Speaker 1: Welcome to the Greatest, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: All Right, everybody, what a fun episode of the Greatest
Speaker 1: we have for you. Sorry if I didn't do such
Speaker 1: a warm welcome there. I'm just very very excited, very
Speaker 1: special episode. We are still currently in our laundry nook.
Speaker 1: Everyone's still in quarantine. I think we're doing a great job.
Speaker 1: But I'm joined here by my wife, per usual, Megan
Speaker 1: Gaily and co host Megan Gailey. You're my wife, I know,
Speaker 1: but I that's a note I've given you in past ones,
Speaker 1: so let's just remember going forward. I would like to
Speaker 1: be wife and co host even like when we see
Speaker 1: people we were hanging out. When we are out in
Speaker 1: the world, you do not speak of this podcast. Okay,
Speaker 1: this is only the stays within our laundry nook. This
Speaker 1: is where our secrets live and die. This is the
Speaker 1: podcast that we love doing and new fans every week.
Speaker 1: Shout out to all the fans who have been finding
Speaker 1: us on on social media and saying such nice things,
Speaker 1: and also just like giving us new topics, which is
Speaker 1: my life, telling us when we're wrong. I love that.
Speaker 1: Tell us we're wrong. People will be like lamps Armstrong.
Speaker 1: I'm like I forgot about Lamps Armstrong. I do hate him.
Speaker 1: But that's the beauty of this podcast is like we
Speaker 1: choose like three, but there's never enough time and there's
Speaker 1: just like there's so many picks out there. So it's
Speaker 1: like a fun debate. It's been fun for the most part.
Speaker 1: But yeah, then there's some evil people who are like,
Speaker 1: you're wrong, you shouldn't do this, you don't know anything
Speaker 1: about sports, and then Megan has to tell me to
Speaker 1: not respond to them. Well, you can't respond to them.
Speaker 1: I actually wish that you could. Oh, I'll go they
Speaker 1: must there must have been a time when you could
Speaker 1: respond to reviewers and then they took that away because
Speaker 1: someone like you went crazy. Yeah, yeah, you find them
Speaker 1: c J. How are you? How are you mentally doing? Mentally?
Speaker 1: This week has been good. It's been busy, but it's
Speaker 1: only taken six weeks. But I'm trying to get healthier
Speaker 1: because boy, I got myself in a rut first few weeks.
Speaker 1: I feel like, you know, a lot of a lot
Speaker 1: of people have said they've gained maybe a little bit
Speaker 1: of weight, but like, you know, I wanted to enjoy
Speaker 1: the fun aspects of Quarantine, where we just eat and
Speaker 1: watch TV shows. But now I'm like, gotta stay a
Speaker 1: little active, gotta keep doing work. It's busy time with
Speaker 1: house highlights. We get the NFL draft coming up. Um,
Speaker 1: you know you're excited for that. Oh, by the time
Speaker 1: this comes out, it'll be done. We'll know where Toua is.
Speaker 1: Is it in Miami? We kind of hope. Um, I'm
Speaker 1: I'm doing pretty I'm doing pretty well. You know, I'm
Speaker 1: weighing myself every day. Um, what your therapist has said,
Speaker 1: what my therapist is said, let's keep an eye on that.
Speaker 1: And I'm not on your weight, but on your obsession
Speaker 1: with your weight. Perhaps she also said, let's keep an
Speaker 1: eye on my drinking and my smoking um weed not cigarettes. Okay,
Speaker 1: the lungs are good. So I think I'm doing It's beautiful,
Speaker 1: so nice out here. We are entering a heat wave
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles, and so we have an inflatable pool
Speaker 1: that only see J knows how to inflate and I'm
Speaker 1: least person to want to use it. Yes, you are
Speaker 1: horrified by it. I'm got to horrify. I'm just like,
Speaker 1: what does this do? I don't know how to inflate it.
Speaker 1: But you're kind of like my pool boy and my husband. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Another little look into our lives as a married couple
Speaker 1: is that we're in quarantine and I like ordering stuff
Speaker 1: from the internet. So I have made our backyard into
Speaker 1: Dave and Busters. And so since we've started, we've got
Speaker 1: a a ping pong table, which megan on a daily basis. Whoops,
Speaker 1: my acid in and I got a Papa shot has
Speaker 1: yet to arrive. And then we have the inflatable pool.
Speaker 1: So I can't complain about inflatable pool when I have
Speaker 1: less other things. I'm trying to make it a little
Speaker 1: more Williams Sonoma. I have chairs that I've ordered that
Speaker 1: have not been put together that I need you to do. Really,
Speaker 1: you are, I cook and then you do literally everything else.
Speaker 1: I think I do a lot, but a lot of it.
Speaker 1: Isn't that beneficial to both of us? Yeah? And it
Speaker 1: takes you a long time, oh taking shots. Okay, So
Speaker 1: today is such a very very special episode because we
Speaker 1: are doing greatest Reggie Miller moments and why would we
Speaker 1: do such a specific one, really specific? We are doing
Speaker 1: it because we are going to be joined by my
Speaker 1: favorite Indiana pacer NBA player Hall of Famer Ready broom Baby. Indeed, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean it honestly would be a highlight of my life.
Speaker 1: I mean a huge basketball fan obviously, nineties basketball fan specifically,
Speaker 1: but Reggie Miller. I feel like Reggie Miller, whether it's
Speaker 1: true or no, he is a reason why we were
Speaker 1: were together. I think absolutely before we were a couple,
Speaker 1: I feel like a lot of the moments connecting and
Speaker 1: on those first eight years of just being friends, we
Speaker 1: would talk about Reggie Miller and Dairy Queen and Dairy
Speaker 1: Queen two very iconic important things, both continuing to thrive,
Speaker 1: and it's just we can't have Dairy Queen on the
Speaker 1: show that I don't know how that would work. But
Speaker 1: some people don't don't like listening to bowl talk and eat.
Speaker 1: I understand that an ice cream not good. Okay, well
Speaker 1: that I'm glad you made that noise. I'm giving you
Speaker 1: the noise that we will not be giving. You're giving
Speaker 1: you Reggie Instead, Reggie is He's going to be joining
Speaker 1: us later in the podcast, we thought, just to kick
Speaker 1: things off, maybe we would talk about the moments that
Speaker 1: made us love. Reggie Miller, the great Indiana Pacer, great
Speaker 1: NBA analyst for Turner, for you know, NBA on T
Speaker 1: and T inside the NBA, just he continues to be
Speaker 1: such a relevant presence in our life and where it's
Speaker 1: just such an honor that we're gonna have him on later.
Speaker 1: So let's kick it off, Megan, go first. I was
Speaker 1: watching clips just to get myself in the headspace of this.
Speaker 1: I did get choked up. Um, that is truly, truly
Speaker 1: how much Reggie means to me. I'm gonna get choked
Speaker 1: up right now. Um. He is my favorite person to
Speaker 1: watch win. Like you know, Peyton's obviously a great There's
Speaker 1: some cults teams and produce basketball teams and Lebron's that
Speaker 1: I've loved getting to watch. But watching Reggie win has
Speaker 1: brought me joy in my life more than anybody else.
Speaker 1: So I'm coming from that place of love. So my
Speaker 1: very first one is Game three against the Nicks. The
Speaker 1: Pacers are down by twelve in the fourth Reggie starts
Speaker 1: up talking to Spike we all know them, going back
Speaker 1: and forth, and then he just goes off. He scores
Speaker 1: twenty five points in the fourth quarter in Madison Square,
Speaker 1: Garden does the Choke icon, and the Pacers go on
Speaker 1: to win the game. Yeah, that's such a good one.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's like it's on T shirts, it's on billboards.
Speaker 1: I'm sure at the time it is. It's and I'm
Speaker 1: still and I work in the sort of basketball creative
Speaker 1: meme business, and boy, I just remember being in like
Speaker 1: our slack channels when you know, during the playoffs and
Speaker 1: whenever there's a poking moment, whenever there's a team that
Speaker 1: blows it, everyone always brings up we gotta we gotta
Speaker 1: do the Reggie, like, let's put someone's face on the
Speaker 1: Reggie entire thirty about their relationships Spike and and Reggie
Speaker 1: and the rest of the team, the Starks and all
Speaker 1: of it. But it really kind of got jumped off
Speaker 1: at this moment. This is what everything is centered around.
Speaker 1: This is what winning time to me symbolizes. It really
Speaker 1: is because right now everyone's talking about obviously the last
Speaker 1: dance with Jordan's and I just try to I try
Speaker 1: to go back being a fan of the nineties. You know,
Speaker 1: Granted I was a little kid, but I was trying
Speaker 1: to remember like the biggest moments back then, and not
Speaker 1: much really overpowers or stands to the standards of the
Speaker 1: nineties bulls winning championships, but Reggie versus the Knicks, Reggie
Speaker 1: versus Spike, Like it's those moments in sports that transcend
Speaker 1: into pop culture that's just like makes it so important
Speaker 1: and everlasting. And Reggie versus Spike, Reggie Reggie at in
Speaker 1: Madison Square Garden is just iconic. I've been to Madison
Speaker 1: Square Garden once and they have all the jerseys up there,
Speaker 1: Knicks players, Rangers, and I took a picture of it
Speaker 1: and said that they should put Reggie's jersey up there.
Speaker 1: And but Reggie, he shared it because he knows that
Speaker 1: my boom baby love runs deep for him, which maybe
Speaker 1: we'll ask him, But like I feel like every other
Speaker 1: week we post something about Reggie in our He's on
Speaker 1: my favorite hats, Reggie on it, a shirt I love.
Speaker 1: We got engaged in front of his mirror. He's integral
Speaker 1: into our life. So that's my number three. C G
Speaker 1: give us my number three. Perfect segue into it, because
Speaker 1: it's also a Madison Square Garden moment. Game one Eastern
Speaker 1: Conference Semifinals, the Classic, and some people there's some reiterate
Speaker 1: or there's some iterations of this, but I know it
Speaker 1: as the nine points in eight seconds, eight points in
Speaker 1: nine seconds, eight points. Oh yes, yes, two threes and
Speaker 1: two free throws. Sorry, sorry, it's it's my phone threw
Speaker 1: me off. I was talking about it with him earlier,
Speaker 1: but I just rewatched it again recently. Again sometimes also
Speaker 1: it was thirteen points and four set like it's one
Speaker 1: of those things. It's the sand Lot of the Dog
Speaker 1: like it is legend, it is folklore. We do know
Speaker 1: that it was eight points in nine seconds, but it's
Speaker 1: bigger than like, and some people don't count those free
Speaker 1: throws just some people are like, oh, it's six h
Speaker 1: six points in three seconds. Well, once we get out
Speaker 1: of quarantine, I will fight, not physically because I want
Speaker 1: everyone to be safe and healthy, but I we'll go
Speaker 1: to their house and I will scream at them. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so it's that the eight points. But it just again
Speaker 1: it's game one, Madison Square Garden. And this is this
Speaker 1: is what makes Reggie so incredible is that I feel
Speaker 1: like athletes really can make their moments in those moments
Speaker 1: of under pressure, the moments of being counted out. And
Speaker 1: if you're watching this game, and I've watched it a
Speaker 1: couple of times in real time, not recently, but you think,
Speaker 1: oh Nick's home court, I think they were, you know,
Speaker 1: pretty favored the bulls. Were you counted out the Pacers?
Speaker 1: But why would you? Because Reggie he hit that three?
Speaker 1: Then he okay, And this is what's great if you
Speaker 1: go back and rewatch it. Stark stumbles a little bit
Speaker 1: on the inbounds trying to get the inbound passed, and
Speaker 1: then Greg Anthony falls over. There's a little bit of
Speaker 1: there's there's contact contact, but there it's nineties contact. Again,
Speaker 1: We're looking at it as like Lebron contact that they
Speaker 1: used to you could you could get a little rough.
Speaker 1: This is Jordan's push off territory. This is like do
Speaker 1: whatever you can to win, because if he didn't do it,
Speaker 1: he wouldn't have gotten the chance to win this game.
Speaker 1: But yeah, Greg Anthony falls over, Anthony Mason gives the
Speaker 1: worst inbound pass ever seen, and Reggie steals the inbound
Speaker 1: and then this is my favorite part again shout out
Speaker 1: to winning time, which I think is so integral to
Speaker 1: our relationship. He steps back, he takes a dribble back
Speaker 1: behind the three point line and nails it in. My
Speaker 1: favorite line in that thirty is every person being interviewed
Speaker 1: goes having the presence of mind to just know the clock,
Speaker 1: know what points you need and hitting that three like
Speaker 1: it's almost the second he stole that inbound he knew,
Speaker 1: he knew. He's like, oh, this is my shot. Dribble
Speaker 1: back ones shot in and there was no coming back.
Speaker 1: And you you think about the hostile environment he was in,
Speaker 1: probably one of the most hostile environments and sports. Um,
Speaker 1: do you like Reggie? So Reggie he thrives when it's
Speaker 1: those like that's not He's not someone that that shrinks
Speaker 1: away or or can do all the things when people
Speaker 1: are watching, when the spotlight is on him and when
Speaker 1: New Yorkers are pouring booze down on him, He's gonna
Speaker 1: step back and hit that three. Yeah, they were talking
Speaker 1: about again if you rewatch it, like Starks, he gets fouled.
Speaker 1: I think one of the pacers, I mean that's demoralizing,
Speaker 1: are like, yes, They're like Starks isn't gonna make these
Speaker 1: like they knew he would. They weren't going. He clings
Speaker 1: them off the back of the rim. And that's the
Speaker 1: mental games that Reggie was so so good at, is
Speaker 1: getting into your head and just being able to play
Speaker 1: those games and then continue to rise to the occasion. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he so Starks mrs the shots and then Reggie got
Speaker 1: fouled on the rebound and sunk two free throws in
Speaker 1: crunch time, and they want Reggie always makes always and
Speaker 1: that's what you know. Guys like Lebron, you know he
Speaker 1: doesn't make up. I know it's a different Oh sorry,
Speaker 1: I just hit our dryer. Um, I can't believe that's
Speaker 1: your number three. Where do we have well, I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, part of it is there's some personal stuff. Okay, um, alright,
Speaker 1: you ready for my number two? Okay? Game four Eastern
Speaker 1: Conference Finals against against the Chicago Bulls Pacers Bulls Eastern Finals.
Speaker 1: This would give me stomach aches as a child, like
Speaker 1: just you know, you would play, you'd have a day off.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't play days it and they would play. I'd
Speaker 1: go to school, I'd try to focus. That is some
Speaker 1: hoosier mentality where you you guys do the wee thing
Speaker 1: a lot, like you know, we got a big game tomorrow.
Speaker 1: A lot of my Pittsburgh friends do that with the
Speaker 1: Steelers too. I think I learned it from my dad,
Speaker 1: and some people really don't like it. I'm obviously not
Speaker 1: on casers, but I like to think of myself as
Speaker 1: part of the community that's trying to cheer them on.
Speaker 1: So game for Eastern Conference Finals, Reggie, you know there's
Speaker 1: some contact. Uh he he gets away from Jordan's nails
Speaker 1: of three. It was an elimination game. Pacers go on
Speaker 1: to win that game, ended up losing that series in seven.
Speaker 1: But without that, I mean, that's one of the most
Speaker 1: that that that seven game series is like burned in
Speaker 1: my memory. And Game four it was such a thing
Speaker 1: of beauty. My parents were at that game. It was
Speaker 1: and plis and my mom wet her pants, like not
Speaker 1: even it's not not not like first quarter, couldn't get
Speaker 1: to the bathroom during this play. Reggie goes up, she's
Speaker 1: had three kids. Yeah, maybe maybe and this is I'm
Speaker 1: throwing this out there. Maybe for the outchar we bring
Speaker 1: in your parents. Okay, maybe we'll just do a quick
Speaker 1: call with them, but we'll decide that later. But she
Speaker 1: wet her pants, and so like when we told your
Speaker 1: parents that your your whole family in the group text
Speaker 1: that we're going to interview Reggie Miller, mom and your
Speaker 1: dad were like, yep, that's when Googie wet her pants.
Speaker 1: That's a moment. I mean, you were a Bulls fan,
Speaker 1: What was it like watching that? You know, there there
Speaker 1: were times and for some reason I hadn't you know,
Speaker 1: I was kind of naive and delusional as a kid,
Speaker 1: and I just always thought, you know, I was a kid,
Speaker 1: but I was like, the Bulls are gonna pull this off.
Speaker 1: But man, they whenever the Bulls and Pacers. I like,
Speaker 1: one of the biggest like nineties feelings that hasn't left
Speaker 1: me are Sunday you know, the NBA and NBC Sunday games,
Speaker 1: And it was always like Bulls Pacers And I was like,
Speaker 1: the Pacers wins on those games was like, yeah, the
Speaker 1: Bulls are done. Like that was the Pacers always were
Speaker 1: like the number one thread. It was never to me
Speaker 1: like the Jazz or the Sonics. It sounds like it
Speaker 1: was in the East. Who came out of the East
Speaker 1: was in those in those years. And I think just
Speaker 1: Reggie and Jordan's like Reggie was the right kind of
Speaker 1: psychotic to beat Jordan's psych like psychotic because he's just
Speaker 1: right of him. Yeah. Um, And I'm so excited because
Speaker 1: this is the season We're going to get to see
Speaker 1: this in the last dance and see what they do
Speaker 1: with it. Because winning time was so amazing, but it
Speaker 1: just focused really on the Knicks and Reggie rival right,
Speaker 1: I guess you could say Nicks and Pacers, but Reggie
Speaker 1: sort of did it all. I did get like kind
Speaker 1: of offended as they as I was like reading stuff
Speaker 1: and just reminiscing, they were talking about Reggie's how he
Speaker 1: is a Hall of Famer and that he never want
Speaker 1: to ring, and that he had like a not great
Speaker 1: team of supporting characters, and I'm like, god, I really
Speaker 1: loved them. Like as a kid I was young, I
Speaker 1: wasn't gonna be like, we need a different point guard,
Speaker 1: Like I just loved who we have, no I think.
Speaker 1: I mean again, I was a Bulls fan, and after
Speaker 1: Jordan retired that first time, I really didn't find anyone
Speaker 1: else in the NBA who I love. But just like
Speaker 1: thinking back on those Pacers teams, I mean, I just
Speaker 1: today got an Antonio Davis Pacers Championship replica Jersey because
Speaker 1: I forgot, like these were, these were menaces to my
Speaker 1: favorite teams. These guys like Mark Jackson, like these were.
Speaker 1: I almost remember some of the role players more than
Speaker 1: some of the Bulls role players. I believe that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: because if Reggie wasn't having the game. Maybe the Davis
Speaker 1: brothers would defensively, you know, Srace Smith didn't look like
Speaker 1: your typical like you know, but he was like such
Speaker 1: Indiana Jack said he was the only guy who could
Speaker 1: show him down. Yeah, it's and you look at him,
Speaker 1: he's just such a goofy looking guy like that was
Speaker 1: a team of outcasting. You couldnot not outcast, but you
Speaker 1: just couldn't count them out because they would almost find
Speaker 1: a way to annoy you or shut you down. That
Speaker 1: it just scared me as a Bulls fan, a very
Speaker 1: pampered Bulls fan. And I also think they're kind of
Speaker 1: a classic small market team in the sense of it's
Speaker 1: a lot of like fun characters. There's personalities, but they
Speaker 1: are kind of the underdog. When you think Indie and
Speaker 1: Chicago were so close geographically, we're always like, as a kid,
Speaker 1: would be like, we're going to Chicago, and I was like,
Speaker 1: we're going to Paris, going to the big city, which
Speaker 1: is a big city. But we were always like the
Speaker 1: corn Hicks and that was the big city. And so
Speaker 1: to beat up on the big guys felt that much
Speaker 1: better because no other teams really, like, none of your
Speaker 1: other professional teams are really doing it yet, right, Nah,
Speaker 1: this is around the time we got Peyton, and so
Speaker 1: it kind of like transitioned perfectly. It went really from
Speaker 1: like Reggie's rain then into Peyton's rain, and then when
Speaker 1: Reggie Wayne became so popular and so good on the cult,
Speaker 1: I remember being like, well, it's not fair that we're
Speaker 1: so good at chanting Reggie already, like we were just
Speaker 1: born to do that. Yeah, that's all right. My second pick.
Speaker 1: We've talked about it a lot on the podcast, and
Speaker 1: I hope it's not too ouey gooey. I thought getting
Speaker 1: engaged in front of the mural was is my top?
Speaker 1: I love you're saying it was so much question and uncertainty. Well,
Speaker 1: we just talked so much like basketball and Scat's. I
Speaker 1: just it's like that really solidified that Reggie, even though
Speaker 1: we don't really know him that close, is just like
Speaker 1: an important person in our lives because we have a
Speaker 1: lot of sports disagreements. Michael Jordan until recently, very much
Speaker 1: like a taboo subject. I'm coming out of the quarantine
Speaker 1: liking Philip Rivers and Michael. We said that this morning,
Speaker 1: and I was like out and I'm sorry that it
Speaker 1: took our entire economy and country shutting down when I've
Speaker 1: turned a corner on both of them. Yeah, But like
Speaker 1: a little backstory on that whole thing, Like obviously, you know,
Speaker 1: the proposal was in the works for a couple of months,
Speaker 1: and I just knew I wanted to do it in
Speaker 1: Indy and I and you know, we've talked, and I
Speaker 1: know that some of the most important things to hear
Speaker 1: your family and where you're from. And I just was like,
Speaker 1: but where am I gonna do it? In Indie? And
Speaker 1: your mom the week of told me that the Reggie
Speaker 1: Miller mural had gone up. And my mom, no, she
Speaker 1: didn't tell me to do it. No shout out googie,
Speaker 1: she she reminded me. And I was like, perfect, like
Speaker 1: I wanted. And I told this to the wedding journalists
Speaker 1: who's doing a story on our wedding, not to brag,
Speaker 1: but and she was like, I love that. Like I
Speaker 1: just wanted something visual that we would always remember, Like,
Speaker 1: you know, that's where the engaging was. Even though it
Speaker 1: was pretty you pretty much knew it was going to happen. Okay,
Speaker 1: are you gonna feel bad that getting engaged in front
Speaker 1: of the mural? Is is one of my honorable mention No,
Speaker 1: I it's number two on mine. Okay, okay, great, okay,
Speaker 1: So let me get into my honorable mentions. This is
Speaker 1: where I put all my personal ones. My so, Reggie
Speaker 1: and I lived in the same neighborhood growing up, and
Speaker 1: so just like driving by his street, waiting at the
Speaker 1: end of his street, wondering if he was going to
Speaker 1: be around. It was so exciting to get a view
Speaker 1: of him. Um. Once my dad yelled Reggie for governor
Speaker 1: in the Kroger parking lot at him, and I remember
Speaker 1: being like, my dad is so cool. Um, and well
Speaker 1: because like I was like, he could have said mayor,
Speaker 1: but he's like, no, dog, you should run the whole state. Um.
Speaker 1: We would go trigger treating at his house. Once my
Speaker 1: brother went up and was like, I don't want any candy,
Speaker 1: I just want Reggie to sign my trading card, and
Speaker 1: his mom went and got him and he did. And
Speaker 1: one time we lived on this reservoir called Geist and
Speaker 1: Reggie's house was on the water, and so we were
Speaker 1: out on the boat and my childhood friend swam across
Speaker 1: the reservoir to touch Reggie's lawn and then two like
Speaker 1: giant Doberman's came out like rearing out of nowhere, just
Speaker 1: going to kill him. So he's like swimming back so fast,
Speaker 1: but he held his hand above the water because he
Speaker 1: was like, I'm never going to wash this. This touch
Speaker 1: Reggie Millner's lawn. That's how much he meant to us.
Speaker 1: And then last one, my mom once put something called
Speaker 1: the empathy belly, which is a big fake pregnancy belly
Speaker 1: on him. For some reason, my mom was judging a
Speaker 1: pregnant bikini context as a labor and delivery nurse, and
Speaker 1: Reggie was judge. Or you know, if I feel like
Speaker 1: for the sake of Reggie, I'm going to say he
Speaker 1: wasn't there. He was, He was there, and then he
Speaker 1: was gone. And then obviously getting engaged in front of
Speaker 1: his mural and having him comment and say that he
Speaker 1: blessed the marriage. It really were, and we're doing great.
Speaker 1: More than a third of our marriage has been in
Speaker 1: quarantine and we're doing great. We were thanking Reggie for that.
Speaker 1: And so my greatest overall Reggie moment of all time
Speaker 1: is when that you talked about earlier, but it's still
Speaker 1: it's just I think it perfectly captured who he was
Speaker 1: as a pacer and as a basketball player. And that's
Speaker 1: the eight points in nine seconds game one of the
Speaker 1: series against the next Honestly, eight points in nine seconds
Speaker 1: maybe the last thing I say before I die, Like
Speaker 1: it's so when I hear it, I just I perk up.
Speaker 1: It means so much to me. If I heard someone
Speaker 1: like across a party, I would just over there to
Speaker 1: be able to talk about it. Um yeah, as a
Speaker 1: as a nine year old girl, it just was the best. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I don't blame you whatsoever. It just yea. To have
Speaker 1: Reggie as your hometown hero is is awesome and like
Speaker 1: I you know, and I didn't realize that until I
Speaker 1: moved out, you know, out of my hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania,
Speaker 1: when there were you know, no professional teams or anything.
Speaker 1: And I've realized, like, oh yeah, the hometown connection is great.
Speaker 1: And I didn't get to respect or admire many players
Speaker 1: after the Bowls, and I think Reggie was the first person,
Speaker 1: Oh my eyes I remember like in the early you know,
Speaker 1: or like late late two thousand's, I watched Reggie Miller's
Speaker 1: last game on YouTube and I have never been brought
Speaker 1: to tears. And the thing is when I watched it.
Speaker 1: I wasn't even that big a fan of Reggie yet,
Speaker 1: like this is what caused me to then look back
Speaker 1: on every his whole career because I did myself a
Speaker 1: disservice as a young kid watched nothing but Bowl stuff.
Speaker 1: But then to realize what Reggie had done, and then
Speaker 1: just seeing so like Larry Brown calls they they lose,
Speaker 1: They're they're about to lose the game six of the
Speaker 1: of the playoffs against the Pistons two thousand five, and
Speaker 1: everyone in that whole arena knows that it's Reggie's last game,
Speaker 1: and Larry Brown calls the time out and the love
Speaker 1: from every single person in that stadium, and it was
Speaker 1: the perfect time out to call because it was then
Speaker 1: the farewell and like invasion was stretched out. Chauncey billos Ta,
Speaker 1: Shawn Princey, all Cuban hug him. Both coaches Carlisle and
Speaker 1: Larry Brown showed it was the cut to everyone Indiana crying,
Speaker 1: and it was like, this is a person who was
Speaker 1: so beloved and so unique and special to the NBA history.
Speaker 1: It's just like there was no one else like him.
Speaker 1: In the fact that he's now an analyst and continuing
Speaker 1: part of the game during the Kobe tribute that inside
Speaker 1: the NBA did after and he told the story about
Speaker 1: the Black Cat and the Crommel Cat, and I was like,
Speaker 1: Reggie has been a part and instrumental and so many
Speaker 1: like you know, we talked about Jordan, Kobe, Lebral, these guys,
Speaker 1: and Reggie has been there for all of those guys.
Speaker 1: And you know, there's no no one says a bad
Speaker 1: thing about Reggie, and like it really it's been exciting
Speaker 1: to be an NBA fan and like open my eyes
Speaker 1: to other players like that. And I'm like so happy
Speaker 1: that we that I like have learned about Reggie and
Speaker 1: that we've like been in contact with him, and he's
Speaker 1: so nice and so appreciative and just so welcoming with
Speaker 1: his time. And yeah, we're gonna have him on what's
Speaker 1: your number one moment? That's it? His farewell, Oh, his farewell,
Speaker 1: just the farewell. Yeah. I just like there's there's a
Speaker 1: few NBA things that videos I watched that will make
Speaker 1: me tear up, and that's one of them is that
Speaker 1: when he like sat on the scores table and just
Speaker 1: let like the applause wash. It wasn't on the it
Speaker 1: looks like a scores table because he's on the bench
Speaker 1: and no one's sitting around him, and he's just kind
Speaker 1: of like staring blankly. And there are so many moments
Speaker 1: where you're like, I'm done crying, and you're just like
Speaker 1: I don't just the visual of him, it just I don't.
Speaker 1: And you know, maybe he'll tell us, but just like
Speaker 1: maybe his career playing back and where he came from from,
Speaker 1: you know, battling with Cheryl in the driveway, and just
Speaker 1: knowing just everything is accomplished, Like he didn't win a championship.
Speaker 1: And that's why I don't like this chan These championship
Speaker 1: debates are like, oh, you're one of the greatest because
Speaker 1: of you know, this many championships. It's like, no, you
Speaker 1: can't discount a player's achievements and what they've done, you know,
Speaker 1: because because to say Reggie wasn't a great player because
Speaker 1: of that is insane. Like he is better than a
Speaker 1: lot of some of these players who won championships. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and he did it almost all by himself, with a
Speaker 1: bunch of krewa. Yeah, all right, well we'll be right
Speaker 1: back to Reggie. Here we go. Hello, c J. Hey, Reggie,
Speaker 1: how are you doing. I'm great. How are you, my friend?
Speaker 1: We are, H're so good. We're just gonna I'm gonna
Speaker 1: bring you it. Does that work? Okay? All right, and
Speaker 1: we are back with one of the greatest to ever play,
Speaker 1: my favorite NBA player of all time, wearing a shirt
Speaker 1: right now, Reggie. Well, you guys do know that we
Speaker 1: are forever late, yes, right, because you got out on
Speaker 1: bended knee in front of the mural and the Reggie girl,
Speaker 1: and we're forever linked. I know I wasn't making the
Speaker 1: invite to the wedding, but I felt I was there.
Speaker 1: You were there, Oh my gosh. Absolutely. We had shirts.
Speaker 1: Megan's wearing the shirt that I gave her before. I
Speaker 1: was like, you can wear this at the engagement party.
Speaker 1: We had some Reggie and Pacers gear that everyone's wearing
Speaker 1: at the parties during the whole weekend. So like you
Speaker 1: were there. We made sure you were there no matter what.
Speaker 1: I'm so honored that you remember our engagement. Well. I
Speaker 1: just when I saw it brought tears to my eyes.
Speaker 1: You guys have to be cheering up right now just
Speaker 1: thinking of It's awesome. It's just awesome to be a
Speaker 1: part of you. Guys are fantastic work. You guys are
Speaker 1: both so funny and talented. So I'm actually you know
Speaker 1: you're saying that you realize are honored. I'm honored to
Speaker 1: actually be on this podcast with you too. Oh my gosh, Reggie,
Speaker 1: thank you so so so much. First of all, we
Speaker 1: just want to check in and see how you're doing
Speaker 1: in quarantine. We see you've been biking, Yes, a lot
Speaker 1: of biking. But I guess I'm a lot like everyone else.
Speaker 1: I think everyone right about now as you can see
Speaker 1: the you know, the protest going on and everyone's getting
Speaker 1: a little bit of cabin fever. But you know, here
Speaker 1: in California, look, I I love what our governor is doing,
Speaker 1: Davin Newsom. He really cares about the people and the
Speaker 1: longer this goes, which to me, I don't see any
Speaker 1: light at the end of the tunnel quite yet. Uh.
Speaker 1: It's safety first, and you've got to take people's lives,
Speaker 1: and just not the young people's lives. What Mr Newsom
Speaker 1: has done, he's taking everyone's lives, the elderly, white, black,
Speaker 1: whatever it is, they're human beings. He's taken into account
Speaker 1: the lives of people, and to me, that's first and
Speaker 1: foremost and so you know, the stay at home orders.
Speaker 1: I believe it's in extended to the beginning of June,
Speaker 1: maybe to the middle of June. But let's just be
Speaker 1: smart about this and let's respect others believes as well
Speaker 1: and try to help them out. So, yeah, there's a
Speaker 1: lot of cabin fever going on, but I'd rather be
Speaker 1: safe than sorry. Yeah, it's so awesome because like, as
Speaker 1: a FANOM obviously like we're like, oh, we wish we
Speaker 1: could watch NBA basketball, But for someone like your stature,
Speaker 1: who is you know, you're an analyst, you've played and
Speaker 1: you love the sport your whole life, and you're like,
Speaker 1: we can wait, we can wait. Like, let's just be
Speaker 1: safe and when it when it's time to come back,
Speaker 1: we'll come back and it'll be all safe and we're
Speaker 1: not we won't be scared or anything. And I try
Speaker 1: to tell everyone those empty gyms will still be there.
Speaker 1: Staples is not going anywhere. The United Senter and Madison Square, Garden,
Speaker 1: Banker's Life, Field House, They're not going anywhere. Does it
Speaker 1: suck not to have any you know, sporting events right now? Absolutely?
Speaker 1: Because it was the great escape, you know, we went
Speaker 1: to sports that we went to the movie theaters, we
Speaker 1: went to parks to get away from everyday life. When
Speaker 1: all this has been taken away from us, it kind
Speaker 1: of makes us re evaluate things and at some point
Speaker 1: in time, this too shall pass. It may be a while,
Speaker 1: but it will pass, and then we can get back
Speaker 1: to our normal, everyday lives. We went to the drive
Speaker 1: in movies last night. There's one that was like forty
Speaker 1: five minutes east of where we lived that was open,
Speaker 1: and a drive in is like a fun, nostalgic thing,
Speaker 1: but it felt so incredible to be there. We saw
Speaker 1: Raiders of the Lost Ark, which we've seen, and then
Speaker 1: when it was over, everybody started honking their horns and yelling,
Speaker 1: like I do think there's a really strong chance that
Speaker 1: we're going to come out of this even more grateful
Speaker 1: than we've ever been. Not only grateful, but I think
Speaker 1: this is bringing us more so together as well, because,
Speaker 1: as you know, in our everyday lives, it's about work,
Speaker 1: it's about getting ahead. We get focused on on the
Speaker 1: numbers aim of you know, I got to do this,
Speaker 1: this and that, and we forget about the small things.
Speaker 1: And I think it's bringing families closer together now you
Speaker 1: get a chance to check on your neighbor, whereas before
Speaker 1: I know they're there, but I don't need to speak
Speaker 1: with them, right But now you're you look out you
Speaker 1: talk from Afar? Is everything okay? Do you need anything?
Speaker 1: So I hope we keep these lines of a communication
Speaker 1: up and we get back to you know, I loving
Speaker 1: all the face timing and the Instagram lives. You know,
Speaker 1: you get you know, all these battles on Instagram Live.
Speaker 1: It's great to kind of get back and communicate with
Speaker 1: one another. I, for one, I'm a little bit older
Speaker 1: than both of you guys. I grew up and drive
Speaker 1: in movie theaters. So when I saw that picture of
Speaker 1: you guys, brought back memories and it's good to know
Speaker 1: because it's so funny. I was just talking to mom
Speaker 1: a bear about that. We were like, we need to
Speaker 1: find a drive in theater if they're still like showing movies,
Speaker 1: because that's how it used to be. You could like
Speaker 1: eight kids in the car in the band. You put
Speaker 1: the side speaker on the window, you would open up
Speaker 1: the hatch. You would walk to the concession stance and
Speaker 1: all your friends were there, and especially in your you know,
Speaker 1: when you were thirteen fourteen and fifteen, and you know
Speaker 1: your hormones were raised and you're looking for girls. It
Speaker 1: was the best place to be. It felt like a
Speaker 1: movie itself. Yeah, it was great. I was telling Megan,
Speaker 1: I was like, they should show classic playoff games on
Speaker 1: this like people because we went and saw Indian people
Speaker 1: will go back and watch the nostalgic stuff, the whole feeling.
Speaker 1: And if we got to watch full games, like I
Speaker 1: would be down for that. I think, you know, sports
Speaker 1: fans want any sort of sports, Like we're all watching
Speaker 1: The Last Dance right now, and people are just loving
Speaker 1: reminiscing right now. So I don't know. Ding alert with
Speaker 1: the Brain store calling someone I you are you playing
Speaker 1: like a daddy teacher at home? Are you teaching your kids? Absolutely?
Speaker 1: The homeschooling. It's it's funny because you guys all remember
Speaker 1: that show How to Be Smarter Than Are You Greater? Right?
Speaker 1: So when my kids are kindergarten and he's six and
Speaker 1: a half and my baby girl is three and a half,
Speaker 1: so she's still in pre K. But some of the
Speaker 1: stuff that they know, I'm scratching my head. Guys, I'm like,
Speaker 1: wait a minute, I have to look at it. Twice.
Speaker 1: I'm like, what great are you? Wait again, it's like
Speaker 1: they kindergarten. I'm like, okay, so thank god for Mama Bear,
Speaker 1: who is the smartest person in the house. Um, but
Speaker 1: it's been different because we try to keep the kids
Speaker 1: on somewhat of a normal scheduling. So the home schooling
Speaker 1: starts around nine a m ish. But they're up by
Speaker 1: like six thirties. So the kids breakfast, we do the hair,
Speaker 1: they get normal playtime, and then she has them in
Speaker 1: their chair getting ready for zoom because now they've done
Speaker 1: the virtual schooling, they get to interact with their teachers
Speaker 1: and their classmates. So, you know, class darts at nine
Speaker 1: oh one and it goes to about noon. And but yeah,
Speaker 1: that new school and that new men. What happened to
Speaker 1: counting on your fingers and all that? I wish if
Speaker 1: they asked a homework question was like how do you
Speaker 1: shut down the garden and crunch time? Like that? I
Speaker 1: can answer I can answer that. Well. Okay, So the
Speaker 1: premise of our podcast, and we only have you for
Speaker 1: a limited time here, but we figured we maybe kind
Speaker 1: of do like a speed round of you know, we
Speaker 1: we we discussed the greatest and in the early part
Speaker 1: of this episode, we discussed your greatest moments in our opinion,
Speaker 1: and so we thought, maybe we can ask you some
Speaker 1: of your greatest moments, specific moments. Maybe you can just
Speaker 1: you know, answer some of those off if if you're
Speaker 1: cool with that, Okay, let's do it all right, Okay,
Speaker 1: So first up, is greatest basketball moment with Cheryl? I
Speaker 1: would probably say watching her win a gold medal in
Speaker 1: the nineteen four l a Olympics um That was probably
Speaker 1: the biggest joy for a younger brother to watch an
Speaker 1: older sibling being on the world stage and to achieve,
Speaker 1: you know, because back then the Olympics were huge with
Speaker 1: what everyone wanted to do was win a gold medal.
Speaker 1: To see her on that stage was probably a crowning
Speaker 1: moment for myself. Amazing was that? Did they play at
Speaker 1: the Forum? They played? Yes, I believe? Or the all
Speaker 1: a Sports three? Now I believe? The hometown and did
Speaker 1: she let you hold it? Afterwards? I started, I got
Speaker 1: you visited it all the time, Yes, until I got
Speaker 1: my own nine and I got her stole hers until
Speaker 1: I got mine. We were talking about it earlier in
Speaker 1: the episode about just the rosters, the guys you played
Speaker 1: with on these Pacers teams. So who is your greatest
Speaker 1: teammate in your opinion, Not to you know, pick favorites,
Speaker 1: but maybe, oh come on, kids, you know your favorite child. Look,
Speaker 1: I was very fortunate to play with some unbelievable guys.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna say who my favorite is in no
Speaker 1: particular order. Obviously Mark Jackson, my two Davis boys who
Speaker 1: were my enforcer, Antonio and Jel Davis. Obviously the Dunking
Speaker 1: Dutchman and Rick Smith's, Derek McKee, Verne Flemming, Chuck Person,
Speaker 1: Haywood Workman, uh LaSalle Thompson, Sam Mitchell. All these guys
Speaker 1: helped shape me, especially when I was younger, like Herb Williams,
Speaker 1: Steve Stepanovitch. A lot of people don't remember, well, I
Speaker 1: was first drafted waymon Tisville. Those guys kind of like
Speaker 1: helped raise me my first two or three years until
Speaker 1: I figured out what I was doing. And then you know,
Speaker 1: to be paired with, you know, guys like Jalen and
Speaker 1: Chris Mullins and more importantly like the great coaches on
Speaker 1: Dr Jack Ramsey, Larry Bird, Larry Brown, Rick Carlisle. So
Speaker 1: to be a Pacer fan and to be a part
Speaker 1: of Pacer Nation. I have been truly blessed. You took
Speaker 1: this down. Memory can take your favorite child. You gave
Speaker 1: us all of them. And that's what we heard Vernet Fleming,
Speaker 1: and I was like, I gotta tell danielle Um greatest
Speaker 1: three point shooter besides you? Okay, well the look the
Speaker 1: easy answer would be Ray Allen or f Curage because
Speaker 1: those two guys right now, Ray has the record in
Speaker 1: Staff is going to break the record. But I'm someone
Speaker 1: of an old school guys. The best shooter I've ever
Speaker 1: seen and played again and unfortunately God took him way
Speaker 1: too soon from us was Draws in Petro. I don't
Speaker 1: know if you guys that name. He was drafted by
Speaker 1: Portland's and then he really made his name when he
Speaker 1: was with the New Jersey Nets playing alongside Derrick Coleman
Speaker 1: and was in a car accident when I believe he
Speaker 1: was guys, I mean shoot with range, quickness, hand in
Speaker 1: your face, arguably the greatest shooter in a limited time
Speaker 1: that I probably have ever seen. In terms of longevity
Speaker 1: and records, I would say Ray and Staff alright. Greatest
Speaker 1: moment as a sports analyst, I would probably have to say,
Speaker 1: well again, I'll bring Ray up because I was in
Speaker 1: the building calling his game versus the Los Angeles Lakers
Speaker 1: when he broke by three point record, not only to
Speaker 1: be working the game, being in the building, but to
Speaker 1: have him come over during the middle of the game,
Speaker 1: and we embraced it because I know how hard for shooters.
Speaker 1: I know the hours you've got to put in, and
Speaker 1: Ray is one of those guys a lot like me,
Speaker 1: military background, a little bit anal in terms of, you know,
Speaker 1: working tiresully hours on your craft. Probably being in the
Speaker 1: building when he broke by three point record was probably
Speaker 1: one of the highlights of my broadcasting career. That's so
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm so petty. I would have been like,
Speaker 1: that's one of my worst money. Okay, we have one
Speaker 1: more for you. C J mentioned the last dance. I'm
Speaker 1: not sure if you're watching because you're like, I of it.
Speaker 1: I can't wait for your episode. Um, but what is
Speaker 1: your greatest Michael Jordan's memory? Are you did you they memory?
Speaker 1: Or nightmare? You have great? I have nightmare going against
Speaker 1: mushing off on him. Look, there's so many. Because the
Speaker 1: rules want more than my beloved pacers beat them. We
Speaker 1: had moments versus the Bulls, but overall they won the
Speaker 1: ultimate prize. Obviously, that epic seven game series that we had.
Speaker 1: One thing I do tell people, I wish we would
Speaker 1: have had more of. If you think about this my career,
Speaker 1: in his career, we only faced each other that one
Speaker 1: series out of our whole careers in the nineties. That
Speaker 1: was it, that seven game series. So I wish we
Speaker 1: would have had I would have had more chances at him.
Speaker 1: I probably wouldn't have liked it, but I wish I
Speaker 1: would have. Just that's just the competitor in me. Ut.
Speaker 1: I think the greatest moment that I had playing against him,
Speaker 1: or just ever about MJ. Because if I'm going ever,
Speaker 1: it's his epic sixty three point game versus Boston. But
Speaker 1: I believe his second year in the playoffs because I
Speaker 1: remember being at u c l A in my dorm,
Speaker 1: like my jaw dropped to the floor watching this unbelievable
Speaker 1: performance because I grew up a Larry Bird fan. That
Speaker 1: was my guy. And to see how he just destroyed
Speaker 1: the Celtics and Larry Bird even though they lost the game,
Speaker 1: I was like, WHOA. And then once I get to
Speaker 1: the league and I'm like, oh god, I played the
Speaker 1: same position as this dude. I gotta go against him.
Speaker 1: It was a little bit of a different story because
Speaker 1: those numbers were coming against me. So, look, we've had
Speaker 1: our battles. You know, we talked a lot of trash
Speaker 1: talk between the two of us. I highly look, I
Speaker 1: call him to goat. He is the greatest of all
Speaker 1: time in my opinion, but it isn't me. And I
Speaker 1: was going to bow down to them CJ. Megan. So
Speaker 1: we had our battles. I respected him and the Bulls,
Speaker 1: but damn, I just wanted to beat those dudes that
Speaker 1: I didn't want to be. I mean it's because of
Speaker 1: those battles. Like Megan and I just on a relationship
Speaker 1: just as friends. We would because I was a huge
Speaker 1: Bulls fan growing up and obviously she was a huge
Speaker 1: Pacers fan. I love both of you guys, but it
Speaker 1: was our arguments, you know, and and talking about She's
Speaker 1: coming around. But we just want to thank you so
Speaker 1: much for, you know, even just indulging us when we
Speaker 1: comment on your social media or you know, getting engaged
Speaker 1: and you're sharing the love. It's it's really felt over here,
Speaker 1: and we just want to thank you for all the
Speaker 1: memories and everything you continue to do. You are my
Speaker 1: go and you are my favorite person to watch win
Speaker 1: ever in my life. I love you so much, Megan,
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, c J. I appreciate the love. Again.
Speaker 1: I will say this, like I topped off the show,
Speaker 1: we are forever linked and for you guys to come
Speaker 1: together as a union and to start that in front
Speaker 1: of the Regimural in Indianapolis. I'm honored to be on
Speaker 1: this podcast. Thank you guys so much again for people
Speaker 1: you guys don't know who. These two are funny as head,
Speaker 1: talented and the sky is the limit. So thank you
Speaker 1: guys so much for having me on. Thank you. Boom baby,
Speaker 1: boom boom boom boom baby. Stay safe, We'll talk soon.
Speaker 1: Thank you Reggie so so much. Oh, you guys are
Speaker 1: the best. Thank you guys so much. Appreciate it and
Speaker 1: be safe. That was awesome. He's the best. That was awesome.
Speaker 1: I can't believe he came on. Thank you so so much, Reggie.
Speaker 1: Thank you everyone for listening to this very special episode
Speaker 1: of the Greatest. We hope you guys are all doing
Speaker 1: great and hopefully we can get more guests just like that.
Speaker 1: Just like Reggie. I don't know if anything's no one
Speaker 1: else like Reggie, but you know, we have been watching
Speaker 1: a lot of shack life and I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: about the behind the scenes. Yeah. Maybe. Yeah, We'll put
Speaker 1: check on our our wish list. Guys, please share a
Speaker 1: subscribe review the podcast. We appreciate you listening so so much.
Speaker 1: Tell your friends about it, Send us suggestions. We love
Speaker 1: when you guys. Tweet us. Um different you know, episode ideas. People,
Speaker 1: we forgot things, we messed up. Yeah, give us five
Speaker 1: star reviews. If you're inclined to give a one star review,
Speaker 1: you can just DM me the negative with the negative
Speaker 1: feelings and I will screenshot them and put it on
Speaker 1: my Instagram. Other than that, you can follow us at
Speaker 1: c J Toldano and at Megan Gaily and we are
Speaker 1: sending you lots of love, hope you and your family
Speaker 1: are safe and healthy, and we will talk to you
Speaker 1: next week. Thanks, talk to you soon. M M The
Speaker 1: Greatest is a production of I Heart Radio. For more
Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heeart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.