WEBVTT - THE ONE AND ONLY DICK VITALE 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:09.080 Passionate, compassionate, enthusiastic, generous, grateful, talented, loyal, loving, loud. Just 0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:11.200 a few words that come to mind when describing my 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:15.720 dear friend and living legend, Richard John Vitau, a k a. 0:00:16.360 --> 0:00:20.200 Dickey v. He spent such a long, rich life in 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:24.520 college basketball, coaching, broadcasting, promoting, and growing the game as 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:27.920 much as any individual ever has. Dick's been honor by 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:31.240 about fourteen Halls of Fame, has the Sport Semi Lifetime 0:00:31.240 --> 0:00:35.080 Achievement Award, and written nine books. But for me, his 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:38.559 most important work, what's going to be his everlasting legacy, 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:43.440 his relentless efforts to help kids with cancer by raising research, money, 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:48.760 raising awareness, and providing love and support for so many families. 0:00:49.479 --> 0:00:51.800 We cover all this and a lot more in this episode. 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:55.400 Dick is in rare storytelling form. I even tell how 0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:58.760 Mr Vittau played a role in my most embarrassing moment 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:02.440 in a TV student. You now the one and only 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:06.840 take town Well, Mr vital my friend of more than 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:09.800 thirty five years, thank you for taking time. I'm really 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:12.520 looking forward to this, and I hope you are too. 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:16.479 I talked about passion, because when I think of you, 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:19.920 that's the one word that comes to mind instantly. All 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:23.080 the things that you are passionate about that you live 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:25.840 your life with great passion, but at the top of 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:29.360 the list has to be your passion for your wife, 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:32.960 Lorraine and you guys. As we record this, just celebrated 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:36.720 your fiftieth wedding anniversary, the golden anniversary. Man. I mean, 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.319 everybody asked you, how did you do it? How did 0:01:39.319 --> 0:01:41.960 you get there? What's your words of wisdom and relationship? 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:45.560 You know, one thing you know, Chris, Lorraine has been 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:48.280 my best friend. She's been my best friend. She travels 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:50.760 with me quite a bit, and she's been my guiding light. 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:54.520 She's my support factor. When I got fired by the Pistons, 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:56.880 I promise as down as I've ever been in my life. 0:01:56.960 --> 0:01:59.720 I was really depressed. A lot of people don't realize, Uh, 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:02.560 it's a knock to you. It's a knock saying you're 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:05.680 not worth anything and you feel your value is down. 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:09.640 And she kept encouraging me, inspiring me. Finally it was 0:02:09.760 --> 0:02:12.280 her that got me to go out and do a 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:15.760 game for Espanngers. I said no to Scotty Conna when 0:02:15.760 --> 0:02:18.240 he initially called me. He called me, say hey, Dick 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:21.560 when I left these your last game you ever coached 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:23.960 against Michigan and we number one in a country. We 0:02:24.040 --> 0:02:26.320 had a great team that year on twenty one in 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:29.520 a row, and it was David Goliath. They wouldn't plays 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:32.040 Christie in the regular season. We beat up My first 0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:34.280 year they were on the schedule, but they had Capital 0:02:34.320 --> 0:02:36.680 and Russell. We upset him, and I couldn't get Johny 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:38.840 were back on the schedule, and my players would come 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:41.760 in all the time screaming at me, coach the number 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:43.440 one in the country. We play with those guys and 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:45.280 the summer we're as good as they are. Can't we 0:02:45.360 --> 0:02:49.520 play them? Well? The world came in work for one 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:52.560 of my assistants. Where do you see the draw if 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:55.519 we get the sweet sixth team we played Michigan. I said, 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:58.040 qual a team meeting, and qual a meeting. We put 0:02:58.040 --> 0:02:59.600 a thing up on a board. I said, well, you 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:01.880 guys a bitch and the moaning complain to how much 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:04.160 you want to play Mr Good We'll take a look 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:06.720 right here. I know they're gonna be there with Hubbard 0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:09.600 and Green, are we gonna be there and lead? You 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:12.799 played him in Lexington and doing the game Scotty Connell 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:16.080 was there and I was in more Chris, I mean, Chris, 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:19.200 I'm looking at a thirty seven years old I'm sitting 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:21.400 in a gym at practice and I'm look at the stands. 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:24.760 I see Kurt Gowdy. I mean, I'm a baseball fanatic. 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:28.960 What the hex kurk kark Downy doing here? Kurt Donny, 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:33.080 we're all We're all series, super Bowls, Emmy Award winning 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:35.920 to announce it, and next door the Wizard of West 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:39.160 with John Wood. I've said, what the heck? So the 0:03:39.240 --> 0:03:40.840 third guy comes up to me, how going to be 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:43.320 Scott and Connell hadn't know him at the time. He said, 0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:46.480 I'm ahead of NBC. This in our production and we 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:50.080 decided to televise your game. Your game is gonna be televised. 0:03:50.200 --> 0:03:53.040 It's David against Goliath, and John Wood is going to 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:55.800 be the color commentator. Kurt Doddy's gonna do the play 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:59.160 by play. Oh my god, I called my team over. 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:02.520 Little did I know, Chris, how this change my life? 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:04.920 I called the team over and I gave a three 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:08.520 minute talk on the definition of greatness and how we 0:04:08.600 --> 0:04:12.760 utilize it so often, just for everyone, and it's really meaningless, 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.720 and I'm guilty of that as well. Many announcers are. 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:18.200 Maybe you're not, but I know many of us are. 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:22.200 But the bottom line is, I said, this defines greatness. 0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:27.360 Ten National Championships, Sports Emmys. I'm an audit these guys here, 0:04:27.760 --> 0:04:31.479 and little did I know we lost a heartbreaker. And 0:04:31.760 --> 0:04:33.920 suppose me Scotty when he called me up after I 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:37.920 got fired on November November. You remember these dates, remember 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:41.280 like my uh like my wedding anniversary made only second 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:44.880 November eight, nineteen seventy nine. I got this zig so 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:48.360 I get fired. The phone rings. You have to remember me, Dick. 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:51.320 My name is Scotty Conn. I've just been named ahead 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:54.600 of hiring firing all at ESPN. I like to do 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:57.880 our very first big game Wisconsin the pole. I said, 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:03.000 what the hell is ESPN? Sounds like a disease, that's true, Chris, 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:06.240 I said, sounds look at disease. I mean, you're kidding me. 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:08.520 I want to get back where I belong on coaching 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:11.480 in college. And that was the end of the conversation. 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:13.440 That I sat back and I did what I was 0:05:13.480 --> 0:05:16.159 doing on a regular basis. As much of Luca Laura 0:05:16.320 --> 0:05:19.680 General Hospital, I was so depressent around the house and 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:24.040 my wife, so why didn't you take that? Fortunately for me, Chris. 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:27.839 He calls me back ten days later and they said, 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:31.520 look at me one there, last shot and my wife's screaming. 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:35.120 Anybody taking the arrangement of And I took it. And 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:37.720 little did I know that speech, because he said to 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:40.840 me when we left the arena, he said, when we 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:43.760 left the arena, Kirk Gaudy, you guys lost. We lost 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:46.520 in the last minute. Was an incredible game we had 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:48.160 at one point when I wrote it would be more 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:50.839 Kent at more Kent. Two months later, mar Kent wins 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:53.800 the national title. My kids really felt that if we 0:05:53.800 --> 0:05:56.240 couldn't beat Michigan, we're gonna win the national title. But 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:58.440 we're better to market. We beat him on their floor. 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.559 So anyway, by the line is he's where we left, 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:05.680 he said Coach Wooden and Kirk Galley said to me, Scotty, 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:09.520 we love that young guy's enthusiasm. His energy is unbelievable. 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:11.680 You should think about him and TV I wrote your 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:14.039 name down. I wrote it down. I still want the 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:17.039 transaction you got fired. Well, I want to start a 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:19.479 new career. That was it, and that's where you know. 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:24.039 I've always you know, Chris Parishion. You mentioned Parishion started 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:26.800 with me in my home. I lost my eye as 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:29.839 a kid, and my mom and dad kept telling me 0:06:30.000 --> 0:06:34.040 all the time, uneducated parents, I mean fifth grade educated, 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:37.359 working factories, but love. I had a dad, a doctor 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:39.440 to love, and he kept telling me all the problems. 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:42.960 Never Dick Ritchie, Richie wanted a big deal one on it. 0:06:43.080 --> 0:06:45.800 You could beat what anybody else can be. You've got 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:49.840 such she never said passion. It's always energy, your energy, Richie. 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:53.920 They can't hold you back. Well, I think that that's you. 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:57.279 You were. You were away ahead of the curve talking 0:06:57.320 --> 0:07:01.880 about the topic of bullying. So many kids go through you. 0:07:02.080 --> 0:07:04.240 You knew, you knew it as teasing. It wasn't known 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:07.880 as bullying back then. But how many times, as a 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:11.720 kid and then later on in life, for various reasons, 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:15.240 were you told you can't do this? Whether it was 0:07:15.280 --> 0:07:19.800 the I or you're not smart enough, You're not slick 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:23.520 enough to do this thing. You're not uh classically good 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:25.200 looking enough. I think you're plenty good looking. But you 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:27.040 know what I'm saying, how many times in your life 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:31.720 were you told you can't do this, but I love 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:37.640 you anyway. My wife said worse, I said, classically, no, 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:40.240 I mean, but you you bumped up against that, as 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:43.320 so many of the athletes and the coaches you covered 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:46.640 over the years. You bumped up against people telling you 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:50.200 what you can't do, what the limits are in your life, 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:52.400 what you can achieve because of an obstacle that's been 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:54.320 put in front of you, man, and that you've lived 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:59.480 that from age five, and you've you've kicked its ass. Well, 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:01.840 you don't uh. When I was in a little league, 0:08:02.120 --> 0:08:04.560 so I was a pretty good picture man. I got 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:07.960 an order said to me about oh God, a year ago. 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:09.720 I got an article said to me a year or 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:12.320 two ago, and in the article, one of my former 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:14.680 players on my team said it to me, and it's 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:18.480 Richie Vitale just misses little Hall of Fame, which, by 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:21.040 the way, I got into some big honor at William Support. 0:08:21.320 --> 0:08:24.160 But I used to throw hard. I just throw hard. 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:26.680 And one game I struck out I think was sixteen 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:28.840 out of the eight team matters had a no hit, 0:08:28.960 --> 0:08:31.720 perfect game, and then a kid at first base the 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:34.120 ball rolled through and they gave him a hit. My 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:37.400 uncle's my uncle's were all believing all factory workers. My 0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:39.679 finally had nine brothers and sisters, my mother and I 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:41.880 that come to the little league games, and they loved 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:44.359 everything I did at sports because there was sports fanatics. 0:08:44.559 --> 0:08:46.360 And we must have been went hell of a cheering section. 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:48.360 I'm hooked to be de vite healt cheering section for 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:51.440 all striking guys. That must have been unbelievable. And they 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:55.680 were michaelcal Franklin Patam in particular. Uncle say they fanatic 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:58.640 base offensive when when they rule the hit on the plane, 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:01.720 they come running scream to the part. I gotta come 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:07.120 little league, I said, calmed down, now we won the game. 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:09.920 But you know I pictured a little league and I'd 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:12.839 actually hear Chris and like you said, you said while 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:15.880 you did your research, obviously, Uh I was I was 0:09:15.960 --> 0:09:19.600 doing with teasing, teasing, but it hurt, Oh, it hurt. 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:21.920 It was my eye used to I don't remember what. 0:09:22.320 --> 0:09:23.640 But I worked with you. I don't know if I 0:09:24.120 --> 0:09:25.800 work glasses when I worked with you, I didn't work 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:28.920 contrast initially, and my eye used to drift. My eyes. 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:31.400 I could never look you straight in the eye. If 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:33.320 I'd be on t V. I'll do this all the time. 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:36.120 To turn to try to hide the fact that the 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:39.160 eye drifting. So what happened? When I'm picturing a little 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:41.959 league I got? I'm don't really hard. I got well 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:44.120 as the fathers are olive it, the war fans and 0:09:44.160 --> 0:09:46.320 the other team screaming out, does he know where he's going? 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:48.040 Look at his eye? Man? I look at his eye? 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:51.680 Oh my god. I was like knives. I'd go home 0:09:51.760 --> 0:09:54.040 after the game and my mother would catch me in 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:57.719 my room hysterical as I'm staring at a mirror. I'm 0:09:57.760 --> 0:10:00.520 looking at my eye. I get emotional thinking about it 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:03.040 right now. And I've tried and try and my mother 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:06.600 see what, Ritchie, what's the matter? I said? They teased 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:11.319 my emotion of it. They teased, and I can't control it. 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:14.280 There's nothing to do. You know. Usually if you're in 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:17.480 control of what you do, you could, you could contain it. 0:10:17.600 --> 0:10:20.559 But I couldn't control it, and just frustrated me. And 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:23.319 I thought that all the time, and I tried to 0:10:23.400 --> 0:10:26.920 hide it with smiles on my face, enthusiasm, energy with people. 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:30.160 But down dirt deep, they really kind of kind of 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:33.040 my heart. I always thought, when this bulliant thing started 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:35.880 a few years ago, I'm gonna share this because it's 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:39.199 just ridiculous with people do to people who have no 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:44.000 control of the situation they're dealing with. And fortunately for me, 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:48.280 I gotta lucky break. My wife, Lorraine, went to Dr Giles. 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:51.199 I always tell him so thankful to him. He's a 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:55.920 pot he's a pediatric eye doctor. But he was looking 0:10:55.960 --> 0:11:00.280 at my daughter's eyes and typical annual evaluation. He saw 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:02.559 the name and he said to my wife, So, I'm 0:11:02.559 --> 0:11:05.160 a big basketball fan, he says, an in relation to 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:09.679 Dick Vital and that's my husband. And he said, look, 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:11.520 I'm gonna ask you something I said. He talked to 0:11:11.600 --> 0:11:15.319 him about correcting that eye. He said, because I know 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:17.720 I could do it. Even though I'm a I would 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:20.199 make an exception. I don't work up at adults, but 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:22.960 I'm very good. I'm he was very you talking about 0:11:23.000 --> 0:11:25.560 Michael Jordan me and confident guys like that would swack. 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:27.559 He said, I'm the best of what I do. Man, 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:29.880 He says, I would stricken that eye out for him 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:31.839 if he if you're gonna operate under the eye, you 0:11:31.920 --> 0:11:33.760 better have confidence in the guy doing it. I mean, 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:37.880 that's that's my only eye, you know. Here's the deal. 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:41.839 So now I'm home and I said no. And then 0:11:42.000 --> 0:11:45.079 finally one day at ESPN, and I used this in 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:47.600 my speech because he was near. When I got inducted 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:50.240 into the Sportscasters Hall of Fame. ESPN had a big 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:53.920 table here. Everybody was there, from John wild Hack, Steve Anderson's, 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:59.000 all the executives. President Jordan Vot had introduced me um. 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:02.360 But I saw Steve in the boot back memories and 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:06.599 in my speech and my speech, I said, Steve, I 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:09.640 gotta thank you, because it wasn't for Steve. I called 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:12.400 Steve up. Was in charge of all our talent at 0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:15.480 the time, remote talent. I don't know if he's in 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:17.360 charge of you guys in, but he was in charging 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:20.559 all the remote guys. And I called him up and 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:23.719 I said, Steve, I'm resigning. I've had it because what 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:27.200 happened on a Sunday we're in the studio. I believe 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:29.319 it was John Saunders. I think it was Jimmy v 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:31.640 I don't know. Work in the studio on a Sunday 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:35.880 and look out, we usually asked the reception itself. Anybody 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:38.679 called screaming and yelling, and if they screaming, you know, 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:40.480 you know we did a a good job. We got 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:44.320 somebody fired up, No except one guy. One guy keeps 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:47.480 calling up once the President's number wants this. You want 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:50.880 you off the ear because you're oh my god. It 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:53.679 was like, I can't tell you the fielding Chris, you 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:55.600 went back to that bedroom when you're five years old, 0:12:55.640 --> 0:12:58.920 the same emotions and the same bottom line is. I 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:01.520 was so hurt. So I came home. I quote for 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:04.959 Steve until Steve the next day on Monday that I'm resigning, 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:08.880 and he said, don't be ridiculous. We didn't hire you. 0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:10.840 If about your eyes. You've had you for your knowledge 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:13.520 and do it, and you please don't. But then I 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:15.760 couldn't sleep, and I told my wife. I said I'm 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:18.560 gonna go see that doctor. So I went to see him, 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:21.760 and he said I could take care of that. I Dick, 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:24.079 I swear I could take him, but you have to 0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:27.240 sign these papers, he said, because there's always a chance 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:31.000 during surgery that's something could go. And I've never lost 0:13:31.080 --> 0:13:33.560 he said, I've never lost vision in a child's eye 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:36.680 in doing surgery in my whole career, and I don't 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:39.559 plan on losing vision. However, what I have to tell you, 0:13:40.120 --> 0:13:42.160 I have to operate and your good eye to fix 0:13:42.240 --> 0:13:44.760 the bad eye. You had something a pooling the muscle 0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:47.920 to get Oh my god, and that put me on 0:13:48.080 --> 0:13:51.240 the lay totally. I said, right, doctor, I just can't 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:54.319 take your chance and my good eye and something happens, 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:57.600 and he said, I'm telling So I went home plused 0:13:57.640 --> 0:13:59.880 and turned about it for about two days. If I 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:02.120 they went back to let's do it, and he did it. 0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:03.839 And he someone to put you in contact or in 0:14:03.960 --> 0:14:07.559 the thick glasses and changed my life. But the bottom 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:10.640 line is the bottom line. People can be mean. People 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:12.920 can be mean. And I said on social media as well, 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:16.520 you know, most people are a great ninety city to people, 0:14:16.600 --> 0:14:19.840 but it's we live in a society. People like to 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:22.960 hurt people sometimes and it just it frustrates me. But 0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:25.240 I go ont of my way when I see somebody 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:28.960 struggling physically and I went walking or whatever seen somebody. 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:31.880 So when yesterday in a wheelchair walk and it was 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:34.560 struggling over a curve and I couldn't wait till I 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:39.200 do over and say, okay, help. I don't know I well, 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:42.000 my parents, my parents or my guide in life. I 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:46.440 would give anything if my mother a father ever ever 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:48.720 saw the home I live in and the things that 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:51.200 happened in my life, they're blown away. We had one 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:53.240 bathroom growing up as a kid. We had a nice 0:14:53.280 --> 0:14:55.280 little home. Don't get me wrong. We had a nice 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:58.360 little home, and we had so much love, had so 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:01.120 much love, and we need more in that Chris, and 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:03.840 you heard me when I spoke at my gala, and 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.960 I mean this so so much. We need more love 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:09.840 in a nation. That room you were there was filled 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:12.840 with so much love in that room by people like yourself. 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:16.760 The little Holtz Is, the Bruce Arians, all the stars 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:19.680 that were gathering, all those kids. You can feel the 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:21.920 love people have for them. We have too much hate 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:29.000 in our nation. I don't care whether one is black, rich, poor, white, whatever, Muslim, Christian, Jewish. 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:31.760 I mean, we gotta all you me. We gotta trying 0:15:31.800 --> 0:15:34.040 to put her arm around each other. And if anybody would, 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:37.000 if everybody would adopt the philosophy that I grew up 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:39.840 with my mother and father and my dinner table. I 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:42.880 learned more of my damn dinner table than any class 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:45.480 I ever took. I got my master's in thirty because 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:48.600 I was preparing for Option B. I always believe in 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:51.480 life that you have. Option A was my dream to 0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:54.640 be a college coach, but option B was more realistic 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:58.640 to be a principal, being administrator after coaching. So I'd 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:01.200 go at nights even Trui sandwich in the car of 0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:04.560 the basketball high school practice. Won't get my master's degree. 0:16:05.000 --> 0:16:07.120 Mike fritell Overgie out to bottom and I'm in the 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:09.800 back of the room, the three of us chasing these dreams. 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:13.440 Bottom line is, but I got lucky, You've got option B. 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:17.600 And I just feel that it is important in life 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:21.440 to be able to do to do the things and 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:24.360 away and my mother and flows. So never ever believe 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:27.520 in camp Ridgie. And the second thing, there's always telling me, oh, 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:32.520 treat people like you want to be treated. If you 0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:35.720 treat people like you want to be treated, like God, 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:38.320 what a world would have. And I think that's a 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:40.480 simple philosophy, and we don't have it right now in 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:43.080 this nation. We don't have it. There's so much to 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:45.240 get into. I definitely want to circle back to the 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:47.560 Gala and the power of that evening and the passion 0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:50.040 you have and the compassion that you have for the kids. 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:52.160 I want to talk about that. You said a couple 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.880 of things there though, if people only realize the depth 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:57.120 of the hurt they create by some off handed comment, 0:16:57.200 --> 0:17:00.000 it's done so loosely and so freely and so thoughtless. 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:03.440 Sleep And anybody that's that's working to sort of make 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:07.359 people aware and end bullying and teasing is doing great 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:08.960 work because there is way too much of it in 0:17:09.000 --> 0:17:11.280 the society. I want to circle back to something else though. 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:13.879 You know you you're a giant and what you what 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:15.840 you do, and you have been for a long time. 0:17:16.280 --> 0:17:19.960 Yet there's still that sensitive part that one random idiot 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:22.840 who calls the switchboard and chooses to make a point 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:26.639 about your eye bothering him. You said it h you alive, 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:29.240 and it caused you to lose sleep, and that that 0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:31.800 hurts me to hear that. But it also look look 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:34.600 what it turned into, Dick. Look what random caller and 0:17:34.640 --> 0:17:36.960 the hurt of that turned into you making the decision, 0:17:37.000 --> 0:17:38.760 having the courage to make a decision that you said 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:41.159 was life changing. And I think that's something else that 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:43.640 is an important lesson to take away, is all the hurt, 0:17:44.400 --> 0:17:46.480 all the things that you feel if you if you 0:17:46.640 --> 0:17:50.679 spin it can be viewed as a possible growing experience 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:52.280 and a life changing moment. You were able to do 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:54.560 that and find the guts being Maybe maybe if that 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:57.440 random idiot doesn't call the switchboard, maybe you don't take 0:17:57.480 --> 0:17:59.639 that path, or maybe it takes a lot longer to 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:02.760 get there. It's I think it's a good lesson for people. 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:05.840 I appreciate that so much, and I really, you know, 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:07.920 I don't want to make it like people feel sorry. Whatever. 0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:10.320 I've lived the hell of a life. My life succeeded 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:13.320 any dream, you know. I couldn't dream of a better life. 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:15.879 I got the gorgeous wife. I mean my wife I 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:18.440 just made you should congratulate me, but you didn't. I 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:21.080 just got all of fame, I mean, like fourteen all 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:23.640 the face, but I got into Twitter. I got into 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:27.040 a new one because I wanted you guys. Nicky Me 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:29.280 has been in a lot of all of paps. But 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:31.520 now if the looking at his wife, I can tell 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:35.119 you this, he's in the overachieving all of fame. And 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:38.040 the guy's right, he said, but anybody knows the ring 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:40.920 like you do. She's just saying, she's just saying I 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:43.800 was the greatest I do I ever said fifty years ago, 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:47.600 fifty years ago, it was unbelieving after she said I don't, 0:18:47.680 --> 0:18:49.560 I don't, after she said no to you asking her 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:51.399 to dance three times. I've heard you tell that that 0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:55.800 long story, which is very fine. But persistence at ad 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:59.720 persistence and confidence and a little swag, a little swag 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:01.920 that you had even back then. Add that to the 0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:03.679 list of things that's gotten to where you are right now, 0:19:03.720 --> 0:19:06.399 because that was an important moment right there, Man, no 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:08.159 doubt about it. We would get together a bunch of 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:11.080 coaches with gianta botto, tell us all those guys we 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:12.960 get to. You have to talk about him in North Jersey. 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:15.560 We had so many great coaches in North Jersey. I mean, 0:19:15.600 --> 0:19:17.600 you think about him or Luke Kemp and Lli really 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:20.160 messed me. You know, the beat goes on. But anyway 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:24.040 you'll be brown. But that situation where she did reject me. 0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:26.720 But the third time, man, I took the fast ball. 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:29.639 The first time I took the curve ball, and she 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:32.040 tried to throw me a slider. But she couldn't get 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:35.400 the slider my me because well, the guys bet me, Chris, 0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:37.639 they met me at the table. You know how, guys 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:40.680 are ten guys sitting here and I'm going over to 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:43.639 the dance ms this. She showed me a picture by 0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:45.720 the way, at the fifteenth Universe, I didn't even know 0:19:45.840 --> 0:19:49.240 she had. At our big family gathering at this restaurant, 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:52.680 my wife pulls out the pitches. She says, you always here. 0:19:52.960 --> 0:19:55.359 She always she was me Richie. She never called me Dixon. 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:58.320 You always here, Richie. She was telling my daughters, your 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:01.040 dad always told them about me my pants when he 0:20:01.160 --> 0:20:04.240 met me. Well, here's the picture. And she hasn't picture 0:20:04.560 --> 0:20:07.000 with the white boots and the hot pants. I would. 0:20:07.000 --> 0:20:09.640 She's like twenty three years old. And all I can 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:12.840 say is wow. So the bottom line is bottom line 0:20:12.960 --> 0:20:16.280 is all the guys. They were ragging on me like 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:20.760 you couldn't believe, given high fives that I'm getting rejected. Finally, 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:24.000 stuff I rejecting to my second time, I watched him 0:20:24.040 --> 0:20:27.119 turn out about ten guys asking her to dance. Finding 0:20:27.200 --> 0:20:31.120 a third time, said I am so piste off, I said, 0:20:31.600 --> 0:20:33.760 do me a fan of guys throw money up here. 0:20:33.800 --> 0:20:35.919 I'm not a betting guy. I bet I get her 0:20:35.920 --> 0:20:39.159 on the dance for guys broke tens, twenties. I grabbed 0:20:39.200 --> 0:20:41.200 the money, the juice, I grabbed the one he asked 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:44.280 me to bottom and I grabbed the money and I 0:20:44.400 --> 0:20:47.400 go over and said, look, look, I don't want your name, 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:51.919 I don't want anything. I just bet my guys. Just please, 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:54.280 I said, let me ask you a question. You look 0:20:54.359 --> 0:20:57.760 so pretty coming out here tonight. I've been watching to 0:20:57.880 --> 0:21:00.520 turn down all these guys. What is of dudes that 0:21:00.720 --> 0:21:03.040 get you excited? And you turned out at least guys 0:21:03.359 --> 0:21:05.920 asking you to digits. I mean, all I want to 0:21:05.920 --> 0:21:08.280 do is dance. Ch I don't want nothing but a dance. 0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:12.120 She says, you want to dance that badly? I said, 0:21:12.119 --> 0:21:13.639 I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll even give you 0:21:13.760 --> 0:21:16.480 the money. It's like I said, everybody's gonna price. She 0:21:16.560 --> 0:21:19.320 didn't take any money about the bottom line is dance. 0:21:19.680 --> 0:21:25.159 And we've been dancing since then. One day, Yeah, May 0:21:25.320 --> 0:21:28.040 nineteen seventy one, that's the that's the same month that 0:21:28.160 --> 0:21:31.440 Amtrak started running its trains that the probe to Mars 0:21:31.640 --> 0:21:35.000 was sent. All in the family won the emmy. I 0:21:35.080 --> 0:21:37.159 did some research, and you guys are married and that 0:21:37.640 --> 0:21:41.200 what what an eventful month? And and uh again, congrats 0:21:41.240 --> 0:21:43.840 on the Goldmen anniversary. Now now Terry and share your 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:47.000 two daughters, you guys, raised two beautiful daughters who were 0:21:47.840 --> 0:21:49.960 talented in a lot of ways. And that's the reason 0:21:50.080 --> 0:21:52.399 I met you and Nick Volitary Sentence Academy. We were 0:21:52.440 --> 0:21:55.920 doing features on high school kids and they were talented enough, 0:21:55.960 --> 0:21:57.719 even if they didn't have a famous father, to get 0:21:57.760 --> 0:21:59.840 on the show, to go down there, and that's where 0:21:59.880 --> 0:22:03.280 we that's when we first met. And uh and then 0:22:03.600 --> 0:22:05.760 little did I know at the time that life was 0:22:05.800 --> 0:22:07.719 going to take me to work in college basketball. We're 0:22:07.760 --> 0:22:12.040 gonna work together for fifteen more years. But but thank 0:22:12.080 --> 0:22:13.960 god your daughters played tennis, or I would never we 0:22:14.080 --> 0:22:16.400 never had that meeting. Maybe for a while. Sports has 0:22:16.400 --> 0:22:19.000 been part of our life with my grandkids, you know, Chris, 0:22:19.520 --> 0:22:21.440 But you never pressured him, right, you did. You didn't 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:23.600 pressure your daughters to play You didn't. You didn't pressure 0:22:23.600 --> 0:22:26.640 them to play basketball. You don't pressure your grandkids as 0:22:26.720 --> 0:22:29.960 passionate as you are. You know, some grandparents step into 0:22:30.000 --> 0:22:32.920 that and they kind of impose their dreams on on 0:22:33.480 --> 0:22:37.200 other generations. Well, the only thing I imposed is you 0:22:37.400 --> 0:22:40.479 do something, do with the best of your ability, pursue 0:22:40.560 --> 0:22:42.439 it with a passion and ply. It doesn't mean you're 0:22:42.440 --> 0:22:45.080 always going to succeed a lot of great players out 0:22:45.160 --> 0:22:47.760 there competing trying to do what you're doing. But as 0:22:47.800 --> 0:22:49.920 long as you could do every day, my message and 0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:51.959 a young person I might be checking in on your 0:22:52.000 --> 0:22:56.680 podcast is try this out. Try this formula out every 0:22:56.760 --> 0:22:58.960 day of your life. When the night ends and you 0:22:59.040 --> 0:23:01.040 go look at the mirror and the night is finished, 0:23:01.359 --> 0:23:04.720 can you say to yourself, I was better today in 0:23:04.840 --> 0:23:07.600 pursuit of my goals and dreams that I was yesterday. 0:23:07.840 --> 0:23:10.560 And if you do that every day, that just adds 0:23:10.640 --> 0:23:12.680 up like you can't believe. And you know what, Chris 0:23:13.160 --> 0:23:15.360 at this week were had some real good restaurants called 0:23:15.440 --> 0:23:18.119 Cafel Rope here in sarah Sota, and we had the 0:23:18.280 --> 0:23:21.000 fourteen of us with us, all my family and my 0:23:21.200 --> 0:23:24.320 son of what Chris's mother was there and Lorrain's brothers 0:23:24.520 --> 0:23:28.159 and his wife as well, and all my my family, 0:23:28.240 --> 0:23:31.840 which is five grandkids, son of laws and daughters. I 0:23:31.960 --> 0:23:35.200 got very emotional, and I'll be honest with you, I 0:23:35.280 --> 0:23:37.240 told him. I said, usually I'm not speechless, but I 0:23:37.320 --> 0:23:39.560 start crying a little bit in terms of you know, 0:23:40.200 --> 0:23:42.760 you know, at my age now you're thinking about am 0:23:42.760 --> 0:23:45.040 I gonna see my grandkids graduate college? And when I 0:23:45.080 --> 0:23:48.240 watch them play tennis, let's go through your mind. And 0:23:48.720 --> 0:23:51.520 when I told him and I tried to impact them 0:23:51.640 --> 0:23:56.160 with make good decisions in your life. There's so many people, 0:23:56.200 --> 0:24:00.440 I said, I can't comprehend sometimes how people are so 0:24:00.760 --> 0:24:04.119 driven to be a success and put an hour after hour, 0:24:04.640 --> 0:24:06.600 whether it be law, whether it be medicine, whether it 0:24:06.720 --> 0:24:09.879 be athletics, and then rooting all in fine minutes by 0:24:09.960 --> 0:24:15.880 making bad decisions, unresting violence or whatever, drugs, alcohol abuse, 0:24:16.640 --> 0:24:19.840 doing it and rooted everything that they worked so hard for. 0:24:20.320 --> 0:24:22.560 I said, there's one thing to pray that you guys, 0:24:23.000 --> 0:24:25.359 and you girls, my granddaughters, well, I said that you 0:24:25.520 --> 0:24:30.280 make good decisions and don't become one dimensional. Don't become 0:24:30.680 --> 0:24:34.679 defined just by thinking that tennis tennis is the equalizing 0:24:34.840 --> 0:24:37.200 the success in life. Get to know when you're in 0:24:37.320 --> 0:24:40.240 Notre Dame. Get to know when you're at the kids 0:24:40.320 --> 0:24:42.560 next day, there aren't athletes. There's there gonna go on 0:24:42.680 --> 0:24:46.480 many of those and be CEOs and major major companies 0:24:46.720 --> 0:24:50.440 and be super successes. And I got a little emotional 0:24:50.520 --> 0:24:53.720 about it. You know, as a as a as a dad, 0:24:53.800 --> 0:24:56.919 and as a husband and as a father, I've been 0:24:57.200 --> 0:25:00.760 very blessed to have a situation where have had great 0:25:00.840 --> 0:25:03.080 job to me, It's a great job in forty some 0:25:03.320 --> 0:25:05.800 years doing what I love, getting paid to sit at 0:25:05.880 --> 0:25:09.480 courtside some of the greatest games over the years, meeting 0:25:09.600 --> 0:25:14.040 some unbelievable people. Um. Then also the fact, you know 0:25:14.480 --> 0:25:16.439 what I do off the year, I probably made more 0:25:16.520 --> 0:25:19.400 money off the year than on the year. With speaking 0:25:20.000 --> 0:25:22.119 has been great to me. While watched the speakers with 0:25:22.240 --> 0:25:24.639 over thirty years and booked me all over the place. 0:25:25.040 --> 0:25:29.040 Commercials over the years have been incredible. Uh. But the 0:25:29.119 --> 0:25:32.040 bottom and then I have a wief that to come 0:25:32.119 --> 0:25:36.320 home toon is no you know, there's no tension, There's 0:25:36.359 --> 0:25:39.719 no She's just such easy person to get along. If 0:25:39.720 --> 0:25:41.920 I couldn't get along with Lorin, I'm in trouble man. 0:25:42.280 --> 0:25:46.399 She's a saint. So fifty years of having that in 0:25:46.520 --> 0:25:49.040 front of me, having a support factor like she is, 0:25:49.560 --> 0:25:52.480 and then on top of it, getting two girls that 0:25:52.600 --> 0:25:55.680 I can honest truly, Sarah here Chris, they never gave 0:25:55.720 --> 0:25:58.800 me one ounce of trouble ever. Ever while they were 0:25:58.840 --> 0:26:01.399 in school over Here's for a reason they have been 0:26:01.520 --> 0:26:04.080 really if anything, and I said it during my speech, 0:26:04.080 --> 0:26:08.200 and I'll tell you so, I have one critique about 0:26:08.840 --> 0:26:13.560 Terry and Chris, Sherry and Thomas is this, your life 0:26:13.720 --> 0:26:18.200 is just too too much centered everything your kids, your kids, 0:26:18.520 --> 0:26:21.840 and you don't do enough alone about yourselves. I said, 0:26:22.119 --> 0:26:24.960 you're everything is them, Then you've got to do things 0:26:25.000 --> 0:26:27.120 a little bit by yourselves. And said, I know it's 0:26:27.160 --> 0:26:29.440 easy for me to say that because when I when 0:26:29.480 --> 0:26:33.120 you guys grew up Terry Sherry, you grew up your 0:26:33.200 --> 0:26:35.800 mother and I that's all our life was everything. When 0:26:35.880 --> 0:26:40.000 you guys did your tennis tournament matches, you know, going 0:26:40.040 --> 0:26:43.000 out and a forget one match. They're gonna play there. 0:26:43.080 --> 0:26:46.840 They're not see it big tournament in California. This is unbelievable, 0:26:47.240 --> 0:26:51.400 San Raphael. It's the preliminary to the big national tournament. 0:26:51.640 --> 0:26:53.879 So all the kids played it to try and get 0:26:53.920 --> 0:26:57.160 a little warmed up. New making the transition going to California. 0:26:57.800 --> 0:27:01.919 Terry and Jerry, they're not seeing they end up meeting 0:27:02.400 --> 0:27:05.360 in the finals. The now I had to sit there 0:27:05.600 --> 0:27:08.800 and you gotta make a decision, And fortunately for me, 0:27:09.080 --> 0:27:11.280 I didn't have to watch the match because I had 0:27:11.320 --> 0:27:13.399 a speaking engagement ane the thought they were going to 0:27:13.440 --> 0:27:16.040 go to the finals. I was speaking engagement the next 0:27:16.160 --> 0:27:19.119 day to Princeton University. So I'm gonna go there to 0:27:19.200 --> 0:27:21.600 speak at a basketball camp, but not I think about 0:27:21.600 --> 0:27:24.680 the NBA at the time. So my wife, I'm conveying 0:27:24.720 --> 0:27:26.639 back and for my wife, And be honest with you, 0:27:26.640 --> 0:27:28.960 I would never tell Terry Cherry this, but they could 0:27:29.000 --> 0:27:31.600 better hear it now. I wanted in the worst way 0:27:32.080 --> 0:27:35.000 Terry to win, because Terry was two years older, she 0:27:35.119 --> 0:27:38.720 was in junior. I was recruiting time college coaches all there, 0:27:39.040 --> 0:27:42.000 the whole net at Sherry beatcher in three sets, in 0:27:42.040 --> 0:27:46.000 an incredible tie break, a third and the ninth grade 0:27:46.080 --> 0:27:49.200 of wins. Yeah. So, and it really bothered me because 0:27:49.520 --> 0:27:51.840 Tennis magazine, it was a magazine, it was whole. I 0:27:51.920 --> 0:27:54.800 think tennis magazine, Chris, I don't think gets out anymore. 0:27:55.200 --> 0:27:57.680 And in that magazine they did like a feature on 0:27:57.760 --> 0:28:00.200 the kids that went in that tournament. And I wanted 0:28:00.280 --> 0:28:03.440 so badly for she was a julior going to get recruited. 0:28:03.800 --> 0:28:06.879 And but anyway, you're you're like you were kind of 0:28:07.960 --> 0:28:10.680 an early miniature version of Richard Williams. You had these 0:28:10.720 --> 0:28:12.560 two talent a daughter. I'm not not they weren't quite 0:28:12.680 --> 0:28:15.560 Venus and Serena but I mean don't don't go no 0:28:15.600 --> 0:28:17.720 no no no. But I mean the dynamic no no, 0:28:17.840 --> 0:28:20.680 the dynamic or sisters competing and what that puts a 0:28:20.840 --> 0:28:23.800 parent in, like how you wrestle with that stuff. And uh, 0:28:24.280 --> 0:28:26.080 Richard had a hard time, you know, didn't like when 0:28:26.119 --> 0:28:28.240 they played each other, and he would he would leave 0:28:28.280 --> 0:28:29.840 as you did, as you had to leave that day. 0:28:29.880 --> 0:28:32.000 But that that's a that's a great story. It's not 0:28:32.160 --> 0:28:34.360 watching even my grandsons. Now, I know what I love. 0:28:34.520 --> 0:28:36.920 I'm going right after we do our thing here, I'm 0:28:36.920 --> 0:28:39.280 going to watch Cornor and Jake work out. I love 0:28:39.360 --> 0:28:42.680 watching the workouts. I hate watching the matches. So the 0:28:42.760 --> 0:28:45.800 point getting I've lived a life. That's why I love 0:28:45.880 --> 0:28:48.840 giving back. I love giving back because I was given 0:28:48.960 --> 0:28:51.640 so much, much more than I ever dreamt over the 0:28:51.680 --> 0:28:54.320 thought of my life. And that's why Chris and you 0:28:54.400 --> 0:28:56.840 know now I'm obsessed for raising money for kids. I mean, 0:28:57.160 --> 0:28:59.880 I'm obsessed to the point where I drive people nuts 0:29:00.000 --> 0:29:04.120 of text messages, pictures are articles because it's so important 0:29:04.360 --> 0:29:06.800 when I talked to a family and I hear the 0:29:07.000 --> 0:29:10.480 stories and get to know the kids. He was I 0:29:10.560 --> 0:29:13.080 mean when we had our press conference the other day 0:29:13.560 --> 0:29:16.160 when I had my gallup. We have a press collage, 0:29:16.200 --> 0:29:18.440 you know, usually have five o'clock and all the kids 0:29:18.480 --> 0:29:21.440 sitting there. With the kids, we bring courageous kids. I 0:29:21.520 --> 0:29:25.280 mean kids. Joshua Fisher, young kid, twelve years old and 0:29:25.360 --> 0:29:31.440 twelve fifty doses of chemotherapy, Western herman four times, brain 0:29:31.600 --> 0:29:35.360 cats four times. He's in his fourth battle doing fifty 0:29:35.400 --> 0:29:38.840 two weeks of chemotherapy. And when I talked to the 0:29:38.920 --> 0:29:41.680 father the mother, the pain you can feel how their 0:29:41.840 --> 0:29:45.160 voices is unreal. And the kid is such a hockey player, 0:29:45.240 --> 0:29:48.000 Oh my god, you shouldee him play hockey and not 0:29:48.240 --> 0:29:52.680 good terrific. So when the father called me about six 0:29:52.800 --> 0:29:56.960 months ago, I guess and tunes his voice. I heard 0:29:57.040 --> 0:30:00.600 his voice, Jared a great guy, super person, young guys, 0:30:00.720 --> 0:30:03.560 got three kids, and I can tell by his voice 0:30:03.720 --> 0:30:06.280 what's going on. Heared, So we just got bad news. 0:30:06.640 --> 0:30:09.239 I said, what's the bad news? And I'm hoping him 0:30:09.280 --> 0:30:12.000 of crossing my fingers is not what I'm sting to think. 0:30:12.560 --> 0:30:16.360 I said, what's wrong? He said, Western, he did his 0:30:16.480 --> 0:30:19.680 quarterly checkup and he's been so good for two years. 0:30:20.200 --> 0:30:23.200 Cancer or remission. The doctor said to bring too much 0:30:23.360 --> 0:30:26.719 come back and they have two options. One they can 0:30:26.760 --> 0:30:29.959 do surgery, what's very dangerous to do because he's had 0:30:30.000 --> 0:30:33.760 two surgeries already and it couldn't lead to paralysis. And 0:30:34.280 --> 0:30:37.320 the second option is you have a choice fifty two 0:30:37.360 --> 0:30:40.200 weeks of chemo. And he took the fifty two weeks 0:30:40.240 --> 0:30:43.040 of chemo to show you the toughness of this kid. 0:30:43.680 --> 0:30:47.320 About two months ago, he's doing chemo and he tells 0:30:47.440 --> 0:30:51.160 the doctor, I'm playing hockey tonight. Thanks, I gonna play 0:30:51.200 --> 0:30:54.720 hockey time. You're not gonna be exhausted. I'm gonna play hockey. 0:30:55.280 --> 0:30:57.760 Jared calls me up. He says, you're not gonna believe it. 0:30:58.280 --> 0:31:01.600 He said western and throwing up the car, throwing up 0:31:01.640 --> 0:31:04.600 on the law. He's inside putting his hockey uniform. Mind 0:31:04.720 --> 0:31:06.880 right now, do you want to play hockey? Type? And 0:31:06.960 --> 0:31:09.320 he plays with older kids? You start team now, he's 0:31:09.360 --> 0:31:12.240 playing like fifteen year old kids. You scored three goals. 0:31:12.320 --> 0:31:16.240 Was in a paper Big rights to assists. So I 0:31:16.320 --> 0:31:19.280 mean I had a conversation. I met him and his 0:31:19.400 --> 0:31:22.080 parents and we had a conversation about that. After you 0:31:22.280 --> 0:31:25.080 have mentioned that in the speech at your gala, and uh, 0:31:25.320 --> 0:31:27.680 you know, we took some pictures and I was. He 0:31:27.800 --> 0:31:29.800 was very modest, He's very low key about it, and 0:31:30.320 --> 0:31:33.680 the demeanor that he has is is really impressive. You're right, 0:31:33.760 --> 0:31:37.720 you you you put the spotlight on so many special kids, 0:31:37.800 --> 0:31:40.440 and I know that the compassion and the love that 0:31:40.560 --> 0:31:45.040 you have for for Weston has just duplicated many many 0:31:45.120 --> 0:31:47.160 times over the years. There's been so many kids that 0:31:47.640 --> 0:31:50.080 you've gotten to know them and their families, and it's 0:31:50.160 --> 0:31:52.960 it's it's a labor of love because and it's authentic 0:31:53.120 --> 0:31:55.720 because you know their stories, you know their treatment histories, 0:31:55.760 --> 0:31:59.080 you know their parents stories, and and being able to 0:31:59.760 --> 0:32:02.560 just salute them and let their parents and those kids 0:32:02.720 --> 0:32:04.640 stand in front of a crowd that jumps to its 0:32:04.720 --> 0:32:08.200 feet and it's clapping and cheering and saluting their courage 0:32:08.640 --> 0:32:11.000 has an unbelievable impact. That what we'll get a little 0:32:11.040 --> 0:32:13.240 bit more into the gallo, which by the way, raised 0:32:13.360 --> 0:32:16.520 what over a six million in one event this year, 0:32:16.600 --> 0:32:19.360 which is a staggering tump total in his way over 0:32:19.480 --> 0:32:23.040 forty million now. But but but what is it about 0:32:24.120 --> 0:32:27.840 pediatric cancer, Dick and and those stories and those kids 0:32:28.520 --> 0:32:32.240 that has made this, you know, kind of a lifelong 0:32:32.360 --> 0:32:35.080 passion or a decade long passion for you. What what 0:32:35.280 --> 0:32:38.239 is it about them and their stories and this disease. Well, 0:32:38.320 --> 0:32:40.040 you know, no kids should suffer. It should be all 0:32:40.040 --> 0:32:42.480 playing like my grandkids. And I always have the fear. 0:32:43.000 --> 0:32:45.520 I mean, I hear stories just the simple headingche kid 0:32:45.600 --> 0:32:49.040 named Kyle Peters is a mob works in the courthouse 0:32:49.080 --> 0:32:53.320 when my smilar works. Kyle came down with a situation, 0:32:53.480 --> 0:32:55.680 the headache. So what do you do give the mad villa? 0:32:55.760 --> 0:32:58.400 She said, you give him something eating bad, but then 0:32:58.520 --> 0:33:00.520 go away. Now you go to the doctor. Just says, 0:33:00.800 --> 0:33:03.640 oh my god, the m r R. It's gotta tuma. 0:33:03.880 --> 0:33:07.800 It's got a tuma. And to show that money works. 0:33:07.960 --> 0:33:10.280 Chris and I think I may have mentioned that at 0:33:10.320 --> 0:33:13.080 my gala. If I didn't, I know the youngster mentioned 0:33:13.120 --> 0:33:16.280 that at my house when he spoke. He's in college now, Kyle, 0:33:16.560 --> 0:33:18.800 he was twelve years old this time, playing Little League 0:33:18.840 --> 0:33:21.680 baseball and something. I've known him that many years. But 0:33:21.800 --> 0:33:23.920 at my house we have a post yala. For a 0:33:23.960 --> 0:33:26.320 lot of people don't understand. We have a post People 0:33:26.480 --> 0:33:29.720 donate big money to join. People like you who came 0:33:30.080 --> 0:33:33.400 people's celebrities joined in with them in a casual dress 0:33:33.680 --> 0:33:36.440 kind of atmosphere. You and I closed the house party. 0:33:36.520 --> 0:33:40.160 Thought about one in the boarding stories about USP had 0:33:40.440 --> 0:33:43.240 stories stories. We'll get to that later. We go back 0:33:43.280 --> 0:33:48.680 to the stories were great. But anyway, Kyle's mother about 0:33:48.720 --> 0:33:52.720 three years ago, the galla ends and she comes over 0:33:52.800 --> 0:33:55.120 to me and she says, I want to talk to 0:33:55.200 --> 0:33:58.240 you in the rain and everybody's leaving the gala. We 0:33:58.320 --> 0:34:02.040 have a great successful jalla and she cuts to an 0:34:02.120 --> 0:34:03.840 up and then she says, I want to thank you 0:34:03.920 --> 0:34:06.920 for saving my son's life. I said, I saved your 0:34:07.000 --> 0:34:09.640 son's of life. I was anybody's life A doctor and 0:34:09.719 --> 0:34:13.600 a she's don't. When Kyle went to All Children's Hospital 0:34:13.640 --> 0:34:17.640 with his brain cancer, they said the research granted that 0:34:17.880 --> 0:34:21.000 was given in memory of Peyton Right who lost her life. 0:34:21.440 --> 0:34:23.640 That's got me really going the neighbor of mind and 0:34:23.920 --> 0:34:27.440 went to her funeral six years old. Just crushed me. 0:34:27.560 --> 0:34:31.719 Or live in American dream Patrick and Holly, nice home, 0:34:31.880 --> 0:34:34.200 nice job, and all of a sudden, child, it's cancer 0:34:34.360 --> 0:34:36.840 changes in your life. I watched that girl get blind, 0:34:36.960 --> 0:34:39.760 I watched that girl get paralyzed, and then I watched 0:34:39.840 --> 0:34:42.080 her lose her life and went to the funeral. But 0:34:42.239 --> 0:34:45.160 she said the research grant that you raised dollars for. 0:34:45.880 --> 0:34:50.560 They said that research brant for brain cancer Save Kyle, 0:34:51.200 --> 0:34:54.040 and Kyle is cancer free, has been for the last 0:34:54.239 --> 0:34:57.000 seven eight years. He's now in college at Central Florida. 0:34:57.560 --> 0:35:01.360 I mean stories like that just I mean, I can't 0:35:01.400 --> 0:35:05.160 describe what I felt like when I left that. I mean, no, 0:35:05.360 --> 0:35:07.600 I I think that's the thing too, is that I 0:35:07.680 --> 0:35:10.160 know how you feel. You feel exhausted and dream because 0:35:10.200 --> 0:35:16.120 you put so much energy into it. You incredibly generous 0:35:16.160 --> 0:35:18.239 person in many ways, but especially in that But I 0:35:18.280 --> 0:35:20.400 think you need to know. Maybe you hear this, but 0:35:20.480 --> 0:35:22.719 I'll tell you as someone that's been there and was 0:35:22.880 --> 0:35:25.560 very honored to be to be given an award there 0:35:25.560 --> 0:35:28.200 a few years ago. Believe me, because cancer has touched 0:35:28.239 --> 0:35:31.240 my life and touched everybody's life, really far too many lives. 0:35:31.320 --> 0:35:35.000 But people like me Dick leave that room and I 0:35:35.120 --> 0:35:38.200 know that the number is staggering, and the dollars do 0:35:38.400 --> 0:35:42.680 go to real work. But beyond that, you leave people 0:35:43.760 --> 0:35:46.640 inspired to go out and want to do more, and 0:35:46.840 --> 0:35:50.040 want to care more and want to be more generous, 0:35:50.160 --> 0:35:52.520 better people. And that has an effect when they see 0:35:52.600 --> 0:35:55.120 the example you set and you see the power of 0:35:55.200 --> 0:35:57.120 that evening and the effect that it has in their 0:35:57.200 --> 0:35:59.719 kids and their families. I walk out of there, they 0:35:59.760 --> 0:36:02.160 could you know Ship, Yeah, I write a check, but 0:36:02.400 --> 0:36:04.400 I want to do more. I want to care more. 0:36:04.480 --> 0:36:06.759 So thank you for the gift of being inspirational in 0:36:06.840 --> 0:36:09.000 that way that that is gonna be. It already is 0:36:09.040 --> 0:36:11.839 a wonderful legacy of the event. It's what's done there, 0:36:12.080 --> 0:36:13.960 but it's how it makes people feel when they go 0:36:14.080 --> 0:36:16.440 out of that room and out into the world. Well, 0:36:16.480 --> 0:36:18.719 I appreciate that, Chris, I really do you know. I 0:36:18.760 --> 0:36:21.760 remember you Jimmy V. One time I will never forget 0:36:21.840 --> 0:36:23.319 and really got me going. I mean, I can talk 0:36:23.360 --> 0:36:25.319 a whole day about this stuff, and I don't want 0:36:25.360 --> 0:36:27.839 to do that for people. But Jimmy V. I went 0:36:27.920 --> 0:36:31.120 at the hotel, of course from ESPN, getting ready to 0:36:31.200 --> 0:36:34.880 go work on a Monday, and I'm having dinner. He 0:36:34.960 --> 0:36:36.879 went up to his role, and all of a sudden, 0:36:36.880 --> 0:36:39.640 about twenty minutes later, the girl of the receptions from 0:36:39.680 --> 0:36:42.479 his over and she's h jim Valvanolson, can you please 0:36:42.560 --> 0:36:45.640 come up to his room? He said, to appreciate very 0:36:45.719 --> 0:36:48.000 much going. So I go up to his room and 0:36:48.080 --> 0:36:50.480 I'll never forget this as long as I live. He's 0:36:50.520 --> 0:36:55.719 in Shurance and he's crying, punching the Jim. Mean, what's 0:36:55.760 --> 0:36:59.160 going on? What's he said? Take your worst tooth thick 0:36:59.600 --> 0:37:02.319 to run through your body. I feel that every day. 0:37:02.840 --> 0:37:06.120 And I knew that he had turned down request by 0:37:06.239 --> 0:37:10.080 dot Is to do morphine to try and kill the pain, 0:37:10.600 --> 0:37:14.000 the pain, because he believed in his mind I had 0:37:14.080 --> 0:37:17.479 taken it. These proof f's here and there. I'm thinking 0:37:17.520 --> 0:37:20.719 that morphine that means I'm done. I'm finished, and I'm 0:37:20.760 --> 0:37:22.640 not finished. I'm gonna be one of those people gonna 0:37:22.680 --> 0:37:25.560 beat this. They said, like Tempest be what he had, Well, 0:37:25.600 --> 0:37:28.080 I'm gonna be one of those. And he just fought 0:37:28.200 --> 0:37:31.000 and fought and went through that pain. And we sat 0:37:31.080 --> 0:37:34.440 there and talked him, Man, I'm be honest with you. Uh, 0:37:34.800 --> 0:37:38.080 my last conversation, I can stimulate you said, where do 0:37:38.160 --> 0:37:41.279 I get inspired? My last conversation with him was right 0:37:41.360 --> 0:37:47.440 after I introduced him, after the SPS first SPS and Uh, 0:37:47.960 --> 0:37:50.520 it was unbelieving. He got h the Author Ash Award, 0:37:50.560 --> 0:37:53.200 the first recipient of it. I was introduced by Dustin 0:37:53.320 --> 0:37:56.319 Hoffman and he talked about Arthur Ash that he brought 0:37:56.360 --> 0:37:59.879 me up to introduce Jimmy. I thought, Jimmy, what's gonna 0:38:00.320 --> 0:38:03.480 just say? Thank you? Sit down? Because if you saw 0:38:03.680 --> 0:38:08.399 him that night before and the day of the sp 0:38:08.719 --> 0:38:10.560 he would never believe he could get up there and 0:38:10.600 --> 0:38:13.160 give that speed. He was out of it so much. 0:38:13.239 --> 0:38:16.200 So I badly begged him the night before to make 0:38:16.239 --> 0:38:18.640 sure he came because what happened. I went over with 0:38:18.719 --> 0:38:21.600 Joe where the car going over, and I just thought 0:38:21.600 --> 0:38:24.279 it's gonna be another event. When I went to rehearsal 0:38:25.040 --> 0:38:27.759 the night before, I was blown away with what they 0:38:27.800 --> 0:38:29.800 were gonna do and all this. So I called his 0:38:29.920 --> 0:38:34.359 house up and you know, his wife's typical. Pam said, uh, 0:38:34.760 --> 0:38:37.120 he's in a room just down and you know, please 0:38:37.160 --> 0:38:38.680 get him on the phone. So you got on the phone. 0:38:39.239 --> 0:38:41.839 I said, Jimmy to mar is gonna be special man? 0:38:42.000 --> 0:38:44.560 He said there, he's very low key, you know, I mean, 0:38:44.800 --> 0:38:46.840 hard to believe this guy can get up there and 0:38:46.880 --> 0:38:50.000 give that speech. He says, you think I'm worried about Dick, 0:38:50.640 --> 0:38:54.359 worried about getting some words or whatever. He says, I'm 0:38:54.440 --> 0:38:57.840 gonna see my little girl Frederick Grammar school. I'm not 0:38:57.880 --> 0:39:00.719 gonna go walk my daughter down the island. Man, I mean, 0:39:00.840 --> 0:39:02.920 he's got me in tears and he's got me you know, 0:39:03.000 --> 0:39:05.200 it's come on, Jimmy, you gotta tough enough, you gotta 0:39:05.239 --> 0:39:08.680 you know, you gotta be here. Mike Sachowski and his 0:39:08.840 --> 0:39:12.800 wife flew with Jimmy. And in fact, if people go 0:39:13.080 --> 0:39:16.600 to my Facebook, on my Facebook, they're gonna facebook the 0:39:16.640 --> 0:39:19.480 real dick my twel We opened it up with there's 0:39:19.520 --> 0:39:22.800 a thing victory V for victory, and it's all about 0:39:22.880 --> 0:39:26.439 Mike and I sharing. We're writing a letter. We write 0:39:26.480 --> 0:39:32.440 a letter about the night before the night before the SPS, 0:39:32.719 --> 0:39:35.840 and it's all about how Mike's talking about in a plane, 0:39:36.239 --> 0:39:38.640 Jimmy's throwing up like Crazzy and the plane in the 0:39:38.719 --> 0:39:41.279 back he he and Mickey flew him up, flew up, 0:39:41.400 --> 0:39:44.400 togetting them and if you remember, we had to carry 0:39:44.480 --> 0:39:46.839 him on the stage before what a lot of people 0:39:46.840 --> 0:39:50.720 didn't know this before that really a couple hours before 0:39:51.120 --> 0:39:54.359 or hour whatever it was before, I knew he would 0:39:54.360 --> 0:39:55.919 the way he felt. So I was trying to grab 0:39:56.000 --> 0:39:58.680 someone's system there. It was putting on the event to 0:39:58.800 --> 0:40:02.680 me be bring the microphone to him sitting down, so 0:40:03.120 --> 0:40:05.480 he sees me talking, what are you doing? Is I'll 0:40:05.480 --> 0:40:08.480 try to make it easy for you, man, Dick, Dick, 0:40:08.520 --> 0:40:10.279 I didn't come of it. Just get me up on 0:40:10.360 --> 0:40:13.920 that stage. Please just get me up. And in this 0:40:14.160 --> 0:40:17.839 video I'm talking talking about that's on my Facebook. Mike 0:40:17.960 --> 0:40:20.759 and I write on our arms because we're just get 0:40:20.880 --> 0:40:23.839 me up on the stage. And he got him up there. 0:40:24.080 --> 0:40:27.120 I thank you. I stood here for the whole time. 0:40:27.120 --> 0:40:29.800 I would have never stood there for five minutes. I 0:40:29.840 --> 0:40:32.200 would have I sat that if I was given us. 0:40:32.520 --> 0:40:37.440 It was the most electrifying moment. I can't thank ESPN 0:40:38.960 --> 0:40:41.359 enough for allowing this to happen. And I'm gonna work 0:40:41.400 --> 0:40:45.360 as hard as I can, you know, for cancer research 0:40:45.520 --> 0:40:48.719 and hopefully we'll be maybe we'll have some cures and 0:40:48.840 --> 0:40:51.279 some breakthroughs. And i'd like to think I'm gonna fight 0:40:51.400 --> 0:40:54.279 my brains out to be back here again next year 0:40:54.560 --> 0:40:56.960 for the author asked recipient, I want to give it 0:40:57.400 --> 0:41:07.320 next year. I know I've gotta go. I've gotta go, 0:41:07.680 --> 0:41:09.600 and I got one last thing. I said it before 0:41:09.640 --> 0:41:12.320 and I'm gonna say it again. Cancer can take away 0:41:12.960 --> 0:41:16.360 all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it 0:41:16.480 --> 0:41:19.240 cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul. 0:41:19.840 --> 0:41:23.040 And those three things are gonna carry on forever. I 0:41:23.200 --> 0:41:29.560 thank you, and God bless you all. So I pulled 0:41:29.600 --> 0:41:33.080 him up the next day, twelve hours later, after he 0:41:33.080 --> 0:41:37.000 electrifies the nation with that speech, I called up maybe 0:41:37.040 --> 0:41:40.600 around noontime for eight in the morning. Flight from back 0:41:40.640 --> 0:41:43.720 to the home, I got home against twelve one o'clock 0:41:43.800 --> 0:41:47.200 whatever it was. My answer machine was loaded with coaches 0:41:47.280 --> 0:41:49.840 caller who A lot of them maybe didn't think Jimmy 0:41:49.920 --> 0:41:51.960 was that ill, you know, and and they swart at 0:41:52.000 --> 0:41:54.120 speech and they were blown away. So I called the 0:41:54.160 --> 0:41:56.960 tell a great job he did, and how that was 0:41:57.040 --> 0:42:01.080 my last conversation. I hope, bam. She said, is phonus 0:42:01.160 --> 0:42:03.839 off the hook? He's not talking to anyone? He talked 0:42:03.840 --> 0:42:06.800 about one. He took one phone call the president of 0:42:06.800 --> 0:42:09.520 the United States. That's the only coll we tooked. And 0:42:09.680 --> 0:42:12.359 I said, well, I'm not the president, but I want 0:42:12.440 --> 0:42:14.840 to get on the phone. Get up on the phone. 0:42:15.320 --> 0:42:18.120 She's she's in his room. He's been crying, he's been 0:42:18.520 --> 0:42:20.920 I said, Pam, please get him on her phone. So 0:42:21.040 --> 0:42:24.879 she get him off. You know, you could barely hear him. 0:42:24.960 --> 0:42:28.400 Christmas a guy that was lictrified laugh and people go, 0:42:29.000 --> 0:42:35.000 you know there's this album. During the conversation, Yeah, it's over, man, 0:42:35.280 --> 0:42:37.919 he's over, Jimmy, don't talk like that. You can't quit, 0:42:38.000 --> 0:42:40.960 you can't give up. No more speeches that, no more. 0:42:41.480 --> 0:42:46.000 It's done. I said, I love you man, I can 0:42:46.120 --> 0:42:49.680 choke them. I love you, Jimmy. Jimmy. He said, you 0:42:49.800 --> 0:42:54.640 gotta keep fighting, to keep fighting. And it just was 0:42:54.880 --> 0:42:57.279 my last conversation. And he died right at and died 0:42:57.360 --> 0:43:00.640 shortly after that. Went to the funeral. But think about 0:43:00.680 --> 0:43:04.160 his legacy. Had jid Dicky had everything he had left 0:43:05.560 --> 0:43:07.399 and and found some what he didn't think he had 0:43:07.520 --> 0:43:11.560 put into that speech. And you said electrifying, and it 0:43:11.719 --> 0:43:15.080 is a message that lives forever. It's it's words that 0:43:15.160 --> 0:43:18.560 have inspired millions of people that live forever. It's inspired 0:43:18.760 --> 0:43:21.120 other generations who now come to find that speech and 0:43:21.160 --> 0:43:25.160 don't even know what he did back coaching career. They 0:43:25.280 --> 0:43:28.680 found that and that's a that's an incredible backstory. A 0:43:28.719 --> 0:43:30.880 lot of that stuff I didn't know about what it 0:43:30.960 --> 0:43:32.440 took to get him on the stage and what it 0:43:32.480 --> 0:43:35.960 took within him to stand there and deliver that message 0:43:36.239 --> 0:43:38.600 that will live forever. And I'm not surprised that it 0:43:38.800 --> 0:43:41.319 that it It took everything that he had left at 0:43:41.360 --> 0:43:44.359 that point. I mean, the ending is obviously brutally sad. 0:43:44.440 --> 0:43:48.440 The finality always stabs you in the gut. But to 0:43:48.560 --> 0:43:51.279 think about what what he left the world and what 0:43:51.520 --> 0:43:54.600 he will be remembered for is more of those twenty 0:43:54.680 --> 0:43:56.680 five minutes that even even running around on the court 0:43:56.719 --> 0:43:59.320 after NCY State beat Houston in a national championship, it's that. 0:43:59.480 --> 0:44:02.319 It's that moment on that stage. You know, Chris, think 0:44:02.360 --> 0:44:04.400 about this over a quarter. I'm proud to be on 0:44:04.440 --> 0:44:07.600 the board of directors and my dollars I raised for 0:44:07.640 --> 0:44:11.680 the found There's all pediatrics, but the the foundation itself 0:44:12.040 --> 0:44:15.440 has raised for every form of cancer, Wenna be loved, process, 0:44:15.520 --> 0:44:18.920 the coal of breast cancer, whatever. Over two hundred and 0:44:19.120 --> 0:44:22.200 sixty million dollars. That's a quote of a billion. So 0:44:22.360 --> 0:44:26.320 think about Jimmy's life, think about the legacy, the impact 0:44:26.440 --> 0:44:29.759 of that. Winning that national title obviously made this a 0:44:29.880 --> 0:44:33.160 scenario where his message became bigger and bigger because his 0:44:33.280 --> 0:44:36.360 personality was known by many people in the sports world. 0:44:36.719 --> 0:44:40.839 But the impact it's had on so many lives. I mean, 0:44:40.960 --> 0:44:43.000 to me, isn't that what life is? If you can 0:44:43.080 --> 0:44:47.240 leave this world and knowing that you've impact people forever. 0:44:47.719 --> 0:44:50.040 That's what Jimmy V did and did it in a 0:44:51.040 --> 0:44:54.279 way that was just I will never forget standing there. 0:44:54.400 --> 0:44:57.239 Listen to that speech. In fact that my gallup. I 0:44:57.320 --> 0:44:59.400 always tell people and every time I do a speech 0:44:59.480 --> 0:45:01.560 there there's three things that are gonna happen in this 0:45:01.719 --> 0:45:05.319 mood tonight that Jimmy used to always proclaim with vital 0:45:05.440 --> 0:45:07.840 to live in a full day. You can be moved 0:45:07.880 --> 0:45:10.799 to thought. You're gonna be moved to laughter, and you're 0:45:10.800 --> 0:45:13.160 can be moved to tears. It's gonna happen. And that 0:45:13.320 --> 0:45:16.080 whom that happened, There no doubt about it. Every gal 0:45:16.280 --> 0:45:19.680 I have is people thought, it's laughter, and then there's tears, 0:45:20.080 --> 0:45:22.840 and there's tears. But you know, so proud to be 0:45:22.960 --> 0:45:26.160 able to you celebrity who in a way to be 0:45:26.320 --> 0:45:29.719 able to get entree. See what what I have going 0:45:29.840 --> 0:45:32.239 for me now is I'm able to get entree. Would 0:45:32.320 --> 0:45:35.759 keep people who could donate. I just need more. I 0:45:35.880 --> 0:45:38.960 need more athletes and more entertainers and work people out 0:45:39.040 --> 0:45:44.080 there to come forward, come forward and realize Christ there's 0:45:44.120 --> 0:45:47.800 only four cents out of every dollar goes for funding 0:45:48.080 --> 0:45:52.799 for kids. That's when people donate for Cancer for Research. Pet. 0:45:52.920 --> 0:45:55.320 Actually there's fourth cents of that dot dollar. That's a 0:45:55.360 --> 0:45:58.560 shocking statue. You repeat that every year, that that four 0:45:58.719 --> 0:46:03.359 cents goes to Cancer for Kids research out of out 0:46:03.400 --> 0:46:07.000 of a hundred cents. Why why that makes that? Makes 0:46:07.080 --> 0:46:10.080 no sense? But it's you're you're slowly making people aware 0:46:10.080 --> 0:46:12.000 of that and perhaps changing it and doing doing some 0:46:12.040 --> 0:46:15.279 phenomenal work. Hope to do it. Anyway, I don't want to. 0:46:16.400 --> 0:46:18.279 I want to talk about listening you you mentioned, you 0:46:18.360 --> 0:46:21.319 mentioned the tears, the laughter when I work with you guys. 0:46:21.400 --> 0:46:23.200 When I when I was in the studio with you 0:46:24.160 --> 0:46:27.680 and and uh Jim Balvano, those were for me some 0:46:27.800 --> 0:46:29.960 of the greatest memories. I mean, it was so much 0:46:30.040 --> 0:46:31.840 fun as a host. I didn't have to work for 0:46:31.880 --> 0:46:34.440 you hard because you guys each were brilliant communicators. You 0:46:34.520 --> 0:46:38.160 had your own dynamic on the set with each other. Yeah, 0:46:38.160 --> 0:46:40.200 you always come me the Junior Varsity. That's okay, I 0:46:40.760 --> 0:46:43.480 I could. I was. I was able to step up 0:46:43.520 --> 0:46:45.560 as a j V host and work with two giants 0:46:45.600 --> 0:46:47.560 and that was a blast. And you know we've talked 0:46:47.560 --> 0:46:50.160 to the other night you mentioned you mentioned closing the 0:46:50.600 --> 0:46:53.040 closing your backyard down till one o'clock in the morning 0:46:53.040 --> 0:46:55.440 after your gala, telling old stories about some of the 0:46:55.480 --> 0:46:57.400 behind the scenes stuff at ESPN. But I find never 0:46:57.440 --> 0:46:59.680 seen it. People come up and say, oh, I like 0:47:00.040 --> 0:47:01.880 you when when you by tower together. But you know, 0:47:02.120 --> 0:47:06.200 we watched and we were never sure like that these 0:47:06.280 --> 0:47:09.879 guys like each other. Were they friends because we would 0:47:09.920 --> 0:47:12.520 throw you the friendly jabs. You you would call me 0:47:12.600 --> 0:47:14.560 the j V on the air, by the way, that's 0:47:14.560 --> 0:47:17.719 all right, and I would I would give you the 0:47:17.840 --> 0:47:20.759 business and you know, and you I never gave you 0:47:20.920 --> 0:47:24.320 the credit for getting a bracket pick right that you wanted. 0:47:24.719 --> 0:47:27.160 But but I think it was interesting. People thought like, 0:47:27.280 --> 0:47:29.600 I don't know, maybe they don't get themlong, maybe maybe 0:47:29.640 --> 0:47:31.560 there's a problem there. But I thought that was just 0:47:31.640 --> 0:47:33.960 good TV. They were the key key people guessing that way, 0:47:34.160 --> 0:47:36.839 get a spark going, you know. Well, you know, I'll 0:47:36.880 --> 0:47:38.360 tell you we had so much fun there, there's no 0:47:38.560 --> 0:47:42.120 question about it. Uh. Really, you have a great gift. 0:47:42.360 --> 0:47:45.120 You a lot to get your people to really respond 0:47:45.560 --> 0:47:48.759 and get them really as a host. As a great 0:47:48.840 --> 0:47:51.200 gift you zess and you did a great job. And 0:47:51.320 --> 0:47:53.239 that's certainly with college game that you were off the 0:47:53.360 --> 0:47:55.359 charts what you did with their But now you went 0:47:55.400 --> 0:47:57.399 to the big leagues and you got there as doing 0:47:57.440 --> 0:47:59.080 that play by player in the game in a week 0:47:59.200 --> 0:48:03.040 and you ocur do a tremendous job together. And uh, really, 0:48:03.080 --> 0:48:05.680 I'm very proud to say that I've watched you growth. 0:48:05.920 --> 0:48:09.160 We are we aren't today, that's right, kind I'm gonna 0:48:09.200 --> 0:48:11.040 stop you right there at all. I get uncomfortable people 0:48:11.080 --> 0:48:13.080 start paying compliments here, but I you know how I 0:48:13.120 --> 0:48:15.719 feel about you. I think that Yeah, I will say 0:48:15.719 --> 0:48:18.440 I told the story, and I'll tell it quickly here 0:48:18.480 --> 0:48:21.120 the shortened version. But my lowest point is a broadcaster 0:48:21.160 --> 0:48:23.160 because I don't raise my voice. I don't really get angry. 0:48:23.719 --> 0:48:25.560 Uh in a studio or on a set, I try 0:48:25.600 --> 0:48:28.279 to be composed because people look to the host role 0:48:28.880 --> 0:48:30.720 as as kind of the point guard. Right, You're supposed 0:48:30.719 --> 0:48:34.719 to be in control, keep your cool, and if you're not, 0:48:35.520 --> 0:48:38.000 everybody kind of feeds off that. It can get sideways. 0:48:38.239 --> 0:48:40.160 But I had bronchitis one time one of our March 0:48:40.280 --> 0:48:43.840 Madness weekends, and we had Dale Brown x LSU coaching 0:48:43.880 --> 0:48:46.279 there Diggers over here to my left, they had a 0:48:46.320 --> 0:48:48.719 little friction. They didn't have a great relationships, and I 0:48:48.800 --> 0:48:50.759 we gotta deal with that. You're over there doing your thing. 0:48:50.800 --> 0:48:53.239 I don't have to worry about you. But but these 0:48:53.280 --> 0:48:55.880 shows are free formed. There's no script, there's barely a format. 0:48:56.000 --> 0:48:58.560 So segment by segment you're figuring out what you're gonna 0:48:58.560 --> 0:49:00.480 talk about as you're in a commercial break for the 0:49:00.560 --> 0:49:03.920 next five minutes, and it involves listening to a producer 0:49:03.960 --> 0:49:06.680 a little earpiece, and it's chaos in the studio. Dale 0:49:06.680 --> 0:49:08.600 doesn't know what he's doing. He's new to it. He's 0:49:08.600 --> 0:49:11.640 trying to diggers over here. His mind's going everywhere, and 0:49:11.719 --> 0:49:14.000 there are you. And every commercial break you're having seventeen 0:49:14.080 --> 0:49:17.040 conversations because you get an unbelievable ability to do seventeen 0:49:17.120 --> 0:49:19.440 things at once and then still still somehow put your 0:49:19.480 --> 0:49:21.360 mind on the job when the red light goes on. 0:49:21.719 --> 0:49:24.680 That's been one of your secrets, I think. But as 0:49:24.719 --> 0:49:26.880 a host, I'm like, what is he saying? What are 0:49:26.880 --> 0:49:29.160 we doing? What? What region? What games? What highlights? What's 0:49:29.200 --> 0:49:31.840 the comment? I don't know what we're doing? And commercial 0:49:31.920 --> 0:49:34.040 break after commercial break, like no one else in the 0:49:34.120 --> 0:49:36.720 sets paying attention but me, And then as we're counting 0:49:36.800 --> 0:49:39.879 down into the segment. Out of the break five four, 0:49:40.040 --> 0:49:41.320 you would turn to me, what are we doing? What 0:49:41.360 --> 0:49:43.520 are we doing? And I would like have two seconds 0:49:43.520 --> 0:49:45.480 to take But it never matter. You always got through 0:49:45.520 --> 0:49:47.719 it quickly. But I'm being I had a fever of 0:49:47.760 --> 0:49:49.560 a hundred and two. I had no business being on 0:49:49.640 --> 0:49:51.800 the set. I should have been getting a treatment in 0:49:51.840 --> 0:49:53.960 a clinic. But you try to soldier through and get 0:49:54.040 --> 0:49:57.239 get on with the job. Finally, after about an hour 0:49:57.320 --> 0:50:00.600 of this kind of show, we're in a mirtial break 0:50:01.000 --> 0:50:03.160 and the producer's freendth I was laughing when Billy Graff 0:50:03.280 --> 0:50:05.040 was a producer of this show. He's still a great friend. 0:50:05.080 --> 0:50:07.680 He's still involved with with your galut. We were laughing 0:50:07.760 --> 0:50:11.560 the other day and and finally, finally I snapped. I 0:50:11.640 --> 0:50:14.359 was completely unprofessional. I lost my cool and I turned 0:50:14.360 --> 0:50:17.959 to you in a commercial I said, m F would 0:50:18.000 --> 0:50:21.840 you shut that f up? And then and then you 0:50:22.000 --> 0:50:24.640 said you looked at me like shocked, because I that 0:50:24.880 --> 0:50:27.080 was I tried never to be that person. I tried 0:50:27.160 --> 0:50:29.000 to keep my cool, but you didn't make me do it. 0:50:29.080 --> 0:50:30.680 But I lost it and I was a low point, 0:50:30.760 --> 0:50:33.840 and that's on me. And you jump up. You grabbed 0:50:33.880 --> 0:50:35.959 a little lave of their microphone which is on your tie. 0:50:36.239 --> 0:50:38.799 You take it off. You got one foot off the set. 0:50:38.840 --> 0:50:41.799 You're out. You've tapped out. I've I've I've made I've 0:50:41.840 --> 0:50:44.279 gotten vitesail off the air, which has been impossible to 0:50:44.360 --> 0:50:47.560 do for their year. But then you come to your senses. 0:50:47.600 --> 0:50:49.600 The guy's counting down three to you, sit down, put 0:50:49.640 --> 0:50:52.000 the mic on. You shoot me a look. You give 0:50:52.040 --> 0:50:54.640 me like the Malocchio it's called right back in the 0:50:54.640 --> 0:50:56.920 neighborhood with the Eva. But then you go through like 0:50:57.000 --> 0:50:59.280 no nobody would know anything. You you nailed the segment. 0:50:59.320 --> 0:51:02.160 You're doing your sual thing. But every time that you're 0:51:02.200 --> 0:51:04.440 not talking and I'm not talking and Dale's going on 0:51:04.560 --> 0:51:06.520 or Diggers going on, you're looking at me. I go, oh, no, 0:51:06.840 --> 0:51:08.480 we're gonna have to have a reckoning. We're gonna have 0:51:08.600 --> 0:51:11.439 to have a come to Jesus about this next conversial break. 0:51:11.600 --> 0:51:13.879 And we did, and we sorted out, and I loved 0:51:13.920 --> 0:51:15.440 you for the fact that you don't have a glass 0:51:15.520 --> 0:51:18.840 jaw man. I mean you can. It's essential for people 0:51:19.120 --> 0:51:22.680 to really enjoy working with somebody. Yes, yes, be sensitive, 0:51:22.719 --> 0:51:24.839 but but be able to take a punch and come back, 0:51:24.920 --> 0:51:27.799 and by god, you we we calmed down and by 0:51:27.880 --> 0:51:30.080 the end of it, it's hugs and kisses and yes, 0:51:30.719 --> 0:51:33.759 I love this guy. I got really mad at him once, 0:51:33.880 --> 0:51:37.239 but that was that was a wild situation. But you 0:51:37.440 --> 0:51:40.040 you you just kind of you kept going like nothing 0:51:40.080 --> 0:51:44.200 had happened. Hey, let me just say this, if university, 0:51:44.600 --> 0:51:46.759 my wife has said a help a lot worse what 0:51:46.960 --> 0:51:49.920 you said to me. You know, what are you kidding me? 0:51:50.360 --> 0:51:52.600 If I would have if I would have a guy 0:51:52.680 --> 0:51:54.839 that holds the grudge, I'd have been gone a long 0:51:55.000 --> 0:51:57.960 time ago. But the bottom line is, you know you 0:51:58.080 --> 0:52:01.000 love people. I love me. I know you well. I mean, 0:52:01.040 --> 0:52:04.440 we got a great relationship. People be shocked, and I 0:52:04.560 --> 0:52:07.000 really have such respect for you. As it was in 0:52:07.080 --> 0:52:09.239 that room and we went to bed that night, my 0:52:09.320 --> 0:52:11.120 wife said, man, you just feel like I could see 0:52:11.120 --> 0:52:13.480 and Joyce sitting there with Cristal all night talk and 0:52:13.760 --> 0:52:15.239 I was like, I can blow all day to guy. 0:52:15.400 --> 0:52:18.560 It was the guy that's the stories talking about every notch, 0:52:18.600 --> 0:52:22.560 just basketball, Tennant's based on life, talking to it and 0:52:22.640 --> 0:52:24.719 it's just fun. It's just lots of fun. You're a 0:52:24.840 --> 0:52:29.239 very inquisitive mind. We talked real estate, talked investments. I 0:52:29.360 --> 0:52:31.080 missed you, man. I do miss work with you. I 0:52:31.200 --> 0:52:33.800 I did fifteen years and I love college basketball and 0:52:33.920 --> 0:52:37.440 you're infectious enthusiasm for your passion for it was a 0:52:37.480 --> 0:52:39.560 big reason why I got into it before I even 0:52:39.840 --> 0:52:42.560 got to ESPN or covered it. I really missed those 0:52:42.640 --> 0:52:45.919 days and I looked back with immense fondness. iBOT working 0:52:45.960 --> 0:52:48.360 with you guys and those it was it was a blast. 0:52:48.400 --> 0:52:50.399 It was It was fun and in a different way 0:52:51.000 --> 0:52:53.279 than football is or tennis is. It was just it 0:52:53.400 --> 0:52:56.160 was such so much about the personalities, just being around 0:52:56.200 --> 0:52:59.160 you guys. Right now, Chris, I've been very blessed the 0:52:59.239 --> 0:53:02.759 last five years. I've done the semi final and championship 0:53:02.840 --> 0:53:06.360 games on ESPN International. That's all over the world, not 0:53:06.600 --> 0:53:09.239 here in the States. I sleep with CBS as the 0:53:09.560 --> 0:53:12.160 as the Rights may do a good job Jim Nanson Company. 0:53:12.440 --> 0:53:14.799 But you know, I've learned in life. You know, people 0:53:14.840 --> 0:53:16.920 say to me, don't you ever miss that? You never 0:53:17.080 --> 0:53:20.600 ever like we're at a network that had the whole tournament. 0:53:20.840 --> 0:53:23.080 I don't miss any of that stuff. I to me, 0:53:24.080 --> 0:53:25.759 do I miss you know? I'd love to have here. 0:53:26.040 --> 0:53:28.120 I'd love to be a good looking guy. I love 0:53:28.160 --> 0:53:30.879 to have that big body. Sexy people go a while 0:53:31.000 --> 0:53:33.160 for me, even though I think I'm a very sexy 0:53:33.239 --> 0:53:38.280 guy at eight. Anyway, it modified you can't have everything 0:53:38.360 --> 0:53:41.120 you want. You can't have everything, so you take what 0:53:41.320 --> 0:53:43.520 you have and you do the best of what you can. 0:53:44.000 --> 0:53:46.080 And I think all of us, all of us that 0:53:46.200 --> 0:53:49.200 have talked about over the years, guys that yourself, myself, 0:53:49.680 --> 0:53:52.560 like Tarikos, and we go on the list is unbelievable. 0:53:53.120 --> 0:53:56.480 We've been able to do things we love. And to me, 0:53:56.640 --> 0:54:01.000 there's nothing greater. My father worked. He pressed coats in 0:54:01.080 --> 0:54:04.680 a factory in effect, from seven in the morning. I'll 0:54:04.680 --> 0:54:07.560 never forget this has inspired me. Seven in the morning 0:54:07.680 --> 0:54:11.200 to four thirty five o'clock, press coats, white tee shirt, 0:54:11.400 --> 0:54:13.719 sweat like pitt brought me to hear to the end 0:54:13.760 --> 0:54:16.160 of my junior here and I changed my life my 0:54:16.400 --> 0:54:18.920 end of my junior He kept me Richie Rinchie. Go 0:54:19.080 --> 0:54:20.960 to college and you don't want to do what I do. 0:54:21.760 --> 0:54:24.040 You gotta brain go to college. I don't go to college, 0:54:24.080 --> 0:54:25.880 omen and film. I was gonna buy a car, a 0:54:25.920 --> 0:54:28.279 three year payments, go out and get a job like 0:54:28.360 --> 0:54:32.000 all my uncles and cousins did, and family did. Bottom 0:54:32.080 --> 0:54:35.759 line is I watched what he did then they come home. 0:54:36.360 --> 0:54:38.600 I learned more at my dinner table than any class 0:54:38.640 --> 0:54:42.160 I ever took. I learned about love, I learned about diversity. 0:54:42.440 --> 0:54:45.200 I learned about tough times. I watched my dad come 0:54:45.200 --> 0:54:46.880 home on Friday and night said, put X number of 0:54:46.920 --> 0:54:50.040 dollars on the table from my mother. I was for food, 0:54:50.520 --> 0:54:53.680 X numbers for the insurance man. Come pick up this insurance, 0:54:54.040 --> 0:54:57.880 and then X number of dollars. Every Friday night, every Friday, 0:54:58.080 --> 0:55:00.319 I'm gonna close with this. Chris gonna get hold them. 0:55:00.680 --> 0:55:04.200 And every fighting night we would take us out to 0:55:04.320 --> 0:55:07.719 dinner for pizza. So when I had my dream, I 0:55:07.840 --> 0:55:10.760 was chasing this crazy dream to be a college coach. 0:55:11.520 --> 0:55:15.480 And all of a sudden, Howard Garfinkle just got into 0:55:15.520 --> 0:55:18.920 Hall of Fame as a contributor. Howard Garfinkel, I didn't 0:55:18.920 --> 0:55:22.600 really know at that time, came to hear me speak 0:55:23.160 --> 0:55:26.360 at a bank. We're closing up my high school winning 0:55:26.400 --> 0:55:29.000 to state championships in a row, and he was there 0:55:29.040 --> 0:55:31.800 and after the event he said to me, are you 0:55:31.880 --> 0:55:33.920 going You're in a hurry us Now we're gonna go 0:55:33.960 --> 0:55:35.719 to a diner. Was a camel Wing diner when he 0:55:35.760 --> 0:55:37.680 strut from Jersey. Is still there. It's a twenty four 0:55:37.719 --> 0:55:39.759 hour diner. I used to go to her all the time. 0:55:40.040 --> 0:55:41.560 They got a big kick. I was there a year 0:55:41.560 --> 0:55:44.120 ago the rain taking a little memory lane. Where at 0:55:44.160 --> 0:55:46.480 Todt High School. While we were at Coach High School, 0:55:46.560 --> 0:55:49.239 at Totton Elementary School, and then the diner, it was 0:55:49.280 --> 0:55:52.160 always every day don to diner. So whenym I go 0:55:52.239 --> 0:55:55.520 to the diner and Garf says to me, you belong 0:55:55.600 --> 0:55:58.719 in college. I said, well, that's nice to you to say, 0:55:58.760 --> 0:56:01.399 but I've got more rejections and the Dino Harvard gives out. 0:56:01.640 --> 0:56:04.439 I've written I don't know how many. And I was realistic, Chris. 0:56:04.640 --> 0:56:07.520 I wasn't writing Kentucky and Duke. I was writing the 0:56:07.600 --> 0:56:10.320 schools or Columbia schools. I thought, can I be a 0:56:10.360 --> 0:56:13.200 graduate assist on twenty nine years old? I'm doing anything 0:56:13.280 --> 0:56:16.400 man to state championships. In high school, I ran camps, 0:56:16.440 --> 0:56:19.040 I ran clinics. I started at twenty three doing that 0:56:19.320 --> 0:56:21.920 because I just want a chance, an opportunity. I couldn't 0:56:21.960 --> 0:56:24.200 get one. So he said, I'm gonna get your college job. 0:56:24.840 --> 0:56:29.239 He said, I, I mean talk conversation every day with 0:56:29.440 --> 0:56:32.359 college coaches about players coming to my five star camp. Well, 0:56:33.040 --> 0:56:36.600 you belong in college, calls me back. Thought's just I 0:56:36.680 --> 0:56:38.879 thought it was just another conversation we stayed talking about 0:56:38.880 --> 0:56:40.919 like you and I talked about two in the morning 0:56:41.000 --> 0:56:43.320 after the bag but they died his own eating eggs 0:56:43.440 --> 0:56:45.640 and saw us in all the stuff you shouldn't do 0:56:46.680 --> 0:56:49.160 by lay, I don't do that now, but I'm sitting there. 0:56:49.520 --> 0:56:51.799 The rain was with me at the time, and uh, 0:56:52.840 --> 0:56:55.400 we leave and I figured that's probably the last thing. 0:56:55.560 --> 0:56:57.560 Hear um all the thing. Calls me up about a 0:56:57.600 --> 0:57:00.640 week later, he's done. Look up to you if you 0:57:00.680 --> 0:57:04.040 want to do it. So Rutgers University as a new 0:57:04.080 --> 0:57:07.040 head coach Dick Lloyd. I talked to him about you 0:57:07.640 --> 0:57:11.480 soldier big time to him. However, he's already interviewed six guys, 0:57:12.320 --> 0:57:14.800 already been in six and he's ready to make his decisions. 0:57:14.880 --> 0:57:17.520 Like on a Tuesday Thursday, he said, he's ready to 0:57:17.560 --> 0:57:20.480 make a decision. However, if you want to go down 0:57:20.520 --> 0:57:24.360 to morrow and be interviewed, he said, based on my relationship, 0:57:24.800 --> 0:57:28.080 he'll interview you. But the chances of slim so I 0:57:28.240 --> 0:57:30.320 told him, if he interviews you, he's gonna hire you. 0:57:31.200 --> 0:57:32.440 So I said, I'll go to the head with that. 0:57:32.480 --> 0:57:34.280 I got gonna lose the first interview I ever did 0:57:34.320 --> 0:57:37.000 in my life. So I go there Chris, and I 0:57:37.160 --> 0:57:39.560 told this story that the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. 0:57:39.640 --> 0:57:42.480 Dick was there, Howard was there, and I told him 0:57:42.520 --> 0:57:44.680 as I was an honor day here because Niko. He 0:57:44.720 --> 0:57:47.400 had a kick out of this his interviewing me. And 0:57:47.480 --> 0:57:49.280 after about an hour and a half, two hours interview, 0:57:49.280 --> 0:57:51.560 and he says, are you in the hearty? I said 0:57:52.000 --> 0:57:54.960 not really. He said, well, come over me. I want 0:57:54.960 --> 0:57:57.240 to give me my wife and family. So now my 0:57:57.320 --> 0:57:59.880 head is race, What would you want me to be 0:58:00.040 --> 0:58:03.880 his wife and family unless he's interested in me, really interested. 0:58:04.600 --> 0:58:06.960 So I leave there after me in his family, and 0:58:07.040 --> 0:58:09.360 I come home and I give my wife a big 0:58:09.480 --> 0:58:12.919 high five. I said, I keep believe this. I said, 0:58:13.320 --> 0:58:15.440 I really think he liked me. However, I'm not going 0:58:15.480 --> 0:58:17.360 to get the job. But it was a great feeling 0:58:17.840 --> 0:58:20.480 sharing my insights and what I could do recruiting what 0:58:20.800 --> 0:58:25.080 state university. All of this, and five minutes later after 0:58:25.160 --> 0:58:27.840 I did at the phone rings, he says, I just 0:58:27.920 --> 0:58:29.520 want to make sure you got home. Er, I gave 0:58:29.520 --> 0:58:32.840 you enough time. Honously, You're home, okay, I said, I am. 0:58:32.960 --> 0:58:35.240 I said, thank you so much for the interview. He said, Dick, 0:58:35.760 --> 0:58:39.680 Dick Howard's right. I want to hire you right now, Chris. 0:58:40.400 --> 0:58:45.120 I burst in tears. I said, you serious, said, well, 0:58:45.160 --> 0:58:47.600 hright right now. So I grabbed my wife and give 0:58:47.680 --> 0:58:49.680 him high five, and I said, we are going to 0:58:49.760 --> 0:58:52.560 go celebrate. We're gonna go where my father and mother 0:58:52.640 --> 0:58:55.160 used to take me all the time, and I understand 0:58:55.240 --> 0:59:00.400 it still exists, new owners. Obviously, Barcelona's pizza place. We'd 0:59:00.440 --> 0:59:03.120 go tore have pizza Friday night as a family. It 0:59:03.240 --> 0:59:05.520 was a big throw for them to take us out, 0:59:05.880 --> 0:59:08.880 assistant brother and I. So anyway, I go there with 0:59:08.960 --> 0:59:11.320 my wife and as only a wife could do, to 0:59:11.520 --> 0:59:14.280 ruin the party, ruin my feelings. She says to me, 0:59:14.680 --> 0:59:17.880 by the way, what are you getting paid? I said, well, 0:59:18.480 --> 0:59:20.960 I'm making right now, twelve thousan in a year with 0:59:21.440 --> 0:59:25.959 my master's summer camp, with my job teaching. I said, 0:59:26.120 --> 0:59:28.760 this gotta be college twenty five thousand, I would imagine. 0:59:29.000 --> 0:59:31.800 So I don't even know. I never asked him. So 0:59:32.120 --> 0:59:35.040 no iPhones I run the pay phone. I call him 0:59:35.040 --> 0:59:38.280 it on the pay phone, A said, Dick, Dick, it's 0:59:38.280 --> 0:59:40.160 not gonna change my mind. What have I'm I'm just 0:59:40.280 --> 0:59:42.880 curious what am I getting paid? So what are you 0:59:42.960 --> 0:59:46.120 making now? As I make about twelve thou He said, 0:59:46.120 --> 0:59:48.200 it's great, You're only gonna take your cup for a 0:59:48.280 --> 0:59:54.960 thousand dollars. It's going to come back to Lorraine. I said, patience, pride, patience. 0:59:55.400 --> 0:59:58.800 I'm taking the job no matter what. And you know, Chris, 0:59:59.240 --> 1:00:02.160 when they gave me my first set of recruits, there 1:00:02.200 --> 1:00:06.840 were players like you, players like Steve Anderson's, Mike Tariko's. 1:00:06.840 --> 1:00:09.600 Who we're gonna be? Who are gonna be? Uh? I 1:00:09.680 --> 1:00:11.920 want to be Kentucky. They thought I was crazy. I 1:00:12.000 --> 1:00:14.080 want to be Kentucky. I want to be I want 1:00:14.120 --> 1:00:19.120 to be Caroline's and Dukes. They said, Dick, be real. 1:00:19.800 --> 1:00:22.680 I'd be real. I said, understand this, and this is 1:00:22.720 --> 1:00:25.880 a message for anybody listening. If you think you're mediocre, 1:00:26.320 --> 1:00:29.240 you're gonna be mediocre. If you think you're special as 1:00:29.280 --> 1:00:32.120 a white can't we as a state university. I can't 1:00:32.160 --> 1:00:36.640 convince two kids from Jersey, New York or Philadelphia to 1:00:36.760 --> 1:00:39.760 a year that's eight players. I can't convince two a 1:00:39.880 --> 1:00:43.040 year to come to Rutgers to play at Madison Square Garden. 1:00:43.320 --> 1:00:46.120 You're crazy. So I'm going after the best player. I 1:00:46.200 --> 1:00:49.760 said in a country Listen, you're a nuts man, Bill Sellers, 1:00:49.840 --> 1:00:53.880 Thomason Jefferson High School. Check the record books out, check 1:00:53.960 --> 1:00:57.120 who holds the all time records and score. Check who 1:00:57.280 --> 1:01:00.560 led them to the final four. In seventies six, you 1:01:00.640 --> 1:01:04.400 had to shy interverted Robert Montgomery night and the last 1:01:04.520 --> 1:01:10.240 undefeated team Indiana. You had Michigan with Harvard and Green 1:01:10.400 --> 1:01:14.600 and Johnny All, you had you c l A and 1:01:14.720 --> 1:01:18.840 then you had a school call Rutgers and those kids 1:01:19.360 --> 1:01:22.240 were unreal. That open doors for me to get the 1:01:22.320 --> 1:01:25.560 university troite job. And again I was told, can't you 1:01:25.720 --> 1:01:28.360 can't get fans in here race Riots a couple of 1:01:28.440 --> 1:01:31.000 years prior, nobody would come out. They'll good to go 1:01:31.120 --> 1:01:34.040 back to the urban suburban area. And I said, you're crazy. 1:01:34.400 --> 1:01:37.000 If you give people a product and you give them 1:01:37.040 --> 1:01:39.880 something to get excited about, I plan on doing that. 1:01:40.600 --> 1:01:43.080 We're gonna get people. And we sold out. We had 1:01:43.120 --> 1:01:45.600 twenty one in a row. So again I can't step 1:01:45.720 --> 1:01:47.520 in part of my life. The biggest mistake I ever 1:01:47.640 --> 1:01:51.440 made career wise, though, Chris was. I ran to a 1:01:51.560 --> 1:01:53.960 situation I didn't give it as wat as I should have. 1:01:54.280 --> 1:01:57.600 Jimmy V told me you belong in college. He said, 1:01:57.640 --> 1:01:59.680 you're gonna go from the University of Detroit, Like I 1:01:59.760 --> 1:02:02.400 went from my owner the NC state to a big 1:02:02.480 --> 1:02:05.920 time college. Don't think about the NBA. Well, when they 1:02:06.040 --> 1:02:09.360 offered me the job, Mr Davidson, you know I was. 1:02:10.640 --> 1:02:13.919 I mean, I'm teaching sixth grade in nineteen seventy, coach 1:02:14.000 --> 1:02:17.040 in high school seven years later, I mean loft of 1:02:17.080 --> 1:02:20.000 the job as the head coach of the Pistons. Six 1:02:20.120 --> 1:02:24.920 figures a year, new cars, uh wellkn expensive account, the 1:02:25.000 --> 1:02:29.200 whole bit, I mean, unbelievable. I couldn't believe it. So 1:02:29.480 --> 1:02:32.560 I took the job thinking that I could change things. Well, 1:02:32.920 --> 1:02:35.600 you know what the n B a right now, you 1:02:35.640 --> 1:02:38.120 could coach And that was my doubt. For the owner 1:02:38.200 --> 1:02:40.880 treated me like wild. He was so good to me 1:02:41.640 --> 1:02:44.720 because he kept saying all the time, Dick, you want 1:02:44.760 --> 1:02:46.400 to get it done in a year or two. We 1:02:46.520 --> 1:02:50.280 know it's five years. You gotta be patient. I said, 1:02:50.280 --> 1:02:52.280 I can't. I can't take this beat. I could coach 1:02:52.400 --> 1:02:55.320 on blue in the face. I can't beat Koreeman a Lakers, 1:02:55.360 --> 1:02:58.400 and I can't beat Dr J Moses and the Sixes. 1:02:58.720 --> 1:03:01.520 I mean, it's not happening, and and it just and 1:03:01.600 --> 1:03:05.560 then what happened to me even made a tougher other. 1:03:05.720 --> 1:03:08.120 Forget this, you get a great story out here. Bob 1:03:08.240 --> 1:03:10.400 was at my gallo when you're. Lanier stayed at my 1:03:10.520 --> 1:03:13.720 house and all that, and we talked about memories. We're 1:03:13.720 --> 1:03:16.680 playing the Lakers and were getting ripped Jimbars having a 1:03:16.800 --> 1:03:20.000 field day inside and Lanier taps me on the shoulder. 1:03:20.200 --> 1:03:22.720 He's sitting in his beautiful thousand dollars of that time, 1:03:23.120 --> 1:03:27.040 it's expensive thousand dollars. Soon he's got knee prod knee surgery. 1:03:27.360 --> 1:03:29.800 Next to him in a beautiful suit is my power 1:03:29.920 --> 1:03:32.400 forward out for the year. With a blood clot. John 1:03:32.480 --> 1:03:35.520 Shoemate going to day. So I got Shoemate and Linear 1:03:35.760 --> 1:03:38.240 is next to the assistant countries. Lania taps me on 1:03:38.320 --> 1:03:43.400 the shoulders. I figured out our problem. Look, Jape, we 1:03:43.480 --> 1:03:47.360 have no inside game. I turned us this no ship. 1:03:49.120 --> 1:03:52.120 You're sitting here and Shoemate and to tell him we 1:03:52.200 --> 1:03:56.000 have mom inside came. Give me a right and that 1:03:56.200 --> 1:03:59.200 got me fired. And Lorraine kept telling me. You can't 1:03:59.320 --> 1:04:03.040 keep telling me owner that you can't win in it. Finally, 1:04:03.600 --> 1:04:06.360 November eight nineties seventy nine, pulls up to my house, 1:04:07.360 --> 1:04:10.720 limousine the range that I'm going around the block until 1:04:10.760 --> 1:04:14.000 the limousine leaves prepared. You're getting fired this year, out 1:04:14.040 --> 1:04:16.840 of your mind, getting fire at four and I think 1:04:16.920 --> 1:04:18.760 six at the time, something like the four to eight 1:04:18.840 --> 1:04:21.560 four and six. I said, no way, twelve games, we 1:04:22.200 --> 1:04:25.080 broke records last year. Ten minutes was my first year here. 1:04:25.560 --> 1:04:29.440 No way, geez, you're getting fired. And Bill Davidson was 1:04:29.520 --> 1:04:31.800 a low key guys you can have gonna be brilliant 1:04:31.840 --> 1:04:35.200 man came in. He says, Dick, I hate to do this, 1:04:35.720 --> 1:04:39.600 said do so he made a coaching change. Coaching change. 1:04:39.640 --> 1:04:43.520 I was some dumb father. I said, what does that mean? Well, A, 1:04:43.640 --> 1:04:46.320 you're fired. Bottom line is, but I don't want to 1:04:46.400 --> 1:04:48.800 lose you. I want to make you exactive vice president. 1:04:48.920 --> 1:04:52.080 Give me some title that as I'm not interested, Mr Davidson. 1:04:52.440 --> 1:04:54.600 I'm going on my own. If I can't be doing 1:04:54.640 --> 1:04:57.080 what I want to do, I'm gonna go. I'm a 1:04:57.160 --> 1:04:59.800 old and you know I cried I'm a very emotional 1:05:00.120 --> 1:05:03.440 I cried, I was. My buddy labeled me in New 1:05:03.520 --> 1:05:06.919 Jersey a boy, a ball of dream. He's always said 1:05:06.920 --> 1:05:10.160 to me, Richie. Stacey Saragana said, Richie, you're a boy, 1:05:10.320 --> 1:05:13.320 a ball and a dream. And I was, and it 1:05:13.480 --> 1:05:16.600 was taken from me. It was such a learning experience, Chris, 1:05:17.160 --> 1:05:19.960 because Lorreen said to me, you know all those people 1:05:20.040 --> 1:05:23.200 you think of friends, they were so shits. There are 1:05:23.320 --> 1:05:27.520 social friends. You're in your hand. I'm calling people up. 1:05:27.560 --> 1:05:31.120 I bought with friends, not getting returned phone calls, couldn't 1:05:31.120 --> 1:05:33.520 get interest in this. Nobody would give me a right 1:05:33.600 --> 1:05:37.000 time and day that nobody cared anymore about. You know, 1:05:37.280 --> 1:05:40.000 your one state championships. You went to Rutgers into a 1:05:40.080 --> 1:05:42.760 school that never had a great player like that, going 1:05:43.400 --> 1:05:45.720 nobody I wanted to talk about the Troit I only 1:05:45.800 --> 1:05:47.840 wanted to talk about, Gee, you didn't get it done 1:05:47.880 --> 1:05:51.040 with the Pistons. You didn't get it done, or really 1:05:51.440 --> 1:05:54.120 I never gave myself enough time to get it done. 1:05:54.480 --> 1:05:57.160 But the bottom line is it turned out to be 1:05:57.240 --> 1:05:59.640 the best thing of my life because have I stayed 1:05:59.680 --> 1:06:03.880 in Chris. I had one thing in me that will 1:06:03.920 --> 1:06:06.840 never change, never change that would have lead me to 1:06:06.920 --> 1:06:11.600 my death. Early I could handle losing, losing even when 1:06:11.640 --> 1:06:14.200 I was in. It took me to get over losing, 1:06:14.840 --> 1:06:18.200 even losing the game that people said, oh you your favorite. 1:06:18.640 --> 1:06:21.840 I always believe when I went on the floor that night, 1:06:22.480 --> 1:06:25.280 they're always gonna have answers to win that game. And 1:06:25.920 --> 1:06:29.080 when that didn't happen, I was visible to be around. 1:06:29.160 --> 1:06:31.320 I don't think there be any fifty universe. I'll say 1:06:31.360 --> 1:06:33.520 that right now. I really don't believe it because I 1:06:33.720 --> 1:06:38.000 just couldn't handle losing. Well. You found your path in 1:06:38.120 --> 1:06:40.920 life man, and and and I've said this before, but 1:06:41.960 --> 1:06:44.920 thank you for your passion, your inspiration, your generosity, thank 1:06:44.960 --> 1:06:46.720 you for what you've done for me. Thank you for 1:06:46.840 --> 1:06:49.440 taking time here. You went into overtime, but I appreciate that, 1:06:49.560 --> 1:06:52.560 and you delivered and and bless you, Dick. I love 1:06:52.640 --> 1:06:54.280 you and and and thanks to you. Just you just 1:06:54.400 --> 1:06:56.000 keep doing what you're doing for as long as you 1:06:56.040 --> 1:06:59.000 want to do it, because a lot of people are inspired, 1:06:59.040 --> 1:07:02.200 not just me. That was so much fun for me. 1:07:02.960 --> 1:07:04.920 Dick was generous with his time. In fact, we've went 1:07:04.960 --> 1:07:07.280 into overtime. I don't know if you caught it at 1:07:07.320 --> 1:07:09.080 one point he said, Chris, I gotta go, but I'll 1:07:09.120 --> 1:07:13.080 leave you with this that. About nine minutes later, he 1:07:13.200 --> 1:07:16.800 finally wrapped it up. It's beautiful. I am so grateful 1:07:16.880 --> 1:07:19.920 for the almost thirty five year friendship with Dick and 1:07:20.000 --> 1:07:24.240 his wife Lorraine. It's been really inspiring and fulfilling for 1:07:24.440 --> 1:07:26.880 me to be a small part of his team to 1:07:27.080 --> 1:07:30.120 raise money for pediatric cancer. If you're able to join 1:07:30.200 --> 1:07:32.040 his team, I'd urge you to go to Dick bytal 1:07:32.200 --> 1:07:35.760 dot com. That site has some inspiring content. It's sort 1:07:35.800 --> 1:07:37.640 of a hub for all of his fundraising efforts. That 1:07:37.760 --> 1:07:40.240 also some very good sports content on there, so please 1:07:40.280 --> 1:07:43.560 help if you can Dick by tal dot com. I 1:07:43.640 --> 1:07:46.040 hope you enjoyed the episode. As always, I'm very grateful 1:07:46.080 --> 1:07:49.240 for my co executive producer Jennifer Dempster and the editing 1:07:49.320 --> 1:07:51.800 skills of Jason white Kelt that helps us out. If 1:07:51.880 --> 1:07:54.800 you can rate, review the podcast and leave feedback on 1:07:54.880 --> 1:07:57.360 my Instagram at Chris Fowler, talk to you soon.