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Speaker 1: This is straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. What is up,

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Speaker 1: straight Fire, fam, It's me Jason McIntyre. This is straight

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Speaker 1: Fire for Thursday May nine. We got a crappy NBA

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Speaker 1: game last night. Warriors totally drubbed the Mavericks, very similar

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Speaker 1: actually to Heat Celtics, and that it was close ish

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Speaker 1: for a half and then in the third quarter the

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Speaker 1: home team, the higher seed, pulled away in easy fashion.

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Speaker 1: But the good news is we got a great guest today.

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Speaker 1: And I've been trying to track this guy down for

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Speaker 1: a little for a minute. He was at ESPN, he

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Speaker 1: was at the Athletic he wrote a book on the Warriors.

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Speaker 1: Save his name is Ethan Strauss. I don't know if

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Speaker 1: you're familiar with him. Again, we like to talk about

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Speaker 1: guys who you know, kind of aren't all out there.

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Speaker 1: Every everybody knows some of our guests, but I like

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Speaker 1: to shine a light on some guys who I think

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Speaker 1: are doing good work. And this guy's a damn good

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Speaker 1: writer and he's he's taken his act to sub stack.

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Speaker 1: We have to subscribe, and he's gotta basically write interesting

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Speaker 1: stuff so people subscribe and he makes money. It's a

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Speaker 1: pretty cool situation he talks about that is beat writing

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Speaker 1: days working for the NBA. It's it's a pretty good interview.

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Speaker 1: And of course, you know, just as Kevin Durant likes

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Speaker 1: this slide into my d MS, him and Kevin Durant

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Speaker 1: had some confrontations, shall we say, in the Golden State

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Speaker 1: locker room. But before we get to that, and obviously

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Speaker 1: a pick a brief pick for tonight's Game two between

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Speaker 1: the Heat and Celtics. I thought we'd quickly touch on

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Speaker 1: what went down, not with Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher

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Speaker 1: will save that for tomorrow. That's a spicy one. But

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Speaker 1: we gotta obviously talk about the Warriors one twelve the

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Speaker 1: MAVs eight seven. Just like I said after the Celtics

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Speaker 1: lost Game one, can't make any sleep sweeping conclusions. It's

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Speaker 1: one game. Adjustments will be made. I don't read too

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Speaker 1: much into this the obvious takeaways. What the hell happened? Well,

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Speaker 1: the MAVs shot three pointers and they only made eleven.

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Speaker 1: You know, Jalen Brunson doughnut from three, Davis Bertans came

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Speaker 1: in over four from Deep Cleber hit one freaking shot.

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Speaker 1: What is interesting to me for the Mavericks is the

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Speaker 1: emergence of Dinwoody. He's still in Spencer Dinwoody versus the

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Speaker 1: Son's mode. He had seventeen points in twenty four minutes.

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Speaker 1: He was like one of their only offensive guys. That

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Speaker 1: being said, when you watched him it was literally one

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Speaker 1: on four and it was like ten drible shot. Now

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Speaker 1: he's making his three, so it kind of helped. But

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Speaker 1: for the most part, the MAVs in the second half

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Speaker 1: had no chance whatsoever, and Jalen Brunson played very poorly.

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Speaker 1: He was six of sixteen. Luca don Chet was in

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Speaker 1: his bag doing his thing, but he got double teamed heavily,

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Speaker 1: seven turnovers. The words were swiping at don as he

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Speaker 1: was coming through. Andrew Wiggins got him in the face,

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Speaker 1: big scratch on his face, and they had bunch of

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Speaker 1: steals from him. I think the MAVs obviously we're be better.

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Speaker 1: I think we'll see less Dwight Powell the same same

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Speaker 1: thing that happened against the Sons. Right Powell started that

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Speaker 1: went to the bench eventually to turn the series. He

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Speaker 1: played like seven minutes, you know, as the starter, and

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Speaker 1: then they went five wide. I think we'll see much

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Speaker 1: more of Dinwoodie next game. But for the Golden State Warriors,

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Speaker 1: it was like seven guys in double figures, like Andrew Wiggins,

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Speaker 1: who I bet against, had fifteen in the first half.

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Speaker 1: Steph Curry let all scores of twenty one, Let all rebounders. Yes,

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Speaker 1: Steph Curry with twelve. A lot of that's because they

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Speaker 1: tried to put him in action and when you're pick

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Speaker 1: and roll, steps closer to the hoop than he has

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Speaker 1: the three point line on some of these drives and

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Speaker 1: all these misses. Curry was collecting a bunch of boards.

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Speaker 1: He had a flurry in the third quarter, and Clay

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Speaker 1: Thompson had zero at halftime, finished with fifteen, Draymond Green

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Speaker 1: had ten, Looney had ten. It was like Jordan Pool

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Speaker 1: came off the bench. It was just torching folks. Otto

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Speaker 1: Porter looked good. Out of Porter looked pretty good. Actually,

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Speaker 1: um Coominga did do much in five minutes of action.

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Speaker 1: But bottom line, It's Warriors look like the better team.

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Speaker 1: I think we'll see a different game in game two.

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Speaker 1: I don't read too much into this. I'd like to

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Speaker 1: welcome back into the pod the esteemed producer Rob g.

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Speaker 1: I've known Rob for I think five years now. He

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Speaker 1: produced my Saturday radio show for a minute till he

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Speaker 1: moved on to bigger and better things, And he's been

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Speaker 1: missing the last few days, and I wanted to just

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Speaker 1: give him a quick chance to talk about where he's

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Speaker 1: been and and what's going on, and also Warriors MAVs

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Speaker 1: if you care to. Although it was a blood bath, well, Jason,

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Speaker 1: like you, there's not a whole lot to take away

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Speaker 1: from last night's game. Um, we've talked about this about

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Speaker 1: the postseason. The one thing where you're going through these

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Speaker 1: series is every game in his own story. So what

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Speaker 1: you look for is not necessarily, you know, the big outliers,

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Speaker 1: it's what thinks are Is it duplicable? I think that's

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Speaker 1: the word. Do political? I think you can do a

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Speaker 1: second time. You know, That's what I look for. And

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Speaker 1: I believe that the Golden State Warriors, you know, with

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Speaker 1: the Pool Clay and and Steph, they can they can

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Speaker 1: get fifty five points, you know, throughout each game in

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Speaker 1: the series. That's not it's not shocking. What I don't

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Speaker 1: expect to happen, though, is for Luca don Che to

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Speaker 1: have more turnovers than made baskets and the MAVs shooting

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Speaker 1: splits to be thirty six six. So I'm not saying

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Speaker 1: that the MAVs are gonna win the series, even though

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Speaker 1: I picked them before this year we started. But I'm

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Speaker 1: not expecting Game two to look anything like what we

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Speaker 1: saw in Game one. UM, it's gonna be a much

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Speaker 1: better effort from Dallas and and you know, we'll see

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Speaker 1: what happens from there. Um. To answer your first question

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Speaker 1: as to why I missed um the start of this week, Uh,

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Speaker 1: you and I have talked, you know, off the air

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Speaker 1: while we're recording this podcast. My dad had been sick

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Speaker 1: for a couple of weeks. He had been in intensive care.

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Speaker 1: So I'd been going to the hospitals during the day

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Speaker 1: and then during the radio show in the afternoon, and

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Speaker 1: then coming back and doing this podcast that night. And Um,

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Speaker 1: unfortunately over the weekend he passed away. And you know,

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Speaker 1: it's a really tough thing for me and and and

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Speaker 1: my family and um at my brothers. Uh. You know,

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Speaker 1: I think I've told you, and I've said on other

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Speaker 1: shows that I would not be in this business were

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Speaker 1: not for my dad. You know, UM, one of my

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Speaker 1: favorite pictures I have of my house is a picture

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Speaker 1: of me and my dad when I'm eight years old,

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Speaker 1: and it's he and I read in the sports page,

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Speaker 1: um on his bed, and that's how I started. That

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Speaker 1: was my first exposure to sports media. You know, my

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Speaker 1: dad worked a lot um, but on the weekends when

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Speaker 1: he was home, we would lay down in bed on

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Speaker 1: you know, Sunday Saturday mornings, and we'd read the sports page.

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Speaker 1: And when he was done with part of it and

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Speaker 1: I was done, we'd swap and we'd read the other

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Speaker 1: half of the sports page. And that's how I, you know,

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Speaker 1: grew up and as I got older, and you know,

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Speaker 1: I started to become a man, you know, um, and

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Speaker 1: you know, I didn't live with my dad because my

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Speaker 1: parents divorced and I was really young. But he made

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Speaker 1: a point to call me every single Thursday, usually right

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Speaker 1: round ten am, almost on the dot. He'd call me

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Speaker 1: to catch up. But more importantly, he'd call me to

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Speaker 1: talk sports. And you know, it's usually it went from

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Speaker 1: what's going on with Kobe? Why is he shooting too much? Too?

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Speaker 1: You know, Oh, I don't like Lebron. You know, he's

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Speaker 1: always complaining about something or you know, you know, that's

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Speaker 1: that's where it went. And so you know, I can

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Speaker 1: you know what people say, Oh, I wouldn't be here

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Speaker 1: for this person. I wouldn't be here for that person.

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Speaker 1: I one thousand percent can tell you that I would

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Speaker 1: not work in sports media if I didn't spend my

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Speaker 1: life talking sports with my dad. That was the one

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Speaker 1: thing we could always connect on. UM, the one thing

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Speaker 1: we always had in common. And so getting back to work,

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Speaker 1: UM last night on the radio show, and then you know,

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Speaker 1: this morning on the podcast. You know, I was texting

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Speaker 1: our boss, Scott Shapiro, and he's like, hey, if you

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Speaker 1: need anything, let me know how you do UM, I

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Speaker 1: told and he's like, hopefully this a little therapeutic, you know,

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Speaker 1: for you to be back at work and keeping your

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Speaker 1: mind busy. And I told him like, look, my dad

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Speaker 1: and my relationship has resolved around sports for thirty plus years.

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Speaker 1: You know, Uh, if if I wasn't going to be

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Speaker 1: sharing these hot takes on the podcast, I would be

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Speaker 1: sharing them with my dad. So, you know, this is

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Speaker 1: something that that as much as it it hurts to

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Speaker 1: talk about, it's something that I find peace with because

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Speaker 1: this is something that he and I are always going

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Speaker 1: to share. And I'm sure as my daughter grows up

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Speaker 1: I'll share with her as well. So that's where I've been. Yeah, man,

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Speaker 1: good to have you back. Obviously, sorry for your loss

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Speaker 1: and uh, you know, following the ordeal, Um, I just

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Speaker 1: I was. I was gutted. I was walking my dog

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Speaker 1: Saturday morning, getting ready to, I think take my son

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Speaker 1: to a basketball tournament, and you know, Rob just text

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Speaker 1: about his passing and I was just stunned. I like

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Speaker 1: literally stopped in the middle of street and was like,

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Speaker 1: holy shit, what the Oh my god. And I can't imagine.

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Speaker 1: I mean, my wife lost her dad, geez, about a

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Speaker 1: year after, like eleven months after we moved out here,

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Speaker 1: and that was a very tough ordeal. Um. He got

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Speaker 1: sick with a disease and he was gone pretty quickly.

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Speaker 1: It was it was sad and um, it just happened

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Speaker 1: on My dad was here last week, you know, st

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Speaker 1: sharing it with him. Uh your saga, Rob, and I

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Speaker 1: just you know, obviously my dad just left to head home,

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Speaker 1: and I was just telling him, like listen, man, do

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Speaker 1: your best to stay healthy. Man. You know, Um, it's

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Speaker 1: tough out there. For it's just as as everybody gets older.

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Speaker 1: Like I joke about playing basketball and a'bsoor and oh

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Speaker 1: my goodness. And it's like these guys are old, they've

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Speaker 1: been They've been around the block. Um, and you know,

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Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm in a melancholy mood this week, Rob,

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Speaker 1: hearing your story and UM, I don't know if anybody

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Speaker 1: watches the show This is Us. Do you watch that, Rob?

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Speaker 1: I've seen it, yes, and I know all about it.

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Speaker 1: I mean, this is like the end of the show

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Speaker 1: in the last couple of weeks. And um, the episode

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Speaker 1: this week was just brutal. I mean, I'm not a

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Speaker 1: crier on TV shows, but damn, this was a was

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Speaker 1: a tough one. I'm also watching Ozar with the Wife, um,

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Speaker 1: which is the polar opposite spoilers plays. Those spoilers for

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Speaker 1: that were We're very close to the end. Um at

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Speaker 1: any rate. So Rob, it's good to have you back.

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Speaker 1: And uh, we need we need those those hot takes.

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Speaker 1: Do you have any hot takes on Boston at Miami tonight?

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Speaker 1: Now as we record this early morning, still no word

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Speaker 1: on if Al Horford will be out of protocols and

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Speaker 1: if Marcus Smart will play It. Sounds like no Smart,

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Speaker 1: but there worst there is some money coming in on this.

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Speaker 1: On the Celtics. This line opened it four, it went,

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Speaker 1: it got bet down to three and a half. I

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Speaker 1: don't know if somebody has some info. Is Horford back

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Speaker 1: that would obviously help? Is Marcus Smart back? That would

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Speaker 1: obviously help. I'm sure you guys saw the Charles Barkley

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Speaker 1: Shack argument over will Jimmy Butler get forty again with

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Speaker 1: Marcus smarts back. It's just dumb but entertaining television. Um

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Speaker 1: And I guess I don't have a play yet. I

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Speaker 1: need to know because I want to lean Celtics. I

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Speaker 1: think that's probably the side, but I don't if they'll

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Speaker 1: they'll be able to do it without Smart and Horford. Again,

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Speaker 1: you're leaning heavily on Derrek White. You're then expecting someone

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Speaker 1: like Grant Williams to become Game seven Grant Williams instead

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Speaker 1: of you know, Game one great Williams. And I don't

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Speaker 1: like can if Peyton Pritchard went off I think at

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Speaker 1: eighteen points, Like, if he doesn't do that and he

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Speaker 1: gets his average of like seven or eight, where are

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Speaker 1: you getting the buckets from? They just don't have the bodies,

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Speaker 1: rob So I don't know if I can take Boston.

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna hold off on betting this, but any leaning

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Speaker 1: game game two here a thousand percent with you. If

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Speaker 1: if I knew who was going to play, it would

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Speaker 1: feel a lot easier to fire on it now. Like

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Speaker 1: Zier point, I'm leaning Boston just because I don't expect

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Speaker 1: this to be a short series for either team. I

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Speaker 1: expect each team is gonna win on the other team's

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Speaker 1: home floor, and so I if I were to lean,

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Speaker 1: I would lean Boston to win. But as far as

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Speaker 1: actually betting on it, until you know whether or not

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Speaker 1: Marcus Smart now Horford are gonna play, I think he

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Speaker 1: would be irresponsible to bet on this game. Um unrelated

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Speaker 1: to the betting part. My big you know, quote unquote

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Speaker 1: hot take on this, this series and these playoffs as

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Speaker 1: a whole. Actually, you know that's saying where they say

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Speaker 1: the game has moved away from them. You know, it's

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Speaker 1: usually talking about centers, you know, you know guys like

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Speaker 1: Dwight Howard, you know, DeMarcus Cousins. Whatever, playoff basketball is

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Speaker 1: where it moves towards Jimmy Butler because he doesn't shoot threes.

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Speaker 1: He's tough as hell, tough as nails, and he can

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Speaker 1: just score. He can shoot in the midrange, you can

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Speaker 1: get to the basketet to the free throw line exactly.

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Speaker 1: And so when everyone talks about the game moving away

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Speaker 1: from someone and you know that happens, you know, it's

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Speaker 1: usually a regular season type thing. When they talk about

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Speaker 1: it in the postseason, as you know, it's a totally

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Speaker 1: different sport. And for whatever reason, and we I first

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Speaker 1: noticed this his last season in Philadelphia, playoff basketball moves

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Speaker 1: towards Jimmy Butler. If you think he's like a top

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Speaker 1: twenty player in the regular season, he's easily a top

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Speaker 1: ten player in the postseason. Oh, certainly he's a he's

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Speaker 1: a bucket in a half court and if he doesn't score,

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Speaker 1: he's getting the foul line, like eighteen free throw attempts.

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Speaker 1: And listen, I'm not saying he's better than Jayson Tatum.

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Speaker 1: Obviously he was in Game one, but he's fighting. Tatum

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Speaker 1: had one hand behind his back with no Smart and

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Speaker 1: no Horford, like when you're kicking it out to Derek White.

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Speaker 1: And who was the other guy who played with was

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Speaker 1: it thieves who played a lot um? You know, Robert Williams,

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Speaker 1: come yeah, it's like, come on, it's it was a

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Speaker 1: tough one. Again. I know we want to make sweeping

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Speaker 1: conclusions on guys after one game, two games, three games, Like,

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Speaker 1: I think you gotta be a little patient. You know

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Speaker 1: we saw last round, right, Um, Phoenix goes up to nothing,

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Speaker 1: destroys them, and everybody writes off Dallas. Dallas advances. You know, um,

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Speaker 1: Philadelphia storms back to tie it to too within beating.

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Speaker 1: It's like, I Felli's back Philly, but no, they have

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Speaker 1: no chance. Like Milwaukee goes up through too on Boston,

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Speaker 1: it's over it. So no, it's not like, let's be patient.

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Speaker 1: I'm not writing off Boston. I'm not giving it to Miami.

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Speaker 1: I think Dallas is still alive. Unfortunately, you don't have

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Speaker 1: to have a hot take on every game. But our

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Speaker 1: guest Ethan Strauss has some real, really interesting stuff. I

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Speaker 1: think you're gonna love this. Let's tolkom in Ethan Strouss,

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Speaker 1: formerly of ESPN and of The Athletic Enjoy it. Jason

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Speaker 1: likes to think he knows everything when it comes to sports.

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Speaker 1: I know what sports dance want, but for everything he doesn't.

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Speaker 1: He knows a guy who does. Let's just say I

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Speaker 1: know a guy who knows a guy who knows another

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Speaker 1: guy all right, let's welcome into straight fire. I believe

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Speaker 1: our first guest who is on sub stack. I don't

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Speaker 1: know if you guys are up on sub stack. I

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Speaker 1: have been doing more of it in the last six months.

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Speaker 1: I'm noticing a lot of smart voices are headed that direction.

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Speaker 1: This gentleman's name is Ethan Strouss. You may know him

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Speaker 1: as Ethan Sherwood Strouss. Uh. He's also an author. He

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Speaker 1: does a I don't even know what you call, like

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Speaker 1: a live podcast with my guy Ryan glass Piegel. How

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Speaker 1: are you, Ethan? Yeah, it is a live a live podcast,

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Speaker 1: your guy Ryan glass Spiegel behind the sports industry. I'm

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Speaker 1: doing fantastic, man. I can't wait to get into all

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Speaker 1: the uh, all the the industry topics that you're into. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I sent him a couple of industry times. But I

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Speaker 1: need some background here because, um, you know, I first

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Speaker 1: learned about Ethan when he was doing the book on

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Speaker 1: the Warriors it's called the Victory Machine. When k D

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Speaker 1: was there, he of course got into a dust up

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Speaker 1: with Durant. We'll get to that, but I have curious,

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Speaker 1: first of all, how did how did you get into

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Speaker 1: the whole journalism thing? Because this is an industry that

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Speaker 1: has we've been told, has been dying for fifteen years,

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Speaker 1: maybe longer. Yeah. So, right out of college, I didn't

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Speaker 1: know what to do. It seemed like maybe my skill

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Speaker 1: set would be good for being a lawyer, but I

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Speaker 1: don't want to be a lawyer. And a friend of

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Speaker 1: a friend said, hey, you should apply to work for

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Speaker 1: the NBA. They've got some sort of entry level job. Um,

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Speaker 1: and I had a buddy move into New York. It's

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Speaker 1: the cliche thing to do after college. You move out

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Speaker 1: to New York. You've been snookered by all the TV

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Speaker 1: shows and all the movies where people are in New York.

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Speaker 1: It looks fantastic if you're If you watch a random

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Speaker 1: episode of Sex in the City, they're drinking mimosas out

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Speaker 1: in the sunlight. You actually get there and it's gray

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Speaker 1: and it's grim and it smells like garbage. For all

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Speaker 1: the great things about New York too, I'm just saying

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Speaker 1: I felt quite snookered, But I did take this job

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Speaker 1: with the n b A. My job was to wake

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Speaker 1: up at three thirty am every morning and read literally

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Speaker 1: everything written about the NBA and then send a memo

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Speaker 1: to David Stern and all these other people within the league.

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Speaker 1: It was called media monitoring. It sounds very orwelly, and

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Speaker 1: it was just letting David know who we had to

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Speaker 1: kill or shape from a window, I suppose. But what

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Speaker 1: it exposed me to was this whole world of beat writers.

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Speaker 1: And since my life sucked, it was miserable. I was

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Speaker 1: making seventeen grand to work seven days a week and

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Speaker 1: have no sleep schedule. If I ever did go out

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Speaker 1: and drink, I would pass out on the subway and

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Speaker 1: wake up in Coney Island. So my life sucked. But

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Speaker 1: I was looking at these people. They get to travel

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Speaker 1: the country watching basketball games, sitting courtside, and I think

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Speaker 1: that is that's what started the attraction to to that

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Speaker 1: sort of job. And I'm cutting out a lot of

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Speaker 1: aspects of what happened, but my I put him my

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Speaker 1: two weeks for the NBA. The last thing I did

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Speaker 1: before leaving the NBA as a very low level worker

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Speaker 1: um was to attend the two thousand nine NBA Draft,

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Speaker 1: and everybody at that draft he was working for the

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Speaker 1: n b A in my position, was assigned a draft pick.

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Speaker 1: I had the selection that turned out to be Ricky Rubio,

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Speaker 1: which how they planned it. He felt they actually had

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Speaker 1: a couple of women who spoke Spanish for the picks

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Speaker 1: ahead of me. Because they don't assign you to a player,

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Speaker 1: they assigned you to a pick. They were counting on

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Speaker 1: Ricky to fall there, to my great shame, even though

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Speaker 1: I'm from San Diego, I don't speak a word of Spanish,

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Speaker 1: and Ricky didn't really speak English, and I had to

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Speaker 1: just put him through this death march of interviews for

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Speaker 1: over three hours, not let him see his family or

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Speaker 1: anything like that, just do the junk it and then

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Speaker 1: be sitting next to him when he was on the

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Speaker 1: phone with the Wolves in this word conversation where he's

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Speaker 1: talking with David Kahan and Glenn Taylor and he doesn't

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Speaker 1: want to come over there, and they're trying to convince him,

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Speaker 1: and I'm going, I hear the people are nice in Minnesota,

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Speaker 1: and I'm trying to, you know, put a nice face

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Speaker 1: on it. But he's depressed. And so I went home

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Speaker 1: that night after it was all over, I wrote down

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Speaker 1: everything about the experience. I kind of forgot about it

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Speaker 1: for about a year, and then I saw the Free

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Speaker 1: Darko blog was doing a lot of cool stuff. So

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Speaker 1: I just sent it to them and I said, hey,

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Speaker 1: you know, maybe run this on the blog I used

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Speaker 1: to work for the NBA. This is my night with

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Speaker 1: a very depressed Wicky Rubio, And they put it up

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Speaker 1: on their blog. It got picked up by dead Spin,

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Speaker 1: and that was the first inkling that, oh, you know,

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Speaker 1: maybe I could write for an audience wider than my

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Speaker 1: own family if I framed a story right, if I

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Speaker 1: made it interesting enough, and that that got me off

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Speaker 1: and running. There are a lot of other details there,

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Speaker 1: but that was the precipitating event. So where did you

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Speaker 1: go after leaving them when you put in your two weeks? Well,

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Speaker 1: I came back to the Bay Area. I gotten to

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Speaker 1: walk through uh four dollar four dollar a month spot

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Speaker 1: in the house are sharing with my buddies in Oakland,

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Speaker 1: and I applied to work at Salon dot com, which

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Speaker 1: I think was a better publication back then. So I

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Speaker 1: was thinking political journalism, something you know, serious, And so

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Speaker 1: I got there, and to what you're saying, it was

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Speaker 1: obvious that journalism was collapsing, um because when I got

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Speaker 1: there there had already been layoffs. The building was half vacant.

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Speaker 1: It felt like a kid playing dress up because I'm

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Speaker 1: in my early twenties and I'll just walk into the

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Speaker 1: corner office and I'll start getting work done as an

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Speaker 1: intern because nobody is occupying it because so many people

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Speaker 1: have been fired. And I just started doing all these

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Speaker 1: lad jobs around there of just weekend editing and aggregation

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Speaker 1: and all of all of that. But I was still

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Speaker 1: interested in basketball. I liked following the Warriors. I was

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Speaker 1: a frustrated fan of the ladder Don Nelson Warriors and

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Speaker 1: he was a mess after or we believe, and so

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Speaker 1: I was I applied to write for the Warrior's Roll

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Speaker 1: blog and one day Rashida Malek, who was in control,

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Speaker 1: what what wait, this is a Golden State Warriors team

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Speaker 1: affiliated blog or like a fan blog. It's a fan blog,

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Speaker 1: it's a fan blow and they were taking applications. Oh

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Speaker 1: just hey, if you want to write for us for free?

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Speaker 1: And I just said, were like the manta ellis hears

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Speaker 1: maybe exactly, and I just said yeah, yeah, And I

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Speaker 1: just said, hey, you know, if if that's what you want,

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Speaker 1: to be interested And since nobody it was like a

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Speaker 1: job nobody showed up for, since nobody was doing it,

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Speaker 1: since it paid nothing, I start getting a press pass

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Speaker 1: and I go to games and I'm in the locker room.

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Speaker 1: And at that point, I mean, the Warriors are this

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Speaker 1: huge world by brand. Now. Nobody cared back then, or

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Speaker 1: barely anybody cared. I was in the locker room. I'd look.

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Speaker 1: There was Rusty Simmons from the Chronicle beat writer. There's

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Speaker 1: Marcus Thompson. Then at the Contra Costa whatever it was called,

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Speaker 1: went all these different iterations, Oakland Tribune. But there are

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Speaker 1: two beat writers there, maybe a radio guy collecting sound,

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Speaker 1: maybe one other person and a tumble wee blowing through,

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Speaker 1: and you just kind of get a sense of how

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Speaker 1: things are. I made a bunch of mistakes, not knowing.

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Speaker 1: I took a picture of the white board of the

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Speaker 1: strategy and got pulled aside of the pr like you

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Speaker 1: can't you know, I'm I'm just because like I'm a

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Speaker 1: nice guy. I'm just gonna tell you that, you know,

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Speaker 1: you'll be banned for life if that happens again. Okay,

425
00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:21,600
Speaker 1: I didn't know. I didn't like, I didn't know. And

426
00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:24,840
Speaker 1: this was hold on, Sorry, this was before Steph Curry arrived. Correct, No,

427
00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:27,439
Speaker 1: Steph Curry was there, but he wasn't. Steph Curry. You know,

428
00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:29,920
Speaker 1: he was getting like a first year guy, second year

429
00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:32,600
Speaker 1: guy banished behind Mont Dallas, right. Yeah, I started showing

430
00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:35,200
Speaker 1: up around two thousand tens, so he was getting injured

431
00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:38,359
Speaker 1: left and right. Though I thought he was pretty great,

432
00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,840
Speaker 1: Monte had just no connection to the team. Monte would

433
00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:45,840
Speaker 1: show up with his headphones on, talking to nobody. He

434
00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:49,280
Speaker 1: needed turkey sandwich and this is in pregame, and then

435
00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,760
Speaker 1: he would just go and do whatever, and then after

436
00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,560
Speaker 1: the game he would basically talk to nobody. David Lee

437
00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:56,879
Speaker 1: loved doing media, so David Lee would do the media

438
00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:01,240
Speaker 1: and it just wasn't It was obscurity. And I almost

439
00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:05,560
Speaker 1: quit actually, because being around losing is not it's not fun.

440
00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:07,280
Speaker 1: You can kind of feel it. It seeps in the

441
00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:11,000
Speaker 1: people's pores. But lo and behold. You know, they had

442
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,359
Speaker 1: the ownership change. Steph Curry flourished, became a star, and

443
00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:17,199
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, ESPN was looking around saying, we

444
00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,200
Speaker 1: need a beat writer, we need somebody covering this. Well,

445
00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:22,320
Speaker 1: here's this guy. He's on the scene. He's Johnny on

446
00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:24,600
Speaker 1: the spot. We don't have to pay him like Jade

447
00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:26,440
Speaker 1: on Day. Let's just have this guy do it. So

448
00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:29,840
Speaker 1: that's that's what got things started. For really, that's crazy.

449
00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,200
Speaker 1: So this was I'm looking at the roster. Jeremy Lynn

450
00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:36,359
Speaker 1: was a rookie. UM, Durrell Wright was kind of a

451
00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:38,480
Speaker 1: high flyer. They had some guys on that team. Be

452
00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:41,240
Speaker 1: Adron's was supposed to be something, but I'm seeing the

453
00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:45,240
Speaker 1: coach was Keith Smart. Is that Befomer Indiana? Oh, it

454
00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:47,520
Speaker 1: definitely is. And one of my Welcome to the NBA

455
00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:50,119
Speaker 1: moments was that Keith who was a nice guy. To

456
00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:53,960
Speaker 1: be clear, I had no understanding their inclination that anything

457
00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:57,600
Speaker 1: I wrote was read by anybody. And one day Keith

458
00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:00,000
Speaker 1: Smart stormed up to me and he just started saying,

459
00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:01,879
Speaker 1: why do you hate Monte? Why do you hate Monte?

460
00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:04,000
Speaker 1: And I just like I didn't, frankly know you knew

461
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,440
Speaker 1: who I was. I have no idea this is It's

462
00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:08,880
Speaker 1: like my TV has jumped out and started talking to me.

463
00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:10,960
Speaker 1: And wait, wait, hold on, was this for a blog post?

464
00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,159
Speaker 1: Join ESPN piece? I mean this is back then I

465
00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:18,200
Speaker 1: was doing blog posts but every now and again, UM,

466
00:23:18,359 --> 00:23:20,520
Speaker 1: I facilitated a relationship with ESPN where I would do

467
00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:23,439
Speaker 1: the occasional freelance job and you get paid a hundred

468
00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:26,760
Speaker 1: bucks two hundred bucks. And that started to pick up

469
00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:30,199
Speaker 1: more so later on when the Warriors got good. And

470
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,120
Speaker 1: but yeah, back then, I don't even know. I don't

471
00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:35,480
Speaker 1: even know what it was in reference to what Keith

472
00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:38,520
Speaker 1: was was upset about. But yeah, I just felt like

473
00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:40,600
Speaker 1: I was kind of in a vacuum. I felt like

474
00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:44,000
Speaker 1: nobody's watching this team. I'm watching this team. I find

475
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,800
Speaker 1: it kind of interesting and funny, um and I like

476
00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:49,640
Speaker 1: it better than the political journalism. But this isn't really

477
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,280
Speaker 1: going anywhere. This is just what I'm doing. And then

478
00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,800
Speaker 1: out of nowhere it becomes the biggest dynasty since the

479
00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:58,119
Speaker 1: nineties bulls. Yeah, let me ask a lot of the

480
00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:00,000
Speaker 1: young guys. I'm telling you, I don't know how much

481
00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:02,040
Speaker 1: to this you get, but I get guys sending me

482
00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:03,720
Speaker 1: messages all the time. How do you How do I

483
00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:06,320
Speaker 1: get where you are? How do I get you know, journalism?

484
00:24:06,359 --> 00:24:08,840
Speaker 1: And I'm just hearing you're doing. You did a lot

485
00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:10,600
Speaker 1: of the stuff I did, Like you were writing for

486
00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:13,920
Speaker 1: free for a blog, going to games, and then next

487
00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:16,400
Speaker 1: thing you know, boom, you're Johnny on the spot. Like

488
00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,360
Speaker 1: nobody wants to do that these days, Evean, nobody wants

489
00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:21,320
Speaker 1: to work for free, and I know if you put

490
00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:23,840
Speaker 1: that on Twitter, people get so angry. Everybody should be

491
00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:26,720
Speaker 1: paid every you know. I'm like, guys, no, you know,

492
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:28,960
Speaker 1: I did the big lead for I don't know a

493
00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:30,960
Speaker 1: year and a half and I got like no money

494
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,720
Speaker 1: whatsoever in addition to my full time job. But then

495
00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:35,800
Speaker 1: at the end of the rainbow, there there's a payoff.

496
00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:39,399
Speaker 1: How do we talk and tell these guys listen, working

497
00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:40,760
Speaker 1: for free is not the worst thing in the world. Well,

498
00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:45,120
Speaker 1: it's the is versus ought divide, right, Um, yeah, you

499
00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,199
Speaker 1: ought to be able to get paid early on on

500
00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:52,080
Speaker 1: your path to stardom or whatever that ought to be

501
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:54,720
Speaker 1: what happens, it would be great, and Twitter is a

502
00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:58,040
Speaker 1: place for odd Yes, it ought to happen that way,

503
00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:01,280
Speaker 1: but this is how it is. It is this way.

504
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:03,840
Speaker 1: You do have to grind. You do have to maybe

505
00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:06,440
Speaker 1: work for free and get somebody to notice you before

506
00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:08,840
Speaker 1: they're willing to pay you to do something else. Eventually

507
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:12,199
Speaker 1: you get leverage. I've seen people who are young destroy

508
00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:16,160
Speaker 1: their careers because they're mean to the gatekeepers, or they're

509
00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:19,720
Speaker 1: insecure about getting corrected or told that this isn't good

510
00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,600
Speaker 1: enough to run. They snap at one of the gatekeepers,

511
00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:25,040
Speaker 1: and then they don't really get another shot at it.

512
00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:28,240
Speaker 1: You kind of need to establish enough of a foothold

513
00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:32,040
Speaker 1: before you can become a diva, before you have any leverage,

514
00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,440
Speaker 1: and it's hard to get leverage. It's a tough industry

515
00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,880
Speaker 1: because so many people love sports, so many people want

516
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:39,720
Speaker 1: to be a media I told you it made seventeen

517
00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,639
Speaker 1: grand my first year working in PR for the n

518
00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:44,960
Speaker 1: b A. You better believe that the second I quit,

519
00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:47,080
Speaker 1: there was some other college kid lining up to do

520
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:49,560
Speaker 1: it because it's the m b A and they want

521
00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:52,760
Speaker 1: to be affiliated with the NBA. And that is an

522
00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:56,159
Speaker 1: unfortunate downside of being in business. That's a lot of

523
00:25:56,160 --> 00:26:00,359
Speaker 1: people's passion project, but that's the reality. Instance, it's the reality.

524
00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,639
Speaker 1: You're just not gonna get paid out the gate many instances,

525
00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:06,359
Speaker 1: and I wasn't even doing it as a plan. In

526
00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:08,960
Speaker 1: many ways, it was an accidental career. I remember David Lee,

527
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,520
Speaker 1: we get so mad at me and whatever he was

528
00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:14,520
Speaker 1: saying to me. I remember thinking, I'm almost sympathetic because

529
00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:16,840
Speaker 1: I don't even know why I'm here. You know, I

530
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:18,639
Speaker 1: don't even know why I'm here as this five eleven

531
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:23,639
Speaker 1: guy criticizing what you're doing, but it happened because of

532
00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,320
Speaker 1: life is showing up paid or unpaid? Yeah? Do you,

533
00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,480
Speaker 1: in your humble opinion, do you think when ESPN was

534
00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:31,920
Speaker 1: looking for a beat writer, if you had not been

535
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:33,800
Speaker 1: doing that blog for free, they would have picked your

536
00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:36,840
Speaker 1: resume out of the twenty that they There's no way,

537
00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:40,360
Speaker 1: There's no way. UM. I was noticed by Henry Abbott

538
00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:43,640
Speaker 1: and Kevin Arnovitz. They liked some of what they saw

539
00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,520
Speaker 1: on the blog, and then it became, hey, do you

540
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:48,600
Speaker 1: want to maybe write an article here? Do you want

541
00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:51,880
Speaker 1: to maybe write an article there? Uh? Royce Web who

542
00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,439
Speaker 1: actually edits my stuff on the sub stack. UM also

543
00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:57,600
Speaker 1: kind of pulled me more in when I was working

544
00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,119
Speaker 1: for Bleacher Report and brought me into the full but

545
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:02,680
Speaker 1: it was based on what I had done for free.

546
00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:04,840
Speaker 1: What I had done for free was the audition that

547
00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:07,879
Speaker 1: allowed me to get paid. Fox Sports Radio has the

548
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:10,840
Speaker 1: best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of

549
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:14,400
Speaker 1: our shows at Fox sports Radio dot com and within

550
00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:16,879
Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app search f s R to

551
00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:21,000
Speaker 1: listen live. And getting paid is enabling you now to

552
00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:25,160
Speaker 1: do the substack because you have leverage and credibility and

553
00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:27,440
Speaker 1: people know who you are and you've written a book

554
00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:31,240
Speaker 1: on the Warriors, so I am curious pivoting to sub stack.

555
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:35,000
Speaker 1: I know you have a kid that I'm presumably of,

556
00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:37,679
Speaker 1: wife and a family, Like, what was their reaction when

557
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,160
Speaker 1: you said I'm going to try this thing called sub stack.

558
00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:44,359
Speaker 1: My wife is oddly supportive. I shouldn't say oddly, but

559
00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,240
Speaker 1: I I thought she would be more concerned. But I

560
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:50,080
Speaker 1: think she could tell that I had been ground down

561
00:27:50,359 --> 00:27:52,520
Speaker 1: and that I needed to change. And I think a

562
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:56,000
Speaker 1: lot of that came out of the pandemic era, where

563
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,080
Speaker 1: it felt like, in terms of sports coverage, you were

564
00:27:58,080 --> 00:27:59,960
Speaker 1: trying to get blood from a stone, and it's seen

565
00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:03,360
Speaker 1: like the public didn't have as much appetite for sports

566
00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:07,560
Speaker 1: as it usually does for understandable reasons, and you, yourself,

567
00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,080
Speaker 1: as a content creator, didn't care as much either, And

568
00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,920
Speaker 1: yet you're trying to get them to pay attention. You're

569
00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:16,480
Speaker 1: trying to get yourself to be engaged in it, and

570
00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:19,480
Speaker 1: I I just didn't have the juice. And it's tough

571
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:21,520
Speaker 1: at the Athletic because they've got such a great team

572
00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:25,240
Speaker 1: covering the Warriors. To think Anthony Slader, Marcus Thompson, Tim

573
00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:28,920
Speaker 1: Kawakami um all covering the warriors doing a great job.

574
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,199
Speaker 1: So I just felt like I was getting worse and

575
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,160
Speaker 1: that when my deal would be up in two years,

576
00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:38,400
Speaker 1: I wouldn't be able to get a good deal after that.

577
00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:40,960
Speaker 1: I know people might think it's crazy because there's not

578
00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:44,880
Speaker 1: a lot of job security and journalism, but I I

579
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:47,640
Speaker 1: basically asked out of my three year deal with over

580
00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:51,360
Speaker 1: two years left, just because I knew that they didn't

581
00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:53,400
Speaker 1: have it in me, and I knew I needed to

582
00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:56,840
Speaker 1: do something, uh, just that would challenge me and kind

583
00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,440
Speaker 1: of scare me. I needed to be scared, as weird

584
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:01,760
Speaker 1: as that sound out. And so it scared the ship

585
00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,120
Speaker 1: out of me, because you open up your sub stack

586
00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:09,840
Speaker 1: and if you fail, not only is it a financial failure,

587
00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:12,520
Speaker 1: but it's an ego death as well. Of Oh no,

588
00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:14,920
Speaker 1: people really don't care about what I have to say.

589
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:18,800
Speaker 1: Uh But I told myself basically, look, that might be

590
00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:20,920
Speaker 1: the lesson I have to learn. If that's the case.

591
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,400
Speaker 1: If I learned that I can't stand on my own

592
00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:26,480
Speaker 1: two feet, um, and I'm somebody who might be able

593
00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,560
Speaker 1: to be a barnacle on some other hole, than I'd

594
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,160
Speaker 1: rather just learn that lesson now than always wonder for

595
00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:34,880
Speaker 1: decades and it was my opportunity to find out, and

596
00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:38,120
Speaker 1: I am I'm thrilled to say that it worked out.

597
00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:39,720
Speaker 1: I'm just you don't have to answer this, but does

598
00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:41,560
Speaker 1: your wife work or does she? Is she stay at

599
00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:43,960
Speaker 1: home with the kids? She works? Yeah? She? Okay? Yeah,

600
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:45,520
Speaker 1: So yeah, you got at least you got a bit

601
00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:47,440
Speaker 1: of a fail safe there, right. The wife is the

602
00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:50,239
Speaker 1: backup if sub second not saying it will because your

603
00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:53,240
Speaker 1: stuff has been pretty popular, uh in the last six months.

604
00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:55,960
Speaker 1: I'll say, I'm the majority earner in this household, and

605
00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:58,840
Speaker 1: we would we would have a problem financially if there

606
00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:01,840
Speaker 1: was failure. All right, let me ask you about as

607
00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:05,080
Speaker 1: you cover the Warriors for ESPN uh Gold, Steph Curry,

608
00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,080
Speaker 1: Clay Tompson's Blast Brothers, all this happens, they get Kevin

609
00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:12,000
Speaker 1: Durant and you write the book on the dynasty. First

610
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:14,480
Speaker 1: of all, I want to start with, give me a

611
00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:16,960
Speaker 1: sense of the locker room in the years before, kept

612
00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,280
Speaker 1: the two years before Kevin Durant arrived, and then during

613
00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:22,640
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant. Was there a massive difference? Uh, no difference

614
00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:26,160
Speaker 1: at all. Yeah. Well, there's that happy rise, there's that

615
00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:29,760
Speaker 1: upper trajectory. I remember towards the end that Steve Kerr

616
00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,640
Speaker 1: was saying that he was reading about the Bucks of

617
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:36,800
Speaker 1: that time and he was just angry at how happy

618
00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:39,920
Speaker 1: they all sounded me through the phone, because he remembered

619
00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:42,200
Speaker 1: those days where you're you're going on the up and

620
00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:47,320
Speaker 1: everything's great and everybody's winning um and they're exploring new

621
00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:52,440
Speaker 1: they're just exploring aspects of their talent that they wouldn't

622
00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:56,320
Speaker 1: even thought that they had, and you know, it was

623
00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:59,840
Speaker 1: a very happy place and it was just really copacetic,

624
00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:02,800
Speaker 1: I think, especially in that first year. And then the

625
00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:05,320
Speaker 1: next year it seemed like something shifted that and that

626
00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:07,720
Speaker 1: was the seventy three win year, but it seemed like

627
00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:10,960
Speaker 1: something shifted because you can see you could see the pressure.

628
00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:15,280
Speaker 1: You could see some of the tensions between Kerr and Draymond,

629
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:17,680
Speaker 1: and those have been there in year one and those

630
00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,479
Speaker 1: are always there and they make it work somehow as

631
00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:24,160
Speaker 1: a working relationship, but it ultimately blew up in that

632
00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:28,480
Speaker 1: famous Oklahoma City game where they needed to be separated,

633
00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:31,640
Speaker 1: and so you started to see you started to see

634
00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:33,840
Speaker 1: some of that, You could see the fissures, and then

635
00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:36,960
Speaker 1: they ultimately they you know, the three one, they blew

636
00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:39,840
Speaker 1: blow the lead, they lose there's a lot of sadness,

637
00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:42,200
Speaker 1: and they didn't totally break up the team because you

638
00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:46,080
Speaker 1: have the Core, but that iteration of the Warriors with Harrison,

639
00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:50,400
Speaker 1: Barnes and Bogett strengthen numbers that gave way to the

640
00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:53,520
Speaker 1: decadent Warriors, the most talented team anybody had ever seen

641
00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:56,280
Speaker 1: with Kevin Durant. And then you almost had a bit

642
00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:58,000
Speaker 1: of a renewal because I think that they were in

643
00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:01,840
Speaker 1: many ways, uh, pretty relaxed, and Kevin Durant was relaxed

644
00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:05,240
Speaker 1: and happy. And the thing I remember about those years

645
00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:08,000
Speaker 1: when Katie came was just beers in the locker room.

646
00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:10,440
Speaker 1: That it was so it felt like it just felt

647
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:13,560
Speaker 1: like being around the nineteen eighties baseball team because the

648
00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:15,360
Speaker 1: game would be out and then you'd be in the

649
00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,600
Speaker 1: locker room interviewing guys and they just be drinking Cores lights.

650
00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:22,360
Speaker 1: I remember remember Katie would just house a Core's light,

651
00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:24,840
Speaker 1: which for him at that size is probably like me,

652
00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:28,360
Speaker 1: uh taking a small sip, but he would just house it.

653
00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:30,000
Speaker 1: He would just let out a big belch and then

654
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:33,360
Speaker 1: he would start the interview. Um. The Warriors coaches would

655
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:36,520
Speaker 1: have the modelos. I think they eventually cut that out

656
00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:38,200
Speaker 1: I don't know why they cut that out of what

657
00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:41,240
Speaker 1: precipitated it, but that was part of their appeal. I mean,

658
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:44,040
Speaker 1: that's that's part of what was appealing to Durant about

659
00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:48,520
Speaker 1: the Warriors was that All Star weekend um incurs first season,

660
00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:50,960
Speaker 1: I think where he was in the locker room, he

661
00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:53,080
Speaker 1: visited the coaches locker room and they're all drinking beers

662
00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:54,760
Speaker 1: and he said, hey, you know, is this what you

663
00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:56,880
Speaker 1: guys do? And Steves like, hell, yeah, this is what

664
00:32:56,920 --> 00:33:00,680
Speaker 1: we do. And so when he juxtaposed that against the

665
00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:05,760
Speaker 1: uptight Oklahoma City culture, um, it was very appealing and

666
00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,080
Speaker 1: it was kind of loosey goosey and this idea that

667
00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:10,440
Speaker 1: you can be dominant and you can have fun. So

668
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:14,680
Speaker 1: I think the first k D season had a good vibe,

669
00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:17,400
Speaker 1: and then after that it started to curdle because, as

670
00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:21,200
Speaker 1: Steve Nash has talked about, as other people have reported,

671
00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:25,080
Speaker 1: it just didn't accomplish for Durant what he thought it would.

672
00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:27,560
Speaker 1: It didn't do for him what he was looking for.

673
00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:31,040
Speaker 1: And that's where I have like a fundamental disagreement with

674
00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:33,640
Speaker 1: a lot of people, and not just the jabrones online,

675
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,520
Speaker 1: but like real people that you think are pretty smart,

676
00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:39,240
Speaker 1: and intelligent, and you think that, oh, this guy, this

677
00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,120
Speaker 1: guy has some okay takes, and then you hear them

678
00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:46,280
Speaker 1: on Durant, I mean ethan like, I don't understand fundamentally

679
00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:49,560
Speaker 1: why people are not giving Kevin Durant quote unquote credit

680
00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:54,480
Speaker 1: for these two championships, very very simple because he so

681
00:33:54,560 --> 00:34:00,120
Speaker 1: badly wants it. That's how life works. That's how life works. Oh,

682
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:02,760
Speaker 1: anybody in the affairs of love know this. Hey, have

683
00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:05,120
Speaker 1: you seem desperate? Are you gonna get are you gonna

684
00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:09,279
Speaker 1: get the girl? You seem desperate? Clay Thompson seems like

685
00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:12,520
Speaker 1: he's barely aware of our existence. His approval rating is

686
00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:15,480
Speaker 1: like a hundred and five percent. That is how life works.

687
00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:18,520
Speaker 1: That's how it is. If you seem thirsty for that credit,

688
00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:20,440
Speaker 1: you seem like you want it, we don't give it

689
00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:23,520
Speaker 1: to you for whatever reason. Yeah, I've I've had forgotten

690
00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:26,400
Speaker 1: about that. That's a great aspect of it. And you know,

691
00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:29,200
Speaker 1: even this week, um, you know a lot of people

692
00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:32,000
Speaker 1: are saying, well, way when the Warriors win the championship

693
00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:34,279
Speaker 1: this year, I think they're the favorites. Now maybe them

694
00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:38,040
Speaker 1: are Boston, and hey, it's gonna prove they got a title.

695
00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:40,000
Speaker 1: Before Durant, and they got a title after Durant. They

696
00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:42,840
Speaker 1: didn't need him. And so you know, I put that

697
00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:45,920
Speaker 1: on my Instagram stories in Durant like doesn't follow me,

698
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,520
Speaker 1: but I tag him instantly sent me a message, Well,

699
00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:50,560
Speaker 1: what's the narrative I get to push if the Warriors loose?

700
00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:54,120
Speaker 1: And I said that, Yeah, I had not thought about that,

701
00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:56,640
Speaker 1: and I don't. And it's weird, Ethan, because you you

702
00:34:56,680 --> 00:34:59,080
Speaker 1: said he's so thirsty for it, and they know he

703
00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:02,560
Speaker 1: has rabbit ears. People almost they don't even want to

704
00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:04,799
Speaker 1: think about that, Like, what happens if Golden State does

705
00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:08,200
Speaker 1: lose to to Luca, Can we start the you know what?

706
00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:11,600
Speaker 1: They they kind of need Kevin Durant. No, they're not

707
00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:14,960
Speaker 1: gonna do it. And I do think he he should

708
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:18,200
Speaker 1: get more credit. I think it's so easy to say that,

709
00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:21,280
Speaker 1: oh man, he had coat tails, he was a bus rider.

710
00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:24,160
Speaker 1: He wasn't a bus driver, as Barkley said, But be

711
00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:28,560
Speaker 1: forgetting come on, we forget to what he's saying. Those

712
00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:32,440
Speaker 1: those shots he's taken in those finals, in those conference finals.

713
00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:36,120
Speaker 1: If Kevin Durant has a meltdown when he was on

714
00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:39,920
Speaker 1: the Warriors, and he never did to be clear. I mean,

715
00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,399
Speaker 1: he would have games, right, but we're talking about flame

716
00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,200
Speaker 1: out of the playoffs eliminated they Chris Paul flame out,

717
00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:47,359
Speaker 1: James Harden, that kind of thing. He never has that. Yeah,

718
00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:51,280
Speaker 1: they only got eliminated in the series where he got injured.

719
00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:54,400
Speaker 1: So yeah, I mean we're kind of playing the result

720
00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:57,520
Speaker 1: where because they won, we say it was easy. But

721
00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:00,560
Speaker 1: if he had really started to choke, he had missed

722
00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:02,680
Speaker 1: a bunch of shots and they lost, he would have

723
00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:06,160
Speaker 1: gotten crushed. And so I think there is a lack

724
00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:10,480
Speaker 1: of fairness considering how unguardable he was in those series

725
00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:13,000
Speaker 1: and how brilliant he was in those finals, and it

726
00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:17,040
Speaker 1: does seem like nobody really cares. But then again, I

727
00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:20,280
Speaker 1: mean it's just it's just a natural result of seeming

728
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:22,319
Speaker 1: like he needs the credit, and because he needs it,

729
00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:25,000
Speaker 1: even if he deserves it, deserves got nothing to do

730
00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:27,520
Speaker 1: with it. As Clint Easter once said, yeah, he's gonna

731
00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:29,800
Speaker 1: be on the right side of history fifteen years from now. Nobody,

732
00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:31,799
Speaker 1: I don't think this will be a topic. Right. We

733
00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:35,800
Speaker 1: don't remember, you know, Grant Hill nearly going to Orlando

734
00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:38,560
Speaker 1: and and Tim Duncan almost do. We don't remember all

735
00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:42,560
Speaker 1: that stuff. I do wonder do you think it was hard?

736
00:36:42,719 --> 00:36:45,879
Speaker 1: I think the harder decision for Kevin Durant was to leave.

737
00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:49,200
Speaker 1: It was harder to leave, Okay, see be hated by

738
00:36:49,239 --> 00:36:52,680
Speaker 1: twenty nine other teams instantly behaved, became the biggest villain

739
00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:55,640
Speaker 1: in the league, right, almost like Lebron going to Miami.

740
00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:58,319
Speaker 1: I think it was it was harder to leave than

741
00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:00,960
Speaker 1: to stay. Staying easy. Everybody's to love you, Hey, Katie,

742
00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:03,839
Speaker 1: we love you man, thanks for staying. No nobody's booing him,

743
00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:07,160
Speaker 1: everybody goes. Nobody's filling up his Instagram in box with

744
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:09,600
Speaker 1: you suck and all this stuff if he stays, right,

745
00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:12,640
Speaker 1: So what doesn't that Ethan lend Queen's to my belief

746
00:37:12,680 --> 00:37:14,680
Speaker 1: that it was harder to leave. It might have been

747
00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:17,759
Speaker 1: harder emotionally, but not harder to win, right, I mean,

748
00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:20,480
Speaker 1: that's that's I just think it was a little too

749
00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:23,480
Speaker 1: decadent for people. It was a little too much that

750
00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:28,920
Speaker 1: they had Steph and Clay and Raymond and Andre and

751
00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:31,200
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant on top of it. It just didn't feel

752
00:37:31,239 --> 00:37:34,319
Speaker 1: fair to people. And we can we can do what

753
00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:37,239
Speaker 1: some of the smarty pants sportswriters did and say he

754
00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:39,600
Speaker 1: has that right that he shouldn't have his own talent

755
00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:41,960
Speaker 1: held against him. I mean, there's something weird about that,

756
00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:45,080
Speaker 1: this idea that you get blamed for joining a super

757
00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:47,520
Speaker 1: team if you're great, but if you're not very good,

758
00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:51,200
Speaker 1: then it's totally acceptable. It's a strange. It's a strange thing,

759
00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:54,160
Speaker 1: but that's how people are and that's what they react to.

760
00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:56,960
Speaker 1: And what's tricky there is that it helps to have

761
00:37:57,040 --> 00:37:59,799
Speaker 1: your own fan base who's in your corner, and he's

762
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:02,840
Speaker 1: of a man without a country. Um, you know, Oklahoma

763
00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:07,240
Speaker 1: City fans would argue for Kevin Durant's greatness, Laker fans

764
00:38:07,239 --> 00:38:11,200
Speaker 1: would viciously argue for Kobe Bryant's greatness. And then Katie

765
00:38:11,239 --> 00:38:13,279
Speaker 1: comes to the Warriors, and what does he have. He's

766
00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:15,839
Speaker 1: got a bunch of Steph Curry fans who frankly, would

767
00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:18,719
Speaker 1: rather Steph Curry be the hero than Kevin Durant be

768
00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:21,040
Speaker 1: the hero. That's just how it is. I remember at

769
00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:24,600
Speaker 1: the Athletic we would sometimes do an event and there

770
00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:26,720
Speaker 1: would be people in the audience. We talked at sales

771
00:38:26,719 --> 00:38:29,440
Speaker 1: force and we would say, Hey, who's your favorite Warriors player.

772
00:38:29,719 --> 00:38:32,120
Speaker 1: I was just curious and Steph Curry, the hands all

773
00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:35,920
Speaker 1: shoot up, Kevin Durant, no hand goes up. That's the

774
00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:39,400
Speaker 1: situation he chose. But those that's that's the reality he chose.

775
00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:41,800
Speaker 1: But that isn't that also due to the structure of

776
00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:44,880
Speaker 1: the NBA draft, Like you get drafted by this team,

777
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,640
Speaker 1: you have to go there for X amount of years,

778
00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:50,239
Speaker 1: then the most lucrative next deal you can sign. So

779
00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:52,920
Speaker 1: we keep the bad teams from being awful, and we

780
00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:55,320
Speaker 1: try to make them good and push up some parody

781
00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:58,920
Speaker 1: like the NFL, like we want players to stay, we

782
00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:01,719
Speaker 1: don't want them jumping around. Well. I also just think

783
00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:05,320
Speaker 1: there's an emotional connection when you watch them become great

784
00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:07,800
Speaker 1: over time and you don't know what they're going to become,

785
00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:10,040
Speaker 1: but you see it and you see them flourish, and

786
00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:11,839
Speaker 1: there's just going to be more of an attachment. I

787
00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:14,920
Speaker 1: know that that when they When I've done a breakdown

788
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:17,760
Speaker 1: of the local ratings, it's so interesting we're talking about

789
00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:21,560
Speaker 1: on a local level for teams. Uh, the teams that

790
00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:25,600
Speaker 1: have these drafted cores do so much better than the

791
00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:29,920
Speaker 1: teams that are just kind of thrown together and people

792
00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:33,359
Speaker 1: really develop that connection. And so yeah, it's not fair

793
00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:36,839
Speaker 1: to the athletes. Yes, it's weird that we expect them

794
00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:39,560
Speaker 1: to have some loyalty to a team that they themselves

795
00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:42,319
Speaker 1: did not choose, to a city that they themselves are

796
00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:45,080
Speaker 1: not from. But that's how it is, and that's what

797
00:39:45,160 --> 00:39:48,239
Speaker 1: resonates with fans. Yeah, it's three of the final four

798
00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:52,000
Speaker 1: teams largely homegrown. You know, Jimmy Butler's kind of tossed

799
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:53,960
Speaker 1: in there, But I would agree with that point. Now

800
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:56,120
Speaker 1: you have, I'm curious we can wrap up on Kevin

801
00:39:56,160 --> 00:39:59,799
Speaker 1: Durant with this, um. What what was your beef with him?

802
00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:01,640
Speaker 1: Did he ever explained it to you face to face? Is?

803
00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:05,000
Speaker 1: How was he in person? Was it? Did you feel

804
00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:06,520
Speaker 1: like he was trying to bully you, as he just

805
00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:08,680
Speaker 1: a jerk? I don't I don't know. It's a little

806
00:40:08,680 --> 00:40:12,520
Speaker 1: more complicated than that. He didn't like when I said

807
00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:15,239
Speaker 1: that he would probably leave. It was in the aftermath

808
00:40:15,239 --> 00:40:17,760
Speaker 1: of actually the Knicks opening up a bunch of cap space,

809
00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:20,680
Speaker 1: um with a big trade, and he didn't show up

810
00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:23,160
Speaker 1: to media availability I think for eight days in a row,

811
00:40:23,239 --> 00:40:25,800
Speaker 1: which is mandated by the league. Now, I'm not somebody

812
00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:30,759
Speaker 1: who says you have a responsibility to the journalists out

813
00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:34,360
Speaker 1: there to show up. I really don't care, but it's significant.

814
00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:37,600
Speaker 1: It's interesting when a guy starts just out of nowhere,

815
00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:42,319
Speaker 1: not showing up to availabilities and um, so I wrote it.

816
00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:44,920
Speaker 1: We were talking about it behind the scenes. Everybody knew

817
00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:47,120
Speaker 1: he had one ft out the door, but it wasn't

818
00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:51,839
Speaker 1: really getting said. So I said that internally, there's an

819
00:40:51,840 --> 00:40:56,040
Speaker 1: expectation that he's gone um and he did not like that,

820
00:40:56,120 --> 00:40:58,520
Speaker 1: and so in a press conference, I think he said

821
00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:01,040
Speaker 1: something like he got this dude, Ethan Strauss, given his

822
00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:04,239
Speaker 1: whole opinion, he doesn't talk to anybody, and kind of

823
00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:06,120
Speaker 1: blasted me. And it was surreal to be in the

824
00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:09,120
Speaker 1: press conference as it was happening. It was funny. I

825
00:41:09,120 --> 00:41:12,279
Speaker 1: went into locker room afterwards and Audrey Godala sees because like,

826
00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:15,400
Speaker 1: he went off on your ass, just like that happened.

827
00:41:16,680 --> 00:41:18,360
Speaker 1: And then the then the Warriors players are trying to

828
00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:22,440
Speaker 1: get me to apologize to him, thinking the Warriors players, yeah,

829
00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:26,279
Speaker 1: because from their perspective, they just need Kevin to be

830
00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:29,160
Speaker 1: in the right mindset. They just needed to and they

831
00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:32,520
Speaker 1: were kind of I think it's weird. They were, well, yeah,

832
00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:36,400
Speaker 1: they were looking at it from the player perspective, where hey,

833
00:41:36,719 --> 00:41:38,120
Speaker 1: we've got to eat a bowl of ship for the

834
00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:40,400
Speaker 1: sake of the superstar. That's how the NBA is, and

835
00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:43,120
Speaker 1: this guy, he's a superstar, so we gotta do whatever

836
00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:46,160
Speaker 1: we gotta do. Isn't that the same for you as

837
00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:49,160
Speaker 1: a media person, because you media people report on superstars.

838
00:41:49,200 --> 00:41:53,080
Speaker 1: Remember Audrey saying, you know, I don't know who your

839
00:41:53,120 --> 00:41:54,840
Speaker 1: your sources, but is he going to be in the

840
00:41:54,880 --> 00:42:01,640
Speaker 1: league longer than Kevin Durant now? And and sorry, yeah, yeah,

841
00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:03,359
Speaker 1: And I think he like Andre at a point. He's

842
00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:05,440
Speaker 1: always very perceptive, But I do think he was almost

843
00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:08,160
Speaker 1: looking at it a little bit more so from the

844
00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:11,680
Speaker 1: player vantage than from my perspective. Is my perspective was,

845
00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:14,560
Speaker 1: you know, I don't really need Kevin Durant. I don't

846
00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:18,919
Speaker 1: um somebody is gonna get you know, somebody like Chris Hayes.

847
00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:21,200
Speaker 1: He does a great job. It's gonna get the Katie access.

848
00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:23,480
Speaker 1: I don't think I'm ever gonna get more access than that.

849
00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:25,840
Speaker 1: Marcus Thompson is gonna get a great access. There's some

850
00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:28,719
Speaker 1: other reporters. I'm gonna do a different thing. I don't

851
00:42:28,760 --> 00:42:31,799
Speaker 1: need to. I don't know, apologize if I don't think

852
00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:34,640
Speaker 1: I did something wrong, but it was funny because I

853
00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:37,719
Speaker 1: remember in those days after that happened, I saw to

854
00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:40,680
Speaker 1: Marcus Cousins and to Marcus he looks at he looks

855
00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:43,319
Speaker 1: at me, goes, man, you got some apologizing to do.

856
00:42:43,680 --> 00:42:46,000
Speaker 1: And I go, I mean, how am I supposed to

857
00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:48,719
Speaker 1: apologize if I don't think I did anything wrong? And

858
00:42:48,800 --> 00:42:53,960
Speaker 1: DeMarcus goes, shit, that's for you to figure out. To

859
00:42:54,160 --> 00:42:57,680
Speaker 1: Marcus Cousins, that's the guy who said you you gotta apologize.

860
00:42:57,719 --> 00:43:00,440
Speaker 1: I mean, really, DeMarcus Cousins, Well, their perspective was this

861
00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:02,359
Speaker 1: guy's a big deal and he's mad at you, so

862
00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:04,560
Speaker 1: you gotta need him happy. We need hey, we need

863
00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:06,640
Speaker 1: him happy and be we think you need you know,

864
00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:09,680
Speaker 1: you need to make him happy. And god, I mean

865
00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:11,640
Speaker 1: this is all my book, but it was funny. I

866
00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:15,879
Speaker 1: mean Andre, Andre says to me, like you married. I go, yeah,

867
00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:18,400
Speaker 1: he goes, hey, man, Son's you gonna apologize to some ship?

868
00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:20,120
Speaker 1: You know, you don't think, you didn't even think you

869
00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:22,000
Speaker 1: did wrong? Like you just got to do that. That's

870
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:25,160
Speaker 1: how it is. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports

871
00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:28,000
Speaker 1: talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows

872
00:43:28,040 --> 00:43:31,239
Speaker 1: at Fox sports radio dot com and within the I

873
00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:34,320
Speaker 1: Heart Radio app. Search f s R to listen live.

874
00:43:34,840 --> 00:43:36,600
Speaker 1: This is a good theory, but I think it also

875
00:43:36,719 --> 00:43:40,040
Speaker 1: goes into the crazy bucket um and I'm curious of

876
00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:43,200
Speaker 1: what the listeners think. So you your belief is that

877
00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:48,640
Speaker 1: the NBA players are more owned by the shoe companies

878
00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:52,040
Speaker 1: than they are teams. That A not all of them

879
00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:57,400
Speaker 1: at the top of the top the top soames of

880
00:43:57,440 --> 00:44:00,520
Speaker 1: a Nike employee, then he is an employee of the Lakers,

881
00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:03,000
Speaker 1: and I would defy you to prove me wrong on that.

882
00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:06,239
Speaker 1: Let's skip on Lebron. He's like the face of the

883
00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:09,320
Speaker 1: Nike pretty much. So who who else? Though, I'm curious,

884
00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:11,320
Speaker 1: like Steph Curry is he an under armed guy or

885
00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:14,600
Speaker 1: a Warriors guy? That one's a little trickier. I think

886
00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:16,719
Speaker 1: that there's a little bit more of a sense that

887
00:44:16,800 --> 00:44:20,160
Speaker 1: maybe he could sign somewhere else or do something else.

888
00:44:20,239 --> 00:44:23,520
Speaker 1: I'm not aware of what his particular deal is with

889
00:44:23,640 --> 00:44:26,520
Speaker 1: you way, but for I think with Steph it's a

890
00:44:26,520 --> 00:44:29,040
Speaker 1: little trickier because he's never left the Warriors. That one

891
00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:31,080
Speaker 1: is a little bit more dispute. I would say that

892
00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:32,840
Speaker 1: k D is more of a Nike employee than the

893
00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:37,399
Speaker 1: Brooklyn Nets employee. Um uh, Steph. Steph might be more

894
00:44:37,400 --> 00:44:39,440
Speaker 1: of a warrior's employee. I've got to choose one or

895
00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:43,880
Speaker 1: the other. How about a guy like Kyrie Irving. Kyrie

896
00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:49,200
Speaker 1: Irving where it's been reported that Nike has said sionara um.

897
00:44:49,239 --> 00:44:52,000
Speaker 1: I mean, what, who is Kyrie an employee? If he's

898
00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:54,279
Speaker 1: an employee of the Voiceless, he's an employee of the

899
00:44:54,280 --> 00:44:59,600
Speaker 1: revolution as I am curious where you are on Kyrie now.

900
00:44:59,760 --> 00:45:01,319
Speaker 1: I don't how much you've covered him or how much

901
00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:05,040
Speaker 1: you've been around him. I find him to be, you know,

902
00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:07,000
Speaker 1: a bit of a space cadet. There's nothing wrong with that.

903
00:45:07,080 --> 00:45:09,680
Speaker 1: I know plenty of good, level headed space cadets. But

904
00:45:09,719 --> 00:45:14,360
Speaker 1: at the same time, he's like unbelievably ego driven and

905
00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:17,480
Speaker 1: also delusional. And at the same time I think he's

906
00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:19,200
Speaker 1: one of the most overrated players in the league, if

907
00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:21,520
Speaker 1: not the most overrated player in the NBA. Well, I

908
00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:24,480
Speaker 1: wouldn't say overrated in terms of talent level, but maybe

909
00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:27,480
Speaker 1: in terms of impact. If what has he done well

910
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:30,439
Speaker 1: one shot against the worst? One shot? What six years

911
00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:33,959
Speaker 1: ago scored over in that game five? I mean the guy,

912
00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:37,840
Speaker 1: the guy's talent level alongside Lebron, he's a brilliant player.

913
00:45:37,880 --> 00:45:41,000
Speaker 1: He's a brilliant He's just a brilliant player. Now, brilliant

914
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:44,280
Speaker 1: individual player. Right, does he Skyrie Irving a winning player?

915
00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:50,160
Speaker 1: I mean when he's with Lebron James. Since then nothing

916
00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:52,279
Speaker 1: and he and he always just hurt in the playoffs.

917
00:45:52,440 --> 00:45:54,600
Speaker 1: Like I'm just not buying the hype. Like, is he

918
00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:57,840
Speaker 1: incredibly talented, No doubt, the guy's got ridiculous skills. I

919
00:45:57,840 --> 00:46:00,680
Speaker 1: love watching him dribble a basketball, but he's not a win. Well,

920
00:46:00,719 --> 00:46:03,320
Speaker 1: he doesn't have so much a commitment to these situations,

921
00:46:03,640 --> 00:46:06,880
Speaker 1: and it's hard to be a winner I think absent that.

922
00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:09,759
Speaker 1: And yeah, I think your read on him is not

923
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:11,880
Speaker 1: so different from my read on him. I find him

924
00:46:11,920 --> 00:46:16,560
Speaker 1: interesting just because he seems so committed to his own wavelength,

925
00:46:16,800 --> 00:46:20,759
Speaker 1: and it's sometimes reveals certain things. It's sometimes I mean,

926
00:46:20,840 --> 00:46:23,680
Speaker 1: I would not want I would not want to necessarily

927
00:46:23,719 --> 00:46:26,719
Speaker 1: have to depend on him for anything. But I do

928
00:46:26,840 --> 00:46:30,439
Speaker 1: think that in the case of the vaccine stare down

929
00:46:30,480 --> 00:46:34,239
Speaker 1: he had with the City of New York, um, I

930
00:46:34,280 --> 00:46:36,719
Speaker 1: do think he ultimately prevailed, and it was interesting. I

931
00:46:36,719 --> 00:46:38,960
Speaker 1: think he did reveal that the rules didn't make a

932
00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:40,800
Speaker 1: lot of sense, It didn't make a lot of sense

933
00:46:40,960 --> 00:46:43,200
Speaker 1: that he could show up and attend a game without

934
00:46:43,440 --> 00:46:46,440
Speaker 1: a mask or anything, but he couldn't play in that game.

935
00:46:46,760 --> 00:46:50,000
Speaker 1: Um that he could practice, but he couldn't actually play

936
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:53,200
Speaker 1: in the arena. By like a guy who is sometimes

937
00:46:53,600 --> 00:46:57,040
Speaker 1: a bit crazy, uh for lack of a better word,

938
00:46:57,520 --> 00:47:01,640
Speaker 1: and stubborn, will sometimes reveal um, gaps and holes in

939
00:47:01,680 --> 00:47:04,279
Speaker 1: the system because he's just enough of a jerk to

940
00:47:04,440 --> 00:47:07,040
Speaker 1: question it. When everybody else is just gonna go along

941
00:47:07,080 --> 00:47:09,120
Speaker 1: to get along, he doesn't go along to get along,

942
00:47:09,120 --> 00:47:11,960
Speaker 1: and sometimes, or at least in that case, he revealed

943
00:47:12,239 --> 00:47:15,040
Speaker 1: an inconsistency with how power was being used. So I

944
00:47:15,080 --> 00:47:18,640
Speaker 1: found that to be an interesting outcome. But that being said,

945
00:47:18,960 --> 00:47:22,560
Speaker 1: I don't disagree with any aspect of your assessment of

946
00:47:22,640 --> 00:47:26,239
Speaker 1: his personality. Yeah, I guess listen, I've forgotten already. Maybe

947
00:47:26,239 --> 00:47:28,520
Speaker 1: I've trying to block it out all the COVID and

948
00:47:28,520 --> 00:47:32,200
Speaker 1: the rules and the mandates. But I think the rules

949
00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:37,280
Speaker 1: and the mandates were okay initially and eventually they became stupid.

950
00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:40,160
Speaker 1: Right would you agree with that? I mean, Canadas a

951
00:47:40,160 --> 00:47:42,560
Speaker 1: lot of handible. It's like we don't know at the beginning,

952
00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:45,000
Speaker 1: so we're just throwing everything at this thing, let's throwing

953
00:47:45,040 --> 00:47:47,359
Speaker 1: the kitchen sink. And then there's a period of time

954
00:47:47,400 --> 00:47:50,400
Speaker 1: where you're saying, Hey, this thing we threw didn't work,

955
00:47:50,520 --> 00:47:53,080
Speaker 1: or this thing maybe worked better, um or this thing

956
00:47:53,120 --> 00:47:56,440
Speaker 1: didn't make sense. And so I think that was the

957
00:47:56,920 --> 00:47:59,840
Speaker 1: that was the situation, and I certainly I think that.

958
00:48:00,239 --> 00:48:02,040
Speaker 1: I don't even know what my position on it was,

959
00:48:02,120 --> 00:48:05,320
Speaker 1: but I think people were more judgmental about his stance

960
00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:08,320
Speaker 1: early on, in the beginning than I guess towards the

961
00:48:08,440 --> 00:48:10,880
Speaker 1: end of things. Yes, well, I mean, and again, I

962
00:48:11,160 --> 00:48:15,319
Speaker 1: hate to talk about all this COVID, but I think

963
00:48:15,320 --> 00:48:18,239
Speaker 1: we would agree Initially everybody just wanted this to end.

964
00:48:18,520 --> 00:48:22,040
Speaker 1: Get vaccinated, let's have some mandates, and let's shut this,

965
00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:24,680
Speaker 1: let's get rid of COVID, right And then after a

966
00:48:24,719 --> 00:48:27,600
Speaker 1: while it was like, okay, COVID's going away, the mandates,

967
00:48:27,960 --> 00:48:29,720
Speaker 1: we could just do away with them. Would you agree

968
00:48:30,160 --> 00:48:34,480
Speaker 1: largely that is what went down? Um or my missing

969
00:48:34,560 --> 00:48:36,640
Speaker 1: maybe I've got some gags. I'm just trying to think

970
00:48:36,640 --> 00:48:39,560
Speaker 1: about that. Um Well, are you talking about the context

971
00:48:39,560 --> 00:48:43,040
Speaker 1: of Kyrie. Are you talking about society wide? I mean,

972
00:48:43,239 --> 00:48:45,840
Speaker 1: the context of Kyrie, New York City was going further

973
00:48:45,920 --> 00:48:48,880
Speaker 1: than other cities so that's the distinction. Hit the hardest,

974
00:48:48,960 --> 00:48:51,440
Speaker 1: right initially, but the problem with them getting hit the Okay,

975
00:48:51,480 --> 00:48:54,040
Speaker 1: they got hit the hardest initially, and that, obviously I

976
00:48:54,080 --> 00:48:59,400
Speaker 1: think inspired them to make be stricter later on. But

977
00:48:59,440 --> 00:49:01,760
Speaker 1: then they got hit again, and getting hit again almost

978
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:05,919
Speaker 1: disproved the thesis because they got they got hit again,

979
00:49:05,960 --> 00:49:08,799
Speaker 1: not in terms of hospitalizations, but in terms of infections, um,

980
00:49:08,840 --> 00:49:11,640
Speaker 1: despite being the most vaccinated city. So it kind of

981
00:49:11,640 --> 00:49:13,880
Speaker 1: gave lie to the idea that this is a bulwark

982
00:49:13,960 --> 00:49:18,400
Speaker 1: against the spread happening UM. And God, I hate revisiting

983
00:49:18,400 --> 00:49:21,400
Speaker 1: this stuff. I mean, it's it's already making me sees

984
00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:23,680
Speaker 1: up because it was just so every that's what I

985
00:49:23,719 --> 00:49:26,239
Speaker 1: discovered to just writing about it. Nobody wants to read

986
00:49:26,280 --> 00:49:28,120
Speaker 1: about it, nobody wants to think about it. We all

987
00:49:28,160 --> 00:49:30,640
Speaker 1: want to move on. But I do think that New

988
00:49:30,719 --> 00:49:33,960
Speaker 1: York City, when Kyrie was butting heads with them towards

989
00:49:34,040 --> 00:49:36,520
Speaker 1: the end, had a policy that was going above and

990
00:49:36,560 --> 00:49:39,240
Speaker 1: beyond other cities were going through, and I would add,

991
00:49:39,520 --> 00:49:43,120
Speaker 1: in my own editorial way foolish policies. And he was

992
00:49:43,160 --> 00:49:47,600
Speaker 1: revealing how foolhardy the policies were, even though he himself

993
00:49:47,680 --> 00:49:50,279
Speaker 1: might have been motivated by the wrong reasons. He was

994
00:49:50,320 --> 00:49:53,160
Speaker 1: butting heads with them, perhaps because he's obstinate, perhaps because

995
00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:57,640
Speaker 1: he wants to fight, perhaps because he's not necessarily studying everything.

996
00:49:57,680 --> 00:50:00,360
Speaker 1: But he's just Kyrie being Kyrie. And so it was

997
00:50:00,400 --> 00:50:04,120
Speaker 1: a weird circumstance where he had a point but at

998
00:50:04,160 --> 00:50:07,400
Speaker 1: the same time was indicative of everything that's so tiresome

999
00:50:07,440 --> 00:50:10,719
Speaker 1: about him. It's so it's not just that about him,

1000
00:50:10,800 --> 00:50:13,360
Speaker 1: it's like I need I need a mental health break

1001
00:50:13,440 --> 00:50:18,160
Speaker 1: and like not giving any can't go a wall in

1002
00:50:18,160 --> 00:50:20,439
Speaker 1: your NBA t You just can't do that. And it's fine.

1003
00:50:20,520 --> 00:50:22,520
Speaker 1: I'm glad the nets are finally pushing back at anyway,

1004
00:50:22,640 --> 00:50:25,200
Speaker 1: you said something interesting. People are kind of past COVID.

1005
00:50:25,239 --> 00:50:28,000
Speaker 1: I don't do many newsletters, but I do Morning Brew

1006
00:50:28,280 --> 00:50:31,880
Speaker 1: and they had a fascinating nugget that in April, website

1007
00:50:31,920 --> 00:50:34,719
Speaker 1: traffic for People magazine, US Weekly in the New York

1008
00:50:34,719 --> 00:50:38,080
Speaker 1: Post were way up year over year. Ethan, it feels

1009
00:50:38,080 --> 00:50:40,960
Speaker 1: like we're in that phase now where people are done

1010
00:50:40,960 --> 00:50:46,680
Speaker 1: talking about war, elections, um what else, COVID, death, all

1011
00:50:46,719 --> 00:50:49,040
Speaker 1: this negativity, and people just want the fluff they want,

1012
00:50:49,160 --> 00:50:53,000
Speaker 1: like the Johnny Depp trial. They want that all that nonsense.

1013
00:50:53,080 --> 00:50:54,920
Speaker 1: It feels like we're coming back to that. But at

1014
00:50:54,960 --> 00:50:58,120
Speaker 1: the same time, I've noticed that NBA playoff ratings are

1015
00:50:58,239 --> 00:51:02,320
Speaker 1: kind of shooting up. No Le Braun right right, No,

1016
00:51:02,320 --> 00:51:04,480
Speaker 1: No Kauai and the Clippers. The Knicks are not in

1017
00:51:04,480 --> 00:51:07,520
Speaker 1: the playoffs. The Bulls got ousted. I am curious. Just

1018
00:51:07,520 --> 00:51:09,800
Speaker 1: do your thoughts on on what this means, if anything,

1019
00:51:09,800 --> 00:51:12,359
Speaker 1: maybe it's just a blip or new blood or or

1020
00:51:12,400 --> 00:51:14,719
Speaker 1: people just love Luca Dontage. Yeah. Well, there are two

1021
00:51:14,800 --> 00:51:17,200
Speaker 1: things happening. One of them is very technical and the

1022
00:51:17,239 --> 00:51:19,759
Speaker 1: other is more cultural. That you're that you're saying the

1023
00:51:19,800 --> 00:51:23,000
Speaker 1: first technical aspect, and I want to emphasize this isn't

1024
00:51:23,040 --> 00:51:26,040
Speaker 1: just the NBA, this is all the broadcasters and all

1025
00:51:26,040 --> 00:51:29,840
Speaker 1: the TV shows. They've gotten this big ratings boost because

1026
00:51:29,840 --> 00:51:34,160
Speaker 1: they've successfully lobbied Nielson into counting out of home ratings,

1027
00:51:34,239 --> 00:51:37,680
Speaker 1: meaning that when you watch a TV program outside of

1028
00:51:37,719 --> 00:51:39,960
Speaker 1: your house that used not to count. But they have

1029
00:51:40,040 --> 00:51:43,040
Speaker 1: people who are literally wearing these pager devices that pick

1030
00:51:43,120 --> 00:51:45,920
Speaker 1: up the sound waves and add to it, and it

1031
00:51:46,040 --> 00:51:49,840
Speaker 1: adds significantly. I know the ratings. Ryan's blog looked at

1032
00:51:49,880 --> 00:51:55,000
Speaker 1: the NBA ratings, specifically their viewership specifically and said, ultimately,

1033
00:51:55,480 --> 00:51:58,319
Speaker 1: give or take, it's a fifteen percent boost. That's a

1034
00:51:58,480 --> 00:52:02,640
Speaker 1: huge number. Fifty So I think in that blog and

1035
00:52:02,680 --> 00:52:04,560
Speaker 1: as a couple of weeks ago, he had concluded that

1036
00:52:04,640 --> 00:52:08,360
Speaker 1: the ratings are back to levels, which is a rebound

1037
00:52:08,400 --> 00:52:11,600
Speaker 1: from how they collapse in twenty one. But you're seeing

1038
00:52:11,640 --> 00:52:14,400
Speaker 1: all this stuff for people at these various leagues are

1039
00:52:14,400 --> 00:52:17,360
Speaker 1: saying it's the most watched blah blah blah, sense blah

1040
00:52:17,360 --> 00:52:20,480
Speaker 1: blah blah, and a lot of it is just b s.

1041
00:52:20,600 --> 00:52:23,799
Speaker 1: It's like they move the fences into eight feet and it's,

1042
00:52:23,840 --> 00:52:26,320
Speaker 1: oh my god, you know, look at all the home runs.

1043
00:52:26,640 --> 00:52:29,920
Speaker 1: Um that said, some people are hitting the ball far,

1044
00:52:30,320 --> 00:52:33,040
Speaker 1: you know, like there is resonance. And for them to

1045
00:52:33,120 --> 00:52:36,360
Speaker 1: have this rebound effect with no Lebron, I think suggests

1046
00:52:36,440 --> 00:52:39,560
Speaker 1: that there's some Lebron fatigue. I think there's a hunger

1047
00:52:39,640 --> 00:52:43,200
Speaker 1: for the league, maybe opening up a bit some new storylines.

1048
00:52:43,440 --> 00:52:46,720
Speaker 1: People miss the Warriors, The Warriors are coming back and so.

1049
00:52:47,239 --> 00:52:50,279
Speaker 1: And to what you're saying as well, COVID was a

1050
00:52:50,320 --> 00:52:54,719
Speaker 1: suppressant when it came to whatever activities were collective, and

1051
00:52:55,080 --> 00:52:58,879
Speaker 1: you would think that in attend you know, attendance isn't

1052
00:52:58,920 --> 00:53:01,040
Speaker 1: the same thing, as you know. I think a lot

1053
00:53:01,120 --> 00:53:02,839
Speaker 1: of people when it first started, thought that, oh my god,

1054
00:53:02,880 --> 00:53:05,799
Speaker 1: everybody's at home, so they're going to watch sports, you know,

1055
00:53:05,800 --> 00:53:08,719
Speaker 1: the people running these leagues thought that. But sports are

1056
00:53:08,760 --> 00:53:12,880
Speaker 1: so much about connectivity and community, and it helps the

1057
00:53:12,920 --> 00:53:15,960
Speaker 1: sport when people can go out and attend things and

1058
00:53:16,000 --> 00:53:18,280
Speaker 1: meet up in sports bars and tell each other about

1059
00:53:18,560 --> 00:53:21,480
Speaker 1: the big game coming up. And I think the crowd

1060
00:53:21,840 --> 00:53:25,040
Speaker 1: is another big factor, especially for NBA games. So I

1061
00:53:25,080 --> 00:53:28,520
Speaker 1: think the numbers are rebounding a bit, not to what

1062
00:53:28,560 --> 00:53:31,759
Speaker 1: they were like in twenty fifteen or whatever, but the

1063
00:53:31,920 --> 00:53:36,120
Speaker 1: rebounding a bit um because COVID is fading away, and

1064
00:53:36,120 --> 00:53:39,840
Speaker 1: as COVID fades away, people enjoy the NFL, the NBA,

1065
00:53:40,040 --> 00:53:43,360
Speaker 1: these other big leagues more so. Just listening to you

1066
00:53:43,400 --> 00:53:46,680
Speaker 1: break that down, it just dawned upon me. Is it possible, Ethan,

1067
00:53:46,960 --> 00:53:51,000
Speaker 1: that this new way of tracking viewers is coming in

1068
00:53:51,080 --> 00:53:53,600
Speaker 1: a fortuitous time for the league? Isn't the TV deal

1069
00:53:53,760 --> 00:53:58,440
Speaker 1: up in fairly short order. Yes, they're definitely working on

1070
00:53:58,480 --> 00:53:59,960
Speaker 1: that and trying to iron it out now. The people

1071
00:54:00,160 --> 00:54:03,960
Speaker 1: signing those papers, they know that the numbers are now juiced.

1072
00:54:04,280 --> 00:54:06,960
Speaker 1: But still I think the headlines make an impact. I

1073
00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:10,319
Speaker 1: think it impacts everybody, which is why they really lobby you.

1074
00:54:10,360 --> 00:54:12,759
Speaker 1: Why the NBA gets in your ear if they don't

1075
00:54:12,800 --> 00:54:15,319
Speaker 1: like what you're saying about their ratings trajectory. I mean,

1076
00:54:15,600 --> 00:54:17,920
Speaker 1: you would think that Bob Iger or whoever would not

1077
00:54:17,960 --> 00:54:20,960
Speaker 1: be so swede. But I think people are swayed by

1078
00:54:20,960 --> 00:54:24,040
Speaker 1: press releases, so I do think it's it's coming at

1079
00:54:24,040 --> 00:54:28,040
Speaker 1: a decent time for them. And the broadcasters were desperate

1080
00:54:28,040 --> 00:54:30,360
Speaker 1: for it, and not just the NBA, but they were saying,

1081
00:54:30,600 --> 00:54:33,680
Speaker 1: we're getting crushed in this pandemic. Nielsen's not counting all

1082
00:54:33,719 --> 00:54:37,000
Speaker 1: our viewers. They need to change, and um, I think

1083
00:54:37,000 --> 00:54:39,600
Speaker 1: it made a big impact on Nielsen, and Nielsen's scared

1084
00:54:39,960 --> 00:54:45,000
Speaker 1: of some competing ratings collector uh dislodging them that they said, okay,

1085
00:54:45,040 --> 00:54:48,880
Speaker 1: fine here, you're juiced numbers. You know, we're leave us alone.

1086
00:54:49,520 --> 00:54:53,520
Speaker 1: I almost part of me kind of sort of wonders,

1087
00:54:54,080 --> 00:54:57,719
Speaker 1: if you know, the league ending in what November with

1088
00:54:57,800 --> 00:55:00,759
Speaker 1: the Biker's title in the bubble, and then July last

1089
00:55:00,840 --> 00:55:03,759
Speaker 1: year that that was obviously awful, But I mean, what

1090
00:55:03,800 --> 00:55:06,120
Speaker 1: do you think is the best finals for the league,

1091
00:55:06,160 --> 00:55:10,400
Speaker 1: Warriors versus Celtics probably right. Yeah, it's gonna be Warrior Celtics.

1092
00:55:10,440 --> 00:55:13,720
Speaker 1: That would be the most interesting. I mean, Jimmy Butler

1093
00:55:13,840 --> 00:55:16,719
Speaker 1: is so fun as a playoff player, but I don't

1094
00:55:16,760 --> 00:55:19,600
Speaker 1: think I don't think most sports fans even know that

1095
00:55:19,680 --> 00:55:21,880
Speaker 1: Jimmy Butler is on the heat. You're gonna get some rebuttled,

1096
00:55:21,920 --> 00:55:24,239
Speaker 1: and of course everybody knows that, but I mean, I

1097
00:55:24,239 --> 00:55:26,160
Speaker 1: got with them. Your mom. Does your mom know who

1098
00:55:26,239 --> 00:55:28,520
Speaker 1: Jimmy Butler? My mom has no clue. Yeah, mom doesn't

1099
00:55:28,520 --> 00:55:31,200
Speaker 1: know who Jimmy Butler is. Mom knows what the Celtics

1100
00:55:31,280 --> 00:55:34,480
Speaker 1: are not. Yes, she might not know, you know, who

1101
00:55:34,600 --> 00:55:38,000
Speaker 1: Jayson Tatum is or whatever. But it's more important for

1102
00:55:38,040 --> 00:55:40,040
Speaker 1: the league going forward that a Jason Tatum or at

1103
00:55:40,080 --> 00:55:43,239
Speaker 1: Jaylen Brown is introduced to your mom um or or

1104
00:55:43,360 --> 00:55:47,080
Speaker 1: Luca is than Jimmy Butler, who has been spectacular, but

1105
00:55:47,200 --> 00:55:49,520
Speaker 1: I believe he's in his thirties and he's not an

1106
00:55:49,560 --> 00:55:52,200
Speaker 1: up and coming star. So yeah, I think for the league,

1107
00:55:52,239 --> 00:55:55,680
Speaker 1: the best would be Warriors Celtics. But the league also

1108
00:55:55,719 --> 00:55:58,040
Speaker 1: needs to figure out a way to market Luca because

1109
00:55:58,080 --> 00:55:59,879
Speaker 1: he's going to be a force for years to come,

1110
00:56:00,239 --> 00:56:03,480
Speaker 1: and they haven't really had that success of marketing international players.

1111
00:56:03,760 --> 00:56:05,480
Speaker 1: And if he's going to become the dominant guy, they

1112
00:56:05,560 --> 00:56:06,879
Speaker 1: got to figure out a way to get it right.

1113
00:56:07,320 --> 00:56:10,640
Speaker 1: All right. Two final questions, Um, Number one super teams

1114
00:56:10,680 --> 00:56:14,839
Speaker 1: for the league? Good or bad? In your opinion? I

1115
00:56:14,840 --> 00:56:18,640
Speaker 1: think everything's in balance. You just can't go too far. Um.

1116
00:56:18,680 --> 00:56:21,399
Speaker 1: Poison is determined by the dose. I put a little

1117
00:56:21,400 --> 00:56:24,040
Speaker 1: salt on my steak, it's delicious. If I eat the

1118
00:56:24,160 --> 00:56:27,960
Speaker 1: entire carton, I'm dead. So you can't have a bunch

1119
00:56:27,960 --> 00:56:30,440
Speaker 1: of super team situations. I think you don't want to

1120
00:56:30,480 --> 00:56:33,520
Speaker 1: have players just breaking off from their teams the second

1121
00:56:33,520 --> 00:56:36,440
Speaker 1: that they're unhappy in the way we've been seeing with

1122
00:56:36,480 --> 00:56:40,680
Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Nets um for instance. And so the NBA

1123
00:56:40,800 --> 00:56:42,960
Speaker 1: just needs to seem like they're not a series of

1124
00:56:42,960 --> 00:56:46,920
Speaker 1: super teams. One is fine. One villainous super team that

1125
00:56:46,960 --> 00:56:51,120
Speaker 1: everybody roots against is probably pretty good. Uh. And then

1126
00:56:51,160 --> 00:56:53,759
Speaker 1: the final question, do you and you don't have to

1127
00:56:53,760 --> 00:56:56,680
Speaker 1: give me traffic numbers, but for substant do you get

1128
00:56:57,239 --> 00:57:01,479
Speaker 1: more clicks, new subscribe burds all the metrics that matter

1129
00:57:01,880 --> 00:57:06,440
Speaker 1: from writing about like sports media, sports business. Any I

1130
00:57:06,520 --> 00:57:10,080
Speaker 1: know you did a post on gambling, what what traffics

1131
00:57:10,200 --> 00:57:14,840
Speaker 1: the best for you? So as far as subscriptions, sports media,

1132
00:57:15,200 --> 00:57:18,040
Speaker 1: behind scenes sports media, because people in the media pay

1133
00:57:18,120 --> 00:57:22,360
Speaker 1: to see it. People at these different institutions, different agencies

1134
00:57:22,400 --> 00:57:24,840
Speaker 1: will pay to see it. For traffic. If I'm doing

1135
00:57:24,840 --> 00:57:28,360
Speaker 1: a free post something about culture, I mean, my most

1136
00:57:28,520 --> 00:57:30,560
Speaker 1: well trafficed post is a free one I did on

1137
00:57:31,000 --> 00:57:35,800
Speaker 1: the way Nikes advertisements had shifted. So it's very unpredictable

1138
00:57:35,800 --> 00:57:39,360
Speaker 1: when it comes to the free posts. But media scuttle

1139
00:57:39,400 --> 00:57:42,720
Speaker 1: but definitely gets the paid subscriptions, all right, give him

1140
00:57:42,760 --> 00:57:46,240
Speaker 1: a give him a subscribe, Ethan Strauss. Ethan, you're still

1141
00:57:46,240 --> 00:57:49,840
Speaker 1: in the Bay Area, right, indeed? Nice? Nice? Uh hey man,

1142
00:57:49,880 --> 00:57:52,440
Speaker 1: congrats on all your success. You've got a great story. Obviously,

1143
00:57:52,560 --> 00:57:55,480
Speaker 1: any more books in the hopper. No, I actually was

1144
00:57:55,640 --> 00:57:57,520
Speaker 1: about to close the deal in my second book. I

1145
00:57:57,600 --> 00:58:01,479
Speaker 1: was offered it as far as an oral agreement would

1146
00:58:01,480 --> 00:58:03,480
Speaker 1: be concerned, and I could have signed it, and I

1147
00:58:03,520 --> 00:58:06,560
Speaker 1: actually said to them, I can't do this because to

1148
00:58:06,600 --> 00:58:08,840
Speaker 1: make the sub stack successful, I need to put all

1149
00:58:08,880 --> 00:58:11,560
Speaker 1: my energy into that. Yeah, I'm just gonna fail at

1150
00:58:11,600 --> 00:58:13,160
Speaker 1: both if I agree to that. You want to say

1151
00:58:13,160 --> 00:58:15,520
Speaker 1: what the topic was about or No, I was going

1152
00:58:15,560 --> 00:58:17,440
Speaker 1: to be about the NBA. It was going to be

1153
00:58:17,480 --> 00:58:21,160
Speaker 1: about their shift, and they're they're kind of war for

1154
00:58:21,240 --> 00:58:23,880
Speaker 1: more popularity and trying to reclaim the ground that they

1155
00:58:23,880 --> 00:58:28,080
Speaker 1: had lost. But I looked at it, I realized that,

1156
00:58:28,120 --> 00:58:29,960
Speaker 1: oh my god, I'm running my own business now and

1157
00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:32,520
Speaker 1: you know a little something about that, and uh, it's

1158
00:58:32,560 --> 00:58:35,320
Speaker 1: going to be impossible. It's gonna be impossible. I'm gonna

1159
00:58:35,320 --> 00:58:37,680
Speaker 1: be stretched too thin. And economically, I also, I just

1160
00:58:37,720 --> 00:58:40,760
Speaker 1: had to say it, you know, not bragging, but you know,

1161
00:58:41,000 --> 00:58:44,680
Speaker 1: I'm I'm making making more than the advance would be

1162
00:58:44,760 --> 00:58:47,280
Speaker 1: from the sub stacks. Ultimately got a roll of the

1163
00:58:47,320 --> 00:58:50,520
Speaker 1: sub stack. Yeah, alright, congrats man, thanks for taking the time, Ethan,

1164
00:58:50,600 --> 00:58:51,320
Speaker 1: thanks for having me.