing this for a living, which is so ridiculous. Thank you guys so much for allowing us to do this for a living.

1:04:42Pat McAfee:Will we look back on this version of us and be like, you idiots? Definitely. You idiots. That's how it works. Yeah. But there's enough pessimism. Like, you know, we could just be like, yeah, this sucks. Like, college football is going to basically end within the – or you could actually be like, you know what, no. Maybe they are taking the right steps right now so that they can kind of preserve what college football is and what everyone loves about it. Like, even if we were to go back when the college football playoff was just four teams and it got announced for four teams, I assume we could go there and see us talking about how this inevitably will go to more than just four teams just because of the discourse around five to ten.

1:05:19Pat McAfee:Yeah, in 17 games, 18 games. I mean, we can try to forecast the future a little bit, but boy, I was very optimistic about this one. Urban Meyer and Coach Saban, so that's what, Fox and ESPN, and North and South if you look at it. Two Republicans, two Democrats. Okay, here we go, sponsoring the bill. we got both parties being represented, even though Saban says this is non-partisan. This is not bi-partisan. We're just trying to do sports here, some justice. And then immediately, we don't like it. It's like, all right, now we're just pulling ourselves. Good luck out there. Let's do college sports.

1:05:50We love college. There's garbage in the bill that we don't know about. You know, they try to slide things in. They'll make it 700 pages and slide. Is that why some people are disagreeing?

1:05:57Pat McAfee:I respect Petiti and Sankey. Okay, so I would assume that there's a reason why they are saying what they're saying. I respect them as business people. I respect them for what they do for their office and for their leagues and everything like that. But I also have massive respect for Coach Saban. So that is an interesting thing. I don't really know what to do. I just hope they figure it out. Yeah. Just get it done. Good luck. But without the Big Ten and the SEC, that ain't – It's not happening. Can't have separate leagues either. Can't be doing the super conference thing. unless it's like the top 70 schools.

1:06:35But they can't just have SEC and Big Ten goals.

1:06:37Pat McAfee:Think about how much would have to go into making that. Oh, God. Well, and we talked about this. These media and TV deals are set in stone for the next 10 to 15 years. So, like, the chaos of all those just getting blown up and then trying to figure out something new for that, like, what does that look like? Speaking of 10 to 15 years, they've released the dates of the college football playoff. That's about the length of it. It is a lot of time in between the rounds. And obviously, we'll be following every moment for however long they have these things. And if it's going to be January 25th or whatever it is, that deep into January for the national championship, if it's going to be 13 days in between rounds, okay, we'll do it.

1:07:25You know what else is in the last?

1:07:26Pat McAfee:Okay, we'll do it. But we're wondering why we're doing it while we're doing it. We will definitely be like, man, it's a long time. How are these teams supposed to, you know, like, is this a bowl week? And then, all right, we take a week off and we have another bowl week. Then we take a week off and we have another bowl week. It's like, how was that? What were you? But I guess there's some reason. And for that, we'll watch. But we think this should be kind of figured out a little bit. It's just like another one of those things that we're going to look back on and think like, oh, are we going to say to ourselves how naive we are?

1:07:59It's like, no, this is something that will get changed because of how absurd it is just across the board. And that's something everybody agrees on in college football too. We're talking about all these things that maybe, you know, the SEC and Big Ten don't. It feels as though everyone universally is like, hey, we got to tighten this up because the transfer window's in there, correct? Isn't that when schools are going to have that? In January. During that, yeah. So it's like that is another one of those things that just needs to get figured out. Plus, what also you don't see in here, the last regular season games are November 28th.

1:08:29Yeah. And then the conference championship games are on the 5th, 4th and 5th. So those aren't cooked in there. It's insane.

1:08:39Pat McAfee:It is like a front nine and a back nine. Yeah. It's insane. I think someone said November 11th is when the back nine starts, if you think about it. That's unbelievable. Then it is. The guys that are going on to the draft, then you've got to go and prep for the draft. Yeah, the Combine. Yeah, Fernando. The Indiana stuff. Yeah. Obviously also Miami down there, but it's like – yeah, definitely in Miami, but how late the season ended for them. And then, hey, we got a showcase game next weekend, and then we got this happening and this happening. It's like how long – it's just a year-round thing for these guys if it's the massive success story.

1:09:16Pat McAfee:And then who's transferring? I mean – Aiden Fisher. That's who we talked to, the middle linebacker from IU. And he was like, yeah, I would play in the Senior Bowl or whatever the hell it was. But he's like, I just finished my season. I need a week or two here to recuperate before this whole thing came out. Yeah, but they'll get it figured out, which is why we're optimistic. I hope so. Speaking of getting things figured out, it feels like the Vegas Golden Knights did that whenever they hired Torts as their head coach with eight games remaining in the regular season before the Stanley Cup playoffs.

1:09:42Pat McAfee:Now they find themselves up 1-0 in a Stanley Cup final series over the Caniacs at Raleigh. Ladies and gentlemen, joining us now is a guy who's going to break it all down. In front of the program, NHL face, ladies and gentlemen, PK Subban. Yeah, PK! Hey, PK. Hello, boys. What's going on, gang? Hey, where are you at, PK? What do you got going on, pal, gang? I just finished sculpting the guns. Got a little workout in, a little sweat. Now I'm heading back to the hotel. Nice. That's good, boys. Yeah, so we're working out with Chain on. Yeah, we're going in there letting them know. Flex a little bit.

1:10:15Pat McAfee:We got a little ice. i pushed the boundaries today a little bit i wore short shorts with no cover shirts shorts over and a white beater um thank god there was about 500 people in the gym no one was really paying attention to me and no one saw it but that's an indictment on uh lifestyle fitness so anyway okay moving on you're saying if there was less people there would have been much more uncomfortable because of how you looked is what you were saying yeah it would have been a little conversation yeah because you got to communicate to the people in the gym if there's like five or six people in that you're probably going to talk to someone, right?

1:10:47So anyway, yeah, I got out of there unscathed.

1:10:51Pat McAfee:Congratulations. Hey, way to go. We're proud of you, PK, for staying in such great shape. Let's talk about being in great shape. The Vegas Golden Knights, I mean, they have 12 of their 20 wins under torts are all comebacks. Obviously, last night down 2-0, game one of the Stanley Cup final on in and away barn or whatever the case. This team seemingly mentally tough. This team strong. Jackie Aces, just outrageous. How can you describe this Vegas Golden Knights team and why are they potentially one game, not definitely one game closer, potentially going to be the greatest team in hockey this year?

1:11:22Pat McAfee:What do you see from them with this Torts-led group? Yeah, they're a resilient group. I mean, you might as well start calling them the comeback kings because they're in every game. It doesn't matter whether they're up or down. They know that they have a team that can pull themselves into the fight and now they have a coach who believes that these guys can do it again. And, you know, Torts said it when he came in. that, hey, you know what, the guys, this is a group that's won before. I'm just here to guide them. I think he's doing a lot more than that. But this group is a special group. You can tell.

1:11:54They want to play for each other. But they have the talent. And you know this, Pat. You can work as hard as you want. But they got the skill and the talent. They just have to put it together. When Vegas is playing their game, they're very, very difficult to beat. And we saw that when they turned it on in the second period. Carolina couldn't handle them. D-Bot has a question for you, PK. Yeah, PK, I know last night we got nine goals in game one, and I think Big Hornel thought it was going to be a cagey affair. Do you think that is going to be indicative of the rest of the series? Are we going to have high-scoring games throughout this series, in your opinion?

1:12:24Maybe not, you know, but I got to tell you, before the series, I said Carolina's going to have to score. They did that in game one. You score four goals, you score enough to win the game. They couldn't defend, though. So I got to see Carolina tighten up and clean up some of those things in their defensive structure. Just too many gaffes. You can't make that many mistakes in a game. Vegas, their mistakes were self-inflicted. They corrected those after the first period. And then it was down to one or two mistakes, some unfortunate bounces. But for Carolina, they're going to have to get a whole lot better defensively in this series, or it is going to be high-scoring every game.

1:13:02And I don't know if Carolina thinks that they're going to score four or five goals every game, but Vegas doesn't have to. Vegas is very comfortable winning 1-0. thing carolina has to get that feeling back into their game they're just not tight enough right now so uh i don't know guys we we thought in game one we weren't going to see i think the spread was five and a half goals like you know mess said he was going to take it but we couldn't believe it when there was nine goals in that game it's it's insane so uh that's the nhl right now pat expect

1:13:30Pat McAfee:the unexpected right yeah and i love that for the league i love that for the sport obviously people get excited whenever there's great offense and goals being scored but these teams have been able to shut people down. I believe the Hurricanes only allowed like two goals in like one or two of the games leading up in the entire playoff series over 12 wins in the entirety. So their defense has been their thing. Remember, nobody's been able to get shots on net. Nobody's been able to get down there because the Hurricanes kind of just engulf you. I mean, that is kind of the defense that they have. But the Vegas Golden Knights, they got the dangles, they got the skill, and obviously they have the moxie.

1:14:00Pat McAfee:Now, you talked about them scoring four goals, that being a lot of goals. There's a lot of other conversations happening with the Hurricanes. Go ahead, Tone. Yeah, PK, they scored four goals, but their top line was shut out. More specifically, our boy Jarvie, who was in our boost yesterday, and Brendamore came out and said that they have to be a lot, a lot better, more production from that line. What was your takeaway from that line in game one? Well, he's not wrong about that. They definitely have to be better. But to me, they lost that game because of defensive mistakes. They made too many, guys, too many defensive mistakes.

1:14:37So, you know, as much as I want to be critical of guys that aren't putting up the offensive numbers, you've got to be able to defend in the Stanley Cup playoffs. If they don't become the best defensive team in this series, they're not going to win the Stanley Cup. It's that simple. Vegas is too good. And anybody that you're going to play in the finals, you have to think defense is going to win. So, for me, yes, Jarvis, Svechnikov, Ajo are going to have to get on the score sheet before this series is over. Yeah, Jarvie does. Jarvie has to get on the score. Yeah. They got better, but they got to defend.

1:15:10Like, if you don't defend, if you're not tighter, too many battles lost, too many 50-50 pucks, one and done, that's not going to cut it. You know, that's not going to cut it. You can't generate offense on prayers. You got to get over the puck and make a play. And for those players, Jarvie and Ajo that are smaller guys, you got to learn how to play in those tight checking games. And it's tough out there. Like, this has to be the most physical series so far that we've seen. and it's going to only get more and more physical. So I don't know how those guys are going to generate offense five on five, but their power play is where they can make a big difference.

1:15:420 for 2 on the power play. Vegas outshot them on their power play. Vegas had one shorthanded shot. Guys, you can't get outshot on your power play. So even though Vegas goes 0 for 3, it doesn't matter. Carolina has to get their special teams going. It'll be the difference in the series if they do.

1:16:01Pat McAfee:Okay, so everything you just talked about there with goals being scored and the top line not scoring, that leads to a Vegas Golden Knights fan who's up 1-0 in the series. Yeah, PK, do you think there's any cause for concern for the Knights that Carter Hart did let in four goals and he didn't exactly look as sharp as he has the last eight games or so? Or because of the way they played, is that kind of one of those things where they'll just flush that and, hey, we need you to be a little bit better next game? Great point. Well, you can look at it that way, but from a Vegas Golden Knights standpoint, Carter Hart's going to come out and play better in game two.

1:16:36Guys, I didn't think he played bad in game one. I thought, like, look at this. He's not going to see that, right? Like, he stops that one, but on the goal that Gossensperre scored, it's going through bodies. Like, this was an unbelievable save. And to me, you want to see him not letting four goals, but he made the saves when he had to make them. That save on Seth Jarvis set the tone. That was the game saving save. Double clutch, grand larceny. This one, he can't stop that. Guys, there were at least two goals like that last night where guys laid out to block a shot and kind of screened them, right?

1:17:10So for me, Carter Hart's going to get better. That's the scary thing for Carolina. Carolina's going to have to come out and play their best game of the year because Vegas is going to get better in game two. Noah Hannafin didn't have a great game. He's going to be better. you know Eichel and those guys are going to be ready to start the game better than they did in game one so I see Vegas and Carter Hart getting better Carolina's going to have to get a whole lot better

1:17:35Pat McAfee:why does it look like the puck's so far away from Eichel as he's dangling it feels like he's doing the dangles so far away from himself and he's just in complete control he's fun to watch he's got range he's long, strong and down to get the friction on I've said it many, many times before. He's got a long reach and deceptive speed. Mess said it yesterday on the broadcast. He's probably the most powerful skater in the league. And why we say that, you look at McKinnon. You look at McKinnon. He's an explosive skater, right? Very explosive. Jack Eichel's not as explosive. Deceptive speed, though, which is hard to track because he's got such a long stride and a long reach.

1:18:18He doesn't need to use a lot of energy to get up and down the ice. That's why he's been so dominant. That's why he's got a gold medal, a Stanley Cup, and he's looking for two now. Because he's been able to control the middle of the ice, control plays in the offensive zone, pick pucks off the wall, use his body and his strength. I watched him in game one. It was a make-your-own Sunday after the first period. He did what he wanted, when he wanted. And the puck was in the back of the net when he wanted to make a play. So, you know, he's got that long reach, though. You're right. His stick is super long.

1:18:48He doesn't have Mark Stone's knob, but he's got a long reach. Yeah, he's certainly in the knob. Well said, PK. Well said. Well documented knobs out there. Biggest knob in the league. Yeah, that is. Stoner's knob is massive.

1:19:01Pat McAfee:Hammer knob is certainly going to be tough to kind of keep up with, but long, rangy, strongy, you know, it's certainly a knob as well. That's crazy, PK. I'm pretty pumped up about that breakdown of his big old rod, you know. In the thought of Jackie Aces and Noah Hannafin winning the Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup, they would join 1980 legend... Morrow. And Morrow. Mr. Morrow. And his name still echoes around Barnes from one side of this country to the next. That's right. That's what Jackie and Noah Hannafin are looking to join, D-Bud. That's a big deal. Hughes do. Hughes do. Florida not involved.

1:19:45Pat McAfee:So that means you're not watching hockey right now? I'm watching for sure. But I also just watched my captain after missing the season, Barkey. He won a championship for his country. So I'm proud of him. We'll be back in it. We're rooting for the Finns. How'd Canada do? I'm rooting for my fourth. How'd Canada do in that international thing? Fourth. They won a medal. Fourth. Fourth? Oh, they did it. How can we come in? When that guy took out Bouchard and hit him in the head and knocked him out, got kicked out of the game after we beat you 4-0. We didn't win after that. Lindgren. Yeah. Yeah, I saw that.

1:20:15Oh, sorry. I didn't watch much of the Worlds, but I did see that hit. It was a good hit. Sorry we banged bodies. Who? That's USA hockey, baby. We did that to him? Oh, yeah. Ba-ba. See ya. Night-night. Oh, no. Smacked his head off the ice.

1:20:29Pat McAfee:See, this is what happens every time these guys get so close to being injured. Like Sidney Crosby get injured in the Olympics. What we don't want to happen. Yeah, just ixnay all these international tournaments. We need the Olympics. We need the new All-Star setup. I think there is an American team, a Canadian team. I believe there's a Russian team. And then there's a world team, I think. No Russian. There's a world team. But most of the Russian players will be on that world team, you would assume. Okay, so it's America, Canada. The Swedes. The Swedes have one as well. The Swedes and the Finland.

1:21:03Pat McAfee:The Swedes, Finland, and then the rest of the world. I think this is good. Wow. I like that they're capitalizing on this. You know, this was kind of broken. and then it'll be younger players playing and stuff. I don't know how that's going to work. They're doing a skills competition for the under 25 guys. And we're just assuming that the spectacle of that will be able to carry the content as opposed to having the big name guys participate. Yeah, the big name guys will be playing in the tournament itself. So that'll be like a three-on-three tournament style and then they're doing a separate skills competition with the young guys.

1:21:29Pat McAfee:Are they going to do the shoot from the concession stand thing onto the ice? I like that. I thought that was a fun little game that they were doing. You remember that, D-Butt? You remember when they were in the middle of the crowd? AJ, you remember that shit, right? Just like Blue does. Yeah, but not in a costume. Well, they did that. They did the gold gimmick where they wore costumes and stuff. That was kind of sweet, too. Yeah, so now we're talking with the younger guys. So you don't got to do it to McJesus. Have PK in there. Yes, I had that idea. Wow, PK, maybe you're in a costume out there doing the entirety.

1:22:02Drop the mitts.

1:22:03Pat McAfee:All right, who's going to win this thing? i got vegas winning yeah talking about the nhl yeah before last night oh yeah i got vegas winning this thing in six um you know i do think it's hard for me to assume that carolina isn't going to win game two now that personally i think vegas is going to come out and play a better game that's what's hard for me to imagine carolina winning but carolina has to win game two you can't go into vegas down to nothing so you know i would assume that i'm going to assume that carolina is going to pull out all the stops and have a great game tomorrow they're going to have to so it's this is your stanley cup here that you're playing for they they need game two bad there's a little controversy happening yet again go ahead con man yeah pk if you recall in the anaheim ducks uh vegas golden night series we talked about that icing that was not called icing and then last night we had the opposite we had the icing that looked like it wasn't and then was called icing this actually led right here boom they're calling icing very odd and then it led to the Shane Gostasbeer uh tying goal with about 8 30 left what was your take on this wow what's going on here bullshit it's crazy well well actually if you think about it I put this responsibility on Cole Smith who had an unbelievable game yesterday he was one of Vegas is best players.

1:23:29I don't know if he showed up on the stat sheet too much, but he was heavy all over the ice. He stopped skating here, guys. If he takes... Watch him stop skating. To me, you can't stop skating there. You put the... The rep is always going to favor the defensive player as they should. I've been a defenseman going back for the puck. He's got to take another stride because they're pretty much neck and neck. If it's a tie, they're not going to call. They're going to call the icing. and to me Shane Goss' bear still had a step kind of before me look at that right he's still inside a little bit now they even out and he stopped skating so if Cole Smith keeps skating there he gets it here's what I don't want to do you know I was I was angry in that moment too I'm like how did they blow that call and then I watched the replay and I'm like you know what no that was the right call to make and and for people that are complaining that it ended up in the net listen to me guys it's five on five you're not shorthanded like when the face-up theodore theodore swipes at that puck there you got to stay in there and dig that puck out like you know vegas you gotta execute that breakout this is this is what the playoffs are all about so you know i like the drama in hockey you don't know what's gonna come and sometimes the calls aren't gonna go your way but i i didn't think that they messed up that icing call when i looked at it again i thought that was the right call.

1:24:505-0-5. We had 5-0-5. Play hockey. Win a face-off.

1:24:54Pat McAfee:Play hockey, dude. What are we doing? All right, we appreciate you. Thank you. Where will we see you next? Tomorrow. We got game two tomorrow. That's when you'll see me, but I'm doing all the shows in the morning, so I'll be on get-up first day. Yes. I'll be doing all the rounds, so I'll be doing all the rounds. Hell yeah. We can't wait to watch. That's what I'll be doing tomorrow. Are you going to get another workout in today? Is this the one workout of the day? We got a new outfit for the next? What do we have going on for the rest of the day for PK? I got cardio left, so I'm going to get my cardio in.

1:25:27That's on the treadmill, so I got to do my 15-incline climb. And then, I don't know, TJ Oshie was texting me and Leaves about a golf course out here. And Leaves doesn't play a whole lot of golf, but he said he may tag along. So I'm going to hit up Oshie and see if I can maybe get on the links a little bit. It'll be my first time this year.

1:25:45Pat McAfee:wow look at the camaraderie happening you're gonna suck that's what we like we like team ESPN go ahead and having a good time out there PK how are you at the game of golf well it depends if I got my Tiger red on anything's possible so I got Tiger's blades Pat true story I used to be with Nike before I was with Adidas I'd signed a small deal coming out of junior and they said hey we'll take you to TaylorMade we'll get you close I said guys what do you mean talking about? They're like, well, we got to get you sized. We got to make sure that the shaft's the right length and the grip and all. And I'm like, guys, no, I'm not getting sized.

1:26:20Send me Tiger's clubs. That's it. I'm with Nike. Send me his clubs. So in my garage in Toronto, I got a Nike bag with Tiger's blades in it, his blades. And I can't hit with those clubs worth of, you know what? I just can't. I can't hit with them, but I love them and I got them in my bag. So I'm going to pull those out. But everybody gets annoyed when I do because I end up using like 100 balls. Oh, this is a little throwback. I like that. Look at that swing. It's good tempo. Oh, look at the touch, too. Yeah, it's going in. Oh, good putt, too. Oh, hey, good vibe, too. Okay, sounds like there's two of them there.

1:27:00Pat McAfee:Look at you. Good for you. Loose hips. Yeah, I need that. Hey, that's not bad. They're falling right down the course. Good tempo. A little bit more Sheffler. Remember, Nelly Korda told us Coca-Cola. That's how you go ahead and win golf, allegedly. So good luck out there. Coca-Cola. Oh, okay. Tempo time. Coca-Cola. Oh, nice. Because I've never – see, that's the thing. I want to get a coach to just dial in my swing a little bit. I've never had a coach do it. So I'm going to start with the Coca-Cola. There we go. Boom. Are we – We'll send you the coach. No, not Nelly's coach. We'll send you the program coach.

1:27:38Pat McAfee:We would be just kind of like assistant coaches, I guess. Kind of mindset coaches in the Nelly coaching team. You see the spikes you just got from LeBron? So sick. Who? Ooh, Nelly. They're awesome. Really? Yeah. Now it's going to mess with her because she's very particular on how high she's off the ground, what shoes she's wearing when she plays. She told us that. Yeah, but she figures that out at the range because she told us every day you've got to get to the range because you wake up, your eyes are different every day. Every day. Every single day. She's locked in. Oh, yeah. Coca. Hola. PK, those Carolina courses are.

1:28:09PK, are you riding shotgun? You're on shotgun in an Uber right now? I am not in an Uber. I am with NHL executive right now. Whoa. Gary Bettman driving you around? Wow.

1:28:22Pat McAfee:Gary Bettman behind the wheel? They're driving you? The executive? It's not GB. It's not GB. GB had his 74th birthday yesterday. I'm sure the last person he wants to see right now. Well, I'm not the last person, but he's got better things to do than drive me around. Happy birthday, Gary. Happy birthday, Gary. Appreciate you, GB. Him and Belichick were partying last night. GB and Belichick? GB and BB. Was he really? They're out there having a time, having a little birthday celebration, as they should, by the way. GB. Okay. Bill Belichick. A couple of barley sandwiches. Yeah. See that? Classic barley sandwich.

1:28:55Pat McAfee:Do you see that? Yeah, it does look like maybe a barley sandwich or two, does it not? You're the man, ladies and gentlemen, PK Surveyor. Yay! Love an ice-cold barley sandwich. Think about him walking, looking at the shorts he puts on, the shirt he puts on. X the hotel room, sees a mirror. All right. Gets out there. It's the middle of the day. No one will be there. Gets their things to himself. Man, I hope this is kind of a... Man, I am kind of dressed like an asshole here. Place packed out. No. You think he's grunting in there? Definitely. Oh, yeah. Yes. He probably brings his own chalk, too. Why is he going back to the hotel to do cardio?

1:29:30Planet Fitness has 5 ,000 treadmills.

1:29:32Pat McAfee:I think maybe what he was wearing did start getting to him a little bit. Sounded like it. Yeah. It was the first thing he said. It was the first thing he said. When he said short shorts and the white beater, I was picturing Wesley Snipes and white man can't jump. Which I think would be an accurate depiction potentially because he said he didn't have the shorts on the cover-up either. So I think he was feeling exposed maybe out there and didn't want that anymore. I can't see that from PK. I feel like PK's – He always has a level of confidence. Oozes. Yeah, you were going to say he's peacocking.

1:29:56Pat McAfee:You think he's peacocking around out there? That's PK football. I think PK, PC, yeah, for sure. I think he will definitely peacock. I'm surprised he's not inclined peacocking at that gym. You're right. That is something. Maybe he didn't have his walking shoes on. you got your lifting shoes which are you know a little bit more base heavy and then your walking shoes are those big ones yeah pk wears the auto mix weight lifting shoes i don't know if you've ever seen those yes the flat base yeah yeah the platform ones yeah and what you couldn't see is that phone was actually strapped to one of his lifting out there he did have his own chalk didn't he his walking shoes i bet are amazing have you seen some of these shoes aj they got like this Big bottoms.

1:30:35Crazy. Oh, the marathon type stuff going on now?

1:30:37Pat McAfee:Yeah, and Bruce Brown's wearing them because he's trying to get shredded. He's running like six miles at a time. He's getting after he's buying these new shoes. He says that it actually feels like they propel you forward, right? Is that what you're saying? Yeah, they got like the carbon. The guy at the shoe store, obviously, he was selling me hard. He was like throwing them off the ground, spiking them and seeing them bounce up into the air. But yeah, you do feel like the carbon kind of bouncing you forward. And yeah, I ran like a 740 mile yesterday. I haven't broken eight minutes in like three years with my Brooks So I think they work.

1:31:05Pat McAfee:Yeah, he said he's on like a little bit of a sonic boost, basically, off the shoes. Wow, sick. Can't turn, right? That's the big scare? No, yeah. You definitely feel a little bit less ankle stability out there. Can't corner very well? Yeah, no. You're rounding it. Yeah, you're doing this number. Yeah, wide turns. Just taking the long way. Like a boat. Yeah, exactly. No bad. Randomly rolling your ankle, walking. Breaking ankle, actually. Some people are doing that. Hey, Bill, good recovery. Good recovery, Bill. Hey, Bill. Bill had one of these high-platform marathon super-duper fast shoes on, and it turns out you hit a little bit of a roll there.

1:31:37Pat McAfee:That thing is going to be done. And there's a chance you're going to have to recover from that by getting another pair of those and running and doing the same exact thing. That's how you get back into it, you know, kind of hair of the dog, if you will. Congratulations. Speaking of dog, Herbig signs a big deal with Pittsburgh Steelers. $100 million. Congratulations to Nick. Big Ouse obviously signing the deal with Pittsburgh. We've got a chance to be around him. Electric vibes. Loves being a Steeler. Tone, how pumped are you about this signing from Omar Khan in Steeler's leadership? Very, very pumped.

1:32:08Herbig's the best. A lot is made about how he got all this money and he's not technically a starter because Highsmith and TJ Watt are technically the starters. But Highsmith and TJ are getting up there in age. Herbig is only 24. And I believe with this new coaching staff, they are going to move him around quite a bit. and they're going to have all three of those guys on the field at the same time. He can rush from any position on the field. I love Nick Herbig. I love his signing.

1:32:35Pat McAfee:Yins are going all in. Hey, we got Aaron Rodgers, Cam Hayward, TJ Watt, Herbig's getting paid. Everybody kind of over there as a senior in this league while they're also trying to project what the future could be at the quarterback position. This is a massive statement, I think, from the Pittsburgh Steelers who are in the middle of an interesting time, trying to win in the present while not completely burning the future, but also having a lot of olds while having to balance with the next generation. Good play by them, and what are your thoughts, A.J. Hawk? Yeah, I think it is a good play. I think the Steelers are shockingly under the radar a little bit.

1:33:08They're a team I feel like people aren't talking about giving them a chance to make a deep run in the playoffs. I don't know, that's probably where Big Mike and the rest of the crew like it because they know if people are talking bad about them or don't think they are going to be very good, I think that's just where they want to be, and they're hoping to shock some people.

1:33:24Pat McAfee:We're getting some footage from OTAs. Aaron Rodgers on the rollout to the right like he's done a million times. He says yellow. He gets it. That's the middle one. Let's go Mason Rudolph. A little bit of a knee sleeve. Hope he's okay. Love the cleats. He said blue. Misses a little bit, but still a good ball, as you can see. Catchable. Now we have Will Hard, national champion out of Ohio State. Go ahead and hit the yellow. Boom. Nailed it. Oh, blue. I'm sorry. Nailed it. Okay, nailed that thing. Now let's go Drew Aller out of Penn State. Looks good. drafted in Pittsburgh to be the next Pittsburgh Steeler.

1:33:56Pat McAfee:Okay. As well. That's kind of how it all went. Now, that's one drill, remember? Sure. We were watching OTAs, and we saw this out of Green Bay. Oh, yeah, big time. Whenever Jordan Love was drafted, if you do recall, he missed the net one time, and that was shown 1 ,000 times, and everybody thought to themselves, well, they're the dumbest people of all time. Now Jordan Love, franchise quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. Obviously, everybody's going through their own growth and development in the NFL. but Tony you gotta love seeing Will Howard kind of throw a strike right there because the big question is can he handle the big NFL ball and will he be able to do NFL football feels like Will Howard is potentially a part of the future conversations even though Drew Aller big time draft pick this year and that's a part of the kind of the conversations about paying her big is like the team probably realizes that they are going to have a quarterback on a minimum or not too expensive contract here in the next few years whether it's a draft pick next year or it's Will or Drew, probably Will.

1:34:52But in this situation, like, yeah, Will, he made an adjustment to his throwing mechanics over the offseason because, you know, his first offseason, he's been able to do those things. He confirmed that. Everyone in the media saw it. Will looks really good in these OTAs so far. So we'll see.

1:35:05Pat McAfee:Okay, so let's talk about some other stories happening around the NFL. Patrick Sertan, who obviously we are massive fans of, the second, sorry, massive fans of, gets a deal done with the Broncos. But I love what the Broncos have done here. This is a good precedent to potentially be setting with future superstars if you're an organization trying to be run the right way. Absolutely. Very good business, in my opinion. This is a guy who has been a stud from day one on the field, off the field, has won the defensive player of the year, has been the Pro Bowl, has been all pros, has done everything right.

1:35:36So this is how you reward him. I think when he got paid pretty quickly thereafter, some other corners got paid and kind of jumped to the top of the market. J.C. Holmes in his own draft. I think he got a new deal. corner Stingley Jr. He got a new deal. So yeah, Trent McDuffie obviously got a new deal. So to take care of your guy, bump him back up to the top of the market where he belongs, very good business from the Denver Broncos.

1:35:59Pat McAfee:Yeah, and he has a chance obviously to earn more with an All-Pro nod, which his name is already in the All-Pro conversation, so that's more likely. I like any time there is a little bit of meat left on a bone to go hunt. I like whenever that happens, and I know that he'll obviously go earn that, and I appreciate the fact that they're doing business together. Speaking of doing business together, kind of a new world. Matt Ryan becomes president of football operations down there in Atlanta. Stefanski becomes the head coach. Tua gets brought in from Miami. Obviously, Pennix is still there, but there's no real loyalty between anybody at the Falcons right now and Pennix Jr.

1:36:30Pat McAfee:So what does the future look like? Well, it's definitely going to have Drake London involved. He signs a massive deal with the Falcons, who have seen enough from him in this new regime to say, hey, you know what? This guy's good for us. Let's go ahead and continue to build around him. D-butt, Drake London gets a deal done. What are your thoughts on this? And what does it say for Stefanski and the Falcons going forward? I mean, absolute stud. Lock him up, pay him. This is a no-brainer to lock him up. He falls now as the third highest-paid wide receiver. So you start to look around the league of some of these other receivers who either get new deals or get that first big paycheck, like Puga Nakula, for example, out in L.A.

1:37:04How would this impact him? Will he kind of slot between Jamar and Drake, or will he jump up to the top where JSN is? But Drake London, he's earned it. He's been dominant. He can play on the outside. For a big guy, he plays a lot on the inside as well, which is a walking matchup problem. You have John Robinson in the backfield, who's also a matchup problem as well. So whoever ends up winning that starting quarterback role, this is a guy you had to have out there.

1:37:28Pat McAfee:And Stefanski loves, too, his accuracy. He said, God bless, too, his left arm there. Well, actually probably his right arm, but it ended up becoming his left arm, and he is an accurate quarterback. Let's talk about Stefanski a little bit But as he gets a second opportunity down in Atlanta, I think my immediate reaction was, wow, I can't believe he just got offered a job that quickly after how everything kind of went in Cleveland. And then you kind of hear the way people talk. They're like, everybody kind of understood what was happening in Cleveland. Everybody kind of just gets it, and they kind of just rolled that one as kind of used to happen.

1:37:59Pat McAfee:It doesn't matter. Let's go ahead and move forward. What do you think Stefanski will be like in his second term as a head coach down there in Atlanta, A.J. Hawk? I think he's going to have a renewed sense of urgency, and he's going to enjoy himself. And I think Matt Ryan, I assume they say that Matt Ryan had a big part in bringing Stefanski in. He was part of the interview process for everything. I have a lot of respect for Matt Ryan and what he does. I don't know if you've seen that clip of him addressing the rookies they just drafted when they first came in. He's talking to them about the standard and what it means to be a Falcon, how much all of it means to him.

1:38:31So I know Matt Ryan wants to win. I think he believes Stefanski is like an offensive guru. and can he be like a – he was coach of the year in Cleveland at one year, wasn't he? Twice. Twice, yeah. So, I mean, the guy can do it. He may have been handcuffed a little bit in Cleveland. Who knows if they had organizational alignment, which is something that they're going for in Atlanta now.

1:38:52Pat McAfee:Yeah, not just in Atlanta, every building. And I think as we watch Cleveland, it feels like that is Andrew Barry's building completely. I don't know how long it's been handed over to Andrew Barry, but it feels like Andrew Barry, who we know, because he was at the Indianapolis Colts, I've known him for a very long time. I actually wanted him to be the Indianapolis Colts general manager whenever they were thinking about hiring one, but I think he was only like 27 or 28 at the time throughout the entirety. It feels like the Haslam family has said, Andrew, you got tenure, whatever, you got your time to kind of figure this out.

1:39:21Pat McAfee:Was it because of the Sean Watson deal becoming so historically kind of like not great for a team to build around? And because it backfired, was it because the Stefanski, Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham Jr., all that stuff happened? And it's like, how could you ever expect that? Who knows? But what we do know is it feels like Andrew Barry has been given a green light. Like, hey, you can kind of build this however you want to build it and take the amount of time that you need to do it. I like Andrew Barry. I believe in Andrew Barry. But it's hard to do. It is a very hard thing to do. Very. And you lose Myles Garrett, who's one of the best players in football.

1:39:54Pat McAfee:And it's like, well, if you weren't going to be able to win with one of the best players in the history of football, how are you going to be able to win? Now they're going to try to figure that out. I mean, it's the Browns. And the history they have, it is. but they're taking chances and you never know how it's going to work out. When Deshaun was on the market, he was very sought after, and they did what they had to do to get him in the building. That's what we were talking about kind of early with the Cronky-Rams situation. You want your teams to take shots. You want your teams to try to continually improve.

1:40:19And you look at this post right here, he's obviously trying to do that. I think he's got some good pieces in it. They have drafted well as well, but we always know it comes down to figuring out that quarterback position. If you don't figure that out, that's not going to work out. And Stefanski, just on that conversation real quick, I'm interested if he'll get back to calling plays because he gave up play calling at the end of his tenure in Cleveland. So now when he get back to calling plays, why are you trying to figure out who that quarterback is going to be there? You talk about Drake London, Bajon, Kyle Pitts, other weapons that they have in the building.

1:40:48I'll be interested to see how that goes.

1:40:49Pat McAfee:Ladies and gentlemen, as we pivot away from the NFL, let's go to the NBA Finals. The perfect person to send us into a massive tip-off tonight in San Antonio. Ladies and gentlemen, NBA...

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1:42:05Pat McAfee:full panic from full panic from back there. I just want to let everybody know Bruce's eyes and Foxy's eyes. Shump had a black screen for a second there. We're good though. Ladies and gentlemen Iman Shumper! My geysers! What's happening? My geysers! It's time to talk to you too. Hey I like what you're doing right now. I really do like what you're doing. You look fantastic obviously reminding folks about a championship about hey have been in the arena have been in this stage, understand what's going to happen, and also have a lot of history with all of these storylines. Let's talk about tonight.

1:42:36Pat McAfee:What do you expect from maybe the young team of San Antonio now that they're officially in the biggest stage in hoops? Do you think there's an advantage for Brunson and the boys for the Knicks because obviously they've had deep runs in the past that have ended pretty poorly? Who do you think has the advantage heading into the biggest stage of them all here in the NBA? Well, for game one, I'm going to let you know, I think that the Knicks have the advantage. They've been sitting at home. They're probably bouncing off the walls. They done got home-cooked meals. They feeling real good rolling into this.

1:43:06I think that they have a lot of answers for what San Antonio has. I'm expecting the Knicks to throw a good punch and take game one.

1:43:13Pat McAfee:Okay, so you like the Knicks tonight. You don't think that – do you think that's because the Spurs also maybe have to kind of settle into the moment, settle into playing against the Knicks? Do you think there is going to be a little figure-out, feel-out process by the Spurs? Or do you think that has already happened because they played each other a few times we're already going to know what each other they're going to get well the field out is one thing but it's different when you have to play game in game out against the same team if you can catch wimby on a saturday he's different than if you can catch him saturday monday and then wednesday and you start preparing for him and you start understanding the things he likes to do you know their play calls your your body's recalibrate i mean your mind's recalibrated to saying this is how high i need to shoot my floater this is how high we need to shoot this if he's standing right here he can't really contest it's a bluff you start understanding those things and trusting it by watching film uh i i i really think that this matchup when i when i look at wimby and i look at that young team around them i really think people are underestimating that the way you beat them you need three-point shooting you need penetration the knicks have that you need somebody that could play on the interior and rough wimby up the knicks have that uh they play through cat at times which pulls Wemby away from the basket.

1:44:28These are all the things that I'm looking at to say this matchup is more significant than what people are looking at. If people are looking at Vegas, all this, they're looking at the odds, it looks like a clear-cut win, and it's just not.

1:44:39Pat McAfee:Okay, so let's talk a little bit more about that. You thought Spurs, much better matchup for the New York Knicks and obviously Oklahoma City, and everybody is kind of saying that the Spurs are not a good matchup because they have something that the game has never seen before in Wemby, especially with Brunson, who he's 6 '1", 6 '2". In real life, that's big, but he's a little bit smaller, obviously. You think that that is not the case. You think it's the complete opposite. It's like, nah, everything that the Knicks have is what the Spurs don't want. You like to match up a lot for the Knicks. I do.

1:45:10I think they have bodies that they can put in front of people. We don't talk about the Knicks defense as much, but the Knicks defense is damn good. They have guards that can defend penetration. They take on the challenge. The Eastern Conference is different than the Western Conference. I know people frown on the Western Conference, but I mean, frown on the Eastern Conference as far as the Western Conference go. And though they have a lot of a lot of heavy hitters, the way the game is played on the East Coast is a little different, too. And I think they're going to have to get adjusted to that.

1:45:38I think all these little loose passes that get thrown. A lot of times I see in the Western Conference was one of my biggest things I did when attacking the Western Conference. I got a lot of deflections. They throw a lot of nonsense passes. And if you look at the Spurs, they like to whip a cross-court pass a lot of times, especially Wimby, spinning into that mood, trying to get downhill, in and out cross, get to that spin, and then whip a pass across the court. Mikel Bridges, OG Ananobi, Josh Hart, these are guys that shoot the gap. These are guys that defend at a high level because they know sometimes they can't get it going offensively.

1:46:12They're going to be outright thirsty out there to get those deflections, to get the deflections when they try and throw the lob. I'm excited to see the battle of the backcourts, but I'm just excited to see team defenses, period, prevail, because this is going to be high-intensity basketball.

1:46:26Pat McAfee:I love what you're saying. You're saying Big Ten SEC football here. That's what you're saying. They're a little loose. They got a little show. Okay, Big Ten's ready to play. Yeah, it's definitely like that, the clash of the conferences, where on paper you're looking at a different conference. You're saying this is high scoring, this is this, this is that, but it's like have they ever had to play this Big Ten slow, methodical bruiser style basketball. And I look at these teams meeting up and I say, this is just best for the sports world. I can't say I know who's going to win and what time. I told everybody when I did my prediction as an analyst that my eyes, watching the Spurs come off of that victory they had against OKC, that tells me, you know, I want to lean on the Spurs to say they're the favorite.

1:47:14You took out the defending champs. I want to lean on you to be the favorite. But though my mind's telling me Spurs, my heart, my heart is telling me this. And I'm not going to run from that just because I've seen the styles of basketball. I see where they clash. And I see at times the Knicks can do a good job of getting Wimby out of the paint. The problem with Wimby being out of the paint, if he doesn't have high rebound efficiency as far as pushing the break and doing other things, they usually struggle. And I think that the Knicks can do a good job of pulling him away from the rim. And I want to see how he takes that shot.

1:47:48Pat McAfee:I love, you know, we listen to the mind of the heart right now. You know, and I appreciate him being completely transparent about, you know, what his mind's telling him and his body's telling him. You know, we appreciate that, obviously. It's going to get a little bit cold because now we have to take that in perspective with the massive bias that is coming from the man that is currently wearing a vest. And I love the Big Ten SEC thing. Yeah. Because, by the way, that hits to his biases. Like Big Ten's currently just kind of pummeling the showcase league. So is New York representing the Big Ten all of a sudden?

1:48:16Pat McAfee:Is that what we got going on? I just think it's similar when you start talking about play styles. Sometimes you can look on paper and just say, this is going to be a slaughter, but you don't account for the way the two teams play. When we matched up against Golden State, I'm sure everybody thought, man, they can't keep up offensively with them. But it's like we can take away so much defensively the way we play that we're going to force them to have to win around 105 to 109, and they're used to winning at 120. You see what I'm saying? So changing the game, 10 points, can mean the world to, you know what I'm saying, this type of matchup.

1:48:56That's why I'm really interested. It's going to be one of them things where you've got to race to 100. First team that gets to 100, it's going to seem like they've got to roll in a little bit more toward the end. Yeah, this is going to be some exciting shit.

1:49:07Pat McAfee:Yeah, I love everything about what you're saying, too. Who can make the other person play their style? You know, this is football, this is basketball, seemingly this is the NBA finals. And I think there's a lot of people that are going to be called upon. Go ahead, D-Bud. Yeah, when you first started talking, Shubh, I thought I knew exactly where you were leaning with this because you said the Knicks should take game one on the road. But, like, we always – we think the stars are going to show up. We think Wimby, we think Brunson's going to show up. But the supporting cast around him, the guys around him, including the coaches, Mitch Johnson, Mike Brown, who do you give the edge throughout this series when it comes to that, the other guys and those role players going throughout the series?

1:49:42Well, that's what's going to be interesting. The finals calls for, you know, big time performances from somebody. I'm expecting Vassell to play well just because he's one of the older guys, one of the guys that's been along with that team, with that organization for the most years. I can't imagine Devin Vassell coming out there and not being ready to play, not being ready to lead. Harrison Barnes is going to have to step up and be a big time performer in this just because he has that experience. He understands these moments and he understands the recalibration of making an adjustment and saying, hey, even though we play like this, this is bothering us.

1:50:20We need to fix this now. You don't let the you don't let the boat sink. You plug all the holes. So I think those guys are going to come in the factor. But when I look at the next side, the biggest X factor for them, Michael Bridges. This is his series. When I look at the way the Spurs play, they play what we call it, ethical basketball. They play the right way. When you play the right way, you move the ball the right way. That's when somebody like Mikel Bridges, his instincts kick in. OG Ananobi, their instincts kick in because they play that way. They can understand that this is the right pass.

1:50:53You're trying to do the right thing. And then I'm going to I'm going to mess that up. I'm going to steal that path, even though this is the correct play. This is the right pass to make. But I can gamble because I can understand and lean on you guys basketball principles. the Spurs aren't a team that you can rely on at the end of the game they're two stars getting into it and you don't know who wants to shoot the shot like you can't play that type of mind game with them with them you have to respect the way that they're going to play they're going to get off the ball early they're going to do straight line drives and they're going to try and shoot efficiently from the three uh I look at this and I see Mikel Bridges you know he should average two three steals in this series he should average six to eight rebounds the whole series I think that he had some playoff woes early on, but he should be able to clean it up, especially in this series.

1:51:37Pat McAfee:So that would be on the defensive side. On the offensive side, Bruce Brown just told me he's averaged 15 points eight of the last nine games, too. So Bridges, maybe storyline of the entire NBA Finals. Can't wait for that. AJ has a question for you. Shump? Yeah, Shump, as far as the defensive end for the Knicks, Jalen Brunson, who do you think he guards as well as Cat? Who do you think he will primarily be on, and what's their team defense going to be against Wemby? oh well uh i think wimmy's gonna see he's gonna see a couple different bodies uh the knicks have done a great job in building that team the reason that team was built the way it was built is to support and hide jalen brunson at time so that he can lean his hat uh hang his hat on the offensive end and be in that mr fourth quarter guy for them so when it comes to hiding him i mean as much as possible they'll probably you know toss him on the cell toss him and got toss him on guys that aren't so ball dominant so he doesn't have to do so much but the knicks are also very capable of switching screens a ball screen coming along they're able to switch it they're able to kick him out so that he doesn't have to roll to the basket with whoever that bigger guy is and jay lebrunson is just gonna have to get on his horse and make sure he can rotate to the corner uh but it's an easy way to do it until the end of the game the end of the game there is no hide and he's gonna have to strap up and go out there earn his check uh this is why people have always said it's hard to win with a smaller guard because for the end of the game, when you have to go back and forth and do a slugfest, do you really want a guy that's 6-2 being able to be shot over if somebody goes to a fadeaway package?

1:53:09But like I said, they've been playing through cat. They might be able to hide this on the defensive end. I'm just excited to see it, excited to be here.

1:53:18Pat McAfee:We think Brunson's going to get 25 and Wemby's going to get 25 as well? Yeah, in game one. I think they both are. Yes! There it is! Thank you! That's what we're talking about. Ladies and gentlemen, that's NBA champion. Okay, that's living legend. Iman Shumper, we appreciate you, Shump. We don't need anything, Shump. We appreciate the hell out of you, Shump. Hell yeah, Shump. Needed that. Big time. Oh! Yes! Yeah. Needed that. Now, man. Let's do this responsibly. Right. Okay, this is just to make the game better. If you rode with us last night, it was a good time looking for number 24 on Carolina the entire night.

1:53:52Pat McAfee:It was. Yeah. It was a good time trying to do it until it wasn't. Tonight we put some points on the board responsibly for 21+. And you would like to join us here in the Thunderdome. And sounds like Shump as well. Wemby 25. Brunson 25. This is game one of the NBA Finals. Let's trust the stars. Trust the stars. Let's trust the stars. All right, we're good. Wemby comes from the stars, so. T2s. One of them. Yeah. Yeah. Or the ocean. Yeah. Which is a star in its own Thank you Shoot for the moon You miss you land among the stars And tonight we're trusting them We should trust the moon maybe But then there's two guys we're thinking about There's only one moon here Alright we're back tomorrow Good luck to all of us Feels like it was a good exit Because we do only have one moon But there's other places that have multiple moons Jupiter, Saturn And we're learning more and more about them as we get more of the TELUS super duper scopes.

1:54:55Pat McAfee:Yep. I mean, I was in one at the Cayman Science Center in Pittsburgh. That's right. I was literally just bopping through space. We were. Do you remember that? Yeah. Oh, that was sweet. That was sick. That was their moons. Why aren't they all our moons? What's that? Don't we share the universe? What do you mean? Yeah, but I guess they claim theirs. That's kind of like their neighborhoods. Yeah, they're in orbit. Yeah, we haven't waged war on them for their moons yet. Yeah, we will potentially try to pluck that shit out of their orbit, though. At some point. I would hurt our gravity. I think we'd be able to make it.

1:55:23Pat McAfee:We're able to just kind of buzz around up there at some point. And then we see somebody's moon, and we're like, that's a fucking good-looking moon right there. Ours has got all the dents and shit on it. We can get like a real fucking round one. Like a blue one. And then just like an avatar, you know where the general is in that big thing? Yeah, not kids anymore. Yeah, that'll happen. We'll have the little rockets that we're bopping around space in. One of them will be able to pop out, and there'll be one of us inside the thing that'll just be like, give me the fucking moon. And then guess what happens?

1:55:50Pat McAfee:That entire thing starts shaking. And then they come out like fucking bees, bumblebees. And now we're in an intergalactic war. Yeah, we're on the front lines of the moon war. So that's why they're not all our moons, D-Butt. Can I make it more vivid? You gotta ask questions. We gotta coexist, D-Butt. Gotta live with them. Think about the waves that this one moon does. Could you imagine we bring another one back and just fucking plop that in there? Did you know AJ has the coexist bumper sticker on his truck? He does? With the moon? Yeah, the coexist bumper sticker with the moon. The O is a peace sign.

1:56:22Yeah.

1:56:22Pat McAfee:That's very nice. I got a lot of bumper stickers. Yeah, tons of them. One of them says Ohio State legend. Could you imagine that says College Football Hall of Famer? I hope so. You better put that on there, too, because with these gas prices, you know you pull in with a College Football Hall of Famer bumper sticker on your shit, you know somebody's going to get out and say, let me pump that for you. That tank's on there, brother. Not in this economy. What? Yeah, for the Buckeyes. In Ohio. For the Buckeyes. Can you pump that for me? They're going to say, AJ, let me fill your tank. Yeah, that's what they're going to say.

1:56:46Pat McAfee:Let me put a little unleaded in here. Yeah, that's what they're saying. That's a Buckeye difference. That's a college football Hall of Famer. That's potentially the life that A.J. Hawk's going to be living and Chris Carter is going to be living. So many people are going to be sticking their hoses in A.J.'s tank. It's going to be awesome. I mean, that's what happens, though. Credit card in, hose out, A.J.'s tank. Fill it up. You're a college football Hall of Famer. I like that that's where we're at in society. That's awesome. Now, on that note.

1:57:16Pat McAfee:Could we have expected any of that? Gas prices? No, I'm not damn near. We could have. With what was going on, we could have guessed something might happen. Five bucks a gallon? It's down. It was up there. Normally, you know what's next? Cigarettes. Exactly. Why didn't you see what those are? They better not. Don't smoke those, by the way. We're at a different time. We don't need anybody doing that. Well, yeah. Okay. I don't think we got to die on this hill. Yes, we do. I don't think so. Yes, we do. All right. Tonight, the Pat McAfee Show would like to also promote a baseball thing. Hell yeah. Yes.

1:57:56Pat McAfee:Now, this is not long enough odds to be on the DraftKings Sportsbook platform. We're just trying to put some points on the board. Exactly. You got to create it yourself. Yeah, exactly. This one, you got to go in there and create it yourself. Now, you have to slide, impress, and you'll learn about the DraftKings platform, I think. Very easy to use. So many options. The two we like. We got pocket aces. We do got pocket aces tonight. And, you know, we thought about, you know, maybe getting it up there, throwing a couple more aces on there. But like you said, we're just trying to get points on the board right now.

1:58:26So we got Paul Skeens, six-plus strikeouts. Shohei Otani, six-plus strikeouts. These guys have pretty much been dominating every single fucking time they've been out there. those are as good odds as you're going to find anywhere. So if you're just trying to get one on the board like we are this is a nice little thing to dabble in. I know we got the NBA Finals. This is one of those things where you throw this into your bet slip and you maybe just check the ESPN app or the DraftKings app in the fourth inning, the fifth inning. Where are we at? Holy shit, Skeen's already got eight strikeouts. Holy shit, Shohei's already got seven.

1:59:00Okay, I'm good. I got one on the board. That's a dream. That's the dream. That's the dream scenario. And if not, six-plus strikeouts for both these guys. You should feel very confident in that. Okay. Would this count for us getting one on the board if this one hits? See, that's what I'm worried about. I just want to know. We're trusting the stars. We're just trying to get hot here. So then the next one that we make when it is up on the board, we can already say, hey.

1:59:22Pat McAfee:Getting up on the board, I've learned, is a tough thing to do. We're going to try to get one on the board. Yeah. Okay, we are definitely going to try to get one on the board. And I see there's, you know, and we would dabble, I think, into longer odds. But what we've learned through this thing is let's make winners. Get one on the board. I'm sure there'll be. Let's do winners. There'll be longer odds at some point. If it's a winner, yeah. Yeah, if we keep losing these. D-bot, it's day two. Max, that's the thing. No, me and Nick spend some yarn pulling together. We are in a – we should not be like this already.

1:59:58Pat McAfee:We got to stay together. We got to win tonight. We got to win tonight, boy. AJ, this morning was outrageous in here. I hadn't felt that in a long time. Once again, it took me all the way back. Last night looking for 24 on the fucking ice? Yeah. Fucking where is he? Is the guy playing? Is this guy even on the wide? We even do this. He's out there. Okay, here he is. Jarvie doing his thing. Okay, we're passing it. All right. Okay, sweet. We're passing that. I like that. Oh, it's an errant pass. It's going the other way. Okay, you're a good teammate, though. I like that you didn't want to take that.

2:00:23Pat McAfee:You wanted to give it something out. You're selfless. I like you were going to do that. And assists would have been okay, too. But, you know, I think you probably could just go ahead and pull the trigger on that one. I think you're allowed to do it. Then later it gets big time saved. Then another one does this. And, you know, it's like nine goals. We don't have an assist. It's like, oh, man, we're back in it. Why didn't it happen? Nine. Then the coach comes out and says, the guy should have. That's what he said. I'm like, yeah. Score. That's what I'm saying. When does that ever happen? A head coach in a Stanley Cup final comes out and says, yeah.

2:00:49Pat McAfee:Yeah. He should have. He literally said, and I couldn't find the clip on the internet, but I saw it with my own two eyes. He said, McAfee Show boys, they were on the right side. If Jarvie would have just done his job. Okay, I don't think he did say that. I don't think he said that. I think I saw it somewhere. But basically, he did say, when does a head coach come out and say that about his team? He'd be like, these guys, these guys need to figure the fuck out. It's like, yeah. Yeah, you're telling me. I can't believe we right-sided the first one. That was awesome. Yeah, we're already pulling out all the bag of tricks.

2:01:17Pat McAfee:How could we have known is next. Wait, just wait for that one. That's probably the name of the one for tomorrow. How could we have known? Both of them are hitting tonight. We've got some long odds for tomorrow that I love. I do like the last night, heartbreaker, right back into it. Oh, of course. And then tonight we go, we need two of these things. Let's do double that. You might want to add one with Bridges in there. I mean, Shump was really big on Bridges' impact this year. All right. Let's say. He's been free. I would have. Chuck gave us good vibes, too. We had very much. That was different yesterday.

2:01:53That ring had his ring.

2:01:55Pat McAfee:Horno has no idea. Okay? He sent me a text saying, sorry, pal, I'll glaze all the picks next time. Thank you. I said, Horno, yes. We're not glazing the picks. We're glazing the gambling gods who we are trying to have bless us. As soon as you go, no, the gambling gods go, see, exactly. Nobody believes. And that's what we can't have. I'll ride with you, but I disagree. I support you. Whatever it was. I support you, but I hate it. I support you, but I'm not riding or something. He's outrageous. I'll glaze all the picks next time. He was taking a victory lap on his stall any time. Goal scorer as well last night.

2:02:34He certainly was, as he should. As he should. Too bad I took the freaking under because of him. Did you see stalls he didn't set? Yeah, it was tough. Stalls, he did set a record, though. So, longest gap between NHL finals goals from 2009 to 2026. It's insane.

2:02:49Pat McAfee:They had 6 ,198 days. All for nothing. I mean, Stahl played well. He did play well. Well, and his brother also played well. Eric, yeah. Did we know that? Did we know he was going to be? No. No. They do not give us that information because it's such huge information. They don't want to move the line that much. Yeah, a Stahl goal after Eric Stahl cranks the yank. Yeah. I would certainly bet on that. I feel like we kind of should have known that. It was a thing off the hinges. Tried to. He's a beast. That's what you tried to do out there in Vegas, though. Yeah, it was. And I don't like that you immediately just said that was all for naught because it was for something.

2:03:27Yeah, it was a great moment for him. And Stahl's a good goal. You know what? You're right. It's not his fault. I think Jarvie needs to start worrying a little bit less about those squids he calls buddies and send them back up north. Done with those guys. We're big fans of those guys.

2:03:41Pat McAfee:We learned a little bit more. No, I am a fan of the Manitoba boys. I think I was on paternity when you guys were talking about Jarvis boys because I fucking got eyes on those squids for the first time this morning. I said, okay. I warned you about these guys so long ago. Now this is a Vegas Golden Knights fan, obviously, taking on the Jarvis boys in the Stanley Cup final. But on that note, anybody that's riding for their friend and for their team, we're fans of. Just like us tonight. Bingo. Trust stars. Pocket aces. Shohei and Skeeno. Come on, boys. Here we go, boys. Wemby and Brunson. Come on, boys.

2:04:20Pat McAfee:Here we go, boys. And there's a lot of aces on the mound tonight if you want to add to Skeens and Shohei. That's not what we're doing, but if you want. We're trying to get one on the board. Yeah, we could have fucking juiced the odds a bit. My guy on the bump on the night? Your guy. Your guy, Christopher Sanchez, is on the bump tonight. And Garrett Cole is also on the bump. Four-legged. Yep. We have a graphic, actually, for tonight. And Chase Burns. And Chase Burns is on the bump tonight. We have a great graphic for tonight because it is actual – it's big old pitch night. Yeah. I mean, big old pitch.

2:04:48All those guys have been absolute studs. Yeah. Chase Burns is killing it. Yes, he is.

2:04:52Pat McAfee:Yeah, Chase Burns, Garrett Cole, obviously legend. He's been back. How long has he – He's had two starts. He hasn't had an earned run yet. And his last start, he went six and two-thirds and had ten strikeouts. So, he is back to form. And then Christopher Sanchez is the guy who didn't yield an earned run the entire month of May. And he has a shitload of strikeouts, not giving up very many hits. And then, obviously, Shohei and Skeens, we know what they do. Chase Burns, same deal. Young flamethrower for the Reds, big-time strikeout pitcher. He's 7-1 on the year. He's very good. So, yeah, a lot of aces on the bump tonight.

2:05:26Pat McAfee:Is Shohei still under 1.0 ERA or whatever? Yeah. 1.82. Jeez. It's called 1 flat, not 1.0. Did I sound like a boob saying that? No, no, no. Is this like a value MLB thing that I have to do every time? No. You're technically right. It just depends on what 10th or 100th you're taking it. Yeah. You blow 1.00. I mean, I took a stats class, too. I mean, if we want to drop an outlier like Shohei is, we can certainly try to find the mean of this entire form. Wherever you want to round it, too. Scheno is still unbelievable. Yeah, Scheno. He's coming off a 10K performance. What? He's coming off of a 10K performance.

2:05:58Exactly. Buckos are very, very high. See, Scheno is a strikeout pitcher, so you don't really need to worry about that. And as Tony has pointed out, he watches the Pirates a lot more than I do. I kind of just check in on the Buccos when Skeeno is pitching. But Skeeno during night games is unbelievable. And I believe the Pirates have won seven of their last nine. Yeah, so Buccos are hot right now.

2:06:21Pat McAfee:Go on, Buccos. Let's go, boys. We're the last now, Bucco. Everybody talks about the NL. The NL Central is the toughest, huh? Oh, that's interesting. We're climbing a ladder, pal. We're second in the toughest division in baseball right now with potentially a floor on the way for teams having to spend an amount of money. Not bad. Are the Buccos the team of the future? Might be. On the up and up. And will Scheno strike out seven people tonight? Six pluses. Yeah, I just need six. He will. Will Scheno strike out six, maybe the first six batters. It's possible. He did that two weeks. He has done that before.

2:06:56Pat McAfee:And Shohei could potentially do that as well, right? Shohei's ball moves from one side of the thing to the other. How about the – hey, pretty good photo there of baseball. I feel like we really did baseball justice. Did you see that, AJ? Sweet cleats, too, yeah. Thank you. Those are Jordans. Yeah. Ty looks intimidating. Well, he's about to fucking dial it up. Scary. He's about to dial it up. You can barely tell it's him except for that eye. He does have a giveaway with that right eye, though. We know if it's fastball or curveball. He has a little bit of a – I'm not tipping pitches. No, yeah, your right eyebrow.

2:07:23You kind of look excited like you know what's coming. Yeah, I know.

2:07:26Pat McAfee:It's a fucking – it's a 2-1 trash can right there. He wants to embarrass me, obviously. We've got a great background here. He's trying to make me look stupid. I did know that with Kershaw. After I made contact, 100 % knew a curveball was coming. Yeah, going to try to break one off. Yeah, absolutely. This guy's going to try to embarrass me right now, for sure. And that was the one I hit up into the sky. Yep. Because I was like, oh, this one's going to come a little slower. Foul ball. Baseball's great. We are big fans of baseball. Oh, yeah. We'll be bigger fans. Yeah. After than that. Hockey days.

2:07:54Pat McAfee:And we're all positive about all the things, right? Yep. Very positive. Of course. Big shot. Let's go, boys. NBA champ. Hey, Big Sean. Let's go. That's what I'm talking about. Let's go. The time is when? Now. Trust the stars. Time is up. Be your friend. Tell your friend something nice. It might change your life. We're interesting together. AJ. Yes. How are the Bs? Pretty good. I'm going to get in there tomorrow, I think. Check them out. You can't resist. Well, you do. You need to identify that queen. So you're taking a Sharpie in there? I will. There's like these marking. It's almost like a chalk Sharpie type thing.

2:08:28bright colored one yeah get the back of that queen so i can reckon i can find her okay how are you gonna find her just that's where i look around you gotta inspect look through there she's she's bigger and you know it's it's not an easy situation i haven't found her yet oh we still don't know who

2:08:43Pat McAfee:the queen i thought that was kind of an easy thing everybody's looking at her no that's not how it works they're all taking care of the eggs she she will lay but i i need to get in there i need to find her still so what if you mark the wrong one and they all get pissed off is there too many bees I'm marking it for myself, not for them. They don't care about the bees. They know. You don't think the bees know? What if you have a macaque situation where you kind of miscrown? Yeah, exactly. I mean, if I did, that would be tough to misidentify the queen. She is much bigger than the rest, so it would be tough to do that.

2:09:12You want to tell us you haven't seen her yet? Why do you need to know? Do you take her to the doctor or appointments? No, I just need to know to make sure the colony is doing well, that they're taking care of her, see if she's laying and all this stuff.

2:09:24Pat McAfee:Okay, so we need her to be very healthy all the time. And happy. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Are you getting her sauna? Do we know what she likes? Supplements? You give her supplements? Supplements? I got one-to-one sugar water I'm feeding them right now. There you go. Because they're in the colony trying to grow. Sugar and water. I like that. Is there like a better bed you can get? Can you build something? Like little shelves? You don't want to baby them. Just like your grass or anything else. If you baby it, they're going to become babies. So you got to let them learn the hard ones. Yeah, but the queen, I think we should maybe baby a little bit, right?

2:09:51Pat McAfee:She's used to it. Every other bee in the hive, that's their job to take care of the queen. So it's on them. Okay, so you're rallying boys to take care of Queen that you are going to identify with chalk on her back. Yes, correct. Do you think there's any bees in there that, like, as soon as you mark the chalk, they go, fuck, thank you, Jesus. I've been trying to wonder. There she is. I wonder who everybody's been knowing. If they didn't know by now, then they don't deserve to be in there. They'll still drag their ass out of there for sure. Kick them out. Everybody's been all buzzed up all week.

2:10:19Pat McAfee:I don't know what the fuck the deal is. Because you've got a couple of wild bees, right? So many things I haven't thought of. You're right. You guys are bringing me some questions. The issues that I did not foresee coming up. You just need to have your eyes on these things, man. Could be a mutiny. I guarantee there's one B in there telling everybody it's the queen, and it's not. Oh, my God. I do wonder how much ego is involved. There's got to be ego, right? Oh, yeah. Because there's going to be a big-time power struggle once a vacuum of power is coming once you mark the actual, hey, this is the one.

2:10:50Pat McAfee:Because there's probably been multiple kind of out there buzzing around, acting like they're the queen. Listen to me. Look at me. Yeah, a lot of that because you're getting treated. Yeah, exactly. They'll make new ones. If they want to swarm, they'll make new ones, though. They'll be queen cells where they're trying to make a new queen because they all want to leave your hide. This is the macaques, dude. Oh, boy. You're in trouble, man. That's on me. That's pressure. I think they're sitting in there like, oh, this asshole opens this box. We're on him. Yeah. This is where we make our moves. That is possible.

2:11:21Anything's possible, though, and I'm very new to this.

2:11:23Pat McAfee:Hey, Jerry Seinfeld in that B movie really opened my eyes. I need to watch it. Is it good? Yes. You'll learn a lot. And it sounds like it's potentially real. What about Macaulay Culkin? In the bee movie? He died. My girl. Dead. He's allergic to bees. He gets stung by one and dies. Macaulay Culkin? Was it one or like a thousand? No one dies from one, do they? Oh yeah, you can die from one. Anaphylactic, man. What's that, dude? So you don't know that? He didn't have an EpiPen. If one bee's taking me down, I'd be dead by now. We know that. No, not you. You're not allergic to bees, you fucking dipshit.

2:11:58He was. Well, who is? Who's allergic to one bee sting? Maybe a... We hope nobody you know.

2:12:06Pat McAfee:We hope fucking nobody you know, because your bees, we already know. They're going to be out there fucking buzzing and biting and stinging everybody. Okay, we know that. You're going to have a little hard-edged team out there, and we respect that. We do appreciate that. And thank you for the update. We can't wait to continue to follow along with you and the bees. and the fact that all of you let us do for a little late, H. I'm a little late. Count me off guard, not going to lie. Yeah, yeah. That was a little bit of a ponche there, if you would. But we are very grateful for all of you. And every day, all we try to do is create a good sports show, you know?

2:12:46Pat McAfee:Pay respect to the greatest thing on earth. Just like what Shrag said about what's happening in New York City. Sports are bringing everybody together. We will continue to try to do that as sports are electrifying all over the place. We obviously have Women's Softball National Championship. That's right. Texas Tech versus Texas. Let's go ahead and watch that atmosphere be outrageous. We got college baseball about to get into the real super regional, into the Omaha World Series. We got NBA finals tipping off tonight. Boom. NHL puck dropped last night. Yeah. We're getting points on the board. Shohei's pitching.

2:13:23Pat McAfee:Skino's pitching tonight. Exactly. Eight days away from the World Cup. Huh. Let's go. Let's go. Here we go, boys. Great work this week, D-Bud. You too, brother. We appreciate all of you. We will see you tomorrow. 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. The Stanley Cup Final on ABC. is more than a quest for the cup. It's 134 years of putting it all on the line and the heaviest 35 pounds ever lifted. It's broken curses and broken hearts. But for those chasing it, it's everything. The only question is, who will take it?

2:14:07You just have to watch the Stanley Cup Final presented by GEICO on ABC and the ESPN app.