Speaker 1: From the King of sports books comes the Key sports
Speaker 1: podcast Unleashed, presented by the MGM. Here's your host, Joanna's
Speaker 1: Papas and Olivia Harlan Decker. Welcommit everyone to Unleashed one
Speaker 1: an outstanding show we have for you today and and
Speaker 1: hang with me here because I know March Madness is over,
Speaker 1: but the sports calendar doesn't stop. In fact, I think
Speaker 1: April is really an underrated sports month. The NBA Playoffs
Speaker 1: tip off next weekend. I cannot believe that the season
Speaker 1: it seemed fast. The NFL Draft is Thursday April. We're
Speaker 1: gonna be talking about that all month. Baseball's opening day
Speaker 1: is today, and the Master's kick off today. So, oh
Speaker 1: my gosh. Jana helped me out here. I think you
Speaker 1: know we have March madness. Everyone gets into that. But
Speaker 1: what can we call April. It needs some kind of nickname.
Speaker 1: All in April, All out April? Help me out? Asked
Speaker 1: kicking April? Ask kick in April? April sports? Bring May flowers?
Speaker 1: How do you like them? Apples? I think you can
Speaker 1: do better. April sports, bring May chicken wings and trulies
Speaker 1: in the man cave. Baby, it is an ass kicking April.
Speaker 1: It is amazing. Baseball's kicking off. Get ready to get
Speaker 1: your beers flowing in your good weather, sitting ball game experiences,
Speaker 1: the NBA Playoffs, The Phoenix Suns are taking it all.
Speaker 1: I am ready. It's also my birthday month and my
Speaker 1: last month of pregnancy, so April is sweet to me.
Speaker 1: I like, ask kick in April. Let's get ask kick
Speaker 1: in April. And listen, I'm not essen with you right now.
Speaker 1: I know you've got baby making chemicals all over the map.
Speaker 1: I spoke to Sam, I said, Sam, just stay out
Speaker 1: of the way, buddy, Okay, you probably it's like trying
Speaker 1: to negotiate with Putin this moth. Don't just whatever she wants,
Speaker 1: just do it. She's about to make a person like
Speaker 1: a mortal god. Just stay out of the way. I mean,
Speaker 1: I knew kind of the end of pregnancy was supposed
Speaker 1: to be rough, but I just got compared to Putin's.
Speaker 1: That was horrible. That's a that's a dark joke. But
Speaker 1: luckily I know your Yeah. Well, listen, I just spent
Speaker 1: the whole weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. So I was in Madtown.
Speaker 1: I went, I went and visited the Deckers. I had
Speaker 1: a glass of milk, I ate some cheese, and you
Speaker 1: know that place is so white, Madison, Wisconsin. It looks
Speaker 1: like it's snowing even when it's not snowing. So it's
Speaker 1: always just You could be in an airplane in the
Speaker 1: middle of July flying over Madison. You're like, why is
Speaker 1: it snowing? And You're like, that's not snow that's just
Speaker 1: white people walking around State Street. Okay, in all seriousness,
Speaker 1: how did you like Madison. I know you've been there before,
Speaker 1: you recorded your first album there, but I mean, it's
Speaker 1: such a great town, right Yeah. Look at that comedy
Speaker 1: on State the best comedy club in the country. I
Speaker 1: actually decided to record my next special, so I recorded
Speaker 1: my special again in Madison, Wisconsin, because I love that
Speaker 1: club so much. I love the owners so much. And
Speaker 1: so my new special is shot. I shot it in Madison.
Speaker 1: I decided to do it on the fly, so that
Speaker 1: will be coming out. Stand the lookout for that. And yeah,
Speaker 1: I also recorded my my first hour album there, so
Speaker 1: that's called let Me be honest. You can go google
Speaker 1: that and enjoy that and so boom, my next hour
Speaker 1: special will be coming out recorded in Madison in honor
Speaker 1: of the Decker family. I didn't know that. You didn't
Speaker 1: even tell me that. So because you have like three
Speaker 1: straight nights of taping, that makes sense now because you
Speaker 1: were recording, right, Absolutely, yeah, we were recording and then
Speaker 1: we got some more cameras in there. And the crowds
Speaker 1: are just so amazing. And the Midwest is the best
Speaker 1: place for comedy. It truly is. Every comedian knows that
Speaker 1: it's the best place for comedy, the worst place for winter,
Speaker 1: that's for sure. Yeah, I hear you on that. I'm
Speaker 1: in Sheboygan, Wisconsin right now. It's brutal, but I I
Speaker 1: agree with Midwestern people are quick to laugh. We don't
Speaker 1: take ourselves too seriously. We're pretty easy going, lighthearted, So
Speaker 1: I would think that's an ideal crowd. I'm glad you
Speaker 1: had fun and you eat somewhere good, amazing. We hated
Speaker 1: all the good spots. We we hated all the good spots.
Speaker 1: This place Botanist next door to the club. It was incredible.
Speaker 1: We went to all the recommendations you you gave me,
Speaker 1: and the food is great, the people are great. It's
Speaker 1: a college town, Madison, Wisconsin. The only thing about Madison
Speaker 1: that's funny is like you see that capitol building when
Speaker 1: you first get there, and you're going like, wow, there's
Speaker 1: gonna be a lot to see. This is a big city.
Speaker 1: It looks like d C. And then you're like, nope,
Speaker 1: it's just the capitol building and the rest is the
Speaker 1: college campus. That's all there is to see. Really, the
Speaker 1: rest of it is just a charming little college town. Baby.
Speaker 1: Yeah no, but it's beautiful on the water. Did you
Speaker 1: know that the capital in Madison, Wisconsin is taller than
Speaker 1: the capital in d C. I did know that. I
Speaker 1: did know that, And that's yeah, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: You get there and your your expectations are a little high. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's a little deceiving because that is the only impressive building. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't know about that. Well, that's the campus. The
Speaker 1: campus has some beautiful buildings. The campus is very nice,
Speaker 1: and the lake is frozen for a lot of the year,
Speaker 1: so you know, at nighttime I went down there, I
Speaker 1: was hoping to see maybe some white walkers walking across
Speaker 1: that bank. I should have warned you don't go in March,
Speaker 1: but yeah, it's a this is kind of a dumpy
Speaker 1: month around here, gets pretty cold, you know, where else
Speaker 1: is supposed to be kind of cold this weekend and
Speaker 1: really unfortunate. It'll make for some bad images on TV.
Speaker 1: Is the Masters supposed to be kind of cold and
Speaker 1: wet and windy, And I mean that changes the game
Speaker 1: for a sport that's supposed to be played at the
Speaker 1: most beautiful locations and the most beautiful weather. This may
Speaker 1: be an interesting fold. And we've got a great guest
Speaker 1: joining us, former world number one. He's played at Augusta,
Speaker 1: even finished third at the Masters in two thousand five.
Speaker 1: It's Luke Donald. I'm really excited to have him on,
Speaker 1: so we'll have to ask him about that. Janice. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and this is the first time we're gonna have someone
Speaker 1: with an English accent on, right. Oh, you know, you
Speaker 1: might be right? Should we do the whole interview in
Speaker 1: an English accent? Maybe? I think that's the only way
Speaker 1: to properly do this is to welcome him in the
Speaker 1: King's so you do more like the royal family, proper
Speaker 1: British English. I'm gonna do like Adele Cockney British English.
Speaker 1: How's that? Yeah? May too, I'm gonna be are you doing,
Speaker 1: what are you doing? Where's your liday? Like peaky binders. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: we just I view him like there, hello Governor. Okay, yeah,
Speaker 1: he's gonna love us. This be a great interview. Have
Speaker 1: you heard on the week of the Masters, there's all
Speaker 1: these events, you know, leading up to it, but Tuesday night.
Speaker 1: So it's Tuesday morning right now when we record. But
Speaker 1: on Tuesday night they host one of the most exclusive
Speaker 1: dinner parties on the sports calendar, let alone social calendar.
Speaker 1: I believe the only people who can attend the dinner
Speaker 1: our Master's winners, and then the year's previous winner gets
Speaker 1: to pick the menu. And you know, last year, Matsuma
Speaker 1: one Japan's first Master's champ. So I would think they
Speaker 1: always do an ode to where they're from. I would
Speaker 1: think it would be really fantastic sushi. But I've got
Speaker 1: to warn you. I've been to Augusta, and I once
Speaker 1: eight at a restaurant called Taco Sushi, a mix of
Speaker 1: Mexican and sushi. I really hope that is not his
Speaker 1: only option to cater this event. What do you think
Speaker 1: he's gonna do? Yeah, well, listen, he's Japanese, so he's
Speaker 1: probably gonna fly in like a five star sushi chef
Speaker 1: from Japan unfortunately sushi. I'm just glad you're not picking
Speaker 1: the menu because you're pregnant. You'd be like, give me
Speaker 1: fried pickles, donuts, chicken wings, sushi. You know, the thing
Speaker 1: about sushi is did you know that only men can
Speaker 1: be sushi chefs. It's very discriminatory. And that is because, Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's because the temperature of their hands is a certain
Speaker 1: temperature and women's hands. Yeah, this is the truth. I'm
Speaker 1: telling you right now. I wish we were having him
Speaker 1: on so we could confirm it, you know, but it's true.
Speaker 1: This is not I'm telling you it's true. That's why
Speaker 1: you've never seen a woman sushi chef. It's not because
Speaker 1: of the patriarchy. It's because of the temperature of their hands.
Speaker 1: They can't handle the fish. You know, I have horrible circulation.
Speaker 1: My hands are always really cold. Can I be a
Speaker 1: sushi chef? Possibly? I mean, you may be the exception.
Speaker 1: There's no rule, there's no rule without an exception. God,
Speaker 1: I always learned something new on the show. That's just
Speaker 1: not what I expected to learn. That's wild. What would
Speaker 1: you have like as your hometown dish if you were
Speaker 1: a Master's champ and you wanted to pay homage to it.
Speaker 1: What would you set the menu? As you know, we're
Speaker 1: going Greek. We're going with a little zat zeki. We're
Speaker 1: going with a little lamb. If I want the Master's
Speaker 1: it's gonna look like my big fact Greek wedding. We're
Speaker 1: gonna have a lamb roasting, smoke coming all over the air, potatoes,
Speaker 1: but dot dos guinea statch, We're gonna have sadi, which
Speaker 1: is fish. It's gonna be a Greek feast, and definitely
Speaker 1: you're gonna see some lamb carcasses roasting with their skinless
Speaker 1: face melting in the fire, scaring children. Yeah, that's what
Speaker 1: we do. Has there ever been a famous Greek golfer.
Speaker 1: I'm trying to think, um no, But I did golf
Speaker 1: with Steph Curry on my old sports show with Joel
Speaker 1: who's our producer, and I'm very bad at it. I'm
Speaker 1: very very bad at it, and Steph Curry is very
Speaker 1: very good at it. Yes he is. We'll look in
Speaker 1: the past like Dustin Johnson one. So when he set
Speaker 1: the menu, I kind of like the way his menu sounds.
Speaker 1: Pigs in a blanket, lobster and corn fritters. Mashed potatoes, veggies,
Speaker 1: filet mignon, miso, marinated sea bass, peach, cobbler, apple pie,
Speaker 1: vanilla ice cream. But the year before Tiger Woods won
Speaker 1: and he did kind of more Augusta, he did an
Speaker 1: Augusta role, which is timpoora shrimp, spicy tuna, avocado, and
Speaker 1: eel sauce. That's I mean, that's kind of Japanese prime steak,
Speaker 1: chicken fajita's I kind of like Tiger Woods menu. I
Speaker 1: don't know it's but it's what a dinner party? My god,
Speaker 1: that's incredible. Yeah, I mean those both sounded like incredible.
Speaker 1: What would you pick? What would you put on there?
Speaker 1: I was worried you were going to ask that because
Speaker 1: I think it is supposed to be like from where
Speaker 1: you're from and cheese curds and steak, big glass of milk.
Speaker 1: That's embarrassing now because you know, I'm really from Kansas City,
Speaker 1: so like steak, barbecue, barbecue, that's what I would do?
Speaker 1: What am I? Yeah? You really are. You're the You're
Speaker 1: the Hillary Clinton of sports journalists. You just claim you're
Speaker 1: from from Wisconsin and you're not. Just like she moved
Speaker 1: to New York to run for Senator. Yeah, you just
Speaker 1: you just have to hometowns. One of them real, one
Speaker 1: of them is fake. They're both real. They're both real.
Speaker 1: I own a home in both. I think that counts.
Speaker 1: I pay taxes in both. I think that counts, right,
Speaker 1: kind of you're the Hillary Clinton is sports journalists, Well,
Speaker 1: you know the big story here, I mean Tiger Woods.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, again, we're recording Tuesday. I think the
Speaker 1: news is expected to break Wednesday. But he is trending
Speaker 1: towards plane. The crowd that has practiced rounds have been huge.
Speaker 1: It's been seventeen months his last event, fourteen months since
Speaker 1: his near fatal car crash. He had half a dozen
Speaker 1: surgeries on his back and his right leg. I believe
Speaker 1: they almost had to amputate that right leg. So this
Speaker 1: would be an incredible feat. And I know once he
Speaker 1: began practicing at Augusta, betters just ran to place their
Speaker 1: wagers on this golf legend. Tiger moved from plus sixty
Speaker 1: six hundred to plus five thousands. That sixty six one
Speaker 1: went to fifty one to win the Masters. So in
Speaker 1: the betting world, this is huge news. But what a
Speaker 1: great story, unbelievable story. And I mean, if he has
Speaker 1: a good masters, it's gonna be a great story. Just
Speaker 1: seeing him out there is amazing. It's inspiring and incredible,
Speaker 1: just incredible. It's gonna just it just adds to the lore,
Speaker 1: doesn't it. Oh my gosh. Yeah, I mean, this is
Speaker 1: the story of the week. So a lot of line
Speaker 1: movement basically around that. But Tiger Woods right now is
Speaker 1: the highest ticket percentage and the third highest handle percentage,
Speaker 1: So he's the biggest liability at bet MGM. So if
Speaker 1: he comes back wins it all four rounds of golf
Speaker 1: on a body that he says it's uncomfortable to walk,
Speaker 1: let alone play golf, boy, would that be incredible. But
Speaker 1: bet MGM would be crying because they'd lose a lot
Speaker 1: of money on that. That's a that's crazy. But John
Speaker 1: Ram is the favorite at plus thirteen hundred. That's one.
Speaker 1: I don't know if there are any other underdogs. We're
Speaker 1: gonna talk with Peter Andrew to see if he might
Speaker 1: have a sneaky bet there. But yeah, John Ram the
Speaker 1: favorite again plus thirteen hundred. I like it nice. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I can't wait to talk to Peter Andrew to hear
Speaker 1: about some of the underdogs. He's in Ontario right now, right, Peter,
Speaker 1: he is, Yeah, bet MGM just opened up in Canada.
Speaker 1: So that's huge news for the sports book. So Tiger
Speaker 1: Tiger played the p NC tournament with his son in December, right,
Speaker 1: but that was kind of just messing around and uh,
Speaker 1: where was that? He looked pretty good, right, yeah, and
Speaker 1: then at his practice rounds he's looked good, like he's
Speaker 1: looking good all week. But he said it's really uncomfortable.
Speaker 1: And again he hasn't played this kind of duration, this,
Speaker 1: this kind of you know, four rounds is really tough.
Speaker 1: Anytime I play eighteen holes, I'm sore the next day.
Speaker 1: And I know I'm not a golfer, but if if
Speaker 1: you're someone who just came out of you know, six
Speaker 1: surgeries and I thought you were going to lose your
Speaker 1: life or your leg, and I mean this is this
Speaker 1: would be a story for the Ages. And my god,
Speaker 1: we're just coming off of March madness with stories for
Speaker 1: the Ages. So anytime I like turn on the news
Speaker 1: and I see how sad the news is, I'm so
Speaker 1: grateful I work in sports. Oh my god, Like how great?
Speaker 1: How lucky are we honest that we get to talk
Speaker 1: about this stuff that these amazing stories and not not
Speaker 1: the horrible stuff going on in the news. So this,
Speaker 1: this would be incredible. So I'm hoping Tiger comes back. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: My two favorite things on this planet are sports and comedy,
Speaker 1: and I think they're the two purist things on the
Speaker 1: planet in the human experience, you know. You know, comedy,
Speaker 1: it's like, hey, if you're funny, people have a reaction
Speaker 1: to it, you know, and the reaction is completely organic.
Speaker 1: And in sports, its competition, it's the closest thing to
Speaker 1: the truth. You know, the better man wins. Sometimes you
Speaker 1: know it's not the better man, but all the storylines
Speaker 1: are real. And listen, just seeing Tiger out there is amazing.
Speaker 1: But I mean, don't sleep. He is Tiger Woods, the
Speaker 1: man who changed the game, who popularized golf. I mean,
Speaker 1: he's owned this tournament. He's won five times, fourteen top
Speaker 1: ten finishes. I mean, it's hard to bet against them.
Speaker 1: It's hard to bet against them. Yeah, before we get
Speaker 1: to the masters and our bets for this week, Olivia,
Speaker 1: we've got to get to our bed. The winner of
Speaker 1: the week, bad beat of the week, hopefully I just
Speaker 1: did definitely didn't have to do sound, but they did it.
Speaker 1: They did it? Okay, Our bad beat winner of the
Speaker 1: Week this week is Dylan at goose Lover. What a
Speaker 1: screen name the kid? Yeah? The kid loves animals and
Speaker 1: he's probably twenty five years old. Does that mean he
Speaker 1: has to change his Twitter name every year when he
Speaker 1: has a birthday? Yeah? I think so. I think he's
Speaker 1: goose Lover twenty six next year, big day. Well, listen,
Speaker 1: are goose Lover here lost his Big five team parlay
Speaker 1: because a heavy favorite in the NHL lost at home
Speaker 1: outch There's only one thing worse than only hitting three
Speaker 1: out of four on a four team parlay, and that's
Speaker 1: only hitting four out of five on a five team parlay.
Speaker 1: We feel a paying Dylan, which is why I guess what,
Speaker 1: my friend, we're sending you Hanne Allah's of bet MGM
Speaker 1: credit to help you get back in the wind calling
Speaker 1: my friend. Don't say we don't love you, baby. Now,
Speaker 1: let's cut down the nets on the college basketball season.
Speaker 1: O h d ed it's time too, It's time to leach.
Speaker 1: I hope they also brought in this soundtrack for that.
Speaker 1: We don't need you all right, So major congratulations to
Speaker 1: the Kansas Jayhawks. Congrats to me for picking them to win.
Speaker 1: I I kid, do you not? I made a couple
Speaker 1: of brackets. I kind of scrapped him as I went,
Speaker 1: but I always haid, k you winning. My dad went there.
Speaker 1: I'm from Kansas City. Depends on what day you asked
Speaker 1: me where I'm from, but yes, I am a Jayhawk
Speaker 1: fan and I certainly was watching on Monday night. They
Speaker 1: rallied from down sixteen at half but sixteen total. As
Speaker 1: Carolina Boy, they went ice cold in the second half.
Speaker 1: They suffered so many injuries. A player threw up. I
Speaker 1: mean there was like a I think you're honest in
Speaker 1: all seriousness, someone placed a hex on them. It was
Speaker 1: in New Orleans and we asked Clark Kellogg last week
Speaker 1: if there's any voodoo magic at play. I think there was.
Speaker 1: I think in the second half there was a spell
Speaker 1: placed on the tar heels because that was that was
Speaker 1: pretty bizarre. I will say there was a notable bet
Speaker 1: at bet MGM, and anytime I read these, I just
Speaker 1: clenched my fists, thinking why did I not do it?
Speaker 1: Why was I all talk and no action? Because one
Speaker 1: person at bet MGM put eight thousand and five dollars
Speaker 1: to win one hundred and twelve thousand and seventy dollars
Speaker 1: on Kansas at fourteen to one odds. Ma'am, some people
Speaker 1: have all the luck. I need to put my money
Speaker 1: where my mouth is. But look, preseason, Kansas was plus
Speaker 1: sixteen hundred. Uh, the odds obviously got so much shorter.
Speaker 1: They were a minus two hundred favorite to win it
Speaker 1: all in the championship game. But that was incredible. They
Speaker 1: had under five percent of tickets as the tournament started,
Speaker 1: so that's incredible. Four point three of the handle, so
Speaker 1: as sixty four teams were on the slate, that's all
Speaker 1: they had. But people loved him going into this game.
Speaker 1: It was a great story. You know, Bill self lost
Speaker 1: his dad two months ago. His dad was a coach
Speaker 1: and an educator and really inspired his life, and I
Speaker 1: think inspired that halftime speech because man, they were they
Speaker 1: were in And I want to play a clip because
Speaker 1: at the end when they do the trophy ceremony on
Speaker 1: the stage, the n c double A President Mark Emmert
Speaker 1: announced the winners as the Kansas City Jayhawks, and oh,
Speaker 1: that's just so cringe e. And I've got to say,
Speaker 1: there's a little backstory here because as I've mentioned before
Speaker 1: on the show without going into too much detail, but Kansas,
Speaker 1: in a lot of people's eyes, have slipped past um
Speaker 1: level one violations in n C Double A. And it's
Speaker 1: all about recruiting and paying players and all of this,
Speaker 1: and I'm not going to get into all that, but
Speaker 1: there are legitimately people serving jail time over this. Like
Speaker 1: right now, there's someone sitting in jail who was a
Speaker 1: mid major or a mid level Adidas rep who was
Speaker 1: serving jail time based on what the Jayhawks have committed
Speaker 1: five level one infractions, including coach responsibility. So not to
Speaker 1: be a downer, because like, go Kansas, but there are
Speaker 1: a lot of people who are really mad at the Jayhawks,
Speaker 1: including the president of the n C Double A, who
Speaker 1: would have loved to hand that trophy to anyone but
Speaker 1: Bill self. He did, and he announces them as the
Speaker 1: Kansas City Jayhawks. Let's roll that tapeited for you if
Speaker 1: they have to present the trophies ahead of the basketball
Speaker 1: committing to coach self in the Kansas City jails. So yeah,
Speaker 1: that was very cringe e poor guy. I think he
Speaker 1: took a lot of heat for it on Twitter, I'm sure,
Speaker 1: and just kind of a funny way for the season
Speaker 1: to end. All he had to do was announce them,
Speaker 1: and he didn't get their name right. And they're one
Speaker 1: of the biggest blue bloods ever. So no, pretty good.
Speaker 1: I've gotten a lot of texts from friends and family
Speaker 1: that they were very hungover Tuesday morning. I think it
Speaker 1: was a really fun night in Kansas City for the
Speaker 1: Kansas City Jayhawks. Well look, maybe they were just progressive.
Speaker 1: They were ahead of their time, alright, because now athletes
Speaker 1: are getting paid, so Kansas was just ahead of their time.
Speaker 1: They were just you know, they were they inspired, they
Speaker 1: inspired change. So yeah, I do not know what happened
Speaker 1: at halftime. I mean were they were down, they were
Speaker 1: down fifteen points. North Carolina completely collapsed. It was It
Speaker 1: was an incredible game. I mean, it really delivered. Like
Speaker 1: Clark Kellogg said, it always delivers this tournament, and it did.
Speaker 1: But and amazed thing a Licia's always I want to
Speaker 1: switch genders like Caitlyn Jenner right now and talk about
Speaker 1: the ladies. Women's basketball is on fire. Okay, they're in
Speaker 1: commercials now. I agree with the ladies. They need more
Speaker 1: media exposure. There needs to be more commercials. These sponsors
Speaker 1: need to start putting They need to start putting their
Speaker 1: money where their mouth is and really start getting these
Speaker 1: ladies some visibility. And I think we're starting to see
Speaker 1: that and gas what oh d for the first time
Speaker 1: in the history of Jana's pappas. I was excited and
Speaker 1: I tuned in for the ladies championship game and I
Speaker 1: was expecting a great game. And I was wrong. I
Speaker 1: was wrong. Man, did the UKN Huskies get their asses be?
Speaker 1: And you listen. It's nice to see because they've been
Speaker 1: dominating women's basketball for so long, so it's actually nice
Speaker 1: to see some parody now because I think all this
Speaker 1: media exposure is gonna inspire a lot of American girls
Speaker 1: to start playing basketball, and we're gonna have more and
Speaker 1: more parody in the league because there's just gonna be
Speaker 1: more and more great players. And the stands are packed.
Speaker 1: It's great to see. And the game, yes, it's different,
Speaker 1: but if you're a basketball fan, there's a lot of
Speaker 1: purity in the play running and the defense to really enjoy.
Speaker 1: I mean, they don't overwhelm you with their athleticism. Let's
Speaker 1: be honest. I mean when they dunk, it's like a miracle.
Speaker 1: It's like Jesus turning water and wine. But they can shoot,
Speaker 1: they can play. These girls got handled. They're exciting, they compete,
Speaker 1: and it was just amazing to watch one team have
Speaker 1: an amazing game plan against a powerhouse. Although look, South
Speaker 1: Carolina was the favorite in this they really instilled that
Speaker 1: game plan, were physical with this team, knew who their
Speaker 1: best player was, stop their best player from scoring. And
Speaker 1: she's amazing. Page is amazing, and um, I'm just looking
Speaker 1: forward to seeing women's basketball really flourish. And congratulations to
Speaker 1: South Carolina. I mean, obviously a heartbreaking loss the year before,
Speaker 1: they turned tears into tears of joy and um, gino, baby,
Speaker 1: your run is over, my friend. Although they haven't been
Speaker 1: there for me a while. It's just great to see.
Speaker 1: And my girl Aliah Boston, what a great face for
Speaker 1: college basketball, the Nay Smith Player of the Year. Obviously
Speaker 1: she's going to the w n B A So now
Speaker 1: you're starting to see people start to follow people from
Speaker 1: college to the NBA, start to talk about who's gonna
Speaker 1: be a pick. It's starts. You're starting to see the
Speaker 1: same conversations around women's basketball that fans have around men's basketball.
Speaker 1: And it's great to see I love it. I love
Speaker 1: female athletes, and I am all for yeah. But you
Speaker 1: know what's great is these women can win it all.
Speaker 1: They can go to the w n b A, they
Speaker 1: can get a bunch of endorsements, But damn it, they
Speaker 1: can't be a sushi chef. They can't be a sushi chef.
Speaker 1: I mean, listen, that's just it's I don't know if
Speaker 1: that's gonna change. I mean you're gonna have to take
Speaker 1: it up with the whole Japanese culture on that and
Speaker 1: the temperature of yeah, I will, and I think my
Speaker 1: my sister says, my whole life, my hands have been
Speaker 1: cold and clammy, So I think my cold and clammy
Speaker 1: hands could make them great. Nagari, No, you just heard
Speaker 1: that wrong because you were hearing what you wanted to hear.
Speaker 1: What she actually said was your your heart is cold.
Speaker 1: I don't think that's what she meant. My heart of
Speaker 1: gold over here, y'at is heart of freaking gold. But
Speaker 1: let's get back to the Masters and bring in our guest.
Speaker 1: Luke Donald joins us. Now, well, y honest, if we're
Speaker 1: going to talk about the Masters, we should probably talk
Speaker 1: to someone who has actually aid there, let alone been there.
Speaker 1: He knows what it takes to win on the PGA
Speaker 1: Tour and was also a member of four victorious European
Speaker 1: Writer Cup teams. His trophy sitting behind him looks so beautiful.
Speaker 1: Luke Donald, former world number one, thank you so much
Speaker 1: for joining us, Thanks Olivia, thanks for having me on. Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 1: showing off the trophies a little bit, but very proud
Speaker 1: of those ones. Well, I've also got to ask right
Speaker 1: behind you is your Master's invite? Can we see that?
Speaker 1: And can you tell us the story behind that? Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's that's the very first one that I got back
Speaker 1: in two thousand five, my very first Masters. Just such
Speaker 1: an amazing experience when you get that through the mail
Speaker 1: they send you the invite. I got it framed with
Speaker 1: the nice green frame. Seemed appropriate, and yeah, you always
Speaker 1: want to play in the Masters, and I think I've
Speaker 1: played eleven or twelve of them, and that was my
Speaker 1: very first one, and it was it was a very
Speaker 1: memorable one. I actually finished tied for third that year,
Speaker 1: quite a few shots back from Tiger who won, But
Speaker 1: it was one of the one of the best experiences
Speaker 1: I've had on a golf course. Now, how do you
Speaker 1: r s v P to that. Is it like a
Speaker 1: wedding R S v P. I'm confused. I don't think
Speaker 1: it's technically it does say R s v P on it.
Speaker 1: I think most people who get that, or all the
Speaker 1: people who get it, never turned that down, so they
Speaker 1: just assumed that you're good for the invite. Have you
Speaker 1: ever thought about maybe playing a joke on them and
Speaker 1: saying you haven't received it so they send you another
Speaker 1: one that you can sell on eBay? Yeah? I probably
Speaker 1: should have done that. A few days ago April first
Speaker 1: send a tweet out was was my was my invite? Well?
Speaker 1: Of all the Masters you've attended, honest and I were
Speaker 1: just talking about the Tuesday night welcome dinner where the
Speaker 1: previous winner gets to select the menu. What are some
Speaker 1: memorable moments from that? What menus do you remember having? Well,
Speaker 1: that's only for people who have won, so I've never
Speaker 1: been a problem the Master's dinners, unfortunately. But I did
Speaker 1: see obviously Hideki, who won the Masters last year, sent
Speaker 1: his His menu was released today and full of some
Speaker 1: you know, yummy Japanese food that you would expect, sushi
Speaker 1: and Japanese wag ou and all that kind of good stuff.
Speaker 1: So it was looked like a really, really good, good menu.
Speaker 1: And unfortunately I haven't been a part of that that one.
Speaker 1: As I said, I came close a couple of times,
Speaker 1: third in two thousand five, I finished fourth in two
Speaker 1: thousand eleven, another couple of top tens, but I didn't
Speaker 1: haven't quite got that green jacket yet. Still still some hope, yep,
Speaker 1: if you had one. I mean, I know you're British,
Speaker 1: you're half Scottish. You say you insist on that. I mean,
Speaker 1: the cuisine is a little it's not famous, we'll say that.
Speaker 1: So what would you put on the menu? There? Would
Speaker 1: it be beans and toast or what are we talking?
Speaker 1: Bangers and mash? London is getting better. London is a
Speaker 1: little bit more of a different situation food wise. But yeah,
Speaker 1: we're not that We're not absolutely known for for a
Speaker 1: great cuisine. But maybe some fisher chips or you know,
Speaker 1: a speef dinner or something like that, that's that's pretty
Speaker 1: typical with you know, like a sponge sticky toffee pudding
Speaker 1: or something like that. That'd probably be pretty pretty British.
Speaker 1: I like the sound of that. As long as you
Speaker 1: didn't say blood pudding. I wouldn't need the blood pudding. No, no, no, haggis,
Speaker 1: no none, none of that stuff. You mentioned your first
Speaker 1: Masters and Tiger Woods obviously being a big part of
Speaker 1: that one. What is your favorite Tiger Woods memory on
Speaker 1: and off the golf course. Well, I've got to play
Speaker 1: with with Tiger quite a few times, you know, over
Speaker 1: the years. Very first time was two thousand three Open Championship,
Speaker 1: the British Open. We were playing down in England and
Speaker 1: my brother was my caddy at the time. That was
Speaker 1: the mark that the Open Championship his first T shirt.
Speaker 1: He blew it way right and lost his golf ball
Speaker 1: the very first time I played with him, which kind
Speaker 1: of put me at ease a little bit and like,
Speaker 1: well the great Tiger Woods can can lose a golf
Speaker 1: ball in a major championship. The funny story was that
Speaker 1: my my brother was canning for me and he was
Speaker 1: carrying the bag and the strap broke on the tent toll.
Speaker 1: Probably the biggest group I've ever been a part of
Speaker 1: playing with Tiger Woods. Playing with Surgeon, I sear and
Speaker 1: he's having to carry the bag, you know, along the
Speaker 1: fairway with one hand like a suitcase. So but yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah again, I've played with Tiger lots of times,
Speaker 1: and you know, just a special to obviously kind of
Speaker 1: share the game of golf with with one of the
Speaker 1: best a sportsman ever ever to play, to play sport
Speaker 1: and obviously one of the greatest, probably the greatest goal
Speaker 1: for ever to play. Who is someone you love being
Speaker 1: paired with? And why who's not a buddy? You know,
Speaker 1: I'm talking professionally, and then tell us someone who you
Speaker 1: hate being paired with. You're going, You're going tough, tough places,
Speaker 1: youngest already, I feel like I'm a very quick player.
Speaker 1: I'm ready. I'm always kind of wanting to get a
Speaker 1: move on. You know, I'm not a big fan of
Speaker 1: slow play, So you know, anyone who slow I try,
Speaker 1: I don't really enjoy. But anyone who plays quick, who's lighthearted,
Speaker 1: who doesn't take it too seriously out there, who's got
Speaker 1: a good sense of humor, those are the kind of
Speaker 1: guys that I like playing with. We had Max Homa
Speaker 1: on the show this week last year at talk Masters,
Speaker 1: and I remember asking him this, it must be really
Speaker 1: annoying to play a sport that some people also play
Speaker 1: for leisure because they think that they could do what
Speaker 1: you do, and there's obviously no way they could, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, having beers on the golf course with their buddies.
Speaker 1: But what is that like just being in a sport
Speaker 1: that people actually play, because you know, if you're playing
Speaker 1: in the NFL or NBA, people aren't trying to compare
Speaker 1: their chops to ears. No. I mean, this is the
Speaker 1: great thing about our game is that you can compete
Speaker 1: with great players through the handicap system. And that's I
Speaker 1: think kind of a big attraction of our sports and
Speaker 1: why you get a lot of businesses that love being
Speaker 1: associate with golf and sponsorships and all that kind and
Speaker 1: stuff because you can send guests to play with a
Speaker 1: pro and you can compete with with that handicapped system
Speaker 1: and it's kind of fun. But I think, you know,
Speaker 1: obviously even good amateurs when they play in pro ams
Speaker 1: and stuff at tournaments, they realized pretty quickly that there's
Speaker 1: a big difference between being a scratch golfer and being
Speaker 1: a professional golfer. You know, there's there's there's quite a
Speaker 1: difference in the golf courses who play, how they set up,
Speaker 1: you know, it's very different and quite difficult. So they
Speaker 1: learned pretty quickly that you know that there's a bit
Speaker 1: of a gap there between even if they think they
Speaker 1: were a good player. That was said very kindly, A
Speaker 1: bit of a gap. I mean it's it's a it's
Speaker 1: a great sport though that you know, you can have
Speaker 1: people of all kinds of levels and play together and
Speaker 1: kind of have fun and have games and and have
Speaker 1: bets and just have a good time out of them. Yeah, Luke,
Speaker 1: When most people retire, they play golf. When professional golfers retire,
Speaker 1: do they get a job? I mean, what do you do?
Speaker 1: Hopefully you've had a good enough career you don't need
Speaker 1: a job, but you know that doesn't always happen either.
Speaker 1: But man, yeah, I don't know. Uh, you know, we
Speaker 1: can play golf for for a long time and not
Speaker 1: like other sports where you know, you max out about
Speaker 1: thirty five forty years old usually. You know, once you
Speaker 1: get to fifty you can play on the Champions Tour.
Speaker 1: You've got people like Bernard Langer who's sixty two, sixty
Speaker 1: three years old and he's still winning, you know, the
Speaker 1: money list title on the Champions Tour and doing very well.
Speaker 1: So if he's extremely dedicated and works very hard at it,
Speaker 1: but he just doesn't seem to slow down. But yeah,
Speaker 1: who knows, I might might get a little bit bored
Speaker 1: in another twenty years if I if I keep playing
Speaker 1: this game. Speaking of longevity, how do you feel like
Speaker 1: the game has evolved over the last decade or so?
Speaker 1: Even we see pros coming in with such specific styles,
Speaker 1: Their training habits are changing. Off seasons have changed a
Speaker 1: lot of young talent. How do you see the game evolving.
Speaker 1: It's definitely become younger. You see these guys coming out
Speaker 1: of college that are ready to compete, ready to win.
Speaker 1: The standard of play out on the PGA Tour is
Speaker 1: gotten better and better each year. I remember, you know,
Speaker 1: I've been on tour twenty years now, and you know
Speaker 1: there just looking at where cuts are. You know, the
Speaker 1: scoring to to make the cut, to to play on
Speaker 1: the weekend has changed dramatically over the last five or
Speaker 1: ten years, like just because the standard of players so
Speaker 1: much better, so much deeper. He's got these young kids
Speaker 1: who understand technology, they understand how to hit the ball far,
Speaker 1: they understand how to hit it straight, and they're hungry
Speaker 1: and young, and I think they've learned a lot from
Speaker 1: Tiger and how he came out a young age and
Speaker 1: dominated the game, and they took a lot of confidence
Speaker 1: in that that he could do it. And having that
Speaker 1: same kind of mindsets has really propelled them. And it's
Speaker 1: tough for someone who's forty four and still playing out there.
Speaker 1: You know that there's a lot of tough competition. It's
Speaker 1: it's not easy to compete against, and the level of
Speaker 1: competition has just gone through the roof. Now I'm a Greek,
Speaker 1: so of course all Greeks are aware of all other
Speaker 1: Greeks uniquely because there's not a lot of us. You
Speaker 1: have married one. I got a lot of questions here,
Speaker 1: I have what's that like? Did you have a big
Speaker 1: fact Greek wedding? I know you went to Santorini And
Speaker 1: when you play golf, does she come with her family
Speaker 1: and they make a little bit too much noise and
Speaker 1: you have to explain golf etiquette to her? I mean?
Speaker 1: And also, lastly, were they route? I have never been
Speaker 1: asked this question. Were they rooting In two thousand and
Speaker 1: two when you played Diane Pappis at the Southern Farm
Speaker 1: Bureau Classic two? Did she start rooting for him a
Speaker 1: little bit? Because there's Greeks love supporting other Greeks, so
Speaker 1: I know her heart was split there. That that's that's
Speaker 1: a that's a lot of questions to to to to
Speaker 1: to get my head around. But yeah, yeah, my my
Speaker 1: wife I met in Northwestern Her parents were more born
Speaker 1: in Greece. They moved to America when they were late teenagers,
Speaker 1: I think, And yeah, first first generation Greeks. So it's
Speaker 1: Dan's mother, you know. Yeah, Yeah, spends a lot of
Speaker 1: time with us. She she's probably about fifty yards away
Speaker 1: making some dinner for us right now, like a good,
Speaker 1: good Greek Greek lady. But you know, it's been it's
Speaker 1: been great to be a part of their family. You
Speaker 1: know what the Greeks are like, They're very welcoming, very
Speaker 1: family orientated. They look at me because I'm kind of
Speaker 1: a little bit of a slender in British English guy
Speaker 1: and they're like, you need to eat more, you know,
Speaker 1: you need to eat more, batting up a little bit,
Speaker 1: you know. So yeah, it's been fun to be kind
Speaker 1: of get immersed in in that that Greek heritage. Amazing.
Speaker 1: I love that. We did have a great, big Greek
Speaker 1: wedding too. Yeah, we went to Santorini. We were there.
Speaker 1: It was like a four day wedding. We we went
Speaker 1: there to try and like limit numbers because we thought
Speaker 1: they'd be way too many if we did it in Chicago,
Speaker 1: which is where her family is. But still we had
Speaker 1: about two people cut rock up and it was a
Speaker 1: big affair. It was a lot of fun. Did you
Speaker 1: have to do the crowns? Did you do the crowns?
Speaker 1: We did the crowns? Did the smash smashing plates? You
Speaker 1: know where she tries to step on my foot at
Speaker 1: the altar? Is that is that right? You know all
Speaker 1: the traditions, so yeah, yeah, yeah, that's that's amazing. You
Speaker 1: have you have you ever seen a lamb roasting where
Speaker 1: his face roasting in the fire? Yeah? Absolutely, every every Easter,
Speaker 1: every Easter. Yeah, yeah, you're buried a real geek. I'm
Speaker 1: just saying hello to your to your mother in law. Amazing.
Speaker 1: Let's hope she can hear. Oh that's so funny. Well
Speaker 1: you are home in Jupiter, Florida. I've got to ask
Speaker 1: I just I'm sure the courses down there are incredible.
Speaker 1: Where's your favorite American course that you've played, whether professionally
Speaker 1: or for training, for fun? Probably. Yeah, I would say
Speaker 1: it's it's for fun. We play such long, difficult golf
Speaker 1: courses on tour that I'd like to go play fun places.
Speaker 1: Some of my favorites would be on the West coast.
Speaker 1: Would be Cyprus Point, pretty exclusive place but right next
Speaker 1: to Pebble Beach. Just an amazing place. I think Long
Speaker 1: Island has great golf courses to you know, Shinnikock National.
Speaker 1: There's a place called Fryer's Head. This was what I've
Speaker 1: only played once, but one of my all time favorites.
Speaker 1: Just just loved it. I love I love core Crunch
Speaker 1: or you know he did that. That place just a
Speaker 1: great architecture. Yeah, I mean those those are some of them.
Speaker 1: Actually loved playing in the UK. I love playing Links
Speaker 1: golf course in Scotland Island for the golf and for
Speaker 1: the hospitality, just the people. They're so welcoming and you know,
Speaker 1: it's it's a good crack, as they say, when you
Speaker 1: go over, you have a few beers and you play
Speaker 1: some golf with some friends and it's a it's a
Speaker 1: pretty good trip now link style. Of course, I noticed
Speaker 1: you didn't mention the one in my backyard whistling streets.
Speaker 1: He said he didn't want to think about that one.
Speaker 1: That was a tough loss for US Americans. Really handed
Speaker 1: to us. Uh there, they had a great young team.
Speaker 1: We certainly didn't play well enough, but you gotta hand
Speaker 1: it to them. They played great and we'll be back
Speaker 1: for some revenge though. In Rome next year. Two thousand
Speaker 1: and eleven, I mean, you were, you were locked in,
Speaker 1: you were world's number one. You and Rory went back
Speaker 1: and forth. What was that like? And you guys friends?
Speaker 1: Now do you maintain a kinship because of that rivalry? Oh? Yeah,
Speaker 1: we're good friends. We We actually lived very close to
Speaker 1: each other in the same same community down here in Florida,
Speaker 1: and I see him quite a lot and have lunch
Speaker 1: with him. We're members at the same golf courses. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, um, it was great. Obviously going back to
Speaker 1: two thousand eleven, that was my best year. I want
Speaker 1: won the money list on both both tours. I got
Speaker 1: to number one in the world. Um, you know, life
Speaker 1: was great. I mean the Gulf seemed very easy. You know,
Speaker 1: when when things are going were well, where everything seems
Speaker 1: pretty easy and it's coming coming to you were that way,
Speaker 1: So um, yeah, what an amazing year. That was for me,
Speaker 1: you know, that was kind of my my purple patch
Speaker 1: was kind of two thousand and ten, eleven, twelve, a
Speaker 1: little bit of thirteen. I was really at the top
Speaker 1: of my game and enjoying life. And obviously Rory took
Speaker 1: over in two thousand and twelve. He got to number
Speaker 1: one for a while and dominated for a couple of years,
Speaker 1: and then the Tiger came back really in ten and
Speaker 1: I think he got back to number one in the
Speaker 1: world by so yeah, it was. It was obviously a great,
Speaker 1: great part of my my career, something I always remember well. Obviously,
Speaker 1: the big story this week is the return of Tiger
Speaker 1: woods Um after his horrific car accident after all these surgeries,
Speaker 1: when we didn't know if he would walk again, let
Speaker 1: alone play again. He's currently fifty two one to win
Speaker 1: it all. What do you imagine this week at Augusta
Speaker 1: being like with all of that buzz and what are
Speaker 1: you expecting out of Tiger? Well, I I yeah, I
Speaker 1: think he just announced that he's taking up on Thursday,
Speaker 1: and you know, I think he feels that he's ready.
Speaker 1: He's obviously waited up until just now to announce that,
Speaker 1: but just seeing how his leg was was doing. He
Speaker 1: was out of Gusta last week, he was practicing the
Speaker 1: last few days. Um, he obviously feels comfortable out where
Speaker 1: he's his leg is feeling his his overall health, and yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm excited to see him out there competing again. I
Speaker 1: think he brings a different energy at different five, a
Speaker 1: different level excitement from when it comes to golf, and
Speaker 1: the Masters will be seriously buzzing. And you know, once
Speaker 1: counting him out a few years ago, I thought, maybe,
Speaker 1: you know, after all the surgeries and all the back
Speaker 1: things he's gone through, and there's no way he can
Speaker 1: come back. And you know, he came back and won
Speaker 1: three times, including the Masters in so yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: never count Tiger. I've done that once and I learned
Speaker 1: my lessons. So he says he can, he can win,
Speaker 1: and he wouldn't play if he didn't think he could win.
Speaker 1: You had some injuries throughout your career two thousand and eight,
Speaker 1: you had that risk injury. Golf is such a mental game.
Speaker 1: Obviously his injuries are extreme and not really Germanic golf.
Speaker 1: But what does it take to get that focus back?
Speaker 1: Does that affect you when you come back after injuries mentally.
Speaker 1: Uh yeah, I think that's going to be the toughest
Speaker 1: thing for Tiger is that he just hasn't had any
Speaker 1: competitive reps, you know, for over a year, I believe,
Speaker 1: or a little bit more than a year, so that
Speaker 1: that takes time. You know, you really kind of want
Speaker 1: to kind of get into a rhythm, a routine of
Speaker 1: getting back into feeling those juices flowing, and you know
Speaker 1: that will that will be the hardest thing for him,
Speaker 1: I I really do believe. But you know, he certainly
Speaker 1: has plenty of experience. Augusta is really a course which
Speaker 1: suits certain players. He's won there or five jackets, I
Speaker 1: think four or five times, and he knows how to
Speaker 1: get your way around that golf course. So I'm sure
Speaker 1: he will settle in um pretty early and do the
Speaker 1: stuff that he knows will get him into contention on Sunday.
Speaker 1: You know, sometimes it seems like the Masters is that
Speaker 1: course where experience really matters, maybe more than other tournaments.
Speaker 1: As their truth to that. It's certainly a course that
Speaker 1: seems to favor certain players, you know, the horses for course,
Speaker 1: this kind of thing. We know that iron players extremely important.
Speaker 1: The greens are very undulating, They have little small plateaus.
Speaker 1: They're very fast, so obviously having an all rounded game
Speaker 1: is really important to Gustsie. You need to hit the
Speaker 1: ball reasonably far to give yourself shorter irons into some
Speaker 1: of these greens and be able to stop the ball
Speaker 1: near the pins. But iron players really important. We're gonna
Speaker 1: have some touch around the greens. You've got to have
Speaker 1: ste good feel on the greens because the greens are
Speaker 1: so fast and undulating. But I do feel like good
Speaker 1: iron players always seemed to play well out Augusta more
Speaker 1: than some other aspects of the game. It really does
Speaker 1: reward good iron play. And you know, Tiger obviously one
Speaker 1: of the best ever to be with an iron in
Speaker 1: his hands, so um, you know, I think he has
Speaker 1: a lot of experience. Obviously I played well in my
Speaker 1: first Masters, but I think that was just through sheer
Speaker 1: excitement of being there, you know, just being on cloud
Speaker 1: nine more than anything. But yeah, I wouldn't be surprised
Speaker 1: if he plays a very solid week. It would be
Speaker 1: surprising that if you want coming back after over a
Speaker 1: year without having played a competitive round and going through
Speaker 1: everything he's done. But I wouldn't certainly wouldn't surprise me.
Speaker 1: If he's he's out there and has a chance. What
Speaker 1: about the weather, I heard that this weather this year
Speaker 1: maybe a little off. Does that affect who you might
Speaker 1: like in when you were playing? Is that something that
Speaker 1: took you out of your game? Well, the weather obviously
Speaker 1: affects everyone, you know. I think Wednesday Thursday they calling
Speaker 1: for some possible thunderstorm, so you could get some rain
Speaker 1: softening up the course. They do have that that under air,
Speaker 1: you know, the subair underneath the course, so they can
Speaker 1: dry it out pretty quickly. Thursday's going to have some wind,
Speaker 1: and then I think that's going to be kind of
Speaker 1: some chilly mornings and not warm temperatures, so the ball
Speaker 1: is not going to be traveling quite as far. It's
Speaker 1: going to be playing a little bit longer. You know,
Speaker 1: Windy conditions and firm conditions are the most tough conditions
Speaker 1: for for all of us golfers. That's what makes the
Speaker 1: scoring the hardest. Soft conditions and if the soft, if
Speaker 1: the conditions are soft and it's playing a little bit longer,
Speaker 1: that that really doesn't affect score for the guys. For
Speaker 1: most of the guys, especially the guys that can move
Speaker 1: it off the tea, so yeah, I expect the cold
Speaker 1: conditions probably won't be too favorable for Tiger. I mean,
Speaker 1: he would have wanted something a little bit warmer, just
Speaker 1: to keep his body a little bit more limber and
Speaker 1: a little bit more moving. But I'm sure he will
Speaker 1: He'll deal with it just fine. Now, this is something
Speaker 1: that bothers me about golf. He's the weather would affect everyone,
Speaker 1: But sometimes that's not true. Based on your tea time,
Speaker 1: it's it's the weather is changing. Well, that is true,
Speaker 1: and it just seems so unfair. Yeah, you can get
Speaker 1: certainly bad draws. You hope over the course of a
Speaker 1: year that the good draws and the bad draws kind
Speaker 1: of equal themselves out and get you get some good
Speaker 1: draws on some of the bigger events like the Masters
Speaker 1: and the Majors and the world events. But yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I guess that's the beauty of our sport. We're not
Speaker 1: inside the dome. We have to adjust to different wind conditions,
Speaker 1: different weather conditions, different classes, different wind directions, and every
Speaker 1: day that the things are changing and we have to
Speaker 1: adjust to that and be good at that. I would
Speaker 1: be so petty. I would blame the weather every time.
Speaker 1: I'd be like I teat up at noon. Did you
Speaker 1: see the weather report? Then that's horrible and the players
Speaker 1: I do that. Would you rather be playing with the
Speaker 1: lead you make it to Sunday or would you rather
Speaker 1: be playing a couple of shots behind and chasing the leader?
Speaker 1: I mean, that's what made Tiger as amazing as he's
Speaker 1: ever been, you know, I think he's only lost the
Speaker 1: lead once or twice in his career. Obviously, playing in
Speaker 1: front is harder, playing catch up is easier. There's a
Speaker 1: little bit less pressure. You have a goal in front
Speaker 1: of you to go. People are in the lead usually
Speaker 1: play the protective and they get out of their routines
Speaker 1: and they and they make mistakes that way. Tiger was
Speaker 1: so good at keeping leads because he just played his
Speaker 1: own game. He didn't really He kind of made other
Speaker 1: players chasing him feel like they needed to do more,
Speaker 1: and then they got into mistakes themselves. So would I
Speaker 1: go back to your question, I suppose you always want
Speaker 1: to lead. You always want because that's going to give
Speaker 1: you the best chance statistically, So take the lead and
Speaker 1: go try and play solid around. I like that. There's
Speaker 1: been some line movement, but John ram is still the favorite. Obviously,
Speaker 1: everyone's been waiting to see what's happening with Tiger. But
Speaker 1: who do you have a good vibe with or feeling
Speaker 1: about winning this weekend. I do like cam Smith. He
Speaker 1: just obviously fresh off winning the Players Championship. He's only
Speaker 1: he's played here five times and I think he's had
Speaker 1: a couple of seconds and a third in those five times.
Speaker 1: Zander seems to always play well. And again I'm just
Speaker 1: looking at guys of playing pretty well this year, and
Speaker 1: I've had a lot of success there in the past.
Speaker 1: You can never count John rame out. Scottie Scheffler new
Speaker 1: number one in the world. I don't think he probably
Speaker 1: has quite enough experience, but I can't remember seeing him
Speaker 1: up near the top of the leaderboard. But justin Thomas,
Speaker 1: I'm trying to think of guys that are always up there.
Speaker 1: Brooks Kepta, I think he seems to play very well.
Speaker 1: He's been a little bit quiet this year. You know,
Speaker 1: those are the kind of names that are jumping out
Speaker 1: of me. Okay, Also, when I ask you about the
Speaker 1: Ryder Cup a little bit, it's not until next year
Speaker 1: in Rome, but Team Europe a few weeks ago made
Speaker 1: their decision that Henrik Stenson will captain squad. Many people
Speaker 1: thought you would be next in line to take over
Speaker 1: the captain role. What do you think about the decision?
Speaker 1: Thanks thanks for bringing that up. I mean, obviously, yeah,
Speaker 1: I was disappointed. I put my name forward and I
Speaker 1: would have loved the opportunity. I've been a part of,
Speaker 1: as I said, six Ryder Cups, being on five winning teams.
Speaker 1: A lot of my best experiences on the on the
Speaker 1: golf course has been during Ryder Cups. Just love being
Speaker 1: a path of teams and so different what we play
Speaker 1: every every every week, week in week out as such
Speaker 1: an individual sport, but those Ryder Cups coming together, sharing
Speaker 1: kind of dinners at night and stories and just kind
Speaker 1: of feeling what it would be like to be a
Speaker 1: part of a team in your sport, which we don't
Speaker 1: get to do too often. So yeah, I would have
Speaker 1: loved to have done it. I'm very happy. But Henrick
Speaker 1: are worthy candidate too and has a great record. I
Speaker 1: think he's eight five Ryder Cups, and again you know,
Speaker 1: first first captain from Sweden, and you know again I
Speaker 1: will be there to support anyway I can. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm disappointed that I didn't get an opportunity this time,
Speaker 1: but hopefully down the road I still have that opportunity. Yeah. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: Did anyone from Team Europe tell you what went into
Speaker 1: the decision or anything or it was a different process
Speaker 1: this year they had five people the last three captains.
Speaker 1: They had the Keith Pelly who runs the European Tour,
Speaker 1: and David Howe who's the head of the committee of
Speaker 1: the European Tour, and between them they made the decisions.
Speaker 1: So you'd have to ask them, you know. I did
Speaker 1: kind of try and poke a little bit and say,
Speaker 1: you know, what could have done better? Etcetera, etcetera. But
Speaker 1: they said, you know, all the all those conversations, we're
Speaker 1: going to stay behind closed doors. So I'm sure I'll
Speaker 1: find out one day. But again, wishing Henrik nothing but
Speaker 1: the best. Yeah. Now, a few years ago I had
Speaker 1: the amazing opportunity to golf with Steph Curry and obviously
Speaker 1: he's pretty well known for being an amazing golfer justin
Speaker 1: timber Lake, I hear is a scratch golfer. Um. Now
Speaker 1: we've seen Tom Brady and the Challenge drill shots. Have
Speaker 1: you played with any celebrities and where you floored by
Speaker 1: how good they were or have you have any any
Speaker 1: experience playing against any of those guys? Um, I've played
Speaker 1: with with m J. I've played with Tom Brady. Verlanda
Speaker 1: is pretty good. Justin Verlanda. He's a strong, strong lad.
Speaker 1: Obviously hits the ball a mile. Yeah, I've heard Steph
Speaker 1: is really good. I'm not played with Steph Curry. I
Speaker 1: would think playing with m J is just more about
Speaker 1: the gambling, Like did he just try to suck you
Speaker 1: what you do on the court. Let's put a couple
Speaker 1: of dollars on this, Luke. I've done any long time,
Speaker 1: and was back to when I was in college in Chicago.
Speaker 1: We would play a little bit of golf sometimes in
Speaker 1: the summers when I was sticking around playing out to event.
Speaker 1: So you know, he loves playing good players. And it's
Speaker 1: just after he retired, but knowing very well, and he
Speaker 1: loves loves golfing. I mean he'll go out and play
Speaker 1: thirty six holes with six or seven guys and they'll
Speaker 1: play in six hours. I'll just run around and it
Speaker 1: doesn't matter what what you play him for. He just
Speaker 1: wants to play for something. He wants to get in
Speaker 1: your pocket. He doesn't care if it's two dollars or
Speaker 1: two hundred thousand dollars. I mean, he he just wants to,
Speaker 1: you know, have get those competitive juices by I mean
Speaker 1: we all watched the last dance. I mean that's how
Speaker 1: competitive he was and wanted to win and wanted to
Speaker 1: push his teammates to win as well. And you know,
Speaker 1: you see that on the golf course. You know, he
Speaker 1: misses that obviously, not playing basketball, and he's filling it
Speaker 1: with golf and it's a great passion of his and
Speaker 1: he's made it made a golf course down here the Grove,
Speaker 1: which I'm a member of, and I see him out
Speaker 1: there playing a lot. He he just loves it and
Speaker 1: it's it's fun. I mean, I'm trying to picture that
Speaker 1: a big ten Northwestern golfer who would go on to
Speaker 1: be number one in the world playing with an m
Speaker 1: J who just retired like that would have been. You
Speaker 1: must have been pretty starstruck, I would think as a
Speaker 1: college kid. Yeah, we probably didn't play until I was
Speaker 1: after college just turned pro. But um, yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: I was. It's not too many people and like like
Speaker 1: get a little nervous around, but I certainly did. The
Speaker 1: first meeting, first meeting M J and uh. Obviously my
Speaker 1: wife haven't lived in Chicago. Was was very geeky and
Speaker 1: when she met him, and but now we're like, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, we're just like good friends and we'll go
Speaker 1: out to dinners and it's just like it's just MJ.
Speaker 1: You know, it's just it's very cool. But yeah, he's
Speaker 1: he's been a good friend over the years and I
Speaker 1: was appreciate, um, you know, talking to him, you know,
Speaker 1: good times, bad times. He's he's always very very sensible
Speaker 1: and that's good words for me. I like that. Well,
Speaker 1: just to tie a bow on this and to bring
Speaker 1: it back to the Masters this weekend. All we're going
Speaker 1: to hear over the next four days is a tradition
Speaker 1: unlike any other. And it's such a great phrase as
Speaker 1: someone who has actually played in this tournament. Why is
Speaker 1: it a tradition unlike any other? Yeah, it's it's just
Speaker 1: one of those events that goes above and beyond golf.
Speaker 1: It's a little bit like the Ryder Cup in terms
Speaker 1: of you have non golfers tuning in and watching it
Speaker 1: just because of what it stands for and the hype
Speaker 1: and the kind of exclusivity almost you know, it's very
Speaker 1: hard to get anywhere near Augusta National and the traditions
Speaker 1: of the Green Jacket, the Path three Tournament, the Champions Dinners,
Speaker 1: all these traditions that the people love, and I think,
Speaker 1: you know, more more people tune into to watch the
Speaker 1: Masters and any other golf tournament, and rightly so, because
Speaker 1: it's just it's a special Shure event. Okay, wait, I
Speaker 1: do have one more about Augusta National. The first time
Speaker 1: you played there, I mean, we see how pristine it is.
Speaker 1: Not a blade of grass out of place. There's not
Speaker 1: even birds i've heard that really can fly overhead. I'm
Speaker 1: not sure how they pull that one off. But what
Speaker 1: is maybe the most interesting thing about Augusta National? Um
Speaker 1: the most interesting thing? I think I've been able to
Speaker 1: stay on property a few times. You know, if you
Speaker 1: go play with a with a member, they'll put you
Speaker 1: up on property and in the lodges you can watch
Speaker 1: any of the Masters bating back to the very first
Speaker 1: one on your TV at Will. They have them all
Speaker 1: collected there, so you can go through any Masters sitting
Speaker 1: in your bedroom and watch them. And that's kind of
Speaker 1: a cool little little thing that not not a lot
Speaker 1: of people know about. No, that's awesome. Good to know,
Speaker 1: although if I'm staying there, I don't know if that
Speaker 1: time I'm spending my night, I think I'm going up
Speaker 1: to the clubhouse and get a Schmooz. That have a
Speaker 1: pretty good find seller too, and the prices are good.
Speaker 1: They sell it for like five percent above what they are.
Speaker 1: Probably one of the nicest and best wine sellers in
Speaker 1: the whole world. See now we're talking. Now, we're talking, Luke,
Speaker 1: great ones. You gonna bring a bottle back to the
Speaker 1: lodge and then then put on your favorite Masters and
Speaker 1: then put on the Masters. He said, that sounds like
Speaker 1: a wild night. Thank you so much. This is a
Speaker 1: lot of fun and best of luck the rest of
Speaker 1: the season. All right, thanks for having me on. Guys. Yeah,
Speaker 1: your mother in law's probably got some bust teats you're
Speaker 1: ready for you, so we'll let you go. Let smell it.
Speaker 1: We are live in Ontario, that's right. Sports betting legalized
Speaker 1: in Canada. Bet MGM right there at the front of it.
Speaker 1: And Peter Andrew is in the middle of that. He
Speaker 1: is in the heart of all the action, coming to
Speaker 1: us live from his Toronto hotel room. We were just
Speaker 1: talking about some food recommendations. A lot of good eating
Speaker 1: to do in Toronto, but now a lot of good
Speaker 1: betting to do in Toronto. Pete tell us about the week. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's been fun. So betting and bet MGM both formally
Speaker 1: opened and were legally approved as of yesterday, which reporting
Speaker 1: on Tuesday saw on Monday. So everything's live. We're full force.
Speaker 1: Bet MGM's officially international, which is kind of fun to say. Um,
Speaker 1: but it's been great. We had a launch party with
Speaker 1: a couple of ex may beliefs yesterday, really introducing you know,
Speaker 1: the bet MGM folks to the city. So it's been
Speaker 1: ton of fun and it's gonna be a really good
Speaker 1: relationship in Canada moving forward. Awesome. What is the vibe
Speaker 1: up there in Canada about college basketball? I know the
Speaker 1: Raptors are really Canada's team, Like all the provinces root
Speaker 1: for the Raptors. It's almost like the country's team. Do
Speaker 1: they watch college basketball? Was it? Was? It on TVs
Speaker 1: last night? Were like Canadians watching this game? So it
Speaker 1: was on TV. But it was weird. Like if you
Speaker 1: would say, if you were at a bar in New
Speaker 1: York and New Jersey would be a ten out of
Speaker 1: ten in terms of the vibe, it's probably like a
Speaker 1: five out of ten here. People could care less who won.
Speaker 1: They were just rooting for a good game. Kind of
Speaker 1: that mentality. But what you said about the Raptors is
Speaker 1: real Raptors and Jay's, I mean they are Everyone in
Speaker 1: Canada is obsessed with those teams, especially because they haven't
Speaker 1: had the expos in so long. Those are the two
Speaker 1: teams that everybody dies for. And I actually was talking
Speaker 1: to someone here yesterday and they said Jay's, Raptors, Leafs
Speaker 1: and then everything else. So kind of crazy to see
Speaker 1: hockey is number three there. That is crazy. So let's
Speaker 1: talk about some Canadian teams especially. I know the Raptors
Speaker 1: have just the most incredible fan base because like you
Speaker 1: guys said, it's it's the whole country is cheering for
Speaker 1: that one NBA team. But when you look at some futures,
Speaker 1: like kind of Scottie Barnes for Rookie of the Year.
Speaker 1: I like that one personally, I love Scottie, But looking
Speaker 1: at Maple Leaves, Blue Jays, everything updates p on some
Speaker 1: Canadian teams as we pay homage to our brothers up north. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so I think you know, if you look at the
Speaker 1: Leafs and the Raptors, specifically Vegas and Betting are not
Speaker 1: giving them a shot, but I kind of like him.
Speaker 1: They're slated right now to play the box in the
Speaker 1: first round, so if that re six holds true, they
Speaker 1: could easily make a run. They've played the books really,
Speaker 1: really well this year, and especially when the Honest has
Speaker 1: bit off. I think he had a really really poor
Speaker 1: shooting performance last time I played, where he was like
Speaker 1: seven of sixteen. If they can keep him under control,
Speaker 1: they've got a shot to make some noise, and we
Speaker 1: all know what. The East is wide open. I don't
Speaker 1: know that I take the Raptors to one to win
Speaker 1: the NBA title, but worth taking a forty to one
Speaker 1: flyer and putting ten twenty bucks on it. You never
Speaker 1: know what can happen. But first round I like them
Speaker 1: getting out of there. And then the Leafs. Leafs are
Speaker 1: a funky one. They've been choke carters for eighteen plus
Speaker 1: years now. There twelve to one to win the Cup,
Speaker 1: six to one to win the East, but no one's
Speaker 1: giving them a shot. I mean even at the event
Speaker 1: where I yesterday, no one thinks they can pull it off.
Speaker 1: They always find a way to combust. They've done it
Speaker 1: for the last, like I said, fifteen plus years, so
Speaker 1: I kind of with lean Raptors and put the flyer
Speaker 1: on forty two one. I know it's ridiculous, but you know,
Speaker 1: the payoffs large and and maybe they got a shot
Speaker 1: to make some noise. We know how inconsistent the East
Speaker 1: has been. Celtics good, good Heat have had their moments.
Speaker 1: Bucks have had their moments, but kind of wide opening
Speaker 1: my eyes. And then of course Brooklyn sitting in the
Speaker 1: nine spot. Right now, you guys are gonna have to
Speaker 1: start learning a lot about the Canadian Football League lines,
Speaker 1: right because I'm sure a lot of these Canadians are
Speaker 1: gonna be trying to put a little scratch on their
Speaker 1: favorite team. So I'm playing chess, not checkers here. We
Speaker 1: just hire a person in our Canada office and he's
Speaker 1: actually played the CFL for the last five years, so
Speaker 1: I got all my stuff locked down there. I don't
Speaker 1: know anything about Canadian Football League. The field's weird, there's
Speaker 1: only three downs, it's super funky. So you hire someone
Speaker 1: to take that spot in because the Lord knows, I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna be able to figure it out. Well, something
Speaker 1: you are able to figure out. A sport you play
Speaker 1: yourself is golf. Now, I don't know if you're any good.
Speaker 1: I've never played with you. I don't know if you're
Speaker 1: any good. Why do you play? Yeah, I play. I'm
Speaker 1: not good. I think I've seen your game on Instagram.
Speaker 1: You're probably better than me. So we'll have to find
Speaker 1: out one day. Dual dual, unleashed scramble. Well, yeah, take
Speaker 1: that with a grain of salt. If anyone posts them
Speaker 1: doing anything athletic on Instagram, it probably took a bunch
Speaker 1: of takes. But but no Master's odds as we're looking
Speaker 1: at it when we're just talking with Luke Donald, and
Speaker 1: obviously by the time this airs will know for sure
Speaker 1: if Tigers playing. But people are running to place their
Speaker 1: bets on Tiger Woods. What's your take on all this? Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: starting with Tiger will take all the money on Tiger Woods.
Speaker 1: There's no shot. I mean, I hope for it. It's
Speaker 1: amazing if he wins the Masters, there's no shot coming
Speaker 1: out two years past that, that horrible injury. He's just
Speaker 1: got his real first practice rounds in Augusta. It's an
Speaker 1: amazing story. I like him to make the cut. And
Speaker 1: stay competitive. But four days of it, after everything he's
Speaker 1: gone through, there's no way his body keeps up. So
Speaker 1: we'll take all the bets. At the MGM. We're fifty
Speaker 1: two one for Tiger to win the Masters, which is
Speaker 1: probably most competitive across the markets. But Tiger to make
Speaker 1: the cut minus one eighteen, so pretty much even money.
Speaker 1: I think that's your you're a sure thing kind of
Speaker 1: bet if you're looking at the market and then otherwise
Speaker 1: sticking up Great White North here, Corey Connors, he's a
Speaker 1: sixty to one or fifty to one shot. He's come
Speaker 1: and been sneaky the last couple of years of top
Speaker 1: ten finished the Masters, been really good this year, placed
Speaker 1: third to two weeks ago on the match play. I
Speaker 1: think you gotta look at some of those guys on
Speaker 1: top of obviously some of the big boys too nice,
Speaker 1: any other underdogs you think people should keep their eye on.
Speaker 1: Now that Vegas knows what they're doing here that the
Speaker 1: three best golfers have the three worst odds, So John
Speaker 1: rom eleven to one, Justin Thomas twelve the one, camp
Speaker 1: Smith fourteen one. They're clearly the most consistent golfers right now.
Speaker 1: You can throw a couple of flyers like a Corey
Speaker 1: Connors there. But I think you have to stick to
Speaker 1: the chalk because if those guys can, you know, have
Speaker 1: a consistent couple of days, they'll be right there in
Speaker 1: the race. NBA playoffs are starting soon and we'll get
Speaker 1: way more into that next week. But I've just gotta ask,
Speaker 1: while you are in Toronto, what would be your prediction
Speaker 1: if Raptors and Bucks started today in a series. I'm
Speaker 1: going Raptors in seven. No, you're not. You're saying that
Speaker 1: I've adopted them as my team because the Hornets have
Speaker 1: zero shot in the playing game against Brooklyn, so yeah,
Speaker 1: I have to jump shipped for the next uh two
Speaker 1: weeks or so. But yeah, I don't know. It's Bucks
Speaker 1: are great. I mean they are such a well rounded team.
Speaker 1: I just can't see this Raptors team, you know, pulling
Speaker 1: a little magic in an opposet here. But maybe it's
Speaker 1: just wishful thinking. Maybe I'm just written for my friends
Speaker 1: in Ontario. Yeah, yeah, have you ever seen someone drink
Speaker 1: the kool aid? So fast? Listen? Employee? Do we need
Speaker 1: to put a disclaimer that says this is not a
Speaker 1: sponsored ad? Are you? Are you being detained in Canada.
Speaker 1: Blank if you need help, Yeah, I mean listen, that's
Speaker 1: employee of the month that you you, my friend. I
Speaker 1: want to put your plaque on the wall at bet MGM.
Speaker 1: You know you're up there in Ontario. Make those people
Speaker 1: feel good, baby because they get shot a little pandorin
Speaker 1: never heard anybody, all right, the great stuff is always
Speaker 1: safe to travels. I'm gonna send you some food Rex,
Speaker 1: but you get home safe. And again, let us know
Speaker 1: in code if you need help if you are being
Speaker 1: detained because you're a little way too hot on on
Speaker 1: Canadian golfers and basketball teams there. But thank you so much.
Speaker 1: That was a great show. Thanks everyone for listening. To
Speaker 1: make sure you follow at bet MGM on all social
Speaker 1: media channels and keep up with the masters and you
Speaker 1: can see how we did with our predictions. And next
Speaker 1: week we'll talk a little bit more NBA as playoffs
Speaker 1: that started. Thanks guys. Yeah, Pete, bring me some maple syrup.