WEBVTT - #thisleague UNCUT: Marc J. Spears! 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:02.520 Welcome to this League Uncut. 0:00:03.720 --> 0:00:06.440 Rule of twenty four hour NBA News. This is you, 0:00:08.600 --> 0:00:17.280 Chris Hans. It's time, works time, it's so time. This 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:21.919 League Uncut is underway and on fire. This should be 0:00:21.920 --> 0:00:24.079 a good one. 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:31.680 Friends, Welcome in to a long awaited return edition of 0:00:31.720 --> 0:00:35.440 This League Uncut. You guys got to know. It's the 0:00:35.440 --> 0:00:38.640 time of year. In August, in September, we. 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:39.360 Only do. 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:44.080 A few episodes per month. We do dial it back 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:48.160 to recharge for the season ahead. In October we will 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:51.760 be back to full speed, two pods a week. But 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:55.800 we had to get together for this because this past 0:00:55.800 --> 0:01:01.240 weekend absolutely momentous for the league as a whole, but 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:08.640 also on a personal level. Because our dear friend Mark Spears, 0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:13.200 former teammate for both Chris and I, former neighbor in 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:18.839 the Bubble co resident of the famed Walt Disney World 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:21.800 Bubble in Orlando, we all live together for a summer, 0:01:22.600 --> 0:01:25.920 We all work together. Now we all three work for 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:30.640 separate entities, but we remain family. And this League Uncut 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:37.319 wanted to give a formal, official, directly delivered verbal hat 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:41.600 tip to mister Spears because he is the twenty twenty 0:01:41.640 --> 0:01:45.840 three winner of the Kurt Goudi Award for Print Media Excellence, 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:49.520 awarded by the Basketball Hall of Fame. There is no 0:01:49.960 --> 0:01:55.560 higher honor in our profession, and it is now officially 0:01:56.480 --> 0:02:00.000 in Mark spears possession. He got his ring on Friday, 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:03.360 gave a beautiful speech, both he and Holly Row. Holly Row, 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:07.000 of course from ESPN, the Electronic Division, winner of the 0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:10.799 Kirk Goudi Award for twenty twenty three. Beautiful speeches from 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:15.360 both of them, as graded by my wife who watched 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:17.959 them both on television. I was privileged to be in 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:22.679 the audience for it. A hearty welcome from Haines and 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:28.760 Stein to Mark Spears, kurk Goudi winner. How does it feel, man? 0:02:29.240 --> 0:02:31.480 How different do you feel every morning now when you 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:31.960 wake up? 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:32.600 Man? 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:37.079 I got that ring in the hallway, you know, hiding out, 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:41.160 but something to look at. And you know, now we're 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:43.400 teammates again, right where teammates in the Hall of Fame. 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:48.639 Chris will get there one day too. No, I've been really. 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:55.400 Trying to put in perspective everything and it's been very difficult, 0:02:57.760 --> 0:02:59.960 you know, because, as you said, this is the highest honor. 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:04.760 I'm not like, respectfully thinking, I don't even know what 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:07.760 else compares, right, Maybe something with an ABJ. 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:10.079 Hall of Fame or something may mean something to me too. 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:16.640 But to be on that list where you see Jackie 0:03:16.840 --> 0:03:23.880 and Aldridge and will Bond and you know Smith and 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:26.880 Stein and Ryan. 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:28.800 And don't put me in there, all. 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:33.079 These like legendary McMullen, you know, all these legendary names, 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:39.680 Pete VESSI Yeah, it's just it's really humbling, and it 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:44.280 feels amazing to know that as long as that building exists, 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:48.320 my name will be in it. Right now, you might 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:53.040 if you blink, you might miss it. 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:53.760 It's in there. 0:03:54.200 --> 0:04:00.120 And it's funny Mark because you know, like usually they 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:01.960 have events at the Hall of Fame, but they didn't 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:07.120 have any at all other than like post parties. So 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:10.520 I had to like get snuck into the Hall of 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:12.200 Fame so I could see my name because I was like, 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:15.520 I can't leave without seeing my name on this thing. 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:19.200 And my mom had went the night before, and like 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:22.960 that picture of my mom standing next to like where 0:04:23.000 --> 0:04:26.240 my name was means more to me than my picture 0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:29.920 next to it, man, just the fact that you know, 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:32.760 my mom saw it, and I can celebrate my mom 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:34.280 and my wife, my dad, my. 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:37.520 Sister, all these folks that are important to me, and. 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:43.560 I don't get there without them like that, like the 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:46.240 fact that my mom got to stand up at the 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:50.920 speech and do her little you know, Miss America wave 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:54.280 and all that like that, all those moments are like 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:57.520 priceless to me. So as you can see, I'm still 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:00.520 trying to figure out how to feel about it. 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:01.800 Spears. When you. 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:08.000 When you're inducted, I want you to take me through 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:10.400 a little bit of your journey, your path because me 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:13.840 seeing you up there is like it's it's personal to 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:17.680 me because you're my guy first and foremost, but. 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:21.120 I think we have similar paths. 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:22.480 And when I. 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:24.839 See you up there doing that man like that, that 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:25.640 brings me so. 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:32.800 Much joy because you aren't supposed to be up there, man, 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:34.080 you know what I mean. 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:36.920 It wasn't set up for you to. 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:37.400 Be up there. 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:40.440 So when you're looking through your background, when you're looking 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:44.080 at the beginnings, and. 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:46.880 I was like, remember the video game Dragons Layer, I. 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:57.480 Feel like talk, let's go real, talk. Tell me it's 0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:01.039 just just through you know, the the path to flight 0:06:01.480 --> 0:06:04.640 to get to get to that point and what resonates 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:06.200 with you when you think about all that. 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:09.680 You know, a lot of it starts with the beginning. Man. 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:12.479 You know, I wasn't no great student, not that I 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:16.119 couldn't have been a great student. I was, you know, Chris, 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:18.280 you know it, like you know, in a lot of ways, 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:22.719 you're a product or your environment. And if people don't 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:25.760 get on you about grades, if people don't tell you 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:29.559 what could happen if you don't succeed in that realm, 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:34.440 and how much more difficult it could be, then you 0:06:34.440 --> 0:06:37.600 know you're you're you're going to suffer through it. And 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:41.160 so like I learned. The great thing though, was I 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:44.880 did find out in the seventh grade, which really put 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:46.240 me ahead of the game, that I wanted to be 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:49.040 a sports writer. I grew up reading Sports Illustrated as 0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:51.920 a kid and reading the Santas and Mercury News and 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:56.279 reading anything sports. I just read the sports page in 0:06:56.320 --> 0:06:59.839 the morning. And then in the seventh grade, you know, 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:02.359 guy from the Warriors came to my junior high school, 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:06.240 Silvindale Junior High School in San Jose, And at this point, 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:08.240 I'm like in love with the game of basketball. I'm 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:11.240 going to sand Lea State basketball camp. You know, I'm 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:13.760 dreaming of playing in the NBA. And for some reason, 0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:15.200 the guy asked me what I wanted to do when 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:16.560 I grew up, and I said, I want to play 0:07:16.600 --> 0:07:19.520 for y'all. I'm playing the NBA. And he's like, but 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:21.760 what if you get hurt? What if something happens to you? 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:24.360 And I just remember that he saw this stat in 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:27.080 Sports Illustrated at that time, and you know this was, 0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:30.760 you know, dating myself. This is eighty four, so the 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:34.880 influx and international NBA players starning correct me, it hasn't. 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:36.440 Happened yet five years away. 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:39.480 The bonus is there. Maybe there's a handful of guys. 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:42.920 Not really, but it said that less than two percent 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:45.840 of all college basketball players make it to the NBA. 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:47.640 And that stat really struck a chord with me. 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:51.280 So when the guy from the Warriors said that, I 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:53.520 thought about it and I'm like, wow, you know this, 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:55.720 this is I'd be really hard to make the league. 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:58.920 And he said, well, you combined with what you love 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:01.440 most in life and what you do best in school, 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:03.840 you have a job you're happy with every day. So 0:08:03.880 --> 0:08:06.239 I thought about it. I sucked in science, I sucked 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:09.920 in math, but I could write I love sports. I'm 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:13.560 reading Sports Illustrated to Mercurynews every day, like why not 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:16.240 be a sports writer? I was like, I kind of 0:08:16.280 --> 0:08:18.200 came up with the idea, the next best thing is 0:08:18.200 --> 0:08:21.040 to be there if I can't play there. And so 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:23.040 I wrote a letter to Mark Purdy from the sounds 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:25.800 of Mercurynews, who and I think Stein's probably met him 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:30.800 longtime legendary Calmas and he literally Chris in the seventh 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:34.400 grade wrote me back, tell me everything I needed to 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:38.200 do from seventh grade through college to be a sports writer. Like, 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:41.720 come on, man, like, how many like how many letters 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:44.320 and email? Not letters, but how many emails do we get? 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:47.960 How many instagram like things that we get? So I 0:08:48.120 --> 0:08:52.160 try to like take those seriously because, like, I know, 0:08:52.200 --> 0:08:55.400 it made an impact on me that somebody like I 0:08:55.440 --> 0:09:00.839 didn't meet Purty until like twenty four years later at 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:02.000 the Beijing Olympics. 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:05.560 But if he didn't write that letter, I'm not here right. 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:07.120 So then I go to. 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:07.920 That is amazing. 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:09.520 That is amazing that he did. 0:09:09.400 --> 0:09:11.640 That, And now we don't even have a path to 0:09:11.640 --> 0:09:15.440 write down. At least that is what you and I had. 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:17.959 It didn't guarantee you were going to get there, but 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:20.959 at least there was a blueprint to follow nowadays, there 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:22.079 isn't even a blueprint. 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:25.520 And he's like, right about writing on the school paper 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:27.560 in junior high, I was writing on the school paper 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:30.000 in the seventh grade cover the eight grade flag football team. 0:09:30.520 --> 0:09:31.440 That's where the mark J. 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:34.480 Spears came from. 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:39.000 Christian I never told you that. No, No, it's. 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:43.200 The seventh grader's decision to put the J there. That's why. 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:44.280 That's why it's there. 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:49.000 That was my first byline on a go to eight 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:51.880 grade flag football team, and I just kept it that way. 0:09:52.040 --> 0:09:54.760 And anybody's like, take all the typing classes you can 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:57.200 in high school, and I took typing one, two, and three, 0:09:57.240 --> 0:10:00.520 which and you guys know is important to learn how 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:05.480 to type right, and. 0:10:03.480 --> 0:10:05.360 It still didn't learn how to do it right. 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:08.320 Yeah, And then in college, he said, take as many 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:11.640 internships she was possible writing the school paper. So I 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:14.880 was definitely not getting drafted with my little pivoty college 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:17.880 basketball career. But you know, by the time I was 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:21.280 graduating from college and then I entered at the Dallas 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:25.720 Morning News after I graduated, I felt like a first 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:28.360 round pick in terms of talent as a journalist, as 0:10:28.400 --> 0:10:31.640 a writer. You know, National Association Black journalists helped me 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:36.880 with that too, and so but where I messed up 0:10:36.920 --> 0:10:38.960 my high school grades weren't good. I was basically like 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:41.920 I just needed two point zero to be eligible, and 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:46.079 I had an opportunity to play basketball Columbia University out 0:10:46.120 --> 0:10:46.800 of high school. 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:48.439 Ivy League school and. 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:51.240 The top journalists and programs in the country, and they 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:52.760 wanted me till they saw my grades. 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.160 So I had to go to junior college route. 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:57.600 So in a lot of ways, I could have made 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:00.800 the path a lot easier for me, you know, coming 0:11:00.960 --> 0:11:02.800 going from my Ivy League school. But as one of 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:05.400 my friends told me, man, it all worked out. I 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:08.760 I just had to go to alternative JUCO D two 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:14.880 D one route to finally end up graduating and getting 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:18.240 an opportunity to get into this business. 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:22.840 You are, you know, I always say. For me, I 0:11:23.000 --> 0:11:25.560 felt like I was so lucky and that I had 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:28.640 so many mentors when I was really young when I 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:34.160 started out, and so I love being older now and 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:39.080 I've always loved being a mentor when I can. But 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:42.400 you are the mentor, like so many people who cover 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:45.800 the league, you know. Malika Andrews was up there hosting 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:49.600 the ceremonies on Friday Night, and she was telling everybody 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:53.520 stories of you mentoring her when she was just a 0:11:53.559 --> 0:11:58.040 college student. What do you remember about when Chris Haynes 0:11:58.080 --> 0:11:59.200 blipped onto your radar? 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:04.680 Man, No, Christians story is really interesting and I don't 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:06.800 know if it's really documented. I think you might have 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:09.560 talked about it once. I mean, you do so many 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:11.640 podcasts you probably I can't keep up. 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:16.079 I remember. 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:18.680 So the interesting thing about Chris was like he just 0:12:18.720 --> 0:12:22.200 showed up around out of nowhere in Portland and it's 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:27.040 just like brother in the locker room and Wide Eye Bush, 0:12:27.080 --> 0:12:32.199 you tell dude. And he made you pay attention because 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:35.600 he was getting these scoops from Dame and CJ. Like 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:39.120 he's like, you know, you're on hoops HIPing like Chris Haynes. 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:43.800 They hell is Chris Hanes? Like where's he getting this information? 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:46.280 I'm going to tell the Quincy pondexter story after. 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:51.439 This and so but in a lot of ways, he 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.800 was able to figure out a way to break news 0:12:54.800 --> 0:12:56.360 from the Portland Beat and you were like working for 0:12:56.520 --> 0:13:02.880 SLAM as a part time dude, right, and so he's 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:06.120 breaking these news and it made you pay attention to like, 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:09.640 all right, who's this this this cat, like who is 0:13:09.760 --> 0:13:14.840 Chris Hayes, right, Like you know, like who is Jill Scott? 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:17.720 Who's Chris Hages Like We're trying to figure this out, right. 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:20.320 So then I'm going to some games there and we met, 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:23.880 and I mean, Chris probably could tell this portion better. 0:13:23.920 --> 0:13:25.360 I was encouraging him to be a part of n 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:27.800 NBJ and what can I do to help you? And 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:31.559 his ability to break news eventually gave him an opportunity 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:37.480 with NBC Northwest And that's when you know, you start 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:40.840 seeing on TV and he starts bringing out is his 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:46.000 comedic personality and you know, starts talking crazy and all that. 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:51.599 But he had scoop, he had news, and so I 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:53.880 don't know if this story has ever been told, Like 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:59.920 Lebron goes back to Cleveland and Chris and I talk 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:04.280 about the Cavaliers be and at that time I was 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:09.040 Charita n ABJS Sports Task Force, which is basically the 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:13.640 Black Sports Writers Group, and Chris correct me if I'm wrong. 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:13.880 Man. 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:16.440 I was like, Chris, you got to get this job, man, 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:20.720 you got this job at the Plaine Dealer comes and 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:22.520 you need to apply and I'm gonna put in a 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:27.720 word for you. And he applied and ended up getting it. 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:30.880 And you got to remember that Chris wasn't coming from 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:36.280 the typical newspaper background, and so I told Chris, I 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:38.280 don't know if anybody else is Chris. 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:43.600 So I said, Chris, I. 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:45.640 Didn't want to do it too. I did not want 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:47.640 to do it, But go ahead. 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:49.840 Chris, can you write on deadline? Because he hadn't had 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:52.440 to do it, he was writing for a website and 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:53.280 then writing for him. 0:14:53.520 --> 0:14:55.280 I like, but do you know how to write game 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:58.040 stories on deadline? He's like no. 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:02.240 I said, well, you can't go there and not know 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:03.880 how to write stories on deadline. 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:04.680 Man. 0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:08.640 He's like, oh man, I'm like, look, I want you to, 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:11.680 like all these Summer League games you're going to, whether 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:15.320 you're at home or whether you're there, I want you 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:19.160 to write deadline on these Summer League games as if 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:20.040 you're covering them. 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:25.200 So Stein, I'm pissed because because I went to Summer League, 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:28.320 but I'm transitioning to covering the CAF. So I technically 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:31.440 didn't have to work. So my plan was to be 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:34.560 in Summer League, at Summer League in Vegas and network 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:38.640 and just like talk talk to people. But Spears was 0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:40.720 like no, I need you to write like send me 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:44.000 gamers right at the buzzer for some of the some 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.520 of the games which required me to go to games 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:50.240 that I had no desire to go see or watch 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:53.680 and go do it. But I know I did it 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:57.040 because it was right. I never was I was never 0:15:57.080 --> 0:15:57.760 on deadline. 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:01.120 That is an awesome big brother thing to do, though, 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:03.080 to make you do that. 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:04.360 You know that you know that story. 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:06.160 I never I never knew that story. 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:09.920 He did it, He did it. He did more than 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:11.760 three or four games I think he did. 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:14.440 Yeah, with quotes and with quotes and everything. 0:16:14.960 --> 0:16:17.000 Like, oh yeah, I made him updated with quotes. 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:21.440 Yeah maybe yeah, maybe turn the game are in like 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:23.080 real inside baseball stuff. 0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:26.640 But this is no I'm sure young journalism students want 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:27.080 to hear this. 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.680 Yeah, so he you know, because if you don't know, 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:31.920 it's easy to say, yeah, I want to go cover 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:33.760 this team and whatever. But you got to learn how 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:36.000 to write on deadline if you're writing for a newspaper 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:38.280 or writing for a place that covers a team, because 0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:41.400 you got it. So that was the one piece that 0:16:41.480 --> 0:16:43.000 he had to learn. Like he knew how to write 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:44.960 a feature story. He knew how to write a news story. 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:48.960 But Stern, you know this, that's coming up in the 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:53.200 newspaper ranks. If he couldn't write on deadline, those editors, 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:57.720 those copy editors, would have destroyed him, absolutely destroyed him 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:01.400 and perhaps even destroyed his career. So then he did it, 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:04.960 kept getting better, mastered it, so by the time he 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:07.239 got to Cleveland it was an issue. They didn't even know. 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:10.359 I promise you, if any of my former editors are listing, 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:13.359 they'll say Stein never learned how to write on it. 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:17.480 That's a bomb for David. That's really that's really good. 0:17:17.680 --> 0:17:19.679 No, never told that story. Yeah he did. 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:22.000 And how did you do? How? How did you did 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:22.920 you pick it up quick? 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:25.240 I wouldn't say I picked it up quick because it 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:27.119 was it was definitely a learning experience. 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:30.520 I didn't. It's tough, like especially like some games. 0:17:30.560 --> 0:17:33.160 And this is where I realized, like the process of 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:37.000 writing stories at the Buzzer is that some games. 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:39.280 Sometimes most games, you probably had to have. 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:43.000 A good feel who's going to win, and so you 0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:46.080 could kind of build seventy five percent of your your 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:48.520 article probably by the end of you know, by the 0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:52.919 start the fourth quarter. But the problem is when that 0:17:52.960 --> 0:17:55.600 game is back and forth, especially in the last minutes 0:17:55.640 --> 0:17:58.520 of the game. You're doing a lot of deleting, a 0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:01.720 lot of correcting, and it gets tough, and those are 0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:04.439 the tough, toughest games. And so that's what I found 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:07.399 out during Summer League, Like, damn, okay, I'm going to 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:10.360 have to figure out how to get better at these 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:13.960 games that are close to the end, because you know, 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:16.920 you you have to highlight key moments during the game, 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:19.119 but when a moment is so when a game is 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:21.520 going back and forth, you really don't know what that 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:24.280 key moment is until the end of the game. 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:28.280 And so that that that definitely helped me. I wasn't prepared. 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:29.840 I didn't have that experience before. 0:18:30.359 --> 0:18:33.480 And could you imagine taking the starting that job and 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:35.320 being green on that No. 0:18:35.880 --> 0:18:38.480 Well, his I mean, Chris, Chris's story should be a movie. 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:41.199 I mean that what you what you know, how you 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:46.800 broke in. I mean, I've never heard a story like Bodyguard. Yeah, 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:51.200 you know, because again I think I think I think 0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:56.240 we were I think we were lucky that at least 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:59.520 we had the path. Again, there were no guarantees, but 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:03.560 you know, you started out answering phones, covering high schools 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:06.000 and you knew how to work your way up and 0:19:06.080 --> 0:19:07.879 you know, with survival of the fitness from there. But 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:10.320 at least there was a path. I feel so sad 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:13.840 when I talk to college kids now because there is 0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:16.879 no clear cut path. There is no Mark Purty to 0:19:16.920 --> 0:19:19.720 even write to it. Most of the newspaper staffs. 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:22.760 I'm gonna disagree with you with that, because you know 0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:25.240 you'd be glum talking to these kids. Man, I gotta 0:19:25.240 --> 0:19:29.439 get you to perk up. He was coming in with 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:33.000 this black cloud, you know what I mean. Like you're 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:36.520 doing quite well. I'm doing quite well, Broke bro Like 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:41.280 there's a path. But I actually think it's easier for 0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:44.080 these kids now because they can blindly send me an 0:19:44.080 --> 0:19:47.000 email on or a message on Instagram. 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:49.920 They could blindly go to LinkedIn and I'm not a LinkedIn. 0:19:49.680 --> 0:19:53.000 Person, but hit me there and perhaps I you know, 0:19:53.680 --> 0:19:56.560 but there have been conversations I've had with kids who 0:19:57.359 --> 0:20:00.199 send me a message on Instagram or send me a 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:02.720 tweed or something like that. And there been times where 0:20:03.560 --> 0:20:05.879 you know, we all get quite busy, but it's that 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:10.880 the squeaky wheel person. Hey man, hey man, I'm here. 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:14.520 That typically I'm the one, they're the one. I end up, 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:17.440 you know, getting on the phone with when it's it's 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:18.639 difficult to get on the phone. 0:20:18.640 --> 0:20:21.440 But there is like this. 0:20:22.800 --> 0:20:26.640 Mark Purty guilt that I always have, like it's their 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:30.719 access to us is so easy. Now you can't I 0:20:30.760 --> 0:20:35.000 can't talk to fifty people, right, Yeah, So I hope 0:20:35.040 --> 0:20:38.600 it's like podcasts like this or other things that like 0:20:38.680 --> 0:20:42.040 they have the ability now to go on Google and 0:20:42.720 --> 0:20:46.200 or YouTube and hear Stein's story, hear my story here, 0:20:46.280 --> 0:20:49.120 Chris's story, And even if they don't get a chance 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:51.280 to speak to us, there's so many ways that they 0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:53.320 could hear be inspired by what we did. 0:20:54.160 --> 0:20:55.720 Let me start, let me add this. 0:20:55.880 --> 0:20:59.320 Yeah, a couple more on background with Spears and how 0:20:59.359 --> 0:21:06.800 we met. We actually we actually I emailed Spears and 0:21:08.160 --> 0:21:12.240 before I was this is my bodyguard stage, so it's 0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:16.239 my bodyguard fade. So I actually emailed Spears and tell 0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:18.040 him about what I wanted to do. And he was 0:21:18.080 --> 0:21:21.240 the first one that told me about in ABJ National 0:21:21.240 --> 0:21:24.800 Association Black Journalists like coming to the convention. And I've 0:21:24.840 --> 0:21:27.240 never heard of it before, so first time I've heard 0:21:27.280 --> 0:21:31.000 about it. So I actually met him in person at 0:21:31.000 --> 0:21:34.280 INABJ twenty ten. 0:21:34.520 --> 0:21:36.640 Hey, remember Philadelphia. 0:21:36.760 --> 0:21:37.760 Yeah. 0:21:37.840 --> 0:21:39.600 So the reason I'm gonna tell you why it's important, 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:44.439 that why that always sticks. So coming from where I 0:21:44.480 --> 0:21:48.359 came from in Fresno, Spears no like I'm a Spears is. 0:21:48.480 --> 0:21:52.119 I call Spears Boogie. We all call him boogie. He's Boogie. 0:21:52.440 --> 0:21:53.879 I'm the mom and pop shot. 0:21:54.040 --> 0:21:55.879 Like when I go to a certain plate, when I 0:21:55.920 --> 0:21:57.760 go to certain cities, I want to go to the hood. 0:21:57.800 --> 0:21:59.160