FRI POD @SpenceChecketts on local NIL landscape, Jazz homestretch, The Masters, RSL + more

It is a Friday, and I'm going to warn you right out of the gates, we're about.

To get very weird.

It's gonna be a weird Friday afternoon, all.

Right, right out of the gates, just gonna let you know that. Happy Friday to you. Congratulations you made it. It is weekend time, beautiful day, little windy, but warm. We reached eighty degrees for the first time this year here in Salt Lake City, Utah. And as it is every single day, it is good to have you along for the ride.

My name is Fence Jackets.

I host this radio show that's called The Drive with Fence Jackets, and you've got to tuned into ESPN seven.

Hundred ninety two one AFM.

We are proud to be part of Utah's ESPN Radio network. We are out and about in the middle of a parking lot selling meat.

YEP, that's happenings down on a Friday.

We're with our friends at Homestead Steaks. They're offering you twenty Ribbi steaks for forty dollars.

It's their weekend meat sale.

And we're at Fashion Place Mall. They also have this sale going on Provo Town Mall. So Fashion Place Mall in Murray, the shops at Southtown and Sandy and Provo Town Center Mall. They're open until eight o'clock tonight, and they're gonna open up at ten am tomorrow and go until eight o'clock tomorrow as well. Then Sunday it's eleven to six. So here's what you do, and I will wish you the.

Best of luck on your quest.

Put this address in your GPS one oh four five zero South State Street and then follow that by number two three two zero. There's literally a truck set up with meat and then we're right next to it.

But the best way to find.

It is to put this in your GPS at one O four five zero South State Street, number two three two zero, and then follow that out.

You'll see a meat truck.

You'll see the ESPN seven hundred van, and we're hanging out twenty ribbys for forty dollars. Twenty ribbys for only forty dollars. Pretty insane sale. So we apologize for the noise. There's a ton of wind, and then the truck is also they've got to refrigerate the meat, so you're gonna hear that all. After due, you've got half priced bolk deals on steak, chicken, pork chops and seafood, all payments accepted, cash, credit, debity, ebt, you name it.

So it's Homestead.

Steaks twenty Ribby's for forty dollars is their main talking point. But they've got half price on bulk deal sets as well for steak, chicken.

Pork chops and seafood.

Come on buy and say what's up, really nice people, and it is an insane deal where you get twenty ribby steaks for only forty bucks two dollars per steak out here at Homestead Steaks one oh four five zero, South State Street, number two three two zero. Put that in your GPS and then come on by and say I keep following the GPS or just trust it all right? A lot to do on a Friday Masters Round two Rory McElroy man, what an amazing round two after that

The top of the leader board are in the club.

Ause Matt McCarty and Shane Lowry five hundred part, Corey Connors.

And Jason Day.

We'll give you an update on the Masters throughout the course of the show today, but we've got a lot to do.

The Utah Jazz play.

Their final home game of the season tonight in Salt Lake City against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

We'll do some Jazz back basketball on the program today.

Alex Jensen has made another higher for the Utah men's basketball program.

We'll tell you who the new coach is. We'll get to know him a little bit. We are high speed ahead of the NFL Draft.

Right around the corner NFL teams getting ready to make

Young still a waiting word.

On more of the players for the Utah basketball side of things, but the coaching staff is starting to get filled out, So one step at a time, one step at a time. Utah Hockey Club is getting ready to finish their final or i should say, their first season here on our market. They're going to take on Dallas coming up tomorrow at six o'clock.

That is a road game.

Utah played their final home game against Nashville, so we'll do some hockey on the program today. RSL left today to hit the road. They are taking on Nashville as well. Hockey Club took on Nashville last night. RSL against Nashville coming up tomorrow. That is a six thirty first kick and that is on MLS Season.

Pass on Apple TV.

So a lot to do. Happy Friday to you. Congratulations, you made it weekend time. Take a big, old deep breath. We are live today.

Even know where to tell you where we're at.

Outside of the address one O four five zero South State Street, number two three two zero.

I'm gonna keep repeating that because it's the only way to find us. One O four five zero, South State Street, number two three two zero.

We are literally in the middle of a parking lot between J. C. Penny and Ethan Allen and we are selling meat. It's home set stakes twenty Ribby's for forty dollars.

Is their weekend meat set. Come on buy and say hi.

They've got a bunch of other deals on folk as far as steak, chicken, pork chops, and seafood. All payments accepted. Come on buy and say what's up. One O four five zero, South State Street number two three two zero.

First guest, right out of the gates.

One of our favorites from the golf channel, Rex Haggard's gonna stop by two talk Masters Golf two Roundswell, one round in the books, Round two going on right now.

And we'll get with Rex today about.

All the storylines from Augusta where little rain overnight softened up the course, so conditions pretty.

Pretty good today.

And then Howard Beck stops by NBA Daily Assist style, Christopher cam Rodnie Friday, State Ble Ofvars typically on site. But we're not getting c K out south I can tell you that much. But Richard Smith is a soldier, he is a hero. He will drive out and join us if he can find us at one O four five zero South State Street number two three two zero. And then Paul Pugmyer live at Augusta. I believe Paul's

By the time Paul hops on, the majority of.

The golfers will be in the clubhouse, so we'll have an idea of what the weekend.

Is going to look like.

Cuttline as of now is two over par, two over par. That could change, and we'll kind of give you an update on the players that will be playing over the weekend and the players that are going.

To be going home.

Tony Fenow, one under through eight, is currently at two over par. He is literally the last golfer along with Keigan Bradley, Oksha Bata as well. Uh Okha is in the clubhouse, as is Denny McCarthy, so they will make the cut.

But Tony's got work to do.

Tony is the last golfer above the cut line to play over the weekend. So we'll keep you up to dan on our local boy Tony fen Ou today, Rex Hoggard, Howard Beck, Chris Comaraddie, Richard Smith, Paul Pugmyer, Me Spence Check, Its all of you the great listeners. Come on out and see US at one O four five zero South State Street, number two three two zero.

That's the best way to find us.

And then about thirty minutes, I would say, let's see northwest of us. That's where we find the producer of this program, Porter Larson, who likes himself a rid by from time to time.

Do I have that understood correctly, young man?

I was gonna say, twenty for forty. Uh, that'll get That'll get me down there. If they're still open after the show, I'll be I'll be head of your way.

You won't be able to find it. I don't trust your inner compass. You would. You would never be able to find where we're at.

Uh.

If I get a whiff of those stakes, I'll be there.

I'll be there at the time.

It is a great deal.

Danny, one of the guys who's running the thing, really nice guy.

He brought me over to show me the cuts.

I mean, these are not like frozen meats that you get from like Trump International or whatever.

These are high quality pieces of meat.

So twenty ribbis for only forty dollars, that's right, two dollars per steak. It is their weekend meat set out here at one oh four five zero, South State Street number two three two zero. All right, our first guest right out of the gates, Rex hockerd from the Golf Channel Butt before we get to Rex. Courtesy of our good friends at Prize Picks, it is time now for your opening tip.

Welcome to the Drive with Spence. Check its on Utah's number one Sports Talk. Now into the studios of ESPN seven hundred to set the scene for the show. The opening tip of the Drive is brought to you by Prize Picks. Use the code ESPN seven hundred and run your game with Prize Picks.

Special deal with Prize Picks today, It's a Flex Friday. One of the cool things about Prize is every single day they have different deals for you. On Tuesdays at the Taco Tuesday on Fridays, it is a frex Flex Friday. Make sure to opt in and tap the check box in your lineup builder to be eligible for the protected play two squares from any game on the board. If your lineup does not win, you get your net losses back in promo funds to your promo limit as soon

Prize Picks run your game all season long.

All right, Some news out of the University of Utah today on the men's basketball side of things. Martin Schiller has been added to Alex Jensen's staff.

Martin Shiller is.

A well known name in the world of both college and pro basketball. And Richard Smith is going to join us coming up in a little bit, and Smittye, I'm sure will provide some insight on who Martin Schiller is. So Schiller comes to Utah with a bunch of different types of experience, head coach, assistant coach internationally in the NBA. He was an assistant coach for the German national team

Has done that for a number of years.

Hano Mettel and Andrew Boget and others.

I could keep going.

And Martin has a tremendous amount of connections and experience overseas Germany twenties Phoeba European Championship, and you know, I could keep going. He coached the Salt Lake City Stars for three years from twenty seventeen to twenty twenty, and he won Coach of the Year in twenty twenty after leading the Stars to the Western Conference regular season title.

So yeah.

During his time with the German national team, he worked with players like Derk Noviitsky, Dennis Shrewda, Daniel Tice. He could get you know, other players internationally. So this guy, this is a guy who has been a head coach in the G League.

He has been an assistant coach.

Internationally and with a ton of experience when it comes to both domestic.

And international players.

And like I was saying, I mean, there are certainly certainly programs right now that have deep pockets and nil you know, nil funds at their disposal when they're able to go out and simply by players, which is what BYU is doing right now. We found the news out yesterday from Jeff Goodman that Rob Wright, a point guard from Baylor who had signed a one million dollar contract to stay at Baylor, decided to leave and not honor that deal because BYU offered him triple that three million

Had a really really good year, is leaning.

Towards signing with BYU as well, and according to reports, it is another seven figure player. They're looking to bring Richie Saunders back at a seven figure salary. AJ debantsa seven million for five months of basketball, Rob Wright three million dollars, Richie Sonders seven figures, reportedly Darien Williams seven figures as well. I don't know what BYU's total NIL spend will be during this offseason, but it's already inching closer and closer and closer to twelve thirteen million dollars,

The Utah men's basketball program.

So now we are learning what this coaching staff is going to look like. Now we are seeing the coaching staff rounded out. Now we got to get some players. Okay, we know the Keana daz is coming back, Terrence Brown the transfer from FDU, but that's only.

Two players from for a roster that has to fill out.

So Rico Sylvester, Junior is your director of Operations and player of Personnel for the Utes.

Wes Wilcox is your general manager.

Raphael chilias Eric Daniels, and now Martin Schiller are three coaches that will be sitting alongside Alex Jensen. Now will

The norm in basketball.

And now you see three or four coaches on the front row, four or five coaches on the second row, and even sometimes third row coaches.

And I'm never fully short what all these people do.

But we are seeing Alex Jensen fill out his staff now, and we're seeing by you add more players via the transfer portal.

Utah Jazz.

With our final home game of this season tonight, they are going to take on the best team in the Western Conference, maybe the best team in the NBA is Oklahoma City is in town to take on the Jazz Big Night in the NBA last night.

We'll go over some of the storylines Big.

Night in the NBA tonight, But we are live today at one oh four five zero South State Street, number two three two zero, And all I can tell you is that we're selling meat.

That's what it comes down to.

So put that address in your GPS and come on out here.

Keep following your GPS. Just trust it.

You'll see the ESPN seven hundred van and you'll see the van with the meat with our friends at Homestead Steaks where they're selling twenty ribbys for forty dollars. That's right, two dollars a piece for these great ribbs. They're open until eight o'clock tonight, then they're going to reopen tomorrow at ten am and go and tell eight pm. Then on Sunday it's eleven am to six pm. With our good friends out here at Homestead Steaks. They're selling twenty

Just put that in your GPS and then trust it. Keep going.

You're gonna think that you're not there yet, but you'll you'll get there. ESPN seven hundred and is your touch point. And the noise in the background will continue until six o'clock tonight. Nothing we can do about it. Little windy today in Salt Lake City. I wonder how the conditions are at Augusta, Georgia, Paul Pugmyer, Happy Friday, sir.

Are you still there? Are you still at the tournament? I am not.

I'm back home and playing here today. But yeah, the flags are standing up at Augusta. They got little breeze.

Okay, all right, Paul, Well, let's get into a couple of different storylines, and let's not bury the lead, because the man in the lead deserves our attention. As Justin Rose had himself a day yesterday. Now Justin has led this tournament, has been tied or has led I think nine times is what I read.

And it's not the first time.

He had a dynamite round one and he was fine today. He's just kind of hung in there and he has.

The lead so far.

And there are plenty of golfers out on the course, including Scotti Scheffler. We'll get the Scotty in a moment. But what do you make of Justin Rose? Eight under park through two rounds.

Justin's a big game hunter. He's forty four years old and he is on the downhill side of his career. But his record speaks for itself, and to see him in the lead in any major championship is not a surprise. Doubly sort, Augusta, because like you correctly pointed out, he has been in the lead. This is the ninth time he's Today would be the tenth time nine times he's been in the lead. That's a conclusion of a round, Augusta.

All, how would you handicap his chances as we move and we'll get to the cut line and we'll see if Tony's going to hang in there, but he is your leader through too in moving day tomorrow, how do you handicap Justin's chances to hang in there and make Sunday interesting.

Well, look at the leaderboard right now, let's got the top five. It is a major champion, major champion, major champion, major champion, major champion. Augusta brings the cream to the top. And that is exactly what's happening right now today, and the wind is a part of that. But what's going on with Justin is that he is now this is becoming a Ryder Cup scenario with the best of the best of the best our playing on the best course in the best tournament. That's exactly what you want to see.

And let's talk about the very best in the world that joined Justin Rose on a very crowded and exciting leader board to picture what Saturday and Sunday could look like And I know I'm supposed to be here for the Bryce and d Shambeau resurrection and the personality turnaround and everybody suddenly loves him.

I can't do it. He is so corny. I'm sorry, but he's so good.

Okay, Like I will admit that he's good, but he's just one of those guys.

Want to hear him interviewed.

I don't believe he's authentic at all, but that's just me. Will take the personal side out of it. He cards a sixty eight today after sixty nine yesterday.

I think I read that his the average off the tee was like three p forty, which is so dumb.

But he's at seven undred seven hunderd par, one stroke behind Justin Rose. Do you make of the defending US Open champs first two rounds of Augusta?

Again, no big surprise. He has done well here before he as you note, he is defending US Open champ. He's been that twice. He is the low amateur back in his college days at Augusta, so he has had some success in this tournament on this golf course. He has what I think is a self induced handicap to overcome to win at Augusta. Augusta requires a combination of deft, artistry and visualization in the short game, in the chipping, in the greenside game, because nobody is going to hit

You know, Paul, Here's what it is.

You know, growing up, you're in high school, college or whatever, and the guys that try really hard to be cool, like way too hard to be cool are.

The ones that are never cool. That's what it is with me.

I think he just tries so hard because he was so hated for so long, and you could tell that that bothered him, and I just think he's gone over the top the other direction to try to convince people that he's this authentic dude, and I just don't buy it.

That's all it is.

No, it's totally fair. But I've got a question for you. After seeing his over the house thing, did you want to go try to hit a shot over some house and see if you could hit it onto something.

No, because Bryson did it. If Rory did, it would have been different.

Okay, Okay, God, look I'm being too are so that was really cool. And by the way, I'm here for people are redeemable. I'm here for reclamation stories. And you know, let me ask you one more thing.

How do you think it affected him personally?

Where you know, kind of the origin of it was the kepka back and forth when Brooks was on camera rolling his eyes at him, and then some other players around tour kind of scoffed at his whole like approach where it just felt like he was trying to sound like the smartest guy in there in the room all

Yeah, I think he. I think he heard what people were saying, saw what people were doing, and made adjustments and and changed his approach to a few different things. And I admire that. I admire I admire the guy for trying different things, and then I admire him more for saying, Okay, that didn't work, I'm gonna do something different. He is a polarizing figure. I totally understand that, and

He's obviously a remarkable talent. There's no denying that.

All right, let's move let's move on. We'll just kind of keep talking about some of the notables. And you know, watching Rory yesterday where look he was, he was dialed in, he was playing incredible golf yesterday. It was just two chip shots that got away from him and I felt bad man, a couple of doubles down the stretch. But how about a sixty six that as of now is the low round of the clubhouse. There's some other golfers

His sixty six is so impressive for a number of reasons. The biggest one is exactly what you say, because he's coming off in his first round on seventeen when he double bogied seventeen. That was his second double of the day, is second of the tournament, and he knows that nobody has ever won the Masters with two double bogies on

Yeah.

I felt like, excuse me, felt like most people that were kind of breaking down the tournament. I would watch a little golf Golf Channel coverage, then the ESPN stuff with Van Pelt. Believed this was going to be the Rory Scotti Show and let's move over now to Scotty Scheffler, who today is only one under, but card it is sixty eight.

And it was just so rock solid.

You know.

ESPN plus has this channel where you can excuse me, the wind is now blowing allergies right into my face. ESPN Plus has this channel where you can watch specific players, and I tuned into the Scheffler channel and it's just so solid. It's just so like robotic almost but not a great round so far today, but it is Scotty Scheffler. So he is five under, which is t six one under through today. What do you make of the first kind of round and half of Scotty?

He's right where he needs to be. First of all, nobody has four great rounds in the Masters. There's only been one time, only one time that anybody has had four rounds in the sixties, and that was Cam Smith in twenty twenty and he didn't even win. Just nobody has four great rounds at Augusta. And so if Scotty's off round, if you will, is today, and he shoots

Yeah, it's just, uh, you know, when you see all these other players get so loose, I mean, even the two mistakes Rory made yesterday, Paul, like Scotty just doesn't do that right, Like, it's so rare to see Scotty Scheffler make a gaff that that, you know, he actually just as I say that, he's just bogied.

So now he's born in her park.

But like the catastrophic mistakes that other golfers make, Paul, Scotty just doesn't seem to make those.

No, No, and that's exactly it. And look the aphorism, and it holds itself true time and time again. Birdies don't win tournaments. Pars do anybody playing at this level can make birdies, and they all do. It's the guys who don't give them back that are there at the end of the at the end of the tournament and looking at a trophy. Scheffler that is his magic power

Let me let me follow up there, because I was watching last night excuse me, goodness, gracious, it may not be windy and Augusta that it is out here in Sandy. I was watching the golf coverage after the round, the post coverage on Golf Channel, and I didn't realize it realized this in real time because I was watching a

To hit his shot.

So they were saying Rory was standing over that ship for five minutes.

So do you think it.

Was a case where maybe he was in his head too much, because to your point, when he stepped in it, it did look like he rushed the actual shot. But according to the Golf Channel guys, he was standing over the chip for five minutes, and Rory is a notorious, notoriously fast player.

Do you think that messed with his head a little bit?

You get very well, Mike Heavin. I appreciate you telling me that. I just at the time I was I was working to all my colleagues who were wondering, but I had the sound off on the TV and so I didn't hear the commentary, and so I didn't know that about Auk Shay. But that does make really good sense. But to me, when I just saw him step into that shot a little abruptly, I thought at the time, and then he just plane carried it too far into

Is that the is that the green where Tiger Vern?

Oh, my goodness, the tiger moment is that the green with the tiger chipped in that everybody has seen the highlight highlights up.

Oh that was on sixteen from from over the back. And then what what Vern said was in your life of me or anything like that, which was a great call. But the answer was yes, actually three years prior, Davis Love did it from about the same spot.

So, oh, do not do not shatter our dreams that you know, all of us that have watched the Vern call and believe that has never happened, for it will never happened to happen again.

Well, the Verden call is really spectacular and it does set it apart. And look, it was one of the greatest shots in the history of the game. And it mattered because it was Sunday and because Tiger was in the mix. And when love get it, it was neither Sunday nor was he in the mix. And so all those things make Tigers the greatest, seriously, seriously, one of the greatest shots ever struck in the history of the game.

Okay, we've got a little live.

So I got seen it anyway.

Okay, okay, fair enough, fair enough, Yeah, fair enough, Okay, We've got some bad news.

Tony just bogied.

So he's even through ten after carding a seventy five yesterday, which means as of now, with eight holes to play, Tony is three over par and the projected cut line is two over par, so he's one stroke behind the projected cut line. Canada's own Mike Weir, who lives in draper Fine, is coming home. He will not be playing over the weekend. But what do you make of where we're at right now? With Tony eight holes left, he's got to find at least one birdie if you want some play over the weekend.

There are birdies out there, no question. On both thirteen and fifteen. Now, as we darn well know, and I have discussed here just over the last few minutes. Those holes also have double bogies waiting on them. Yeah, but those holes are get Those holes are gettable twelve with the front left pinplacement on twelve. Today it is gettable eleven. We better pay real respect to eleven. Same same to fourteen. Sixteen, always, always, always.

So in order to be fair, I will point out that Arrell Hadden is six hunder par and he's three hundred through ten. Okay, let's see there's some other names here as well. Of course, Bryson. Bryson's a live guy. Terrell Hadden's a live guy. So we do have a couple of live guys that are showing pretty well. Patrick Reid is a two hundred par Bubba Watson's a one hunderd par as well.

But when you look at so John Ram two over, Okay, he's going to play over the weekend.

He's gonna make the cut, but a seventy five, seventy one. And I swear, Paul, when you and I first really started doing radio consistently, every time you'd hop on, I'd ask you, like, what the hell happened to John Ram?

Why is he suddenly the best player in the world.

Why is he suddenly the guy that everybody is scared of, including at the time, Scottie Scheffler. Then you have Dustin Johnson, who will miss the cut because he's in the clubhouse. He doesn't have any chances to get back over the cut line. You have Cameron Smith, once upon a time thought to be the you know, one of the rising young stars on the PGA Tour. You have five time major Champ Brooks Kepka, who will not be playing over

Make the cut. Let's see where did I see? Phil?

Oh?

Now? Phil actually will play over the weekend, he rallied.

Well, he's still on the course anyway, John Ram, Dustin, Johnson Brooks, Kepka as well as Cam Smith. Like those four guys at one point were four of the best players.

In the world.

What is fair to say about what Live has done to any or all of them?

It is that is such a good question, and I think there are layers and layers and depths to really fully understand it. But let me skim a stone across a few of them. Number one, fifty four holes is not a complete test. It just is not, And don't ever let anybody tell you it is. Number two. When you don't have a cut, When you don't when you're not faced with the possibility of not making the weekend and not making a check, when you have to beat half the field in order to even make it to

Paul, before I set you loose, you're always good to put some perspective on who you think can actually win the thing over the weekend. And I believe I don't know if this was a Brandal Shambley fact from last night. Most I'll just say from my recollection, most of the winners come from the top five after the first in the second round, So if we stick in that space. So if we stick in that space, we're we'll call the cut at four under. And if we no, Oh,

Does the winner come from that group? Who do you think it is?

Is there anybody from the outside, maybe Oberg who's at three under that you think can make it interesting?

Yes, the winner comes from that group, which eliminate those who have not in a major championship with a leader board like this that is dominated by people who are already proven they can win a major championship. It'll be somebody doing it again, not somebody doing it for the

Love it, Paul, Thank you sir.

Enjoy the weekend and we'll get you back on soon. Oh wait wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, before you go, what's wait before you go?

What's coming up on the show tomorrow? My bad?

Oh, no, no problem at all. We're gonna be doing some things with the Glen Moore Am. That's where I am. The Senior am has played today and then the regular am is tomorrow. We're going to be celebrating and putting a cap on the drive chip and putt. Hey the three kids from Utah who were in the drive chip and putt National finals last weekend, all of them, all three got second place. It was a huge showing for

How did Johnny Miller's grandson, who's named after Jack.

Nicholas played this poor kid who has been this weight of the world put on this young man's shoulder.

How did our guy do?

He did remarkably well. He was he was one of the three who finished second place, and he was he was a little unhappy about that as we were talking afterwards, but I said, you know, you didn't lose, you got beat And those are different the kid who beat him. You know, they do the petting portion on the eighteenth green at I guess the National and you get a thirty foot putt and a fifteen foot putt, and the

Okay, let's just not nickname him Tiger Lynn Nicholas Miller. You know we did nick name him Tiger. I just want to get the kid a hug, Paul, Thank you for the time, sir. I have a great weekend.

Thank you, Stance.

We've got Chris Camraddi from the Athletic joining US.

Utah football is almost done with their spring portion of the calendar. We've got it forever. Twenty two game coming up next Saturday. You tell you dot com is where.

You go for tickets. Richard Smith forty years with Utah Jazz.

He's gonna roll by live on side today and then we'll get you back out to Augusta for an update on the Masters.

But the hippist NBA.

Rider around on a Friday afternoon joins us. Howard Beck, Happy Friday, sir.

How are you.

I'm doing well, spent, how are you? Thank you for bringing me into Aria.

I appreciate it now, you got it.

I figured that would put you in the right head space and that's what we need from you today. And Howard, you know I'm old enough to remember when you were good at your job, you typically kept it didn't help Michael Malone since you and I last spoke. Denver gets rid of the most successful coach that that organization has ever had. Two years after he wins a championship, and we're learning more about it as this kind of story unfolds.

I mean, I was absolutely stunned in the moment, just like everybody across the league, Because yes, the whole league knew there were tensions between Michael Malone and Calvin Booth. The whole league was on alert that something might happen in that organization, whether it was Malone going, Booth going,

How would you there?

I am here, can you hear me?

Oh yeah, no, I got you. You know.

One of the things that I just don't fully undwll there are a lot of things that don't fully understand about it. But with the Celtics just sold for six billion plus with NBA valuations as high as they are, if you're an owner of an NBA team and you don't feel like spending money on your team.

There are other owners who will. Now.

Certainly, no matter how rich you are, you don't want to lose money. I mean, that's certainly one thing I know about rich people that don't.

Like losing money.

But what's fair to say about the way the Krokeys are operating this organization and the way that they're supporting or not supporting the greatest player, in my opinion, in the world in his prime.

They're not gonna have Yokic forever.

No, they won't. And I will just say, like, if they thought there was any reason that Jokis would be unhappy with this move, I don't think they would have made it right. Like this is not to say that Jokic had a hand in it at all, But every NBA team these days is going to operate in a manner where you think what your any major decisions are going to be at least met with approval or at least not disapproval by your franchise star. This has generally

So Josh Cronky gave an interview to one of their house media propagandist, which is what NBA teams do now. They all have their own in house media, so you don't really ever get the real stuff. You just get what the team wants to, you know, propagate out into the community. And I guess that's media in twenty twenty five. But he said he wanted to see his team play with joy again and the eye roll, I cannot explain the ie.

Roll that you know that I had.

And look, maybe this is a scenario where I'm just too old and the approach of somebody like Michael.

Malone might be outdated.

Because look, Michael Malone his father, Brennan, of course, assistant coach in New York, and Michael was in New York as well, and so we got to know him a little bit. And he's not a warm and fuzzy guy. But most coaches, at least in my experience, are not. Or is it a new day? Does that approach no longer work? Howard in today's day and age of pro basketball?

I mean, I will say you knew Michael Malone when you were in New York. I met Michael Malone when I first got to New York in two thousand and four, and he was an assistant coach for the Knicks. And on a personal level, he's a perfectly warm and fuzzy guy. Maybe not the warmest and fuzziest, but he's very personable. He's a great guy. I like him a lot, but

The stage last thing here.

You know, throughout the course of the season, once Oklahoma City, you know, established themselves as the dominant team in the West and quite frankly historic in a lot of ways with the net, the differential and their win rate. The conversation on the show with you and others has been who keeps Mark Dagnalled.

Up at night?

And the answer, oftentimes with you and others has been the Denver Nuggets has the coaching chaos and switch with coach Adelman now just getting the opportunity to do this with only a handful of games left to have you changed your calculus and what you think Denver can do this year in the postseason.

I'm kind of two minds on this spence. One is that I think the very you know, removal of a coach at this late stage of a season, if you're a championship have you a championship aspirations? I feel like it's really destabilizing just by definition. It feels destabilized to me to change the leadership at this moment with days to go in the regular season. But obviously the Nuggets

You know, when you're around this stuff and you've worked and covered it as long as you have, and you know, I'm I hate to say this, I'm not as old as you are.

But I'm getting there, Howard. I'm ra behind you.

I've been doing this for quite some time to have enough skin in the game to really try to fight the innate skepticism and cynical nature that tends to seepin. But I will admit to being enthralled with the scene of Luka Doncic going back to Dallas and the pregame introduction where he is in tears, and I could not help but of Mavericks fans, because you know, we actually have a weird parallel here, Howard, to what happened in Dallas.

In his prime? How do you do that?

Donovan Mitchell's not Luka Doncic, but the Jazz traded away Donovan Mitchell. The age of twenty five as he was just entering his prime. Much different scenarios. But to see Luca in tears, if I'm a Mavericks fan, it makes me even more upset at Nico Harrison because that dude wanted to stay and would have stayed forever.

Donovan probably was not going to stay.

When Donovan came back the first time he had the opportunity with the Cavs, there were no tears. You could tell that Donovan wanted to get out. So it's they're two very different things. But for jazz fans in Salt Lake, like if Luca was theirs and he comes back and he's crying, it adds even more insult because you know that that guy wanted to be here and you him jettison in him off, so you have the tears pregame and then he just goes out and dominates, And I

Spence, It's like nothing we've ever seen before, Like there's no precedent for this like, there are plenty of players who left the team via trade or free agency and came back and it would be emotional, maybe it's negative emotions, maybe positive, but it usually was the player's choice to go.

What in the hell do the Phoenix Suns do? You know? Matt Ishbia there there.

Was a clip of his comments at the end of last season talking about how bullish he was with the talent they have on paper coming into this year. And look, I'm not running him down if I had Kevin Durant and Devin Booker and Brad Buhle. I mean, we've seen all three of those be generationally special at times. They've never been generation special together. But what do they do? How do they get out of this hole?

What's next? In Phoenix?

They have the highest payroll in the league and they're missing the playoffs.

That ownership group and and and just the leadership there

Geez.

And you know what, I can't argue, I can't debate. I think that's the only play. I just wonder if a guy like matt Ishbie is willing to eat his crow a little bit, because we kind of have a similar type of ownership situation here with the change from the Millers to Ryan Smith. And you know, Ryan is a hyper competitive guy, and I can tell you that the way the stuff is gone with the Jazz is not so well with him. He's tried to push for a Drew Holliday deal here, or Kristapsporzingis deal there, or

We're about to learn a lot about matt Ishbia and whether he can learn from his mistakes, whether he can even acknowledge that a mistake was made right. Like the first thing we learned about him as an owner was he's going to be really aggressive. He's really confident in what he does because he took ownership of the team and immediately made that trade for Kevin to which cost a ton of draft capital plus mckail Bridges and Cam Johnson. So you could admire that on some level. Okay, he's bold,

All right, Howard, final thing I'll set you loose on this.

We'll kind of go back to what we were talking about with the West and you referenced, you know, when Kawhi is healthy, we're all just reminded of like, oh, yeah.

That's who he is.

When he's right, and he still is that when he's healthy. Uh, Luca Lebron to cerebral, high level computer basketball skilled players. Watching them figure out has been fascinating Denver as Jokic Golden State has been different with Butler, Minnesota.

Probably deserves some Flowers as well.

If I hold you to one answer, the team that is keeping Mark Dagnold up at night most is who and why.

Who? Boy? As I mentioned earlier, you can make a case for all of them. I guess if I'm gonna default to one, and I'm gonna I'm surprising myself as I say this. I think it's the Lakers only because you know, lucas a top five player, top three player, potentially within the finals last season. I'd like the Lakers are flawed as a roster, right, like they don't have uh,

Howard, thank you, my friend. Have an excellent weekend and we will chat soon.

Thanks betch you too, talk to you next week.

All right.

Howard Beck from The Ringer one of my favorite riders for a long long time.

I always appreciate Howard's time. You can get him.

I think he does most of his posting on Blue Sky now, so you can get him over there. The link to his Blue Sky is on his Twitter. If you want to get weird, it's just at Howard beck Is where you find him. So I appreciate Howard's time. All right, we are out at about today. You can probably tell with the wind and of course the truck in the background. But it's a good opportunity for you to grab some high quality.

Stakes for extremely cheap Homestead steaks.

They're offering twenty ribbis for forty dollars, that's right, and these are good quality stakes. I mean, you know, I walked over and checked him out before he hopped on air today. So twenty ribbys for forty dollars. It's their weekend meat sale. And where we're at today is by Fashion Place Mall. So put this address in your GPS, follow it and trust it because for a minute you probably will not believe you're going in the right direction.

We are literally in the middle of a parking lot.

It's one oh four five zero South State Street, number two three two zero, one oh four five zero South State Street number two three two zero. Forty ribbis for forty dollars half priced Bulk deals on steak, chicken, pork, chops, and seafood. It's the Bulk Family party pack to fill your freezer with New York strips, filets, mega ribbis, gourmet smash burgers plus chicken and seafood.

All payments are accepted cash, credit, debit, and EBT.

So come on buy and check out our good friends out here at Homestead Steaks Add one oh four five zero, South State Street number two three two zero, one oh four five zero, South Stage Street number two three two zero.

We're out here with our.

Friends at Homestead Steaks twenty ribbis for forty dollars.

It's their weekend meal deal.

Locations at Fashion Fashion Place Mall shops at Southtown in Sandy Provo Town Center Mall as well. We're just forty dollars and they've got a bunch of deals on bulk for steak, chicken, pork chops and seafood.

And when I found out we were gonna be out here.

At Homestead Steaks, I said to Porter book me a guest that loves meat more than any other guests that we could possibly find, and preveyor of steaks, connoisseur of meats, Christopher Cameronnie on a Friday afternoon c K, Happy Friday, sir, how are you man?

You went all waited Sandy and didn't invite me.

Don't don't you dare, Christopher.

You know that you're welcome to roll wherever I'm at at all times.

There's no way you were making this drive. It's hard enough to get you downtown.

Yeah, when Porter told me that you were going to be on remote and then, you know, I don't know, man, I think I think this, Now that the summertime is here, we can maybe make a couple of special things happen. You know that at the ninth to ninth Smith I'm always down, you know. You know, I've made a couple appearances there, but it's a little harder to get me to go to one hundred and fourth hundred and fifths south on State Street.

But maybe one of these days, I don't know, man, maybe one of these days.

All surprising Well, I just felt like the offer of twenty ribbis for forty dollars was going to be enough for a neat lover like you to roll out.

I just think of that scene from the Great Outdoors when John Candy has to eat the old ninety six er and Dan Akro tells the guy he's done, and the chef says he's not done yet, and Dan Akers says, there's nothing left on that plate but gristle and fat.

Poor John.

But he did it, man, He got all the kids the hats, and he got to eat the old ninety six er.

I was picking my moment, you were picking your nose. That is an underrated movie.

That is an underrated classic John Candy movie. You know, since every week we've gone from Philip Seymour Hoffman to Ben Stiller and then Val Kilmer. Rest In Piece, John Candy, Resting Peace. Best John Candy movie is a great out doors planes trains and automobiles.

Probably planes trains, but his character in Planes Trains gives me so much anxiety. I think my favorite John Candy character of all time is Uncle Buck. Okay, when he when he makes the giant pancakes for Macaulay Culkin's birthday. When I saw that as a kid, I was like, dude, why isn't my uncle like Uncle Buck? Like I wanted to go to the bowling alley and you know, hang out with guys who smoked cigarettes and drank a really cheap beer.

And bowl like and wear the cool bowling shirts.

Uncle Buck, by far, to me, is John Candy's best character.

But best movie is Plane Trains.

We all show should throw out Spaceballs. While we're talking John Candy movies, we probably should throw out Home Alone, since he was in Home Alone as well. But I do I think I agree with you as far as the best one, Planes Trains and Automobiles. And of course John can't any phenomenal in that movie. When Steve Martin the first time I saw Steve Martin bade the woman behind the counter at the rental car shop, I was crying, laughing underrated movie, Planes Trains and Automobiles.

Do you care to Levy guess what year that movie was released?

Eighty seven?

What is you are? So weirdly smart? How did you know that? Did you look it up?

I did not look it up?

But fun, and this shouldn't be surprising. Fun Little Trivia. The lady behind the counter who Steve undresses, who soon reciprocates and then undresses him, is the principal's secretary in Ferris Wheeler's Day Off. Yes, she's an iconic eighties side character who always delivers.

Yeah, indeed, indeed, oh man, now I'm thinking of great John Canny movies. That's why I love interviewing Chris Comraddy every single Friday. All right, give me your takeaway so far, first two rounds of the Masters, Chris.

I'm fascinated to see if Rory can keep it up.

Shooting a sixty six today. I don't know. Scheffler just had that chip, you know, a few a few holes ago.

That's enough.

He's getting my guy though. I don't know if you remember who I picked, but my guy is.

He's not he's not wholly in the mix right now, but he's currently stalking the pack.

Who did you pick? Again?

Remind me, Mark Cowell, that's right, that's right, Colin morcow I'm impressed that you could just fake that you knew anything about what had happened.

So far, So well done.

C K all right, Chris, let me ask you about this dynamic So Jeff Goodman, who covers college basketball and one of the more plugged in so Jeff Goodman a college basketball is kind of like Shams to the NBA

We don't necessarily have.

Ironclad data about these contracts.

BYU is a private institution.

We can't file public records requests and get information like we can with other schools. But the reports that are out there by people, the report on college basketball consistently in a way that I don't is that aj Demants is getting seven million dollars for five months of basketball. Rob Wright's getting three million dollars to play at BYU. They paid Yegor Devin seven figures last year. They paid Ken and Ken seven figures last year. Jegor is going

That is not official.

So the unofficial tally is in the neighborhood of fifteen million dollars for the five or six players that I.

Just named to play for BYU and Kevin Young next year. What do you make of that? What's the take?

Well, As somebody who has spent quite a bit reporting on the world of NIL agents and NIL over the last couple of years, I will tell you and the listeners of the Drive that numbers that are thrown out there aren't always accurate or close after it. I don't know any thing about this three million dollar deal with Rob Bright and BYU, but I've been told by several people who would know that valuations that are posted on some websites are often nowhere near close to accurate.

The world of NIL spence is very tenuous.

It's treacherous. It's treacherous in that unless you get the player or the player's agent to show you the breakdown of the actual payment of the nil deal. Odds are numbers that are floated are going to be bloated more often than not. Sure when when it comes to BYU, I'm not surprised because we've seen that the support of the basketball program is allowing it to reach heights that

Program while the football program.

Is making strides but is clearly nowhere near where the basketball program is and It makes sense because the roster size and college basketball compared to college football. I mean, I know, with the House settlement, we're going to potentially go from one oh five to eighty five or whatever college basketball is fifteen and the reality is you're probably not having to pay the last roster spots twelve to fifteen anything. But it is a it is a subplot that is developing that I find very interesting.

Some good stuff there and the other thing that we probably should mention because this has bred a lot of social media online back and forth from BYU fans and in BYU. I'll just say I'm using air quotes BYU media members. They're really not media members. They're employees of Brigham Young that are hired to propagate messaging from the actual school. It happens in pro sports now too. You know the in house quote unquote media where you don't

And so it is three million dollars.

But there is a difference between the church and the school writing these checks and the boosters, So we probably should be clear on that.

Yes, And until we get a verified, you know, checklist breakdown of how things are supposed to operate if there eventually is a set of rules in place, we're operating now under the assumption that BYU boosters are opening it books. It is not the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, just the same way at Notre Dame. It's not the Catholic Church that's helping Notre Dame land a bunch of really good football recruits under Marcus Freeman. It's just this is the reality.

And yeah, I mean it.

I haven't really waded into that discourse all that much lately, to be honest with you, I'm doing my best to avoid the the depths of despair that is social media. But yes, we are accurate in saying that it is support to friends of the program. As my favorite basketball movie, Blue Chips once referenced.

Indeed, indeed is uh is nil tithed? Do you need to pay tithing at ile?

That's a great question I should ask some people.

You menast you have sources.

I need you to uncover this is nil tithed.

I would assume that if if it is part of your income, then yes, I would assume it is.

But that's a great question I will find out.

Look at you, I'm going to send a couple guys over to your house with a book that will change your life.

All right, you referenced in your your your points are very valid and fair about It's not a false equivalency to bring in the BYU football portion to this conversation. But to your point, simply the size of the rosters will change what you get per player. But the Salt Lake Tribune our good friends over the trip. Kevin Reynolds did write a piece and did some reporting last year. The first meeting of BYU season last year that was run by a fellow who works for the Royal Blue

And you can go to the trip and you can read the entire piece.

But as a result of a rough year one in the Big twelve, the Royal Blue Collective elected to cut the paychecks to these players. Then the nil checks to these players. And I just have to wonder if you're a BYU football player, if you're Kilanie, if you're a Rod, if you're any of these guys, and they're online, they read things and they see that the estimates are BYU Basketball is now paying what's believed to be in the neighborhood of fifteen million dollars for five or six different players.

I just wonder how that lands with Kilanie.

And look, they had a great year last year, so whatever they're doing obviously is breeding results.

But what's your take.

On what I perceive to be a little bit of a different support on the basketball side as opposed to the football team.

Well, in the irony of it all, too is that all undoubtedly makes the athletic department and the school way more money than basketball. And it's always it's always going to be the case for a multitude of reasons, like Lebel Edwards Stadium seats I don't know, forty five fifty thousand more people than the Marriott Center does. And you know, ticket sales, merch, all the stuff, the swigs, all that stuff goes into it.

But yeah, no, I mean it is.

It is a like I said, it's an interesting subplot to a revival of a athletic department that just a few years ago is or was nowhere near where it is now on the revenue making sports, you know, football and men's basketball. I would imagine publicly, Pilani would say what I would expect it to, and he would be

The same way you do here in college basketball.

It's just harder because you're going to have to ask more people to pay more money because, simply put, the roster size is that much bigger. And I honestly don't know if Kilanie has been asked this publicly in a in a scrum, you know, kind of atmosphere.

I wonder how he would. I know he would handle it fine, but it would be it would be I guess it would. It would be interesting to see how he would handle it.

He actually has been asked this in a public setting by the host of The Drive Monday through Friday two to six at Big twelve media Days.

And this was this was this was before the debansa stuff.

This was when I was told what they were paying Kevin Young, And this is when the news came down a bit about Yegor Demon and Kennon Catching's being seven figure players.

And I asked Klannie point blank.

And when I asked him this, he gave me the north shore of Wahoo prolly looked like he was going to bury me into the ocean. But I asked him, I said, are you getting the same support the basketball team is getting? And he did handle it diplomatically, handled it the way Klannie would.

But I do wonder what he.

Would say if asked off the record by somebody you know.

Who could get the actual truth out of him. I can't imagine it's sitting well.

But ultimately the bottom line is they're getting results, So I guess that's.

All that matters.

On the other side of it, Chris, I just wonder how this is landing with the Utah Athletic Department, in Utah boosters and powerful people the right checks for the you. I mean, I was told last year by somebody who I'll just say would know that BYU current and this was last year. This could have changed, but at this point last year, I was told that BYU currently has nine seven figure donors and Utah has two. And it's

Not too far away from where you're at geographically.

Well, I mean, I think you have to take solace in the fact that you hired the guy that you believe can resurrect turn around the program that has been dormant for way too long, and you kind of have to go from there, and you have to operate under the assumption that that guy doesn't take that job if he wasn't guaranteed the allocated resources necessary in order to keep up with.

The folks in Provo.

And I don't know, I would doubt that Utah eventually gets to the place where they're able to spend seven million dollars for the number one.

Player in the country.

I mean, I think I think when when all is said and done, I think Debansa will go down as a an exception, not the rule. I don't think every player will be interested in wanting to come to Provo, even though you can play for Kevin Young, who's you

But again, I don't think.

Alex takes the job without being guaranteed that he has at least a significant amount of nil at his disposal, because in college basketball, and I mean in any sport now it matters, but I feel like in college basketball, more than anything, if you invest heavily in a couple big hitters, you can get your program turned around fairly quickly.

I will not ask you another benign, mundane Utah football spring football takeaway question, but we did have Morgan Scalley on the show this week, and we caught up with Morgan about all the kind of spring football happenings and storylines and uh, you know, ultimately what they're hoping to accomplish. I wonder what you think Morgan's uh current patience level is uh and whether or not you think he's chomping at the bit to take over as head coach.

I didn't listen to the interview, so I don't know, appreciate he's.

A good friend, supporting supporting your good friend.

You're better.

You're a better journalist than I am, so I would assume that you asked him point blank, the same way you ask Colona point blank.

And I'll get to it after this phone call. But I don't I would.

Assume that Morgan understands that it's no just around the corner. I I mean, we've been talking about Kyle hanging it up now for the past five years, and every year he seems to surprise us. Now, a lot of that has to do with the success and the apex that they reached during the end of the Pac twelve era.

Now, I don't think that's the case.

I know when you know Lincoln Riley was interested in hiring Morgan to be the USC defensive coordinator a couple of years ago. Like Morgan, if he would have took taken that job, would have been the USC defensive coordinator.

Here at Utah, he's the Utah defensive.

Coordinator, and he's the coach in waiting, and the coach ahead of him is not forty three years old like Lincoln Riley is or whatever.

He just turned sixty five. So I think, you know, Morgan kind.

Of has the ability to build and mold the defensive side of the roster secs fit. I think he's earned that right, and he's doing it under a guy that he cut his teeth under.

And you know, I think if you ever wanted to get.

Into the XES and o's, you know minutiae of at all. I mean, Morgan's defense is Fred Whittingham's defense, and he would be the first one to tell you that the same way File would be the first one to tell you that.

That's how his defense was built too.

So that's a very long winded way of saying I don't think Morgan is probably ansy at this point.

All right, last thing, and I'll set you lose.

I was speaking with somebody today and I will tell you.

Who after our interview's over. I'll leave the name off air.

And I asked him, I said, you know, I'm told that this announcement about the Miller family taking over, and look, we still have to wait as far as what the details are. What we are anticipating is this means Ryan Smith is exiting stage left, and the Blitzer group will maintain whatever control they may and Scott Crace, Dave Blitzer's ownership rep, will continue to be the director of whatever. He is kind of overseeing the entire thing. Is Dave Blitzer's kind of eyes and ears here on the ground

And I just wonder what you anticipate based off.

Of your knowledge of the way MLS works, the way RSL operates, and you know your knowledge of the way the Miller family likes to do their business.

Well, we have to start with the fact that the Millers are going to be running and bankrolling a club a league that is nothing really close to what the Jazz are in the NBA, meaning that like they can invest money in they both in RSL and the Royals, as they should and as I've been told they plan on doing.

But I've also been.

Told that the day to day type stuff is not going to change at the level it did from you know, the last ownership transition.

And obviously the last ownership transition was.

Under pretty extreme circumstances, you know, being run by the league for I think it was like over a year at that point, and you know, it was it was pretty it was pretty guyer over there for a while. That's not going to be the case once this ownership sale takes place. But hey, man, the Millers know what

Yeah, I think it's like six billion.

Yeah, so and they're they're riding high off of you know, opening this new b stadium at daybreak. And I just I think that, as I've been told, they plan on investing into the rosters of these teams. And that's at the end of the day.

Man.

I can't I can't just I mean, I'll just say it on the show The Drive Monday through Friday, two to six, every single week, like ninety percent of fans care about the product on the field they could give, you know what about the Jay Dogs and the you know, the concessions and the free Wi Fi and all this other stuff.

If you invest in a team that's fun to watch and wins games, your fans will come and they will come and droves.

And what I've been told is that the Miller's plan on allocating the necessary amount of resources into doing that to both of these teams.

Well, only time We'll tell my friends. You want me to grab you some Ribbys before I get out of here?

Are they got any say that again?

You broke up Chris. Uh, we lost him, all right?

Speaking to Ribbys, you guys have a chance to come out here and buy twenty Ribbis for only forty dollars. Okay, So we are out at one oh four five zero South State Streets number two three two zero. It's one o four to five zero, South State Street number two three two zero. We're out here in support of our friends at Homestead Steaks. I'm telling you it is a great deal. I went over and looked to their steak box.

So come on by.

Like I said, the best thing to do is to put this address in your GPS and follow it out. You might think that you're lost for a minute, but just keep going. That's a good life. Lesson write that down one oh four five zero South State Street number two three two zero with our friends out here. So come on by so to support Homestead Stakes. Before we catch a break. The weather's warm now, and so you need to start thinking about your lawn. IFA Country Stories

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All right, we are live on site today at one oh four five zero South State Street in support of our good friends who are selling you high quality steaks. Homestead Steaks is the client today twenty Ribbi steaks.

For only forty dollars.

It's their weekend meat sale, Fashion Place Mall and Murray South Shops at Southtown Sandy Provo Town Center Mall as well. They're opening until eight o'clock tonight and they're going to reopen tomorrow at ten am and they go to eight pm Sunday eleven am to six pm twenty ribbis for just forty dollars, and they've got a bunch of other great deals. They've got bulk deals for steak, chicken, pork chops, and seafood.

Bulk family party packs.

To fill your freezer with New York strips, filats, Mega Ribbis, gourmet smash burgers plus chicken and seafood. All payments accepted, cash, credit, debit, and EBT.

So come on out and say hi.

It's one oh four to five zero South State Street, number two three two zero. We have a celebrity siding live on site. Richard Smith Smitty forty years.

With you, Jah Jazz. Did you have any trouble finding this vacance parking spence?

This is this is the thing we're telling the listeners.

You come down State Street, you get around one hundred and four South, you look for the Ethan Allen building. We're right behind that. All right, that's the address. What's suite we're in?

Whatever?

You know, people are gonna be driving around all over the place. I just happen to come behind the Ethan Allen building and oh, look, look at you. There's an ESPN tent in the middle of nowhere parking lot. I wonder what that's doing out there, and I come over and here's Spence. Check its out in the natural wind, the sun, doing his job for America, next to the Thermo king truck with all the two dollars stripped steaks. What could be better in this this land of America?

Well said, I mean, you know me, I'm just a hard working, hard.

Work that's and I did expected nothing less, I said. I looked from three miles away and I could see this tent and I go, I'll bet dispense is underneath that tent, just braving the elements for the listening pleasure of the Utah sports fan.

What a guy, And that's what I'm trying to do.

The tent is doing us no good because the wind is blowing no matter what. The truck is on the background because they have to refrigerate the meat. So we're dealing with some elements today, Smitty. But nonetheless we traverse on great to see my friends.

A lot to do. We just did.

What's by the way, I've never met Chris Cameranie.

It sounds like a great guy.

Is the best?

Okay, Yeah, what's his deal with? He can't get in the car and come out and see you on a.

It's a fair question and one that I posted him. He does have a two year old son. His wife is a school.

Teacher, okay, and she's the best.

These are as Salt through the Earth people some of my favorite people on the planet. And when she's teaching school, Chris has to I got to take care of the ki Okay.

That's fair enough, because it sounded like a scott laden type of excuse that I don't go anywhere past twenty first South. So if it's past twenty first south, it might as well be in Arizona, because I don't know where it is.

I've gotta say Scotty and I have that in common. I extended to thirty third because one of my best friends lives on thirty third. If I had my druthers, I would not go south of thirty third, and certainly I wouldn't go north of the Capitol.

Oh yes, oh look, hey, I'm gonna tell you.

Right up the street from here, and this is a this is a plug that I don't know why, but this right up the street here on State Street about hundred south is one of my new favorite places to eat. Dolly's Salad Salad Bar. It's it's like a version of Sweet Tomatoes. If you remember tomatoes, you're in the same sweet tomato spot. Great fresh, fresh salad bar, really high quality stuff.

I love it.

My wife and I go there frequently and we live we live in town Sugarhouse Park. Yeah, we come out here frequently just to go to Dolly's. And anybody who's looking for a good salad option for lunch or an early dinner, what what a place at is? I give them a plug. I get nothing out of it, but it's it's just my contribution to this radio program.

No, we appreciate that.

How is our guy, Scotty Scotty Scotty Lady, He is doing good.

You know, he's he's he works for the Sacramento Kings. He's uh, he's working as their their director of of East Coast pro Scouting, so he gets to do a

Little little baby girl.

That's great.

And he was he was showing me new pictures of her today. And he's a power, proud grandpa.

Very nice. All right, I've got a bunch of stuff I want to get to with you. And since we were just you.

Know, talking about Scott Layden, and of course the Leyden's are Utah Royalty, Jazz Royalty.

There is a new era of.

Jazz basketball, both on the floor and off the floor.

And Dan Roberts.

Forty six years, nearly twenty two hundred games, has been uh, well he's retired.

We'll just leave it. Leave it at that. Jazz honored him the other night. His final game will be tonight. H And I don't know.

Who's left, Trav or guy Travis Centerson.

Of course Big T Bowler's been there forever.

But Dan feels like one of the final pieces of jazz past being ripped away from us. And if you're of a certain age and like you or like me, I mean Jazz basketball. I really don't have a memory of life that doesn't include some form of the NBA and the Jazz were part of my life when I was a kid, and I still to this day badly want to see people over there, I like, succeed and have them do well.

But bring him on.

How about this jazz You know, Dan is one of the best to ever do it in the entire history of pro basketball.

And this is it for him. I wonder what your takeaways are from now.

Very very tearful.

I was at the game the other night when they they honored him, and rightfully, so he's just a he's a great voice, uh in the arena. He's a great recognizable voice for jazz basketball. The fact that he's he's leaving leaves just a few a few people and and and you know, the guy probably is still at the top of the mountain at the moment.

Is a Ron Boone?

Yes, you know, Yes, Ron Boone was a player. Yeah, that's right, and then came back as a broad tester. And you know, Booner, I don't know if you know what his situation is going forward after the broadcasts uh this weekend, But but he's still there and and Dan Roberts you know, had a lot of great video tributes by uh former players and they got on camera you know to say thanks thanks Dan, and.

And and uh and rightfully.

So what he's really a great person, nice family, really loves the jazz and uh uh and the fact that they honored him was was very nice uh for.

Them to do in that regard.

And I know it touched his heart at the same time, I know it's it's it's a it's a tough, a tough deal for him, feeling like, you know, he's taking him himself out of the mix of something that he's done for almost spence almost half a century.

Yeah, it's it's a it's a great.

Run by and we love Dan and his family and we wish him nothing but the best.

So Alex Jensen made a hire today of a coach that you know, and we'll do that in our second segment. Since we're talking jazz, let's just stick with little.

Jazz and a little NBA and we'll get to some NBA storylines.

In a moment.

This Kyle Philipowski storyline, as Marketing's been sitting and Kessler's been sitting and John Collins has been sitting incrementally. You know, they've been resting their most of their veteran front core players.

Are they heard those guys have been hurt? Come on, man, come on, they're wrestling them for Come on, man for what for?

Cooper Flag?

The wrestling for Cooper Flying?

Right, come on, man, we know the deal. Don't play with me. I don't like it either. It is what it is. But we know the deal. We know what time it is, we know what they're doing. They're not fooling anybody.

Then, no matter what they say, as always say, judge people off of actions, not words. But incrementally sitting all their veteran front court players has opened up a lot of minutes for Kyle. And I always go back and forth with this because I've seen so many teams over the years that are unserious about winning, and those teams that are unseerious about winning still have minutes that need to be filled, They still have shots that need to be taken, they still have usage.

So I always go back.

To like shreef Abdourheim, who for years was like twenty two and twelve for Vancouver, and I always wonder like is he awesome or are they horrible and they just need somebody to score. But some of Kyle's stat lines, namely the other night against Portland, are pretty eye popping from your vantage point, What have you seen from them that you think is real? Do you think the Jazz might have something in Kyle Pilapowski.

Yeah, Well, what he's shown to me a couple things. Spence.

One is a versatility that he has. He can go in and make plays. He has good footworks so he can get around the mid post. He can make some plays around the basket. He can also step out and shoot or even actually, for a guy his size, put it on the floor one or two dribbles and get something to get an advance.

I like the flow he plays with.

I like some of the the energy that he looks like he brings to the floor. The tough part about these kinds of games is always the fact that those guys who are playing, they know what the deal is like in this situation where the Jazz really are aren't playing meaningful games to try to try and win, it's all under the guys of a player development. Okay, that's

The game with Portland the other night, I was there.

I gotta tell you either team cared about being there. They were both running up and down throwing up shots. You know, it's not an NBA game. I felt badly just for people who came and took their time and spent their money. For all the things that are involved in doing that, right, getting a sitter, if you're bringing your family playing, for parking, the price of the tickets, you know, getting a hot dog or a drink or whatever it is.

Those things add up.

And yet they're watching, you know what really amounts to a summer summer league scrimmage. And that's too bad. It's too bad for the fans. But the players are getting playing time.

Is it meaningful? That's hard to say.

You're the only way it's meaningful is if they're being held accountable behind the scenes by the coaching staff in terms of what they do and how they assess the film the next day. And you know that's that's a tough thing to try and gauge. So are they meaningful? I don't think so personally, but seeing someone like Philipowsky, what it does in one level is at least shows

Bingo.

And that's why I want to move over to next because whenever, because I've got a lot of friends like you that love the Jazz, and I've got a lot of friends like you that have been spoiled by the success of the Jazz.

I know, never a championship.

But like as we've discussed throughout the past few years since you've started joining us, consistently, the ability of Frank and Scotti to pivot quickly, the ability of Kevin O'Connor to pivot quickly, and Dennis Lindsay to pivot quickly were their down years sure ties. Last year Quinn's first year, you know, a couple of years after John and Carr left, when Jerry coached the hell out of a team with not a lot of time.

Yes, there have been lean years, There's never been anything like this. It's the first team in fifty years.

Of Jazz Basketball to lose more than sixty games, and it is the first time they have been front facing about just not trying at all. So whenever I talk to my friends, like, they'll watch you or another, Hey, Kiantet a couple of shots and overtime, that's they've got to win.

Yeah, that's great.

Good.

I'm sure a win is.

A breadth of fresh air for competitors who have been bred to win and have been having their doors blown off every single night. But what I always say to them is, I don't know what Keyante's game looks like when a team is serious about winning. I don't know who Kyle Philipowski is for a team that actually is trying to compete in NBA basketball.

So whether it's.

Philipowski or Sensiba or Kyante or Cody, Like, what are the challenges of analyzing this group to try to understand what's real with these young players when they're serious Again.

Yeah, well that's that's a that's a big mountain to climb because you don't know until you get them on the.

Floor in meaningful game.

So you know, these are all to me, there's my opinion, my perspective, having been involved in it. For a lot of years, these guys are just in you know, organized scrimmages because again there's I don't know what the accountability level is individually with them. I'm sure the coaches talk to them about trying to improve their games and improve their you know, the things they decision making or shot taking, whatever it is, but the organization doesn't really care.

Whether they're winning or not.

In fact, that rather than lose because of the whole tank you know, approach that they they've taken to this.

So in that.

Regard, it's hard for anybody to figure out, you know, can Keyante George be a a Lou Williams slash Vinnie Johnson slash Jamal Crawford type of guy in a meaningful team where he comes off the bench and can get you, you know, a eight points in three minutes and be kind of a spark plug.

Guy in games.

That means something because when you're with these teams that are fighting, you know, for playoff spots or fighting for playoff.

Positioning every game.

This time of year, we always used to talk about games spence the last six, seven, eight games of a regular season, unless you were like Oklahoma City this year, which is you know, run out and hit from everybody, and nobody can see them.

They're so far ahead of the race.

But all these other teams the other day I looked at it, and I didn't look at it.

Today, so I don't know what I know. It's almost the same.

But five teams in the West between spots number four and eight all had at that At that day, I looked at thirty two losses, and the losses we always look at this time of year because those are games you can to get back. If you're behind a game in the win column, you can make that up by going out and winning your next game. But if you have if you're behind in a lost column, you gotta hope you get some help from you know, somebody, you know,

Kinds of games down the road.

It's always difficult to say that, but you've gotta have some base.

To start from.

So if this is the way that the Jazz have chosen to go, which obviously it is, then.

They're gonna throw these young guys out there.

They're gonna let them trip over themselves, they're gonna let them take bad shots, they're gonna let them throw the ball away into the third row, you know whatever, whatever, And then they're gonna try and coach them up and try and get them better during the summer.

But nothing is going to fill the void.

Of playing meaningful games until they get to that point.

And that that's that's the.

Hard part about judging where the individual talents of these uh these players lies.

Two games left, Okay, see tonight, I don't know exactly who's gonna play and who's not. Ok Ces injury report right now looks like this. No Jalen Williams, no Case and Wallace, no Isaiah Hartenstein, no lout Dort for the Jazz uh, no Walker Kessler, no John Collins, Isaiah Colliers game time, Elijah hart was kJ Martiner out. I don't know if marketing is gonna play. It's just the issue talking about this stuff because it's so hard to watch.

Before we catch a break.

One more NBA storyline. I wanted to get to with you because look, I'm not. I wasn't in Taylor Jenkins locker room. I'm not wasn't in Michael Malone's locker room.

I just I'm stunned. And as you know, Michael Malone was an assistant in New York. His father was an assistant for Jeff.

You get to know the family, and yes, old school, a little bit of a maybe an abrasive approach. Maybe modern day players don't like that. He won a championship two years ago. And I know that doesn't matter, asked Frank Vogel. Asked Mike Budenholzer. You know we could keep going, but I just I don't know.

Man.

I'm old enough to remember when you were really good at your job, you got to keep it. And now we have two really good coach coaches losing their jobs for playoff teams days before the playoffs start.

What do you make well?

This goes to show you, spense that that it's hard to figure out exactly how you would want to build something and then be able to sustain it.

When you look.

At the championship coaches in the NBA, four of the last six NBA championship coaches starting in twenty nineteen are no longer with the team that they led to an NBA championship.

They've all gotten let.

Go by the team within a couple of years of winning the championship. So you know, what does that mean? I know, you know Michael Malone. I know him some. I wouldn't say he's a quote friend of mine, but I do know him and we've done a couple of NBA camps together overseas in the summertimes.

Michael's very you.

Know, knowledgeable obviously those what he's doing winning his coach in Denver Nugget history. But he is a he can be an abrasive guy. He's a fun guy. He's a smart guy, but you know, he has a little bit of that New York you know attitude.

Of you know, hey, you know you you guys.

If you're not doing it right, I'm gonna come right at you, right right in your face and and and get after it. And I'm just guessing I don't know, because I'm not there that, you know, maybe that was starting to wear on players, Maybe that was starting to wear on the ownership.

Maybe you know, they want to give some.

Kind of a spark to the team before the playoffs.

I don't know.

Sometimes those things are short circuited. But hey, in the same in the same vein spence, you got to flip the card to the other side and recognize that Michael Malone in his case, just as an individual supposedly got in a contract extension that doesn't start till next year where he's making the neighborhood of twelve million dollars a year for the next couple of years, and so they were willing the team, he was willing to give up

Is it a player thing? You know? You don't really know those kind of things when they happened to me.

More often than not, it's not about the basketball, it's not about the x's and o's. More often it's something behind closed doors, a personality scuffle, or somebody doesn't like what somebody said in the meeting, or something got out of hand. Somebody's not not you know, giving space, and if they're not relenting to someone else's ideas or direction or what have you, and so they becomes a philosophical

This out, so we got to make some kind of a.

Move before we catch a break, and we need to so we're going to. You just spark something in my mind that I don't think I've ever asked you. And ultimately it doesn't matter because it's revisionist history. But you reference ownership at time siding with a coach and moving.

On from the players.

Was there ever any messaging to Jerry Sloan like we'll trade him, we'll get rid of him, we want you to stay, because they they.

Ended up trading Darren anyway.

But you know, the whole Darren Jerry thing cost the Jazz their beloved head coach and their franchise player.

Did anybody tried to.

Get head and look when Jerry make his Maybe if Jerry makes up his mind, he's gonna do his thing. But did anybody Kevin or Gale just say look, take a beat here. We're gonna trade him if if it's this bad, we'll get rid of him because we want you to stay well.

I can tell you that what happened over the years, and this was this was you know, not a lot, but it happened, you know, a handful of times over the years when you were in a rough patch, like the Denver Nuggets, you know, had lost four games in a row before they won the other night, after the after the change they made, you know, the team would be in a rough patch.

You know, Jerry might you know, a bristle at something you know one of.

The players is doing or saying, and they get into a little scuffle and a heated argument in a pregame meeting or a practice meeting or something like that, and Jerry would say to them, hey, listen, we can't get this worked out. We will figure it out some other way. And the other way is probably not going to include you. Because I am gonna be here tomorrow, and the owner referencing Larry at that time, the owner has my back,

But when we figure it out.

It's probably not going to include you because you're gonna be gone, I see. And so that took place, you know, a handful of times over the years, you know, just so the players understood.

If they were feeling their oats and they thought, yeah, I'm the guy around here here, Yeah.

Yeah, I run the show here, you know whatever, Jerry would quickly go, Okay, we're gonna make sure we all understand who runs the show here. Yeah, right, And and that's what you need. That's what you need in an organization. You need the head coach to be firmly in charge. But the head coach has to know that the ownership has his back because if it gets to a push and shove deal, then he knows, you know, how the

All right, the eighty ninth player playing of the Masters Tournament at Augusta, Georgia. We'll give you a leaderboard update coming up in a bit, but I will tell you that Tony needs a birdie in his final three holes to make the cut. Tony's at three over right now, he's through fifteen, so three holes left for Tony and the cut line is two over. So Tony needs a birdie final three holes or else he's not.

Playing the weekend.

We'll give you complete update coming up in a bit, but we are live on site today.

You can hear the wind and the truck in the background.

We are selling steaks Homestead Steaks twenty ribbis for only forty dollars. They got a bunch of locations Fashion Place Mall and Murray the shops at Southtown and Sandy Provo Town Center Mall as well. We are at one four five zero South State Street, number.

Two three two zero. Easiest thing to do is just put.

That in the GPS, then follow it, look for the ESPN seven hundred van, and then come on out and check out this great deal at one oh four five zero South State Street, number two three two zero here in Sandy with our friends at Homestead Steaks twenty ribbys.

For forty bucks.

How do you like twenty ribbis for forty dollars?

How about a box of beef? Baby there we go.

Come on out and say what's up Homestead Steaks Porter Porter, you're rolling out here, you're grabbing twenty Ribbys for forty bucks.

Yeah, I'm gonna find my way there. If not tonight, of course, they they'll be there tomorrow, they'll be there a little bit on Sunday. Definitely taking advantage of that deal though.

Gotta love it.

Twenty ribbis for forty dollars with our friends at Homestead Steaks.

They're sending me home with a box of beef. So I'm excited for that. Wow.

Crazy half priced boat deals on steak, chicken, pork chops and seafood.

Bolt Family party packs to.

Fill your freezer with New York Strips, Filets, Mega Ribbis, Gourmet smash Burgers plus chicken and seafood. All payments accepted cash, credit, debit, and EBT.

A box of beef out here, Smitty, How.

Does the guy get in on the action? Where?

You know, when when the truck pulls out a lot, the box of beef falls off the back.

Of the truck. Does that like straight? Goodfellas?

Is that stuff that we can get in on somehowway?

Ask my guy Andrew over there, maybe you'll send you home with.

A box to wait till till after midnight of something.

So my way of describing where we're at is one oh four five zero South State Street, number two three, two zero.

What's your way of describing where we're at?

So you lost people already? Number two three, You got to put it in the chick fifty.

We have phones, put that address in your GPS. Now I'm arguing with Spence off the air. That Spence just telling people a cruise down State Street. When you get about one hundred and fourth South, you look for the Ethan Allen building on the west side of the street.

Just go behind that boom. You'll see our tent.

Now you know, it's uh, there's there's not a lot of room here, so it's a little tight behind here because we're in this we're in this parking lot and there's I'm looking around, there's nobody within three miles on either side of us. But okay, hopefully you can find the tent in that vast parking lot.

Sure, And I don't want to disparage anybody who's trying to make a living in commerce. My whole point of contention was, when's the last time anybody made an intentional trip to Ethan Allurs.

Hey see that there's a guy smoking like who's never had to go and buy some living room furniture that really meant something.

No, I'm all, I'm all RC Willie Baby.

No, you're you're you're like the guy the guy's garage sale down the end of the corners, putting the bedframe out there for five bucks.

Yeah, that'll work. I tell you that out.

I'm telling you are Sie Willie rules. None of these places are sponsors on the show. So let's I got you, Hey, I got it, I got it.

But this is the Southtown Mall though this area is really a high commerce there. There's a lot of stores around this whole area, which is I know is a big ber you know, my my, my wife Linda, her dad had an opportunity, this is going way back to buy some land out in this area, okay, when it was undeveloped, and and he passed on it at that time. It's a family favorite family story. He passed on like, nah, nobody goes out there. That's just out in the middle

Oh that is rough. That is rough.

But we've had some nice listeners roll out and take advantage of this deal. So if you're looking for a cheap way to feed the family with high quality meat, this is the way to do it. Twenty ribbis for forty dollars. You can take the Smitty route, which is go find Ethan Allen then check us out. Or you can do what normal people do and put this address on your phone. One four five zero South State Street number two three two zero.

There you go.

Yes, and you two can find us in the parking lot and get your own box of beat.

Yes, sir, yes, sir, all right, Smitty, Alex Jensen made a hire today. Uh, and you've been very helpful for us throughout this process because you worked with Al for nine years with the Jazz.

And while you were at.

The Jazz, a man named Martin Schiller was the head coach of the Salt Lake City Stars. Like Alex, Martin was a G League Coach of the Year D League for Alex back in the day.

G League now.

International ties all over the place. This feels like a very good, exciting hire for the Utah coach and staff.

Tell us about Martin Shiller. Whatch we know?

You know has roots in the in the German basketball community. He's a member of the Germanna. He has been a member of the German national team coaching staff. That's where he and Alex met because Alex Jensen has also served a number of stints on the German national coaching team

Teams in Lithuania.

And he's been coaching the last couple of years and had a stint in Spain was coaching in Germany.

But he will he's he's two things.

One a very good basketball tactician.

He's very organized. He's very.

Very like how would I say, dents in what works in x'es and o's both ends of the floor, very exacting with the players to do it the way we're trying to teach you to do it.

So he'll be one of.

Those guys guys in practice who will really be holding a player's feet to the fire to get it the right way, which.

Was a big deal with Rick mcjarrett sure those.

Years ago, for sure, And so Martin has that skill set in his back pocket. And then the other thing I believe he would bring is because of all of his European ties, he would really have an insight into the youth European basketball community when it comes to recruiting and getting guys like jegor Demon and you know whoever else is coming over. You know the Jacket Tuna's kid

So what we have now the problem with trying to analyze who Utah basketball will be next year is we only know Keanu daz is coming back.

And then the FDU transfer.

Terrence Brown, I believe is his name, who is a twenty plus per night scorer, but in the Northeast Conference. I all due respect to my home footprint, shout out Central Connecticut, thank you. You know certainly the devils. I'm not knocking on the conference. I'm just wondering what a twenty point a night guy in the Northeast Conference looks like in the Big Twelve. But we only know they have two players comittee. So what we do know now?

So before we move on, what do you make of now?

This?

Uh, just overall the staff that's in place as so.

Eric Daniels, a young coach who has roots here in Utah, will will help in the recruiting of the in state kids.

Do you like the way Alex is going about his business.

Well, it seems like he has a dedicated approach. It seems like he's getting guys who he's going to feel comfortable with that know how, he wants to be able to set the program up. So that's the interesting thing

He's still finishing.

Up as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks, and he's he understands that this isn't about the short term, you know, let's win the press conference on Tuesday kind of deal. This is about setting up a group in place that's going to make sense for the long haul of our program. And these kind of hires he's been making, both on the coaching staff and then with Wes Wilcox overseeing things from the front office.

Perspective, you know, make make a lot of sense.

And you can tell this is an Alex Jenson type approach, regimented, diligent, take your time, make sure you know what you're doing, and then execute it.

Are you surprised? Now?

To your point, Martin Schiller was here as the G League coach. Eric Daniels has Utah ties. But the conversation immediately and we had some former utes that come on the show and like Bak for jobs. But the conversation immediately after Alex is higher was okay, Andre Miller's next and then.

Excut player here And you are you surprised that we haven't seen any of that?

No, No, I'm not surprised.

You know those are just you know, fans who are you know, flashing back to and thirty years ago, and you know, just want to live in the past. You know, there was a when when we first started the D League at that time developmental league for the NBA down in Orum, when we started the Utah Flash, the.

Owner Bran Anderson, who was down there at the time.

You know, no, and Brandon was really the predecessor to Ryan Smith. He was the original, if you will, local version of Ryan Smith.

He wanted to own an NBA team.

He had the resources at that time as a twenty nine year old.

To do so. Called the NBA.

Tried to find out, Hey could I buy a team? That found out it doesn't work like that. They they moved him on to the guy who running the D League says, you know, we could talk about a potential expansion team there, which ended up happening with the Utah Flash that was in arm for three years. Brant right out of the gate had the same kind of mindset where he was so blue with BYU that he everybody he mentioned in terms of the hiring and startup process

Danny Ainge was the head of the Boston Celtics at the time.

Okay, let's get Danny Ainge, and then let's get Fred Roberts, Let's get Devin Durant and then we can get Yeah. No, I mean he threw out every BYU basketball guy from the eighties and we had to kind of talk him off the ledge.

A little bit of brand doesn't quite work like that.

You know, you need guys who know what they're doing in their respective roles and whatnot.

And look, when you see what Alex is doing.

You got Eric Daniels, who has his footprint all over and embedded in the Utah High school scene. You got Raphael Chilius, who knows the national scene, has been doing that for a long time. And you've got Martin Schiller, who knows the European scene. So you can see how these pieces to the puzzle are starting to fit and get together. And I'm sure that's all by design of Alex to figure out where are the holes that we need to fill and how we're going to go about doing it.

And you have Wes Willcox as the general manager.

And also news broke today that Rico Sylvester Junior has been named the director of Operations and player personnel for the running US. All right, Spindy, before we catch a break and I set you loose. You reference Martin's ties in Europe, and I just wonder what sort of angle that Alex and the coaching staff will have dad talent if they're not given the same resource that some of the other schools are given, namely a school that's about thirty five miles south of US right now in Brigham Young.

Jeff Goodman, who's.

Kind of a college basketball newsbreaker and a very plugged in college basketball journalist, report yesterday that Rob Wright, a really talented freshman point guard from Baylor who had a really good game in this year for the Baylor Bears, had signed a one million dollar deal to stay at Baylor, but he has decided to remove himself from that deal and sign a deal with BYU that, according to Jeff Goodman, has worth three million dollars next year to play for

Or is going to the NBA.

They're trying to get Richie Saunders back with a seven figure deal offer. There's a recruit in the transfer portal named Darien Williams who played for Texas Tech last year that, according to Jeff Goodman, is now looking at BYU for a seven figure offer. BYU is going to market and they're out bitting other teams for talent.

That's the name of the game.

If you just do simple math, that's about fifteen million dollars for five or six players.

So I wonder what you make if BYU opening up, opening.

Up the pocketbooks to go to market to outdid other schools for players, which is what they're doing. And what sort of pressure you think this brings Alex in the inversity of Utah.

Well, I mean the pressure is always going to be there to win and to produce. So that's that's that that never goes away. How BYU is doing it? BYU, as far as I know, they're playing by the rules.

And that's what everybody does.

That's what Kentucky's doing, That's what Kansas is doing, That's what Duke is doing, you know, et cetera, et cetera.

And they want to be one of.

Those guys eventually, So this is how they're doing it. So that's until those rules change, Spence, until the NCAA puts a cap on this stuff and right relates it. More So, you're talking about, you know, the kid from Baylor that he had signed the deal, you know, and and I don't know what the wording is. I don't know how those guys send that information out, but I

And there's a lot of.

Reports that that that argue against that really, you know, being the outcome of those things.

But that's what they're gonna argue. But you know, you can't.

You can't tell me that you know, a school's academic reputation and what they're trying to do, you know, as an institution to educate young people falls in the hands of the athletic department and whether they get Ajdbanza to come to their school, and I just don't buy that.

But having said that, everybody's doing it. All those are the rules at the moment.

BYU has just decided to getting in with that full bore, which is good for them.

Utah's gonna play catch up.

They're gonna try and do the same thing until this whole thing gets regulated, which I guess we'll see some of coming down shortly from the government about the NCAA payoff and all that stuff, and maybe there'll be more rules about that coming this summer.

Before I say you lose, because I promise you I do this masters going on right now and by the way, Tony final needs a burn on either seventeen or eighteen. He parted sixteen. He's one stroke off the cut line.

But you wanted to share some things about your master's experience. And then we've got a cool event coming up at Black Black at Black Desert.

Oh yeah, I was just gonna throw out that my wife Linda and I had been privileged to be able to get down and volunteer and work for the Black Desert Championship last fall for the PGA Tour, and we're gonna do the same thing again at the end of this month for the LPGA, which will be down at the Black Desert Course down there in Saint George and Ivans, Utah. And I know that they're they're currently trying to get more volunteers to come down. A lot of people aren't

And also to get involved in golf.

And I was just gonna mention with the Masters had the opportunity to go in twenty eleven, what a great thing that was. And anybody whoever has a chance to go to Augusta, Georgia for this week of golf, it is a is a.

Lifetime, once in a lifetime.

Experience to witness it firsthand and see how they do things and and on the highest level possible. It's just an experience that that you never forget. And anybody I've ever talked to Spence over the years who has had the chance to go, you know, feel the exact same way.

I've never heard anyone say.

Oh it was overblown, Oh that was you know that it's not what they made it up to.

It's what what they make it up to be.

And more so so, you know, people watching this weekend sit back and watch a tournament.

You know at one of the most beautiful.

Golf courses, or some of us have to do four hours of radio and sell steak see that bitty see.

That you spend See again, we related to the NCAA stuff.

Spence.

You're all in on the box of beaf I am and however it comes to you, that's that's what we're doing.

Twenty ribs for forty bucks. Come out and say Hi, Spinny, great to see.

Hey, my central Connecticut. Math if I'm not, if I'm not a mistaken, tells me that's two dollars a steak.

Looks like a nice little weekend, maybe a little chillier than you would prefer or maybe I'll just speak for myself, because it's eighty degrees today and I wish it was eighty degrees every day.

Saturday is pretty good. Sunday about fifty seven.

It's gonna be a little chilly on Sunday and then warming up until next week.

So happy weekend to you. Hope you have something fun planned.

Maybe little golf, little hiking, little biking, get outside. It's one of the best parts of living in this beautiful state. Before we say good night, time for our you went to golf Master's update five Utah locations at Worldwide Golf Shops dot com for the latest time. Tylerstprov one x ping drivers Taylor made Qi thirty five woods in the

Four under par.

Your winner will come from the names that I just listed. The one exception I'll give you is Ludvig o'berg, who struggled a bit today with a seventy three, but he's at three under and that kid has so much game. I wouldn't be stunned to see him have something to say about it.

So there you go.

Jazz in Action tonight taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder No idea who's gonna play? Reminder it is a seven to thirty tip. It's a little bit later than that usual seven o'clock tip. It will be the final game where Dan Roberts will be the PA voice of the Utah Jazz Alex Jensen made a couple of hires today. Martin Schiller is going to be an assistant coach for AJ. He is a guy that has a lot of experience. He was the G League Coach of the Stars and he was the g Lead Coach of the Year once.

Upon a time. So there you go.

Rob Wright has transferred a brief to BYU. According to Jeff Goodman, it's gonna cost BYU three million dollars.

Uh.

So there you go.

RSL back in action tomorrow, taking on San Jose. Before we say, and I want to tell you about what we're doing out here, which is where we're at at one O four five zero South State Street, number two three two zero. It is a vacant parking lot with a truck full of meat. That's right, Homestead steaks twenty ribbys for forty dollars. It's their weekend meat sale and they also have in addition to that, crazy half price bolk deals on steak, chicken, pork, chops, and seafood.

Check out their party packs.

To fill your freezer with New York Strips, filets, Mega Ribbis, Gourmet smash burgers plus chicken and seafood.

All payments accepted cash, credit, debit.

N e BT, Porter Larson two rounds down with the Major Championship.

Of course, the masters who you got on Monday? Who are gonna be? Who are gonna be?

Who are gonna be?

Who are we gonna be talking about on Monday? That won this tournament?

Yeah?

Well, as you said, Spence, Uh, the name is likely to come from that group of leaders that you just mentioned. Of course, our guy Tony Fenale Uh. Struggling down the stretch. He had three bogies on the back nine, a lot of them on the the putter as well. So U but I'm going to see our guy Tony final drop like that. But the winner, Spence Man, I really like

There you go, so stay tuned.

We'll let you, of course, know the take takeaways from Augusta National and let you know who's gonna win the tournament.

We'll cover it on a Monday Drive. But porter before.

We get out of here, get our weekend started out what comes our way on a Monday edition of the program.

As you said, Spence, we will react to the masters the first hour of the show. Rex Hoggard, who was going to join us today but is live in Augusta, was dealing with some stuff on the course when we were trying him earlier. He's going to join the show on Monday, as will our old friend Cam Rogers. Of course you mentioned it, Spence. The final home game of

Hardy and Justin Xanix.

We'll have some sound from then. Sarah Todd will stop by the program post NBA season, as will a standout from the weekend with Real Salt Lake. Of course they are in action against Nashville on Saturday.

All right, there you go.

That'll do it for us on this Friday show special. Thank you to our friends out here who are hooking you up with great steaks, our friends at Homestead Steaks twenty rabbis for forty dollars.

It is their weekend Meet Deal special.

Thank you today to Howard Beck, to Christopher Camronnie, to Richard Smith, and to Paul Pugmyer for the sound you made miss from the show website ESPN seven hundred Sports dot com, download our mobile app.

And take us on the go.

The ESPN seven hundred app is available for free in the App Store, in.

The Google play Store.

And then for what we do in our space, our podcast page is the way for you to go consume whatever part of our show you want on your time. And it's called the Drive with Spence check its and that's available wherever you get your show. Subscribe, rate, review, say nice things in the comments, give us all the stars. It helps reporter. I'm spent saying and I'd have a great weekend. Be good to yourself, be good to each other.